hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here, in the united states, and all around the world. this is cnn "newsroom," and i am rosemary church. just ahead. america is on the move, again. that was the opening message of president biden's speech to congress on his first-100 days.

touting his ability to steer the country out of the pandemic. rudy giuliani's lawyer responds, after federal agents raid the former mayor's new york apartment. what that could mean for his former client, donald trump. and india reports, yet another, record number of daily-covid-19 cases, as the country runs low on oxygen, meds, tests, and icu beds. good to have you with us. well, joe biden has big plans for his next-100 days in office. the u.s. president delivered his first address to a joint session of congress, just a few hours ago. touting an ambitious economic plan, costing $4 trillion. on top of the nearly $2

trillion, already, approved for covid relief. his new american families plan would include money for a host of bread-and-butter issues, like paid-family leave, childcare, preschool education, and free-community college. the president calls it an investment in the future, that will create millions of jobs and trillions, in economic growth. he is hoping to capitalize on the success of his covid-vaccination efforts. and americans' approval of how he's handled the pandemic. >> and inherited a nation, we all did, that was in crisis. the worst pandemic in a century. the worst economic crisis, since the great depression. the worst attack on our democracy, since the civil war. now, after just-100 days, i can report to the nation, america is on the move, again. >> and the president's address has americans feeling optimistic

about the country's direction. cnn spoke to people who watched the speech, which is a more-democratic audience than the country, in general, of course. 51% said their reaction was very positive. 27% were somewhat positive. and 22% had a negative reaction. more, now, on the president's address from cnn's jeff zeleny. >> declaring that america is on the move, again. president biden delivered his first address to a joint session of congress, wednesday night. making the case that he says peril can be turned into possibility. setbacks can be turned into strength. clearly, trying to make the coronavirus pandemic a moment of opportunity to reshape the u.s. government. now, in a sweeping address that went more than an hour, in length, the president making an argument for reshaping the american economy. focusing, specifically, on the social-safety net. calling for a sweeping variety

of programs, like free community college, expanding childcare, big-infrastructure plans. it went on and on to the tune of nearly $6 trillion. now, of course, the question here will be how to pay for all these proposals. that, of course, is raising taxes on the wealthy. the president made clear, slowing down his remarks, speaking clearly and directly, that those making under $400,000 would not see a tax increase. but those making more than that, certainly, would. now, of course, this was just an opening gambit, if you will, speaking to a much-scaled-down audience of lawmakers. some-200 senators and representatives in the room. normally, more than a thousand are. of course, this was because of the -- the pandemic precautions. clearly, this speech, also, playing out against the backdrop of history. for the first time in the u.s. history, a -- a woman vice president. the woman speaker of the house. standing behind president biden. he made clear that this was long

overdue. so, certainly, vice president harris and speaker nancy pelosi making history there, in their own rite. now, going forward, the president also used a global call. saying that the u.s. must become more competitive against china. that was his rationale for big infrastructure programs, and other sweeping-spending measures. now, going forward on this, you know, wrapping the first-100 days in office, the legislative proposals, now, are really going to test the rest of his presidency, as he heads into his second-hundred days and beyond. but clearly, democrats in the audience liked what they heard. republicans leaving the chamber said they thought the president did not try and unify the country here. but he did talk so much about spending proposals. also, including a litany of gun reform, voting rights, and other matters. but there was a global sense of this. that he said, in speaking with leaders from around the world, they said america's back but they have a question. how long will america be back?

of course, this was a reference to the post-trump era. it was a clear turning of the page, from president trump. but president biden, for his part, did not mention his predecessor, at all. but clearly, making the case he believes now is a moment to turn the page, and push for big changes in programs here in the u.s. jeff zeleny, cnn, the white house. and senator tim scott of south carolina delivered the republican response. he was sharply critical of president biden for what he called empty platitudes, instead of true bipartisanship. instead, he said the former president should get credit for the successful covid vaccine rollout and improving-job numbers. >> the coronavirus is on the run. thanks to operation warp speed and the trump administration, our country is flooded with safe-and-effective vaccines. thanks to our bipartisan work, last year, job openings are

