are you a christian author with a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! ♪ ♪ devastating scenes from israel as dozens of killed in a stampede at a religious festival. we're live on the scene. as global covid numbers surpass 150 million, the funeral fires burn in india as the country struggles with the virus getting worse and worse. and rudy giuliani comes out fighting. he says what federal authorities did when raiding his home and office was unconscionable. live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, welcome to all of you watching here in the united

states, canada and around the world, i'm kim brunhuber, this is "cnn newsroom." ♪ we begin in northern israel where a tragedy has unfolded as a crowded religious festival early in morning turned deadly. at least 44 people have been killed there in a stampede and about 100 others have been taken to hospitals, many in critical condition. tens of thousands of orthodox jews and others were gathering to celebrate a holiday but the normally festive holiday became a catastrophe as many scrambled to evacuate. israel's prime minister is calling the tragedy a huge

disaster. for the very latest cnn's hadas gold joins me live from mt. meron. details are still emerging, but what can you tell us? >> reporter: i'm standing near the entrance to the tomb of an ancient rabbi where a lot of jews gather as festivities for this holiday. we have been seeing hundreds of buses as well as many police vehicles, ambulances driving up and down these roads. it gives you a sense of how many people were at these events. there are some estimates that it could have been up to 100,000 people at these events. we can see from the images it was very crowded. the ambulance services here is calling one of the worst civil disasters in israeli history. right around 1:00 a.m. some sort of incident book place on a stairway at mount meron. people began falling and it became a sort of stampede of

sorts and it became chaos. we have seen videos where it seems like bodies are on top of one another. as a result we now have around 44 people have sadly died and more than 100 people have been injured. many of them are in hospital right now. as i say, it's being called one of the worst civil disasters in israeli history. this event happens every year. it didn't happen last year because of coronavirus, not at the same level, but it happens every year. there is questions about how this happened and why. police are ready for this event in normal times, what was different about last night? the police commander for the northern region has already taken responsibility and the israeli attorney general says that he is already launching an investigation into the police conduct to see what happened, what could have caused this. but there's also a lot of questions about why there were so many people even allowed on to this mountain, especially during the times of coronavirus, especially when the crowds were getting so intense. the videos are stunning, the pictures are stunning to see how

many people are standing shoulder to shoulder. what is normally a festive holiday, last night it turned absolutely tragic. >> devastating. thank you so much, hadas gold. appreciate it. now to the coronavirus pandemic as johns hopkins university reports the number of confirmed covid cases worldwide has topped 150 million. india is especially hard hit, breaking another daily record today. that's nine days in a row with more than 300,000 new cases. experts here the fuel numbers are much higher. outside hospitals and make shift medical centers thousands are waiting for hours in hopes of getting oxygen or a bed. the government has approved vaccinations for anyone 18 and older, but the country's vaccine supply is expected to fall well short. meanwhile, the u.s. military aircraft carrying desperately needed medical supplies has landed in new delhi. more than 40 countries have committed to sending aid. the number of dead has

overwhelmed cemeteries, working around the clock but still unable to cope. crematoriums are running short of wood for funeral fires. sam kylie is in new delhi. a warning, his report does have disturbing images. >> reporter: this is a scene at a crematorium, they're dealing with about 150 people coming here to be burned. they are not able to be seen off by their families, indeed, their family members have to take a ticket in an office just over there, a bit like visiting a bank, that gives them a place in the queue and the queue has been long all day long. there have been many dozens of people backed up here, it's now towards the end of the day, they're hoping to get them cleared through by sunset, although the fires will continue to burn. this is happening at a time when the government is continuing to allow or indeed insist on superspreader events like

elections, election gathering, election counting and the consequence of the failure of public health is this. dozens and dozens of victims of the covid pandemic being burned here, very often in ceremonies that are bitterly empty at a crematorium that whilst is dealing with 150 people a day and these are the carts that bring in the loads of wood for each and every one of the pires. this crematorium has had to create this extra piece of territory to see people often. it's been as crowded as this since sunrise and it will be as crowded as this at sunset.

