down very nicely, we've seen that that decline has now done this, essentially starting to plateau. >> people can protect themselves. at some point we have to rely upon common sense and good judgment versus mandates. >> this very church in this courtyard isis used it as a firing range. you can still see the bullet holes behind me. well, today pope francis is here. ♪ i'm pamela brown in washington. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world on this busy sunday. you are live in the "cnn newsroom." a heated standoff with huge implications is playing out right now in new york. governor andrew cuomo defiant in the face of new allegations of inappropriate conduct made by a third former staffer. >> there are some legislators who suggest that i resign because of accusations that are made against me. i was elected by the people of the state. i wasn't elected by politicians. i'm not going to resign because of allegations. anybody has the ability to make an allegation in democracy, and that's great. but it's in the credibility of the allegation. no, there is no way i resign. >> after cuomo vowed to stay in office this afternoon, new york senate majority leader andrea stewart-cousins said new york is still in the midst of this pandemic and is still facing a societal health and economic impacts of it. we need to govern without daily distraction for the good of the state, governor cuomo must resign. new york state's assembly speaker added that he shares the sentiment about cuomo's ability to lead right now. the backlash from top democrats comes after a former cuomo aide told the "wall street journal" that the governor asked her if she had a boyfriend, called her sweetheart, touched her on her lower back at a reception and once kissed her hand once she rose from her desk. i'm joined by ulene gnu. she is a democrat who is calling on governor cuomo to resign. assemblywoman, thanks so much for coming on, if cuomo sticks to his gun and doesn't resign, is there enough support to impeach him? >> um, i don't know yet because we have not yet gone back into conference to talk to our colleagues. but both of our leaders have now called for his resignation. and so i believe that we do have the numbers. >> do you think that he should be impeached and removed if he does not resign? >> so, an impeachment process is actually a trial and also an investigation. and i think that that will help to also shed some light on all of the things that he has done for all the rest of new york state. and i think that it's really important that that happens. and i think that, yes, i think that there are a lot of grounds for his impeachment. there's also a lot of grounds for his resignation. >> so, governor cuomo, as you know, he says he will not resign. he says democracy allows due process to play out and that judgment should be withheld until this is fully investigated by the a.g. does he have a point? >> i mean, i think that there is also the impeachment process which would also bring in an investigation and a trial as well. and, sure, you know, we should take on all of the things that the a.g. says. but you have to also remember that the a.g. has already released a report about >> so it sounds like you at least want there to be an impeachment process to go forward. would it be satisfying to you at all if he nounces he won't be running next year. or do you want to see this impeachment moving forward? >> i think right now the question is whether or not he has the ability to be able to govern. and i think that right now innew yorkers are not able to trust the numbers he's delivering and not able to believe the things he's saying, if we at the legislature cannot actually believe the numbers that he's putting out and actually trusting the guidance that he's putting forth, it makes it so that we can't do our jobs, and it makes it so we are putting new yorkers at risk. >> what do you see as most damaging to him right now? and have you heard from him? would you be willing it talk with him about what's going on? >> i think that there are many, many different pieces to all of the things that are playing out. right now we have the -- the fact that, you know, the immunity language was in the provisions that were put in to protect nursing homes and protect nursing home zexecutive, we have to look at that because there could be possible pay to play. and there could be the covering up and the hiding of 50% of the nursing home deaths. there were 15,000 people who passed away and their families have not had a chance to have that closure because our governor tried to disappear them, and it's really important we know that these folks are people and they should not just be disappeared. they are new yorkers. they are our people, too. and i think it's so important that we are recognizing that and that we are actually holding him accountable for trying to disappear them and trying to not count them. and also at the same time trying to blindfold and handcuff the legislature from actually being able to prevent more deaths, and i think that's really important to note. >> go ahead. >> sorry, and the last thing also is his perpetual and, you know, constant abuse of power which has been shown throughout, and that includes of course the sexual harassment in the workplace and of course how he treats, you know, the people around him. >> and of course he has apologized and he has said he never intended for anyone to feel uncomfortable or that he touched anyone inappropriately. i just really quickly want to go back to something you said. you said possible pay to play. i want to make sure i understood correctly what you're talking about there. >> so we actually, you know, know that the immunity language was actually put in by greater new york hospital association, and that language is word for word how the greater new york hospital association wanted the language to be. and they are also a megadonor of andrew cuomo. >> very quickly, last question. do you feel afraid at all about speaking out? we've seen others who have been afraid to speak out. they only want to talk anonymously. why do you think it's important to come on the show and to talk about this? >> i think that i used