rebounding. so, why do we feel so divided? anxious? a nation, with so much cause for hope, should not feel so heavy laden. our best future will not come from washington schemes or socialist dreams. it will come from you, the american people. >> scott also defended republican efforts on voting reform. saying the party wants to make it easier to vote, and harder to cheat. and he raised eyebrows with the claim that america is not a racist country. joining me now is patrick heely. he is the politics editor for "the new york times." appreciate you being with us. >> hi, rosemary. >> so, how did president biden go with his first address to a joint session of congress, in the midst of a pandemic? unveiling, a major, new policy initiative. and marking his first-100 days

in office, what stood out to you? >> president biden has never been known as a really great speechmaker. but this was a really strong address to congress. and like you said, rosemary, under extraordinary circumstances. you had a chamber that usually would hold 1,600 people that, this time, was holding 200 people. but he was really talking, i think, to the american people. and -- and really trying, i think, to focus, particularly, on his american jobs plan. and really, trying to humanize it in a way that reminded me of, frankly, of some of bill clinton's best speeches. clinton was known for -- for bringing empathy and specific examples of -- of people, into his speeches. making the stakes really relayed directly to americans. and i think president biden did that quite a bit tonight, in terms of getting very specific about what he would and wouldn't do with this plan. how, as he put it, that this was

a, you know, a blue-collar plan for america. that these were jobs that would, by and large, go to americans who didn't have college degrees. that this was a plan for everyone. and -- and i think, part of what he was saying there was that this was a plan for republican voters, independent voters, as well as democrats. >> and president biden told lawmakers, america's on the move, again, after emerging from the pandemic. or starting to, at least. and an economic slide. but with the proposed spending of some $4 trillion on workers, students, and families, and his infrastructure plan, can joe biden get this done without causing severe-economic side effects? even democrat senator manchin is uncomfortable with that price tag. >> yeah. there are real concerns about -- about the potential for economic reverberations. whether, either inflation will get too high. whether parts of the plan would hit some states, like -- like coal states, like senator

manchin's west virginia. that -- that, in a sense, that this plan would not -- would not lift all boats in the right way. but the reality is there are -- as president biden said, on the left, in the center, even some on the right who believe that this would have a very strong effect on the economy. and that, inflation at least right now in the united states is -- is not something that looks like it's poised to become a great concern. i think, what is a concern and what the president got at tonight, rosemary, is just the -- the millions of americans who have lost their jobs. the -- the 2 million women who have left of the workforce during the pandemic. basically, the -- the people are looking for not just the check that is coming in the mail, but looking for some kind of more-permanent work. and -- and that's really what, i think, he was trying to drill down on in terms of economic

effect. >> and, patrick, republicans d criticized joe biden saying he talked of unity, bipartisanship, in his inaugural address. but they say they haven't seen much evidence of unity or outreach. but is that a problem of the gop's own making? or is it biden's fault? >> well, the republicans, like president obama and president clinton have sort of made clear that they're not interested in, at least so far, in doing sort of serious negotiations. you know, they are not interested in -- in really talking about what to do with the tax system that has just added to the deficit in america, because of the 2017-tax cut, that largely went to wealthy americans and corporations. so, in terms of meeting, let's say, both sides halfway. i think president biden is reaching out much more than -- than his immediate predecessor did. but inle least so far as the

president said, he is not finding partners willing to do something now and that doing nothing is not an option. i think what the president and his team have done that's really interesting, rosemary, and kind of artful, is that they are focusing on the fact that a lot of these proposals are popular with republican voters. and they are redefining bipartisanship, to some extent, not as getting republican votes in congress but having support from republican voters. and that, that can be sort of a new way of thinking about bipartisan approach. >> and we'll have a better idea, in the hours ahead. how it's been received by americans across the country. patrick heely, thank you so much for joining us. appreciate it. >> thanks, rosemary. >> well, of course, the other, big story out of washington. the u.s. justice department green lighting an extraordinary raid on the office and apartment of rudy giuliani. who was former u.s. president donald trump's personal attorney. we are told, federal agents seized cellphones and computers

