hello and a very woorm we will come to our viewers joining us in the united states and right around the world. i'm isa soares in london. and just ahead right here on "cnn newsroom." a speech by the republican leader has delayed the house vote on the build back better plan. in fact, he's still speaking right now. the democrats say they will not be deterred. the defense rests in the trial of three white men charged of murdering ahmaud arbery. we'll explain what is next. and new pressure 0 not china

to answer questions about a missing tennis champion who is accused of communist party leader of sexual assault. >> announcer: live from london, this is "cnn newsroom" with isa soares. hello, everyone. it is friday, november 19th. and we begin with u.s. president joe biden's sweeping plan to fight climate change and expand the social safety net for americans. the u.s. house of representatives were supposed to vote on it last night. but a marathon speech from republican leader kevin mccarthy went well into the early morning hours. in fact, it's still ongoing. democrats say they didn't want to vote on the bill in the dead of night, so they'll do it this morning. but mccarthy just kept talking. take a listen. >> you know, when i look at this bill, it angers me.

we are so better than this. you are spending so much money. never before. we spent less, defeating hitler, mussolini and japan than you're spending tonight. we spent less! but it cost us lives. and you're celebrating it. >> well, democrats insist they have the votes to pass the bill, but its fate in the senate is less certain. cnn's chief congressional correspondent manu raju. >> reporter: another twist after months of painstaking negotiations among democrats to get their large social safety net expansion together that cost roughly $2 trillion, to get it passed out of the house. they were very close to doing that late thursday night, until they hit a roadblock. the republican leader kevin

mccarthy effectively delayed the house vote until friday morning, 8:00 a.m. eastern time is when the house is set to reconvene because kevin mccarthy used procedures that are allowed to him under the house's rules. he is the minority leader, has the ability to speak for as long as he wants at the end of a floor debate, the 0 iso-called magic minute in the house. he used that magic minute and spoke for hours. after midnight the democrats said they didn't want to have a vote in the middle of the night on this bill as the republicans they believed wanted them to do to have a vote in the dead of night. they said, we're going to do it in broad daylight. we're going to delay this vote into the morning and let kevin mccarthy speak as long as he wants. they made that decision after more than three hours of kevin mccarthy on the floor railing on the democratic agenda, railing on joe biden, and going after all aspects of this bill which

would dramatically increase different aspects of the public social safety net. whether it's increasing medicare, providing more money for the affordable care act. also universal preschool. this is a part of the plan. child care, housing, billions of dollars in dealing with climate change, a massive bill that the democrats have been trying to put together for months and months and months. they are at the point where they are expected to get this out of the house. now, despite the delay, it is expected to pass the house on friday morning. jared golden is the one democrat in the house who said that he will oppose it. he's a maine moderate, comes from a swing district. the majority of the leader of the house told me early friday morning after midnight that that is the only democratic defection at this time. they can only afford to lose three votes in the house, but this should be enough to get it through. now, this is just the first step in the process. even if it gets out of the house on friday as is expected, then it goes over to the snoot where

there is a whole different dynamic. 50 democratic senators, all of them need to vote to advance this bill because any one defection could scuttle this since no republicans are expected to support it. and there is one very big swing vote on the democratic side in the senate, joe manchin, who is still not certain whether he will invoke debate to begin on this and wants changes to the bill. this is going to be a significant step forward for democrats to advance this agenda. but can they get there, get it through the senate, get it back approved in the house, a final time, get it over to joe biden's desk? that is a project that is going to be weeks and weeks in the making with more bumps undoubtedly to come. manu raju, cnn, capitol hill. >> thanks, manu. one of senator joe manchin's concerns about the build back better bill is how it might affect inflation which is at a 30 year high in the united states. that is a claim president biden rejected this week in a visit to

detroit, michigan. have a listen. >> the infrastructure law we just signed in the build back better plan are being considered this week in congress, will not add to inflationary pressures in the economy. [ cheers and applause ] there isn't one of the agencies said, and i quote, the bills do not add inflation pressures. let me repeat that, do not add inflation pressures. reason? because the policies i proposed, quote, help lift long-term economic growth via stronger productivity, labor force growth, as well as taking the edge off inflation. >> well, when the vote finally does happen, cnn will bring it to you live. these are live images as you can see there at the moment. we expect that vote to happen in about four hours from now. so do stay right here with cnn for that vote. now, defense lawyers have rested their cases in the trial of three white men accused of

