that there is also evidence the person talked about using the chemical to attack others ahead of time. we will stay on this. part of our coverage, of course, this is cfn breaking news. and welcome to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm michael holmes and this is cnn newsroom. we begin with the breaking news out of washington. after weeks of political wrangeling, the u.s. house of representatives has just passed biden's sweeping covid bill. it's a major step forpresident biden as he tries to push his first legislative priority across the finish line.

brian nobles with the latest from capitol hill. >> reporter: it took in to the early morning hours of saturday, but democrats have finally passed that $1.9 trillion covid relief package. a key priority for president biden in the early days of his administration. this is just the first step in the legislative process, it still needs to be passed by the senate. they will likely change the bill before it goes back to the house for final passage. this version of the bill that was passed on saturday, does include that increase to $15 an hour of the federal minimum wage, when it makes its way back to the senate that will likely be ruled out because of a ruling by the senate parliamentarian, that it cannot be passed with -- aside from the minimum wage, there's a lot of other important things that biden and democrats on capitol hill are really wanting to be a part of the package. that includes an extension of

unemployment benefits. which are scheduled to sunset in the middle of march. also, an expansion of the child tax credit and then there's the direct payments to americans. $1400 a person for most americans under a certain income level. getting the full amount of aide to folks to the $2,000 mark. it was a big key debate that happened at the end of 2020, it was a big priority for democrats and president biden, it's something that represent are cans are pushing back in a big way, republicans very roundly against this in the house of representatives, most voting against the bill on saturday. and it's expected that it will be the same when it makes its way to the senate as with he will. but there are more democrats than republicans on capitol hill right now, they don't need republicans to pass this legislation and it looks to be the path that this bill will take as it makes its way through the house and senate. the leaders up here hoping they have the bill on president

biden's desk by march 14th. ryan nobles, cnn, on capitol hill. >> and ron brownstein is cnn's senior political analyst and senior editorfor the "atlantic," thanks for staying up. it's a first look but it is not how it will end up looking after the senate has had a look at it. how do you see it playing out? >> in the senate, they have the fundamental problem of trying to squeeze it lou the reconciliation process that allows them to pass it with a simple majority vote and to do that, it gets squeezed down lou t -- down through the rules. they will have to deal with the filibuster. that leaves them 60 votes for everything major they want to do. >> you had republicans slamming it, a return of the swamp, i

think it was called. polling has shown massive public support for the bill, what is the ramification for the republicans to say no. >> you have a bill that is as popular as it can be in a polarized divided america. over 60%, some polls 70% of the country saying they support it. and yet, not a single house republican voted for this. i think that is kind of a foreshadowing of what biden can expect in terms of republican resistance to everything that he wants to do. look, it's an open question,the economy recovers and the virus is under control, this could be a vote that looks bad for republicans in 2022. but in many ways the house republicans are almost all inhabiting districts that voted for donald trump, they are representing trump country and there's few of them have much to fear from the vote. >> and progressives, of course,

it's likely that well, it's certain that the minimum wage will be stripped out, the minimum wage increase will be stripped out of the bill by the time it goes through the senate. how much of a set back is it for the progressive wing. this is something that they are fiercely in favor of. >> again, it was inplausible always, that under the arcane rules that you could raise the minimum wage through the process. we are looking at geryrigged attempts to get past the senate. there's almost nothing that democrats care about that ten republicans are going to be willing to vote for. we saw the house, in addition to the minimum wage that will be stripped out. we saw the house pass the equality act, basically equal rights for the lgbtq community in the workplaces and housing. next week the house is going to pass what is argue ably the

single most important thing that they will do on other than covid, a sweeping democracy reform bill, it will go to the senate and face the filibuster. a new voting rights act will faces the filibuster. sooner or later biden and the senate departments will get passed everything they can do with reconciliation and confront head on whether they are willing to let mitch mcconnell block the remaining of their agenda through filibuster or try to end the filibuster. >> you outlined a crucial thing for the democratic agenda. you are right, they are not going anywhere with republicans taking up 50% of the senate and not wanting to give any ground. mitch mcconnell, his sole line, that is all he wants to do. for people who don't know, how difficult is it for democrats to get rid of the filibuster and go to a majority vote? >> the irony is it requires you

