you can always follow me on twitter and instagram @wolf blitzer. you can always tweet the show @cnn sit room. and the situation room is also available as a podcast. look for us on cnn.com/audio or wherever you get your podcasts. "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. outfront next, mcconnell blinks after weeks of stalling and refusing to act on the debt ceiling, mcconnell appears to be giving democrats an out tonight. should they take it? and stayty abrams is out front on the new push for voting rights. donald trump says she'd be better than the current governor and all the speculation about what she is running for next. plus, heavy police presence at the florida nature preserve where brian laundrie went before vanishing as a laundrie family lawyer changes the timeline of events surrounding laundrie's disappearance. let's go outfront. and good evening, i'm erin burnett. outfront tonight, mcconnell blinks. the gop minority leader offering

democrats the shortest of short-term options to avoid an american debt default. with 12 days to go until the first u.s. default in u.s. history, he blinked. giving democrats until december or up to december to find a way to raise the debt limit on 100% party lines despite saying today, yesterday, and a whole bunch of times before that, that democrats are on their own here. >> democrats need to tackle the debt limit. there's a clear path to achieve raising the debt ceiling which must happen. america must not ever default. and doing it with democrats only. >> there is no chance -- no chance -- the republican conference will go out of our way to help democrats. >> well, sure. tonight's delay is better than defaulting in 12 days. okay? so let's just be clear. it's better than that. but it is an embarrassment. you don't run a business or a

household and you certainly shouldn't run a country this way. oh, another six weeks till we are about to default? well w we'll do this all again. but for lawmakers t it's all a game of political brinksmanship because just to lay out these numbers right now, the united states is carrying $28 trillion in accumulated debt. the size of debt in this country dwarves the size of the entire u.s. economy. now, that would be beyond a crisis for any other country on either. wouldn't be able to borrow money. instead, we're, you know, going to go throw a few more trillion on. the u.s. saved -- saved so far by being -- well, frankly, the united states. but it won't stay that way forever. and the massive debt pile isn't going to go away in a matter of weeks. i mean, yes, it is true, republicans need to help fix the republican, because, by the way, they ran up trillions and trillions and trillions of dollars of this entire mess, to begin with. under trump's watch, the nation's debt rose

$7.8 trillion, almost 40% higher debt he left than when he started. and it's true mitch mcconnell, himself, has had no problem voting to raise or suspend the debt limit in the past. 32 times, to be exact according to "the washington post" count. but it is also true that democrats have refused to help republicans when they didn't want to take the heat. i want to quote one democratic senator in 2006 when george w. bush was president. and when not a single democrat joined republicans to raise the debt limit, right? it was, okay, you are going to do it all onnur your own, just e happening now. they said, quote, because this massive accumulation of debt was predicted, because it was foreseeable, because it was unnecessary, because it was the result of willful and reckless disregard for the warnings that were given and for the fundamentals of economic management, i am voting against the debt limit increase. that was senator joe biden. every word could be said now. but now, president joe biden wants republicans to take some of the blame. he and leaders from every corner of government and business sounding the alarm today.

on just how important this issue is. >> we need to act. these leaders know the need to act. the united states pays its bills. it's who we are, it's who we've been, it's who we're going to continue to be, god willing. that's what's called the full faith and credit of the united states. >> actual default would be unprecedented. we -- the things we know that it would do are very bad. and it could be potentially far worse. >> even delaying action can cause harm to business and consumer confidence. raise borrowing costs, disrupt financial markets, and cause a downgrade of the u.s. credit rating. second, let me be clear, this would be a catastrophic outcome. >> well, it is the u.s. economy at stake. it's also the u.s. military dominance. and a bipartisan group of seven former defense secretaries writing a letter to congress that failing to work together and raise the debt ceiling would lead to, quote, catastrophic consequences for the defense

