wolf? >> let's hope they're safe over there. anna koran in kabul. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." you can always follow me on twitter and inst instagram @situationroom. erin burnett is next. "upfront" next, the cdc announced the delta variant now makes up nearly half the infections in the united states. this as president biden makes an urgent push to get more americans vaccinated. breaking news, tropical storm elsa gaining strength, expecting to be a hurricane, closing in on florida. the outer bands of the storm disrupting the search for victims in surfside. the fbi releasing a dozen new videos that reveal the horror from both inside and outside the u.s. capitol on the day of the deadly insurrection. let's go "outfront." good evening, i'm erin

burnett. out front tonight, breaking news, the cdc just announcing the highly contagious delta variant makes up more than half of all the coronavirus infections in the united states. the delta showing to be much more transmissible than previous strains. president biden tonight sounding the alarm. >> right now, as i speak to you, millions of americans are still unvaccinated and unprotected. and because of that, their communities are at risk, their friends are at risk. in today's briefing, we discussed how the delta variant is already responsible for half of all cases in many parts of this country. it's more easily transmissible, potentially more dangerous. >> more easily transmissible and potentially more dangerous. this is why biden is now rolling out a new strategy to slow the variant spread. they say they're going to make vaccines more accessible, and to better explain why the vaccines are safe, which, of course, has

been falling on deaf ears in certain parts of the united states. for the president and health officials, time is of the essence because the delta variant is raging across america. it is incredibly more transmissible. cases are, on average, three times higher in the states with the least vaccination rates. cases on the rise. up 34% from a month ago according to the 7-day average. you can see what happens, lower vaccinations, higher infections. 11 states are seeing an increase in the number of cases. many states have a vaccination rate below the national average which is still below 50%. in texas tonight, officials are saying the delta variant showed up from an outbreak of a church camp which left 147 people infected with the virus. the spike in cases is also

taking a toll on america's health care system. in southwest missouri tonight, one hospital having to transfer covid patients because they're overwhelmed, transfer them to other hospitals. and then there is this. as the delta variant spretads, there is new questions about the effectiveness of the vaccines against the variant. the mrna vaccine provides only 64% protection against infection. that number was 95% in may. kaitlan collins is out front, kaitlan saying millions of americans are at risk as low vaccination rates clyde with the delvata variant, which is spreading so quickly in parts of the united states. when we talk about a change in strategy that makes vaccines easier to get, what does that mean? what's the actual plan here? >> reporter: i think that's a big question facing the white house, because they feel like they've done so much. so the question of what else can we do differently since we

essentially threw everything at this is what's facing them. you saw president biden focus on this new push to get vaccinated. those steps are a lot of steps they're already taking, so the white house is hitting this wall of what do we do in this situation? they are walking a fine line when it comes to covid-19, between celebrating where we are right now as a country and marking the progress that's been made. you see new cases and deaths are down dramatically nationwide, but erin, on the other side of that is this new variant spreading wildly across the united states, and as you noted the cdc now says the delta variant accounts for more than half the new cases in the united states. that is something that is top of mind for president biden and his top aides. so we met with his top health advisors today. we are told he has inquired what is this impact from the delta variant going to look like? he came out and said today the person who are concerned here is not the ones who are vaccinated, it's the unvaccinate. not only were we concerned about

you before, being unvaccinated, but now this delta variant is going wild across the united states and it's much more c contagious than has been seen. they're concerned about those areas where it's a potentially deadly combination, low vaccination rates and a high circulation of this delta variant. that is what they're facing right now. they're not sure what it's going to look like in a few weeks. they're hoping with the numbers changing given the more vulnerable population is vaccinated, they're hoping that will be the key to the success here, but they want to make sure people know that just because a lot of people have gotten vaccinated does not mean this is over yet. >> thank you very much, kaitlan, and certainly not. do the math. if it's raging, all of a sudden if it's 93% effective against death, all of a sudden that 7% starts to matter if it's raging all over. that's part of the issue here.

