victor hugo cuevas. he denies through his lawyer that he's the tiger's owner. you can imagine the shock and alarm if you look out your window and see a tiger wearing a collar. tigers should never be in domestic homes. people calling 911 as a vehicle driven by cuevas sped away just as police got there. >> no. get the [ bleep ] inside. i don't know who the [ bleep ]. >> he was charged with felony fleeing. the tiger is still missing. thank you for joining us. ac "360" starts now. good evening. tonight is one of those moments in history you may remember for the rest of your lives because more than 15 months after the cdc first recommended wearing masks, a recommendation that was unnecessarily politicized but nevertheless became a symbol of the pandemic and restrictions we've all lived under, that same

agency has made a stunning announcement that speaks to just how far we've come to fighting the disease in this country. the cdc says if you're fully vaccinated, you don't need a mask anymore. i want to repeat that because it's kind of great to say and we waited a long time to say it. if you're fully vaccinated, according to the cdc, you don't need to wear a mask anymore, not indoors, not outdoors. now, there are some caveats, if you're on a plane or train. we're going to ask us the new policy as well as the exemptions to it in a moment with dr. sanjay gupta and leana wen w. before we do, we want to pause and take stock of the past 15 months. more than 584,000, that is the official number of americans we have lost to the virus, 584,000 human beings. and remember, when the projections came out and said that we could see 100,000 deaths and that number was too high to even believe, no way, we

thought, no way we would lose 100,000 people. and now tonight the official number stands at nearly six times that. as you may know, there are estimates that the actual number of deaths may be greater, and those deaths could have been avoided. but that's not the conversation perhaps for tonight. it's this. practically speaking, today's news means we see more smiles and basic human interaction should get a little easier. it also means vaccinations work, and that's worth repeating as well. today's announcement by the cdc is evidence of that. symbolically, removing the masks represents perhaps the biggest step toward returning to some kind of normalcy. today, reaction poured in across washington. >> this is an exciting and powerful moment. >> it's a great time. >> i think it's the great milestone, a great day. >>, certainly, a great step in the right direction and i can't wait for this whole period of time to be in the rear view mirror like millions of other americans. >> it's about damn time.

>> i wouldn't go so any as to say it's essentially over. i think this is a very important step in the direction of trying to get back to some degree of normality because this is something that everyone has had on their mind. >> i'm glad this message was sent today. i think it needs to be even clearer and louder in the same way that putting the mask on was a clear and loud mask. >> did you take your masks on in the oval? >> we did. we heard all about it. the president took his off too. >> cdc has finally caught up with it that a naked face is okay to be able to walk around and be able to talk the people after you've been vaccinated. >> after you've been vaccinated. let's start with kaitlan collins. you have new reporting about when the white house was notified about the cdc announcement. >> reporter: yeah, anderson. it caught white house officials off guard because the cdc has been really cautious throughout all of this and they thought it was going to be at least several more days before they got updated guidance from the cdc. it was just two weeks ago that they had put out that other guidance about vaccinated people not wearing a mask outside.

and so how this went down, what we hear from sources is that yesterday the cdc director, dr. walensky, met with top officials at the cdc. they talked about this and she made up her mind to change this guidance. afterwards, she briefed the hhs secretary becerra on the next plan, and it was only after that that they then went to the white house and said, hey, by the way, tomorrow, pretty drastically we're changing this guidance what fully vaccinated people can do inside and outside. that's why you saw a scramble at the white house today with president biden addressing this change, which he was not initially scheduled to do. he wasn't supposed to toalk abot the pandemic today. and then, of course, at the last minute they added the remarks so they could tout what a milestone this is. >> what did president biden say about the announcement? >> it's a good day for the country. he was smiling as he came out, modeling this new guidance, but