department, our military families, and our position of leadership in the world. this is not good for anyone, in fact, it's bad for everyone. and it will be equally bad a few weeks from now when we're back to groundhog day and democrats have to go through the same process, and figure out, all over again, how to get this done without republican help. manu raju is outfront on capitol hill. so, manu, okay. this is -- this is sort of, you know, like delaying -- delaying the death penalty here for a few more weeks. what happens now? >> yeah, this is kicking the can down the road. no question about it. because they are likely to avert the immediate crisis but what are they going to do, come november? i asked bernie sanders, budget committee chairman, that exact question. he said we'll see. things can change in couple of months but it's unclear if the dynamics will change in any way. now, the immediate issue is likely to be resolved because they still need to draft in legislative language what this short-term debt ceiling increase would be. likely, it will be up until about december or so. and then, once drafted, they

have to have votes in the senate and house, get it approved. get it done before that octoboct october-18th deadline. and then, the question too will become how do they deal with the long-term issue? mitch mcconnell wants democrats to use that budget process that would allow them to circumvent a republican filibuster and raise the debt ceiling on votes by their own. but democrats say they don't want to go that route because it's circuitous and labor-intensive route and would force them to take a whole host of votes that they don't want to take on amendments to -- in that budget process. so the question will be how will they do that? because going the regular order requires 60 votes in the senate. that means ten republicans would have to vote with 50 democrats and they don't have any republicans who will vote with them at the moment. but -- but, erin, importantly, mitch mcconnell made clear one reason why he was offering this short-term debt limit increase. he told his colleagues behind closed doors, i'm told, that he's concerned that joe manchin and kyrsten sinema were getting a lot of pressure and may ultimately change their position

and gut the senate's filibuster rules to make it easy to pass a debt ceiling increase on a simple majority of 51 senators. that is one reason why he told his conference he is making this short-term offer to ease pressure on them. and, erin, i am told that manchin and mcconnell have spoken several times this week, including over the debt ceiling and the filibuster. >> hmm. all right. thank you very much, manu. outfront now, democratic senator chris coons. so, senator, i appreciate your time tonight. would you accept mcconnell's proposal? >> well, erin, as best as i understand it, what's happened late this afternoon is mcconnell has blinked. president biden and a unified democratic caucus has consistently refused to move forward through reconciliation with raising the debt ceiling. senator mcconnell is now offering to have his caucus step aside and let democrats -- all 50 of us -- come to the floor

and vote for a short-term debt ceiling raise. and i think we will accept that so we can move forward with finishing the work to pass the build back better agenda. >> okay. but you use the word blink and i think it's a fair one, right, as opposed to cave. because, sure, you get this little delay. but i mean you use the word short-term. i mean, this is short-term. we all know this is not the way this should be done. you are getting six extra weeks from where you would have had a default until there is a default. so then, you know, what happens? you know, they are saying republicans aren't going to help you again when this happens in a few weeks. so are we going to just back to groundhog day? >> so, two things, erin. senator mcconnell's put out a statement that he expects over the next six weeks, we will use reconciliation to deal with the debt ceiling. we won't. we wouldn't do it this time. we won't do it innext time. >> so you are categorical on that? >> we will be back in the exact same position in six weeks. part of why i think he blinked

was that democrats, almost all of us or perhaps all of us, are willing to change the rules to end these debt-ceiling standoffs. and my hunch is over the next six weeks, we'll have conversations both in our caucus and with republicans who don't see any positive value in these debt ceiling standoffs. in the 11 years i have been a senator, they've happened far too often. >> yep. >> the debt ceiling standoffs don't produce fiscal discipline. they produce political finger pointing and put at risk our whole economy. >> you are totally right about that. there is a giant fight, it goes up, so does spending. but so you are categorical here on the reconciliation issue. are almost all of us talking about democrats. so let me ask you about that point because one option that many democrats have mentioned here would be to change the still burst rules, right, so that you could do this. >> that's right. >> and mcconnell told republicans today that he made his proposal because he is worried about that, right? you do that and there's big, big problems as he sees it. >> that's right. >> and obviously, many on your side see it, as well.