everybody we've spoken to here blames the central government, this is a government that has allowed a net export of coronavirus vaccines, a government that seemed to indicate earlier this year that it felt that india had reached some kind of herd immunity without a massive vaccination campaign and a government that continues to campaign over elections at state and regional level. it is a government that puts politics clearly above the public health of its people. after all, india is a country that has a space program, it's able to put aircraft carriers at sea into the indian ocean and more widely. it wants to take a place on the security council as a permanent member of the united nations, but it's government has allowed this. even as emergency aid is rushed to india from around the world, the crisis is only

expected to grow more dire in the weeks ahead. dr. sanjay gupta explains why. >> you have a 20% to 25% positivity rate, more than 300,000 people being officially diagnosed which suggests that the numbers of new -- newly infected people every day could be over a million if you do the math on that. we know that the number of people who are diagnosed a few weeks after that is when you see the real surge in hospitalizations and then a few weeks after that the surge in deaths. so the hospitalizations are what they are now, i mean, what are the next four to six weeks going to look like? this gets a lot worse. >> many in india blame prime minister narendra modi's government for mishandling the crisis. a spokesman for his ruling party spoke about the accusations. >> we are the government in india so of course responsibility first and foremost are us, good or bad, whatever it is. it is our responsibility and we're trying our very best, but

this did come as a surprise. a lot of people are saying you should have done that is correct you knew in february, but at that time scientists, doctors, they were all morals of the same view. politicians, we politicians formed the opinion that we are getting -- we are more or less getting out of covid situation. our views are basically coming out of the, you know, kind of analysis, the kind of reports, feedback we were getting from scientists and doctors including those living outside india, but indians were living outside india, but evidently something went wrong. astrazeneca says it sold $275 million worth of covid-19 vaccines in the first quarter of this year. that's according to its latest financial results which have just been released. the drug firm said that reflected delivery of around 68 million doses worldwide. the majority of those sales were in europe. u.s. officials are bracing for a court battle from trump ally and former personal

attorney rudy giuliani after agents seized electronic devices in a raid on his home and office wednesday. for more than two years now giuliani has been the focus of an intense investigation relating to his activities in ukraine. now giuliani says he's willing to prove he did nothing wrong. cnn's paula reid reports. >> reporter: rudy giuliani is speaking out for the first time since federal agents raided his home and office wednesday. on his radio show he denied any wrongdoing. >> search warrant is one act of failing to register as a foreign -- failing to file as a foreign agent, which is completely false, which i have been able and i'm really, willing and able to prove is untrue for the last two years which the justice department ignored. it involves my -- they think -- representing ukrainians. >> wow, what a beautiful day. thank you. >> reporter: federal investigators executed multiple search warrants on giuliani

wednesday seeking evidence for their probe into potential foreign lobbying actions. at times in past it has included some work on giuliani's work on other countries. they say the search warrant sought other devices. a computer of giuliani's assistant and also lawyer victoria toensing. her phone was seized by agents. an attorney for giuliani tells cnn that the search warrant sought communications between giuliani and other individuals including right wing columnist john solomon. solomon wrote op-eds for the hill about many of the pro-trump and anti-biden conspiracy theories peddled by giuliani and his ukrainian allies. after a review the hill found flaws in solomon's columns in ukraine, including a failure to provide key discloses.