killing of a black man in georgia last year. prosecutors say ahmaud arbery was chased down and shot to death while he was jogging. the crime was caught on video. ryan young has details on thursday's testimony. >> i just killed a man. i had blood on me still. i was the most traumatic event of my life. i was scared to death. >> reporter: dramatic testimony in the trial of the 2020 killing of ahmaud arbery as defendant travis mcmichael was back on the stand facing additional cross-examination. mcmichaels, one of three defendants in the case, including his father, gregory mcmichael and william bryan. the younger mcmichael testified he acted in self-defense when he shot arbery in february 2020 after a chase and confrontation in a georgia neighborhood. prosecutor pressed mcmichael on his actions leading up to the shooting. >> how many times have you pulled up on strangers that you don't know next to them with a pickup truck to ask them what they're doing in your neighborhood?

>> i don't think i have in that situation. >> reporter: and his first initial encounter with arbery. >> didn't bran dish any weapons? >> no, ma'am. >> didn't pull out any guns? >> no, ma'am. evg >> didn't pull out any knife. >> no, ma'am. >> never reached for anything, did he? >> um, no. >> he just ran? >> yes, he was running. >> reporter: the prosecution pointing out inconsistencies between mcmichaels' statements to police and testimony in court. >> you agree with me that you never, ever told the glen county police department or in a written statement that you said to mr. arbery, the police are coming? >> i don't know if i did or not. >> do you remember telling us just yesterday that that was what you said to your dad, call the cops, there he is? he starts acting funny, he takes off running. >> i believe i said, have you called the cops yet. >> so nowhere in here do you indicate to detective that he stopped long enough for you to say, the police are on their way and that that's why he took off

running, nowhere in here, nowhere in your written statement is that indicated? >> in those terms, saying it in that verbatim, i did not. >> reporter: the prosecution also pointing out something travis mcmichael's father gregory told police his son didn't recall on the stand. >> you stopped, you get out. you yelled, stop. that's when your father yelled at him, stop or i'll blow your [ bleep ] head off? >> i don't think so, no. >> you don't think so? i mean, you were standing right there. you heard your father say this, yes? >> i don't think i heard him say that, no. >> but you know that's what he told the police he said. >> in here in court that's what i heard, yes, ma'am. >> reporter: shortly after there was this exchange between state prosecutor and a witness which sparked a public admonishment from the judge. >> do you believe that someone stealing is deserving of the death penalty? >> the question would be the way another argument in this case

was characterized as being reprehensible. >> the court does find that the question that was presented was inflammatory and irrelevant. >> reporter: defendant william brian's attorney also bringing up again his concerns row lated to who is in the public gallery, specifically calling out reverend jesse jackson. >> i think he's back there in the dark shirt. putting that on the record. >> reporter: goff also noting today his client will not be taking the stand. ben crump for ahmaud arbery said the reaction is ridiculous. >> they killed their son and yet they're talking about self-defense. i mean, it is just asinine and an insult to our intelligence. >> reporter: all three defendants have pleaded not guilty. and the defense rested on thursday, but one of the things that happened outside of court thursday that caught everyone's attention is the fact they had a large protest, a lot of pastors from around the country. definitely listen to kevin goff as he called and said, he didn't

want any more pastors here. more showed up. there was a march in the streets. and we could see people actually having their voices heard about this case. reporting in brunswick, georgia, ryan young, cnn. brunswick and wisconsin, the kyle rittenhouse trial began a fourth day of deliberations in the coming hours. the 80-ye18-year-old is charged shooting two demonstrators and wounding another during police brutality last year. the jury has been deliberated about 23 hours or so. before being dismissed, the judge raised concerns on thursday. our sarah sidner explains. >> reporter: the jury in the kyle rittenhouse double homicide case has done three full days of deliberations and still no verdict. however, one of the jurors asked if they were allowed to take the jury instructions home. it's 36 pages of instructions. the judge agreed that they could as long as they didn't discuss the case with anyone. they were allowed to look over those at home before they came back for a fourth day of

