recommendation for a total ban in the state of south carolina. this comes after just one public hearing where there were lines of people outside of the state capitol waiting to get in and make their comment. wolf, this is moving very quickly. the priority clearly a ban on abortion, economy and support later. wolf? >> vanessa, thank you very much. "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. "outfront" next, above the law. prosecutors in the trial of steve bannon arguing the trump insider defied congress by blowing off a subpoena. bannon tonight lashes out at the chairman of the january 6th committee calling him gutless. plus georgia prosecutors telling 16 fake electors they are targets in a criminal probe. so what does that mean for trump himself? and basketball star brittney griner in russian custody since february, her former coach is speaking out tonight. why he called the u.s. government's handling of

griner's case disgusting. let's go "outfront." and good evening. i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight above the law. federal prosecutors making a simple case tonight against steve bannon who they say is guilty of blatantly defying the january 6 committee. if convicted he's looking at jail time. the man once dubbed donald trump's brain, bannon leaving court after the first day of testimony, lashing out at the january 6 committee and at its chairman, bennie thompson. >> he's too gutless to come over here himself. he's made it a crime -- made it a crime, not a civil charge, of wanting my testimony, but a crime. and he didn't have the courage or guts to show up here and he sent a staffer. >> now here is the thing. bannon now suddenly, right, after all these months, says he's willing to testify before the january 6th committee. but according to thompson, bannon hasn't even handed over

the documents they've demanded in advance of an appearance which he has refused to do until this final hour. federal investigators called bannon's offer to testify nine months after first rejecting the subpoena a stunt, just pure and simple. bannon still is important in the january 6 investigation, and the reason why the committee wanted to hear from him in the first place is because he is a key player in trump's attempt to cling on to power. just listen to him three days before the election. >> what trump's going to do is just declare victory. he's going to declare victory. that doesn't mean he's the winner. he's just going to say he's the winner. >> all right. so he said it. right? this is what he said publicly. declare victory even if trump doesn't win. and up until january 6th, bannon continued to push the lie that trump won and the election was stolen, even after all the votes had been counted, recounted in many states, and formally certified. >> we're here for reality.

trump won a massive landslide on the 3rd of november. >> he even is the one who convinced trump to return to washington from mar-a-lago. remember trump had gone off and probably wasn't even going to come back at all, but then he came back for the stop the steal rally. according to bob woodward in a book, he said, quote, you have to return to washington, make a dramatic return today. people will go what the ef is going on here. bury him. bannon spoke to trump twice on the day before the insurrection and after one of those calls, literally just a few minutes later, he's doing his radio show, gets off the phone with the president of the united states and tells his listeners, quote, all hell is going to break loose tomorrow. sarah murray is out in front of the courthouse where bannon appeared earlier today. what more can you tell us about what happened inside the courtroom where you are? >> reporter: well, erin, the

trial got off to a little bit of a slow start today, but it certainly ended on a fiery note as steve bannon railed against the january 6 committee after a day of opening statements in the case. steve bannon's trial moving ahead with the judge finally swearing in the jury and both sides making opening statements. the prosecutor arguing bannon blocked congress from getting information it needed about january 6 because it was a subpoena, congress was entitled to the information it sought. it wasn't optional. it wasn't a request. it wasn't an invitation. it was mandatory, said prosecutor amanda vaughn, adding bannon was warned in a letter if he refused to comply he could be federally prosecuted. this is not a case of mistake. the defendant department get the date wrong. he didn't get confused on where to go. he didn't get stuck on a broken down metro car. he just refused to follow the rules. vaughn adding the defendant showed his contempt for u.s. congress, u.s. government, and that he's guilty. the house select committee

investigating the insurrection wanted to know about bannon's interactions with trump and his predictions ahead of january 6th. >> 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. >> reporter: but after the trump ally and former white house strategist defied a subpoena he was charged with criminal contempt of congress. >> we're going to go on the offense on this and stand by. >> reporter: he pleaded not guilty to two contempt charges and faces at least 30 days behind bars if convicted. ladies and gentlemen, this is steve bannon and he's innocent of these charges, bannon attorney proclaimed in his opening statement. fleshing out bannon's biography with tidbits about his service in the navy and current podcast. corcoran got to the heart of his defense claiming lawyers were still negotiating about the subpoena including the date. there was no ignoring the subpoena. there will be no evidence showing that.

