is out now. news continues with chris on "cuomo prime timetime." >> tonight matters my friend. we should get our best look by seeing what happens in north carolina's special elections for congress tonight. you have to look at these elections in light of the two polls that just came out, abc and cnn, both out today showing that the president has slipped in support, the economy a concern. confidence in him flagging. so the vote that is being counted right now will show what does that translate into in a district that should be a layup for republicans, north carolina's 9th district. we got all the big shots here. john king working the magic wall, our top team here to make look smarter and tell us what is at stake in this tally. plus tonight alyssa milano is here to talk about her face-to-face meeting with ted cruz on gun violence that ended

just hours ago. can the celebrity and senator put politics aside and find any common ground? it's a turbulent tuesday. let's go after it. all right. the voters in north carolina's 9th district have just had their say at the polls. again, the gop should win the seat. trump won it by a dozen points. so did romney, but doubts about this president gave democrats, if you look at the numbers, about a 12-point swing in midterm races in some red districts. will we see more slippage tonight? this is important enough that the president was down there last night rallying the magga troops. so to campaign for dan bishop, he is the republican running. this is about a proxy for the president. dan mccready is the democrat. it is very close. it should not be a surprise if

the republican wins but we want to see by how much. what could happen here in light of what happened in that 2018 earlier midterm wave. now, in that district, remember why the 9th district matters right now, why we have to have a special election. there were allegations of voter fraud. mccready lost by hundreds of votes or something. very small the last time. the person he was running against is out, they needed a new election. so let's bring in john king to give us the state of play. what is the latest, my friend? >> the latest is dan mccready, the democrat, continuing to lead in this race. i want to emphasize we're still counting. 38% reporting in the 9th district. this should be a rock solid republican district. they've held it since 1963. president trump carried it by 12 points. but will 2018 carry over? will the republican party's problems in the suburbs carry over? will presidential visits not have the juice in let's take a look at some of the district here. this is the largest part of the

district. the county goes out a bit further. hillary clinton carried m meklanberg county. the count that is north carolina 9, not by a lot but the president carried it. what are we seeing tonight so far? dan mccready, democrat, carrying it by a lot. only 4% in meklenburg county. can mccready hold a lead anything like that in the biggest part of the district? that is the defining question at the moment. union county is the second largest county. we're up to 67% there. you look at that and say dan bishop didding whoing what need doing you can say president trump won this county by 30 points. republicans need these more rural counties. this is the test. president was right there telling his people i need you,

come out. at the moment as we look at the results here, dan bishop is winning but maybe not by the margin he needs. let's move to the other end of the district, chris. third largest county is right here, dan mccready winning by a pretty healthy margin, only 26%. the early vote tends to come in for the democrats and then we see if the republican catches up. you're comparing this in a district the republicans have held forever. the republican, president trump won this county by about four, five points in the presidential election. the democrat winning it right now by 20 points. if you're in republican headquarters, that concerns you. and lastly, we talk about the suburbs, they're been moving away from the republican party. dan mccready winning 12 points, 11, 12 pinoints right there. president trump carried this

district. margins matter in close rac races 38%. we got about 40% of the vote in. the democrat is ahead. if the democrat's even close tonight, even if the republicans win and it close, republicans will have jitters. the president will be questioning can i get my voters out? you'll see a lot more republican retiremen retirements. >> is there any population center that you're going to be watching closely as the rest of the vote comes in that would be responsible for any big move? >> two actually. i'm going to start again over here. you look where the people are. this is the largest part of the detective here, meklenberg county. charlotte is not in the district but the suburbs are. so the largest piece of unaccounted for votes, uncounted votes are right here in the battleground part of this now battleground. never before but now battleground district. republicans have held this district since 1963. that i'm calling it a

battleground tonight tells you everything you need to know. i suspect the counting is a slow right now. to come to the other end of the district, this was republican in the presidential race. if dan mccready can hold on by that kind of the margin, it tells you it's not just in the suburbs but it's stretching to the rural areas as well. if this county over here now at 26%, if that stays blue, the trump campaign is going to be thinking what do we need to do a better job getting our people out? >> anything you see that swings your interest, let me know and i'll come right back to you, okay? >> i'll give you a wave. >> we have my guests dana bash and dan chalian.

