francis criticized trump's plan to build a wall at the border saying, quote, it's not christian to build barriers. trump, of course, fired back calling francis's comments disgraceful. wolf. >> brian todd, excellent report. thank you very, very much. and to our viewers, thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in the situation room. "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. outfront next. democrats scrambling to seal a deal on biden's agenda before he leaves town but progressives threatening to revolt if they don't get their way. can biden save his agenda ton tonight. plus ab fda panel voting to recommend the pfizer vaccine for kids 5 to 11 so how soon could they get their first doses? breaking news, the new york times reporting criminal charges are possible after the deadly shooting on the movie set. let's go outfront. and good evening, i'm erin

burnett. outfront tonight, the standoff over president biden's spend bills. proeksives and moderates digging in their heels as top democrats scramble to find a middle ground before the president leaves town thursday. house speaker pelosi claims the framework for the president's sweeping build back better plan as they call it is about 90% there. well, 90%'s nothing if you don't have progressives on board and congresswoman pramila jayapal is not on board. she leads the progressive caucus. they want more than a framework if they are going to back biden's $1.2 trillion infrastructure package. that's the bipartisan one. and pelosi is shutting that down. >> speaker pelosi, congresswoman jayapal just said that a framework agreement is not enough to vote for the bill. >> i think it is. >> so, congresswoman cori bush responding in a tweet quote it's not enough for me and there are more of us. it's a threat from progressives to the rest of the democratic party, and many ways it is a

democratic civil war, right? they -- they control the white house and congress and the senate. and, you know, the only reason they haven't gotten this done is because they are disagreeing among them. progressives feel they are being hung out to dry when it comes to their wish list that includes paid family leave, immigration, and yes taxes. progressives are standing firm when it comes to some of those issues. just listen to senator bernie sanders and congresswoman pra pramila jayapal. >> any serious reconciliation bill must include real medicare negotiations with the pharmaceutical industry to lower the cost of prescription drugs. any serious reconciliation bill must include expanding medicare to cover dental, hearing aids, and eyeglasses. >> you think those things are really important, we are in the midst of a health crisis and we need to be doing significant pieces of work on healthcare for us to get through. >> the only problem is that as of tonight, there is no

indication that senator joe manchin, for one, is willing to budge on his opposition to expanding medicare as senator sanders insists must occur. and senator kirsten sinema hasn't shown a willingness too move on prescription drug pricing proposals, right? so those are the things that, you know, senator sanders says has to happen. the other democratic senators are saying no. and then, that's just in terms of what they want to pay for. the actual money to get to do this, there is still no complete plan on how to pay for this sweeping spending bill. senate finance chairman, ron wyden, just releasing some details of his plan to pay for it which includes a 15% minimum tax for companies with a billion dollars in profits. more details from wyden are expected in the coming hours. but that would, you know, one can debate how much it would raise but not very much relative to the total here. wyden is, therefore, also expected to include a billionaire's tax. that idea, though, has already been panned by others in the democratic party.

congressman jim heim saying it's quote more of a pr solution. another member telling quote cnn, it's a stunt. these are major sticking points that hinge on principle. they are not negotiating items for plenty of people involved in it. but if you listen to manchin, he still claims tonight that democrats are determined to iron out their differences. >> everything is under negotiation. everything is under -- everybody's talking constructively. everybody is trying to work and find a pathway forward. >> again, this is democrat on democrat, right? every single disagreement here has been a democrat with a democrat. manu raju is outfront live on capitol hill and, manu, these negotiations over what's in the bill, right, in terms of what it will do and expand and how they are going to pay for it, now, you know, some of this had seemed to be set in stone, right? for a while. parts of it. now, all the sudden, everything seems to be changing hour by hour, so where are we? >> well, it's still uncertain

whether a deal can be reached by the time that joe biden leaves on his overseas trip in which he wanted to have a deal in hand on the larger package as well as having the house moving to a final vote on that separate infrastructure bill. $1.2 trillion has been awaiting action in the house. and the same issues have been dividing the party. both, on the strategy and as well as the policy. on the strategy, nancy pelosi has made clear to me earlier today that she believes they get a deal on the larger plan, they should move forward on that final vote on the ip structure package. send it to joe biden's desk, get him to sign it into law. progressives meanwhile are threatening to vote en masse against that infrastructure package if the larger deal has not been signed off on. and there are still significant issues dividing both liberals and moderates over that larger package. medicare. medicaid. also, how to deal with climate change, immigration, they are still sorting out how to finance that package. we do expect more details on the

