texas governor, greg abbott, says he will call another special session the state's legislature beginning this weekend, after democratic lawmakers fled the state during the first one blocking bills they say will restrict voting rights. the new special session will begin just about 12 hours after the first one ends. those democrats effectively stalled any action on new voting bills by leaving pretty much as a group for washington. more than 50, as you know, democratic lawmakers have remained out of the state since mid-july. they spent time meeting national democratic leaders, pressing for national voting rights legislation. it remains unclear whether the democrats will return to the state or if their stalling tactics will even eventually succeed. the news continues. want to hand things over to chris for "cuomo prime time." chris? all right. thank you. i'm chris cuomo. welcome to "prime time." the covid command center. the government is moving in the direction of getting us ready for booster shots.

here's what we know. the fda says it could lay out a national strategy for vaccine booster shots sometime early next month. are they certain? no. are they certain we need it? no. why? data. and they have concerns, but the current data, which they haven't really adjusted for the delta variant, still very promising. moderna vaccine 93% effective through six months after the second dose. pfizer, 91% effective after the same timeframe. j&j, one-dose vaccine, right? provides at least eight months of immunity. but again, these findings predate the delta variant. and we are now told the vaccines don't stop delta from spreading, completely. and at this rate, because we're not getting vaccinated quickly enough, we may need to extend our fight against the pandemic, which means extending our protection. which means we may need to do something to enhance our

vaccines. now, yes, you are hearing me say may, may, could, what, when, potential. that's the way they speak. okay? they're analyzing data. they don't know things for sure. they're learning in real time. that does create hesitancy and confusion. and their messaging is not the greatest. and the biggest reason why, and i hope they're hearing me, you you need to have these conversations every day or every other day. and you need consistency in who is giving us the messaging. you want it to be the president? fine. you want it to be fda? fine. cdc? fine. some combination? fauci, nih? fine. but you need to have people out on message on a regular basis. and we need it right now because we are getting worse with cases. we've crossed the 100,000 mark in cases again. the cdc director just told cnn cases could soar to

several hundred thousand a day because of too many unvaccinated. how long? we don't know. the good news is we are making progress on the vaccine front. this we do know. more than 864,000 shots went into arms in this country in the last 24 hours, including approximately 585,000 first vaccinations. the white house says this is the highest daily rate since july 3rd. but we need it to be maintained and really enhanced. why? because otherwise, it's going to take us until around february to have everybody vaccinated the way we need. it's too long. we're going to lose too many people. there are going to be too many hospitalized people. school's going to get screwed up. we've got to go faster. or we have to marry our vaccination efforts with a really stringent mitigation. that takes us to masks, and distancing issues that none of you want to deal with. good news again. states with the highest covid case rates, that's where we are seeing vaccine at the best

paces. not seen since april. louisiana, arkansas, missouri, alabama, oklahoma, mississippi. but again, you've got to go faster. and why aren't we going faster? one of the biggest impediments to progress is seen in new numbers that we're going to go through tonight that show really exactly why -- you want to know why the delta variant is spreading like it is? and it may not get better anytime soon? your answer is not the virus. it's our virus of politics. the divide. we're fighting each other, so we're not fighting the virus. the divide on everything is overwhelmingly partisan. vaccine. masks. mandates. less than 20% of republicans support businesses mandating vaccinations for their employees. over 80% of democrats do. the farther you go to the right, the more the resistance is. now, why are they so resistant? here is your answer.