all the buzz is about what this means for the president. is that fair? >> they had to rerun the race because the north carolina board of election refused to certify it because of the fraud issues that occurred there. bishop is running on health care, putting his bio forward, he's not doing the trump bashing thing. this is a really red district. so he's running like all those democrats that ran in 2018 that delivered the house majority to speaker pelosi. soar that following that playbach. y -- playbook. bishop, the republican, couldn't have the steeink of the fraud tt the previous republics that there. he does have the bathroom bill. remember that famous bill? >> yeah. >> that has the potential to

turn some voters off that perhaps bishop needs tonight. >> i was looking for an indication, dana, that this really isn't about the president, the voters there are upset that there seemed to be something fraudulent going on there. >> there was a reason it wasn't certified. >> right. >> but again, dan bishop is seen as a different person. he does have that culture war mark on his side. you look at registration in north carolina, there are more democrats but those are blue dog democrats. so if it's two points, they need some recounting, the republican wins, is it a win is a win is a win or is it something else? >> look, a win is a win is a win. the fact that we are talking about this is a big deal. i mean, you asked david if there are the expectation games, if they're playing it. they're playing it big time in

washington. steve askscalise, the majority p today said -- when is the last time a democrat won? >> 1963! you know how this goes in politics. if the republicans win, as they should based on the history of this district, they're going to breathe a sigh of relief and they should still look into the numbers and to the voters and the messages and what this does mean going forward for 2020. if the democrats win, forget it. i mean, this is going to be a five-alarm fire looking at 2020 because, yes, this is one -- potentially one of several as you mentioned at the top of the show suburban districts that trump won that could potentially go to the democrats, but this is as ruby and as red as we've seen even on real election day in 2018. >> remember north carolina, that's going to be a big

battleground state in 2020. i know this is just one district. never mind to try to extrapolate for president trump, needs north carolina. if we're starting to see some erosion tonight, that's going to be a big problem just in the map to 270. >> on the same day they're trying to prove the polls aren't true. stay with me. harry with spell out for us the wizard of odds about what's going on in the polling and why we're looking at it in tandem with this election. the wizard of odds will tell us who is not as enthusiastic about this president, what does it mean tonight and what does it mean for 2020? the whiz, nice shirt, next. ♪ ♪ this simple banana peel represents a bold idea: a way to create energy from household trash. it not only saves about 80% in carbon emissions...

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president. now, why would he say something that screams of such insecurity? i'll tell you why. a new cnn poll, special election in north carolina is a big deal because it will be a test of what we see in the numbers that show a slippage of support at the wrong time. what does the wizard of odds har har harry see here? >> he's dropped four points from april to september. now, you might say to yourself that's one poll. but take a look at this. i think this is really important. we have an abc news/"washington post" poll. from late june, early july, he was at 43%. he's dropped 6 points.

the president is dropping by mid single digits and he's had to have a pretty steady approval rating so a five-point drop is a pretty big drop. is that translating to the ballot test? well, as a matter of fact it is. take a look at this. does donald trump deserve reelection? only 36% of americans say yes at this point. 60% say no. and i think this is rather important, too. take a look here. this was an earlier poll done by quinnipiac university. we're seeing the same thing going on here. president trump's number 38% to 48% versus all the potential democratic nominees who are all up at least 9 points over him. let's translate this over to north carolina's 9th district court. this is rather important. remember in north carolina's 9th district. we saw in 2016 donald trump winning that district by 12 points. mitt romney won that district by 12 points in 2012. what did we see back in 2017 to