also trying to use it as an incentive for those who have not gotten the shot just yet. >> the rule is very simple. get vaccinated or wear a mask until you do. if you're vaccinated, you can be around the vaccinated or unvaccinated people. but if you're not vaccinated or not fully vaccinated, you should wear a mask for your own protection and the protection of other unvaccinated people. the choice is yours. >> reporter: and that is something white house officials have wanted for so long, to directly tie getting vaccinated to something as basic as taking your mask off because they do think that will help incentivize who have not been vaccinated yet. anderson, emailing staffers tonight that yes, when you're on white house grounds, if you have been vaccinated, you don't have to wear your mask walking to and from one office to another like

they had been doing previously. >> thank you. perspective from our chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta and lee ana wen. sanjay, first of all, your reaction to the news, how the decision was made. is it the right decision? >> yeah. it's a big day. i mean, as you pointed out, it feels like a very momentous time here. i think the decision in many ways follows the science. we've known the benefits of these vaccines for some time that they are very protective in terms of you getting sick. they reduce your chance of becoming infected and newer data shows that the likelihood that even if you do test positive for the coronavirus after being vaccinated the chance that you would transmit that virus to somebody else is very low. so this follows the science, i think, in this regard. i think it still feels jarring to be honest with you, having conversations with people at the

cdc last week even, the impression was that this sort of loosening of the guidance was going to be a long time coming still. in fact, the loosening of indoor masking would take some time and we would have to be at a low level, so i was surprised that it happened this quickly. and i think the implementation of this is going to be challenging. i was just reading this, anderson. in nevada the casinos -- they were basically told follow the cdc's guidelines no matter what they are. that's been their sort of policy from the governor. well, now because the guidance has changed, basically the casinos are going to be maskless in nevada. there's no mandate to show the proof of vaccination, so how is that going to play out? there may be a lot of unvaccinated and unmasked people indoors in those crowded situations. >> dr. wen, that brings up the essential problem here, is that when everyone was wearing a mask, you weren't in danger from

somebody else who maybe wasn't vaccinated or you were in less danger. now if no one is wearing a mask, you don't know who's been vaccinated and who has not. i suppose if you're vaccinated, it's not as big a risk to you. you can still get positive, but it won't take you to the hospital or kill you. but how do you see this? >> well, frankly, i was shocked when i heard the news. and i thought that the cdc had gone from one extreme to another. they were overly cautious, and now they're throwing caution into the wind. >> you had been critical of the cdc for being cautious in their previous guidance? >> i thought there's a lot they could do. part of what they did today was great, saying the vaccines are wonderful, once you get the vaccine, you can choose your own adventure. the only problem is, that is tied to proof of vaccination. because what i really worry about is essentially the cdc today eliminated mask mandates and social distancing.

they're saying it's an honor code from now on. so it's actually going to be a disincentive. a lot of people never wanted to get vaccinated or wear masks. now they can just say, oh, i'm vaccinated or i don't even have to show proof of vaccination. and so i really worry about those people who cannot yet be vaccinated like our children, the individuals who are immunocompromised and are not fully protected by the vaccine. we're now putting them at risk and bringing us further from herd immunity. >> sanjay, what about that? for kids or even, you know, if somebody comes up to them, how does their parent know that person's been vaccinated or not? >> yeah. i mean, that's the issue. i mean, that is really it. that's, i think, the surprising part of this. i think that the idea that, as you point out, if you are vaccinated, then previously you're obligation was to wear a mask because perhaps you might still transmit the virus to somebody else. what the science has shown is

that's really not likely. there's been a couple of studies that have come out -- we can show you one. this is one i talked to doctor walensky after the press conference. this is a study she focused on from the new england journal of medicine. basically it shows that these vaccines are very protective against symptomatic infection, 94%, 95% protective after two weeks. but also very protective against asymptomatic infection. again, that's for the vaccinated population. but leana has small children. there are others in the population who are not yet vaccinated or can't be vaccinated for some reason . if they're unvre are unmasked p around, they're putting them at risk. the deputy director for the vaccine program at nih said, we keep thinking of this country as a vaccinated and unvaccinated country. what it's going to turn into is a vaccinated and an infected country because people who are not vaccinated may increasingly

