indicated he needed help managing pain medication. that's another way we are rooting for him to do well. >> we hope for the best. brian todd, thanks very much. to viewers, thanks for watching. i am wolf blitzer in "the situation room." cnn special coverage of the tiger woods car accident continues right now. outfront, breaking news, tiger woods suffering serious injuries after that massive car accident you see there. police say emergency crews used an axe and pry bar to get out his body. biden's pick to lead office of management and budget, her nomination hanging by a threat in large part because of her tweets. supporters say she's being unfairly targeted because she's a woman. is she? let's go outfront.

good evening, i am erin burnett. outfront, breaking news, tiger woods taken to the hospital in serious condition. the golf champion suffering multiple fractures to his legs in a one car crash. we know he has undergone surgery, officials are not revealing how many surgeries he had in the past hours or whether he is still undergoing surgery as we speak. officials say woods was traveling at a high rate of speed when he lost control of his car. it rolled multiple times, the air bags tdeployed. extensive damage to the front end of the car. emergency crews had to arrive within moments. >> we used a tool used for prying, and used an axe to pry him from the vehicle. >> he was conscious and that's the extent of that. >> what about evidence of impairment? >> there was no evidence of

impairment. >> officials telling reporters that woods was not able to stand on his own when emergency crews arrived. from what you're hearing, it is pretty clear tiger woods is really lucky to be alive. >> reporter: especially when you look at the devastating aerial images of the vehicle and how much damage it sustained in this rollover accident. as of this report now, erin, we know very little about his exact condition inside the hospital. the last report we have of his condition is that he was in serious condition as officers pulled up to the terrible accident. the emergency dispatch call came just after 7:00 a.m. pacific time. >> hawthorne boulevard. driving north. vehicle on the side of the road. >> that vehicle was a silver suv

that lay mangled on its side. the windshield broken and gone. its front smashed. inside was golf legend tiger woods. >> he was alive and conscious. >> reporter: a law enforcement source says woods suffered from nonlife-threatening injuries which include compound fractures in his legs. no field sobriety test was given, due to seriousness of his injuries. firefighters say he was transported to the hospital in serious condition. whether at the time of the crash was clear. >> no skid marks, no braking. first contact was with the center median, from there into the opposing lane of traffic, hit the curb, hit a tree, and there were several rollovers during that process. >> reporter: the words genesis invitational are visible on the suv's door. he was listed as a tournament

host that the event sunday night. he said he was looking forward to the masters tournament in april, after fighting through five back surgeries in recent years. >> so tiger, seven weeks from today, final round of the masters. you going to be there? >> god, i hope so. i got to get there first. a lot of on the surgeons and doctors and therapists, making sure i do it correctly. this is the only back i got. >> reporter: reaction from the sports world came quickly across social media and from fellow professional golfers. >> i am sick to my stomach. you know, it hurts to see one of your, now my closest friend get in an accident. man, i just hope he's all right. just worried for his kids, you know, i'm sure they're struggling. >> reporter: shock from the entertainment world. before news of the crash, three

different celebrities posted photos golfing with woods. among them, this video from former nba star dwyane wade. iconic athlete that broke barriers in sports and culture for decades now faces another challenge. speaking to reporters, the sheriff said it could easily have been a fatal crash. the air bags did deploy. and i found this quite striking, what one of the responding officers said. he had seen many accidents of this, of this nature, where the passenger and driver did not survive, what made a difference for tiger woods is he was wearing his seat belt. erin? >> one of those basic things you tell your children. in this case it may be the reason eshe is alive. i want to go to sam farmer, breaking so many details for los

angeles times and tim schmidt, managing editor of golf week and dr. sanjay gupta. sam, let me start with you. you have been reporting on this breaking throughout the day. what is the latest you're learning? >> we at the los angeles times are reporting that tiger has a shattered ankle, among his injuries, a shattered ankle, two broken legs, two leg fractures, including compound fracture, we have gotten that from a source. that's los angeles times. >> well, i mean, so let me before i ask you for more, sanjay, give you a chance to respond to that. this is the greatest golfer in the world, shattered ankle and two broken legs. >> yeah, i mean, these sound like pretty significant injuries. on top of that, he is listed in serious condition. so when you have these types of fractures and compound fracture, fracture in multiple places on the bone, we don't know, i don't know if sam knows if they specifically mentioned upper

part of his leg, femur or lower part of his leg, tibia and fibula, makes a difference in terms of overall prognosis. nevertheless, serious injury means significant amount of bleeding, that's typically what causes someone to potentially intermittently have vital signs that are not stable, that's why they're considered serious. but more information, it is hard to know exactly the significance of all these, if they need surgery, how bad they are overall. i guess we'll get those details in the days to come. >> sam, what else can you tell us about what happened? we understand high rate of speed, no skid marks. no evidence of any effort to brake. early in the morning, coming i guess maybe from a hotel, very upscale peninsula, palace verdes area of los angeles.

