come to the u.s. amid the growing crisis of children at the border. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world, we have reports this morning from seoul, the pentagon, capitol hill and rome. this is "early start," i'm christine romans. >> and i'm laura jarrett. it's wednesday, march 17th, it's 5:00 a.m. in new york and we start this morning with the big breaking news. a suspect is in custody after eight people were killed in shootings at three massage parlours in the atlanta area. now, authorities have not offered a motive yet, but at least six of the victims were asian -- in about the span of an hour eight people were killed at those three atlanta area spas spread across three miles. the attacks took place in quick secession, the fbi is assisting authorities in atlanta and cherokee county. here is a spokesperson for the chairy county's office. >> it's pretty unusual. as i mentioned earlier, in 2020 we had one homicide in cherokee county, we have had at least three today so it's pretty shocking for not only our responding deputies and public safety but also for the community here and we take this serious. >> the suspect was arrested 150 miles away after a dramatic car chase according to police. police believe a 21-year-old a likely responsible for the three attacks. they identified him as robert aaron long. nypd counterterrorism bureau deploying assets to asian communities in new york now in light of those shootings in atlanta. a lot of information still coming in. we will bring you the latest developments as we get them. st. patrick's day giving health officials some extra cause for concern about the pandemic this morning. disease experts warn the spread of dangerous variants and a rush to reopen may just end up prolonging the cycle of infections and restrictions. new cases in pockets across the u.s. up in 14 states week to week. the cdc is urging people avoid big st. patrick's day crowds, stay home. the mayor of savannah, georgia, says his city is allowing reasonable celebration. >> savannah is wide open, we've been wide open, and the way we stay wide open is to require the use of masks. this is what allows us as opposed to many other cities across the country, to remain viable. >> after weeks of declining deaths and hospitalizations and rising vaccinations, some cities are moving to reopen now, but here is the problem, the uk variant is spreading and two peer reviewed studies have linked it to an increased risk of death, not just it being more contagious but more death. overnight the cdc officially designated two covid strains first detected in california as variants of concern. efforts to reduce vaccine hesitancy among some conservatives gaining new voices. >> it not only helps me, it helps my family around me and all the people i associate with. so you're not only helping yourself, you're helping your neighbors also. you know, i might have been a little bit hesitant to begin with, but after looking at all the statistics i don't see anything after you take the shot, everybody seems to get along with it pretty good. >> nascar legend richard petty lending his voice to a vaccination campaign. a lot of nascar fans are right leaning men and that is a demographic that has been extra hesitant. much of that hesitancy stirred up by president trump who took his vaccine in secret but finally, you know, last night on fox he did publicly advocate for vaccination. >> although he did say this is a country for freedoms. all right. now to immigration, homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas set to face lawmakers today as the biden administration faces a crisis of migrant children at the u.s./mexico border. he says customs and border protection is on pace to encounter more individuals on the border than in the last 20 years. president biden now under pressure from all sides had this message for would be migrants coming to the united states. >> first of all, the idea that joe biden said come because i heard the other day that they're coming because they know i'm a nice guy and i won't -- >> they're saying this. >> yeah. well, here is the deal, they're not. >> do you have to say quite clearly, don't come? >> yes. i can say quite clearly don't come and what we are in the process of getting set up, don't leave your town or city or community. >> our reporters and producers have talked to so many of these people crossing the border and some have been on the road for at least four months. cnn has learned new details about conditions for thousands of children crossing the border alone, they are alternating schedules to make space for each other in confined facilities. some children haven't seen sunlight in days, others are taking turns showering, often going days without a shower. bunk beds have been brought into one of these processing facilities to help accommodate this influx of children. one agent said some are three bunks high and some are sleeping on beverages, plastic beverages and mats on floor. the house is set to vote on two immigration bills this week, one for a path of citizenship for dreamers. let's bring in our congressional reporter daniella diaz on capitol hill. this is the democrats taking their first step in tackling immigration reform but this isn't the broader immigration bill that we heard the president talk about, it seems the democrats are really taking more of a piecemeal approach. what are you learning? >> reporter: that's exactly right, laura. the house is going to take up two separate immigration bills this week, the first bill would allow dreamers to be able to apply for citizenship and the second would allow a reform of the agricultural worker program, but these are two bills that have been passed through the house before, they're passing this again, it's expected to pass in the house this week, because democrats now have the majority in the house and the senate, but when it passes the house we don't know what the fate of these bills are going to be because biden's priority was to pass a comprehensive immigration reform in this congress, but that's not something that a lot of senators want, especially senate republicans and senate judiciary chairman dick durbin threw cold water on that, thinking he doesn't believe there is enough support in the senate to be able to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill. republicans have been hitting biden on this influx of migrants that you talked about happening on the border right now, there is an influx of migrants crossing the u.s./mexico border as well as unaccompanied minors crossing the border and it's becoming a huge issue for this administration. republicans are sitting him on this as well as want to see more stringent border security provisions in any legislation that crosses through the senate and they want to see more restrictions for asylum seekers. this is becoming a huge issue and that's dividing the senate. even dividing some democrats who do not know where they stand on whether they think that this could pass, including dick durbin. we will have to wait and see how this plays out after these bills pass the house. >> people talk a lot about border security, but it's important to note here the vast majority of people are still being turned away, especially if they come in at places that are not official points of entry. the people who are coming in are children without their parents. daniella, thank you for your reporting as usual. happening right now, the secretaries of state and defense in south korea this morning, antony blinken already hitting hard at china. we have a live report next. you're clearly someone who takes care of yourself. so why wait to screen for colon cancer? 