leaving court today an impassioned bannon took aim at committee chairman bennie thompson, who just tested positive for covid. >> have the guts and the courage -- the guts and the courage -- to show up here and say exactly why it's a crime. bennie thompson is a total absolute disgrace. >> reporter: now obviously steve bannon wanted bennie thompson to testify at the trial. the judge did not allow that. there is still a slight chaps the judge could revisit that decision. that all depends on how the prosecution's case plays out. erin? >> sarah, thank you. and i want to go now to the former trump white house communications director. our senior legal analyst and former assistant u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york and juliet keim the former assistant secretary of homeland security. ellie, you hear bannon's defense nine months after defying the subpoena for the first time. what do you make of it? >> well, steve bannon's options and his defenses are narrowing

by the day. i think heading into this trial steve bannon was expecting to turn this into a political spectacle, to make the speeches we just saw him make outside the courtroom, say they're targeting me because i'm steve bannon, because i'm unpopular and where is bennie thompson and all that. the reality is what happens inside the courtroom is a very different ball game and this judge has run a strict courtroom and he's not allowing any of that nonsense into play, nor should he because it's not relevant. that's left steve bannon to argue essentially i thought the subpoena was an opening invitation to negotiate. i think the prosecution's response will be here we are nine months later. he hasn't said a word or produced a single document. i think that's the field of play moving forward. >> i mean, right. here we are nine months in and no documents, still defying the subpoena. they still want to hear from steve bannon, right, and we played three days before the election, he's going to declare victory whether he wins or loses. so much of what bannon said was said publicly and yet there are things the committee thinks they can get from him that may have

been private that could be important. since you know him, how much influence did he actually have over trump? >> so he had a tremendous amount of influence and kind of stepping back a bit, the fact we're still talking about steve bannon in 2022, four years after donald trump fired him and claimed he has nothing to do with me, he lost his mind, steve bannon is, frankly, in many ways the leader of the current republican party and the chief strategist whether trump admits it or not for many of his worst actions. i'm of the mind personally he has very little value to offer the committee in terms of testimony, but bank records, potential communications he has could be very valuable to show the coordination leading up to january 6. most of the worst things he said openly on his podcast talking about how it's going to be wild, what the rally and the riot will look like. i don't think the committee should actually give him sort of the stature of testifying in open committee. he absolutely should be complying with the subpoena. he has no claim to privilege. he hasn't been in the white

house in nearly two years. >> right. that's the thing. first of all, the current president has privilege. secondly, he wasn't even in the white house when this happened. so, juliet, when bannon leaves court today, we heard elie say, one of his bombastic speeches, speaks to the chair bennie thompson to have the guts and courage to show up here and say why this is a crime. ranting that thompson himself wasn't on the witness list. so when you take a step back and look at that, is there any merit in that argument thompson should be there? >> none whatsoever. but i absolutely loved this scene. and the reason why, i'm looking at all of this activity that can seem confusing in political and legal. i'm looking through the lens of is this going to stop the violence in the future, this ongoing insurrection, and i view the point of -- that point bannon says he sent a staffer. i love that because what you want to do to stop violence and

to stop violent organizers like bannon and trump, is you go after them legally. you go after their monetary base, but you also essentially bring them down-to-earth, that you want to isolate the leadership. and that is what this trial is doing. here is this cocky guy talking about taking over the u.s. government in early 2020. now he's begging to not have a staffer come to a trial of which he's facing criminal prosecution. i like to say in my technical wonky terms, they're portraying them as losers, and that is how you win a counter radicalization campaign. it just is. >> so, elie, when it comes to the doj's other investigations, right, and this is crucial. we talk about fake electors. lisa monaco said today that a potential trump candidacy, right, if he's going to run again for the white house, will not impact the investigations of january 6th. she had to do that because there had been this huge brouhaha maybe the doj would do the opposite and trump would be off