>> there's no correlation between a mask mandate and reduction in incidence of the disease. in fact, it's the opposite. the more mandates we got, the more of the disease we got. i don't think the masks cause the disease but i don't think the masks helped any. >> my attitude about masking or not wearing a mask, it's -- it's a sideshow. it's a subordinate issue. it's a distraction. the mask, unless it's an n95 and worn properly, there's benefit but it's only a marginal benefit. >> now, that's gop senator -- all of them are gop. you don't find democrats speaking this way. why? it's a good question. now, kennedy is from the great state of louisiana. they just set a new record on covid hospitalizations. is he right that masks are not perfect? of course. vaccines aren't perfect. masks aren't perfect. nothing is perfect. do we have anything better than masks? does he have a better idea? no. and his fellow republican rand paul is also not right.

science shows there is a correlation between mask mandates and lower rates of covid. significant decreases in county-level daily case rates and death rates, according to the cdc. here's another false argument. >> as a parent, you know, i would like that choice. i -- particularly for young kids, many of these kids, by the way, have recovered from covid. and so there's really no scientific justification to put it on at that -- at that point. >> here's the science. the head of the cdc just said today that having had covid does not give most people long-term immunity. here's the reality. florida, governor desantis's state, leads the nation in hospitalized kids. there are 143 kids hospitalized right now in florida. 143. eh, so what? tell their parents. now, ironically, the governor made those remarks today at a

hospital. child covid cases in america surged 84% last week from the week before. almost 72,000 kids and teens are infected, and counting. hundreds have died. others are still experiencing long-haul symptoms. now, too many want to debate that. yeah, but this and comorbidity and that and pre-existing condition. why would you want to rationalize failure when we have a path to success? why rationalize illness when we have a way to better health? why would leaders, almost always from the right, say things that are demonstrably false about the science? let's take it to a better mind. the former-fda commissioner under trump, dr. stephen hahn. you're not a politician, doc. i don't have you here to talk politics. but i do want to put you out there rebutting the message. desantis saying, you know, kids are good. if they had covid, they don't need masks.

you know, kennedy. masks, eh, they really don't make a difference. rand paul. you have mandates, you get people sicker. none of that is true. or am i wrong? >> chris, we have certain ways that we're pretty sure, based upon the science and data, are going to help us out of this. one is vaccine. get more people vaccinated. it's safe and effective. the second is mitigation efforts. wash your hands. social distancing. and, yes, masks. when appropriate, in high-risk areas. and the third is testing, if you're sick. it's pretty straightforward. we've been down this road before. and the same public health measures hold today. >> is it time for the politics to stop? >> it's been time for the politics to stop, chris, from day one. we have to ask ourselves the question why did masks become a thing? why did vaccines become a thing? why did therapeutics become a thing that became a divide in the country? again, i'm not a politician. but to me it's all about the science and the data and the medicine. and what direction is it pointing us to?

so my recommendation to people is talk to your doctor. find out what the science and data are. and follow that. >> now, when you talk to people and they say, you were in the trump administration. you know what they're trying to do. these guys on the left. they're trying to control us. they're trying to take away our freedoms. you know, they're -- they're telling us things, they're exaggerating. it's not even that bad, doc. and the vaccine doesn't even really work. and they just want to shut things down and have pandemic forever. what do you say? >> so chris, i was a cancer doctor, as you know. and people came into the office to talk to me about their situation with a number of different perspectives. and i never ridiculed. i never made fun. i tried to understand their perspective. and then talk through it, based upon facts and science and data. and so that's how i'd respond to say that it's fairly clear to me where the science and data are pointing us. and again, vaccines, mitigation efforts, testing. and i think that's how i would respond to that. >> fda approval of this. now, you'll hear people say, you

know, the work has really been done. we already know because of the emergency-use authorization that this works and it's safe and effective. fda approval is okay. and if you want the comfort, fine. but you don't really need it. i don't buy it. do you? i think it should have happened a while ago. and i think that 50% of people who are hesitant to get vaccinated agree with me. why haven't they gotten it done? >> so i also agree that full approval is necessary. it's the gold standard around the world. but i also agree that much of the data that came in initially for the emergency-use authorization has held up. those are good data and they're supportive of vaccination now. but i trust, chris, that the fda is putting all of its resources that it can on this to analyze the data. remember, tens of thousands of pages. really important information in there. dr. marx, the head of the center that is in charge of this approval process, said that he is reallocating resources. so i am very confident that the

