there. we will stay in close touch with you. thank you very much for that report. and to our viewers, thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in the situation room. you can always follow me, by the way, on twitter and instagram @wolf blitzer. tweet the show @cnn sit room. e "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. outfront next. breaking news. steve bannon indicted. trump's former-chief strategist now expected to turn himself in on monday after refusing to cooperate with the january 6th select committee. would have been arrested if he didn't. and tonight, the attorney general's warning to other trump allies who may plan to stone wall the investigation. plus, what the prosecution is asking for tonight could be a really big deal. and president biden putting a plan in place tonight to address rising consumer prices but will it work? let's go outfront. good evening.

i i'm erin burnett. out front tonight the breaking news, another trump ally possibly going to jail. steve bannon now indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of contempt of congress. cnn learning that bannon, who has a warrant for his arrest so they would arrest him if he didn't turn himself in, we do understand that he is expected now to turn himself in in his own volition on monday. today's indictment coming after the former president's chief strategist refused to subpoena from the house select committee investigating the january 6th insurrection. attorney general merrick garland writing in a statement that there will be consequences if you defy congress saying, quote, since my first day in office, i have promised justice department employees that, together, we would show the american people by word and deed that the department adheres to the rule of law, follows the facts in the law, and pursues equal justice under the law. today's charges reflect the department's steadfast commitment to these principles. so this is a potential game changer for the january 6th select committee investigation. you know, first of all,

specifically to bannon. it could force bannon's hand to cooperate. and remember, bannon is crucial to this investigation. he is the one who encouraged trump to come back to washington and go to that january 6th rally. and here is what bannon said the day before, on january 5th. >> all hell is going to break loose and tomorrow it's game day. i met so many people through my life said man, if i was revolution, i would -- i would be with washington at trenton. well, this is for your time in history. >> i mean, that's pretty incredible. that's what he said publicly. well, garland's move -- okay so there is bannon and that's important -- but in addition, what this may mean is that other people in trump's inner circle think twice before refusing to cooperate. and many of them have refused to cooperate. i mean, just today, trump's former-chief of staff, mark meadows, followed completely in bannon's footsteps. he was supposed to show up this morning. didn't even show up to say i'm not going to answer questions,

didn't even show up. in a statement, the committee chairs wrote choosing to defy the law will force the select committee to consider pursuing contempt or other proceedings to enforce the subpoena. okay. but now, we have seen that when they go ahead and pursue that, well, steve bannon was going to be arrested and now could go to jail over this. so, this has other trump allies watching to see what happens next, not just meadows but others as well. jessica schneider is outfront to begin our coverage tonight and, jessica, steve bannon is preparing to turn himself in on monday. otherwise, he would be arrested. what is happening right now? >> yeah, that is exactly right. sources are telling our team that steve bannon will self-surrender and appear in court here, erin, later on monday afternoon. his case has already been assigned to judge carl nichols. nichols was appointed to the federal bench by none other than steve bannon's boss, donald trump, back in june 2019. and when bannon appears before judge nichols on monday

afternoon, he will face those two counts of contempt of congress. one count for refusing to appear for a deposition. the other count, for refusing to produce documents. our team was actually inside the courtroom this afternoon. the only news-media team inside the courtroom. it was federal magistrate judge ro robin merriweather. now, the judge also at the time signed an arrest warrant that presumably, though, won't be used here because bannon is expected to turn himself in. if he were to be convicted on these counts of contempt of congress, he would be facing up to a year in prison, up to a fine of up to $1,000. but, you know, prosecutors here -- they really do face an uphill battle. this might be tough for the department of justice. they don't typically bring these cases. in fact, historically, juries have been sympathetic to the defendants in these cases. the appeals process could take a while. this will be raising novel issues of law, like executive

privilege and the scope of it but one thing is definitely certain here, erin. this definitely sends a message to any of those trump allies or officials who have or are planning on potentially defying these subpoenas. and the message is from the department of justice, that they will and they can criminally charge people. erin. >> thank you very much, jessica. so i want to go now to our senior justice correspondent, evan perez. along with our chief political analyst, gloria borger. and shan wu, a former federal prosecutor who is also counsel to then-attorney general janet rino. so, evan, let's just start with the fact that this is a big move but it didn't come at the snap of a hand, right? it took 22 days for merrick garland to do this. got the grand jury involved and as jessica is laying out, um, there are challenges here. it's not just going to be an easy walk in the park to take this to a finish line. what was attorney general garland's thinking? and -- and why -- why -- why did he wait. >> well, look, i think for a lot of the critics who have been talking about this, i -- it seemed like a simple case.