former president trump weighed into the investigation on his long time friend and personal attorney today. >> he just loves this country and they raid his apartment. it's like so unfair and such a double -- it's like a double standard, like i don't think anybody has ever seen before. it's very, very unfair. >> reporter: but this has happened before to his other personal attorney, michael cohen, whose office was raided in 2018 as part of a criminal investigation. cohen eventually spent one year in jail and today he told cnn giuliani knows exactly what to expect. >> he knows exactly what's coming down the road. he knows how to avoid what the ultimate consequences is going to be and i believe that he's going to start -- he's going to start talking one, two, three. >> reporter: president joe biden revealed today did he not get a heads up on the raids. >> i made a pledge i would not interfere in any way, order or

try to stop any investigation the justice department had under way. i learned about that last night when the rest of the world learned about it. my word. i had no idea this was under way. >> reporter: now that federal agents have these electronic devices an attorney for giuliani had signaled he intends to fight the justice department over materials on those devices that he says are covered by attorney/client privilege. cnn has also learned that one of giuliani's assistants received a subpoena to appear before a grand jury next month signaling this investigation is far from over. paula reid, cnn, washington. and just hours after denying any wrongdoing giuliani went on fox to accuse federal agents of using an illegal search warrant to seize his electronic devices. listen to this. >> that warrant is completely illegal. the only way you can get a search warrant is if you can show that there's some evidence that the person is going to destroy the evidence or is going

to run away with the evidence. well, i have had it for two years and i haven't destroyed t and they also got it from the i cloud. there was no justification for that warrant. it is an illegal, unconstitutional warrant. >> and we should add former federal prosecutor tell cnn giuliani is wrong about his assertion on the basis for a search warrant. coming up on "cnn newsroom," president biden marked 100 days in office. we will bring you what he says he wants for the next 100 days. plus mysterious attacks that sickened u.s. embassy staff in havana in 2016 have now been reported in washington. we will have the latest on the investigation to find the cause. stay with us. when you skip the rinse with finish quantum, you save up to 20 gallons of water each time. finish quantum with activblu technology has the power to remove the toughest stains without pre-rinsing for dishes so clean they shine. join finish and skip the rinse to save our water.

thursday marked the 100th day in office for u.s. president joe biden. he spent much of the day in georgia where he touted his economic plan. cnn's phil mattingly has more from the white house. >> reporter: and on president joe biden's 100th day in office there would be no rest. biden fresh off his first prime time address to congress marking the milestone moment by hitting

the road, touching down today in georgia the first in a series of trips over the next ten days as the white house tries to shape its next 100 days. biden has proposed more than $6 trillion in new spending, his latest $1.8 trillion proposal now on the table, laying out transformative changes to education and the social safety net for families. >> my fellow americans, trickle down -- trickle down economics has never worked and it's time to grow the economy from the bottom and the middle out. >> and already drawing strong gop opposition. >> even more taxing, even more spending to put washington even more in the middle of your life from the cradle to college. >> reporter: but with the narrow west of majorities it's democrats the white house is keeping the closest eye on with crucial moderate senator joe manchin telling manu raju he's reviewing the proposal but its scale is in his words a lot.

>> we are looking at everything to make sure that we just don't spend money for the sake of putting money and causing more debt and causing more -- maybe increasing inflation. we can overflood the market. >> reporter: biden planning to ramp up meetings with lawmakers in the weeks ahead including his first meeting with the big four, the top four bipartisan leaders on capitol hill. biden in his address laying out a wide-ranging agenda up for discussion from immigration and gun control to union organizing and police reform, but making clear his view is much broader than just individual bills. at one point in his speech going off script to explicitly lay out the stakes he sees and the view of chinese president xi jinping. >> he's deadly earnest while becoming the most significant consequential nation in the world. he and others, autocrats, think that democracy can't compete in the 21st century with

autocracies. that it takes too long to get consensus. >> reporter: biden making clear in his speech inaction is not an option, but he is ready to talk. >> i'd like to meet with those who have ideas that are different. they think are better. i welcome those ideas. >> and cnn's phil mattingly filed that report. now, while here in georgia president biden called on a man who knows all about the job he is he's now doing, he met with former president jimmy carter and former first lady roslyn. the visit lasted about an hour and marked the first time the couples had met in-person since biden became president. the carters didn't attend biden's inauguration in january because of the pandemic. for the police officers present when andrew brown jr. were shot and killed will be back on active duty in north carolina. the sheriff says they didn't fire their weapons. three others who did open fire