the table because of this memo from merrick garland. where do you stand on this? >> she's correct that if donald trump declares for the presidency in 2024, legally that has no impact nor should it have any impact on what doj is doing. left unsaid by lisa monaco and other leadership of doj, they have put themselves in a real predicament here by the slow pace of their investigation because prosecutors, yes, we live by the law, but you have to live in reality as well. you have to think how is a jury going to perhaps take this case some day? and if donald trump becomes a declared candidate for president, if he becomes the front-runner, even the nominee, good luck getting 12 jurors to convict him unanimously. this is not a vote. this is not a majority rule. you need 12-0. doj, look, we don't know exactly -- nobody knows outside of those doors what exactly doj is doing. we do know we're a year and a half out and they're nowhere we can tell within remote sight of

donald trump or anyone in any position of power. they're under the gun now and it's their own doing. >> all right. which is one issue there. alyssa, another issue is the committee. one of these hearings would start in the spring. they have commenced. they have been extremely tightly produced. all of that is true. still, that took longer than many people would have thought. here we are hours ahead of the final scheduled hearing, thursday night. again, you know the players. matthew pottinger who served as trump's national deputy security adviser and sarah matthews both are expected to be there thursday night, both resigned because the events of january 6th. we've heard a little bit from their recorded testimony but not much. matthews testified she thought trump needed to call off the rioters on january 6th. here is just a little bit of what we have heard. >> we all talked at that point about how it was bad and the situation was getting out of

hand. i know ben williamson and i were conferring, and we thought that the president needed to tweet something and tweet something immediately. then i remember getting a notification on my phone, and i was sitting in a room with roma and ben, and we all got a notification. so we knew it was a tweet from the president. and we looked down, and it was a tweet about mike pence. >> so, as for pottinger, he resigned after seeing the tweet about mike pence. here is what he said about it. >> i read that tweet. and made a decision at that moment to resign. that's where i knew that i was leaving that day once i read that tweet.

>> alyssa, you know both of these individuals well. how important are they here? >> they're very important and i think it was a really interesting choice to pair them together. matt pottinger was the senior most nsc official. robert o'brien was out of town. matt pottinger has extraordinary credibility on a bipartisan basis across the board. former "wall street journal" beijing bureau chief but marine corps veteran, a credible person who, by the way, was close with vice president mike pence. i traveled to southeast asia on two occasions and matt pottinger advised him. sarah matthews, who is a personal friend of mine, worked just steps from the oval office in upper press in the white house and she's a tried and true republican. they're not going to be able to attack her by saying she's a rino, a never trumper. she came from the trump campaign. she was hand-picked to be the deputy press secretary.

she's worked for republican lawmakers. so they lend an incredible amount of credibility of people who are public servants and wanted to be there but were so horrified by the actions that day. and they will be able to fill in the tiktoks. sarah will know quite a bit about trying to get the president to denounce the actions, what he was willing and unwilling to say. and pottinger will be able to speak to the national security updates that they were getting, evolving threat environment and what he was learning in real time and what was briefed to the president. so very important in filling in those very important 187 minutes. >> as you point out their credibility cannot be touched here. juliette, that 187 minutes, you were interviewed by committee staff on the issues of violence and incitement. you do have a window into what they're looking at. how will this hearing which will focus on those 187 minutes, how is this going to look?