become more likely to become infected as a result of this. now, maybe a small number. i don't want to exaggerate the threat here, but that's sort of what's happening. vaccinated people will likely be safe, but unvaccinated people hanging out with unvaccinated people may be at greater risk. >> dr. fauci did address businesses requiring proof of vaccination today. in florida, for example, governor ron desantis signed an executive prohibiting the use of covid-19 passports in the state. what did dr. fauci say? >> you know, yeah, he was asked about this and he said the same thing, that there's not going to be a vaccine database with regard to vaccine passports, businesses, restaurants, things like that, they may enforce these things themselves. some of them may continue to have mask mandates. there's nothing prohibiting them from still having mask mandates because they don't want to actually go through the process of trying to ensure vaccination

status. but it's going to be a little bit ad hoc. that's part of the issue, is that you have federal guidelines, but then each institution and state, community will enforce it on their own. >> sanjay, dr. wen, stay with us. we have a number of viewer questions to answer. coming up next, dealing with the variants in school. the latest unhinged moment from a congresswoman with a history of them, marjorie taylor greene's aggressive behavior towards a member in the capitol. a democratic congresswoman joins us to discuss when we continue.

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ththere's a world wherele, every one of us is connected. everyone. everywhere. where everyone is included. where everyone has access to information, education, opportunity. ♪ ♪ ♪ when everyone and everything is connected. that's really beautiful. anything is possible. good morning. cisco. the bridge to possible. questions about our breaking news this evening. the change in cdc policy states if you're fully vaccinated, you don't need a mask in most situations except on a plane or train. dr. sanjay gupta and leana wen. what about kids under 12?

with the new guidance, everyone will stop wearing masks. will they be protected enough? >> i'm really worried about this too, anderson. i know that you're in a similar situation. i have a 3 1/2-year-old who can mask and a 1-year-old who doesn't mask. my kids are not eligible to be vaccinated. it's not that i don't want them to be vaccinated. it's that they can't be. and i do really worry. now we're going to be potentially going into grocery stores or other settings where they could be exposed. just to be clear, vaccinated people are not at risk themselves. now we know because they are now vaccinated. but those who are unvaccinated are still at risk, especially if there are now unvaccinated people who are not masking. and so i do think having your child wear a mask does help. however, that distancing is important as well. if you take your kids to the grocery stores, try to go at a time when there aren't a lot of people around. if there are a lot of maskless people walking around, you suspect some of them could be

unvaccinated, maybe leave and come back later. >> if your child is above 3 -- i'm not sure what the latest guideline is -- and you want them to wear a mask at a supermarket, they can, right? >> absolutely. that guidance, i think, goes to other people too. i mean, you could be vaccinated, but maybe you are immunocompromised. maybe you live at home with somebody who is and you just want to be cautious right now. that's entirely fine. i think that a lot of it right now -- it's going to take some time for us to adjust to this new normal. in that period we have to give each other a lot of courtesy as well. >> dr. wen, today the cdc director said the guidance was based on science, that its purpose was not to give people an incentive to get vaccinated. that seems contrary to what president biden was saying? >> i disagree with dr. walensky here. the goal of the cdc is to advance public health in the country and also to help local,

state officials, businesses and others with their public policy. so your guidelines have to make sense and have that broader purpose and mission in mind. and so i really wish that the cdc had taken an intermediate step instead of going the pendulum swinging all the way to the other direction. why not just say fully vaccinated people can be around other fully vaccinated people, including at work, in workplaces you can take off your mask. that would have been a good intermediate step to give people time to adjust to that, give people more time to be incentivized to be vaccinated. but i fear we're going to take away the incentive for people who may be on the fence, now they just think, well, i can take of my mask anyway. what's the point? >> one said i notice fully vaccinated people have contracted covid-19. how does the mask guidance make

sense? eight of the yankees players have tested positive, all have been vaccinated. >> right. so this has been a big question. the idea of the vaccine in terms of what it was proven to do initially was prevent you from getting sick, which it does well. it was not clear that it prevents from you getting infected. there are breakthrough infections. and my guess is higher than we realize because a lot of people don't bother to get tested after they've been vaccinated. so it could be even higher. but the big question is whether or not even if you get a breakthrough infection, your likelihood of being able to do transmit the virus to others. and i think that was critical. this is data that the cdc, i think, really relied on with making these new recommendations, and it shows you don't create a viral load that's high enough to actually be really contagious towards somebody else. >> let me just be clear about that because i'm very slow on this. if i have been vaccinated, which