are still under investigation and remain on administrative leave. we're hearing different accounts of what happened in the last moments of brown's life. jason carroll has that story. >> they pulled him out and started chest compressions. >> reporter: she does not want us to identify her, only to say that she is one of andrew brown jr.'s relatives and lives on the same block. she says she saw the shooting unfold and has a very different account of what happened compared to what prosecutors are saying about the shooting. >> not what i saw. it's not what i believe. >> reporter: she took these pictures after the shooting, showing the sheriff's truck parked in brown's driveway, the same truck that appears to be on this surveillance footage obtained by cnn as it sped by moments before the shooting. she says she watched in disbelief from her window after seeing sheriff's deputies in front of brown's home. >> once they jumped out the back of the truck he started backing up and they started shooting the front windshield of his car.

then he took off to go across the yard and they started shooting the back window of his car. >> reporter: during a court proceeding wednesday the pos kwa tank county district attorney says law enforcement opened fire only after brown's car came in contact with them. >> 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: but she disputes the da's claims. >> did you see his car come in contact? >> no. no, i did not. he started backing up. >> let me stop you there. when he was backing up could you see if he was backing up toward any officers? >> no, he was not. there were none behind him. >> reporter: she also took photos of brown's car after the shooting. this one appears to show at least one bullet hole in the frond windshield. she took us to brown's driveway where candles are now arranged

spelling his nickname, drew. she still remembers the last time she heard from brown, a text she says she received from him last wednesday at 8:20 a.m., about three minutes before the shooting. it reads simply o. brown's way of saying hello. >> extremely heart breaking to have to watch and go through knowing he's one person you can't bring back. >> and that was jason carroll reporting. u.s. government is scrambling to unravel the source of a mysterious attack that's causing severe headaches and nausea in the victims. at least one u.s. official was apparently targeted last november near the white house. the symptoms mirror similar incidents at the u.s. embassy in havana a few years ago. cnn's alex marquardt explains what we know so far. >> reporter: it's called havana syndrome for where the strange debilitating attacks against u.s. personal were first

noticed. now sources telling cnn about at least two more on american soil, similar, mysterious incidents, including one late last year right near the white house. >> thank you for your attention on this issue. it's critically important. >> reporter: the country's top intelligence official is saying she is focused on the attacks believed to be the result of directed microwaves. the pentagon is also investigating multiple sources telling cnn that defense officials briefed congress earlier this month, telling lawmakers that the white house incident in november happened near the grassy oval area known as the ellipse. just south of the white house. an official from the national security council was sickened. another incident first reported by gq happened in arlington, virginia n 2019, also seemingly directed at another white house staffer. similar attacks have struck u.s. diplomats and cia officials not just in cuba but china and russia as well but a former

senior cia officer who says he was hit with an attack while visiting the russian capital in 2017. >> when i woke up in the middle of the night with an incredible case of vertigo, the room was spinning, i wanted to throw up. >> reporter: he served in the middle east and afghanistan. because of the moscow attack he was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and had to retire from the cia. >> i have had a headache every day since that night in moscow, it has never gone away day and night. >> reporter: a study by the national academy of sciences found the most likely cause of the symptoms was directed pulsed video frequency energy. symptoms include ear popping, vertigo, pounding headaches and nausea, alongside the pentagon the state department and cia have also launched investigations. >> i will make it an extraordinarily high priority to get to the bottom of who is responsible for the attacks. >> reporter: and who is responsible remains a major question. u.s. officials have said it could be russia, it could be china, they simply do not know. i want to underscore how

extraordinary an attack here at the ellipse would be. this is the ellipse, just south of the white house which you can see right there, this is one of the most secure places in the country. you have u.s. secret service, u.s. park police, d.c., metropolitan police and yet a white house staffer may have been targeted just steps from the white house. alex marquardt, cnn, washington. u.s. officials say almost one-third of u.s. adults are fully vaccinated but despite this progress a sizable number of americans say they won't get a second shot or won't get a shot at all. we will have the story straight ahead. stay with us.