deliberations. the judge also very concerned and put on the court record something that happened outside of court. a freelancer for msnbc was stopped and given a ticket. he was also, according to police, following the van that was carrying the jurors at night when they left the courthouse. that person was admonished. they were given a ticket and was detained for a bit of time. the judge saying that now msnbc has been banned from the courthouse. they are no longer allowed to come into the courthouse because of the incident, taking very seriously to make sure that the jury has not gotten photos of them or any video of them. msnbc and nbc news has put out a statement saying that it was indeed their freelancer that was involved in this traffic violation, but that he was not trying to take video of the jury or follow the jury themselves. at this point in time, the judge just making sure that no one from that organization is allowed in court any more. we can tell you that in day

four, the jury is obviously taking all of this very seriously, going over evidence and going over these questions and the law. we will see if they come up with a verdict in day four of deliberations. sarah sidner, cnn, kenosha, wisconsin. well, in charlottesville, virginia, jurors will begin deliberations today on whether white supremacist and neo-nazis should be liable for damages suffered in 2017 when they rallied in the city turned deadly. 14 individuals and ten groups participated in the rally are being sued by both towns people and counter protesters who were hurt that day. one young woman was killed when a white supremacist rammed a car into counter protesters, injuring dozens of others. now, the tennis world is demanding answers on the whereabouts of chinese player peng shuai. coming up, the length the women's tennis association says it will go to ensure she is located. plus, a decision on covid

boosters for all adults in the u.s. could be just hours away. we'll find out when those shots could start getting into the arms. those stories just ahead. with age comes more... get more with neutrogena® retinol pro plus. a powerful .05% retinol

that's also gentle on skin. for wrinkles results in one week. neutrogena®. for people with skin. facing expensive vitam c creams with dull results? olay brightens it up with new olay vitamin c. gives you two times brighter skin. hydrates better than the $400 cream.

as the calls grow louder ffor chinese officials to reveal the whereabouts of peng shuai, she vanished two weeks ago after accusing a former vice premiere of section wool assault. now the head of the women's tennis association is standing firm against beijing saying the wta is willing to pull its business from china over her disappearance. cnn's kristie lu stout joins us from hong kong. it's clear from the wta and from all the other tennis stars we heard from, the eyes of the world are on peng shuai and her whereabouts. are we seeing threats and pressure by the wta, has this rattled beijing at all? >> reporter: not really. i mean, we have heard from the ministry of foreign affairs again today and they were asked about the case of peng shuai. their response was, we gi decli to comment because this is not a

diplomatic issue. this is ratcheting up because the head of women's tennis is challenging the chinese government. in an interview with cnn, you have the c.e.o. and the chairman of the wta saying that he is trying to contact this chinese tennis star. he is very concerned about her safety and her whereabouts. and also that the wta is willing to lose its very lucrative business in china unless she is found to be safe and unless there is a proper investigation into her allegations. pipg peng shuai is, of course, a national sporting icon in china. she is a two-time grand slam winner. it was two weeks ago on november 2nd she accused a very powerful man, a former vice premiere, to have sex with him in his home. she made this accusation on her verified account on the chinese social media platform. it was quickly taken down, and she he's not been heard or seen publicly ever since. the wta deeply concerned about her as well as the international tennis community, and people

outside tennis. even footballers have stepped forward with the #where is peng shuai. listen to this from the chief of the wta. >> we're at a crossroads with our relationship obviously with our -- with china. and operating our business over there. there's no question about it. there's too many times in our world today when we get into issues like this that we let business, politics, money dictate what's right and what's wrong. >> reporter: steve simon there. the wta has very significant business interests in china. in fact, its asia-pacific headquarters is in beijing, and yet we heard from him in that interview. he said in regards to what's happening to peng shuai right now, this is bigger than business. that is what he said earlier. a number of commentators are saying the strong force of the response that we've heard from the wta is far more strong than what we've heard from other