during the sunrise operation. this is a major escalation in the two-year investigation into giuliani's dealings in ukraine. giuliani has not been charged, and has denied all wrongdoing. but it is highly unusual for prosecutors to execute a search warrant on a lawyer that could, theoretically, uncover privileged, attorney-client information. cnn senior legal affairs correspondent, paula reid, has the details. >> i spoke with an attorney for rudy giuliani, and he actually described to me what was in this search warrant that was executed on the former mayor. he says, in this search warrant, it confirms that this is related to an investigation into possible-foreign lobbying violations. now, if you were working on behalf of a foreign government, you need to disclose that to the justice department. now, we've learned that giuliani's electronic devices were seized. we, also, know that pursuant to this warrant, investigators were

especially interested at any communications he had with certain individuals, including a columnist named john solomon, who wrote a lot about ukraine in the weeks and months leading up to the election. but this is a significant turning point in this investigation. looking at whether giuliani was lobbying, on behalf of the ukrainian officials, while representing former-president trump. and also, pushing ukrainian officials to announce some sort of investigation into the bidens. we've, also, learned, though, he was not the only attorney who once represented former-president trump, who received a visit from investigators wednesday. we've, also, learned that victoria toensing, a woman who represented president trump during his time in office for certain controversies. she, also, got a visit from investigators. they arrived at her home, early wednesday. they served a warrant, also, related to this same-new york investigation. and we have learned that they actually took her cellphone.

but this is incredibly unusual to execute warrants, like this, on lawyers. there are -- there are a lot of concerns about potentially obtaining confidential communications. so, to serve a warrant on a lawyer, who represented a former president, never mind two attorneys. highly unusual. and again, at the core of this investigation are questions about form -- or about foreign lobbying and traditionally, that's really been a paperwork crime. prior to the trump administration. it was just a matter of making sure you had the appropriate paperwork to disclose who you were lobbying for. so, incredibly significantly development in this investigation. somewhat unusual tactics. but this would have had to have been something that would have been approved at the highest levels of the justice department. likely, by the deputy-attorney general of the united states. either, the acting deputy attorney general or the newly-installed deputy attorney general, lisa monaco. absolutely, something that would have to go to the top of the justice department to execute

warrants like these. paula reid, cnn, washington. the u.s. justice department says, federal prosecutors have indicted three men in the killing of ahmaud arbery. the black, 25-year-old was out for a jog, here, in the state of georgia, back in february, 2020. he was chased down by three men, and shot dead. a video of what happened was posted online, in may, and went viral. the three white men, now, face the new-hate crime and attempted-kidnapping charges, as well as state-murder charges. arbery's mother tells cnn that this is one step closer to justice. protestors in elizabeth city, north carolina, took to the streets, wednesday evening. demanding the release of body-cam footage showing the deadly-police shooting of andrew brown jr. once curfew set in, several arrests were made to disperse the lingering crowd. demonstrators gathered, after a judge denied requests to

publicly release the video showing last week's fatal incident. cnn's jason carroll has the latest. >> andy jr. has been silenced. so, his voice now are those cameras. that's how he will speak to us. and that will be his side of the story. >> reporter: andrew brown jr.'s family say, they now will have a better account of what happened during the shooting, last wednesday. now that a judge has ruled members of the family can review additional body-camera footage from the deputies. >> i guess, justice was served. i guess. i mean, i feel good about it. the situation. >> reporter: wednesday afternoon, superior court judge, jeffrey foster, cited in part overwhelming interest to the family for his ruling, which requires the pasquotank county sheriff's department to allow brown's adult son, khalil, and one attorney licensed in the state, to view footage from five

videos recorded by body cameras within the next-ten days. as for the public. >> the video be held from release for a period of no less than 30 days, and no more than 45 days. >> reporter: the judge also ruled the names and faces of the officers will be blurred to protect their identities. we caught up with county sheriff tommy wooten, who told us he wanted the judge to allow the public to see the recordings. >> i have to respect the da and the judge's wishes. so we're going -- we're going to do that and follow north carolina law. >> does the outcome that you were hoping for? or looking for? >> not totally, no, sir. >> well, what would have been the ideal outcome for you? >> release. >> full release? because? >> for the community. transparency. >> reporter: sheriff wooten in support of the public seeing the body-cam video, after the pasquotank county district attorney, andrew womble, told the court body-camera footage shows brown's car came into contact with law enforcement, twice, before he says they opened fire. >> the next movement of the car is forward. it is in the direction of law enforcement.