tell me what you know. >> tiger was in town, he was host of the genesis invitational, didn't play, but was in town for two extra days doing a shoot for "golf week" promotional shoot at rolling hills country club. as we saw the celebrities, david spade, dwyane wade who played golf with him yesterday, actually he didn't play, he didn't hit balls but he was there for the promotional shoot. that was continuing today. i know that that stretch of road is particularly perilous, so much so there's a bailout, a gravel truck bailout on the side of the road. people that drive it frequently have told us that you can get a speeding ticket without even accelerating, it is just that type of slope that takes you down, could be going 60, 70 miles per hour pretty easily. apparently crossed over, obliterated welcome to rolling

hills estates sign. the photographer that was there on the site said there was a fluid on the southbound lane of hawthorne boulevard as well as a license plate, he narrowly missed a telephone pole which you can see in the video before careening up the hill. you know, it is numbingly surreal, this accident. really hard to believe it's happened. >> tim, tell me what you are learning, i see you nodding at what sam is saying. what are you learning from your sources. >> sam, i appreciate the "golf digest" shoot. tiger is the biggest name in golf. the interesting part of that stretch of road, it starts to speed up after where tiger careened over the median and across the street. as crazy as it is that we are saying this, he is really fortunate that he is alive.

if this is a quarter mile or so down the road by the high school, there's no chance tiger would be around. the fact it happened where it happened, as painful as the whole thing is, every one of the folks we talked to, usa today folks said the same thing. this in so many other cases is a fatal injury. again, that's really putting a smiley face on the whole thing on a horrific incident. >> let me ask you about that, sanjay, breaking news that sam is reporting at this moment, that tiger woods has suffered a shattered ankle and two broken legs with compound fractures. the latest that he has. when he was found by rescue crews, these were the jaws of life to get him out. they then interacted with him. here is what officials said happened. >> i asked him what his name was. told me his name was tiger.

at that moment i immediately recognized him. i asked him if he knew where he was, what time of day, to make sure he was oriented, he seemed as though he was lucid and calm. he didn't seem concerned about injuries at the time, which is not uncommon in traffic collisions. many times people tend to be in shock, it is a traumatic experience. >> sanjay, you hear that this is a person who had his fifth back surgery two months ago, still recovering from that. now you have what we just heard and two broken legs and a shattered ankle. what does this mean? >> well, i mean, when you are approaching a scene like this as ems, trauma doctor, whatever it may be, you try to rule out the worst things first. so, you know, when you hear the important clues describing tiger woods is calm and lucid, able to

say his name, asked him if he knew where was he, what time it was, these are basic mechanisms to see if someone is oriented to person, place and time, gives you a good idea if there's potential brain injury and if anything is happening with their airway, things like that that would be of the most immediate concern. after that, the deputy made the decision to wait. i don't think they necessarily used jaws of life, but they pried open the windshield and used an ax. they noted that he appeared to have severe injuries to both legs, had not heard about the ankle before until sam mentioned that. you can see the crumple zones of the car crumpled. but the cabin of the car was intact. that's why he didn't have torso, chest, brain injuries. but it is hard to speculate in terms of the impact it may have it on his spine. he didn't stand at the time. it would have been very unusual to ask someone to stand.