president haaseltine is with me top researcher. let me ask you to respond to what the cdc is saying. the delta variant makes up over half the cases in the united states. it's obviously incredibly more transmissible. we've seen that around the world. it could be even worse than they're saying, right, but more than half. what's your reaction to those numbers now that we're formally hearing them? >> first of all, it is very concerning, because the delta variant is perhaps ten times more transmissible than the original variants that were circulating this time last year, much, much more. very transient exposure. someone walks through a mall, you might contract this virus. the lesson is get vaccinated if at all possible. you get vaccinated when you can. this is very dangerous. not only is it more transmissible, there is increasing evidence that once you get it, you are more likely to end nupup in the hospital, te

as likely to end up in the hospital. >> so what you're saying there, which is very sobering, the new analysis out of israel, right? they say there is a drop of protection against the variant. they're specifically mentioning pfizer, saying it only provides 64% protection against infection. that number was 95% in a study from may. so obviously just in terms of being able to get it and possibly retransmit it, that's a dramatic shift. to a layperson it sounds that way. does it sound that way to you? >> let me talk about the good news first. the good news is that the vaccines are still protecting people from dying. there have been no deaths in israel. however, the news out of israel is a little bit of a chill wind in the sense that we're hoping the pfizer vaccines, the moderna vaccines, the mrna vaccines in particular would really give you

robust protection against tr transmission and protection. it seems these new variants may be able to get around that near absolute protection. so it is worrying from that perspective. >> so let me ask you here, because obviously, you know, the severe death rate is better. it's statistically extremely significant to have a protection rate go from 98 to 93. that's a very significant drop, but it's still very good, right? i get that. >> right. >> the question is, if someone is vaccinated, they get a breakthrough case. could they be at risk for long covid symptoms, and how do you context contextualize this, professor, with the "wall street journal" saying this is in most of the population?

>> most of america has been vaccinated with the pfizer or the moderna vaccine, which is more effective than the vaccines used on the whole in the u.k. those who are vaccinated here have a higher degree of protection. we've always known that breakthroughs can cause disease. breakthroughs can also cause death. but they're far less frequent in those vaccinate, far, far less. perhaps 50 to 100 times less frequent than those -- than what occurs in unvaccinated people. bottom line, get vaccinated. >> all right, professor, i appreciate your time and i thank you. i want to go now as promised to dr. phillip couldkaiser. he is the health authority for galveston county. doctor, i appreciate your time. this is sobering for you. you're dealing with an outbreak in your county with 147 people testing positive for the virus after a church summer camp.

do you believe this was able to move through the camp because of the delta variant? you heard the professor saying the variant is more than 10 times more contagious than the original coronavirus. >> we believe this is the delta variant. we have now, actually, since we talk earlier, we're probably up to 160 cases that have been confirmed. we were able to do some typing preliminary on some of the cases, and the three tests we got back on those preliminary things we got back from last week are positive for delta. so to my mind, there is no doubt that this is the delta variant and it's spreading very rapidly in this population. >> so i don't know if you're saying the numbers have gone up to at least 160. i know it's a moving target, doctor, but i also understand to this crucial question people have, obviously most of them weren't vaccinated. but at least six people who tested positive were vaccinate, so these are breakthrough cases.

that's sobering for anybody. can you tell us more about those or what you take away from that information. >> right now we have six people that were vaccinated, and one of them we actually confirmed it was the delta variant. i think that's sobering information. you say six isn't that many, but if you realize in our entire county we've had only about 100 breakthroughs of people who have been vaccinated who got infected out of 170,000 people who have been vaccinated, and now we have 160 people and six of them were vacc vaccinated. it tells us the vaccine doesn't protect us as well as it does the strnength of the virus. >> i understand people are

eligible for the virus, and after the first dose, you need the second dose. it's crucial. >> that's correct. >> do you think the story you're facing now is going to help you get people over this line, get you to get people vaccinated or not? >> we hope so. when we look at people who have been vaccinated, those over 65 were 80% with shots in arms. it's with the younger people we're really lagging. when we look at people under 20, we're only about 20% to 25% of those who have been vaccinated. we have a long way to go with this group. this was a church camp for 12 to about 18-year-olds, so most of them were in that age group. some were older because they were parents and counselors. some were younger because they got to go along with their older siblings, but most of them were in that age group who were unvaccinated, so we're assuming these folks were unvaccinated. a lot of people have objections