and makes contact with law enforcement. it is then and only then that you hear shots. >> reporter: he also strongly criticized brown-family attorney, chantel cherry lassiter of misleading the public with her comments about what she saw on a 20-second clip of body-camera footage she viewed on monday. >> they were designed to prejudice a proceeding. >> at no time, have i given any misrepresentations. i have still stand by what i saw. >> reporter: brown's family says they want to see, for themselves, if his car made contact with any of the deputies. >> not buying it. >> do you think what the -- what the authorities will then argue, going forward, is that that gave them a reason, a justified reason, to shoot? >> shoot an unarmed man? no. >> jason carroll with that report. well, as the number of cremations in india outstrips the official daily-death count, a u.s. health institute predicts the actual-death toll is likely

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everyone is afraid. every single person. those words, from a new delhi resident, as india grapples with catastrophic surges in covid deaths and infections. the country has just reported more than 3,600 deaths, and almost 380,000 new cases in the past-24 hours. breaking global records, for yet another day. but experts say the actual numbers are likely much higher. as many are battling the illness, and dying in their homes. in delhi, officials are begging the government to provide more firewood for cremations, and graveyards are running out of space. patients are sitting outside hospitals, waiting for a bed. and family members are afraid it may be the last time they see their loved ones alive. now, there is a scramble to sign up for vaccines, as registration opens for all adults. but there aren't enough doses to

inoculate the estimated-600 million eligible people. joining me now is dr. christopher murray, the director of the institute for health metrics and evaluation at the university of washington. thank you, doctor, for talking with us. >> good to be here. >> so, we are seeing covid cases and deaths exploding across india. a tragedy and horror that is revealing insufficient-oxygen supplies, medicines, vaccinations. even firewood for cremations. how much worse do you fear this may get, even as medical supplies from other nations arrive there? >> well, from what we understand, in our modeling of the epidemic in india, we expect that the death toll will continue rising. probably, reach over 10,000 a day, in about a two-to-three-week period. and should peek at around 12 to 14,000 deaths a day. so, there's a lot of bad times

ahead. but that, also, means that we think that infections, which happen before deaths, of course, are -- are close to peaking, probably, next week. >> those death-toll numbers, of course, are just horrifying. and indian authorities are reporting more than 300,000 covid cases, a day. and about-3,000 deaths, a day. but your calculations clearly show those numbers are more likely double that, or close to double that. how are you able to figure that out? and are you saying the indian government is covering up the real numbers? or just doesn't know them? >> well, when we look around the world at covid deaths, we find that, pretty much, in every country, there is some under-registration of the actual death toll from covid. ranging from huge under

registration in countries in central asia to capturing about one-in-three deaths in many low-and-middle-income countries. and it's really the lack of testing that is the reason that you get the undercount. >> and, of course, the tragedy here is that the indian government doesn't appear to grasp the enormity of this pandemic. still, allowing political rallies in the country. mitigation efforts are not in place, sufficiently. religious festivals have been allowed across the country, as well as these political rallies still being held. and as prime minister modi took a victory lap, just a few months ago. claiming he had defeated the virus. how does that mishandling of the health crisis play into your calculation, certainly when you are trying to predict where this is going? >> well, we look, very carefully, at all the social-distancing mandates that each state in india has put in place. and some states have much stronger mandates, than others. there's very few, if any, you

know, federal-government mandates. it's -- it's really quite varied across the states. and so, some states put in pretty strong mandates about two-to-three weeks ago. and that's going to help bring infections, and start to help bring them down. other states have not. and we expect the infections there to keep rising. so, it's -- it's -- but i think the -- the key driver here, that is why is india so different in the month of april? is the appearance of these new variants that have increased transmission. and meant that people previously infected, can get reinfected. >> and, of course, we did see similar failures. maybe, not on this level. but right here in the united states, last year. using that as a model and in other nations, we saw it in the uk and italy. how can india turn this around? >> well, when you have a -- strategy and this is true throughout the pandemic, and it remains true is, you know, in

the setting of exponential growth in transmission is happening in india. the primary strategy is putting, in place, the social-distancing mandates. increasing mask use. getting people to avoid close interaction with each other. the second strategy, of course, is increasing vaccination. and -- and that's going to be critical. india is a major producer of astrazeneca. one of the vaccines. and so, you know, getting that vaccine into people's arms is -- is going to be important. >> all right. dr. christopher murray, we thank you so, very much for talking with us. appreciate it. >> my pleasure. well, brazil's president is lashing out, and criticizing a parliamentary commission investigating the federal government's response to the pandemic. jair bolsonaro questioned whether the senate commission would call governors and mayors to testify. or whether it will hold an off-season carnival. the president claims he's provided resources to local officials to fight the outbreak.