you have to assume people may have a spinal cord injury and you always try to put them immediately in immobilization, board or something, maybe a neck collar, may put pressure garments onto stop bleeding. you're doing all of that at the scene, the scoop and run mentality. as far as longer term impact of injuries, it will take some time to know. >> sam, let me ask you, i want to play more of what the sheriff said what happened at that instant, specifically the part about being no skid marks. here he is. >> no skid marks, no braking. apparently first contact was with the center median and from there across into the opposing lane of traffic, hit the curb, hit a tree, and there were several rollovers during that process. >> sam, again, we know it happened early this morning. do you have any knowledge, sounds like he had no idea what was about to happen, didn't even try to brake, it happened so

quickly. as to why he was there driving like that, we know that he was at the golf tournament but that time of morning, where he was going, anything? >> yeah, that's just so sobering to hear those small details, so surreal. no. i think we are piecing together exactly where he was going, presumably to the second half of the "golf digest" shoot he was committed to after the tournament. but details are so scant and it is so cryptic now, we only have just small scintilla of clues. the fact that he didn't brake on the northbound side of that is remarkable and chilling. >> tim, it is also chilling it was just sunday when tiger woods was talking about how he hoped if his back was willing, right, talked about five back surgeries, if his back was willing to return to the masters

in april. here he is. >> god, i hope so. i have to get there first. a lot of based on my surgeons and doctors and therapists, making sure i do it correctly and this is the only back i got, so i don't have much more wiggle room left there. >> planning to get one tournament in before that i guess? >> i don't know wlahat the plan is. plan is to get the mri, see if the annulus sealed and scarred over, if so, we can start progressing. >> those words are haunting to hear now. days ago. >> this is a guy only played nine tournaments last year, talking about back issues and surgeries, he had knee issues forever as well. this is a guy who made his mark on this game, and by the way, became one of the greatest to ever play, by using the most

forceful swing than anything you've seen when he first came on tour. his body at 45 years old is pretty beaten up. the fact he was thinking about will i be able to make that next tournament, will i be able to be part of the masters, then to see this, i will be honest, it makes me very nervous about the future of tiger woods if there's any future for him in the game of golf. we are lucky eshe is alive. this is something i don't know if he can come back from. >> sam, today, nba legend dwyane wade posted images of him with tiger woods, playing together at this tournament. and just addressed the car accident moments ago on tnt. here he is. >> i picked up the golf club like many in the black community because of tiger woods. i got that opportunity yesterday to get out there and he taught me a few things, hopefully it translates. but to be out there with the goat, in my eyes in this sport,

and be able to talk to him about sam and charlie and his father. it was a great day. i woke up today so proud to be able to post that moment for the world, be able to get a snippet, a moment together, and i took a nap, woke up, and woke up to the news. >> sam, this is just an incredibly horrible thing to have happened. everything changing here in an instant. >> yeah. and tim mentioned that this is a guy that's had ten, combined ten back and knee surgeries, possibly more, emblematic of recovery. you think of the performance in the 2019 masters, what he meant sort of transcended golf and maybe even transcended sports in that this is a pop culture icon more than, you just can't overstate it, more than a

generational talent. one of the most remarkable figures in our life times. at least in sports. so to have this happen is unbelievable. i don't know what to say beyond that. >> this is the thing, it does go beyond sports and he does transcend sports. i remember ten years ago, more than ten years ago when he crashed his escalade on thanksgiving, destroyed his career, his marriage, his family, entered rehab, divorce. it was front page news around the world. and in his press conference, came out, was taken live everywhere. very few things you take live network to network. this one was. it transcended sport in a significant way. here is what he said that day on that stunning fall from grace.

>> i know that your children are one of the reasons you're going to play competitive golf again. >> well, i couldn't move. there were times i couldn't get to a mirror, i couldn't stand up. i saw a guy that couldn't move well, hunched over, needed help to get around the house, to go to the bathroom. just anything. and that was a long period of time, so very thankful that's -- those dark days are behind me. >> i know i have bitterly disappointed all of you. i have made you question who i am and how i could have done the things i did. i'm embarrassed that i have put you in this position. for all that i have done, i am

so sorry. i was unfaithful. i had affairs. i cheated. what i did is not acceptable. and i am the only person to blame. >> it is haunting to hear that now and at that moment so many people were rooting for his come uppance, and he got it, and people have been rooting for him. it is an incredible story. what he has to come back from now is in some ways so much more difficult because he may never have that sport to go back to again, the core of what he does. >> yeah. i think you're right. first of all, i remember all those moments exactly like you do, erin. it is amazing how much it perma permeate.

