morning. a lot going on. >> yeah, there is. >> we have important new developments after the murder of eight people in georgia. six of them asian women. asian-americans on edge in the u.s. and you can understand why. authorities are noting the suspect claims the shootings were not racially motivated. but he says were the result of sexual addiction. a sheriff's deputy facing backlash for this description of the suspect's frame of mind. >> he understood the gravity of it. and he was pretty much fed up and had been kind of at the end of his rope and yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did. also new, russia responds to president biden calling vladimir putin a killer. mr. biden's comments were labeled as unprecedented. we'll have much more from the white house on that in a moment. but we want to begin with natasha chen with the very latest on the georgia investigation. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, erica. we're in cherokee county where the suspect is being held and could be arraigned soon. and let's remember the reason he's even in custody and was caught. his parents played a crucial role when authorities released surveillance images of him on tuesday evening. the parents called police to help identify him and police were then able to track his cell phone as he was moving south and to stop him. investigators believe they stopped him before he headed to florida where he may have committed a similar act. this morning, authorities are investigating why a suspected gunman killed eight people in three atlanta spas and where the massacre that left six asian women dead can be prosecuted as a hate crime. four people were left dead in the first spa. >> so do you have a description of him, ma'am? >> reporter: that desperate 911 call came from gold massage spa 30 miles from the first shooting. police discovered three asian women killed there. >> some guy came in and took a gun. some lady got hurt. i think. everybody's scared so they're hiding. >> reporter: across the street at aromatherapy spa another woman killed. atlanta law enforcement is withholding the names of victims but in cherokee county police confirmed the names of those who lost their lives. robert aaron long is charged with eight counts of murder. >> even though we have made an arrest, there's still a lot more work to be done. >> reporter: authorities say long told them the killings were because he had a potential sexual addiction. >> the suspect did take responsibility for the shootings. this is still early but he does claim it was not racially motivated. >> reporter: but keisha lance bottoms said it's hard to ignore that the majority of the shooting victims were asian women. >> i'm taking that with a grain of salt. this is a man who murdered eight people in cold blood so it's very difficult to believe what he says. >> this is an attack on all of us. >> reporter: grief and outrage are growing over the rise in attacks against asian-americans since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. at the white house, president joe biden condemned the acts of violence. >> very concerned because as you know, i have been speaking about the brutality against asian-americans for the last couple months. i think it's -- it is very, very troublesome. >> reporter: no matter the motive, georgia state representative sam parks says the shooting is spreading fear not only here but in asian-american communities across the country. >> there was an attack against asian-american women, against members of our community. and of course we want to do everything that we can do to protect everyone. >> reporter: in addition to his parents, another person called the authorities on tuesday night to help identify him. that person said that he had recently been kicked out of his parents home and was feeling emotional. >> all right, natasha chen, please keep us posted throughout the morning. i want to bring in lisa ling, host of "this is life with lisa ling." it's great to see you. i have to say, something about seeing you that's chilling because you were with us a week and a half ago and we were talking about the rise of anti-asian crime in the u.s. anti-hate crime up 150% in major u.s. cities over the last year. authorities in georgia not yet calling this a hate crime. you see something notable in that. why? >> well, john, i just -- there has been this pattern of attacks on asians. you're right, we just spoke a week and a half ago and now seven asian people -- six of whom were women, are now dead. and this was a couple days after mr. pak ho was buried after getting brutally attacked in the bay area. there's always video or reports of more asian people getting attacked. in fact, there was video of an asian grandmother who was attacked just yesterday who beat her assailant up with a stick and while it was great to see her stand up for herself and fight back, you should have heard her cry out with her bloodied face. you hear the pain and the anger in her voice. she's crying out in the language that my ancestors spoke. that they speak, cantonese. to say that this attack in atlanta was not a hate crime because the terrorist said it wasn't racially motivated and we're going to take him for his word, he specifically targeted three asian massage parlors. they weren't even close together and frankly, atlanta is a hot bed for sex work and sex trafficking. but yet, he chose to attack massage parlors that he knew were run by asian people. >> you know, one of the things that just in our own reporting from our cnn colleagues, one of the things that's really stood out too is the fact that, you know, the data -- even though we're seeing this rise, right, as john pointed out of nearly 150% in urban areas t realities is the numbers and the data don't capture the full scope of what asian-americans are experiencing and have been for some time. do you think this is changing the conversation at all? i don't mean just the murders in atlanta, but i mean more conversation in the last couple of weeks? is it starting to raise awareness in a meaningful way? >> it's an interesting question, erica, because after this attack on the massage parlor i saw people posting messages about solidarity and about standing up for asian people. but how many people have to die for this to really be taken seriously, for there to be more than lip service? i mean, there is real fear among asian people about going outside of their own homes right now. asian people are being scapegoated like they have for a century in this country. and this has to stop. this has to stop, we cannot be continued to be scapegoated and this is