to getting vaccinated and they've developed over the year or so. i think the important thing to say is we've given these vaccines to over 100 million people in america, and we know that they're safe. there's really no rational reason, and it's time. it's just time to do it. we've got vaccine, we've got plenty of it. we can get you done tomorrow if you'd like. it's very important that you get vaccinated, not just to protect yourself but particularly for the younger people, to protect other people in your household, to protect elderly people, to protect those people who are still at risk. the other point you bring out is that people are -- even though kids are less likely to get sick, you get a lot of them infected, some of them are going to get really sick and some will have bad outcomes, so we want to avoid that. >> that's true, and i think it's a really important point you raise, especially with something that is so hugely contagious that we are going to see that. hopefully that's not the wake-up

call required for people. thank you very much, doctor. i appreciate your time tonight. >> thank you. next, breaking news. the death toll climbing as crews recover eight more people from the site of the sudden condo collapse. all of them dead. plus tropical storm elsa gaining strength and racing toward florida now expected to become a hurricane before making landfall. the fbi tonight releasing new videos from january 6, including new images of rioters harassing officers who were blocking senate chamber doors. i'll talk to long-time partner of brian sicknick. ok everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. whoo hoo! ensure, with 27 vitamins and minerals, now introducing ensure complete! with 30 grams of protein.

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you've been able to get inside there. it's incredible what you're seeing. please tell us. >> reporter: i want to warn our viewers because i know that so many people around the world and around the country know people or have family members that are related to this collapse. i just want to warn you that these images might be difficult for you to watch, because this is the first time we're getting this close access to this collapsed building. as you might imagine, you can feel the pain, you can feel the urgency here from all of the first responders that are surrounding us. now, what you're looking at is what is left of the demolition that happened on sunday. that's what this front portion of the building is. this is what's known as the alpha portion in the grid search that search and rescue teams are using to find signs of life, to find survivors. beyond this first pile of rubble, then you'll see heavy

machinery equipment, a crane. those are the tools that are being used right now to search for survivors. you can see that these cranes rise up to the sky. they have american flags flying that almost seem like they touch the sky. i can tell you from talking to search and rescue teams here, there is about 200 search and rescue personnel on the site right now. they are very carefully sifting through this rubble. they only bring and use the heavy machinery when they feel it's safe. first before that happens, every single piece of this rubble that they come in contact with, they methodically analyze their movements, because any movement could be catastrophic. now, this is still a search and rescue effort at this hour. that's what we heard from search and rescue teams and officials have not given a timeline as to

when this will move into a recovery phase. they say that their focus right now is on saving lives. erin, i can tell you from talking to one of the families, i made it a point to talk to one of the families before coming to the site just because i knew this was going to be so impactful. the one thing this family member said is he just wanted to get a closer look of the efforts that are being done here to search for survivors. that was their focus. this one man says that he's running out of hope because it has been 13 days. but as you can see, the search and effort here has not stopped, and as i look closely, erin, i can also see some of the dangers that the search and rescue teams are facing. you can see the thick concrete, the mangled rebar, and i know that it's so important for the families to know and to see firsthand the work that is being done to find their loved ones.

it's also important for them to see some of the dangers that these men and women face. i know that when families visited this site, they witnessed one of the personnel tumble 25 feet down the pile of debris. those are some of the dangers that they're exposing themselves to make sure that they work around the clock. they are working 12-hour shifts. many of these men and women only take breaks to check their oxygen levels, to check their pulse to make sure that they're in the physical condition necessary to continue searching. so, erin, as you take a look at this pile of rubble, we know that so many people around the world know people whose lives perished here or who are hoping that their loved ones come out alive. erin? >> rosa, thank you very much. of course, as you look at that,

the devastation, 109 people are inside. hope for a miracle, but you're looking at, of course, what we know was the gravesite for at least 36 people there on your screen. as they are desperately -- you hear rosa saying they're trying not to take breaks to try to desperately race against time. they're also racing now against the storm. heavy rain, strong winds and tornadoes are all now threatening the coast because of elsa forecast to be a hurricane upon landing in florida. i want to go now to meteorologist tom sader. people are hoping against hope. they don't want to lose time in this search and you now have the storm. tell me about where it may hit and what conditions it may bring. >> erin, let's start with the operation in surfside. it looks like they're mainly clear -- not clear, but at least dry, the cloud cover is with them. they had the worst of it yewhen good band moved with that, but