so you're a small business, or a big one. you were thriving, but then... oh. ah. okay. plan, pivot. how do you bounce back? you don't, you bounce forward, with serious and reliable internet.

powered by the largest gig speed network in america. but is it secure? sure it's secure. and even if the power goes down, your connection doesn't. so how do i do this? you don't do this. we do this, together. bounce forward, with comcast business.

and welcome back to all of you watching us here in the united states, canada and around the world, i'm kim brunhuber and you're watching "cnn newsroom." more now on the breaking news from northern israel. police are investigating what triggered a deadly stampede early in morning at a crowded religious festival. the death toll stands at 44. israel's emergency services says it provided medical care to 150 injured festivalgoers. many were hospitalized some in critical condition. one medic described the chaotic scene as one of israel's worst disasters. about 100,000 orthodox jews and others have gathered to will he be brate the lag b'omer holiday on mount meron. israel's attorney general says he's opening an investigation into possible criminal negligence on the part of police officers there. here in the u.s. the

seven-day average of new coronavirus deaths is at its lowest point since october of last year. according to a cnn analysis of johns hopkins university data, the seven-day average number of deaths has been going down regularly for months. wednesday's average figure of 684 new deaths represents a drop of about 80% since its peak in january. experts say this decrease is at least partially due to rising vaccination rates, especially among older adults. but state and local leaders in the u.s. say they're seeing a decrease in demand for vaccines and a sizable number of means say they don't plan to get a vaccine at all. states are lifting restrictions and going ahead with plans to open up. here is nick watt. >> we are ready for stores to open, for businesses to open, offices, theaters, full strength. our plan is to fully reopen new york city on july 1st. >> reporter: one-time hot spots

have cooled, now prepping for a return to normal. here is a large chunk of why. >> people have gotten vaccinated in extraordinary numbers, 6.3 million vaccinations in new york city to date. >> reporter: los angeles says the county might move into lowest level restrictions next week. when in atlanta the braves will allow fully packed stands. >> it's going to be great. as you can see just opening up like we have has meant the world, i think, to everybody here. >> reporter: nationwide the average daily new case count lowest it's been in over six months. tennessee declared mission accomplished. i am not renewing any public health orders, tweeted the governor, because covid-19 is no longer a health emergency in our state. jumping the gun? tennessee has one of the lowest rates of vaccination in the land. not quite one-third of americans are now fully vaccinated and the pace is slowing, dropped nearly

20% the past two weeks. >> go get vaccinated, america. get and get the vaccination. they are available. >> supply, no longer the issue. it's demand. in our new poll of the not yet vaccinated, 58% of adults said they won't try to get a shot. think again say the experts. think ahead. >> one critical way to prevent long covid is to prevent covid itself, even for young people who consider their risk of severe covid to be low, the long-term consequences can be quite serious. >> reporter: so a simple statistic to let you know just how much things have changed here in california, middle of december we had a day with over 60,000 new cases reported. yesterday just a little over 1,500. this state plans to fully reopen middle of june. nick watt, cnn, los angeles.

californians will be able to return to the happiest place on earth as much as the end of april, but only californians. both disneyland and disney california adventure are to have a phased reopening with limited capacity, but people hoping to visit from other states will have to wait a little longer. walt disney world in orlando, florida, reopened back in july 2020. even though most of its parks are open, their parade and fireworks have been canceled to keep visitors socially distanced. and grab your mint juleps, the kentucky derby will be run on saturday despite covid restrictions. the first leg of u.s. horse operation's triple crown at churchill downs in louisville, kentucky, normally attacks 46,000 people. state and local guidelines will require spectators to wear masks at all times. churchill downs is also providing hand washing and hand