taxes but still none of that has been settled. there are some issues they are closer to agreeing on dealing with childcare, universal pre-k. but still, some of those sticking points are outstanding and senators joe manchin and kyrsten sinema we are told are at the white house now talking about these issues. can they get a deal? that is still a major question. but they get to get all sides together with virtually no margin for error in both the house and the senate. >> manu, thank you very much. so i want to go now to democratic congresswoman barbara lee because she is a member of the congressional progressive caucus. thus, you are at the september of all of this, congresswoman. so you are chair of the progressive caucus. congresswoman jayapal today set a quote framework on the spending agreement is not enough to vote for the bipartisan infrastructure bill, right? she wants more than that to vote for the bipartisan bill. speaker pelosi has pushed back. she tells cn qn, i think it is enough. so what is it for you? and what do you say to the speaker? >> well, listen.

let me -- let me just tell you think we're 90% there. first of all. secondly, it's interesting and i want to just note that this is a democratic bill and we are in the process of negotiations. and this is what takes place when you are trying to put forth a transformational bill, legislation two bills to move forward to the president because the president has indicated that he wants to sign both bills and both bills should move together. now, he indicated that and having said that, we have to figure out what the mechanism is and the process to do this. and so, i think what you are hearing and what you are seeing is an important step toward us getting this job done. and in fact, once again, you don't see any republicans in the mix because they really have just abandoned the people. here, we've got tclose to an agreement and we are going to keep working until that is done. >> let me ayou about specificaly the point of cost.

congresswoman jayapal has been very clear that going to 3.5 was a major concession as she sees it, right? but you have now got senator manchin today. he is a never moved, not by a dollar. he is still at 1.5 trillion. says i am still fighting for 1.5 trillion. the bottom line is if you end up having to choose it's $1.5 trillion or nothing, would you vote for it? >> let me just say we all know and i think you've seen these negotiations move forward that we all have to give up something. and so, we are negotiating the best deal that we can get, given the senators' opposition. and we are getting there. but of course, over 6 trillion was what we needed to really make a dent in ensuring that people's quality of lives are what they should be regardless of their background, where they live, and their income status. but in fact, because we've gotten to this point in the negotiations, we are looking at some of the wins and i think we have who a lot at this point in terms of the care economy. of course, we didn't get

everything we wanted in terms of childcare, the child tax credit but these are still issues that we are negotiating. we're not -- we're not done, yet. and so, i hope that you understand that everybody is working very hard to get this done. >> absolutely. no, absolutely. and i understand and -- you know, as i said the other day to someone, if you go from zero paid leave for businesses under 50 to four weeks, that is significant, right? that is significant. i understand you wanted a lot more than that and there will be some who see you getting a lot less as a failure. bru but i think that is important. but my question to you is do you feel like progressives, because every single thing has been you coming down or giving up, have been basically just asked to roll over and take whatever senator manchin and senator sinema want? >> no, i don't because we have been negotiating. we set forth our priorities. i mean, let me just call your attention to the issue of racial and gender equity. we wanted to make sure that childcare provisions were in the bill. we don't know what we are going to land at in terms of the dollar amount but we are going

to make sure that childcare is there. and so, we have been involved in the negotiations throughout this progressives are very practical, also. we know our bottom lines and we know we have to fight for people. people who have been shut out. and really, address the issues around the economic agenda which president biden put forth during his campaign. and so, progressives have negotiated and we are going to continue to negotiate to get the best deal for the american people. >> congresswoman lee, i appreciate your time. i always do. thank you. >> thank you. and so, i want to go to dana bash now, our chief political correspondent and of course co-anchor of state of the union. so, dana, let me just ask you to respond to what congresswoman lee saying. what i hear her saying is let's take what we get. let's get something and get it done because i don't want to walk away with nothing. much more conciliatory than we are still hearing from many other members of the progressive caucus. >> yeah, she is a veteran lawmaker and she knows what it's like to be a progressive without the numbers that she now has in her progressive brethren in the