it's no worse in the 13 days. just moments ago, aircraft have taken off to go investigate once again. by the time they get there, i think it will be a little too late for the 8:00 p.m. advisory to lift elsa to hurricane status. but it's coming. you can see how bright and expanding this area of purple is. that means it's getting stronger. it's going to most likely become a category 1 hurricane later this evening before landfall in the big ben area. the hurricane warning in place is the first time that the west coast here of florida has seen or heard a hurricane warning since hurricane michael. terrible hurricane three years ago in 2019. last night they surged to 29 feet. i'm concerned about everyone in lives in tampa bay and sarasota, st. pete. still, it's getting stronger, and as it makes its way toward

landfall at sunrise toward big ben, that's a good place because it's mostly uninhabited. to give you an idea of how rare this is to have a hurricane make landfall in july on the west coast of florida, the last time was 134 years ago, 1886 before they were even named. we have a long night ahead of us. it will be downgraded as it makes its way into the carolinas but re-emerge off the coast of norfolk and become a tropical storm once again. disturbing new video we're getting from january 6. we're learning about new security concerns also at the capitol. plus others campaigning against trump's election lie. >> we already know that there is fraud. ♪ ♪ ♪

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to switch and save hundreds. breaking news, videos just released showing more of the violence and chaos both inside and outside the u.s. capitol on january 6, insurrection day. this is new video, surveillance video from the justice department. it shows the rioters actually

harassing capitol police officers who were trying to block the senate chamber until they were able force them out of the way, and then, of course, they broke the doors open and stormed in. seconds later rioters are seen taunting the officers showing them their fists in a fighting-like stance, as you can see there. the fbi is now releasing dozens of new videos from outside the capitol as well. they're still trying to identify rioters who assaulted law enforcement. here is one of the new clips. >> this is our house! >> these new videos come as we are hearing of growing concerns of more pro-trump related violence this summer. multiple capitol police officers telling cnn that now nowhere near enough is being done to prepare them for any stoorts of

threats. one officer tells cnn, we haven't done anything to prepare for it. that's what i'm worried about. right now, the partner of brian sicknick. sandra, i appreciate you being back here with me. i'm sorry because today is exactly six months, and we're seeing new video showing taunts against officers like brian. you hear that officer's quote to cnn, though, about how things now, worried that they've done no preparation, no changes, zero, for other possible v violence. how hard is this for you to believe, sandra? >> it's unbelievable, erin. here we are six months and the officers feel like nothing has barely changed. it's very disturbing, especially given that, you know, fbi director wray came out not that long ago and issued the report about the qanon conspiracy

theorists that now they feel like they want to go from not just digital soldiers but actually on the ground soldiers and are really considering -- or considered to be a real threat as well as what he said earlier, that domestic terrorism is truly on the rise. i mean, those things combined, and given that they're looking at the fencing coming down soon, it's a nightmare. it's very terrifying. >> when you talk about that morale in the department seems to be extremely low. more than 75 officers have left since january 6. i know in my conversations with you, that decent surprise you, but that's about three officers a week. they said, we're losing officers left and right. the old guys don't want to be here, and the young guys who are eligible are just rolling out.

you spend time talking with officers who worked with officer sicknick. what do they tell you about moramore mo morale and how they feel about others leaving? >> that's right, morale is at an all-time low. they're very upset they don't have a chief. i know for a fact they have been asking for a specific person. they want inspector tom lloyd as their new chief. i know he put in for it. they like him. i know brian was a big fan of his. he's a good leader. on january 6, he was out there side by side with them. he was relieving officers, letting them go and get medical treatment. actually, the "new york times" included him in an article on january 14th saying how he was doing just that, you know, fighting side by side with the officers and being a true leader. and that's not to throw anyone

else under the bus, it's just to say, you know what, if they want to improve morale among the officers and not lose any more officers, they need to listen to what they want. and when you have a good leader, and believe me, in this kind of job, that's everything, having a good leader. when you have a good leader, you know, you retain employees, you know, you can actually recruit new employees because people are happier, they feel respected. and also the congressional members and all the employees in the capitol are at a safer, you know, level because you have a good leader that can give direction under a lot of pressure and stress. again, that's not to throw anybody else under the bus. i'm not trying to throw chief sund under the bus, but given everything capitol police have