i have been, i can still become positive with covid, but i am highly unlikely to be able to transmit it to someone else because the amount of covid in me is small? >> correct. the virus gets into your system and it starts to replicate. when it gets to a high enough load, that's when you become contagious. the thinking was -- it wasn't proven until recently -- that because you have antibodies, because you've been vaccinated, you won't get to that viral load. so even if you test positive, you're unlikely to be contagious. >> let me just ask -- >> that was a critical point. >> let me ask one other simplistic question. again, i'm simplistic. if i've been vaccinated and i get covid and i have mild symptoms, whatever, and it goes away, am i vulnerable to being one of the people who get long-haul symptoms? a lot of those people had mild symptoms and a year later they're still dealing with stuff. >> i don't know the answer to

that. if you get symptoms after you've been vaccinated, which can happen, the vaccine is very good at preventing you from getting really sick. but the idea you get mildly ill is there. y is the likelihood of long-haulers present, yes. i don't know if the opposite is also true. those are still some unanswered questions. but the idea that the masking of a vaccinated person to protect others around them made total sense, but this new data that you're unlikely to transmit it after you've been vaccinated, i think, is the critical point. >> dr. wen, there's a question about variants. if someone is carrying the indian variant, how do i know i'll be safe without a mask? >> it appears all the variants

we're aware of, that the vaccines work with them. the indian variant as far as we know seems to work well with the vaccines that we have. but i think it does bring up a broader question. there may be other variants that arise over time and we have to remember there are individuals who are vaccinated, it's rare but she is there are some individuals who are vaccinated but who may not mount enough of an immune response, patients on chemotherapy, people who have organ transplants, they don't mount as much of an immune response. and so i think part of this is there's an obligation for society and our policies to also protect those who are vulnerable and not just leave them without their freedoms too. >> sanjay, another way to look at this is you could argue this is an incentive for people to get vaccinated because there are now going to be a whole bunch of people running around without masks who have not been vaccinated, and you have no idea who has been and who hasn't.

and if you want to protect yourself, you should get vacc vaccinated, is that correct? >> right. there's all kinds of ways to look at it. i would agree with that way of looking at it. i would agree -- >> just from a self-preservation standpoint, that's an argument if that's what you're concerned about. that seems to be a more selfish way of looking at it, but maybe it's reasonable. >> yeah. i mean, the idea now that i would like to go to an indoor location or some sort of gathering and i'm going to look around the room, there's going to be a lot of unmasked people, i don't know who's vaccinated or not if there's no requirement to show that proof. if i'm unvaccinated, then i think this may be a high-risk environment so i should get vaccinated. that could be an incentive. i don't know if leana agrees or not, but this only works, the incentive to take masks off and everything, is if there's some proof of vaccination. is that what you're saying?

is that the the only way this would work? >> i don't know if it's the only way, but i do think it's a powerful incentive. we have seen this over and over again in polls. i was just in a focus group done yesterday with a bunch of vaccine-concerned individuals. for them, this idea of, well, if we can't travel without showing proof of vaccination, if we can't engage in society without proof of vaccination, that was a really, really powerful motivator. now if you can do everything, why bother? >> that worked in israel early when people were going to get vaccinated. companies said if you're not going to get vaccinated, you can't work here and vaccination rates went up because people wanted to be able to go back and work. companies can still decide -- i mean, sanjay, can a company decide their employees have to be vaccinated if they want to work in the office? >> there can be vaccine mouandas

from private organizations. the biden administration is leaning away from keeping a vaccine database, having vaccine passports or whatever. but organizations can do that, concert venues can do that, large gathering events can do that saying you have to have proof of vaccination. you got i.t. companies that are creating apps that may go on your phone to do that. but it is a provocative, controversial topic. some people say it infringes on your health care information. who knows where it goes. >> thank you. up next, republican congresswoman marjorie taylor greene accused of shouting at alexandria ocasio-cortez in the halls of congress. we'll talk with val demings when we continue. ♪ comfort in the extreme. ♪ (vo) jamaica. the lincoln family of luxury suvs. (woman) best decision ever. ♪ (vo) feel the sand between your toes,