sanitizing stations. india has broken another record for the most new covid cases in a single day. the health ministry reports more than 386,000 new infections on friday and nearly 3,500 deaths. families are searching franticly for oxygen and medical care for their loved ones. clarissa ward has more from new delhi. >> reporter: well, this morning we woke up and saw on twitter this hospital saying that essentially they were about to run out of oxygen and that 70 covid patients in their care might die potentially if they didn't get some soon. we went to talk to them. take a listen to what the administrator had to say. >> how much longer do you have before you run out of oxygen? >> today we have just -- i mean, it is one or two hours it will last and every day we are facing this problem of oxygen. >> i can hear these people coughing. i mean, they're obviously desperate. what happens if the oxygen runs

out? >> if they don't get oxygen they can die. they will not survive. that's for sure. they will not survive for long. >> are you dealing with this every day? >> yeah, we have been dealing with this every day for the past ten days. every day we have to fight for the oxygen. every day we have to keep messaging, we have to say that we are running short of oxygen. please give us the oxygen. please give us the oxygen. >> so this is a question of life and death? >> yes, it is a question of life and death. >> reporter: it's important to remember these are some of the lucky ones, people who end up in a private hospital like this one, gives you a sense of just how dire the situation is. with covid cases at alarming levels turkey is also imposing new restrictions, many stocked up ahead of the first ever nationwide lockdown which will be in place for at least three weeks. officials in istanbul have now identified at least five cases of the new variant first detected in india. now to south america where

several countries are fighting desperate battles against the coronavirus. brazil is now reporting more than 400,000 people have been -- have lost their lives to covid-19. it's only the second country to reach that milestone after the u.s. argentina and colombia are also dealing with their own devastating outbreaks. we have a report from bogota. >> reporter: coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in south america from patagonia to the caribbean coast, the region has been ravaged by the pandemic. on thursday argentina reported a record increase of 561 deaths in the last 24 hours, while intensive care units are reaching capacity. a little bit north in brazil not a record increasing death but the crossing of the threshold of over 400,000 people dying of covid-19, one every 500

brazilians have lost their life due to virus because of covid-19 since the pandemic began. and in colombia also on thursday yet another record increase in deaths with 505 victims in the last 24 hours. it's the first time that colombia reports more than 500 victims in less than a day since the pandemic began. while we're seeing all across the region that vaccination campaigns are continuing and are partially picking up pace, the impact of new, more deadly and more infected variant is bringing the region to the point of collapse with deadly rates not seen in the first waves of the pandemic last year and earlier these experts are afraid that the worst may still be yet to come for many of these nations unless many nor vaccines

are deployed every day. and also in colombia hundreds of demonstrators have been clark with police. they're protesting new coronavirus restrictions and the government's proposed tax reform. fires broke out in the streets and police fired tear gas into the crowds. an official says at least one person has died. the clashes come as the country fast approaches 75,000 covid-19 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, one of the highest death tolls in the region. mahmoud abbas has postponed elections for the palestinian legislative council and the presidency. the move sparked anchor among palestinians who haven't elected new leadership in 15 years. has bass is claiming israel for not guaranteeing palestinians in east jerusalem can cast ballots. israel considers jerusalem its territory while palestinians see the aern portion as the capital

of a future palestinian state. after two decades of war u.s. troops are officially on their way out of afghanistan. we will look at the impact of their departure on the country they leave behind next. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy, even a term policy, for an immediate cash payment. call coventry direct to learn more. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized that we needed a way to supplement our income. our friends sold their policy to help pay for their medical bills

and that got me thinking. maybe selling our policy could help with our retirement. i'm skeptical, so i did some research and called coventry direct. they explained life insurance is a valuable asset that can be sold. we learned that we can sell all of our policy or keep part of it with no future payments, who knew? we sold our policy. now we can relax and enjoy our retirement as we had planned. if you have one hundred thousand dollars or more of life insurance you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit conventrydirect.com to find out if you policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance.