been through, they still haven't gotten the congressional medal of honor. what they're doing is absolutely terrible. i was told off the record that the republican members that are out parading around with donald trump, you know, they're on camera saying, you know, january 6 wasn't a big day, but then behind the scenes they're buying them pizzas and donuts. it's like, you know what, so they can buy them pizza and donuts but they don't care if they get murdered? the logic in this is just outrageous. they need to cut this out and do something. and, again, of course, you know, i'm out here because i love brian and i'm doing what's right for brian and his colleagues, but also we're talking about democracy, too, right, and the safety of all the innocents in the building. >> right, right. and you and i have talked about that. all these people who risked their lives and did that every

day and of course they're dealing with people who are saying it wasn't a big deal and it's not about trump and all of those things. i know you've met with many republicans who have given you that feeling, right, sandra, in response to why they don't support these medals of honor which are so crucial and so deserved. >> absolutely. >> to that i want to bring up again the date today, sandra. it's six months to the day. as i said right before we spoke before a national audience, i said, i know every day is hard, but an anniversary is an anniversary and you think about that. today there was a statement from the capitol police department. i just want to read a part of it about brian. >> they said, we will never forget uscp officer brian sicknick who died after the attack nor the sacrifices of the nearly 150 law enforcement officers who were injured. we honor all the brave men and

women who, against all odds, faced down a violent crowd that day and protected or elect leaders and everyone else who was in the capitol complex. you want people to honor what brian deserved. how do you want them to honor the sacrifice of officer levingood and also brian? >> i would also add officer jeffrey smith and the other officers. i know you care so deeply about this, erin, you've invited me back to your show as well, but the officer who lost an eye, officers who suffered concussions, and the unseen injuries, right? ptsd, all of that. but i really want people to call these republican members of congress who refuse to admit what happened that day. they need to be, you know -- i

hate to use -- "harass" is not the right word because i don't want anybody harassing anybody, but they need to call them and say, look, this is wrong what you're doing. this is about justice. this is about the safety of our country. and that's -- i think that's what everybody wants who is looking for a healthy outcome. and it would honor their memory appropriately. them trying to sweep this under the rug is not honoring their memory. and i just want to add, too, i'm so appreciative of representative liz cheney and representative adam kinzinger for having the courage to speak out, and all the other brave, you know, couple handfuls of republicans who are doing the same and thinking about our country. >> sandra, thank you very much. and i know it is fair and it is right to point that out, but, of course, it is the mass of the

republican party, still, where you see people who are denying what happened and its significance. and now you have republican candidates embracing trump's big lie and the rigged election. is their baseless claim really a winning message? we'll be talking about that right after this break. plus it's become a flashpoint in schools across the country. no doubt you've heard of crt. but here's the most important thing. what is critical race theory?

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2020 election, you know, when that is the national role that i played. >> williams represented former president donald trump in his unsuccessful bid to challenge the election results in wisconsin. >> i've seen enough discrepancies throughout at least wisconsin that would overturn the election. >> there is disparities and no sign of widespread fraud. even so, he used election fraud concerns to win his gop primary, beating out the incumbent. now williams is calling for more election safeguards. >> i pushed back and i tell you, there is not one single case of election fraud? they said, well, it's not widespread election fraud. how much is enough? how much is too much? >> he argues his fraud concerns are a far cry from peddling conspiracies. voting rights advocates don't see much of a difference.