>> they will focus on the tiktok. what does that 187 mean? what's the silence? and we're calling it dereliction of duty. i think that's only one way to look at it. the other way is how were his supporters, his violent supporters, interpreting the silence? dereliction means he didn't do what he was supposed to do. but actually in not doing that, sitting there in silence, they're reading that as a welcome mat. his silence is then breeding more of the violence. and we know this to be true because the white house is getting dozens of calls from allies and others in congress saying get the president out there. he's the only one who can stop him. as importantly, when the president final lip gets out there, his guys follow. his violent leaders follow. i think that understanding of dereliction, that the silence is the incitement, is really key. >> all right. thank you all very much. as we get ready for that crucial

finale as it appears to be for the hearings. and next, all 16 of georgia's fake electors warned they are the targets of a georgia prosecutor's criminal probe. this probe in georgia could be the most important one. what could this development mean for trump himself? plus, putin's provocative move, tonight traveling to iran and holding hands with the leaders of iran and turkey. that big, long table is gone by the wayside as u.s. intel points putin's next moves and tens of millions of people suffering under triple digit temperatures from northern england, the u.s., europe. tonight fires are now breaking out around london. bath fitter dodoesn't just fit your bath. we fit your life. when you're tired of looking at your tired old bath, we fit your style, with hundreds of design options. when a normal day is anything but normal, we fit yr schedule, with our unique tub over tub process, installed in alittle as a day.

when high quality ishe only quality that matters, we fit your standards, with a lifetime guarantee. bath fitter. it just fits. visit bathfitter.com to book your free consultation. with best western rewards you get rewarded when you stay on the road and on the go. find your rewards so you can reconnect, disconnect, hold on tight and let go! stay two nights and get a free night. book now at bestwestern.com. from the #1 fiber brand comes metamucil gummies. getting your daily fiber is now even easier. made with prebiotic plant based fiber to support your digestive health. each serving has 5 grams of fiber and no added sugar. metamucil fiber gummies ["only wanna be with you" by hootie & the blowfish] discover is accepted at 99% of places in the u.s. ["only wanna be with you" by hootie & the blowfish]

it's true. everyone gets a free new samsung galaxy s22 with a galaxy trade-in. any year. any condition. really? even if my old phone looks like this? (♪ ♪) (gasps) dude - why? uhh - how could you? it's okay, people. i've trained for this. it's not complicated new and existing customers get a free new samsung galaxy s22 with a galaxy trade-in. any year. any condition. (♪ ♪) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

frank is a fan of fast. he's a fast talker. a fast walker. thanks, gary. and for unexpected heartburn... frank is a fan of pepcid. it works in minutes. nexium 24 hour and prilosec otc can take one to four days to fully work. pepcid. strong relief for fans of fast. only two things are forever: love and liberty mutual customizing your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. if anyone objects to this marriage... (emu squawks) kevin, no! not today. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

tonight cnn learning all 16 of georgia's fake electors who tried to overturn georgia's 2020 election results, turn the state to former president trump, are now targets of the fulton county d.a.'s criminal investigation. this is yet another major sign that the investigation into trump's efforts to overturn the election is proceeding rapidly in georgia. there has been a flurry of activity in recent days. donald trump's former white house attorney told us, quote, the georgia case under the control of the fulton county district attorney appears to pose a serious threat of indictment to the former president.

evan perez is out front. those words why ty cobb are significant, sending letters to all 16 of those fake electors saying they're no longer just witnesses but targets of a criminal investigation. tell me how significant this is, what it could mean for trump. >> it's a big deal for a prosecutor to go from the point position where these people were considered to be witnesses, erin, and now they are possibly going to face charges. what it tells us the prosecutors believe that there is additional information they've gotten which they believe could lead to charges. and, of course, these are people who were working directly with the former president's campaign, with his lawyers. we know that they were coordinating this from the former president's campaign and his legal team and, of course, that brings us closer to donald trump himself. and that's the reason ty cobb is making that statement. from the georgia investigation

perspective you can see how you can get from the people who were coordinating this effort to advance these fake electors to the former president who was the man driving all of this according to some of the witness testimony we've heard. >> now we mentioned fulton county and how quickly things are moving there. just yesterday we found out the fulton county d.a. subpoenaed the republican congressman jodi heiss, a major ally of president trump who also voted to overturn the election. yahoo news reported that the d.a. sent letters to multiple georgia republicans that they could be indicted. how quickly, evan, from the context you have is this investigation moving in georgia, this criminal investigation there, compared to the doj? >> well, there's a couple things that are happening. the georgia investigation, frankly, is a lot simpler. we're talking about one state, right. i think you can see from the