but inside this building and at the u.s. attorney's office, it was not that simple. as jessica pointed out, there is some novel issues raised by this. the justice department doesn't bring these type of cases very often. the justice department, you know, tends to be, frankly, on the side of people from the executive branch when they are defying congress because they are claiming executive privilege. those -- those instances usually are because they are the -- the same party. you know, they're serving under the current president. this case, obviously, brings up a whole lot of issues, which i am told they have even had to consult the office of legal counsel to try to get a handle on this -- this novel issue of a former president claiming that there is still executive privilege that he can assert when the sitting president is saying not so fast. i -- i'm not claiming privilege on these things at all. >> right. right that's the complicated thing, right? it's the -- does it -- does --

does the time of when you were the executive matter? i guess they have got to go through that. i mean, shan, steve bannon is expected to self-surrender. um, and you know, so that -- that -- he is taking it seriously, right? he is not -- he is not flipping the bird at if and going to get arrested. however, evan, jessica pointing out there are some -- some novel issues here. there are a lot of unknowns. when you look at all of it, shan, how likely do you think it is that we will see steve bannon behind bars? >> i think if it goes to trial, and most criminal cases don't, i think he would be convicted. and the judge might give him some time. i mean, maximum, consecutive, would be tw years. he has no record. he is not going to be sitting there a long time. i think he is certainly going to try as evan and jessica were saying to use the executive-privilege defense. but from the department's point of view as a prosecutor, this is a very simple case. it's about he didn't show. no-show in person. no-show in documents. and that's what they need to keep it on, not delve into the

executive privilege if they can help it. >> right. gloria, i want to remind people again what steve bannon said just one day before the january-6th insurrection. lest anybody wonder what his knowledge was, just listen to what he said publicly, again. >> all hell is going to break loose tomorrow. just understand this. all hell is going to break loose tomorrow. it's not going to happen like you think it's going to happen. okay? it's going to be quite extraordinarily different. and all i can say is strap in. the war room -- a posse. you have made this happen and tomorrow it's game day. >> i mean, gloria, you know, the context around what then happened, do you think there is any chance that bannon gives all the -- everything else he knows to -- to the committee? because obviously, he had a lot of conversations and a lot of interaction with people involved in the insurrection, prior to that day. >> well, that's exactly what the committee wants to know. i mean, as the subpoena stated,

they believe that he was at the -- in and out of the willard hotel on january 5th at -- at -- in the war room, which was trying to figure out what to do about january 6th. trying to convince elected officials that they ought to overturn election results, et cetera, et cetera. they want to know what his conversations were, if any, with the president of the united states about the coup they were -- they were planning. and also, i think this is really important for the committee, itself, because they do have this diindictment. i mean, we all understand that bannon does not have a really great case here because he wasn't working at the white house at the time. but as shan says, if you -- if you stay away from that, you talk about how he has dealt with congress by not providing documents, by not showing up, look at what happened to mark meadows today. a former member of congress. who followed that pattern. >> right. >> so you got to be thinking

about what's going to happen to mark meadows and what's going to happen to others who are stonewalling. so -- so this -- you know, this gives them a head of steam. >> as gloria points out, the unique thing about bannon's situation is that he was integral to everything that occurred but he wasn't actually working for president trump at the time. so, executive privilege. it's not even a matter of who was president and who can exert. it's a matter of he wasn't actually working for the executive. but mark meadows was, right? he was the chief of staff for then-former president trump. and he failed to show up today for his deposition. he did not provide any documents. the committee says no one is above the law. we won't hesitate to use the tools at our disposal to get the information wei need, which of course could mean they are going to go the route they did with bannon. so, what happens here, everan? do you think me meadows caves or tries it himself? >> i think it is going to be a big incentive to try to at least