sporting agents and governments, isa. >> perhaps this could be a watershed moment as relates to the language by the wta vis-a-vis china. kristie lu stout in china, thank you. chinese authorities have been racing to wipe out any mention of peng shuai and her allegations from internet as well as broadcasts including our own program. have a look at this. during my broadcast just yesterday, you can see as i began reporting on peng's disappearance, no signal, please stand by. we will continue to share her story. all week we have been showing you the crisis at the belarusian/polish border. belarus is refusing any blame for the crisis. cnn's matthew chance spoke z exclusively to the country's foreign minister. >> reporter: at the airport in

minsk, a first repatriation flight waits to board. the passengers mostly iraqi kurds didn't make it to europe, but at least their ordeal in belarus is at an end. this is the nightmare they left behind. officials confirmed this forest camp on the polish border is now empty. the shocking images of desperate migrants languishing in the cold have left a mark. now for the first time cnn is able to hold a senior belarusian official to account. >> and to see how they suffer, it's very difficult for a normal human being. we are not interested in having this situation here in belarus. >> reporter: but you say you don't want to see these scenes, but you are accused, belarus is accused of orchestrating this whole crisis, of encouraging these migrants to come here, and of directing them towards that border. you created these scenes.

>> yes, we have heard a lot of accusations it was belarus. this is a false assessment of the situation. >> reporter: also false, according to the foreign minister, u.s. and european allegations that russia, which recently flew these strategic bomber flights over belarus in support, is really behind the crisis, encouraging its ally to distract the west while preparing military plans elsewhere in ukraine. >> with regard to this migrant crisis, i can definitely say russia has nothing to do with it. >> reporter: but it was president putin, he tells me, who set up telephone calls between the german and belarusian leaders this week, helping to diffuse the crisis. and it needed diffusing.

this is the scene when angry migrants tried to force their way into europe past polish border guards. the refusal of belarus to intervene fueled rumors they encouraged these attacks. the european union says that belarus has created this crisis to punish them in revenge for the sanctions that the e.u. has imposed against belarus for its crackdown on the opposition. how do you answer that allegation? >> it's lie, it's an absolute lie. belarus has shown the dark side of the european democracy, and you've seen yourself what was happening or what happened at the border within the last two or three days. >> reporter: it's shown the strength of european unity, too. for now remaining migrants in belarus are being housed in this giant heated warehouse, back

from the volatile border. but with europe refusing to back down, it's belarus that must now keep them or send them home. matthew chance, cnn, minsk. well, french president emanuel macron is calling on the european union to keep up the pressure on belarus to end the migrant crisis. he spoke to his counterpart. he said lukashenko orchestrated this. the french president's office said he urged russia to use its influence to calm tensions. now, catastrophic flooding is now choking canada's largest port. the province of british columbia has been hammered as you can see there by heavy flooding since early this he can would. officials are saying many roads and railways out of vancouver have been washed out or damaged, which is creating as you can imagine bottlenecks for transporting goods from its port. it can take at least two more

days for the traffic to resume. the flooding has caused landslides in vancouver and washington state. let's bring in derek van dam. do you know how long this respite is in sight? >> two words come to mind when i think about telling this story and what's happened to british columbia lately. that is weather whiplash. this has got the finger prints of climate written all over it. not 140 days ago we were talking about record breaking high temperatures in that province for the entire country of canada. now we're talking about daily record rainfall events shattered for places like abbotsfordville where the previous record held back in 1998 of just under 50 millimeters was shattered on the 15th of november. so, on sunday. quite an amazing thing because just 140 days ago, roughly, we were talking about the highest

temperature ever recorded within the entire province as well as the entire country of canada. all right. so, i've got to transition to a different topic because this is happening now. and if you get the opportunity toe step outside, say you're watching anywhere from north america, parts of asia, there is a partial lunar eclipse taking place right now. not a solar eclipse. this has nothing to do with the sun. i guess indirectly it does, but it's actually the earth's shadow blocking out part of the moon at the moment. what makes this particular unique is it is the longest duration, partial lunar eclipse in over 580 years. we're talking six hours of the shadow actually impacting the sun. and i took this photo outside. don't pay attention to the numbers there on the screen. that's a mistake. we had to get these images in here at the very last minute. nonetheless, i braved the elements outdoors, pretty chilly in atlanta. we saw the wonderful, wonderful