house democratic caucus and the senate, as well. i heard the same thing, erin. what i am also hearing behind the scenes is -- and i think this became even more clear after listening to what congresswoman lee said to you -- is that because the progressive caucus is so large, they are not a monolith. and there are different points of view not just on where they should draw the lines on what's really important here, which is what is the policy. but also, on the structure and the process, meaning can they just have a level of trust that they can say, okay, the house speaker can vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill. the one that passed the senate months ago with roads and bridges and so forth and we just believe that we will get this framework done or not. it seems as though there are enough progressive who say we don't trust that, that they are going to hold off as they continue to negotiate. >> they say they are 90% there and, you know, putting aside that agreeing on a framework not the same thing as actually

getting a deal done because you know what that's a far cry from that. but if they want to declare victory and we go overseas and everything's good, okay fine. but how are you going to get there when bernie sanders says medicare and medicaid have to be in there the way he wants? and joe manchin says no way. and bernie sanders says prescription drug pricing has to be in there and kyrsten sinema says no way. these are just two examples. we both know there is eight to ten more. >> there are eight to ten more examples but i am so glad that you brought those up because those i think are among the most significant. and here is why. bernie sanders is kind of the heart and soul of the processive movement, generally, and in the modern times but also, right now in terms of these negotiations. although, i just said they are not a monolith and people have different points of view. if and when bernie sanders puts his stamp of approval or good enough on it, they are going to go with it because bernie sanders carries a lot of weight. the fact that the things that he cares the most about in this bill right now getting 'em back

in, expanding medicare, making it a certain thing that seniors have hearing and have vision and have dental. and also, being able to negotiate prescription drug prices which, you know, erin, that is very, very popular out in the real world to be able to have that, to be able to lower drug prices for people. the fact that he doesn't feel like he is going to get that right now, there clearly has to be another side negotiation or discussion going on about how he can get that elsewhere if it doesn't happen here because it's not just his vote, it is his stance on this that matters in terms of votes and also matters in terms hof how this is going e to be looked upon by democrats. >> it's more spending, it's more pay fors which is a whole separate can of worms right now. dana, thank you very much. i want everyone to know dana has a new special report exploring the real impact of lies about election fraud. don't miss stop the vote, the big lie's assault on democracy.

that is dana's special doc tomorrow night at 9:00. and out front next, a key n did a panel recommending the covid vaccine for children. why an actor on the set of alec baldwin's film "rust" was concerned about his safety before the accidental deadly shooting. and secretaries of state who pushed back on trump's big lie reveal to cnn tonight the death threats that they are still receiving. >> i am a hunter and i think you should be hunted. [coins clinking in jar] ♪ you can get it if you really want it, by jimmy cliff f ♪ ♪ [suitcase closing] [gusts of wind] [gusts of wind] [ding]

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new tonight, a major step towards covid vaccines for children. an fda panel, this afternoon, backing pfizer's vaccine for kids aged 5 to 11 saying the benefits of vaccinated children clearly outweigh the risks. now, if the fda and cdc sign off on the panel's recommendation, 28 million kids could start getting the shots as early as next week. outfront now, dr. jonathan reiner who advised the white house medical team under president george w. bush. so, dr. reiner, the fda panel's saying these vaccines are safe for 5 to 11-year-olds and i should, you know, note so everyone understands, right, they have been testing different dosage, right? these are smaller people. how significant is this? >> well, i think this is a watershed moment, erin. so, kids between 5 and 11 comprise the largest block of americans still ineligible for vaccination. and kids have been getting sick.