frankly a pattern of scapegoating that happens in this country. yesterday, it was muslim and southeast asian people after 9/11. when there's an economic downturn it's the latin population, you know? it's always the black community being scapegoated for so many things. and during the cold war, it was gay people. this scapegoating of entire populations has to stop in this country. >> i want to read you something written by david palumbo lew and he talks about these claims that you mentioned and the suspect and the suspect said that the killing was about sex and not about race and too many people accept that. the fact is the two are merged especially in terms of asian women and their objectification as such by men. you were quick to note, these are asian women who were killed and that's notable. explain what the professor is saying there and why this is so important, lisa. >> well, look, i mean, we keep talking about this killer's sex addiction and his mental health, but why are we not talking about the mental health of the victims and the victims' families? i mean, why are we not talking about the mental health of asian people who again are afraid of leaving their homes and fear of being attacked just because of what they look like. there has continued to be this eray suhr of asian-american's stories. kids when they grow up and are really, you know, at a time when they should be learning empathy, there's no mention in our history books about the things that asian-americans and asian people have endured in this country. how they have been scapegoated for more than a century and it's time that we change that and it's time that we collectively stand up for each other because again, today it's asian people scapegoating. it could be your community tomorrow. >> you noted to us last time, lisa, that sometimes the asian community historically has been reluctant to speak out or has been quiet at times. why? why is that? >> look, john, i come from a culture that has not culturally stood up for oneselves. we have kept our head down. we haven't wanted to rustle feathers but there's something incredible happening right now and that is the only silver lining in this. and that is asian people of all different up ethnic backgrounds are coming together and speaking out and we -- we have not going to stay silent anymore. we are not going to take this anymore. people are dying. and we have to stand up for ourselves and we hope that other people, other communities, will stand with us. >> it's impossible -- you touched on this a little bit but i have seen a lot of mentions of this. the intersection, right, of the victims. they're not just asian, but asian women and when you bring the gender and race together particularly when it comes to asian women, they have been -- asian women in general in this country have been fetishized in a way and i mean, that's so disturbing but it's very real and that needs to be called out. >> that's right. i mean, asian women have been fetishized and exoticized for generations and think of the perception of asian people in our media. asian men are emasculated and asians are constantly the butt of jokes and teasing. well, that all matters and, you know, it's time that we start changing the narrative about asians and again up, this is -- this is a real moment for all of us when we're recognizing that we just -- we can't stay silent about this anymore and that we have to stand up for each other. >> look, i'm glad you pointed out that there's been too much focus on the suspect's state of mind and not enough focus on the victims and -- >> that's right, john. honestly, every time i open my social media i see this terrorist's face, i keep hearing about his mental health. >> yeah. >> i want to hear the names of the women who were killed. in fact, i'd like to mention their names. delaina ashley you know, xiaojie tan and daoyou feng and i don't want to mention the name of the shooter. >> we don't mention it and the sheriff's deputy said he had a bad day. i was shocked to hear a law enforcement official go out of his way to say something like that. >> we're all having a bad day, john. the victims of these attacks are having a bad day, john. the families of the victims are having a bad day and none of us are going out and murdering people in cold blood. >> lisa ling, i appreciate you being with us. thank you for coming on and thanks for being there a couple of weeks ago. you know, again, the tragedy of this is it was foreseeable. this is foreseeable. it is something that people knew was going to happen. thank you. we'll talk to you again i hope under better circumstances soon. >> absolutely. so a war of words escalating between the united states and russia this morning. president biden called vladimir putin a killer and now the kremlin is firing back. cnn's jeremy diamond live at the white house. major new developments on this this morning. >> reporter: no doubt. we are watching this diplomatic spat escalate in real time. the kremlin responded to the comments by president biden but first i want to play you the comments from president biden in which he said that he does indeed believe that vladimir putin, the president of russia, is a killer. >> he will pay a price. we had a long time, he and i. i know him relatively well. and the conversation started off, i said, i know you and you know me. if i establish it's occurred, be prepared. >> so you know vladimir putin, do you think he's a killer? >> mm-hmm, i do. >> so what price must he pay? >> well, you'll see shortly. >> and now the kremlin spokesman demitre peskov said those comments by president biden were unprecedented. he said that it is a clear sign that president biden does not want to improve relations between the u.s. and russia and he categorized the current state of u.s./russian relations very bad. indeed yesterday, russia recalled the ambassador to the united states back to russia for consultations on the u.s./russia relationship and so you are watching this relationship continue to deteriorate essentially. what the biden administration has made very clear is that they are not looking for a quote/unquote reset as so many previous administrations have looked for with russia. instead they're looking for stability and predictability in in relationship and we know that president biden and his top administration officials have said that the u.s. is going to impose costs on russia for its behavior. we saw already a few weeks ago, the u.s. sanctioned top russian government officials over the poisoning of alexei navalny and pointed the finger directly at vladimir putin for those actions and really the