>> i think they're all coming from the same place of promoting the big lie and undermining people's faith in the elections. the way they do it might be more p p palatable and that might be just the way they've learned to sell themselves, but it really is coming from the same place. >> reporter: across the country republican candidates are campaigning on the baseless claim that fraud was a rampant problem in the 2020 election. some are still falsely claiming donald trump was robbed of a victory. >> i'm not at all surprised it has become a campaign platform. >> christine caramo is campaigning in michigan, after claiming trump actually won the state which he lost by 400,000 votes. a republican-controlled subcommittee and even bill barr found no evidence of widespread fraud in michigan. caromo is still looking for something like the arizona

review. >> common sense tells you if someone is doing something effectively, you learn from them, that way you can replicate the process yourself. >> reporter: in arizona, their secretary of state candidate and current state representative mark finch. >> we know there is fraud. >> reporter: he's taken his fraud claims to qanon and also in the insurrection. >> i never came anywhere near the entry point to the capitol. >> reporter: he still touted that somehow the claim of fraud could reinstate trump. >> if you have enough of those back and you get below 270, we now have an illegitimate president. >> reporter: seizing on election fraud as the campaign has its

d drawbacks, as wren williams is finding. >> now i have this issue where people are not willing to trust the system, and they are saying, look, we need you to vote. >> williams is in a pretty conservative place in his state. we tried to get he and finch to speak, and they did not want to answers questions, erin. chief advisor to former president bush, you have people saying they can win by using trump's claim that the election was stolen. you're in michigan, a state that he lost by 150,000 votes and the message is he won. as a strategy perspective, is that really a winning message? is it going to work? >> well, certainly effective in republican primaries right now

where candidates are trying to outdo each other on who is more loyal to donald trump, so buying into that message helps you achieve that goal. where i think it becomes more problematic, if you're not running in a really red area in a general election, if you're running in a purple area, it's going to be a problematic miss s -- message. i don't know if it will be enough to derail people in the house during the 2022 midterm, but in 2024, if they plan to use that platform, there is no question who is going to win. someone needs to say to the camera, joe biden is a legitimate president and let me explain why you should vote for me. >> it's amazing to think that someone should have to say such a thing, but this is the reality we live in, scott. the question for you is -- you

talk about it might work in these elections. those sound bites are there. they live. you cannot take that back. does that matter? you're on the record saying it's stolen, it's stolen, and then in two years you want people to kind of forget you said that? >> i think it depends on your jurisdiction. if you live in an area where donald trump did quite well, i doubt it will be very hurtful. but if you're in a purple area or blue area or you're trying to win a seat of a democrat or you're talking to a bunch of swing voters, like a lot of the senate races will be in '22, yeah, it's going to be very problematic. republicans are going to have to make the case of american people as to where they should trust us again with the most power in the land, the president of the united states, and if we go into that re-election in 2020 with a lie, i don't know that they'll

entrust us with power again. >> thank you, scott. critical race theory clashing with school officials. so what exactly is critical race theory? operating rooms stay clean now helps the places you go too. look for the ecolab science certified seal. if you wake up thinking about the market and want to make the right moves fast... get decision tech from fidelity. [ cellphone vibrates ] you'll get proactive alerts for market events before they happen... and insights on every buy and sell decision. with zero-commission online u.s. stock and etf trades. for smarter trading decisions, get decision tech from fidelity. washed your hands a lot today? probably like 40 times. hands feel dry? like sandpaper. introducing new dove handwash, with 5 x moisturizer blend.

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tonight, teaching the truth is not radical or wrong. that was the message today from the president of one of the largest teachers' unions in the united states. republican leaders try to restrict how teachers teach racism in the classroom. >> there are thousands of parents who have been speaking out against crt. these are my babies, not yours. if you are ashamed of me, that's your issue, not mine nor my children. >> reporter: this is a school board meeting in a suburb of philly. a small group are speaking out against critical race theory. >> we don't want our children to be taught america is racist. >> don't rewrite factual history. just present the facts. >> reporter: in the wake of protests of the murder of george

floyd, republican politicians have been hyping critical race theory as a threat to the impressionable minds of america's children. >> critical race theory says every white person is a racist. america is racist. >> reporter: in more than 12 states, legislators proposed bills to ban crt. we wanted to meet the people working with actual kids in actual schools. we talked to kazia who teached african-american history and discusses crt in her anthropology class. can i start with, what is critical race theory? >> yes. critical race theory is not being taught in schools. it's a theory. it's a lens by which to view history in the way that law and race kind of overlap and connects in society. can it influence the way that some teachers teach? yeah. but that's a good thing.