but you said -- i quote you, sen senator coons -- there may well be enough to let the debt ceiling advance. to do that, you would need every single democrat but here, of course, is what senator manchin said today. >> i have been very, very clear where i stand. where i stand on the filibuster. i don't have to repeat that. i think i have been very clear. nothing changes. >> to be clear, he opposes changing the filibuster. so, what happens there? it seems you are at an impasse. >> so, erin, i don't speak for senator manchin. but my strong sense is that -- um -- there was unanimity in our caucus that we weren't going to let the country default. and that we didn't have the time and we weren't willing to take up going through the whole reconciliation process, again. that only left one other option

which was mcconnell blinks or caves or we change the rules. um, so i think part of the backstory what happened today is that mcconnell got the message loud and clear that although senator manchin is unwilling to change the filibuster rule for general legislation, there may have been a conversation -- and i'm just guessing here -- about a willingness to change the rule just for the debt ceiling because all of us who have been here for a decade or more, and senator manchin and i came in together on the same day. all of us are sick and tired of the debt sceiling games of chicken. >> so i want to ask you one other thing, if i may before you go because you are on the foreign relations committee, as well here. and there are big things happening with china right now. today, taiwan's defense minister warned that china may have the ability to mount a full-scale attack against taiwan in the next three years. obviously, there's been military incursions there, increasing -- increasingly menacingly over the

past few weeks. secretary of state antony blinken strongly urged china to stop its military activity around taiwan. he has reiterated the u.s.' commitment to taiwan but clearly china's testing that. so, do you believe the u.s. should do whatever it takes to defend taiwan against china even if that means using the military? >> well, erin, i recently traveled to taipei, to taiwan in a bipartisan delegation to deliver badly needed covid-19 vaccines. to a nation that was facing an unexpected spike. and i think it's important that we continue to push back on china, on the prc, and their aggressive actions in the south china sea. they have, in recent days, sent wave after wave of jet fighter aircraft of bombers all around the perimeter of taiwan. and we need to do more to strengthen our competitive posture with regards to china here at home by passing through the house and sending to president biden's desk the u.s.

innovation and competitiveness about that we passed on a bipartisan basis here months ago. and in that bill, there are significant investments that will help strengthen our indo-pacific partners, like taiwan and other countries in the region that are doing their best to defend democracy and to stand up to an increasingly assertive china. >> senator coons, i appreciate your time. thank you. >> thank you, erin. and joining me tomorrow night for a very important interview with treasury secretary janet yellen on the debt ceiling, the economic recovery, and what the u.s. can do about china. that's tomorrow night right here on outfront. and outfront next, trump attacks the january-6th investigation, claiming the real insurrection was on election day. this is several of his top aides face a deadline tomorrow to hand over documents. will they defy the subpoenas? plus, a development in the search for brian laundrie with law enforcement suddenly returning to the area he reportedly went to before he disappeared three weeks ago. and lindsey graham speaking to a crowd of his own supporters

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not on january 6th. which was a day of protesting the fake election results. the election he calls fake, of course, was -- i quote person in charge of the security there at -- for him, for trump -- the most secure in american history. that's what his own election official said. of course, several people died following the capitol insurrection on january 6th. provoked by trump's election lie that he now is putting out there in black and white, all in one complete sentence. this as former top-trump aides have until tomorrow to turn over documents in response to subpoenas by the house committee. people like mark meadows and adviser steve bannon and former white house deputy chief of staff, dan scavino, who hasn't been physically served his subpoena because committee cannot find him. out front now, elie honig, senior legal on list. this is pretty incredible. they are supposed to turn over documents tomorrow. so let's start with the basic question. is there any way these people are going to comply and what happens if they don't? >> erin, it's virtually certain

they will not comply. and if and when that happens, congress is going to have three options. first of all, historically, congress has had something called the inherent -- inherent enforcement power. meaning, they used to send out the sergeant at arms. he would lock -- arrest people and then lock them up in a prison on capitol hill. however, that power has not been used in nearly a hundred years. it's very unlikely to come back now. second, congress can go to the courts, ask a federal judge for an order requiring these people to testify under potential civil and even criminal penalties. the problem with that is trump and his people are very likely to fight that in the courts. they're likely to lose but they also could drag this out. the courts move very slowly and congress and the courts need to move quicker. and then, third, congress can refer to matter over to doj, and then it's up to doj whether they bring a criminal charge for contempt of congress. so if that happens, merrick garland is going to have a really consequential decision to make. >> right. right. which of course, you know, i know it's important. i know the power. but i know, of course, it's not a decision he wants to make, right?