2018 in the specs election in we saw the democrat outperform and if that happens tonight, we'll have a very, very tight race on our hands. >> harry, that was excellent and thank you. those are all the numbers. let's bring back dana and david here. the why becomes very important. my suggestion is looking at the cross tabs as available in some of these early polls, the president's mouth is get in his way. the economy, depending on how you want to look at it, it hard to look at it and say it bad. it's pretty easy to look to say it's good, it's the best ever, the best for everybody, china, tariffs, fighting with powell creating concessionary concerns. >> and what's not on his mouth, the fact that he's talking just about those issues, not talking about the good news. there are bruises on the heads of so many trump campaign people from banging it against the wall

because their boss, the president, doesn't use this incredible tool that he has, twitter, to talk exclusively about the economy. and instead picking fights with, you know, reporters and people in hollywood and all kinds of other things that gets in the way of the message and now that the economy is showing signs of weakness, his opponents are jumping on it and they are being relentless in talking about the negative signs in the economy. and that is maybe one of the biggest telltale signs. there are lots of them, warning signs for the president in this poll that he's not yet totally underwater on his approval on the economy, but he's pretty close and it's as bad as it's been in seven months, right? >> yeah, yeah. we haven't seen it dip below 50%. he took what is an advantage, right, and it now an even shot for him on the economy. it used to be the strong suit and now it's a your right to

know trade as well. those numbers are down. every issue other than the economy, he doesn't crack 40% approval on any issue except the economy and now that's an even play. the one thing that is really intriguing to me, chris, this reelect number, 60% saying he doesn't deserve reelection, we tested that a couple years ago. it is about the same result. that is what is astonishing to me. we are two and a half years in and he hasn't added a voter in many ways. you see it across the board. 80% of the country says donald trump has changed the country and of those more say changed for the bad than changed for the good and that has been on the rise specifically with independents, who say change for the bad. these are the kinds of signs when i'm constantly looking for seeing since his first day in office where is he adding and i think these numbers show he's not adding at all. >> this should be good news for democrats but here's what it also means -- if he's not

growing his tent, and he isn't, that means whoever is the nominee for the democrats is going to be getting their butt whooped from day one. it will be a relentless bashing to bring down the opponent. so whoever it is better be ready for that kind of fight. so that's why we're looking at north carolina. how much of these polls size up with the reality and actual voting. john king, the man, has new numbers ahead. ♪ ♪ award winning interface. ♪ ♪ award winning design. ♪ ♪ award winning engine. ♪ ♪ the volvo xc90. our most awarded luxury suv. ♪ ♪

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all right. new numbers. take a look at this. the democrat dan mccready just slipped in his lead. all right? you have dan bishop up now half a percentage point. okay, fine. you can say it's too close to call. you have to look at a race like this in terms of where the votes remain. i'll open up to dana and david. we're looking at a laptop here of where the votes remain and we see there's not a lot of vote in yet in a couple of places that could mean something to mccready, the democrat. >> we should note while you were talking the votes updated and bishop is a point ahead now.

so he may be taking a lead here. in meklenberg county, this is mccready's strong hold areas and they're big population centers and that is where most of the vote is out right now. if he could hold big margins -- are. >> here's what we do know. we still have about a third of the vote to come in. this is a district that should have never been a question. what will the ultimate selection be, we'll take you through it and what it means. but right now let's get to what this whole narrative is about and what the reality is going into this next election cycle. dave, let's look at it this way. you guys should win this one, 9th district tonight. i think it's going to go that way but it should have never

been close. what does it neen you that it is? >> as dana talked earlier, it's people banging their head and having some bruises from talking to the president. some big bruises from banging on what we should continue to harp on is a great economic message and not lose sight of that because that's what's going to win and carry these very close districts. the president is still very popular in north carolina. he's 51%. i wouldn't read too much into this either way. mccready's an incredibly great candidate, very attractive young guy who is a marine corps veteran, duke, harvard b. school, mckenzie consultant, entrepreneur, and his opponent, mr. bishop there, as dana points out, the author of a very controversial bathroom bill which is polarizing the state. you have two very different candidates running. at the end of the day, donald trump isn't on the ticket here no matter what we say. he'll be on the ticket in 2020 and we really won't know until