right? because race and racism is literally the building blocks of this country. how can you not talk about it? >> reporter: critical race t theory says racial inequality is perpetuated by racism in american laws. propaganda has created a panic that white people and especially white children are under attack. >> critical race theory is teaching people to hate our country. >> schools are embracing this ideology and forcing white students and teachers to be ashamed of their own skin color. >> it's racism. >> these are systemic things. ignoring it perpetuates the problem. by acknowledging it, we can find solutions. we can address the problems in inequality that exists. i think teaching it this way does the opposite of what these people say it does. >> reporter: are you teaching children to hate america? >> no.

i'm teaching children to question america. that's what makes a good patriot. >> don't force on our kids a particular world view. they can go wide brush in painting this country as structurally racist. it's insane. >> reporter: why is it insane? >> it's a lie. >> reporter: last year, this woman says she received an e-mail from her kids' school that students would be learning more about race. she thought the materials were racist. she pulled her kids out of public school. she created a group, no left turn in education, to draw attention to her claim that crt is poisoning young minds. in the '90s gave more penalty because black people were perceived -- >> ask joe biden why he did that. >> reporter: that's a great question. joe biden is a perfect

illustration. joe biden would present himself as a nice guy who would never have a racist bone in his body. yet, he participated and n creating these laws that have a stru structural affect of faffecting black people more than white. people affected by that law are alive. >> we are talking about something different now. this is my taxpayer money. i don't want it to go to indoctrinate kids that will hate my kids because of the color of their skin and attack them. what happened in the summer, it twisted the minds of all kids. my kids can be attacked by antifa kids or blm kids if they are not black. they are white like my kids. they are believing, they were indoctrinated. they internalize this philosophy. >> reporter: were your children beat up by antifa kids? >> i beg your pardon? >> reporter: were your children beat up by antifa kids? >> i'm talking, it's going to

happen if we are not going to stop it. but we are going to stop it. we are. we are the great majority of this country. >> reporter: anti-crt propaganda is drawing crowds. more than 100 people showed up here near baltimore where republican groups held a panel on school covid shutdowns and crt. what is critical race theory? >> critical race theory is the idea that's taught to our nation's youth that the way you are born contributes to the amount of success you can achieve in this country. states that white people are born with everything and if you are not white, you are born with nothing. >> reporter: can you name any critical race theory scholars? >> probably not. >> reporter: can you name any critical raceoncept? >> i summarized critical race theory as a whole pretty well. >> to point the country as a

racist country from its founding i think is dangerous. >> reporter: it's written into the constitution in which slaves are counted as three-fifths of a person. >> that was applied at an earlier time. that's not the case now. >> reporter: you mentioned the founding of the country. >> yeah. it wasn't perfectly written in the constitution. >> reporter: when did you first heard about critical race theory? >> around last year. >> reporter: where did you see it? >> on fox news. >> the idea you can succeed based on your race is ludicrous. this is not the 1960s anymore. because of your skin color does not mean that you cannot be successful here in america. point blank, period. >> i teach these books for my anthropology class. >> reporter: are you teaching white kids to hate themselves for being white? >> no. >> reporter: are you teaching black kids that there is nothing they can do to improve their situation? >> absolutely not. >> reporter: there's racism and

they can never fight it to so they should give up? >> absolutely not. i'm creating free thinkers and future politicians and lawyers and teachers and change makers. our kids are smart. they know what's happening. i think we do them a disservice by continuing to pretend critical race theory is the issue when it's really you just don't want kids to learn the truth. because not only do they become critical thinkers, they also become voters. that is what's scaring a lot of these people. they know as this generation gets older, a lot of these people will be voted out of office. >> reporter: you spoke to parents in philly. you have done so much reporting on this. how widespread is it in. >> we see conflicts over crt pop up across the country. our crew dropped by one meeting to see if someone might show up and talk about it. two people did. while this conflict and panic is

based on misinformation, the fear these people feel is real. we saw a woman cry real tears at the thought that her child was being taught to be ashamed for being white. >> wow. it's incredible. reports like yours make a difference. thank you so much. >> thank you. thanks very much to all of you for joining us. " "ac 360" starts now. word that elsa is a hurricane. i want to go to tom. what's the latest? >> anderson, within the last hour, hurricane aircraft have taken off to investigate elsa. it hasn't even arrived or just arriving now. even without the valuable information and their data, the national hurricane center went ahead and increased it from tropical storm to a category 1