come to some accommodation. but i also think, you know, part of the problem with going this route is that if the goal of this committee and you and i have talked about this the last few days. you know, the goal here is to try to get information, try to get it as soon as possible because the clock is sticking for this committee. and by -- by bringing this case now, this basically takes it into the -- into the hands of a judge. we don't know how quickly this trial is going to happen. it's -- it's possible that you know, by the time this is owl every, you know, this committee will now be -- you know, will have a republican congress, right? and so, that's the problem with -- with going the criminal route. because if your goal is to get information, then, you know, you are now in -- under the control of a judge. and so, look. i think this is going to be a big incentive to other witnesses because they don't want to deal with this. they don't want to have to spend legal fees and the possibility of 30 days in jail at least. >> right and the money matters a lot. shan, let me ask you the point

evan's raising that the process here, the appeals process, all of this, if you are going to go through it, when evan mentions the clicking -- the ticking clock, i'm sorry -- he is referring obviously to the upcoming-midterm elections. and if republicans were to take over the house, the committee goes away, right? so, they feel they need to have this done -- well, you know, by next november. when you look at an appeals process and how that goes, do they got the time? >> no. this could easily drag out for long time. they have to schedule a trial. they have to try the case. i mean, honestly, if the department really wanted to use some tools to get the documents, they could serve a search warrant and get documents but that's questionable. very aguesgressive. might be outside the scope of referral. but any criminal charge that goes to trial, it is going to take time. >> can i just say that the indictments don't go away? you know, the congress can change but the indictment remains. >> right. right. which is important.

and, gloria, i want to ask you one her other thing because the context here is actually a new interview has come out about january 6th with former-president trump. and in it, he defends the rioters who were threatening then-vice president mike pence during the insurrection on capitol hill. saying they were going to hang him. here is the exchange with j jonathan carl. >> were you worried about him during that siege? >> no. i thought he was well protected and i -- i had heard that he was in good shape. >> you heard those chants. that was terrible. i mean, those -- you know, the -- >> he could have -- well, the people were very angry. because it's -- it's common sense, john. it's common sense that you are supposed to protect. how can you -- if you know a vote is fraudulent, right, how can you pass on a fraudulent vote to congress? >> so, gloria, right there at that moment siding with the people who said hang mike pence over mike pence. >> well, it's kind of remarkable. and it may explain why a lot of folks who -- from the mike-pence

group have volunteered to go speak to the committee because they were very upset about this. and also, we know when you think about it and you try and get inside donald trump's mind, which i'm not -- i'm not saying that i can actually do -- but when you think about it, he looks at this as these people were doing, publicly, what he was doing behind closed doors. in the oval office. they were really -- you know, the they were trying to overturn an election. and what was donald trump doing? in talking to state election officials or talking to his attorneys, et cetera? he was doing the same thing. so he looks at them and says that's common sense. >> right. right. calling brad raffensperger telling him to find one more vote and i have got it. thank you, all, very much. i appreciate your time. and next, a major move by the prosecution in the case against kyle rittenhouse. they are now asking for the jury to consider other charges, and this could be extremely significant. we're going to explain. plus, a record 4.4 million americans quitting their jobs.

that's about 3% of the workforce. what's behind the surge of resignations? and tragedy strikes a business mogul who flew to space with actor william shatner. watch: serena williams... wonder woman.... serena... wonder woman... serena... ace.

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to consider lesser charges for rittenhouse. this could be extremely significant. and it's putting a spotlight on how prosecutors have handled the case, thus far. shimon prokupecz is outfront. >> don't get brazen with me. >> reporter: the challenges of the prosecution in the trial of kyle rittenhouse on full display in front of a national audience. >> is there something i am seeing that draws the face that you are making? >> yesterday, i was the target of your ire. >> prosecutor thomas binger spars with the judge over his questioning of rittenhouse. on trial for shooting and killing two men and wounding a third during a night of protest after the police shooting of jacob blake. >> why would you think that made it okay? >> reporter: the heated exchanges some just of the hurdles facing prosecutors. some of the prosecutor's businesses seem to also support a key claim for the defense. that rittenhouse did not instigate the conflict.