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the latest unhinged moment on capitol hill involves congresswoman taylor greene, no stranger to controversy. she shouted at democratic congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez yesterday. according to "the post," she fold alexandria ocasio-cortez through the halls of congress asking why she supports antifa and black lives matter, also labeling them terrorist groups, "the post" says greene shouted to alexandria ocasio-cortez she was failing to debate her, kwo

quoting, she doesn't want to debate. ocasio-cortez says she is express security concerns to make sure congress remains a safe, civil place. there's talks about ethical complaints about greene. here's how the republican congresswoman responded to that this afternoon. >> i don't know why she needs security. she shouldn't have a problem debating about her policy. why would a member of congress need security to debate with another member? that doesn't make sense. she doesn't need to file ethics violations or whatever she's doing. that's reacting like a child. adults are able to debate policy. >> joining me now for perspective on this, florida democratic congresswoman val demings. the latest in a list of spectacles, greene did something similar on video to one of the parkland survivors who was lobbying congress on gun control. she did that on the street and recorded it.

what do you make of this? >> well, anderson, it's good to be back with you. what i make of it is this. look, we all were elected by persons in our various districts to represent them. alexandria was elected by the people in her district to represent them. she has a lot on her agenda, just like we all do. we're coming out of a pandemic, thank god for that, but we know that businesses are hurting, families are hurting. we're trying to get children back into schools, trying to get as many people vaccinated. and ms. greene would better serve congress and i think the people in her district working on an agenda that really works on behalf of the american people. there is a certain -- i think when you are a leader, i believe that you should respect the rights of other people, and it is just a major distraction that i think is ridiculous. i'm not sure what group she's

talking about when she talks about antifa, but if she asked why doesn't she support black lives matter, the question for ms. greene be, why doesn't she support black lives matter? so we have a lot of work to do. the american people are sick and tired of the distractions. there's no agenda on the republican side. we need to come together and get down to business. >> i mean, it does seem that these -- clearly with this congresswoman greene, this is a cheap ploy to raise money. she doesn't have power in congress, so she basically is trying to raise the power of her name and just fund raise off these things. liz cheney, who was ousted just yesterday from her leadership position, she just gave an interview on fox. i want to play psome of what sh said. >> i think for us as republicans, we have a huge set of issues and we got a huge set

of policies we got to be able to implement. we have to get people to vote for us and we can't do that if we're a party that's based on a foundation of lies. >> she is right. i'm not sure how right she is that there are a lot of ideas that the republican party has right now. they're doing things like this, like talking about cancel culture, which are all legitimate things to talk about if that's what the american people want. but in terms of, like, health care policy or -- there's not a lot of policies coming out of the republican side? >> they have no agenda, anderson. they have absolutely no agenda. and because they have no agenda, on behalf of the american people, they're just every week, every day throwing up distractions that really amount to nothing. look, liz cheney, she's a rock-solid conservative. but one thing she has been

consistent about -- we were classmates -- is that she believes in the rule of law. she's standing by the constitution and her oath, and she is protecting our democracy. she will not play one minute with the big lie theory. and so she is on the right side of that. she will be on the right side of history. it's been really shameful to watch the republican leadership of the over colleagues go for the big lie. what they have basically said is that, to me, if they lie about this, they will lie about anything. they do not have the people's backs. they have their own backs. >> i want to play some of the republican colleagues, what they were saying yesterday r, rewritg history. it's so shocking and shameless. i want to play this. >> when i see this sheet on our time line, and on the -- let's see.