great scientists, biostatisticians, physicians at fda are going to come up with the right answer and do that soon. >> is it unfair to say this is taking too long? >> so chris, you're talking to the fda commissioner during the beginning of the covid pandemic. >> i know. that's why i'm asking you, doc. >> yeah. no. it's fair to ask why is it taking so long. i mean, because we're in a public health crisis. and so i think it's a fair question to ask. but i also think it's important for us to understand what goes into these decisions. why they're so important and why fda is considered the gold standard around the world. >> the cdc wasn't your bailiwick, but you understand the process. they put out a mask guidance change. they put out the data three days later. the head of the cdc tonight seemed satisfied with that. i'm not. why wouldn't you put out the data when you are giving us the change of guidance? >> yeah, it's a really good question.

and chris, one of the things we did at fda right before i left was actually address this issue. because i think transparency around the information basing decisions really does help the american public and american doctors, providers, et cetera. so i'm very much in favor of let's put the data out there because the data are solid, and they support the decision-making. so the sooner you can do that, make it explainable to people, repeat it multiple times, just like a doctor would do in the room with a patient, the better it's going to be. >> two quick things. a now and a later. the now. the cdc director's talking about vaccines, the booster. i don't know that we need it. the data is good. but the data doesn't reflect delta and delta's spreading so much faster and it spreads even if you're vaccinated. if you don't know, why not just say we don't know? why say we are preparing to roll something out but we don't know when and we don't have the data, we have to have more data. do we need a booster or not? do we know? >> no, we don't know. and it's okay to say that. chris, the analogy. doctor in the emergency room doesn't have all the facts.

going to make the best decision he can to save someone's life. when he or she gets more facts, we'll revise that decision. people understand that. they want their doctor to do that. it's the same thing here, and we should be upfront about that. >> now, another thing. this is the long-term. is anybody doing anything right is anybody doing anything right now to prepare for the next one? ppe. the getting production of these things ourselves here so we're relying on no one else. other vaccines. you know, other treatments that we know may be likely. you know, there was a movie about this in like 2010 that nailed what we're going through right now. are we preparing for the next one? do you know? >> yeah, well, we need to and i tell you that's why i'm so excited about my current role which is at flagship pioneering with an initiative called preemptive medicine and health security. and it's all about how do you identify early? how do you not just be reactive? how do you predict? and how do you protect and maintain and improve health? how are we going to create a health shield to protect against

the future and the current? what if, chris, we could identify what the next variant of concern for covid, sars-cov-2, is? wouldn't that be great? and then act accordingly. >> i think it would be -- look. everybody always gets upset when taxes are raised because we don't like where the money is going. if you told us, hey, we want to pick five of these things that we think are the most likely and we are going to prepare for all five of them and this is what it's going to cost. people would give money to that, you know what i mean? that's something that's worth it. i just -- if we repeat this again, when we should have known that this one was coming, it really is going to be unforgiveable. dr. stephen hahn, thank you very much for your work. and for explaining what we're doing with this one. i appreciate you. >> thank you. all right. look. you know, i just think straight talk is a remedy on this. i don't know why, in government and in media, there's so much weakness in saying i don't know. you know, because what would you rather have? me tell you i'm not sure, i'll get back to you? or give you an answer and then winds up being wrong?

come on. we know which one we'd prefer. why do we always get the one we don't prefer? now, the new numbers. here's what scares me most about the vaccine front. we are fighting each other and we're not, therefore, fighting against what we have to. and it is making us sick, again. there's mandates, masks, what works and what doesn't? when you see the partisan divide, i'm telling you, you can't exaggerate it. wizard of odds, breakdown, next. >> one on one brought to you by applebee's. enjoy your favorite meals available dine in, delivery, or to go. now, that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. ♪ ♪ ♪ born to be wild ♪ see disney's jungle cruise. applebee's and a movie, now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood.