we've seen recently about 130 to 150,000 infections per week and pediatric hospitals have been filled. and this now is an opportunity to protect this huge block of kids. think of it this way. if we can successfully get about 80% of these kids vaccinated, that'll save about -- that'll prevent about a million infections and about 5,000 hospitalizations. plus, it's going to keep kids in school. it's going to keep parents from having to stay home with the kids. and sadly, several-hundred children have died from -- from this virus. so i think it's a big deal. >> okay. so let me ask you about this. you know, i'm a mother of three. you know, hear the conversations people have. one of the hesitancies that i keep hearing is that and some people have this hesitancy. according to the american academy of pediatrics, children account for 0.3% of all covid deaths. 0.3%. now, the vaccines that parents

who are totally open to vaccinating their kids, right, mmr, right, all of those, right? they have been tested for years, for decades, right? so, you are not putting something new in your kid's arm. you are putting something that you know is tried and true. this is seven months being tested. so what do you say to parents who say, gosh, it's seven months, zero -- you know, 0. 3% of the deaths have been among young children, why don't i wait? what do you say to them? >> i -- i say don't wait because your child will get infected if you don't vaccinate them. it's just a matter of time. delta is all over the united states. it's really the only variant circulating and it will infect -- it will infect your child. i would say to these folks, these vaccines have been given to almost 4 billion people on this planet. we know the safety profile for these vaccines, generally. and the clinical trials are showing the safety profile for this vaccine in this dosing range for kids. look, i am a parent.

my kids are big now but i believe in bike helmets and i believe in seatbelts and i believe in car seats and i believe in holding kids' hands when they cross the street and i believe in vaccines. we can prevent your kid from getting infected. give them the shot. and -- and mostly, if you have any concerns, talk to your pediatrician. ask your pediatrician, you know, what they recommend. i know what they are going to tell you. >> and do you think they will be doing this in schools to make it easy for parents? >> i would love to see that. mass vaccinations in schools. >> yeah. >> send the permission slip home and give it in school. and here is the other thing. if you don't want your kid to wear a mask, this is the way to get kids to drop masks in school. when you vaccinate the entire school, none of these kids are going to need to wear masks anymore. >> all right. i appreciate it, dr. reiner, thank you very much. >> my pleasure. and next, breaking news. reports a district attorney is not ruling out criminal charges in the accidental shooting involving alec baldwin. plus, lives of top election

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breaking news. the santa fe district attorney telling "the new york times" that criminal charges are not being ruled out in the fatal movie set shooting involving alec baldwin. the da says investigators are trying to determine who loaded baldwin's gun before it was discharged, killing crew member he halyna hutchins. lucy kafanov is outfront. >> reporter: this may be the last image of 42-year-old halyna hutchins alive on set with alec baldwin while filming the movie "rust," posted on social media by a crew member. filming now halted indefinitely according to a letter from the production team attained by cnn as chilling details emerge about what may have happened in the hours leading to the fatal shooting. >> two people accidentally shot on a movie set by a prop gun. we need help immediately. >> reporter: one of the actors

on "rust," ian hudson, opening up about frightening moments on set. >> when the rounds were released, when they shot at me, i actually did feel the blanks hitting my face and my body. and um, i could feel the wind from the shotgun. you know, being discharged. it was heavy. it was strong and i would talk to my fellow cast members afterwards, and we all agreed how intense that was. and how scary and real it was. >> reporter: this as the citing a source with knowledge of the set reporting hours before the cinematographer was killed, some crew members used guns with live ammunition for target practice to pass the time. >> there is this pastime, they go out in the rural areas and shoot at cans. this is with live ammunition. >> cnn has not been able to confirm their report. in a statement, the producers of

"rust" said they were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set and will be conducting an internal review of procedures while production is shut down. according to the report, one of the guns used was later handed to actor alec baldwin who was rehearsing for a scene. court documents show ammunition was found on the set and seized by the santa fe county sheriff's office. authorities seized three revolvers, nine spent shell casings, ammo, and swabs of suspected blood. according to an affidavit for a search warrant, dave halls, the assistant director of the film, grabbed one of three prop guns that were prepared by the film's armorer, hanna gutierrez. >> live ammo has no place on a motion picture or television studio set. it has no place on a set anywhere at any time. >> reporter: neither halls, nor gutierrez, responded to a cnn request for comment. a veteran prop master tells the l.a. times he turned down a job on the movie "rust," saying the