wanna help kids get their homework done? well, an internet connection's a good start. but kids also need computers. and sometimes the hardest thing about homework is finding a place to do it. so why not hook community centers up with wifi? for kids like us, and all the amazing things we're gonna learn. over the next 10 years, comcast is committing $1 billion to reach 50 million low-income americans with the tools and resources they need to be ready for anything. i hope you're ready. 'cause we are.

the white house has announced that the american troop withdrawal from afghanistan is now formally under way. a top u.s. general says it's a complex operation that will unfold over the coming weeks. president joe biden has set a deadline for the draw down to be completed by september 11th. cnn's ben wedeman is following the latest developments for us from beirut, lebanon. ben, take us through how this will unfold. >> reporter: well, basically there is around 2,500 u.s. troops plus 7,000 nato troops currently in afghanistan. it's going to obvious take some time to pull them and their

equipment out, and we understand that the pentagon is sending an additional 650 troops to help with the process. but really the big question is what happens afterwards because it does seem that the situation the united states has in afghanistan is not unlike that that it had in vietnam in the early '70s. u.s. troops pulled out of south vietnam in january 1973 and of course just over two years after that the vietcong and north vietnamese forces took over saigon the capital of south vietnam. of course, the taliban of course control now at least 50% of afghanistan, the rest of the country is under the control of officially 300,000 afghan soldiers and police, but the real number of troops is perhaps much lower because of desertion and what are called ghost

soldiers, in other words, soldiers who are on the books as receiving a salary, but oftentimes the officers of their units are pocketing those salaries. the afghan security forces according to a talley kept by "the new york times" are currently losing 270 troops every month as a result of taliban attacks. as far as the taliban go, this is a victory. this is their victory over the united states and they've made it clear that their goal is to eventually reestablish the islamic emirate of afghanistan. according to the agreement that was worked out with the united states, the only thing the taliban are really committed to doing is not using afghanistan as a base for attacks against

the u.s. and severing ties with al qaeda. the 2020 election has long since been decided but there is another bizarre recount happening in arizona. we will show you what happened when cnn tried to get inside. stay with us. never run dry of... killer attitude. or hydration. neutrogena® hydro boost. the #1 hyaluronic acid moisturizer delivers 2x the hydration for supple, bouncy skin. neutrogena®. the first person to survive alzheimer's disease is out there. and the alzheimer's association is going to make it happen by funding scientific breakthroughs, advancing public policy, and providing local support to those living with the disease and their caregivers. but we won't get there without you. join the fight with the alzheimer's association.

you'd never wash your dishes in this. your dishwasher looks clean but, when grease and limescale build up, it's not as hygienic as you think. use finish dishwasher cleaner its dual-action formula tackles grease and limescale. finish. clean dishwasher. clean dishes. are you a christian author with a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today!

bill will soon land on the florida governor's desk. if signed by governor ron desantis the bill would create new restrictions on voting by mail and ballot drop boxes. the bill is part of a republican-led effort across the u.s. to restrict voting access after a record turnout in last november's elections. desantis says previously expressed his support for past versions of the bill but hasn't responded to cnn about whether he will sign this one. republicans in arizona have a different way of showing they're not happy with the way the 2020 election turned out. they're auditing more than 2 million ballots and 400 voting machines hoping to change the outcome. cnn's kim la reports from phoenix. >> reporter: the carnival has arrived at the arizona state

fairgrounds in phoenix, this one in the parking lot is called the crazy times carnival. inside the coliseum is a different sort of spectacle, replaying the big lie in the 2020 election. this is yet another talley of the nearly 2.1 million ballots in maricopa county, but this so-called audit is unlike any other. these are ballot counters heading into a shift. >> have you ever done election counting before? >> no, but it's -- there's nothing to it. it's pretty obvious. >> no thanks. >> most don't want to talk. others -- >> we're just trying to do a story -- >> i don't trust. >> you openly partisan as you see displayed on some cars and in what they say. >> i'm sorry, what? >> what news group are you from? >> i'm from cnn. >> okay. no thank you. >> people are wondering what to look for in that you had a i will. o.a.n. or one american news network is the small far right