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♪ then we're eating grilled cheese. ♪ ♪ because it's time. ♪ ♪ yeah. ♪ ♪ time for grilled cheese. ♪ the delta threat is growing. we all know it. a majority of americans, 61%, say the cdc's new guidance on masks is a good thing. why? because the variant is thriving

and too many people are getting sick, for no good reason. and increasingly, the reason it's happening is bad reason. political poison. a closer look at that 61% shows you the real problem. 91% democrats. 26% of republicans. so how do we turn this pandemic around when too many are still anti-vaccine and anti-mask? and too many leaders on the right are feeding it? do mandates help? are they even worth it? harry enten joins me now in the covid command center. first, partisan divide. yes or no? prove it. >> my goodness gracious. partisan divide. it's wider than the atlantic ocean. look at this on vaccine mandates, my goodness gracious. we're talking 60-point gaps and it -- you know, you can ask about it, whether businesses should require employees or restaurants requiring customers. but you can just see it. 60-point gap with democrats

overwhelmingly in favor. republicans overwhelmingly against. and the partisan divide is becoming bigger on this issue. it's certainly wider than the divide on whether or not you have a vaccine or not. and i just am very worried for the state of this countr, as we go down the road as these mandates start getting put into places like new york, where republican customers -- who knows what might happen? this divide is huge. >> what is the issue? >> here is the issue. the issue to me in all of this is republicans and democrats just see concern about the virus differently. and they see whether or not the vaccines work tremendously differently, right? concerned about the outbreak. again, a majority of democrats are concerned about the covid-19 outbreak. 78%. versus just 41% of republicans. are vaccines effective at preventing death? they are. we know that. we've been through these stats a thousand times in this show. a majority of democrats say yes. a minority of republicans say yes. so basically, what you are

seeing is sort of, you know, concern about the virus and vaccine effectiveness are, sort of, supercharging these thoughts on vaccine mandates and vaccines overall. >> you know, we're not the only ones that are bifurcated here left-right, right? so we asked you to take a look internationally. they have left and right in a lot of different places. how do we stack up? >> poorly. i mean, look at this. so this is people in the last election, whether they voted republican here in the states or conservative in canada or the great -- in great britain. we looked at those folks and we asked whether or not they have at least one covid-19 vaccine dose. look at this. just 50% of trump voters have at least one dose. in canada the people who voted conservative last election, 69%. look at that great britain number. my god. 94%. in great britain, in fact, what we see is the partisan split is reversed with conservatives more likely than labor or liberal democrats to get a vaccine dose. so, you know, when i look at numbers like that, i look at right now the vaccine divide and the divide on mask and the divide on vaccine mandates, i say to myself it didn't need to

be that way. and yet it is. and the reason it is is because you basically have a lot of republican leaders out there, a lot of people in the conservative media who are supercharging this. and i'm hopeful that some of the more reasonable voices will go out there and say the vaccine is safe, the vaccine's effective, you should go out and get that vaccine because we're all americans at the end of the day. just like they're all great britons over on the other side of the atlantic. or they're all canadians on the other side of the border. and you can see they are acting as one and right now we're not acting as one and the rising coronavirus rates is basically the consequence of that. >> we're all americans, but we're not all being reasonable. and listen to it now, and i'll say it a million times between now and the midterms. the new voting demographic to watch will be the vaccinated. it'll be the majority of the left, the right, north, south, brown, black, white. the majority of every measurable demo that you have will be

vaccinated. and it will be them being held hostage by the rest of this country. that's going to be the group to speak to. that's going to be the group that makes things happen. and maybe that will get us past this partisan divide. harry enten, the wiz, remember what i said. and thank you for what you told us. >> thank you, my friend. and you know what? we just need to get past that divide because, again, we're all americans here. >> the vaccine may be the unifier. florida struggling. record hospitalizations. why? several reasons. but messaging does matter. and the governor there has been baited by president trump and he wants to have the fight. president trump. president biden. trump loved him. and by the way, he's playing from his playbook and it's working for him with popularity, but not for his state with the pandemic. so our next guest is running for ron desantis's job. an interesting question for former florida governor charlie