>> every time i encountered joseph rosenbaum, he was hyperaggressive. >> reporter: witness, after witness, pointing to joseph rosenbaum, the first person to be shot, as someone acting erratically that night. even pursuing rittenhouse prior to being shot. >> he had been acting very belligerently. he had asked, very bluntly, to shoot him. >> reporter: even gaige grosskreutz, the lone survivor, should have appealed to the jury as the prosecutor's star witness. >> the defendant had pointed his weapon at me, and i had put my hands in the air. >> reporter: but like other witnesses, grosskreutz also helped the defense. >> it wasn't until you pointed your gun at him, advanced on him, with your gun, your hands down, pointed at him, that he fired, right? >> correct. >> the witnesses were kind of all over the board. >> reporter: former-wisconsin supreme court justice agrees binger faced a challenge from

the start. especially, with all the videos from the night of the incident. >> i have the sense that he was using too much video. um, you know, and it was sort of -- because it reinforces this chaos that was going on. >> reporter: but she says it's kyle rittenhouse, himself, that could pose the biggest problem for binger. >> most the time, the prosecution is dancing in the aisles when a defendant takes the stand because often that's what convicts an offender. you know, they say things and they're -- they are all over the board. boy, there was none of that from rittenhouse. >> reporter: binger also lost pretrial motions. the judge not allowing testimony on rittenhouse's comments about prior looting in chicago when, according to the motion, he said, quote, i wish had my expletive ar. i'd start shooting rounds at them. >> they could have used it because he was saying, well, i only have this gun in case i need it. i was only there to render medical assistance. >> reporter: she says binger tried to push the envelope and went too far when he approached the topic in court, anyway. >> you are an experienced trial

attorney, and you are telling me that when the judge says i'm excluding this, you just take it upon yourself to put it in because you think that you've found a way around it? come on. >> reporter: and again, with his question about rittenhouse's silence prior to the trial. >> i was a -- astonished when you began your examination by commenting on the defendant's post-arrest silence. >> reporter: and erin, just to highlight another point of contention during this trial, yesterday the prosecutor asked for two and a half hours to do his closing argument. the judge couldn't understand why he would need so much time. the judge telling him that it's going to go too long, he has no problem telling him to sit down mid-sentence. erin? >> all right. thank you very much, shimon. i want to go now to stephanie rawlings blake, a former defense attorney. and the former mayor of baltimore. and dave aronberg, the state attorney for palm beach county, florida. okay.

so, let me start with you tonight, dave. the prosecution requesting the jury be allowed to consider lesser charges for rittenhouse. if the judge agrees, how significant is this? and how big could it be for the prosecutors? >> good evening, erin. i think it's a big deal. i think it gives prosecutors a lifeline because i think they know this trial hasn't been going too well. they may have overcharged here, based on the evidence they were allowed to present. f remember, these charges were filed within 48 hours of the shooting. so it was a pretty quick decision at first by prosecutors. and here, you have the ability with the lesser charges of having a compromised verdict, not an all or nothing and that helps prosecutors in a case that is not going too well with a judge who is not particularly favorable. and yet, if you can get one of those lesser charges to be convicted, you can get serious penalties. you know, a second-degree intentional homicide, which is a lesser charge, would get kyle rittenhouse up to 60 years in

prison. and an attempted second-degree homicide would get him up to 30 years and so, this is a big moment and it could help save the day for the prosecutors. >> wow. i mean, you know, even -- even at age 18, right, they could put him away for essentially the rest of his life with a much lesser charge. i mean, it's extremely significant. and mayor rawlings-blake, i really want to get your reaction to a decision the judge made today that i know stood out to you and that is this. the judge is allowing the jury to be destruinstructed on provo and what that means is the jury will be able to consider whether rittenhouse provoked joseph rosenbaum before he shot and killed him. right? so, not just looking at that moment, right, of -- of -- of self-defense. but what happened prior? who instigated whom? um, get chipping away at that self-defense claim. will -- will it work? and how big of a deal do you think this is, mayor? >> i think it is a big deal. i think the prosecution has taken some really big hits. some, from the judge not in front of the jury and some in