you just don't -- don't want to be put in the position of being called political. the committee, though, still can't find dan scavino two weeks after issuing him a subpoena. this is the social media guru of the trump administration. obviously, scavino is keeping himself scarce. not necessarily easy to do but that's the strategy here. how unusual is that? and will it work? >> well, it's bizarre. but it's also deliberate. let's be clear about what this is. this is the delay strategy. it is a strategy, and it is intentional. and the thing is, erin, it has worked for donald trump and his people before. if you look at when congress tried to investigate after the mueller report when they tried to investigate the first impeachment over ukraine, these things got bogged down in the courts. and they took months, even years. and as a result, congress really got next to nowhere with those investigations. so it seems clear this is what scavino is trying to do if he was willing to testify or even play ball, he could easily make himself available. and so again, congress needs to be ready to fight here, and they

need to be ready to move very quickly because trump and his people are trying to run out the clock. >> right. and so -- so then, how does this end? i mean, is there any way you probably believe, elie, this ends with we -- we, the people, hearing anything from any of these people? >> here is the big question. how hard is congress willing to fight? and are people, like merrick garland, willing to make bold and courageous and really unusual decisions? for example, if merrick garland has to make this decision about whether to charge criminally, nobody has been charged criminally for about 50 years under contempt of congress. last several times these decisions have come to doj, they've passed. well, is merrick garland just going to say this is the way it's always been done, it is eat easier way out. or is he going to stand up for accountability and full disclosure here? that >> all right, eie, thank you. next, the sudden surge of police at that massive nature reserve as gabby petito's family speaks out saying they hope that

he is captured alive. >> i just hope he's found. i really do. like, i -- no, i mean like alive. >> i want to look him in the eyes. plus, stacey abrams on the fight over voting rights heating up, again, tonight. and this. >> of course, having her i think might be better than having your existing governor if you want to know the truth. stacey, would you like to take his place? it's okay with me. but she didn't know what was right for her. no. nope. no way. but then helen went from no to know with freestyle libre 14 day, now she knows what activity helps lower her glucose. and can see what works best for her. take the mystery out of your glucose levels, and lower your a1c. now you know. freestyle libre 14 day. now covered by medicare for those who qualify.

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call... for fifteen hundred dollars off your kohler walk-in bath. visit kohlerwalkinbath.com for more info. tonight, a cynical power play. that's how republican senator ted cruz describes the push for the john lewis voting rights advancement act. as democrats make a renewed push for the voting rights with the bill which would make it easier for the justice department and minorities to challenge election rules that they believe are discriminatory. >> state legislators and others are going to defame and diminish our democracy, we in the congress have a duty to defend it. >> this bill is a disaster. why change what has worked for 240 years? >> we know that john lewis bill -- let me just step back -- will stop states with a history of racial discrimination from rolling back voting rights in the future.

>> this bill is an assault on democracy. this is a power grab. it's cynical. and it's wrong. >> outfront now, stacey abrams, former democratic candidate for governor in georgia and the founder of fair fight action, which fights voter suppression. so, you heard senator grassley say this bill is a disaster. senator cruz calling it a assault on democracy, a power grab by democrats. what do you say to them? >> well, i would, first, point out that senator grassley referenced 240-year history where it has taken multiple constitutional amendments, multiple federal laws, and untold number of court cases to ensure access to democracy. and unfortunately, in the wake of the 2020 election, we have watched 48 states try to pass laws. we've had 19 successfully do so to roll back access to the right to vote and so it's been 240 years of fighting to simply have access to the right to vote for so many americans who should be entitled to it via their