partial lunar eclipse taking place just outside your window. so, isa, if you get the opportunity to step outside in between your live shots, you should be able to see it as well. >> okay. so, i want to see -- is that your photo? no, that's nasa's photo. >> that is my photo. >> what? >> i'm trying my best to block the numbers at the top. it's a computer glitch. that's my photo. my hands were frozen from stepping outside. >> i wasn't expecting something that small. i want to raise you. i can't see in london. i will raise you. have an eclipse at the eclipse in washington, d.c. this is happening right now. this is something we haven't seen in hundreds of years, the last time i looked. but look at this shot. eclipse from washington, 4:28 in the morning. partial lunar eclipse creating, of course, a blood micro moon.

how long is this expected to last for? do you know, derek? >> six hours. six hours -- six hours. >> well, there you go. brave the cold, get your cameras out and try and beat derek's photo. that is the challenge for today. derek van dam, great to see you, my friend. have a wonderful day. coming up right here on "cnn newsroom," boosters for all adults in the u.s. could be okayed this weekend. we'll find out what's driving the push to get those extra doses into arms. plus, after the murder of malcolm x, two men found innocent of the crime. they were wrongly convicted. those stories after the short break. you are watching "cnn newsroom." . full prescription-strength? reduces inflammation? thank the gods. don't thank them too soon. kick pain in the aspercreme.

♪ ♪ ♪ aloha! isn't this a cozy little room? sorry your vacation request took so long to get approved, so you missed out on the suite special. but lucky for you, they had this. when employees are forced to wait for vacation request approvals,it can really cramp their style. i'm gonna leave you to it. um, just— with paycom, employees enter and manage their own hr data in a single, easy-to-use software. visit paycom.com and schedule a demo today.

have you ever sat here and wondered: "couldn't i do this from home?" with letsgetchecked, you can. it's virtual care with home health testing and more. all from the comfort of... here. letsgetchecked. care can be this good.

♪ ♪ xfinity rewards are our way of thanking you just for being with us. enjoy rewards like getting illumination's minions movie on us. xfinity mobile benefits. exclusive experiences, like the chance to win tickets to see watch what happens live. andy cohen: hey! it's me! and tasty recipes from bravo's top chef cheftestants that'll have you cooking like a pro. the longer you've been with us... the more rewards you can get. join for free on the xfinity app. our thanks. your rewards.

welcome to "cnn newsroom." i'm isa soares. if you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour. house minority leader successfully delayed a vote on joe biden's build back better plan. mccarthy has been speaking eight hours. in fact, he's still speaking. democrats say the vote will happen about four hours from now. defense lawyers for three white men charged with killing a black man have rested their case. prosecutors say ahmaud arbery was chased down and shot to death while he was jogging. we'll bring you both stories in about 30 minutes or so. now, the u.s. policy on vaccine boosters, soon could take another giant leap forward. in the coming days it is possible that any adult who wants a booster might be able to get one. the fda is expected to make a decision to approve the pfizer booster for everyone 18 and

over, and the moderna one could soon follow. the cdc is also meeting later which means a thumbs up really for one or both vaccines could happen this weekend. the decision by the u.s. agency is behind a number of states have already made the decision to open up booster shots for all adults. well, about 60% of the u.s. population is know considered fully fully vaccinated, but one group is taking it to heart more than others. cdc data shows 99% of americans age 65 or older have 150receivet least one dose of the vaccine. much of this rush to boost and get more americans vaccinated has really been driven by an increase in covid cases following a recent plateau. former cdc director explained what's causing the increase. take a listen. >> what is driving the uptick in the u.s. is not breakthrough infections after vaccination. it's infections among people who haven't been vaccinated.