speed with which fani willis' office is moving they believe they have something they can get at, at least possibly maybe bringing charges and maybe having some of those people end up cooperating against someone higher which would be, of course, the former president. in the case of the justice department they have perhaps a little more complicated investigation because they are looking at the process across seven states, erin. it's not just georgia. they are looking at other states and all of these electors, dozens of them. that is a complicated investigation, which is also, by the way, moving more quickly than people realize. >> evan perez, thank you very much. next, a stark new warning tonight from the administration after u.s. intelligence reveals putin's next move in ukraine. plus, biden takes executive action on americans detained abroad, americans like the wnba star brittney griner. griner's former coach who once calmed the administration's treatment of griner disgusting, is my guest tonight.

t-mobile has 5g here, here...and we also cover you up here. yep! get free wi-fi, now with streaming, all flight long. we do coverage differently. with expanded high-speed data across the world. so you're connected here, and...here? not yet. but down here you're covered,

with a year of aaa roadside assistance on us. on the ground, in the air, overseas... t-mobile has coverage beyond the expected. i have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. now, there's skyrizi. with skyrizi 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months, after just 2 doses. skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms such as fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches or coughs,

or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. ♪ nothing is everything ♪ talk to your dermatologist about skyrizi. learn how abbvie could help you save. meltin', breadin', bakin', shreddin'. slicin', dicin', spicin', ricin'. if you're swissing it, then you're missing it. fryin', flyin', savorin', favorin'. over rotini. inside a panini. egging, maining, siding, plain-ing. debunk the inglorious. one shape's victorious. kraft singles. square it.

new tonight the provocative show of force in putin's first

trip outside the former soviet union since he invaded ukraine traveling to tehran where he met with the presidents of iran and turkey even, look at this, holding hands with them. and iran rolled out the red carpet, literally to welcome putin when he arrived at the airport this is just days after the white house says it expects iran to give russia hundreds of drones to use against ukraine and that russian officials visited iran to look at them. senior national security correspondent alex marquaard. this visible hand holding, you know, replacing the big table and these meetings. >> reporter: erin, you are right. president putin not getting out of russia much these days. his second trip since he launched his war on ukraine in early february, a trip the u.s. says is driven by the isolation and desperation that russia is feeling these days, they're facing enormous economic and political pressure they've been isolated by the west and they are turning to iran, another

country that has been isolated by the west. when you hear what the leader said, ayatollah khamenei, talking about how nato is dangerous and russia had no choice but to act in ukraine and you are seeing an example the biden administration says of that desperation in the drone deal. russia expected to strike a deal and buy hundreds of iranian drones. a spokesman, john kirby, saying there is no evidence yet that the sale has happened or that training has happened but they do believe russia has to buy these drones because they have suffered so many losses militarily in ukraine and they are facing enormous economic pressure, and so they need iran to replenish their military stockpile. erin? >> so we also, alex, heard a new warning from the white house about putin's invasion of ukraine and what is coming next. here it is.

>> we are seeing ample evidence russia intends to annex additional ukrainian territory. russia is beginning to roll out a version of what you could call an annexation playbook very similar to the one we saw in 2014. >> similar to the one in 2014 but presumably by saying that we're talking about more than the donbas. what does the intel say, alex, about what putin is looking at in terms of annexation? >> reporter: that ample evidence shows russia wants to annex four different regions in eastern and southern ukraine, the donbas you mentioned. that is comprised of luhansk and donetsk. they had breakaway republics the past eight years. when you move further south the regions of zaporizhzhia and kherson. these are the four regions where russia has the most control. but by no means total control n. kherson, that was an area taken early on by russian forces after they invaded in february and