citizenship. as for senator cruz, the only cynicism is to stand in a state like texas which has taken upon itself to outdo almost every other state with attack and assault on democracy and access to communities of color. to suggest defending the freedom to vote, that those are cynical acts, unfortunately, is a partisan response and not a patriotic response. patriotism says we defend the right to vote no matter who needs to use it and that's the work we are doing and that's the work of the john lewis voting rights act and the freedom to vote act. >> let me ask because there are some people watching who i may say, okay, democrats tried really hard and congress failed to get this done so that just was another thing they failed to do. but this is the fourth senate hearing on this -- this session of congress on voting rights and as i said, they -- they failed before to push through the more sweeping for the people act. there have been no signs since that failure that ten republican senators are going to back this bill, right? because you need -- you need that filibuster-proof majority in order to get it through. why do you think this time will

be different and this will succeed? >> i would reject the notion that we've seen failure. what we've seen is movement. each time, there has been the argument that there is no way to move this bill forward, we have seen senators come to the table and take action. we have seen senator joe manchin put forward a framework. and when we were able to work collectively to meet those concerns, we saw his name go on that bill, and we saw -- the democrats in the senate stand up and say, together, that they are willing to protect the freedom to vote. and what we need to do now is to continue to push this forward. i watched your earlier segment on the debt ceiling and the reality is we are in a bit of a groundhog's day with the conversation of democracy. we keep having to have these fights. but luckily for me, luckily for millions of americans, when we continue to fight, we win. and in this fight, this fight for fair elections, this fight for freedom to vote, we believe that if we keep pushing and if we invoke the spirit of those who've pushed this so hard, we will get to the promise land and we will get to the finish line

and finally have a minimum set of standards for the right to vote in the united states. and we will have the john lewis voting rights advancement about that restores a pinnacle of achievement for our democracy, and that is ensuring that the most vulnerable among us have access to the right to vote. >> so as you speak out, there are many who listen. some who support you and some who do not. so one of those -- at least one of those used to be former-president trump. but he recently invoked your name multiple times at a rally in your state of georgia and he slammed your republican governor, brian kemp, for refusing to back trump's big lie and overturn the election. here's what he said. >> when stacey abrams says i'm not going to concede, that's okay. no problem. oh, she's not going to concede. she's not going to concede. of course, having her, i think, might be better than having your existing governor if you want to know the truth. stacey, would you like to take his place? it's okay with me. >> uh, okay, so, of course, you ran against governor kemp. but now, you have got the former president out there saying these

things about you. does him invoking your name like this help or hurt you? >> it's irrelevant. his posture is not relevant to the work that i'm doing or to the positions i take. my responsibility is to do what i can to ensure that no matter who you are, and no matter who you choose, that you have the freedom to vote in the united states. and that is why we have to keep laser focused on the assault on our democracy. an assault that not only happened on january 6th but has happened again and again since that time in statehouses that have restricted access to the right to vote and constricted not only that but the ability of election workers to do their jobs. we are seeing election workers being put under direct assault and that is something we have to push back against. we have to stop this aversion of our elections. and because we're in a generational moment of redistricting, we have to ensure that every single voter has the right to pick their leaders, not have their -- not be picked by their politicians based on who they think they'll vote for. >> so, you know, but on this front, you know, and obviously, you pointed out the violence about -- against election

workers. you have seen that in your own state, right, against election workers at every level regardless of their politics and regardless of who they voted for in the last election. there has been so much speculation about what you're going to do now that you may run again against governor kemp this year. you haven't ruled it out. where do you stand tonight? >> i stand on the side of passage of the freedom to vote act and the passage of the john lewis voting rights advancement act. and i'm -- i'm very intentional about this because we have to stop treating this as one more political battle. this is a battle for the soul of america. this is a question of whether we will be a democracy that can be looked to by other nations as a symbol of what we can be. or if we are going to be seen on the downward side of authoritarianism. >> do you think you can get -- you can get ten republicans onboard? i know you are trying to -- to present it as you've seen progress and i hear why you are doing that because you are able to have it come back. i get -- i get how you are talking about it. but yet, you have to get ten of them. and right now, there's not even one. >> i spent 11 years in the