but he has, also, long downplayed the severity of covid and resisted lockdown measures, despite his country's surging cases. the british prime minister is now under formal investigation over the pricey remodeling of his downing street flat. boris johnson insists he paid for it. but his former chief adviser has said the plan was to have conservative-party donors pick up the tab. british media put the cost at close to $300,000. the leader of the uk's opposition labor party demanded answers in parliament wednesday. >> either, the tax payer paid the initial invoice. or it was the conservative party. or it was a private donor. or it was the prime minister. so, i'm making it easy for the prime minister. it's now multiple choice. there are only four options. it should be easier than the chatty rat, mr. speaker, so i

ask the prime minister again, who paid the initial invoice? the initial invoice for the prime minister's flat? >> the answer is i have -- i have covered the cost. and i think most people will find it absolutely bizarre. and, you know, of course, there is an electoral commission investigate -- investigating this. and i can tell you, i've conformed in full with the code of conduct and the -- the ministers -- ministerial code. and the officials who have been kept -- have been advising me throughout this whole thing. but i think people will think it absolutely bizarre, that he is focusing on this issue. when, what people want to know is, what plans the government might have to improve the life of people in this country. and let me tell you, if you talk about housing again, we are helping people on -- i'd rather not spend taxpayers' money by the way. like the last labor government who spent taxpayers money.

yes, they did. yes, they did. >> the prime minister is also under fire for allegedly saying last year that he would rather see bodies pile high, than order another covid lockdown. he denies making the remark. coming up. president biden's ambitious plan to spend trillions of dollars to boost the economy. >> american-tax dollars are going to be used to buy american products, made in america, to create american jobs. that's the way it's supposed to be, and it will be in this administration. - that moment you walk in the office and people are wearing the same gear, you feel a sense of connectedness and belonging right away. and our shirts from custom ink helped bring us together. - [announcer] custom ink has hundreds of products to help you look and feel like a team.

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on the heels of his successful-vaccination distribution program, president biden is betting americans will support a bigger government offering more services. he outlined his plan to spend nearly $2 trillion to improve infrastructure, which he said would create good-paying jobs. it's just part of what he called the blue-collar blueprint to build america. jobs with good pay was a recurring theme. >> by the way, thinking about sending things to my desk, let's raise the minimum wage to $15. we need to ensure greater equity and opportunity for women. and while we're doing this, let's get the paycheck fairness act to my desk, as well. equal pay. it's been much-too long. and if you wonder whether it's too long, look behind me. >> and john defterios is in abu dhabi with more on the president's plans. good to see you, john. so, president biden has proposed

two major spending plans for low-and-middle-income families and infrastructure is the latter. closely, linked to fighting climate change, at the same time? >> it -- let's -- the strategy of joe biden, let's put it that way, rosemary, it's the dual challenge. to create jobs or re-create them, after losing 10 million during the pandemic crisis. and also, fight the biggest challenge of the next generation, that is, climate change, of course. no doubt about it. president biden believes, and many would agree, including this american, that we have not had any-major infrastructure projects for better than a half century. roads, rails, bridges, the national grid for the united states. for example, the biden administration wants to take the electric grid, and make it net emissions by 2035. so, that's a 14-year timeline. and in doing so, create, as you suggest, a blue-collar union jobs along the way.

it's not cheap. it's around $2 trillion. and if you think about it, his three packages that he's proposes, one has already passed on the pandemic. is a total of $6 trillion, on top of what donald trump did, more than $3 trillion in 2020. it's an enormous sum. he says the time is right. let's take a listen. >> for me, when i think climate change, i think jobs. american jobs plan will put engineers and construction workers to work building more energy-efficient buildings and homes. electrical workers. ibew members installing 500,000 charging stations along our highways. so we can own -- so we can own the electric-car market. think about it. there is simply no reason why the blades for wind turbines can't be built in pittsburgh, instead of beijing. no reason. >> and there's a strategy to pay for it here and that is corporate taxes on america.