th then. >> obviously the president went down there, he sent the vice president down there, sent his son down there. they put a lot of attention into this for a reason. how do you read it? >> david, i don't got any bumps on my smooth head because i'm not supporting trump. a republican does not have to die on the orange decrepit hill. he can see the signs. a republican has held the seat since 1963. let's remind the viewers the only reason we're having a special election is because of alleged ballot fraud. mccready only lost by a thousand. he still might eke this out. >> he's a great candidate. >> about a dozen republicans say they're going to tire, which includes will hurd. so much if you look at the 2018 midterms, donald trump himself said that was going to be a referendum on trump. what happened, cuomo? 40 seats were picked up in a blue tsunami.

he lost to clinton by 3 million votes. in is not a good sign for republicans. >> i think you got to look at it in context of the polls. what's the chance this president listens to someone like you or someone around him -- i know i said i only follow my own advice. if you talk more about the economy doing well, what we want to do with the health care plan to make it more consumer friendly and you stop running your mouth about all these fights, our poll numbers will go up because he's creating his on problems. >> i don't disagree. i like to see the president talk about all the positive things, things that unify voters. when you talk about things like that, you end up adding to our vote total, not subtracting from it. but as waj pointed out, this is going to be a close election tonight, a close election in 2020, decided by a handful of states and a handful of counties. to look at this one district as a predictor of what's going to

happen in 2020 -- >> no, no, no, it's just a snapshot. let's flip the challenge, waj. here's what we know, okay? i don't care what happens tonight in this 9th district, it closer than it should have been. that's going to make them start talking about what are we doing here message-wise, just went down there, thought we had a great rally, didn't come out the way we wanted, why? it's going to wind up being that they have figured out the president can't add to his tent and that's going to lead to his favorite option, whoever you guys put up, they're going to attack that man or woman from day one. what does that make you think about who you have to put in the position? because they're not going to argue about single payor plans. he's going to be going at whoever it is as a bum from day one. >> republicans have always done that, everybodyso single democratic -- democrats should be aggressive.

you're comparing yourself to trump. compared to trump, every single democratic candidate is a flaming moderate. in that poll you showed all seven are head to head beating trump right now. be bold with your agenda, your policies, your health care policies, your climate change policies are far more popular than donald trump's policies. attack, attack, attack. quit bringing a fork to a gun fight, democrats. fight donald trump. you can take him on. this is what i think donald trump should do. he should go to mar-a-lago and not do anything for an entire year. don't tweet, don't do anything. just golf because then he would improve the republicans' chances of maybe winning. >> waj -- chris, listen, i love waj but he's way off the mark on this. i went to detroit, i was there with you in detroit and i listened to the parade of folks trying to run to the left. decriminalizing the border, allowing felons to vote from prison, things that just aren't popular among a wide swath.

governor bullock got up there and said to people we're not going to win with this message, folks, let's go real. >> i hope i'm really wrong about this but i don't think we're going to see in the election what we are able to do here on this show at night, which is you guys don't check a lot of boxes that you agree with but you do agree with being decent and i i don't think that's going to happen. i this i thnk this is going to ugly battle of attrition. i hope i'm wrong. >> i don't got any bumps on my head, though. >> you got one of the most beautiful heads in the business. >> he doesn't need the hair just like me. >> but neither of you can do this. that's the game ender right there. we're going to get much back to this razor closed race in north carolina in what should be a ruby red district. there was some realtime democracy in action. did you see this? ted cruz and alyssa milano had

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the race in the 9th congressional district in north carolina is razor close. the republican is in the lead right now, but remember, trump won it by a dozen points.