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sea of red. new covid cases, every day. major state driving the surge, florida. adult, kids, hospitalizations higher than in any other state. that state's governor. that's not where he wants the attention. he wants to make this a political fight. he wants it about freedom. he wants to go after the president and, frankly, president biden has made it easy for him. listen. >> just that if you don't do lockdown policies, then you should, quote, get out of the way. let me tell you this. if you are coming after the rights of parents in florida, i'm standing in your way. i'm not going to let you get away with it. >> your response, mr. president? >> governor who? >> florida congressman and former florida governor charlie crist joins me now. he is now running for his old job in hopes of replacing desantis.

welcome back to "prime time." >> thank you, chris. great to be with you tonight. >> what he's doing has him with good numbers in florida, your governor. but the case numbers, the hospitalizations, are worse. so what does that tell you? >> well, they are worse, no question about it. and we're number one in the country right now, chris, as you indicated. and it's appalling and it's heartbreaking. but we just got some new polling yesterday, independent of us, independent of our campaign that has me up on him by about two points if the election for governor were held today. so i think it's starting to take hold finally. and people are understanding that what he's doing is wrong. it's dead wrong. >> what do you think in terms of why so many people in this state are anti-vaxx, anti-mask? >> i don't know. i really can't explain that, except to say that, you know, we have all heard so much about misinformation. and in our state, unfortunately, misguided leadership or a lack of leadership, really. i mean, the governor doesn't

talk about the fact that it's a good idea to wear a mask. in fact, just last friday, chris, he signed an executive order banning masks be in our schools, which open just next week. about 3 million of our children are going to be going to schools. they're going to be together. and he signs an executive order trying to stop even local school districts from having the authority to do the right thing and keep kids safe. you know, as we're brought up, as kids, you know, it's safety first, safety first. and for this governor it seems to be safety last. and it's -- it's awful. it's really awful to see that. >> but there has to be -- i mean, look, you know, you want to be governor of the state. you are going to have to figure out the political riddle of it. and you have got the former president living in the state. he was the biggest backer behind operation warp speed to make it happen. and he barely ever talks about the vaccine. his protégé, desantis, everybody knows the vaccine works. they say it as rarely as possible. everybody knows masks are our

only mitigation measure. and they bad mouth them all the time. there has to be something that resonates. i mean, when you look in your numbers, 49.3% of florida residents are fully vaccinated. somewhere in the middle of the pack. the rate right now, though, of vaccinations, one of the best in the country, which is good news. the problem is within pockets of more conservative counties. jackson county, 30%. franklin county, 36%. these are not -- it's not that people are stupid, and the media and others make a mistake when they say that. they are choosing to believe things on the basis of politics about a pandemic. how do you beat that? >> i think you just tell the truth. do what you're doing, frankly, and providing a great service. you have experts on. people that are healthcare professionals, physicians, nurses, that really know this firsthand. i had a zoom call yesterday with a panel. parents, students, and one of them was a pediatrician from the university of miami. and i asked her point blank, i said dr. gwen, what's the best

way to handle this? our schools are opening next week. you know, what do you feel about masks? she said, charlie, we have to mask. it's important to do so. it is proven that it protects people. and we're spiking horribly right now. florida's exploding and our governor is playing russian roulette with the people of florida. it's appalling to see and i think he's doing it for political reasons that are beyond his re-elect in '22. i think it goes to his desire to be the republican nominee for president in 2024. and he's so focused on that lately, chris, he's been to utah, he's been to texas, down at the border. i understand that monday night he was fundraising up in michigan. he's been to pennsylvania. he's forgetting florida and my fellow floridians, and it's sad to say but that's what's happening here. >> so when it comes to the mask mandate, he says he'll pull funds. what do you think of that idea? if you have a mandate after i told you not to, i will pull