companies, of course, rosemary. going from 21% under donald trump, to 28% under joe biden. it seems high. not compared to europe, for example, or asia. and not the 35%, under president obama. so you can hear the narrative here. we can tackle climate change. we can create better jobs for middle-income america, if we do it correctly. and we can challenge china. he said this is, also, a test for democracies. china's moving ahead. it's autocratic. it makes decisions. he wants america to lead the recovery of democracy in the challenge of populism over the last five years. rosemary. >> john defterios, many thanks. appreciate it. some u.s. states are rolling back covid restrictions as cases fall, and vaccinations rise. but experts warni, it could be too much, too soon. and tonight's winning numbers are 18, 18 55, 39, 71, and 43

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in his first address to a joint session of congress, president joe biden said the u.s. has provided americans over

220 million doses of covid vaccines. more than doubling his goal of 100 million, in his first-100 days. meantime, new cases in the u.s. continue to fall. cnn's alexandra field has our report. >> it's even better than what you would have expected. >> reporter: in the real world, the effectiveness of covid vaccines is surpassing already-high expectations set by clinical trials. >> that's the reason why you hear all of us, in the public-health sector, essentially, pleading with people to get vaccinated. >> reporter: nationwide, the average number of new infections, the lowest it's been in five weeks. the average number of covid-related deaths, the lowest it's been since last summer. >> the numbers are coming down. and i believe, as they come down, you will see more liberal guidelines. >> reporter: it's happening, already, but not fast enough for many who got their vaccines and want to get back to normal much faster. >> they haven't really gone far enough. they really need to tell

americans that, if you are vaccinated, you are immune. >> why put any restraints on the vaccinated? >> well, let me roll it up this way. everything you do is safer, if you are vaccinated. everything. go to a wedding. go to a restaurant. hang out with friends. go to a barbecue. go to work. everything you do is much, much safer if you have been vaccinated. if you haven't been vaccinated, those things are still dangerous. >> reporter: even so, many states lifting mask mandates. almost half the u.s., without, even before the cdc issued new guidance saying masks aren't necessary outdoors for the vaccinated, except in very-large crowds. louisiana dropping its mask mandate. masks will, still, be a must in places like schools and government buildings. the governor of tennessee declaring the end of the covid-19 health emergency. with thousands of new cases there, daily, and just 25% of the state's population fully vaccinated.

in california, disneyland opening its gates to california r residents only for the first time in more than a year, during a soft open. los angeles county is moving to its lowest level for restrictions. and new york city, now, planning to lift curfews for restaurants and bars, next month. all this, while the white house takes its campaign into overdrive, encouraging more people to get their shots. that, as some popular voices share opinions at odds with the medical experts' advice. >> if you are a healthy person, and you're exercising all the time. and you're young, and you're eating well. like, i don't think you need to worry about this. >> and then, you will pass the infection on to someone else, who might pass it on to someone else. who might really get seriously ill, and might die. so, you have to put a little bit of societal responsibility in your choices. and that's where i disagree with mr. rogan. >> and while the focus remains very much on vaccinations right now, pfizer's ceo, albert, says

the company is working on a antiviral pill as a treatment for covid. he hopes that it might be ready for authorization, by the end of this year. in new york, alexandra field, cnn. hospitals across south and central america are struggling to cope with the rising number of covid infections and patients. variants and slow vaccinations are driving the surge. cnn's matt rivers reports from mexico city. >> reporter: well, we continue to get reminders that, throughout the western hemisphere in the americas this pandemic just isn't getting better as fast as many of us hoped that it would, at this point. the panamerican health organization saying, in the last week of all the covid-related deaths worldwide, one in four were recorded in the americas. meanwhile, looking throughout latin america, pan american health organization says that infections in just about every country throughout this region are rising. we are seeing concerning trends in places, like costa rica.

hospitals are filling up in guatemala and even in colombia infection rates are nearing what they were in january. as icu occupancy rights continue to be a major concern in major cities. meanwhile, we are hearing from brazil. a new study suggests that 90%, roughly, of new-covid infections in the southeastern brazilian state of sao paulo are due to the p 1 variant. this p 1 variant is more easily transmissible than other variants. some good news, though. with mexico and russia announcing that mexico will begin to start packaging, domestically, the russian vaccine. more than 1 million doses of that russian vaccine have already been given out here, in mexico. that domestic packaging of that vaccine, expected to start in the coming weeks. matt rivers, cnn, mexico city. and still, to come. experts in the u.s. are now pushing for gun violence to be treated as a public-health crisis. could this new approach,