as a doctor as well, it is remarkable. i do these operations, i do back operations, to have someone come back from five of those and play at that level, including spine fusion as well, i'm sure they'll be evaluated, his spine work will be evaluated as part of what he goes through now. in some ways, makes you say this will be tough to come back from, he came back from difficult medical challenges in the past. i don't know, i think it is too early to speculate at all. don't know the nature of the leg injuries. they sound like significant bl bleeding involved, typically what makes people unstable. hopefully we will hear from the doctors how significant, was there blood vessel injury as part of the fractures, was there nerve damage as part of the fractures. was the pelvis effected? upper or lower leg? all these things make a difference in terms of trying to determine the overall prognosis in the days, weeks, months to

co come. >> sam, tim. go ahead. >> people have drawn the eery comparison to ben hogan's accident in february, 1949. rear ended by a greyhound bus. and the legendary recovery of ben hogan, we don't know if tiger woods will play golf again, what the condition of tiger woods is, but there are eery parallels to that. >> and people hoping and rooting for him in such a significant way. you know, this is why we are all talking about it now. thank you all so very much. we'll keep you updated if we hear more this hour on his condition from the surgeons. next, congress holding its first hearing on the deadly insurrection, and republican senator ron johnson used his time to push the conspiracy theory that fake trump protesters were behind the riot. plus, one of biden's cabinet picks, nomination about to be derailed, and reporters say it is sexist. is it?

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from a resume data base claim your seventy-five-dollar credit when you post your first job at indeed.com/promo tonight, deny, deflect and lie. some republicans using the first hearing on the deadly insurrection at the united states capitol to whitewash what happened before, during and after january 6th. one of the biggest offenders, senator ron johnson who today

proved there's no conspiracy theory he won't pedal to defend trump while questioning current and former law enforcement officials that were in charge that day, johnson spent his time pushing a deranged theory from an alleged eyewitness. >> although the crowd represented broad cross-section of americans, mostly working class by appearance and manner of speech, some stood out. a few didn't share the friendly, earnest demeanor, some obviously didn't fit in. he describes four people. plain clothes militants, agents provocateurs, think trump protesters, disciplined uniform column of attackers. these are the people that probably planned this. >> fake trump protesters, agent provocateurs. this is not true. it is a lie. the riot would led by trump supporters, supporters that were repeating trump's call for action in the halls of the capitol. >> stop the steal.

>> stop the steal, stop the steal. >> we'll lose everything. >> that's treason. that's treason. >> protect our constitution. >> protect the constitution of the united states. >> this is our country. >> this is our house. this is our country. this is our country. >> look, it is absolutely ridiculous that johnson said what he said. as kevin mccarthy told trump on the heated phone call of the day of the insurrection, quote, they're your people. call them off. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell clearly stated the facts, clearly when he spoke to the nation following trump's impeachment trial. >> a mob was assaulting the capitol in his name. these criminals were carrying his banners, hanging his flags,

and screaming their loyalty to him. >> these are the facts, and facts are facts. but johnson was not the only one, still trying to ingratiate himself to the former president, amplify something that is counter factual, that is not true today. senator josh hawley, of course, pictured with his fist in the air as he greeted trump supporters outside the capitol on the day of the deadly insurrection today tried to point the finger at nancy pelosi, someone the mob was vocally trying to hunt down and threatening to kill. hawley trying to indicate it was the house speaker who delayed deployment of the national guard. here is hawley getting knocked down by former house sergeant-at-arms who resigned after the attack. >> so you did not consult congressional leadership, you weren't waiting at any point for input from congressional leadership, is that your testimony? >> yes, i advised them as we

would do with many security protocols. >> but you weren't waiting at any point, there was no delay you're saying in getting national guard requests because you didn't at any point wait for the input of the speaker or the majority leader or anybody else. >> no. absolutely not. >> no, absolutely not. there was no delay due to the speaker or the majority leader. again, the facts here. we know trump was the one who initially resisted mobilizing national guard. when there were calls on radio, national guard, national guard, trump is the one that didn't do it. it was pence that facilitated the decision to send troops to the capitol, according to a source. jessica schneider has more. >> reporter: new revelations from capitol police that an fbi report warning of violent war at the capitol january 6th was relayed to capitol police headquarters one day before the violent insurrection, but it was