to be afraid often. i used to be afraid often, but i think that hearing from so many of the families who have lost their loved ones and also hearing from so many of the staff who were affected by andrew cuomo, i feel like this is not the time to be afraid of anything. these women were brave. these families were brave, and right now if i have the ability to speak up, then i should. >> all right, thank you for coming on the show. we appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. a potentially dangerous weekend is in full swing across the country with events that could turn out to be coronavirus super spreaders. last night police were called in to break up a huge gathering near the university of colorado boulder campus. few people wore masks and there was no social distancing among the hundreds who gathered. in atlanta nba all-star weekend is drawing crowds even though they won't be allowed in to see tonight's game. the nba has sent cease and desist letters to dozens of venues trying to cash in on the sports spectacular with fans. and in daytona, florida, the first weekend of bike week is drawing thousands of participants. and as you see here not a lot of masks going on there. a little further south of miami, spring break season has already -- is already under way. there's lots of signs about masks and social distancing. will that be enough? joining me now is dr. peter hotez, a professor and dean of tropical medicine at bailor college medicine. thanks so much, dr. hotez, for coming on. always good to see you. before we dive right in i want to start with something personal. you said this coming weekend anne and i will viz our two oldest adult kids and their spouses. we have not seen them in 14 months. guessing it will be pretty emotional. so tell us about that. what has it been like for you to see your family finally after all this time? >> yeah, guess what, pamela? it was pretty emotional especially for my wife anne. i've been so consumed with covid-19 activities between our vaccine and everything else that we're doing, you sort of lose track. but i think for anne especially it's been really tough. so seeing our two oldest kids -- our two youngest live in houston including our special needs daughter who lives with us. but seeing the two oldest was really nice. 14 months is probably the longest its ever been. it was also our first plane ride. my youngest son lives in tucson. the last time i flew was march 5th to give congressional testimony to the science committee. so a full year without flying, that was pretty odd also. i have to say the airlines did a pretty good job at maximizing the -- or reducing the best they could the risk to infection. >> well, i'm so glad you finally got to see your family. i know i'm looking forward to seeing my dad hopefully next month. i haven't seen him in a year and it is an emotional thing. we're at this stage right now in the pandemic where we can see the finish line and some people want to already be across that finish line even though we're not exactly there yet, and there's still this open question of what should be done. in arizona governor doug ducey issued an executive order requiring all schools to open statewide. students will be still given the option to continue virtual learning, but that may be mean all teachers may not be vaccinated by that time. do you think that is the right move? >> well, i think it's really important we at least begin the process of vaccinating the teachers. you know, when things started last year we heard there was this philosophy that we did not need to vaccinate teachers in order to open schools, and teachers did this at great peril. according to someone well although there was never a full accounting of what the impact of covid-19 was in terms of teachers and staff and we heard different reports of teachers who lost their lives with schools reopening. so i'd push pretty hard on the biden administration to at least begin the process of vaccinating teachers. at least, one to protect them and keep them safe but also reaffirm their importance to society. there was this undercurrent saying well, we don't need to vaccinate teachers. and i think it's important for teachers to hear they're valued members of society. and the president gave a very important speech about a week and a half ago that reaffirmed that. so i was really glad to see that. so it's going to be hard, pamela, because as we've been talking about we now have this b.1.1.7 variant and we saw how quickly it accelerated in the united kingdom. it overtook the nation in december and now it's revving up in florida, new information in texas. i'm quite worried about that variant, and we still don't have the full mother lode or vaccines and now we're in this race to vaccinate ahead of the variant. >> 30 million americans have been vaccinated, and 2 million a day, but you have these variants rapidly spreading. so we're not out of the woods yet as they say. dr. peter hotez, thank you so much for coming on. so glad you were able to spend some time with your family this weekend. >> thanks so much, pamela. appreciate it. and stay with us, dr. hotez isn't the only one who's had a long awaited reunion with family. these sisters finally got to see each other after a more than a year apart to get their covid vaccine. we have got their story later in our. plus we're following breaking news. a state department spokesperson tells me tonight that russia is deliberately undermining confidence in america's coronavirus vaccines. also tonight -- pope francis gets a heroes welcome from christians in an iraqi town devastated by isis just a few years ago. >> but first house majority whip jim clyburn is standing by. it's 56 years since bloody sunday but the fight for voting rights is as fresh as ever today. we'll be right back. order our new pepperoni and four cheese flatbread pizzas for delivery or pickup today. panera. ♪ ♪ ♪like an echo in the forest♪ [singing in korean] ♪another day will return♪ [singing in korean] ♪like nothing ever happened♪ ♪ ♪ [singing in korean] ♪like nothing ever happened♪ in a recent clinical study, patients using salonpas patch reported reductions in pain severity, using less or a lot less oral pain medicines. and improved quality of life. ask your doctor about salonpas. it's good medicine. out here, you're a landowner, a gardener, a landscaper and a hunter. that's why you need versatile, durable kubota equipment. are you managing your diabetes... ...using fingersticks? 