so often. >> like snl did, bob patti doyle did this. bob patti doyle likes it. >> does donald trump take it to a higher level? maybe. today is supposed to be the day that the house pushes through the next health care bill. let's get after it. >> let's be optimistic. >> we discussed it with this bill that you are bringing before the house. >> the president has made sure that pre-existing conditions are covered. >> it is a joke. >> the speaker would be really bad. concealing would be catastrophic. >> everybody agrees in one way or another it impacted the election. >> senator rice declined to testify. >> i don't know why she won't come forth, but we'll deal with her later. >> the president said he is

going to build a wall and he's doing it. >> are those fences or walls? >> this is new day with alisyn camerota and chris cuomo. >> up first republicans may give president trump a much needed victory. in just houses the house is set to vote on a revamped gop bill. >> we will take you through the changes. we will discuss why lawmakers are voting without knowing the latest cause and impact of this. if the bill passes today, that's only step. what is going to happen in the senate? let's begin our coverage. we've got joe johns live at the white house. what is the state of play? >> good morning, chris. well, the house leadership scheduling this vote signals they believe they have enough support to push it through for the white house. it would certainly just be a defining moment, that first legislative step toward

fulfilling a key promise the president made on the campaign trail. also a defining moment for house republicans who have been trying to do this now for seven years. >> thanks to president trump's leadership, congress is going to vote to repeal and replace obamacare. >> the crucial house vote on the gop's amended health care bill just hours away, after a last-minute breakthrough gave house leadership confidence to bring a vote to the floor. >> let's be optimistic about life. >> president trump brokering a deal with two republican hold-outs on pre-existing conditions, a popular provision that is not guaranteed in the republican bill. >> we're just questions on the bill. >> i support the bill with this amendment that's going to be included. >> the amendment has $8 billion over five years to a $130 billion fund to finance high risk pools in states where patients with pre-existing

conditions could be charged higher rates. though experts say the new funding falls far short of the protections guaranteed under obamacare. the white house insisting otherwise. >> the pre-existing conditions under trump care, they're going to be fine? >> yes. on behalf of democrats, we have discussed this latest back room deal is nothing more than a band-aidtm on a catastrophic injury. >> they put this forth to make it look like, oh, we can prove the bill. no, it doesn't improve the bill. this is an insult to the intelligence of the american people. >> democrats denouncing the vote without an updated cost and impact analysis from the congressional budget office. the cbo's last estimate projected 24 million people losing coverage under the last bill. prominent groups like aarp and the american medical association fiercely lobbying lawmakers to oppose the bill.

republicans looking for a win after failing to secure funding for the president's border wall and the spending bill passed by the white house on wednesday. despite, this white house trying to spin the appropriations bill as a win. press secretary sean spicer bringing images of a border fence already under construction as evidence that funding was secured, even though the bill expressty restricts border security money being used to construct a wall. >> there are wars types of walls that can be built. under the legislation that was just passed, it allows us to do that. >> that is not a wall. that is a webwy wall? >> that's what it's actually called. that's the name of it. >> one more note on today's health care vote, whatever gets through the house is likely to be dramatically rewritten in the united states senate. the president for his part is expected to stay in town through that vote. then he's going to fly off to new york city, where he really hasn't visited since he was

sworn in in a meeting with the australian prime minister. >> all right, joe. thank you very much. joining us now chris cillizza, april ryan and julie pace. so is this as naked a political play as it appears, that this is just about getting a nominal w and don't worry about what this does to pre-existing conditions, how many poor people it kicks off the rolls. >> yes, more or less. when the affordable care act moved through the house, there was a lot. we didn't read it. it was we'll read it after we vote on it. the reality is, breaking news, it is hard to over haul the nation's health care system. it is complex. things that look easy are harder when you get into it. it touches everyone. politically speaking this isn't