georgia statehouse. 11 years in the minority and what i can tell you is there are strange bedfellows every day on legislation. but more importantly, when you are fighting for fundamental rights, when you are fighting for the freedom to protect our democracy and to have access to that democracy, we don't have the luxury of cynicism. we don't have the luxury of giving up. i do not know. i cannot say today exactly how this will come together but i will tell you that i will spend every single day from now until it does to make sure that we are protecting our -- our freedoms here in the united states and that means the freedom to vote. >> all right. stacey abrams, thank you very much. >> thank you, erin. and next, a heavy police presence today at the florida nature reserve where brian laundrie went before he disappeared. so, why are investigators back and in such a big way? plus, she campaigned for biden but now she's fed up with the democratic party infighting. >> healthy and dysfunctional family to air your grievances but i don't think it's smart.

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tonight, a large police presence just leaving a florida nature reserve. that's the last place brian laundrie's parents say they knew he was headed. it comes as the attorney for laundrie's parents say he was gone even longer than we previously knew before they reported him missing. athena jones is outfront. >> we've been lucky so far. >> reporter: with gabby petito's fiance brian laundrie now missing for more than three weeks, law enforcement still searching for him in the 25,000 acre carlton nature reserve joined by officials from the sarasota county sheriff's office. authorities not saying what brought additional officers to the area today. petito's parents and step parents and their lawyer in an interview with dr. phil say they hope finding laundrie will lead to answers about what happened to their daughter. >> i just hope he's found. i really do. like, i -- i -- no, i mean like alive. >> i want to look him in the eyes. >> the more he runs, the more he

hides, the less he can try to say it was -- it was a mistake or he had nothing to do with it. >> i want to see him in a jail cell for the rest of his life. >> reporter: this as a lawyer for chris and roberta laundrie, brian laundrie's parents, clarifies when brian left home with a backpack telling his parents he was headed to the nearby reserve. the laundries, initially, told law enforcement he left tuesday, september 14th. but stephen bertolino now telling cnn we now believe the day brian left to hike in the preserve was monday, september 13th. bertolino saying the laundries have had no contact with brian, and are concerned. petito and laundrie had spent weeks traveling cross country in petito's white ford van but laundrie returned to the florida home he and petito shared with his parents in her van without petito on september 1st. her body was found in wyoming on september 19th. the coroner ruling the death a homicide. >> it was in an area where there was a few trees and there was the remnants of a fire ring

there and you could see where those rocks had been moved to make the fire ring. i laid the cross directly over where her torso was and i was told the direction in which her head was laying. and that's where i placed two flowers in the ground right there. >> reporter: laundrie has not been charged in connection with petito's death. but he is suspected of using her debit card and pin to access more than $1,000 between august 30th and september 1st. a federal arrest warrant for laundrie has been issued. >> you can look at his state of mind by his actions. and he -- he ran. he stole her credit card. he used her credit card to get home. and then, ran from the police. >> reporter: speaking to cnn today, the laundrie family's lawyer, steven bertolino, declined to answer questions about the conversations brian's parents had with him when he returned alone from his travels. asked if brian's parents asked him where gabby petito was and why she had not returned with

him and how brian responded, bertolino would only say no comment. erin. >> all right, athena, thank you very. so i want to go now to callahan walsh, he is co-host of in pursuit with his father, john walsh, and has been closely following the manhunt for brian laundrie. so, callahan, what does it tell you that police still have so many officers, you know, seeming to really triple down on this florida nature reserve after almost three weeks? >> well, i think this is a good thing. you know, we have seen too many of these cases that capture the nation's attention but they go cold because there is not additional information or evidence coming out. and law enforcement just hits a wall. i think this means one of two things. either, a tip has come in from the public and we've seen so much information, so many of these armchair detectives and internet sleuths digging into this case. so it's either a tip from the public or something law enforcement has figured out on their own to really continue to search that area and bring in more resources so i'm glad to see the added, additional person -- you know, people/power that's been added to the search for brian because i think it -- it tells us that the investigation is still going. >> so, callahan, it comes as the