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( ♪ ) today is a day of huge significance for america's civil rights struggle. this is the 56th anniversary of bloody sunday. the infamous march in selma, alabama. a march that was led by the late congressman and civil rights icon john lewis. this morning president biden honored the day like this. >> i also urge congress to fully restore is voting rights act named in john lewis' honor. today on the anniversary of bloody sunday i'm signing an executive order to make it easier for eligible voters to register to rote and improve access to voting. >> more on the never ending battle over voting rights in just a minute. but first we have to mention that because of the pandemic this is the first time in 56 years that people weren't able to walk en masse across the edmund pettus bridge. instead virtual events commemorated what happened on merchandise march 7, 1865 when activists were brutally attacked by alabama state troopers. and there's one more significant difference this year. it's the first time in 56 years we can't check in with john lewis who led the march on that fateful day. an early example of the good trouble he was always getting into. throughout his illustrious life and even upon his death last july lewis returned again and again to cross that bridge in selma. joining me to talk about the enduring lessons of his long time friend john lewis, bloody sunday and america's ongoing racial reckoning democratic congressman james clyburn. congressman, nice to have you on. >> thank you very much for having me. >> well, in addition to john lewis we've lost a lot of civil rights icons in the past year. reverend joseph lowery, reverend c.t. vivian, attorney bruce boyten, leaving behind a huge void. as we reflect on bloody sunday today how far do you think we've come on the issue of voting rights since? >> well, you know, in our society things go like dependent on a clock, it goes right, back left, back right again. and i think that what we've experienced in recent years is a country moving back to the right. we've moved to the left when we passed the voting rights act in 1965. and we moved far to the right eight years ago when the supreme court virtually gutted the most precious part of that act when they got rid of formula out of section 4 rendering preclearance nullified. and so i think that what we're doing now with this president is moving the country back to the left again. i applaud the president for signing the executive order today, bringing attention to the fact that the voting rights act is under threat. and we've seen it in state after state, legislatures are now creating laws that would make it virtually impossible for people to vote unfairly. it's one thing they say that you vote, you've got the right to vote. it's something else to have the vote available to you in an efficient and effective way. and what we're seeing now are chips in state after state to make it harder for people to vote and in some instances taking the vote away by not counting it. >> so let's talk about that because more than 250 bills in 43 states are seeking to do things like scale back access to mail-in ballots. in georgia a bill has passed the statehouse is likely to pass the senate making it a crime to hand out food and drinks to people waiting in long voter lines. and the bills cut back on early voting on sunday. souls to the polls has been a hallmark effort to get out the black vote. do you think this is discrimination effort against black voters in georgia? >> black and brown voters as well. working people as well. election day is not a national holiday in this country, and there are many places where people do not get off from work or are not able to get off from work to vote. in a lot of countries voting is on saturdays and sundays. we always ask them the question, why tuesday in this country? we know why voting was put on a tuesday. and we have kept it there. that in and of itself is discriminatory to working men and women. and that to me is ridiculous. we know what these laws are doing. what know what these states are doing. we need to move to make sure that we do not allow voting to be filibustered like we see in so many other instances. voting to me ought to be filibuster-free just like we arranged for the budget to go forward under reconciliation, civil rights laws and voting rights laws ought to be subject to reconciliation efforts as well. so i've been calling for us to have a new rule, whatever you want to call it, name it after a senator -- senator warnock for instance and senator booker. have a new rule that says we will not allow civil rights and voting rights to be filibustered as it was in the '30s, '40s and '50s. >> so you're saying it would be catastrophic for the filibuster to end up denying voting rightsch we know president biden as of now is not in favor of getting rid of that. then you have the more centrist democrats like joe manchin as well who has said he doesn't want to get rid of it. so what would be your plan in that regard then? >> as i said, we allow for the bird rule to move a budget without the filibuster, absent the filibuster. maybe it's time for senator manchin, and i would hope -- i know him very well. i like him. but i really believe it would be catastrophic for him to allow the filibuster to be used in 2021 the way strong thurman used it back in 1957 when he set the filibuster record against the civil rights act of 1957. if you allow that, you're saying that people who do not wish for their vote to be unfettered ought to be able to have their way with the united states senate. that is just not going to be allowed with this party, and i would hope that all senators, democrat and republican, will recognize there's a difference between extending debate and denying constitutional rights. >> all right, congressman james clyburn, thank you for coming on th