like big banks and people don't understand that. this is you go to your health care provider and it costs you more, you can't afford it. i think they are making a calculation between a poor choice and what they believe to be a choice that they cannot take. so the poor choice is let's pass this. we don't have a cbo score. the senate is likely to change it. it may not make the conference committee. if it does, we'll have to vote on it again. and the unfathomable choice, which is we promised our choice for six and a half, seven years that we would do this if we had power. there is only strikes and you're out in this game. we swing and miss again, the base will say why did we vote for you guys again? because that was the central piece of the republican message for the entire obama presidency. >> but we all remember a couple weeks ago this was a dead duck. what was the magic poe shent

that got this revived again? >> the president changed his tune on this. the president was the one who was basically saying, okay, we're done. let's move on. let's go to tax reform. and then i think he realized what a failure this would be for the republican party, just in terms of their political messaging to say they now have power and can't even deliver on a central promise. you saw the white house going back to the hill and saying, hey, let's take another shot on this. in terms of the actual mechanics of the bill, it is some small tweaks here and there. you heard the funds added to pre-existing conditions. that seems to have been enough. >> the new amendment sways some people. >> whether that actually impacts the people who have pre-existing conditions and allows them to keep the level of coverage they have is an open question in this point, in part because we don't have a cbo score.

and i think that's a big risk for republicans. there will be a cbo score at some point, but they will already have put down their marker on this bill at this point. >> they shifted the analysis of this bill off the books. you're not hearing about the medicaid part. you're hearing about the pre-existing condition part and sometimes there is overlap in here. but have you heard anybody say, yeah, we have these high risk pools properly funded now. i haven't heard that. >> but the piece in the last few days is the key for the most vulnerable. as julie said there is no cbo score yet and that was the big problem a couple of weeks ago with the first issue with the trump care piece. but now what you have is this $8 billion, no cbo score. they're trying to say there is a safety net for the most vulnerable. there is a large portion of this nation that has pre-existing conditions. as they look to assurance,

people are really scared, chris. and my question is, what's going to happen when these congressional leaders go on recess this week and then we find out over these 11 days what happens, what the community, what the public will say? and senator wils will be listen. this is what this is made for, the safety net, the $8 billion safety net when you don't know the total cost. so i believe the most vulnerable are included. >> so is this an intersiexercis futility? >> there is possible democrats don't vote on it. the senate never took it up because senate democrats said we don't want to vote on this. this is bad politics. i think that that will not happen because, again, it was so central to what they messages on for seven years. i think they will have to find a way to vote on it.

chris mentioned medicaid. i think getting rid of the pre-existing conditions will be an issue for a lot of senators. i think the medicaid -- the ending freezing medicaid expansion funds in 2020 may be a bigger issue. remember ohio, rob portman, took medicaid took expansion money. if people said, okay, sorry, that's it. that's a big problem. my guess is let's say they pass it today. in two weeks i bet we're talking about the medicaid expansion freeze more than the pre-existing condition provision. >> what is your take on that? obviously they keep it the way it is for a couple of years for political cover. but we have heard consistently from lawmakers, they throw a lot of alphabet soup at you about different ways governors can ask for the money. but at the end of the day, it is about how much money you are going to give those states in

whatever form it comes and it is almost certainly going to be less and that almost certainty translates into fewer people being covered, doesn't it? >> it does. and i think chris is exactly right when you turn towards the senate. it is amazing how much political capital the president and paul ryan are putting into a piece of legislation that as it moves forward will at the very least get changed dramatically, if not get stalled in the senate. and there is two reasons for that. one, as you say, the medicaid expansion issue is going to be huge for some of these moderate republicans in states where medicate expansion has expanded coverage, as it was intended to. and second just look at the political time line on this. the senate would be taking this up as we get later into this year. there are political realities for senators who are going to be in competitive races in swing states in late 2018 and they are going to be going home to their districts and having to deal with people who are going to be affected by that. and that's what makes health care just so different, that you

will have people who are actually going to be coming to town halls and telling very emotional personal stories. that will impact some of these senators. >> who are you keeping your eye on today in terms of a fence strad ler or someone for whom this is a tough decision? >> you know, i'm watching uptown because he's very important. he's already made his decision. but i'm listening to uptown because he is an inflew wenser. i want to see who he may talk to help gal van nice for this effort that this could be just a partial win, i believe, for the president. i don't believe it is going to be a total win. but i believe that uptown will be the key and i want to watch what he does, as well as the president and the vice president. >> very quickly. this is not about health care, but about the house and the house republican leadership.