actions of russia have piled up for this administration because president trump and his administration did not address them. alexei navalny's poisoning was one of the issues, but there are a number of issues still under review including the interference in the u.s. elections and we're told to expect sanctions against russia for that as early as next week. >> again, this is developing all morning long. and one thing is clear -- vladimir putin is not at all clear with the language coming from the white house and not used to it. at least not over the last few years. so this is interesting to see. thank you for being with us. a new study looks at the chance of reinfection from coronavirus. if you had it once, can you still get it again? dr. sanjay gupta, next. ♪ comfort in the extreme. the lincoln family of luxury suvs. keeping your oysters business growing comfort in the extreme. has you swamped. you need to hire. i need indeed indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a shortlist of quality candidates from a resume data base claim your seventy-five-dollar credit when you post your first job at indeed.com/promo opportunities are all about timing. so if you're turning 65 or retiring soon, it's time to take advantage of a plan that gives you more for your medicare dollar: an aarp medicare advantage plan from unitedhealthcare. call unitedhealthcare today to get $0 copays for all primary care doctor visits, $0 copays on preventive dental, and $0 copays on hundreds of prescriptions. in 2019, members saved an average of $7,200 on prescriptions. you'll even get free annual eye exams, and free designer frames. don't miss your shot. if you're turning 65 or retiring soon, learn about our wide choice of plans, including ppo options, call unitedhealthcare today. we'll walk you through your choices and find the right plan for you. catching a good opportunity is all about timing. so, enroll today, before the moment slips away. it's time to take advantage. this morning coronavirus cases are on the rise in 17 states. that's an increase of three more states from just yesterday. remember, these are average new cases reported over the last week. so the big question for a lot of people is whether the rise that we're seeing in some areas is a result of some of the more transmisable variants. joining us now, cnn chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta. looking at michigan, the cases there have been rising for weeks and up i think it's 50% that we have seen. is it definitely the variants? because i think there are other factors at play. >> yeah, no, i don't think we can say it's definitely the variants even though, you know a few states are becoming more dominant in terms of the variants and 49 states around the country now have these -- at least the uk variant. i don't think we can say that yet to your point. when you look at a place like michigan, my home state, as you just showed the numbers have been going up. there's probably lots of different reasons. one of the things i want to point out right away, you know, michigan has a mask mandate in place so a lot of people say, look, mask mandate in place, numbers still going up. you may have situations that people aren't wearing masks despite the mandates. the fact is the virus is transmissible. somehow it is jumping from person to person. we know in the prison population there's been outbreaks so there could be all sorts of things going on here but it's pretty clear that some states are being more affected than others. overall, the cases may have plateaued and let me show you as well. michigan has 50% vaccination rate right now. you point out that the cases have gone up and what we are really looking for is what is going to happen subsequently with hospitalizations and deaths. given that we have seen -- this is the united states and italy but with michigan you'll see that the death rate is still coming down overall. so you'll see that it's -- i think it was four people who had died yesterday. we will see do the increase in cases at some point lead to an increase in hospitalizations and deaths, they probably will. but probably not nearly as high given the vaccination rates. >> let's hope. hospitalizations are going up in michigan not steeply yet but let's hope they don't go up more rapidly. sanjay, one of the questions in "the lancet" has been published if you have coronavirus, can you get it again? and the study published that basically if you had it, you have 80% protection. 80% protection from getting it again if you're under 65. 65 or older and i think we have these numbers to put up on the screen it's just 47%. i say just because i want you to explain what these numbers really tell us. >> yeah. this was a really interesting study and you know, everyone has been asking the question, i had it, covid, can i get it again? so the top line answer to that is that it is possible but very unlikely because when you do all of the math there, this was spring of last year to fall of last year. so over six to nine months you mentioned and before the variants really came out as well i should point out. but during that time reinfection rates across the board less than 1%. so this was good news, right? we have been saying hey, antibodies may only last three months a lot of people will be reinfected at three to four months and that didn't seem to happen in this particular study, but the researchers found out something interesting as you point out. it did break down pretty significantly by age so the immunity that's persistent seems to be much more persistent in those 65 and under, and takes a bit of a hit in terms of overall protection if you're 65 and older. i'm sure there are other variables in there so those are just sort of the top lines. it makes the case in so many ways, something we have talked about, that even if you have been infected and you have antibodies due to that infection you still need to get vaccinated especially if you're over the age of 65. >> another study to get your take on is the bulk testing, the key to opening the universities. the bulk testing where you're testing people on a regular basis to find if in is virus within that group. and the numbers are pretty impressive. if you -- you know, if you're testing this many people, i think we can put it up on the screen, the number of fewer infections. what should be our takeaway be from this? i'm getting it's we need more testing. >> i'm so glad we're talking about testing. i have to tell you, i mean, you know, beating the drum on testing since last year and obviously everyone is talking about the vaccines understandably. but t