front of the jury. this is a win for -- for them. um, the defense was able to put on a strong case for self-defense at least -- at the very least -- i think that they have raised the issue of reasonable doubt in the minds of jurors based on the commentary that -- that we have seen coming out of the trial. so this -- the notion that the fact that they can consider provocation is going to be important because that's the only leverage that the prosecution has against the self-defense at this point. >> so -- so obviously, this is all really important. and then, it gets me to the question about this two and a half hours they have requested for their closing statements. obviously, the judge doesn't want it to go that long, dave, that's clear. and the relationship between the judge and the prosecution has been quite contentious various times during the trial. for those who haven't been following it, let me give you some examples. >> i was a -- astonished when you began your examination by

commenting on the defendant's post-arrest silence. that's basic law -- don't get brazen with me. is there something that i'm saying that draws the face that you are making? >> i -- it. >> go ahead. >> so that is just an example, dave, of what we have seen. and now, he is saying i will have no problem cutting you off mid-sentence if you are going too long. what -- what's the takeaway from all that? >> yeah, it shows you, erin, that some judges have what we call black-robe fever. they can get a little full of themselves when they are wearing those black robes. when they walk into a room, everyone has to stand for them and they know the cameras are rolling in a high-profile case like this. but if i am the prosecutor in this case, what i would do is to take that crucial ruling today, in their favor by this same judge, on the jury instruction of provocation. as stephanie said, that is a big deal because that allows the state to take away the self-defense of rittenhouse

because the prosecutor should say that it was kyle rittenhouse that was the aggressor. he was the one who traveled to a state i he did not live in to possess a gun he was not allowed to possess, to guard a business that did not ask him to guard it. so, it is he that put this all in motion and then he shot an unarmed man u four times, killing him. and when huber and -- and grosskreutz were chasing him to subdue him because he was walking away, that's when he shot both of them. keep it at that, and i think the prosecutors can actually win at least a lesser charge because, in the end, it was the defendant who put this all in motion. he owns it. >> well, if they give a closing statement like that, it's -- sounds like it could be very effective. we will see if they do. mayor, let me ask you one more question, though. i mentioned the national guard. when you were mayor, the national guard was call called to baltimore amid riots after the death of freddy gray. and now, wisconsin governor has troops on standby following the rittenhouse verdict. do you think that is the right move? >> you have to be careful. i mean, we're -- the -- we're

here today making this commentary because, in the midst of unrest, people lost their lives and that's one of the things i wanted to make sure did not happen under my watch. so we were very careful about when we brought in the national guard. we just talked about provocation. that is what happens in many of these cases when you overmilitarize your response, you are -- you are creating provocation with people who are on the streets. they -- they could be upset, frustrated. um, so you have to be very careful and we'll see. this is -- we're here because the last time there -- there was unrest in -- in his streets, in the governor's streets, um, things didn't go well and someone lost their life. so hopefully, they will get it right this time. >> thank you, both, very much. going to be a crucial, crucial monday on this trial. and next, president biden talking about consumer prices. saying he's got a plan to lower them. but does it add up? plus, biden got his bipartisan infrastructure bill. what do voters think of the bill in a state with a lot of trump

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new tonight, president biden saying the bipartisan infrastructure bill that he will sign into law on monday will be a turning point for americans. >> this afternoon. at a moment of immense hope and possibility, our view, for the united states. american people sent us here to deliver. the american people said -- sent us here to make their government work. and they sent us here to make a difference in their lives and i believe we're doing that. >> the president is saying this, though, amid growing warnings from top-business leaders about inflation doing great harm to the u.s. economy, and americans' standard of living. >> we are not assuming that inflation is going to be transitory. we are assuming that inflation is going to be significantly above normal next year. >> we continue to see inflation increasing as we've come through the year. and i would say as we look out, it's difficult to estimate where it's going to go. >> we are seeing commodity