since john boehner, house republicans have struggled to pass something controversial, something where their members were divided. they just don't have the arm twisting ability. the top three republicans, this is a big day for them. take outside health care. this is a big day for them to get passed. >> panel, thank you very much for breaking it all done for us. great to talk to you. we have society breaks news to get to. prince phillip is retiring from public life. the royal couple is attending a church service at this hour in london and we are live at bucking ham palace with all the detroi details. >> he's turning 96. he's had a pretty good run. he's not going to be carrying out the same sort of engagements he's done for so many years. he's about to mark 70 years of

marriage to the queen. this is the queen that most brits have known all of their lives. so it is a big moment, and we show you those pictures. you can see he's well. but people are used to seeing him next to the queen, and that's not going to be the case in the future. she will be out and about on her own. i think part of the transition p process, you will see prince charles stepping into that role next to the queen and he will be the next king, part of a long, slow transition. but a big moment. prince phillip will be missed in the country. he's a great character. you probably heard the stories. i remember last year he picked up president obama at the castle. he's a man in his 90s driving the president. the secret service didn't know what to do. he once asked some indigenous australians if they still threw spears. he's going back behind closed doors, but he still runs the

household here. he's still going to be, as the queen described it, her strength and stay. >> thank you so much. >> so nice. >> i mean, 70 years of marriage and he looks fantastic. he's 95. >> very impressive. i look forward to what his next c chapter is. fbi director james comey heading back to capitol hill. we got a member of the house intel committee, what he wants to know when it comes to president trump's possible ties to russia and what he expects to hear from james comey. next. ♪ ♪ i'm dr. kelsey mcneely and some day you might be calling me an energy farmer.

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fbi director james comey back in the hot seat. today comey will testify behind closed doors on the russia investigation. it follows a day of stiff questioning before a senate hearing. here's a taste. >> is it fair to say the russian government is still involved in american politics? >> yes. >> is it fair to say we need to stop them from doing this? >> yes, fair to say. >> do you agree with me the only way they're going to stop is for them to pay a price for interfering in our political process? >> i think that's a fair statement. >> no mention of china there. much to the president's sue grin. let's bring in a congressman from california, a member of the house intel committees. good to have you with us.

of course what you want to talk about today will be contextized by what you heard today. how did you feel about the fbi director's explanations about why he chose to disclose the clinton investigation? >> i'm mostly focussed on the fbi director's statement that that russia is still meddling in our politics. we need to get back to work, have a credible investigation that shows progress. >> good for you. so you are going to put to the side a lot of the intrigue about the political connections and all that and focus on what really is the main congressional component here, which is oversight of that process. and to that end, how confident are you you are going to hear it was russia, not maybe china as the president continues to suggestion and where do you take

it from there? >> the evidence is overwhelming that it was russia that interfered, that it was ordered by vladimir putin and the candidate they sought to help was donald trump. what i think is most important now is whether any u.s. persons were involved and mostly now that we know russia intends to do this again, what reforms are going to be put in place to make sure we never find ourselves in a mez like this again. the one thing i will say about china is there are countries we know have similar cyber capabilities out there that will look at this as an opportunity if our country is divided and we're not doing anything to make sure it doesn't happen again. >> so what do you think about the questioning of comey and his actions with respect to the clinton investigation? do you think that's a proper line of questioning for you guys today? >> our job is oversight, and i saw that on display yesterday in the judiciary committee. i'm focussed, though, on what