state funding from you. >> it's punitive. it's -- it's unusual and it is cruel and it is wrong. i mean, you know, i don't know what kind of authoritarian leader he's trying to be but he's not being a man of the people. he's not doing what a great president once said that we should have a government that is of the people, by the people, and for the people. he is trying to dictate everything from mt. tallahassee, our capital. >> but he says the exact same thing, not about you, but about biden and the democrats. you don't get to tell us how to live here. this is about freedom. we are the land of the free. i'll decide what my kid has on his or her face. i'll decide what i put in my body. you don't tell me. you don't command me. you don't even know what you're talking about, half the time. and you are lying, the other half. that is what he is providing as political medicine. what is your counter? >> well, we ought to have the freedom to be safe. i mean, you know, everybody wears seat belts now. you know? and they're in every single car and it's a requirement and it's a law. why?

because it makes us safe. you know, having a -- a opportunity to have a mask requirement statewide for our precious children. to make sure that they're safe because science tells us it's the right thing to do. that's -- that's not being wrong. that's being right and it's doing what's right for our children to protect them. don't we have a duty to do that? aren't leaders supposed to do that? you know, whether you're talking about seat belts in a car or you're talking about masks in a classroom. or when people are out in florida and they're indoors, they ought to be wearing a mask to protect our fellow floridians. >> yeah. >> to stop the dying. it's that serious, what we're dealing with. >> the analogy is a good one. i would even liken it to drunk driving. you know, you wear a seat belt for yourself. drunk driving. we don't allow you to do it because you're going to hurt me. you're going to hurt somebody else. you have the freedom to drink and drive but we make it illegal because of the consequences to others. and masks are the same things. we are seeing it all the time. congressman charlie crist.

we will be following the race. thank you for coming on the show to make the case, sir. >> great to be with you, sir. have a good evening. >> all right. and to be clear, i invite governor desantis on on a regular basis. just so you know. not just out of equal time considerations. because he is the leader of a state that is right in the middle right now, and it matters. it's a huge population. it's a diverse population. every state matters but florida is one of our biggest. the governor is welcome here to make the case. the invitation is out there and standing. now, the desperation for a vaccine. the long lines. do you remember that? some parents are now lying about their kids' ages just to get them a dose. my next guest is a pharmacist. seeing it in a state where the governor is rethinking pandemic strategy. i believe that this next guest will give us a very good window into our reality. next. helen knew exercise could help her diabetes... but she didn't know what was right for her.

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florida is not the only state where serious child covid cases are rising. arkansas's health secretary

says between april and july infections in kids jumped more than 500%. hospitalizations nearly 270%. the timing could not be worse. you got the start of school right around the corner. as some arkansas parents are so worried about sending their kids to class, especially without mask mandates, that they are lying about their kids' ages to try to get them vaccinated. julie stewart is a pharmacist in fayetteville and she says she's had to turn some of these parents away. am i exaggerating any of this? what are you seeing? >> i wouldn't say you're exaggerating. you know, the vast majority of people that we vaccinate are eligible. and they -- they do qualify for the vaccine. but yes, we do have some parents who are anxious about the school year starting and want to get their child vaccinated just because of the -- the current situation with the inability of schools to mandate masks.