inflation across really every type of input cost that we have. this is once in two-decade inflationary pressure. >> outfront now, larry sommers, who was treasury secretary for former-president bill clinton and director of the national economic council under president obama. and, of course, secretary, you have been warning for months about the threat of inflation. in fact, since the very beginning of this year, when the administration said that -- that -- that that was, you know, crazy talk. and -- and you ended up being right. so, you hear all these ceos and, larry, you hear them. i mean, you know, i played three. you know, as you know, i could give you 30. right? given that you were worried about this before almost anybody else, and given that now you have got all these ceos saying it's going to go a year, maybe even past that, right, at that point, it wouldn't be transitory. how long do you think inflation is going to go up? >> i think the odds are that we're going to have inflation of a kind we haven't seen in 30 years. until either the fed takes some

significant move with respect to monetary policy. or until there's some kind of accident that dips disrupts thed economic growth we are enjoying. i think it's possible but quite unlikely that inflation will recede back to its normal 2% level without some significant change in the path we're now -- we're now on. i think the fed has made significant mistake in the approach that it's taking by doubling down on the massive fiscal stimulus we had at the beginning of the year with really easy monetary policy. >> and -- and -- you know, obviously, they haven't indicated to your point that they are going to -- that they see any mistake that they made. but if they were to turn around now and say, actually, wait. sorry, we're going to start increasing interest rates. would it be too little, too late? >> i think if they started by

saying that they were going to stop immediately buying mortgages in the midst of a major housing bubble, that would be helpful. i think if they said they were going to stop growing their balance sheet and not reduce their balance sheet but just stop the process of growing it. if they were going to get that done in three months, rather than in eight, that would be helpful. if they signalled that they were on hold towards the possibility of raising rates and that they saw the major problem as being overheating, i think that would be helpful. >> and -- and let's just be clear. you use the words housing bubble. you think that's fair now? >> yeah. house prices have, in the last 12 months, risen faster than in any single year since they started collecting -- collecting the data. >> yeah.

>> maybe surge is the right word. but we've clearly got a major thing going on in the housing market that hasn't, yet, been much reflected in the consumer-price indices. but it will be. >> and -- and -- and yet, at the same time, and i know you are talking about the combination of both the easy monetary policy, incredibly easy monetary policy. also, fiscal stimulus. you know, look, there's been a lot of money going out on the fiscal side to americans, right? at first, to -- to say don't go to work because of the coronavirus. and a lot of those payments have continued, right, and credits. what that is is resulting in is, you know, people wanting to be paid more to go back to work. okay. that makes sense. and you are seeing it. 4.4 million americans quit their jobs in september. that is a record number. it is a record number for the second month running. there are more than 10 million open jobs in the united states right now. that could be a huge problem for an economy trying to really, really take off.

what -- what do you think is going on here, given the strong wage growth we are seeing? >> i think we've got a tight labor market, not a loose labor market. 4.7% unemployment's actually pretty low by broad historical standards. and as you just said, erin, the vacancy and the quit rates are unprecedently high. so we got to recognize our problem is not that not enough people have jobs. that is not the current problem. the current problem is that we are pushing demand into the economy faster than supply can grow and that we are just going to get more and more inflation. until we stop doing that. >> all right. >> that's the real problem. >> yeah. well, it's a -- it's a pretty terrifying problem. it is a big problem. all right. i appreciate your time, secretary. thank you very much. always good to talk to you. all right. next, we follow one

democratic congresswoman who is trying to sell biden's economic agenda. >> is the white house addressing the needs of everyday americans? >> i -- i think, certainly, um, they are trying. but we could be doing more. and tonight, a cnn exclusive. we are going to take you to what the u.n. says is becoming a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. thousands of people now starving and suffering from hypothermia. that's why dove renews your skin's ceramides and strengthens it against dryness for softer, smoother skin you can lovingly embrace. renew the love for your skin with dove body wash. (chloe) wireless family plans save you money, but then you have to deal with family. (aunt 1) chloe... (aunt 2) still single, dear? (chloe) so i got visible. team up with friends and get unlimited data for as low as $25 a month. no family needed. (dad vo) is the turkey done yet?! (mom vo) here's your turkey! (chloe) turkey's done. [fire alarm blares] (grandpa) answer the phone. (chloe) that's the fire alarm, grandpa. (vo) visible. unlimited data, powered by verizon.