okay, at 2:07 a mob of trump supporters breached the steps. i don't know who did a poll that it's trump supporters. >> you didn't know the footage was a video from january 6th, you would take away think it's a normal tourist visit. >> i mean, how do you -- what does one do about that? i just find it shameless. >> well, anderson, it is shameless. what they have proven, as i just said, if they will lie about the capitol riot, the deadly capitol riot on january 6th, these members -- and we can call them by name -- because proven that they will lie about anything and everything. they do not have the people's back. they have their own backs. they have basically sold out, willing to lie about it. they're basically dismantling our precious system of

government, our democracy. and it is shameful. >> congresswoman, appreciate your time. thank you. >> thank you. coming up, an update on that vote review -- if you can call it a vote review -- in phoenix, the charade that's happening there. as gas lines persist, the russians on the cyberattack. lots of ink. print about... this many pages. the epson ecotank. just fill and chill. introducing fidelity income planning. we look at what you've saved, what you'll need, and help you build a flexible plan for cash flow that lasts, even when you're not working, so you can go from saving... to living. ♪ let's go ♪

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organizers of that review of votes cast in last year's election in phoenix, arizona, are hitting the pause button on one of the most outlandish escapade. cyber ninjas is far from the finish line in counting more than 2 million moatvotes cast i maricopa county. high school graduation that were scheduled for the building where the count is being held. and the review is being orchestrated by republicans in the arizona state senate amid wild conspiracy theories involving ultraviolet light and bamboo. we were finally let inside. >> reporter: we are getting the first look ourselves at the next act in the replay of the big lie. that the 2020 election was stolen. >> this is the press box. that's the floor. >> reporter: the counting floor

of yet another tally of the nearly 2.1 million ballots in maricopa county. from a distance, and they're keeping reporters so far away that i have to use binoculars to see. it looks like a ballot review, but look harder and the ballots are on a lazy susan. this guy in a cowboy hat walking around with what appears to be some type of cell phone jammer? and then there's this light machine with multiple cameras. >> two of the three matching -- >> reporter: ken bennett, hired by the republican-controlled arizona senate to run this ballot review explains why they're using it. >> microscopic cameras can zoom it to make sure where the ovals were filled in, there's a depression. >> reporter: is there a concern that ballots were xeroxed? >> there's always concern that we want to make sure every ballot came from an eligible registered voter in maricopa

county as opposed to somebody trying to introduce unauthorized ballots so that that's a conspiracy theory that ballots were somehow snuck in leading to donald trump's defeat in the state last year. these types of lies resonated with ballot counters like eloise flag? >> i hope that we can come to a point where we're happy with the results and the truth is told. >> reporter: we talked to her as workers arrived outside the coliseum to count ballots, their cars covered with bumper stickers supporting trump and logos for conspiracy websites. >> do you think donald trump won arizona? >> yes, i do. i think donald trump won the election. firm believer. >> reporter: these workers didn't want to talk unless -- >> i would like to hear you guys talk about hunter biden's laptop. >> they made us sign a nondisclosure. >> reporter: they were told not the tell the public anything. remember the guy in the cowboy hat, he told this worker to ignore us.

he works for cyber ninjas, the tech company hired by arizona senate republicans to conduct this third ballot review, or as lisa shaket calls it -- >> it was complete theater. >> reporter: with no training, shaket got hired for two days. here she is on the floor as an observer. she's retired, a democrat, and worried about lack of training and consistent counting of ballots. >> the effort is to uncover a fraud. if they can't uncover it, then they're going to create the fraud. >> from the counting process, it is not a normal re-count process. it is definitely not an audit process. >> reporter: ryan macias is an expert in election technology. he's on the floor, brought in by the arizona secretary of state to observe cyber ninjas' ballot count. he's a registered independent and has been hired by both republicans and democrats to safeguard dozen upon dozens of state and local elections. >> there's ballots. there's people counting. but the process in which they are utilizing, at least on the