this should have been a no-brainer for the republicans, a layup. all right. that's politics. what about policy? in an era when opposition is what gets rewarded, we saw something noteworthy. ted cruise and a hollywood liberal activist sat together and discussed the idea of limiting access to weapons. here's our discussion with alyssa milano. >> i look at my children and i'm terrified. i don't know how to keep my children safe. for many people in this country, your stance has made you almost like this caricature of a villain and that's why this meeting was so important for me because i wanted to be able to look at you in the eye and know that you're really a human with a heartbeat. >> alyssa milano, thank you for being on primetime as always. >> thank you for the opportunity, as always. >> what an interesting day you

had. tell us everything, tell us everything. >> well, i was here for the last two days in d.c. on the hill advocating with peter morely, who is a patient advocate, and today i had a meeting with senator cruz on gun violence in america. >> did you think it was going to happen? when you started the twitter back and forth with him and the opportunity of a meeting came up almost as a suggestion of like to put up or shut up, did you think it would ever really happen? >> i didn't and i didn't think it would happen this quickly because usually when this stuff happens, you say, yes, i can meet you and then it becomes a back and forth between scheduling and, you know, trying to find the time and if they don't want to meet with you, they usually can't find the time. but luckily, they came back and said we have a time for you, it's tuesday at 4:15. i woke up this morning with such an incredible pit in my stomach.

i was so nervous. >> why? >> not because of senator cruz but i think the weight of what was possible was weighing on me. you know, look, we have a major, major gun violence problem in this country, and like 90% of americans i go to bed every night and i worry that i can't keep my children safe. and i don't know how to keep my children safe. and there's not a worse feeling as a parent. and so i felt like this meeting was important obviously to reach across the aisle to have a civil discussion on this matter, to look at him in the eye and say you're on the wrong side of this. so i think i just felt the weight of the possibility really. go ahead. >> so what did you take away on two levels? first, on a human level, what did you see when you looked at senator ted cruz? >> i think that he understands the magnitude of the issue right now, especially in regards to

mass shootings in this country and the apparent weapon of choice, which is usually the a.r.-15 assault rifle in which these killers kill people. i think he understands. i said to him no 17-month-old baby should ever have shrapnel in her chest in this country. i think he gets it. now, to understand it and then to have the courage and the fortitude to do something about it are two very, very different things. so i'm cautiously optimistic that he knows the issue and hopeful, i guess, that he's willing to do something about it. you know, he takes a lot of money from the nra. we all know this. he has been on the wrong side of this issue, but i do understand how fossilized we are as far as

parties. and the most important thing i think in this -- on this issue is that this is not even a bipartisan issue, this is a nonpartisan issue. children are dying in this country from gun violence. 40,000 people a year are dying in this country from gun violence. >> you know what the other side says. automobiles are a much bigger threat because they kill a lot more people, and there's a whole list of worse things but you look at ted cruiz but he did puh legislation about enhancing information sharing and how things get done from agency to agency in background checks. >> he's not for background checks and his bill is basically trying to close the loophole between agencies. >> right. >> so that's very different than background checks.

and he is very concerned that it will lead to lawful gun owners losing their guns. and i made it clear we don't want to take all guns from all people. we want to take certain guns away from certain people. we want to reduce the lives lost from this epidemic in this country. >> you just have two different sides of thinking about how to be safe. one side is less guns, the other side is more guns. and he's on the side of more guns. i tell you what i liked. this was billed today as like an mma match. people were tuning into this facebook live because it was going to be like oh, man, milano and cruz are going to go at it. i love that it wasn't. i love that people looking for a fight were disappointed. i like that it was somebody with serious concerns and heart and him having the gumption to sit down with you and to put it on live, you know, media, and to

listen and to respond. it was disagreement but it was decent and we need more of that to be sure. >> i was very appreciative for the opportunity for that reason alone, but have i i have to tel we have to stop -- our politicians have to stop patting themselves on the back when they pass bipartisan bills. like you're supposed to work together. that's the point. and this obstructionist behavior that we've seen now from both sides i think is harming the country in a very severe way. and there are no talking points in the world that can justify the amount of mass shootings and deaths that we've seen at the hands of one assault rifle. >> what was the biggest thing that he promised you to do going forward? >> he didn't really make any promises. i told him that i would look at this bipartisan bill that would close the data bank loophole,