to get 60 vote haves to do anything in the senate is, except that which can be shoe-horned. but you can change the filibuster with 50 plus one votes. or you exclude more kinds of legislation from it. they can do it. with 51 votes and i think that you know, right now, we are going to be focusing on the reconciliation process for covid relief, we may be focusing on it for the next stage of biden's economic plan. at some point this fall, they are going to be standing there, saying, you see what everyone is wearing when the tide goes back out. they are going to be in the position where there could be half a dozen major priorities of

the agenda, all piling up on chuck schumer's desk, all being filibuster by republican coalition that by the way now represents 44% of the country if you assign half of each's population to each senator. you have a double whamy of minority rule here and it will be difficult for democrats to get all the way to 2022 without addressing the filibuster. the problem is, two of their members, manchin and s is -- and sinema said they will not change it. >> we are didn't even get to vote vote -- ron, good to see you, thanks for that. >> thanks, michael. well, the u.s. is taking another big step to tackle the root of the coronavirus problem.

a third kren kroen vaccine might get the green light in just a few hours from now, advisers to the u.s. food and drug administration are endorsing johnson & johnson's vaccine and did so unanimous ly the big dea is that this vaccine only needs one dose. the two major vaccines that the u.s. is using now needs two. and planning around it is not always easy. the fda has to clear it, and the cdc has to give it the final go ahead. some health experts worry that some americans might not want to get the johnson & johnson vaccine. and that's because it is showing 66% efficacy. that is from a global analysis and the numbers out of the u.s. are are a lot higher as cnn medical analyst dr. jorge rodriguez told me earlier. >> first of all, it's a very good vaccine. we have gotten spoiled by the

numbers that were thrown out by pfizer and moderna in the 90s. that is spectacular. had it not been something to compare to, we would think, well, it's a great vaccine. it has 72% he wa he was -- and prod prevention in deaths. it's more affordable and can be distributed to many areas of the world with one shot. it can be a game changer for sure. >> absolutely. quite another arrow in the quiver, vaccines of course, prevent illness, what do we know about whether they prevent infection. the j and j is fairly effective in that regard. it's is nteresting, it was triad

against more series version serf the virus. you cannot compare them, they used different populations at different types of the year. the j and j virus had more people tested in south africa that had that variant. it has been shown to decrease the spread. >> now, the u.s. finally releases that the report on the killing of a disident saudi journalist. we will have details and the reaction.

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refused to release. the biden administration made it public friday, and announced action against several saudis, but not the crowned prince. the journalist's fiance was waiting outside the consulate on the day he was killed. she spoke to us. >> i want to say, now, i believe he will never come back. >> you tweeted justice for jamal in one of the beautiful pictures that you put out. >> yes, i took it in our house. i took it yes, and it was the most beautifulpicture of jamal, so i will -- i will like to say that they will take action for justice for jamal.

i can say that just now. >> we have seen visa restrictions and sanctions on the kill squad, is there an imperative to do something significant on the man who deemed to approve the murder? >> the fact that there's not a smoking gun in the report. very, very strong circumstantial evidence here. his control in the kingdom, his complete control over the intelligence. and security services. you know, all the things that were listed in the report, but they don't amount to a smoking gun. if the biden administration has that, and that's available to them, and they have not put it out, it certainly allows them to path that they have taken, which is, to sanction some individuals to tell the saudis don't ever do this again, don't ever go chasing after dissidents again,

and move on from there. i think the sort of anger that we heard and the speed of the rebuttal from the saudi foreign ministry isndicative of how it stings for them, but biden has not put sanctions on the crowned prince. this is a man who leads the country on a day-to-day basis and biden will end up sitting around summit tables with him doing business with him. they both need each other. >> yeah, yeah, meanwhile, jamal khashoggi. it was said that if we continue to support saudi arabia under mbs, we have lost all moral standing in the world. it's not a surprise. but is that a point in terms of