counting floor, is nothing that is in an election environment. >> reporter: a show that the maricopa county sheriff does not want to be a part of. >> to be reckless and to give away something of this capacity into the hands of a complete stranger is not going to happen while i'm the sheriff. >> reporter: why is the sheriff involved? another conspiracy this audit is chasing. the cyber ninjas want count routers to see if hackers rigged the election. sharon refuses to hand over the routers, saying the entire county's electronic security and law enforcement technology is at stake. >> and when you have individuals who assume a conspiracy and then try to create the reality behind it, it's extremely dangerous. >> reporter: is that what's happening here? >> that is what's happening here. there's assumptions without any factual information to justify that. >> reporter: this bizarre ride is far from over. in just a couple of hours, the

ballot-counting is going to pause because there are high school graduations next week. so they got to give up the space in the coliseum. and so those 2.1 million ballots are going to travel outside that coliseum, past what i'm standing in front of, the crazy times carnival that runs through saturday. the move is going to happen tomorrow morning. and they're going to head to that green building, the cyber ninjas arizona republicans. they say that building is temperature controlled 24 hours, monitored with security. here's a couple of issues, anderson. the wall closest to the carnival has public toilets and the state fair grounds does not recommend use of that building right now because of summer heat. we're talking about paper ballots. >> how long is the crazy town carnival open, do you know? >> reporter: another 48 hours. so i believe tickets are on sale if you'd like. >> i'll try to rush down.

kyung lah, appreciate i. thanks very much. what's happening in arizona is a direct result of the big lie that the election was somehow stole, especially in states led by republicans which have enacted a series of new laws aimed at restricting of voting. joining me now is stacey abrams. first on the news, given all your work on voting rights, when you see this so-called audit in arizona with cell phone jammers and uv lights and conspiracy theories about bamboo ballots brought in from asia, what is happening there? >> it's a continuation of the big lie, but more importantly and more concerningly, it's a continuation of the insurrection, of this attempt to disenfranchise voters and to dismiss the legitimacy of our elections. and we know that this is only part of a larger intention.

just today there was leaked audio from heritage action for measuring where they admitted that this is model legislation being promulgated across the country through a vast republican intention of limiting access to the right to vote because they think it's the best way to win. and according to the leaked audio, they've been meeting with secretaries of state, governors, legislators, all with the intent of putting forward legislation that will restrict access to the right to vote and make it easier for republicans to win. and we should all be concerned because our elections are not about partisanship. it should not be a question of republicans or democrats gaming the system but everyone being able to participate and make their own choices. >> what's orwellian about this, kevin mccarthy is saying that no one is contesting the legitimacy of the last election, which is exactly what they're doing. >> not only is there a hypocrisy, but it's gaslighting. they are saying aloud that there's nothing wrong and at the

exact same time they're pushing forward legislation to fix something they say is broken either they're lying then or they're lying now. and the reality is the lie that continues to weave its way through our democracy is one that turns this issue of partisanship, this naked partisan grab, this is about citizenship, who has the right to vote in our nation and should that vetote be impeded? and answer should be no. >> i want to play an exchange you had on the hill about voting rights with louisiana's senator. >> tell me specifically -- just give me a list of the provisions that you object to. >> i object to the provisions that remove the access to the right to the vote, that shortened the runoff period, restrict the time that a voter can request and return an absentee ballot application. eliminate --

>> slow down for me because our audio is not real good here. >> you went on and in great detail and i think he was surprised that the detail you were able to go into. since then the federal voting rights bill you've been are you confident something would be passed? joe manchin confirmed he wouldn't support the voting rights bill known as the for the people act. he indicated he would support a more moderate voting rights bill called the john lewis act. >> i think it is important that the standards embedded in the for the people act, and that is standardizing and laying a threshold for how people vote no matter where they live. whether that occurs through for the people act, which i know is stalled currently but this is a long year and as we discovered in 2020 years can take longer than we imagine. but we also know that the persistence of this attack on voting rights in florida, in georgia, in texas, in arizona,