film was an accident waiting to happen. speaking to nbc news this morning. >> i turned the job opportunity down on "rust" because i felt it was completely unsafe. i impressed upon them that there were great concerns about that and they really didn't really respond to my concerns about that. >> reporter: a source tells cnn there were three full safety meetings since the start of production including the morning of the shooting. no charges have been filed, although the district attorney told the n"the new york times" criminal charges are on the table. both, she and the sheriff will be updating the public right here tomorrow. meanwhile, the production company tells cnn that the da has not reaped out to them. they continue to cooperate with authorities, they tell us. erin. >> lucy, thank you very. . and i want to go now to rachel morrison. she is an oscar nominated cinematographer and she is also worked on many major films including black panther. so, rachel, i appreciate your time. and, you know, wir seeing this

new picture halyna hutchins on set before her death. and you see her in the middle with the white beanie standing across from alec baldwin. this is the picture a crew member just posted on social media. she was a rising cinematographer. following in the footsteps of women like you. what was your reaction when you heard this? when you heard that she had been shot and killed? >> i mean, i think everything from being appalled, being devastated. the -- you know, disbelief. um, and rage. i mean, it's -- it's -- it's gut wrenching. i mean, i -- i can't even -- can't even begin to digest this. i think what all of us universally have -- have been experiencing. >> you have such experience, you know, extensive experience working with prop guns on set, obviously. you know, here is some clips from your film "mud bound." you were working there with world war ii battle scenes, explosions, several types of firearms. people are seeing this here. i can see explosions.

shooting war scenes. you told the story of oscar grant who was shot and killed by police in 2009. can scenes like these be filmed without real guns? or do you think not? >> they absolutely can. i mean, technology has been advancing at such a rapid pace, and one thing i would just point out is those two scenes in mud bound were done with vfx. we did it for a number of reasons, the least of which is safety. or the -- sorry, the -- the most of which is safety. but, you know, as -- as the technology advances, there is really no need for -- live fire is a bit of a misnomer but even -- even blanks, you know, none of that should be allowed on set anymore. and i think, you know, as soon as there is a need, there will be a solution. i have been talking about interactive light cartridges that can be fired from rubber guns, that are just a lighting effect, a sound effect. and already, in place of blanks, often we just clap wood together to make a loud noise.

the thing that, you know, personally kills me is hearing that it was during the day. you know, the only reason left to use blanks, ever, is for that interactive light at night. so to shoot them during day is just -- it's -- it's -- >> there was just no need. >> appalling. >> so, you know, one of the actors was telling tmz how scary and real it felt. >> yeah, it never should have gotten to that point. for me watching this, i file feel the rage bubble up again because there are levels and levels and levels of protection to not let this happen. and the second i heard this, i knew there are also layers and layers of negligence to ever let it get to this point. and the warning signs were there with this production. you know, as that ad -- the ad that didn't take the job spoke to. you know, we know the camera crew had tried to -- or had walked earlier that day. there was lack of sleep, lack of turnaround. you know, negligence on so many levels. but yeah, you shouldn't -- you shouldn't -- blanks are blank --

you know, blank is a reference to a quarter load or a half load. we rarely use half loads. you know, and now, we rarely even need quarter loads and hopefully moving forward, we won't use any of them but you shouldn't feel that. like, you should not feel air from a gun. you should not, you know, it -- all of it is -- is not the way things should be done. um, yeah. >> i mean, you know, as -- and obviously, you know this as -- it's your life, it's your profession. but when i was seeing that -- you know, the raps reporting just before the shooting, hours before, crew members had been using the guns on set with live ammunition to pass the time. including the gun that was later handed to alec baldwin. and they found loose ammo on set. and somehow, then, you know, the layer of that -- i mean, i found that outrageous but then when i found even more outrageous is that apparently is not that uncommon. so you are actually shooting a gun with live ammo, like, for fun and then it goes on a set? >> that is -- i -- i think that is uncommon. i think that this whole set is an anomaly.