attorney for laundrie's family is now releasing some new information that we didn't know before about the days before he was actually reported missing. so he is now says that -- brian laundrie's parents believe that he left home on monday, september 13th. that's a day earlier than they originally told the fbi. they said laundrie's father went looking for him that night, didn't find him. the next day, found his car near that nature reserve with a ticket. but they left it there. they went back a day later. they drove back to their house. they did not report him missing until september 17th which is four days after they last saw him. so, they didn't report him missing until four days later. and then, even when they did, they -- they were not honest about the last day they'd actually seen him. how suspicious is all this? >> i mean, it's very suspicious. we've seen the timeline change multiple times. not just from the parents but cassie, as well. brian's sister. >> yeah. >> it's obvious the laundries are untrustworthy narrators when it comes to the timeline around brian. you know, again, the question is

will, too, what were they asking brian when he was coming home? where is gabby? what -- where has she been? why isn't she with you? and the fact that the lawyer is putting out little bits of information but then no comment on that subject, it's very, very suspicious. >> it just really is. i mean, so today we heard more of dr. phil's sinterview with gabby petito's family. her stepfather described what he saw when he visited the site where her body was found. here's what he said. >> her body was found -- i guess, it would be in front of a tent or if that's what was there. or just in front of the fire ring. there was definitely a fire ring there and she would have been right -- >> and it wasn't far from the van. it was a five-minute walk you said? something like that? >> callahan, what does that tell you? her body was found at what appeared to be a campsite, five minute walk away from their van. >> to me, that seems like this might have been a crime of passion. something where brian, in the

heat of the moment, snapped and murdered gabby. if this was something that was premeditated and planned, i really don't think that he would have dumped the body so close to the location that he was known to be at. a location that he was leaving behind other evidence at. and so, in my mind, i think this was a crime of passion. something happened that night where they were camping and brian killed gabby. >> so, gabby petito's family have talked about now a foundation they are starting in her name to bring awareness to other missing people which, obviously, is along the lines of what your parents have done. so powerfully. so powerfully, over decades. turning their grief into action after your brother's murder. is there any advice that you would give to gabby petito's family as they go through this horrific tragedy and shock? >> keep fighting and keep battling. you know, i grew up in a family that said we need to make sure adam didn't die in vein. as you mentioned, my brother was kidnapped and murdered in 1981 and i grew up with family saying if adam's song is to continue, then we must do the singing.

that is haemed recover over 35 5,000 missing kids. so gabby's parents taking on that mantle and trying to do good and really give back what's unfortunate is oftentimes this meaningful change only comes about because of tragedy. the tragedy of my brother's death. the tragedy of gabby's. but with this meaningful change, i -- i can only imagine how many lives and families they'll be able to positively change and prevent other things like this happening. so keep fighting, keep battling. i love hearing that they're -- they're going to be fighting back and that they are setting up this foundation. >> callahan, thank you. >> thank you. next, biden's supporters giving the president unexpected advice. >> take a page from a trump playbook. less apologizing. more explaining. and get more done. and lindsey graham heckled and booed after saying this about covid vaccines. >> if you haven't had the

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voya. be confident to and through retirement. tonight, patience running thin. voters in michigan getting fed up with the democratic party's infighting and some going further even saying they wish biden was more like trump. jeff zeleny is outfront. >> healthy and dysfunctional family to air your grievances but i don't think it's smart. >> reporter: the dysfunctional family lori goldman's talking about is the democratic party. and its messy divide in washington. >> i think we have to be a little more pragmatic about what we can do and what we can't do. >> reporter: she campaigned for president biden, and remains hopeful he can unify the party around his domestic agenda. now endangered by disagreements among progressive and moderate democrats. biden came to michigan on tuesday, eager to take the conversation into the country. >> i want those jobs here in