and he didn't make promises but he did agree that there is a serious problem, and i think that that's a good first step. look, we need to talk to each other. we need to have these conversations they're awkward. they're uncomfortable. we fumble, we can't find the right words, but if we all speak from the heart and lead through service, service not to our political party but to our country and to each other, then maybe we can get something done here. maybe we could fix the problems that we're having right now. >> it's not about finding consensus because you can't find a percentage of the country that believes more united in fashion than when it comes to background checks and even red flag laws so you've got consensus on your side but consensus among people and consensus among power are two different things. i think it was a brave thing and it was a helpful thing for everybody listening no matter

where they are. >> thank you and thank you for the opportunity to come on your show and vent. >> he does a lot more than vent. in that category, what's going to happen tonight? the polls are one thing, the votes are another. we're watching the results in a special election that the republicans should have run away with. the president won it by 12 points. that's not happening now. john king is back next. of course i have- ever since i started renting from national. because national lets me lose the wait at the counter... ...and choose any car in the aisle. and i don't wait when i return, thanks to drop & go. at national, i can lose the wait...and keep it off. looking good, patrick. i know. (vo) go national. go like a pro. what sore muscles? what with advpounding head? .. advil is... relief that's fast. strength that lasts.

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♪ goin' down the only road i've ever known ♪ ♪ like a drifter i was-- ♪ born to walk alone! ...barb! you left me hangin' on the high harmony there. if you ride, you get it. geico motorcycle. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more. let's bring back john king and figure out what's happening in this north carolina ninth congressional district race. what's the latest? >> we're getting near the finish line, chris, but we're not there yet. the vote that's outstanding is going to decide whether dan bishop now has a 2,500 vote lead, can he hold on. 50.5 to 48.9. this shouldn't be close. this should be a solid republican district, but it is close. the question is can dan bishop hold on? what do you do? you look at the map. you see what vote is still out, and you see is this possible? let's start in the biggest pool of votes in this district.

that's mecklenburg county. it's the edge of charlotte. it's the suburbs to the southeast of charlotte. if you look here, dan mccready up by a healthy margin. 16 points in the votes counted so far in mecklenburg county. if this margin holds up for something close, only 54% of the votes in, there are more than enough votes just right here in mecklenburg county for mccready to catch up. if the margin stays something like this as the rest of the votes come in. no guarantee of that. we have to watch as these votes come in. are they from the areas farther out? we're going to watch as this plays out. but the republican is ahead right now. the democrat has an opportunity. let's go across the district. 100% in here in a very republican county. dan bishop winning by a big margin there. that is critical to his catching up. remember, dan mccready was ahead early on. but 100% in, so bishop can't account for anymore here.

anson county, 100% in. richmond, 100% in. eastern part of the district, scotland county, 100% in. robison county is the third largest county. first mek lnburg. then union county. union is all the way in. we're still waiting on mecklenburg. in robison county, normally a republican county, a slight lead for dan mccready. if this one tapes blue, it's a good sign for the democrat. then here, fayetteville, cumberland county and the fayetteville suburbs, only 55% in. so in the two areas with suburbs, fayetteville in the east, the charlotte area in the western part of this district, still a lot of votes out. you've got less than half the vote here in mecklenburg county and about the same percentage, 45% still to be counted out here in fayetteville. so you map it out right now, we're at 81. the republican has a lead. 2,600 votes, 2558. that's hard to overcome late in a congressional special election. hard to overcome but not

impossible. if mccready can hold on to his margin here and here, it is doable. we're going to be counting for a while. >> we're going to hear different stories told off the same result tomorrow morning. thank you for taking us through it. all right. almost over but not quite enough. all right. tomorrow, most of us should take time to remember the fallen of september 11th, 2001. today is also a day we should remember, and it's about saving lives. how? what about? that's the argument, and i hope we all agree on it, next. award winning interface. ♪ ♪ award winning design. ♪ ♪ award winning engine. ♪ ♪ the volvo xc90. our most awarded luxury suv. ♪ ♪