so the main driver of the illness and still a thousand deaths a day in the u.s. is the failure to reach every corner of the country and get that last 30% of the country vaccinated. it's also true that it does appear that vaccine-induced immunity wanes in time. when you're eligible for a booster, get one. but the vaccines are extremely effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death. >> let's get more on the story of the latest in jerusalem. ben wedeman in bucharest and jim in paris. jim, i'm hearing the austrian government is expected to announce a lockdown for its entire population today. what more should we expect? >> reporter: well, austria definitely taking the most draconian measures against the coronavirus. they have already instituted a nationwide lockdown for the

unvaccinated that began earlier this week and at least two regions that have a generalized lockdown, maybe all over the country like you said. so it's really the vaccination question is what's come up here. how many people are vaccinated? they believe that's the real cause, in austria anyway, of the spike that we've seen in the cases. neighboring germany, same sort of thing. they're thinking if they can encourage people to get vaccinated, that perhaps the numbers will start to come down. but the health minister in germany just a little bit ago said that, in fact, it is a national emergency. a number of cases that are coming in each day. meanwhile here in france, president macron said last night to a regional newspaper that, in fact, he does not anticipate any further major for the moment. basically he is saying it is the health pass which encouraged a lot of people to get vaccinated here. that health pass has worked out very successfully.

he's the one who invented that, and the numbers are still, nonetheless, going up here. >> jim bittermann for us in paris. thank you very much. lets aop turn to national correspondent ben wedeman joining us from bucharest following the tragic toll this is playing in romania's covid deaths. ben, romania has been one of the hardest hit countries. soaring deaths, low vaccination rates. what have you found? >> reporter: yeah, this is an interesting case, a cautionary tale perhaps, isa, given that romania began its vaccination program in december of last year. it was off to a good start, but today 11 months later, what we see is that it has the second lowest vaccination rate, about 36% in europe, the only country that has lower vaccination rates is bulgaria, and it does have the highest mortality rate in europe. now, there is a variety of reends for this, but it's widely

believed that it's basically misinformation, superstition, and demagoguery by politicians who are basically getting on the anti-vax band wagon and urging people not to get vaccinated. now, here in bucharest, you have a high level of vaccination, but we were in the northeastern part of the country where it's just over 10%. and the reason for this low number is ascribed to hard-held religious beliefs and basically misinformation, nonsense that swirls around the cesspool of social media. and officials and doctors we've spoken to are deeply frustrated that they've not been able to get the message across. that if you get vaccinated, there is a very low chance you will become ill, and there is a much lower chance that you will

die. but that message just doesn't seem to be getting through. now, the numbers are starting to go down here, but doctors and medical personnel say they are bracing for a fifth wave of the disease, isa. >> you can only imagine how frustrated those doctors must be. ben wideman in bucharest. thanks very much, ben. in jerusalem, a recent uptick in transmission rate, that might mean a new spike really on infections. help us make sense of why we're seeing this, why we're seeing a rise in the r rate here. >> reporter: yeah, isa, israel is often seen as a glimpse into the future of coronavirus because they were so far ahead of many countries when it came to vaccination. and when it came to rolling out the booster campaign, which happened months ago. and so although the numbers a few months ago started to be very encouraging where the rates really started to go down, a few thousand cases a day, you can

really see the rate starting to decrease. now the r rate has started to creep up and actually as of this mourning it has hit that one rate. and that is the rate which health experts have so worried about once the r rate, infection rate hits one or above. they are very much worried about a new wave. however, experts are wary about calling this a new wave just yet and that's partly because the number of cases, the average seven-day average number of cases is still much lower than it was just a couple months ago. it's at around 430, 440 seven-day average cases. and the serious cases are lower. without a question, the pandemic levels in israel is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. similar to what we're seeing in other places. i want to pull up a graph that really helps show illustrate this. this is the number of serious hospitalized cases in israel over the past month. this goes to show you how stark of a difference this is between the unvaccinated and the vaccinated. that light blue line is the not vaccinated. those other lines are the vaccinated. of the 131 seriously ill people

in hospital right now, isa, 110 of them are completely unvaccinated. isa? >> cnn's hadas for us in jerusalem. thanks very much, hadas. we have some breaking news to bring you. austrian chancellor alexander shalumberg announced a national lockdown. i was asking jim bittermann, we were expecting this meeting in austria and the government to decide a plan really given the number of cases in austria. yesterday they reported 15,000 daily coronavirus infections on thursday, the highest level since the outbreak of the pandemic. now we are hearing the entire population of austria will go into lockdown as of monday. we'll stay on top of that story for you. now, sentenced to life in prison for a crime they said they didn't commit, and after a half century, two men convicted

of killing civil rights leader malcolm x have been cleared in his murder. the shocking discovery that helped exonerate them. why the news is bitter/sweet.