never seen by the department's leadership. >> how could you get not got that vital intelligence on the eve of what's going to be a major event? >> i know that's something that's going to be looked at. i think that information would have been helpful to be aware of. >> reporter: washington post said they quoted individuals saying be ready to fight, go there ready for war. we get our president or we die. steven sund who stepped down as capitol police chief days after the insurrection said he was only made aware of the report yesterday. sund stressed it was raw intelligence, but the d.c. acting police chief said more should have been done to alert officials at the capitol. >> i would certainly think that something as violent as insurrection of the capitol would warnlt a phone call or something. >> reporter: he said even intelligence relayed did not forecast the destruction that followed. >> none of the intelligence we received predicted what actually occurred. we properly planned for mass demonstration with possible violence. what we got was military style

coordinated assault on my officers and violent takeover of the capitol building. >> reporter: all of the officials testifying agreed groups that converged on the capitol were in fact coordinated. >> do you agree there's now clear evidence that supports the conclusion that the january 6th insurrection was planned and it was a coordinated attack on the u.s. capitol? >> yes. >> would you agree the attack involved white supremacists and extremist groups? >> yes. >> reporter: the most pressing question surrounded delayed deployment of national guard which former chief sund said was initially held up because he needed an emergency declaration from capitol police board. >> chief sund was pleading for deployment of the national guard, and in response to that, there was not an immediate yes. i was just stunned that i have officers that were out there literally fighting for their lives and, you know, we are kind of going through what seemed like an exercise to check the boxes. >> reporter: many on the capitol

police force are still feeling the effects of the breakdown that day. >> i received chemical burns to the face that haven't healed. of mummy venlts i worked in my 19 year career, this was by far the worst of the worst. we could have had ten times the amount of people working with us, i still believe the battle would have been just as devastating. as an american and as an army veteran, it is sad to see us attacked by our fellow citizens. >> reporter: it was also revealed most of the capitol police officers were not equipped with riot gear or the right training to respond to the violence they faced. there will be another hearing next week, erin, with fbi, homeland security, and defense department, and certain to be more inquiries and maybe answers why it took so long to get national guard troops to respond to the capitol. >> crucial question. thank you so much. see them on the radio, calling, hours go by before it happens,

it was not for want of asking. up front, fbi special agent. we heard the ridiculousness put out there that's untrue, but there still are so many questions about how with so much of this out there, in your face, planning to do this, we still don't seem to know who was, in fact, responsible for the security failure here. did you learn more today? >> well, i think what we learned is as you noted, this wasn't an intelligence barrier, this wasn't failure to connect the dots, for example, like before 9/11. the picture was there, but it was not properly acted upon or prepared for, so i think the question is where in the flow of information did the blockage occur, if it didn't make it up to the decision makers, was it because of negligence or because there was any kind of, for example, direct or indirect

pressure to really not make a big deal out of this threat. we know that there is a dhs whistle-blower, for example, claimed he was asked in analysis to down play the threat of right wing extremism. was this playing out in other ways as well in events leading to january 6th. >> what about this memo. jessica is reporting on it. how is it possible the memo made it to capitol police, made it to capitol police, and not to the chief. >> yes. this is where someone saw this. if it made it to the entity, to the department, the agency, then didn't make it up to the top decision maker, someone saw this and assessed it didn't need to go any further. so that point, that person needs to be identified. but erin, let's also remember we can't be relying on just one fbi

warning. i can't believe this whole thing would have rested on that. you don't need to be an fbi agent to know there was potential for violence just from what was out there in public reporting and the messaging that was out there. so even if that report didn't make it, there should have been better preparation for this event. >> thank you. good to see you. >> thank you. next, one of biden's cabinet picks on thin ice, in part because republicans are all of a sudden offended by mean tweets. the white house tonight says it is not worried, they still think they'll get this one through, but should they be? and ted cruz, hear what he is saying after caught jetting to cancun on vacation during the state crisis. ...so are we. prudential helps 25 million people with their financial needs. with over 90 years' of investment experience, our thousands of financial professionals can help. go to prudential.com or talk to an advisor. so you're a small business, or a big one.