and, you know, i have been hearing people refer to it as an accident. an accident is somebody falling off -- you know, tripping or falling off a ladder. this was not an accident. this was negligence at, you know, a really high level. nobody should be firing guns anywhere, you know, on their off days bringing ammo to set. like, that is -- it's outrageous. and i don't -- i don't think that's the norm. and that said, if the proximity between a blank and a real, you know, real ammo is to the point that this could ever happen again, then we don't need blanks. it's not worth it. um, you know, i think it's very simple to -- to sort of find a new solution. um, yeah, everything about -- sorry. >> no, i'm just saying i hope people hear what you are saying because it's that you have specific ideas and solutions of how to do it and you have done it yourself. so, i hope -- i hope that it's heard. thank you. >> can i just say one more thing which is, you know, the reason -- the way that things should operate on a set is there

is a prop master and if there's -- if there are guns -- if there is an armorer, they should check them in the morning. they should check them again before use. they should show them to the ada who checks them to make sure they are indeed empty. they then show them to the actor a that is firing them. they show them to anybody that is having the gun fired near them and around anybody who wants to see it and none of those protocols were done. not one. so i'm sorry, i'm just -- it's -- it's -- >> it is outrageous and i understand you are at a loss for words and i think so many of us are it's just shocking. thank you. thank you. >> and next, more on the story in a moment. i am going to speak to actress alyssa milano. does she think it's time to eliminate any real firearm when filming? plus, hear the death threats that are terrorizing some of the united states' top election officials as we speak.

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new tonight. the biden administration officially tapping a republican who fought trump's big lie to

lead election security efforts. washington's secretary of state kim wayman will help dhs coordinate with elections officials across the country because it comes as secretaries of state across the u.s. are facing ongoing death threats for standing up to trump and reporting the real election results. sara murray is outfront. >> i am a hunter and i think you should be hunted. >> reporter: that message for arizona's democratic secretary of state, katie hobbs, just one of threatening vitriolic voice mails shared exclusively with cnn. >> i would like to say katie hobbs, pain is coming. there's no place to hide. your elections were a fraud. >> reporter: nearly a year after the 2020 presidential contest, election officials accustomed to the bureaucratic and largely uncontroversial task of administering elections are still grappling with hateful messages and in some cases even death threats. >> these are things like i see -- i -- i am watching you

sleep. i know where you live. posting my address. telling me repeatedly how they are going to kill me. um, so yes, this is not policy disagreements. >> reporter: most of the threats aimed at democrat jena griswold, the colorado secretary of state, were posted online to a personal and public social media accounts or sent via e-mail and when it comes to female officials, the attacks are particularly vile. i'm really jonesing to see your purple fats after you have been hanged, one e-mail says. another message says, the dog is going to be wondering where you went and your husband will have to tell it that you were hung for treason. >> i think it is partially gendered. predominantly, democratic women secretaries of state are getting the brunt of it but it's not exclusively to democrats or women. >> good morning, everyone. >> reporter: in georgia, republican secretary of state brad raffensperger faced threats as well after standing up to former-president trump's baseless claims of fraud. but among the most disturbing were those directed at members of his family.

>> sending your wife sexualized text and all that other kind of insulting garbage. and then, breaking into your daughter-in-law's, you know, townhouse and leaving lights on and you know that they were there and then driving by our house. and so, those are the kind of things are, you know, stuff that you notice. you do look over your shoulder. and that was all just ginned up all by lies. and all by people that were stirring the pot. >> reporter: across the u.s. and across political parties, election officials continue to be falsely accused of mishandling and rigging the 2020 election. there are fears the threats will increase into next year. >> well, i guess, if you count all the fraudulent votes. >> as some republicans spin up doubts about midterms and spout conspiracies as a central plank of their campaigns. >> local election officials are going to leave and then that opens the door to adding more political actors, less professional, more political actors into the election space which, again, is incredibly dangerous. >> reporter: a report in 2021 from the brennen center for

justice found that roughly one in six election workers surveyed received threats of violence. while almost one in three said they feel unsafe because of their job. earlier this year, the justice department and the fbi formed a task force to address the rise in threats against election officials. but griswold tells cnn she has yet to see action. >> the fbi says they are not monitoring the threats. i don't believe at this point the doj has prosecuted any of the threats. so, the response has not been sufficient. >> reporter: now, john keller, the justice department official overseeing this task force says that in the past, these kinds of threats used to be state and local matters. he tells cnn this is changing rapidly in response to the surge in threats nationwide since the last election cycle. the justice department is now supplementing state and local efforts with resources, national coordination, training, and intelligence. but, erin, obviously, as you heard, for a lot of officials, that still isn't going far enough. >> thank you very much. incredible just to hear all that.