do you struggle to fall asleep and stay asleep? qunol sleep formula combines 5 key nutrients that can help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up refreshed. the brand i trust is qunol.

this is elodia. she's a recording artist. 1 of 10 million people that comcast has connected to affordable internet in the last 10 years. and this is emmanuel, a future recording artist, and one of the millions of students we're connecting throughout the next 10. through projectup, comcast is committing $1 billion so millions more students, past... and present, can continue to get the tools they need to build a future of unlimited possibilities.

now, a half century after they were convicted of killing civil rights leader malcolm x, two men who maintained their innocence all along are now cleared of the crime. a new york judge vacated the convictions of muhammad aziz and the late islam after a two-month investigation found evidence their innocence was withheld at trial. here's more for you. >> reporter: hi there. mana muhammad aziz and kalid were exonerated here of the killing here in 1965. the convictions were vacated on newly discovered evidence and the failure to disclose exculpatory evidence. this all stems from a netflix

documentary, a six-part series that aired on netflix. it prompted the attorney to reinvestigate the case along with the innocence project which is a nonprofit that works to help the wrongly convicted. and with lawyers for the two men. here is what d.a. cyrus vance had to say in court today. >> i apologize for what were serious unacceptable violations of law and the public trust. i apologize on behalf of our nation's law enforcement for this decades-long in justice, which has eroded public faith in institutions that are designed to guarantee protection of the law. your honor, we can't restore what was taken away from these men and their families, but by correcting the record, perhaps we begin to restore that faith. >> reporter: cyrus vance acknowledging the miscarriage of justice in this case, the two men spending decades fighting to clear their names, khalil islam

died in 2009, but two of his sons were present in the courtroom today and they said the clearing of their father's name was something bitter/sweet. listen to what one of his sons shaheed johnson said. >> i almost had to disconnect from the whole thing and try to live my life. >> how does it feel for this day to finally come? >> bitter/sweet, like my brother said, bitter/sweet. it's going to take some time just to learn -- we have to learn how toe appreciate it. right now we can't fully appreciate it right now. it's just -- it's a good thing that happened, but it's not, you know, it doesn't replace everything that we lost. >> reporter: so there you heard it from mr. islam's son about how the case destroyed his faith in the justice system. we also heard today from muhammad aziz who is now 83 years old. he was 26 when this nightmare began. here's what he said in part. he said, i do not need this

court, these prosecutors to tell me i'm innocent. i'm glad my family and friends and attorneys who worked and supported me all these years are finally seeing the truth we have all known officially recognized. there were a lot of problems with this case from the beginning, both men had credible alibis. the people who reinvestigated the case spoke with a witness who confirmed or corroborated that mr. aziz was at home at the time of the shooting. we also learned the fbi and the and n.y.p.d. hid substantial evidence from both the defense and the prosecution, including evidence they had gathered in the weekends after the killing of malcolm x that implicated five men in new jersey. and one more thing. the third man convicted in this case said on the witness stand that these two men who have now been exonerated today were innocent. they were not his coconspirators. so clear a blatant miscarriage of justice and for the lawyers who represent these men, this is a sign of the way the criminal justice system is unfair to people of color. so a victory, but a bitter/sweet

one and a long awaited one here in new york today. athena jones, cnn new york. >> thank you, athena. we'll have much more after a short break. do stay right here with cnn. new gold bond pure moisture lotion. 24-hour hydration. no parabens, dyes, or fragrances. gold bond. champion your skin.