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new tonight, the white house digging in on near a tan dan, saying they feel good about her confirmation. her confirmation is under the brink of collapse for several reasons. those that want to derail the nomination specifically point to her tweets, a first for a

cabinet nominee. republican senators who were pretty much silent through years of transmission's tweets are suddenly outraged. >> calling mitch mcconnell moscow mitch is probably not a good thing to say. >> you called republicans criminally ignorant, corrupt and the worst. >> you wrote that susan collins is, quote, the worst. tom cotton is a fraud. that vampires have more heart than ted cruz. >> to be sure, inappropriate tweets. those tweets about those senators are insulting. but not one of the senators you heard had any trouble voting to confirm former president trump's ambassador rick grenell. anyone that knows rick grenell was happy to tweet disparaging comments about a host of people, talked about michelle obama's appearance, newt gingrich's weight, going after president obama's daughter. we cannot show you his tweets

because like tantan, he has deleted them. i feel like there's a little sexism going on, seems like the tweets sound harsher to old guys because they're coming from a woman. joe manchin who may have all but killed the nomination when he said he opposed it, you have to have that vote, he voted to confirm grenell, and says her tweets will have a toxic, detrimental impact on her relationships in congress. up front, dana bash, anchor and chief correspondent, and michael smerconish. dana, you're doing a lot of reporting on the situation. interesting things about a possible double standard at play. but here's the real question. is anyone saying it is sexism or not? >> well, i have been communicating with lawmakers all day. more than a half dozen. mostly women. and the general gist i heard is

that of course there is sexism in general because it is sort of implicit here and tends to be when there is a controversial woman, particularly a woman of color as somebody said when there's a man who is aggressive and assertive, he is sometimes called bold, when it is a woman, she's a bitch. having said that i actually heard more from even and especially women that on this particular issue it is more than that, it is more than sexism. it is the content of what she was saying and especially in light of the bar that the man who nominated her set for people in his administration, so when you talk about rick grenell, yeah, i mean, he was vile on twitter. but so was his boss, the president of the united states.

joe biden is different and that is why the perception here is a bit different, and never mind the fact that there's a completely different situation with regard to fellow democrats. >> so michael, that's an interesting point. just because one person tweets badly, gets nominated, doesn't mean another person should. i don't want to be like let's compound the inappropriate behavior, but i do know here that you have republicans that are happy to vote for a guy that talked about people's weight and they should use botox, michelle obama's appearance, all the things rick grenell did, and now are offended by things that neera tanden said. >> sexism, i am not sure. hypocrisy a tough case to prove based on what's displayed. it is unbecoming of someone that wishes to serve at the cabinet level and frankly like grenell, i think deletion looks wholly incriminating. big mistake in retrospect.

the point i think you're making, they're setting a bar. they're saying well, this is at odds with the mantra of now president biden about unity and comity. if you're going to articulate that standard, saying this not to the president but to members of the senate who are standing in her way, you yourselves better be ready to live to it because implicit in that is we have all reached a point now where we are going to get along, act like adults. okay. i am waiting to be shown. >> dana, let's talk about joe manchin. he stands out here. he is the one that's going to torpedo this if he votes no as he said he is going to. he did vote for grenell. he says, though, that his opposition to neera tanden is not personal. here's what he said. >> there's been some opposition to neera tanden as sexist. >> what's your reporting where he is coming from, dana.

>> look, joe manchin, you're right that it was the content of many statements neera tanden made about republicans and democrats and he reviewed a lot of them. he like susan collins, for example, my understanding is that the fact as michael said that she deleted a lot of them, that it is a judgment issue. for joe manchin, it is bigger, again, the promise president biden made to be bipartisan, to change the tone and tenor of washington, and he is very openly not happy with the fact that there hasn't been more bipartisan outreach say on the covid-19 relief bill. not saying that he is using this as a way to send a message but it is unique for someone like him. he is a former governor, he is somebody who historically likes to give the chief executive, in this case it is the president, the nominees they want. it does say a lot. >> michael, then what about the

white house saying they feel good about her confirmation. are they just on another planet? if you don't have joe manchin, that means you are counting on getting a republican. what do you see here? >> well, right. and the usual suspects among republicans, susan collins, mitt romney, et al, are not showing any indication, in fact are showing indication they won't be that sole vote. how do you come back from that. you know what it reminds me of, a month into the biden administration, the person that really fell in, i guess i can't say that even on cable with divided government is senator manchin. he is the anthony kennedy of the composition of the current united states senate. he is the swing vote. he is the one everybody now looks to to see which way it is going to go. he is in the position of immense power. and i know, i am not buying what the white house is saying. it has the precursor of withdrawn appointment by end of

the week. >> and we shall see. true. to your point, because it is so inconsistent with what the president has said, the kind of conduct that he wants around him. thank you both. dp good to see you. next, ted cruz telling people not to be a-holes, that's what he said after caught on the plane flying to cancun. >> treat each other as human beings, have some degree, some modicum of respect. and republicans and democrats come together tonight to honor the 500,000 americans and counting who have lost their lives to the virus. personalizeg and unmatched overall value. together with a dedicated advisor, you'll make a plan that can adjust as your life changes, with access to tax-smart investing strategies that help you keep more of what you earn. and with brokerage accounts, you see what you'll pay before you trade. personalized advice. unmatched value.