imagine receiving that. thank you so much, sara. so outfront next. actress alyssa milano. she's testified before congress, even been arrested while protesting restrictions on voting rights and her role as an a-list activist is just getting started. she is my guest next. plus, at least five former trump staffers have spoken with the january 6th select committee. who are they and what could they know? when you hear the word healthy, it always feels a little out of reach. that's 'cause the way we're thinking about it is all wrong. so we made a healthier song. for some folks it's like baby steps. maybe it's a jump or eating something green. or taking mom to get that vaccine. ♪ healthier means bringing stuff to the folks ♪ ♪ that really need it. ♪ ♪ like millie's meds straight to her door or care at home. ♪ ♪ believe it. ♪ ♪ sometimes it's healthier to laugh. ♪ ♪ other times it's healthier to cry. ♪ ♪ we'll work through it together. ♪

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president biden about to speak at a rally there for democrat terry mcauliffe and the state's race for governor. it is the most closely watched race in the country. a race where mcauliffe is neck in neck with republican glenn youngkin. this, despite biden beating donald trump by ten points last year in the state. wasn't even close then. now, youngkin is also holding a rally right now. outfront now, actress alyssa milano. so, i really appreciate your time and i know you have been obviously vocal in your support online for mcauliffe. both candidates are saying this race is crucial. it is about the direction of the country. in your book, you talked about, you know, you have learned campaigns are not about candidates, obviously, but about voters which is really interesting observation. you are a democrat and a progressive. what -- what do you make of the fact that this race is as close as it is? what message does that send about voters? >> well actually, polls show that the election is tied which is incredible. um, you know, mcauliffe is a former governor. he's got the experience.

he is a dnc head. um, and youngkin who, in my opinion, is very trumpy but trying to hide that aspect of who he is. so i feel like virginia is really at a crossroads. and, you know, i get it. i know that many people are tired and i feel like politics is tiring. but as president obama said the other day in virginia, we can't afford to be tired. we have to get out there and vote. um, also, i have a soft spot in my heart because virginia was the 38th state to ratify the equal rights amendment. and last thursday, i testified in front of congress to lift the poison pill deadline placed on the equal rights amendment. so, yeah, please, virginia, get out there and vote. >> so you talk thabt testimony. and you did testify before congress. you want them to pass obviously the legislation to end gender

discrimination. this is you here last week and you were arrested during a protest outside the white house over the push to protect voting rights and you write about this in your book and your decision to care so deeply about these thing, why you do this. and things that president biden has promised to stand up for. here it is. >> we have to protect that fundamental right, the right to vote, the sacred right to vote. >> i told my girls and my -- my daughters and my granddaughters not a single thing, not a single thing, that a man can do that a woman can't do equally as well. nothing. nothing. nothing. and i will not be satisfied until that's recognized. >> so, you write about it and you have also acted on it, right? you have testified. you have been arrested in -- in -- for this cause. do you believe president biden is doing enough to make these realities to actually get this legislation passed? or could he be doing more? >> so just to clarify, i was

arrested actually because, you know, in my opinion, we elected a -- a democratic government, specifically -- specifically -- sorry -- to get his agenda done. a progressive agenda done. and in my lifetime, this agenda is the most progressive agenda and it's what people want. so now, we need our government to deliver. and so, i was arrested. you know, i took a fight right up to the white house. the freedom to vote act is something that means a lot to this country. the freedom to vote is the bedrock of our nation. states have introduced 425 bills making it harder for people to vote. 13 republican-led states have passed 33 laws aimed at making it more difficult to vote. and i went to the white house with people for the american way, and we want biden -- we're