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>> reporter: christine, these are pretty strong words from the secretary of state saying that china cannot act with impunity when it comes to the way that they are acting to those abroad. now, this was at a round table that was happening just before he got to seoul when he was still in japan saying that china was acting repress ifl at home, aggressively abroad, mentioning the south china sea, taiwan, also disputed islands saying that beijing is raising tensions not diminishing them. so this is an interesting time to be talking about this, clearly the fact that this very first trip for both of these vips is to northeast asia will not be lost on china and straight after secretary blinken leaves seoul he will be heading to alaska where he will meet with his chinese counterpart. he will also be joined by national security adviser jake sullivan and his counterpart and it will be really the first high-level meeting that the biden administration has had with beijing officials. so there will be a lot to look out for there. we've heard that it will be talking about security issues, but clearly what we're hearing from a senior administration official is that there will be a unified message from these officials. yes, they see china as a competitor, they will try and push back against the aggressions that they believe beijing has been carrying out recently, but it will be a unified message and also open to be able to work with china on areas where it's possible. bear in mind we are in northeast asia, the u.s. does need china's help if it wants to deal well with north korea. >> paula, unfortunately a news event happening all the way over here in atlanta, georgia, in the atlanta area, getting attention, international attention overnight. six people of asian dissent were killed in a shooting rampage in atlanta, at least four korean. any reaction so far? >> reporter: that's right, yes, this is certainly playing extremely high, people are concerned about the level of tension when it comes to asian-americans. we heard from the ministry of foreign affairs, at least four are ethnic koreans. there is a sizable korean population within atlanta itself. it wouldn't surprise me if within the next 20 minutes or so when we see secretary blinken going to the foreign ministry to meet with the foreign minister he is likely to be asked about this. we haven't had a comment at this point, but clearly people here in south korea are following this extremely closely. >> of course. and, again, we're still getting new information, so waiting to see all the details. there is a suspect in custody. paula hancocks for us. thank you for that. president biden making his first stop on the help is here tour, highlighting the benefits of his american rescue package. he visited a flooring company in pennsylvania, one of the several swing states on this publicity tour. his goal here is twofold, to claim credit for the huge and mostly popular relief package and convince americans there is more that government can do to make their lives better. >> a tax cut to help retired workers, we are in a situation to expand the paycheck -- paycheck protection program for the folks who were initially shut down, but you really made it work and i think you should be aware more help is on the way for real. is there anything else we can be doing? >> many aspects of the bill are temporary for now but the president wants to make some of them permanent like the expanded child tax credit which can help lift families out of poverty. president biden tuesday touting the ways his rescue plan will help small businesses but millions risk missing out. the paycheck protection program ends in two weeks but more than $110 billion remains untouched. lawmakers are urk to extend the deadline. why duds so much money remain? special application windows blocked bigger business applying. translation, this last round was meant for small business only, mainly new fraud protections and rules are keeping thousands of applications in limbo. last month the biden administration tweaked the rules to help the hardest hit businesses like sole proprietors but the change left lenders scrambling and businesses started their applications over. any loan not approved by march 31st will not be funded. that's why small business advocates want an extension through may. that ppp is a vital lifeline for small businesses ravaged by the pandemic, a third of all small businesses in the u.s. have closed since january 2020. what you see there on your screen is remarkable. a third of small businesses have closed. and we know, laura, when we look at jobs data, there are millions of people, 14 million people or so who say that they are not going to work because their business is either closed or there are no hours for them. so it just shows you how deep that problem is. >> it's just staggering, a third. all right. still ahead, the most comprehensive look yet at foreign interference in the 2020 election. who was involved and who was not may surprise you. i'm a verizon engineer. we built our 5g nationwide so millions of people could do what they love in verizon 5g quality. and in parts of many cities, we have ultra wideband, the fastest 5g in the world. this is 5g built right. only from verizon. lisa here, has had many jobs. and all that experience has led her to a job that feels like home. with home instead, you too can become a caregiver to older adults. apply today. you can't plan for your period's... you too can become a cwhat the gush moments.ts. but the right pad can. only always ultra thins have rapiddry technology and, they absorb 40% faster. the gush happens fast. that's why always absorbs faster. we made usaa insurance for members like kate. a former army medic, made of the flexibility to handle whatever monday has in store and tackle four things at once. so when her car got hit, she didn't worry. she simply filed a claim on her usaa app and said... i got this. usaa insurance is made the way kate needs it - easy. she can even pick her payment plan so it's easy on her budget and her life. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa. your ring should shine the same way you do. shop exclusive styles from our collections, including vera wang love, enchanted disney, endless brilliance and so much more. shop online with a virtual consultant. exclusively at zales. the diamond store. ♪ for skin as alive as you are... don't settle for silver 7 moisturizers 3 vitamins 24 hours hydration gold bond champion your skin when we started carvana, they told us that selling cars 100% online wouldn't work. gold bond but we went to work. building an experience that lets you shop over 17,000 cars from home. creating a coast to coast network to deliver your car as soon as tomorrow. recruiting an army of customer advocates to make your experience incredible. and putting you in control of the whole thing with powerful technology. that's why we've become the nation's fastest growing retailer. because our customers love it. see for yourself, at carvana.com. oh, you think this is just a community center? 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