and this delta variant that's got a lot of people scared. >> now, do you see any cases of this political poison where people will come in and want the vaccine but say that they don't want their kids wearing masks? >> yeah, we see -- we kind of see it all. you know, we -- especially lately, you know, after the initial sort of run for the vaccine when everyone was wanting to get vaccinated. now we've got the people that have had some hesitancy, but they change their mind. or they -- you know, they -- yeah, with the mask mandate, they just, you know, weren't sure what they wanted to do. so yeah. >> do you think banning of mask mandates fueled parents' desperation? >> absolutely. you know, the school district should have the option to do that and they don't as of right now. and parents are scared. they've got children that are starting school in a week and a

half. and many of them are unable to get vaccinated because of the age limit right now. so yes, definitely. >> you have concerns about vaccinating kids under 12. why? >> sure, yeah. i mean, you know, they -- 12 is somewhat of an arbitrary age but they had to start it somewhere. and, you know, when you start getting to 11, 10-year-olds, they're just -- their bodies may not be able to handle the dose that children or, you know, older children and adults take. that the studies that are being done right now by pfizer, for example, in the clinical trials. they're -- they're actually studying a smaller dose. and so, safety is a concern. all the data is not in yet. so we don't know, you know, all the potential side effects yet. and so we do really need to wait, until all that data is in in order to vaccinate this age group.

>> so you are somebody who would like to see fda approval for this before you start giving it to the kids. but you did give it to your boys, who are in the age group. to parents who are hesitant -- because that's the real problem in your state. you know, your state wouldn't be where it is if everybody was so desperate for vaccines that they were lying about their kids' ages. so what do you say to the parents who are on the opposite end of the spectrum, which is i'm not getting vaccinated and i don't want my kids vaccinated? >> right. i just encourage them to -- to speak to a health professional that they trust. stop watching youtube. stop listening to videos on social media. just talk to their doctor that they see on an annual basis. talk to their pediatrician, or the kids' pediatrician. talk to their pharmacist. talk to someone local that they -- that they trust. listen to the local statistics on what's happening. and that, i think, tells the real story of what's going on and the safety and the effectiveness of the vaccines. >> now, that said, ending it on

a good note, you believe that the delta variant has scared people straight. and you have a flow of vaccine, people who want vaccines that you haven't seen before. >> definitely. we, probably about three weeks ago, when our numbers started to climb in arkansas, we went from doing, oh, you know, 10, 15 walk-in vaccinations a day to closer to 40 or 50 per day. so we definitely have seen an increase. i like to ask people when they come in, you know, why now? why are you choosing to do this now? and it's a lot of it is, you know, i wasn't sure. i wanted to wait and see kind of how things played out. i really wanted to wait for full-fda approval. but this variant really has me worried that the age of people in the hospital is a lot younger than it was six months ago. and so that just -- it's enough to get people in for sure. >> well, i wish your state well. and julie stewart, i wish you well. i hope you and your family stay healthy and i appreciate you

telling us what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> thank you. thank you very much. i appreciate it. >> all right. be well. boy, the news is hard. the reality is hard. right? it's so easy to lose hope, especially when people are motivating you to hate reality and hate people who disagree with you. and that's why there's so much hunger for hope. and why we have to keep perspective. i know it's not easy. i know it's not easy, and that's why we had the gift of a guest last night, nightbirde. >> don't you want to see what happens if you don't give up? like, don't you -- don't you want to see what happens? ♪ it's okay if you're lost ♪ >> that voice. anyway, she has metastatic cancer. every diagnosis she gets is bad. she doesn't deny the diagnosis but she will not accept a verdict on her own life. and boy, did she resonate with you. it's not just the beauty of her

words and her voice, it's what comes out of her. and what it awakens in the rest of us. the breakout star from "america's got talent" fighting cancer with the power of positivity. i have an update for you on what you did for her last night. next. ♪ it's okay, it's okay, it's okay ♪ ♪ if you're lost and it's all right ♪ that's why they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. [ nautical horn blows ] i mean just because you look like someone else doesn't mean you eat off the floor, or yell at the vacuum, or need flea medication. oh, yeah. that's the spot. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ you need an ecolab scientific clean here. and you need it here.