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here's a suggestion. just don't be "a"-holes. that's a direct quote from senator ted cruz of texas. trying to blame everyone else for his mistake, going to cancun on vacation in the middle of a texas massive power crisis. when he was caught, he did say it was a huge mistake. but now he's slamming whoever leaked the text messages between cruz's wife and neighbors, she writes in a group chat, anyone can or want to leave for the week, we may go to cancun.

they leaked the whole thing. here's what senator cruz is now saying, not about his decision to take that vacation, but about the person who outed him by telling the world that it was a vacation, and that ted cruz was indeed playing to stay for the vacation. >> i will say, heidi was pretty pissed about that. she texted several of our neighbors. look, our neighbors, we've got a number of republicans and democrats who are neighbors. >> right. >> and folks on our street, who put up beto signs, which i thought was a little rude. i didn't hold a victory party in our front yard when we won. obviously, it's a sign of how ridiculously politicized and nasty and just -- you know, here's a suggestion. just don't be [ bleep ]. just, you know, treat each other as human beings, have some

degree, some modicum of respect. >> i guess here's a suggestion. don't go to cancun and mislead everybody about it so your neighbors don't feel like they need to put the truth out there. upfront now, matthew dowd, what do you say to ted cruz, who says to the people who outed him for trying to act like he was dropping his kids off, or whatever he was trying to spin there. don't be "a"-holes? >> well, i would say to ted, i agree with him that we all ought to treat each other better and be more civil. but he ought to have a modicum of self-respect in this. when he lectures people about behaving better, it's like ty cobb lecturing people on

sportsmanship, or bernie madoff lecturing people about making money. i feel for heidi cruz in this, to have that happen from a neighbor. but ted cruz is not focused on the problem. he needs to buy a mirror and look at the real problem. ted cruz, take responsibility for your actions, take accountability, and don't start lecturing people. he basically became an internet troll. and don't lecture people on things you do every day of the week. >> it's so amazing. anybody looks at that, don't be "a"-holes, and even his allies had to look at that and say, are you kidding me? and last night, let's look at something else he said on fox news. here he is. >> i think the media is suffering from trump withdrawal. they've attacked trump every day for four years, and they don't

know what to do. now they're obsessed over my taking my girls to the beach. >> now he's blaming the media for this. >> well, ted is just -- as i've told you before, i know ted, i worked with him in 2000. he's unshamable. he cannot be shamed, because he doesn't really care. ted is one of the first guys that called donald trump during the primaries a pathological liar, and had plans to try to have a floor vote in the republican convention, then after donald trump attacks his wife, attacks his father, became his best friend and biggest defender. this has nothing to do with donald trump. ted ought to take a long look at himself, understand his own accountability, and responsibility in this. and then just, you know, go about his business and go do the work of the united states senate. ted himself thought he could go

to cancun because he didn't think there was anything he could do in the midst of a water and power crisis in texas. and his opponent, beto o'rourke, contacted a million people to see how he can help him. so there's nothing we can say about ted that would surprise me. but i wish he would have a modicum of self-respect, and at least encounter some level of self-responsibility. >> matthew, thank you. next, how some health officials are warning of a fourth wave of covid infections, even with the vaccines rolling out. they know exactly which parking lots have the strongest signal. i just don't have the bandwidth for more business. seriously, i don't have the bandwidth.

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they think there could be a fourth wave? why? the variants. they've seen 20 cases of different strains just last week, and that number has already doubled. a sobering warning tonight. thanks so much to all of you for being with us. "ac360" starts right now. good evening. john berman in for anderson. we begin with the latest on tiger woods and his condition after a car crash that authorities say could have easily been fatal. fortunately, it was not. but even a cursory look at the wreckage shows how bad it was, and how close one of the game's greatest came to losing it all on a dangerous stretch of california road. nick watt joins us. go ahead. >> reporter: we don't know what went wrong. he was driving d