happens next. and that's where i hope my colleagues will go. we want to know does the fbi director have all the resources he needs to follow the evidence. this is a complicated case that took place over a lengthy period of time with a number of foreign witnesses and electronic communications. we want to make sure at the end of the day he can say when he brings an investigation to a close he had everything he needed to chase the evidence. >> the president says that you guys made this up. democrats made up the russia/trump connection to explain the loss in the election. now obviously you still have ongoing inquiries and an fbi investigation into the matter. but have you seen any cause for concern here that goes beyond speculation? >> yes. great cause for concern. evidence of the coalition. i can tell you oftentimes the way a person behaves once they find out they are being investigated tells you a lot

about whether you are investigating the right person. and from donald trump we have seen someone that continues to try and obstruct an investigation. >> switch topics. on the health care bill, where is your vote? what do you think happens today? what do you think it means? >> i will oppose it. when i looked at myself in the mirror this morning, i didn't see somebody who felt it was right to raise the premiums of my maybes, to kick 24 million people off of health care. i hope my republican colleagues do the same and vote against it as well. >> we just had congressman burgess on. and he said we're taking money out but that's because it's inefficiently spent. we will have the same levels of coverage that you have now and spend less because we will do it better. do you see how that is possible? >> no. what they're doing is leaving it up to the states to decide if they want to deny people coverage for having a pre-existing condition. so that now leaves uncertainty

for any patient in america who has a pre-existing condition, and that i think is exactly what we tried to prevent when we passed the affordable care act. >> they say the governor asked for this. they wanted more choice and they could get a block grant from the federal government. that will give them flexibility and make it better. >> what we have right now is a system that says if your child has a pre-existing condition, you have to worry about a lot of unfortunate things, but one of those is not finding coverage, accordable coverage for your child. now, that has been taken away, and it will put every parent in america into a state of uncertainty. and, chris, that's not right, whether the governors want it or not. >> do you think it is going to pass? >> i hope not. and also, chris, one other thing. you know, this also includes one of the largest tax cuts and transfers of wealth from the poorest and middle class families in america to the

richest, which would include a $2 million bow fuss for donald trump in his first 100 days and i don't think he deserves a $2 million tax cut. >> thank you very much for laying out the issues of the day. we look forward to the hearing and the vote. >> as you know the gop health care vote could get a vote today in the house. what happens then after that? cnn political director with the bottom line next.

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all right. so today is the day it looks like. the house is going to vote on the gop's health care vote. will it pass? how tough will it be in the senate? let's get the bottom line. bottom line, is this just a naked political play? >> no. it's a fulfillment of a campaign promise and it's been an eight-yearlong campaign promise. we have seen cycle after cycle. this has been the organizing principal of the republican party. >> right. it was always assumed that when you repeal and replace, it was going to be better for all the

people voting for you. it is hard to page the case this bill does that. >> certainly the american people, according to the poles at the time this legislation was introduced, do not agree with that yet. this bill is not popular, there is no doubt about that. of course, obamacare wasn't popular either until people started really living with it. it's gotten more popular. it's probably at the height of its popularity. what we know here is, yes, the w is important. that's no small thing. this has been an administration that has been without a big legislative victory. so if they are able to get it across the finish line today, as certainly the leadership and the white house believe they are, that's a big deal. now, the question i think politically comes, is it a w worth having? >> there you go. i mean, we have also heard that president trump rolled up his sleeves here and really did try to get the fence sitters on board. he used different tactics.

that's been interesting to watch, and it seems as though he might win this one. and then what? >> he's going to have to employ those same skills in the senate. and what he's really going to need to do, this is going to be fascinating to watch. as we know when the bill goes to the senate, it's too conservative for the senate's liking. so it will change. making sure the house freedom caucus stays on board so when it comes back to the house to get to the president's desk, nothing is falling apart, president trump is going to be really, really important in that effort to convince those house conservatives that what happened in the senate should still keep them on board with the bill. >> how? i mean, that's why the question becomes is this a victory? because they barely like this now, the freedom caucus guys. how do you get that to happen? >> it's been happening a little behind the scenes. mitch mcconnell is keenly aware of what it's going to take to get it through the senate.