in iowa, now introduced in michigan, in ohio, that these attacks are going to continue, that heritage action says it intends to do this in nevada and in pennsylvania. that every time we see our right to vote under attack, it should reaffirm for every good american, especially ones who hold federal office in the u.s. senate, that we have to protect the right to vote, not to defend a party but to defend the ideals of our nation and that the most patriotic thing we can do is pass voting rights legislation that actually defends the right to vote for all. >> so while you have been working on all of the political things you have been working on, you have also written a book, which is how you were able to find the time i'm not sure, but it is called "while justice sleeps." it is a legal thriller set at the u.s. supreme court. what inspired you to write it? >> i actually started writing it back in 2008 based on a conversation i had with a dear friend, teresa wynn roseboro, about a quirk in the constitution. the only people in the constitution who are given

lifetime appointment are federal judges, but there's also nothing in the constitution that says that you can remove them for simply being unable to do their jobs. when i thought about that, i thought about what if a supreme court justice who is the swing vote fell into a coma, what would we do and how would we react as a nation. avery avery kean and "while justice sleeps" was born. >> i appreciate it. >> thank you. long lines for gasoline, the question is was ransom actually paid? plus, more on the breaking news on the relaxing of masking for vaccinated people. what it means for those who travel on planes, trains and buses and what we need to know.

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more on our breaking news. the cdc has announced that fully vaccinated people do not have to wear masks inside or outdoors in most cases, but masks are still needed on airplanes, trains and buses. cnn's pete muntean joins us. what is the cdc requiring for travelers? >> reporter: well, cdc director dr. wilensky laid out a caveat, even if you are fully vaccinated

you should wear a mask when traveling. we asked the tsa about this and it said the biden transportation wide mask mandate will stay in place meaning on trains, planes, buses and boats and here in terminals like the international airport. >> do we know how long the mask mandate will stay in place? >> september 13th was the latest date. it was supposed to expire this week and it was extended after a little bit of lobbying from flight attendants. they are the ones who say they're on the front lines of enforcing all of this. >> certainly the faa reported a large increase in unruly passengers on commercial flights over mask rules. i imagine there must be concern this is only going to increase now that people don't have to wear masks in most places if fully vaccinated, even though the rule says they have to wear them on the plane. >> reporter: well, anderson, the head of the largest union of flight attendants says there should be no confusion about this. the faa actually is already messaging on this on social media, saying you still have to wear a mask on board a plane even if you are fully

vaccinated. you know, the faa reported a large uptick in unruly passengers, not just about masks. 1,300 reports in the last three months alone shall and one has to wonder if this mixed message here will create more problems. >> pete muntean, appreciate it. thanks very much. as gas lines persist across parts of the southeast, and update on the ransom payments demanded by the hackers of the pipeline operator. that's next. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google, turn up the heat. ♪ ♪ ♪ i think the sketchy website i bought this turtle from stole all of my info. ooh, have you looked on the bright side?

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♪ i see it ♪ ♪ and i like it ♪ ♪ and i want it ♪ ♪ yes, i do ♪ ♪ woo! two sources familiar with the matter tell "cnn tonight" colonial pipeline paid a ransom to the hackers that carried out the cyberattack that caused widespread gasoline shortages throughout most of the southeast. bloomberg first reported the payment though sources are telling cnn they don't know how much was paid. the hackers previously identified as a group calling itself dark side demanded nearly $5 million according to two other sources. drivers in the southeast are still facing long lines even after colonial announced it had restarted delivery in all of its pipelines, but it will take several more days for things to get back up to speed. president biden today said he believed the russian government was not involved in the attack. as for those lines, several stations are showing closed

signs today, but authorities say the situation should be resolved in plenty of time for the expected memorial day surge. that's it for us. the news continues. i want to hand it over to chris for "cuomo prime time". i appreciate you. i'm chris cuomo. welcome to "prime time." the biggest step toward normal since the pandemic started was taken today. the cdc freed the fully vaccinated from wearing maskmasks. masks have been recommended since april 3rd of 2020, but no more for almost anywhere a fully vaccinated person wants to go. alone or with others, whether the others are vaccinated or not. just imagine, the simple ability to share a smile, to walk down the street with a cigar in your mouth as i did today. to not rush to cover when you see someone outside, to just be normal. not that masks were like wearing a suit o