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what takes the lives of more firefighters than fire? what kills more police than criminals, more soldiers than combat? the answer for all three is suicide. here's another take. in a large corporation, say 100,000 employees, every single day an employee or family member

will die by suicide. i'm telling you this because today is world suicide prevention day. more numbers. 800,000 people a year take their lives in the united states. 800,000 a year. that's up 33% since 1999. it's the leading cause of death for men under 50. i'm not ignoring women. suicide just isn't a threat for women the way it is for men for a host of reasons, but it is real, and there was a spike for the rate in women in 2018. today is called prevention day because unlike so many other major maladies, suicide is preventable. the idea that those who are severely depressed or having suicidal thoughts are beyond help or in hiding, not true. half of the people who die by suicide see their primary care doctor the month before they die. we just don't ask about mental health the way we do blood pressure or vision, but we should. we can do something.

drug therapy, talk therapy, reducing access to lethal means, they all help. but there is something that is very effective that is in your power alone, and it could be the most effective tool -- connection. studies show that showing you care enough to connect can save a life. asking people that you know where you live, work, work out, hang out, whatever. it may sound simple, but checking in with someone, asking them how they are, it hits at something severe -- loneliness. we know loneliness is more lethal than obesity or hypertension, and if you couple loneliness with the stigma about mental illness, which is seen as a reason that 75% of people don't get treated, you have the picture of desperation. someone who is hurting and desperate for help but afraid to reach out. you need more proof of the urgency? fine. we all care so much about gun violence, right?

nearly two-thirds of gun deaths are suicide, not homicide, suicide. for all the talk of keeping weapons out of the hands of killers, most often the killer and the victim are one and the same. now, the challenge is, okay, i care. what am i supposed to say? i'm not a therapist. you don't have to be. you just have to be someone who cares enough to check in. there are questions you can ask. it's called the columbia protocol. it's been proven to reduce the number of suicides. it's potent and helps us find people who need help before they write the note or buy the gun. as i said, this is world suicide prevention day, emphasis on prevention, and that is on awesome prospect. we can prevent something that is killing us like almost nothing else. the cure is connection, caring, remembering that we are not just our differences. another way to see it, it's the

same impulse that made this simple hello so special. the two toddlers, maxwell and finnegan so happy to see each other, they run and embrace. it gives us all the feels, right? you can make it about how we are essentially colorblind, nature versus nurture, place in society. but at its core, the feeling that you get when you see this, the warmth, the relief, it is proof of the power of human connection, that caring makes us human. compassion is compelling, and it can change someone's condition. remember that. please go to the site for the columbia protocol. get the card. you can have it at your desk or in your car. they're simple questions. connection makes us human, and it can make you a life saver. thank you for watching tonight and our special coverage. "cnn tonight" with d. lemon starts right now. >> you know how i love you and i love that video, and i love what

you're doing with suicide and just checking in on friends because we all go through tough times now and again, right? and it means the most. you may think you're bothering someone. even if you are bothering them, who cares? bother them. check in on them. love them and tell them -- smack them on the head like you, or you tell me, get your fat butt out of bed and let's go to lunch. i mean you have to do those things, right? you've got to do it. >> it can make all the difference. now, look, we're blessed. we've got a friend in each other and we know it. we check in all the time. there's sometimes people -- i don't know about you, but in my life, i've lost people to suicide. >> same here. >> you get hit with this feeling of, i should have done more. i should have done more. >> yeah. >> and the human reality is people make their own choices. they're on their own journey. but reaching out to someone who seems a little off -- and we have good instincts as human beings. your