do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. call coventry direct to learn more. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized we needed a way to supplement our income. our friend sold their policy to help pay their medical bills, and that got me thinking. maybe selling our policy could help with our retirement. i'm skeptical, so i did some research and called coventry direct. they explained life insurance is a valuable asset that can be sold. we learned we could sell all of our policy, or keep part of it with no future payments. who knew? we sold our policy. now we can relax and

enjoy our retirement as we had planned. if you have $100,000 or more of life insurance, you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit coventrydirect.com to find out if your policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance. have you ever sat here and wondered: "couldn't i do this from home?" with letsgetchecked, you can. it's virtual care with home health testing and more. all from the comfort of... here. letsgetchecked. care can be this good.

are you a christian author with a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today!

now, for just the second time in major league baseball history, a player from japan has won the most valuable player award. shohei ohtani of the los angeles angels gained all 30 votes. his greatness as a pitcher and hitter this season. let's hear more from blake essex from tokyo. blake, how big of a deal is this for japan here? >> reporter: well, isa, it's a huge deal here in jeep. the people couldn't be prouder of the way he plays on the field and carries himself off of it. fans describe him as a superhero, a man who can't possibly be from this planet. when it came to the american league most valuable player award, there was really only ever one choice. shohei ohtani, superstar as he's referred to in japan, won unanimously. in the normal year the player who won second place, toronto's

vladimir, would have won by the stats he put up. he didn't receive a single first vote. that shows what ohtani was able to put together. 100 rbis, 26 stolen based on the mound. 1250 125 miles an hour, one of the hardest pitches to hit. he lost two of the 23 starts. those numbers might not mean much to those who don't follow baseball. i promise you, a former two-way start in little league, they are incredible numbers. jokes aside, what this unicorn of baseball was able to do was special, transforming what many people thought was possible in a sport that's been around for more than a century. in fact, because of what he's been able to do at the plate and on the mound, he's being compared to babe ruth. arguably the greatest baseball player of all time, and the only other threw two-way player in baseball history. for ohtani moving forward, the big question is can he stay

healthy and can he continue to operate others this two-sworded plash. if player. if he can, isa, he could go down as the best player of all time in the history of the game. >> pretty impressive numbers indeed. even i don't follow it, but i was impressed by that. thanks very much. blake essex there. know, the latin grammys give a nod to protests in cuba. have a look at this. ♪ cuban singer took home song of the year over the summer. the song became the anthem for opposition demonstrators in cuba. it's a play on the phrase which means homeland or death. but it was reworked to mean homeland and life. before we go, we want to say a well deserved congratulations to cnn's director of technical

operations here in london, rebecca moore. she is the winner as you can see there of a rice award given to women in the broadcast technology and services sector who really go above and beyond to make a difference. rebecca has made a huge difference for all of us, especially over the past year and a half during the pandemic. she's been instrumental in helping people cope at the office and working from home as well for her efforts to foster gender equality and diversity. a huge congratulations to rebecca. we are incredibly proud of you. that does it for me. thanks very much for watching. "early start" with christine romans and laura jarrett is next. they'll have much more on the marie marathon speech of kevin mccarthy and the late vote on the build back better plan. he is still speaking. have a wonderful weekend. i'll see you next week. bye-bye.

hey hun hey, get your own vapors relax with vicks vapobath or with vicks vaposhower. ta a soothing vicks vapo moment wherever you che.

two loads of snot covered laundry. only one will be sanitized. wait, what? adding lysol laundry sanitizer kills 99.9% of bacteria detergent alone, can't.

with nhl center ice, you can follow your favorite teams and players, no matter where you live. you'll get up to 40 out of market games a week, putting you in control of the matchups you watch... every night of the season. with nhl center ice you'll get a season ticket to the best stars of the nhl. experience all the nhl action with xfinity x1.

track stats and scores while watching your team live. to upgrade, just say “nhl center ice” into your voice remote or go online today. all right, it is friday, november 19th, 5:00 a.m. in new york. thanks for getting an early start with us. i'm christine romans. >> you made it to friday. i'm laura jarrett. welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. we have reports this morning from capitol hill, hong kong, georgia, istanbul, charlottesville, paris, and the pentagon. and we start in washington where lawmakers will meet again this morning to consider president biden's signature social safety net bill. if you went to bed thinking last night that they were going to vote on it, you're not alone. but house minority leader kevin