there is no doubt he's been in touch with the house side and conversations have begun in that way, chris. but the salesmanship, i think it is going to be the same way you saw it here, which is that you heard from billy long. the president said i need you on this. and we'll see where the president's numbers are at the time he has to press that again. >> he doesn't decide if they win re-election. if they go back and say, yeah, i repealed and replace, take care of me at the polls. they say, but i'm not getting more health care out of this and there is no vulnerability now. who is going to help them then? >> watch the vote count today because there are members that have told leadership if you really need me i'll be there for you. if it's like if this is the vote you need to get it across the finish line, i'd be there for you, but i'd rather not. these are the guys that stayed on the fence. i think what you will experience is you will see a list of names of no votes and it will identify

for you the most competitive districts in the land, the people that feel most vulnerable about their job. is there enough to vote? >> next topic, negating middle east peace, what could go wrong? >> nothing. >> all right. the president feels optimistic. here he is. >> it's something that i think is frankly maybe not as difficult as what's happened over the years. but we need willing parties. we believe israel is willing. we believe you're willing and if you both are willing, we're going to make a deal. >> is this blind optimism or something else as work? >> we haven't seen an actual plan yet from the parties that would allow president trump to feel like this is on the cusp of happening. remember when he said he wants whatever the parties want on

this. i feel like he was kind of repeating that effort here, which is he wants to be the one that gets labeled the deal maker on it. b but i get that is a person that wants to try to keep some distance in case, like it has for decades, not worked out. >> you guys get in a room. you figure it out. call me when you're finished. >> it is also fuel for his critics who say he doesn't have a handle on precedent. >> i think he is aware that nobody has solved this problem. i mean, that's clear. so i also think that's probably part of the attraction to him. i think donald trump is attracted to problems that other people haven't been able to solve. >> john, thank you very much for being here. >> all right. so isaiah thomas is playing through unspeakable pain. he said he wanted to quit after his sister died, but somehow he is finding comfort on the court. we have his remarkable story for

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time now for the five things to know for your new day. number one, the house vote on a revamped gop health care bill just hours away. majority leader kevin mcar thi confidence republicans have the votes to pass. what happens in the senate? those remain significant unknowns. >> president trump expected to sign an executive order that could allow religious groups to become more active in politics. >> james comey back on capitol hill today. he will testify before the house intel committee behind closed doors. that will be a big difference from yesterday. they are restarted the russian probe. >> no charges against two baton rouge police officers. the justice department citing insufficient evidence for federal charges. sterling's civil rights were

violated. louisiana police now will investigate. >> check out this video. there is a massive raging fire destroying a barbecue restaurant in houston. smoke is still pouring out at this hour. unclear of the house. >> chose are the five things to know. here are some extra headlines. back to our top stories, no federal charges against two buttbo baton rouge police officers for the death of alton sterling. that doesn't mean the case is

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the justice department ae nounsing no federal charges will be filed against who white police officers who shot and killed alton sterling in baton rouge last year. the state police now investigating the case. here to discuss, cnn political commentat commentator. so here are the details we know about this case, and i will remind everybody of them because this happened last july.

so alton sterling was approached by two white police officers. they got him on the ground. he was shot while he was on the ground. he was shot six times, three times in the front, three times in the back. he had a gun in his pocket. according to his family, one of the police officers put a gun to alton sterling's head and said, i'll kill you. so the families, obviously, quite upset there are no federal charges. what do you think is going to happen at the state level? harry? >> who are you speaking to? >> sorry, harry. you. >> okay. first of all, i think that this investigation at the state level should have been already conducted. there should have been a parallel investigation with the fbi investigation, but i think it will end up the same way, is that these officers acted properly. i don't know. how does his family know that the officer said i'm going to