moral standing for the u.s., what joe biden said when he was a candidate is different than what his attitude is now. >> yeah, and i think this is what the saudis were expecting. you know, i talked to saudi officials about that. about what biden said on the campaign trail and what they expected when he came to office and they were expecting a bumpy ride and they were expecting the relationship to dip. i'm not sure that they were expecting it to sort of happen in such a public fashion. that's a difficult thing for the saudis. equally difficult for president biden who is going to make such a big stand on human rights issues, on what democracies are and the values that they stand for. you are morally under mined if you are knowingly dealing with, you know, a leader who abuses those very principals that you stand up for and you say, this is what president biden said is. it's the democratic values that

give the united states support for them. that give the united states the power and reach around the world. in that way, there's a tarnishing there. michael, it is very real politics and it reflects the broader picture of where the global seniority of geopolitical cal standings are right now, china is on the rise. and biden cannot afford to lose the relationship with saudi arabia. >> yeah, yeah, absolutely. great analysis as always, nick, good to see you, nick robertson there in london. and london, in lockdown seeing a rise in rodents. when we come back, pandemic restrictions have given rats freedom to roam and now, is there a piped piper in the houses? we will be right back.gest a ir . save on every flight, from every gatewayay, on every sailing. and, with drinks, wiwi-fi and ts always included for everyone,

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now, life in london can be a bit of a rat race. if you've ever lived there, you'll know. but now coronavirus restrictions mean the rats are actually winning. here's cnn's nina dos santos. >> reporter: they're in the parks, up the pipes, and heading towards a kitchen near you.

locked down london has become a boom town for the capital's rats, left unchecked in shuttered shops and restaurants over the winter and now making their way out of the inner city and into the suburbs. >> look at this rat trying to get into the house. >> reporter: according to the british pest control association, rodent sightings increased 51% during the first lockdown and 78% thereafter. fears the uk capital could soon become famous for the super rats that one blighted paris and new york. >> look, a hole to let water out. >> reporter: to avoid that, the city needs prevention like this. it's just before daybreak on the banks of the river thames and this former soldier is patrolling the refuse sites. >> what you can find, especially in heavy populations in rats,

this plastic is easy for rats to gnaw. >> reporter: fewer people on the streets has made rats more conspicuous. >> have you seen rats? >> i've seen one. >> rats, pigeons, everything. >> reporter: more abundant waste from lockdown homes has lured them to backyards. >> we're certainly seeing a spike in rats migrating back into people's gardens. last year we had a really bad case in someone's garden. by the time we got there, there was maybe 10 or 15 rats. it had become this really big issue. >> reporter: rats have always been a part of london life, but nobody really knows how many there are in the capital. that's because usually they're pretty elusive. they do, however, outnumber the human population, and they multiply really fast. just one pair of breeding rats could give rise to 1,250 in one year. as their population swells, rats themselves are getting bigger and harder to catch. some are immune to poison.

others have figured out how to avoid traps. exterminator paul claden has never been so busy. >> i would say calls have increased about 50% for me. >> reporter: do you think when london eventually reopens, they're going to realize they've got one big rat problem? >> i think that's right. a lot of commercial businesses have been empty for so long, i think when they start going back to these properties and certainly businesses that haven't got pest control contracts involved, they might find themselves going to have a big surprise. >> reporter: the mayor's office doesn't have a rodent plan and many local governments don't offer free pest control either, meaning businesses and homeowners are often left to their own devices to deal with their new post-pandemic neighbors. nina dos santos, cnn, london. and on that note, i'll be back with more "cnn newsroom" in just a moment. i'm michael holmes. appreciate your company.

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covid's still a threat. and on reopening schools, we know what happens when we don't put safety first. ignore proper ventilation or rates of community spread, and the virus worsens. fail to provide masks or class sizes that allow for social distancing, and classrooms close back down. a successful reopening requires real safety and accountability measures. including prioritizing vaccines for educators. parents and educators agree: reopen schools. putting safety first.

>> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. hello, everyone. i'm michael holmes. welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. appreciate your company. and we do begin with breaking news this hour. after weeks of political wrangling, americans are one step closer to receiving a much needed financial boost. >> the yeas are 219. the nays are 212. the bill is passed without objection. a motion to reconsider is laid upon