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tonight, president biden's set to travel across the country next week to sell his $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. one place he will be visiting is michigan. but in a state where donald trump still looms very large, what do voters think of that bill? jeff zeleny is out front. >> at least every michigander i know wants money for infrastructure, and here we have it. >> reporter: michigan congresswoman alyssa slotkin finally has something to crow about. the long-awaited infrastructure bill once celebrated by both parties. >> we should be happy about that, whether it's biden's signature or trump's signature. and if trump's signature had been on that thing, i would be

just as happy to talk about people what this would do. >> reporter: she will be on hand when president biden signs the law on monday. but former-president trump is also not far from her mind. considering he won her district, giving her a front-row seat to the nation's deep political divide. >> i couldn't have won unless there were voters who voted for both donald trump and ple me. >> reporter: for the next year, the road to winning control of congress runs right through places like michigan's 8th district and whether democrats get credit or blamed or biden's agenda. starting with infrastructure. >> being able to see it actually signed into law is a big deal. and again, we haven't seen this kind of investment since we did the highway system. and, you know, in the 1940s and 1950s but it doesn't end in the oval office. they watched us go back and forth on it. um, i am sure they are heapy t happy that it's signed but it's like we're in michigan and what

matters is facts on the ground and getting things done. >> reporter: last month, biden visited a union training center here that, soon, will be thrust into overdrive preparing workers to build roads, bridges, airports, and more. >> it takes a lot of training to be able to get certified in this. >> reporter: john, an instructor on these tower cranes, believes the bill will create unprecedented opportunities for workers no matter their politics. >> a job's a job. they -- they don't ask you on your application if -- if you're red or blue. >> reporter: jeremy denton didn't vote for biden or slotkin but he supports the action on infrastructure. >> it's cost of doing business. you have to reinvest if you are going to build these things u. if you have a bridge that needs to be repaired, repair the bridge. >> reporter: slotkin, a former cia officer elected to congress in 2018 believes the deep divisions among democrats have raised legitimate questions about the party's ability to govern and to connect with all americans. >> yeah. i think there is a disconnect. i mean, i think that the average person is not looking for

radical ideology on any side of the spectrum. they are looking for their government to function, and to deliver for people. >> reporter: she has real questions about part two of biden's economic agenda. both, its scope and timing. given rising concerns about inflation, gas prices, and more. like other moderate democrats, she's waiting to see the cost of the bill before committing her vote. is the white house addressing the needs of everyday americans? >> i -- i think, certainly, um, they are trying but we could be doing more. we have got to address inflation. we've got to address the worker shortage. we've got to address the high price of things going into the holiday season. >> reporter: now, president biden will be coming here to michigan next week to sell this infrastructure plan. the broad outlines of which are very popular among the american people. some $10 billion coming to michigan here alone. but, erin, suddenly the politics of this are all complicated by

former-president trump who called out republicans for voting for this bill. we know most of them, of course, voted against it. >> yeah. absolutely. all right, jeff, thank you very much. and next, the conditions growing incredibly dire by the hour. thousands now, no food, no water. many suffering from hypothermia and it's getting colder. so for the first time, we are going to take you to the region that could, one day, truly pit the united states against russia. plus, heartbreaking news to report about one of the astronauts who flew to space with jeff bezos' blue origin.

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cross the border between poland and belarus. matthew chance is the only international reporter to get access to the migrant camp in belarus. he's outfront. >> reporter: these are the desperate trapped on on the front line of europe's latest refugee crisis. we have gained exclusive access to the burgeoning camp at the polish border in belarus. help, help, the little boy shouts. but there's barely enough help here to keep everyone alive. already, people have died in the cold as polish forces stand guard on the other side. you can see how close we are. just across this razor-wire fence are polish security forces. they are on polish territory, keeping a close eye on the situation, trying to prevent refugees, migrants from this camp here in belarusian territory from crossing over that frontier line. you can see there are thousands of people here.