kill you. >> they said that federal prosecutors told them because there is video. there is cell phone video and other video, including the body camera of the officers, but it hasn't been released to the public. so they're saying that investigators -- this is the cell phone video. then there is other video and audio that the officers were wearing that we haven't seen. >> but still -- still it's okay if he says, hey, i'm going to kill you. the fact is they want on a call where a man was armed with a weapon. they wrestled this man and i watched that video about 12 times. you can see when he's down on the ground, his right arm is trying to move like this, where it looks to me that he was reaching for his weapon. now, those officers fired because he kept on trying to reach for his weapon. this man was arrested back in 2009, i believe, for the same exact thing and he went along peaceably. apparently he did not want to go along peaceably today. >> how do you see it?

>> a little different. i think there is a question of legal guilt or not guilty and the question of innocence. the video doesn't show he was reaching for the gun or trying to shoot the officers. there is a moment where we go off camera, so it is difficult to determine one way or the other. i'm not comfortable saying that the police were defending their lives. i think there is a claim to be made, though, that there wasn't -- that it didn't meet the legal standard of proof to be guilty to be charged. the second thing here is the second round of shots i found troublesome. after being shot multiple times, he didn't need to be shot again. that's an issue for me. >> hold on, harry, one second because there is a larger issue here and the reason we're revisiting all this because it was this case that started this terrible cascading event that we saw last summer. first it was this case, alton sterling. we saw lots of protests and anger about what happened. and then the case in minnesota

where he was shot in the car where his girlfriend was live streaming it on facebook, which was so shocking to everyone. that caused a lot of outrage and protest. then there was the terrible ambush on police officers in dallas. and, so, that -- we all remember that that's why this one is still so imbedded in our memories. but what's happening this time around where now there is no federal charges you don't see lots of protests and lots of out cry? has something shifted in the national mood on this? >> absolutely. i'm glad you say you don't see a lot of protests. >> because this man was armed. that's why. >> i'm sorry. >> that's a good point. maybe do you think, mark, that it is because the circumstances in this one are different? >> no, because i still think there are questions to be raised. >> they're totally different. >> an officer saying i'm going to kill you is a provocative gesture. i'm not making a case about legal guilt.

>> he's fighting for his life, mark, something you probably never had to do. but the officer is fighting for his life with an armed man. >> harry, i am trying to have a conversation with black lives matter. we can agree sometimes. what i'm saying is that when you look at the response, part of it is that people are frustrated by the initial part of the case. people are questioning the second round of shots. there are questions that you made the contact observations. the national conversation has shifted. in 2015 it was really important to talk about black lives and suddenly when the media doesn't put so much attention on it, it doesn't mean people aren't protesting. it means they are still organizing. >> do you want to explain the second shots? >> not yet, harry. go ahead. >> people are still on the ground. people are still -- black people are still fights for black lives. >> but is it a quieter protest now? >> i think it's a different kind of protest. two years ago people said black lives matter only complain. they only march, which was never true. but now you see black lives

matter in the movement for black lives all across the country, changing policy, getting people elected. i was at a conference in atlanta where one of the founders of black lives matter was talking about structural change to reduce these incidents. >> harry, last word. >> i think level heads are prevailing now. and the fact that the officers had to shoot him a second time, it was clear to the fact that the officers still did not feel that the danger was eliminated and they had to fire a second time. >> and a fourth and a fifth and a sixth. >> the guy has a gun for crying outloud, right? what do we have to do? black lives matter has to have a dead cop first before they have a dead perpetrator. that's the issue here. i think it's totally ridiculous. these officers are going to be exonerated and in the end they will never go to jail because they acted properly. >> we'll see if that prediction holding up. thank you very much for making

your points. >> all right. what a story this is. nba star isaiah thomas overcoming unimaginable grief. it is a story you've got to watch. >> first, tonight at 10:00, cnn's original series sound tracks looked at how events inspired politically-driven songs. here's a look. >> you and i were at a friends house. the friend came back with that magazine cover of the girl kneeling over the kid in the pool. that look on her face like, why? and i watched neil look at it, and i watched it hit him. and i watched him pick up the guitar and write. >> ten soldiers and nixon come. ♪ and we're finally on our own ♪ this summer i hear the drum and ♪ four dead in ohio.