michigan, not halfway around the globe. >> reporter: it was his fourth presidential visit to a state he narrowly won last year. voters here say they are watching him carefully with optimism. >> he's been really, really good. um, he -- you know, he's willing to tell the truth. um, regardless of political consequences. >> reporter: and skepticism. >> i have to give him mixed reviews. >> reporter: ken, an independent, and susan a republican, are longtime friends. he believes biden has restored competence to the white house. >> i think he is trying to run as a fair dealer. and he is trying to work with the other side. unfortunately, the other side, i don't think, is interested in working with him. >> reporter: she worries about the cost of biden's programs. >> i can't even fathom a trillion dollars. and yet, you know, there's just going out like no big deal. >> reporter: after a summer of setbacks on afghanistan and covid, the president is scrambling to prove his party can govern. congresswoman alicelissa slotki whose district biden visited, fears the gridlock will turn off some voters. >> look, do i wish we were more

productive? yeah. am i fighting and trying to push people that way? yes. >> reporter: the hostility outside the union training center did not escape biden's eye. >> notwithstanding some of the signs that i saw coming, that's why 81 million americans voted for me. >> reporter: but he formally believes his individual economic plans have broad appeal. several biden supporters here say they are willing to be patient. >> i don't agree with everything. but i know his heart is right and that's important. >> reporter: lori goldman is, too. but she believes biden must make his case more forcefully. >> take a page from the trump playbook. less apologizing, more explaining, and get more done. >> reporter: from the trump playbook? >> yeah. he never -- he never apologized for anything. i'd like him to get out there, and just charge ahead. >> jeff, the president's approval rating continues to dip. so, does the white house think they can turn this around?

>> erin, that latest opinion poll from quinnipiac today showed the president's approval rating was at 38%. the lowest we have seen now. an average of polls shows it a bit higher than that but the white house is very aware of this problem. and it is because by independents and voters in the middle. they simply have grown weary of what they are seeing in washington so the white house does believe -- advisers i talk to -- if this bill gets passed. infrastructure, first. the second part of the economic agenda. and then, of course, the debt cei ceiling mess. they do believe showing that governing can work, showing competence is at hand, that is something that can raise this approval rating. but no question, this is a deep concern for this white house, erin. it was very apparent in all of our conversations here among supporters and detractors, alike. they simply want to see washington working. of course, it's now president biden's burden to do so. >> yeah, absolutely is. and of course, what is working how independents define that, you know, some with these bills. some probably far from it.

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tonight, republican senator lindsey graham booed by what should have been a friendly crowd at a republican party event in south carolina. his offense was recommending, god forbid, that they consider getting vaccinated. >> how many of you have taken the vaccine? how many are glad you took it? how many people would take the booster? so bottom line is i took the

vaccine, i've had it. if you haven't had the vaccine, you ought to think about getting it because -- >> no! >> i didn't tell you to get it. you ought to think about it. >> no! >> i got it. 92% of the people in the hospitals in south carolina are unvaccinated. >> lies. >> so i'm with you on -- i'm with you on don't mandate it. i'm with you that it's probably unconstitutional. but i am not going to legitimize what i think is the truth. >> i'm going to lose my job in 60 days! i'm going to lose my job in 60 days! you got to stop it now? . >> from who? >> from the u.s. government. the navy. >> yeah, so i'm with you. i think that's a dumb idea. you know why? we shouldn't be driving people away from serving. >> i mean, it's -- that just watching that is tragic. and look. the tragic reality is that there are still more than 1,700 people

in this country who are dying of covid every day, and not a single one of them needs to be dying because the -- a vaccine is free and widely available. and yet, you hear what those folks at that rally were saying to senator graham. well, thanks so much for joining us. ac 360 starts now. good evening. in about 28 hours, we will know something important about four individuals and perhaps something vital about the health and possible future of this democracy. keeping 'em honest, it'd be nice if there were a gentler way of framing it but it's hard to see how buzz because in about 28 hours, we will know whether these four, all former public servants, have any devotion to the laws and institutions they once swore to serve and uphold. whether they owe their allegiance entirely to one man, the former president. former-white house chief of staff mark meadows, former aides and allies, dan scavino, steve bannon, and cash patel, have until tomorrow night at midnight to answer subpoenas from the house select committee investigating the nu