2,000 now, say belarusian officials. but with migrants still flooding in from the middle east and asia, it could be 5,000 they told cnn in just another week. for europe, that's a threat. >> sit down. sit down. you are warming your children's gloves here. >> yes. >> reporter: most have already paid big money to traffickers or belarusian travel agents just to get this far. you are telling me, you've paid $2,000, which is a lot of money, right, to come from iraqi kurdistan to here. >> yes. >> do you think you are going to get through? do you think you will go to germany? >> yes. >> you do? >> yes. we are -- we are -- all people stay here want to go to germany. >> yes but do you think it will happen? you will try? >> we will try. we don't want to stay in poland. >> reporter: and the more migrants arrive, the more desperate their plight. we witnessed these refugees frantically scrambling for

firewood, essential supplies as tf temperatures here plummet. when belarusian aid workers arrived with food and water, the scenes are even more -- i hope you get some food. you can see, these are pretty extraordinary scenes. you have got, um, belarusian military forces essentially trying to push back the crowd of migrants that's gathered round this distribution of aid. they are just giving out bottles of -- you know, plastic bottles of water. but the people here are so desperate for any kind of nutrition, fleaany kind of food water, shelter. look, they are being asked all now to kneel down in front of the belarusian security forces. and when they kneel down, look, then some of them are being allowed to go through. who is this? >> his name is aji.

>> hello, how are you? you good? you speak english, too? do you speak a little bit of english? she and her 4-year-old son also traveled to belarus from iraqi kurdistan to help her child, she told me. >> we came here from -- because of my son. because he -- he needs an operation. >> he needs an operation? >> yeah, big operation in the back. >> oh, no. >> yeah. he can't walk without this. >> i see. he's got -- he's got this splint on his leg. i see. >> yeah. >> reporter: why didn't you do this operation in kurdistan? >> because not -- not very good. maybe, he failed and in the -- the operation fails and we need to go to germany. erch everyone -- and the doctor told me that -- that we -- the operations in germany, very good. >> reporter: but now, germany looks a long way off. with belarus in the west blaming each other for this crisis, it's these people stuck in the middle

who are paying the price. tonight, erin, belarusian border officials are underlining their concerns or their warnings. that the situation on that border can get much worse if the crisis with the european union isn't resolved soon. there are more than 2,000 people there now. in a week, as i mentioned, 5,000. but with every day that passes, 2 or 300 new migrants a arrive there at that delicate border. >> thank you very much, matthew. really appreciate it. said the only international reporter able to get you those images. next, tragic news tonight about the businessman who went into space alongside actor wil wil william shatner. (phone chimes) ♪ ♪ ♪ i jump up on the stage ♪ ♪ and do my money dance ♪ ♪ i throw some money up ♪ ♪ and watch the money land ♪ ♪ i do my, i do my i do my money dance ♪ move your student loan debt to sofi - you could save with low rates and no fees.

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tonight, tragic news regarding one of the first people to travel to space with jeff bezos' company blue origin. cnn learning glen de vries has died. the businessman was only 49 years old. one of two people killed when their small plane crashed yesterday, and so far it's unclear why their plane went down. blue origin tweeting, he brought so much life and energy to the entire blue origin team and to his fellow crew mates.

his passion for aviation, his charitable work and his dedication to his craft will long be revered and admired. de vries told cnn it was his lifelong dream to see planet earth from space. did, of course, fulfill that dream. thanks for joining us. "ac 360" starts right now. good evening. there is breaking news tonight in the investigation in the worst attack on democracy by americans since the civil war. the news may turn out to be so significant, that if things hadn't gone the way they just did, the house select committee on january 6th might just as well have closed up shop. for a month and a half, former-senior trump adviser steve bannon had been openly defying the will of congress. first, a committee subpoena. and then, a house contempt citation the setting the tone for the other acolytes of the former president to do likewise. today, indicting bannon on two counts and finally giving the select committee a measure of clout against those who would thumb their nose at them. former-white house chief of