network that has promoted false claims that donald trump won the 2020 election. o.a.n. is also live streaming the event and its hosts had helped raise funds for this exercise. >> we were initially told we could not enter the publicly owned arizona state fairgrounds but when we tried again another time -- >> hey, i'm with cnn. >> cnn. okay. you guys will be on the second level. >> so we can get in? >> yeah. >> we followed that officer's instructions. >> there is media parking. >> but then these guys showed up. >> i'm not authorized to speak to the press or the media. >> even though these uniformed men look like police, they are not. they are a volunteer group called the arizona rangers. >> so you're trespassing. >> this man talking to me is wearing a badge from cyber ninjas, the florida-based company being paid $150,000 by the gop-controlled state senate to conduct this election review, but here is what republican jack sellers, the maricopa county board of supervisors chairman

thinks about cyber ninjas. >> everything they're doing is unprofessional, it's bothersome. i don't feel that it benefits me to get into the weeds too far on all the craziness that i see going on. >> reporter: sellers knows the difference. he leads a republican majority board of supervisors. they already conducted two audits with bipartisan observers in public view that found no evidence of widespread election fraud. the board of supervisors fought the state senate in court to keep the ballots but lost and turned over the ballots. >> when you accept responsibility for an election it can't be about a party, it can't be about a person. it has to be about representing all the voters. >> reporter: arizona news agencies and their lawyer fought to get a reporter into the site where the count is happening and days into the audit got in. a news camera then caught the unusual process of ballots being scanned with uv lights. in a news conference the hired

representative for the arizona state senate struggled to explain why. >> what are the uv lights for? >> the uv lights are looking at the paper and it's part of several teams that are involved in the paper evaluation. >> for what? for what purpose? >> i personally don't know. >> it's a fishing expedition for stuff that we know doesn't exist. >> reporter: arizona's secretary of state warns what's happening in arizona may just be the next page in the playbook of the big lie. >> they cried and cried for an audit for months and they finally had gotten it and they're going to try to use this and get it other places, too. >> so you think that what happens here will impact other places. >> oh, absolutely. absolutely. >> reporter: a judge ruled that this talley can continue for now, but expect more litigation, legal battles in the days to come. as far as this carnival, the

crazy times carnival, this one at least ends in ten days. kyung lah, cnn, phoenix. in just a few hours four astronauts from spacex's crew one mission will begin their return to earth. the three americans and one japanese crew members have been at the international space station for almost six months. nasa says the plan is for spacex's crew dragon spacecraft to undock from the station later today and splash down at one of seven targeted landing zones expected on saturday. earlier this week the departing american commander handed the reins of the iss to a different japanese astronaut. well, that wraps this hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm kim brunhuber. "early start" is next. what's the #1 retinol brand

used most by dermatologists? it's neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair® smooths the look of fine lines in 1-week, deep wrinkles in 4. so you can kiss wrinkles goodbye! neutrogena®

we know how much you count on us... ...and that's why we're here 24/7... ...and on the road maintaining a fast and reliable network. we're always working to ensure the internet meets your needs... ...by making access easier for all... ...with comcast lift zones and our internet essentials program. we're invested in making our apps easy... ...to give you personalized assistance around the clock. and we're committed to keeping our team and customers safe by working from home... ...and using precautions in store. see what we're up to at xfinity.com/commitment

♪ stocks and housing are booming. layoffs are slowing. so who benefits the most from a great american come back? he was warned, the fbi told rudy giuliani he was the target of russian manipulation. what he now says about the raid on his home. and new claims about matt gaetz paying for sex with an underaged girl, how the details emerged in a letter from an ally pleading for a parred. welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world, we have reports this morning from india, israel, moscow, the white house and th