demanding of biden -- to use all of his power and influence to -- to get passed the freedom to vote act, the john lewis voting rights advancement act, and d.c. statehood as soon as possible even if that means getting rid of the filibuster. >> and of course, obviously, the president is -- maybe, started to move a little bit on that. but -- but has not as of yet. i want to ask you about one other thing, alyssa, because i don't know if you heard rachel the cinematographer who was on before you came on. but she was dust -- just her loss and outrage at what happened. talking about halyna hutchins who was killed obviously when alec baldwin discharged that prop firearm. um, you know, when we were having you on tonight, was thinking about, you know, your experience with this. found a video of you in 2008 holding a gun in scenes, right? you have been around guns on sets. you have dealt with this. um, and rachel morrison, who i just mentioned the oscar-nominated cinematographer. she just told me there is no need to have real guns on set anymore. do you agree? >> i agree. but i also want to refocus this

conversation because it's not just about my industry. we need common sense changes to the way we interact with guns across the entire nation. um, also, there's almost 1,700 accidental shooting deaths so far this year. um, that's on pace to have nearly 2,000 by the end of the year. um, and so, you know, mandating safe storage, trigger locks, and investing in a biometric system for weapons could really reduce all of these accidental shootings. and -- and it's so sad to me that things always have to happen in industry where people are sort of famous to get the country to pay attention. but i want to remind people that children are shot in mass shootings every single year and it shouldn't be easier to fire your gun than it is to unlock

your iphone. >> well said. all right. thank you so much, alyssa, i pr appreciate your time. your new book is out, sorry not sorry, and it just came out today. thanks again. and next, five trump associates now voluntarily talking to investigators about the deadly insurrection. you will hear more next. feel stuck with credit card debt? move to sofi and feel what it's like to get your money right. ♪ move your high-interest debt to a sofi personal loan. you could save with low rates and no fees. earn $10 just for viewing your rate and get your money right. ♪ ♪ your new pharmacy is here. to help you compare prices, and save on your medication. amazon prime members get select meds as low as $1 a month. who knew it could be this easy? your new pharmacy is amazon pharmacy.

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tonight, cnn is learning at least five former trump white house staffers have voluntarily spoken to the house select committee investigating the deadly insurrection of january 6th. the committee is looking to learn what happened inside the white house on the day of the riot. and this news comes as the committee has asked former top homeland security officials, including the former acting secretary chad wolf and ken cucinelli to vo lun tailor speak to the committee. so, kaitlan, what more have you learned about the select committee's interactions with these former trump aides which is so significant, right, in light of the stonewalling coming from others, whether it be mark meadows or steve bannon. >> yeah, these are people, erin, who have not gotten subpoenas. they are not legally compelled to go and speak to the committee and they are doing so

voluntarily. at least five of these former-white house trump staffers who have gone in and spoken with either members or staff on the committee. and we know what the committee is trying to figure out, which is really essentially what was happening inside the west wing on that day? what were the conversations like? what did it really look like? what was the president saying? what were his top aides saying? they are really trying to figure out and piece together what that day looked like from inside the west wing which has kind of been this black hole as we have talked about what was happening with lawmakers, with staffers and whatnot on capitol hill. and so, this is significant the fact that these five -- at least five former staffers have gone in, spoken with the committee. and it doesn't necessarily mean that nano exactly what trump was doing in the oval office but they could know something that could be helpful potentially to the committee. and the reason for them going in without a subpoena or any kind of legal reason, we're told, is either because they believe they have information that they would like to share with the committee or they do fear that eventually it could take that legal route. and they could be compelled to come in by the committee because it's pretty clear who the committee has wanted to talk to

during this. so, this also comes, though, it doesn't seem like this aefrt effort is over because we know committee staff and attorneys are reaching out to other former white house staffers seeing if they would also like to come in voluntarily. and so, we haven't heard from the former president on this. though, of course, we know his opinion is that he believes his top officials who were subpoenaed should not compel -- or should not give testimony, should not provide documents or anything of that nature. >> kaitlan, thank you very much. and thanks very much to all of you. anderson starts now. good evening. very busy hour ahead including news so many parents have been waiting for. the fda's advisory committee recommending pfizer's covid vaccine for ages 5 to 11. but like nearly everything to do with what was supposed to be the simple way to end a pandemic, it isn't quite as simple as that. we will have more details ahead. also, senator elizabeth warren joins us on her new proposal for funding president biden's so-called build back better legislation as democrats in both chambers face growing pressure, including a key election next week to finally wrap i