>> and i call eed and said get studio right now. >> i said what's going on? he said wait until you heard this song that neil just wrote. ♪ whether you're after supreme performance... ...advanced intelligence... ...or breathtaking style... ...there's a c-class just for you. decisions, decisions, decisions. the 2017 c-class sedan. starting at $39,500. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing.

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star taking it to a higher level during one of the lowest moments of his life. talking about isaiah thomas. he's on a probable run toward a tit title, even after the loss of his sister. someone new to the cnn family, kailey joins us now. welcome. >> isaiah thomas had led the celtics to the top spot in the eastern conference. he's done that all season long, but for a guy that played with a chip on his shoulder throughout his whole career, throughout this playoff run, he's had an angel on the other. >> thomas crosses. thomas, in it goes! can't stop a remarkable night for isaiah thomas, 53 points. >> isaiah thomas's basketball career is remarkable. at 5'9", he's the shortest player in the nba.

the last pick in the draft is one of the historic franchises for the boston celtics. when he scored 53 points in a comeback overtime win against the wizards, it was the latest remarkable achievement in his career. but this most recent success was driven by pain. >> it is my sister. it's her birthday today. happy birthday. she would have been 23 today. so everything i do is for her and she's watching over me, so that's all her. >> 17 days before her birthday, chyna thomas died. the car she was driving drifted off the road and struck a pole. >> please join us in a moment of silence in her honor. >> a day after he learned of his little sister's death, isaiah thomas found comfort in the basketball court as they tipped off their first game of the playoffs with i love you chyna written on his shoes, thomas

scored 33 points that night. >> he's an amazing person and days won't get easier for him, but he, you know, somehow plays like that. >> mentally and emotionally, i'm not here. being here is what makes me i guess sane and makes me feel somewhat normal, i mean, through this tough time. >> the celtics went on to win their first play off season over the bulls. a difficult 38 hours follows. thomas flu home to attend his sister's funeral and got on a red eye back to boston. in sunday's game against the wizards, thomas took an elbow to the face and lost a tooth. he underwent ten hours of dental work before his next game, the one where he scored 53 points on his little sister's birthday. >> it wasn't a good day for me with it being my sister's birthday. i just didn't have the energy. there was no way i couldn't play on her birthday. i mean, i wanted to win for her. i wanted to play well for her.

>> celtics! they go into overtime. take a moment for isaiah thomas. >> isaiah thomas says the baseball court is like his safe havn. when he's on the court he is at peace. it is hard to imagine that other players would be able to find any peace on that court tonight. the celtics and wizards, this has become one of the most intense rivalries in the nba. >> oh, my gosh, he is remarkable the way he could compartmentalize and use his grief as an engine. >> a guy that's already motivated as done more motivation to play in her honor. >> it is an extension of strength, right? he's short, but the guy is a bull and his heart is obviously very strong also and he's playing with it every night. >> he means more to that team than just the numbers he's able to put up. >> all right. it is time for cnn news room with pop tpy harlow and john berman.

we'll see you tomorrow. >> thank you so much. and thank you for running a piece about isaiah thomas and the boston celtics. >> despite him being on the celtics, we ran the piece. >> if he played defense, he would have never been in there. all right, guys. a lot of news today. let's get started. all right. good morning, everyone. i'm john berman. >> right now on capitol hill a defining moment for the trump white house is taking shape in a republican congress that has been waiting seven years to deliver on a signature promise. >> the vote to repeal and replace obamacare starts very shortly. it seems clear that more and more republicans are signing up in support of this latest measure. what is not clear is how many people with pre-existing conditions might lose insurance or how much their rates will go up. it is not clear because republican leadership decided it is not important to ask right now. what is important to them right now is winning