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i'll do everything in my power to protect the american

people from this epidemic of gun violence, but it's time for congress to act as well. these kinds of reasonable reforms have overwhelming support from the american people, including many gunowners. the country supports reform and congress should act. this shouldn't be a red or blue issue. >> u.s. president joe biden there during his first speech to congress, calling on lawmakers to finally take action against gun violence. he says now is the time for this escalating and deadly epidemic in america to end. and it seems almost every day we report on a shooting death somewhere in america with the greatest attention going to mass shootings when the death toll is especially horrific. cnn's erica hill has been looking into how how views on gun violence may be change, and why so many appear to have become almost numb to the gun violence. [ siren ] >> reporter: tragedy on a near daily basis. >> three shootings atlanta area

spas where at least seven people have been killed. >> breaking overnight, another mass shoot manage the u.s. >> at least eight people were killed at a fed ex warehouse near the airport in indianapolis. >> i think it's difficult to not be numb. the numbers are so huge, it's almost unimaginable. >> reporter: almost unimaginable, and yet increasinglily predictable. >> on average, probably at least 20 times the likelihood that someone in the united states will die of a gun death than people in other developed countries. >> reporter: it's not just mass shooting events, which are only a small fraction of gun-related deaths in the u.s. in 2019, more than 60% were suicides. and every day an average of over 300 people are injured by a firearm, according to researchers at penn and columbia. our gun violence epidemic is a uniquely american problem. but the firearm holds a different place in our american

mythology and history than it does in any other country. and we have to be able to hold up both of those things as true. >> reporter: which is why in a nation that now has more guns than people, there is a renewed push to address this violence as a public health crisis. the american medical association began using the term in 2016, yet recent polling from quinnipiac finds most americans don't agree. 45% of people say this is a public health crisis. 41% say it's a problem but not a crisis. what do you make of that? >> i think those who say it's not a crisis just haven't been touched by it yet. >> reporter: dr. megan ranney says a public health approach rooted in science not politics has results. >> back in the '70s our rate from car crashes was at its highest ever, and we addressed it like a public health crisis. we did research. we re-engineered cars. we educated people. and by taking that approach, we reduced the number of car crash

deaths by more than two-thirds. >> reporter: one hurried well this public health crisis, that critically important data. public research funding for firearm-related violence nearly dried up in the early '90s when the republican-led congress with backing from the nra threatened continued to study gun injuries and deaths, accusing the cdc of promoting gun control and effectively halting that public health research. >> the big thing is we really don't know what we don't know. there is open carry. that a good or bad thing? we know a lot of guns are stolen. what happens to these guns? we know almost nothing. we know just a little about gun training. does gun training really matter? >> reporter: what we do know, gun violence has a broad, lasting impact. >> no one wants to see themselves, their loved one or someone in their community get hurt or killed with a gun. and when we start with that, then we can start to have discussions about how do you make guns safer and how do you make the people behind them safer.

>> reporter: dr. ranney believes reducing gun violence requires treating the full problems, both the objects, the guns and the people and the gunowners have to be part of the conversation. gun violence is a reality here in the united states, and addressing it is both complicated and increasingly political. but there is hope that as the voices change, these discussions can make a difference. in new york, i'm erica hill, cnn. >> and i'm rosemary church. thank you so much for your company. "cnn newsroom" continues with k ken brunhilber. have yourselves a wonderful day. is scotts turf builder rapid grass. it grows two times faster than seed alone for full, green grass. everything else just seems... slow. it's lawn season. let's get to the yard.

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and welcome to all of you watching us here in the united states, canada and around the world. i'm ken brunhuber. ahead on "cnn newsroom" -- >> members of congress, i have the high privilege and distinct honor to present to you the president of the united states. >> u.s. president joe biden delivered his first address to a joint session of congress promising an ambitious plan to transform government. india's coronavirus case count is surging. now they say they're running out of space to bury the dead. we're live outside the courthouse in moscow