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#1 prescribed for td. learn how you could pay as little as $0 at ingrezza.com ♪ rock the boat don't rock the boat, baby ♪ ♪ rock the boat don't tip the boat over ♪ here we go. ♪ don't rock the boat, baby rock the boat ♪ see disney's jungle cruise. it's time to rock the boat, america. as you know, we showcase americans to remind the rest of us about the best of us. but last night, in fact, not just last night, right up until this very moment, we are, also, reminded that we -- you, me, all of us -- that we're not just capable of fighting with each other. we can do great things, together. and i'll give you the proof of that, in a second. but i want to remind you why. nightbirde and what she brought out in us last night. listen. >> not denying the pain of today, and not denying the hope

of tomorrow. and when you go through something that -- that is so devastating, makes no sense, there's no -- there's no answers. you kind of have the choice -- um -- like, am i going to become bitter? or am i not? you do have a choice. you know? you do get to decide. um, what -- what becomes of you, in a sense. and -- um -- you know, i -- i've decided, in my -- in my most painful moments, to keep my eyes open because it's easier. it's easier to close your eyes and to give up and to forget it. but there's so much beauty and poetry to be seen in the world. if you are willing to sign off on the pain that it takes to stay awake, um, in the middle of something that hurts so bad. that's -- that's all this is. anybody can do it. >> the words are great. but when the wisdom is born of

the difficulties that jane has, that nightbirde has, now you have magic because the can, right, that she talks about, the can is universal. the do is one of the rarest gifts. again, especially when you're not just facing the vagaries of life and not having everything you want. but when you are facing metastatic cancer, that is ravaging your body so thoroughly, you can't even live out your dream in the moment and you are forced to step away from singing on "america's got talent." but even without that showcase, so many from around the world have been following her on her journey on her blog nightbirde.com and here's why. count me among the angry, the cynical, the hardened. but count me, also, among the friends of god, for i have seen him in rare form. her message, pain and hope.

they're not an either/or. it, obviously, moved you, as well. cancer isn't just hard and painful. it's expensive. and she's doing this on her own and she has a gofundme page. one last push to hashtag see jane win. you guys took it from around 250 grand, last night, to $322,000, and counting, after her appearance on the show. you did that. god forbid, if any of you have -- have to deal with something, like a cancer that she has. but we all face our pain. the hope is that we can be reminded that others will be there for us, when we can. and we all hope that we can be as strong as this kid. >> when we're going through stuff, like this, where really the pain is too much to bear, sometimes, and makes no sense at all. um, if we can hold onto a dream for the future, sometimes, that's all we need to get through.

and i believe in dreams for all of our lives that originated in the imagination of god. and -- and just think about, like, don't you want to see what happens, if you don't give up? like, don't you -- don't you want to see what happens? -- and -- that's what i keep saying to myself, and that's what i say to everyone watching tonight. don't you want to see what happens if you don't give up? >> i, absolutely, want to see what happens when she doesn't give up. and i will keep following nightbirde, and i will let you know what happens. and god willing, we can have her back on the show when she is on the other side of her treatment. but i want to say, thank you, so much, for stepping up the way you did. for seeing her on this show, and connecting with her cause and her pain, and doing something for her. i know money is tight for so many. thank you so much for helping one person deal with something that all of us, god forbid, can avoid. we'll be right back with the handoff.

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um, you know how you know we sit here and we tell people about the -- the variant and covid-19 and getting the vaccine and, you know, many people don't listen. many people do. but the wbest way to show is example. you should see this interview that i have, coming up, of this entire family who got covid. and now, he's in his hospital bed, and he is saying if these are my last words, then i want to spend it this way. by talking to you, and getting people to hear my voice, and to hear this message. it's really, quite incredible. >> all you can do is tell people the truth. >> yeah. >> you can't make 'em believe. and the hope is, in telling stories like the one you're going to tell tonight, that people will see themselves in not just the people who are sick but the people who are struggling with losing them around them. >> yeah. >> that's the part that we, often, don't emphasize enough. that, you know, you wear a mask. you take care of yourself because what you may do to others and if you don't take care of yourself, what about the people who you are supposed to take care of?

>>