local officials there backed by moscow said they are preparing for a referendum, and this is what the white house is saying we can expect, what they call a sham referendum modeled on what happened in crimea in 2014. i was on the ground in crimea and saw the referendum that happened after russia invaded. it was totally illegitimate voe, but it allowed russia to be able to say, see, these people want to be part of russia and, therefore, we are going to take over this huge land mass. you're starting to see according to the white house russia preparing the groundwork by imposing the use of the ruble, by installing puppet governments and by forcing ukrainians in those regions to apply for russian citizenship. erin? >> using bureaucracy as a cloak of legitimacy. alex, thank you so much. i want to go to james clapper, the former national intelligence director under president obama

and retired lieutenant general in the u.s. air force. general clapper, i want to start with you with this trip to iran. what message is putin sending? as alex pointed out, the first time he left russia since covid was to go meet president xi after the olympics, right? this is a significant trip for him to make. what was the message? >> well, to me, erin, this is akin to mr. rogers looking for friends. i think the most significant aspect about this was where he didn't go as in beijing. so he has to resort to visiting another pariah state for a grip and grin photo-op. and i don't think a whole lot of substance. >> hmm. >> i think it does reflect putin's desire to be seen as a legitimate player on the international stage, and when he can sit with a foreign head of

state, that, i think in his mind, burnishes his stature. >> so what about the other thing we pointed out, the holding hands, and the reason that is significant is obviously throughout so many meetings before the ukraine invasion and after, putin sat at that gigantic table, right, and it was almost a mockery because it was so absurd. but yet today he does sit and hold hands, right? he's very close with these world leaders. do you see anything in that? i'm talking about from a psychological perspective, anything you can read into it? >> well, it is an interesting dimension from theatrics or image standpoint that he would agree to be that close. but you can bet that there was some careful testing and screening done before either party would agree to shake hands

or have any of that intimate proximity. but it was interesting given the long table meetings and all of that that he decided he needed to do that perhaps to ingratiate himself. >> "the financial times" is reporting house speaker pelosi is possibly traveling to taiwan during a tour of asia next month, and china threatened a war, essentially, as a response. a commentator for "the global times" run by the chinese government, tweeted something that stood out to me. the tweet was if she really dares to visit taiwan it will be a major serious incident. she will be the enemy that divides china. she will experience a risky visit. she will also bear historical responsibility for possibly triggering a military conflict in the taiwan strait.

so they're saying this could trigger an actual war and threatening her person. what do you make of that? should she stay away from taiwan because of this? does this rhetoric mean anything to you? >> well, no. i think this is natural chinese reaction, and if they can scare us off with rhetoric, they'll do it. i think it's a good thing to remember about the threatening rhetoric of putin in the early stages of the invasion when he implied fairly directly the use of nuclear weapons. well, we haven't seen that happen. i think i would vote for not being intimidated by standard chinese rhetoric. i think the chinese, frankly, erin, are on their own timetable with respect to taiwan. and i also think that what they have seen happen in ukraine is going to give them pause.

>> an interesting and powerful take. thank you so much, general clapper. next, president biden asked to bring americans overseas, including wnba star brittney griner home. a former coach who had once characterized the administration's response as terrible is my guest. has his opinion changed? plus, just in, uvalde school officials have sent a message to the school's police chief arredondo about his future. u won't take a time-out one dose of ububrelvy works fast it can quicklyly stop migraine in its tracks within 2 hours without worrying if it's too o late or where you are unlike older medicines, ubrelvy is a pill that directly blocks a protein believed to be a cause of migraine. do not take with strong cyp3a4 inhibitors. most common side effects were nausea and tiredness. migraine pain relief starts with u learn how abbvie could help you save. ask about ubrelvy, the anytime, anywhere migraine medicine.

to be healthier, knowledge is everything. steps. calories. exercise minutes. because proven quality sleep is vital to our health and wellness, only the sleep number 360 smart bed keeps you cool, then senses and effortlessly adjusts for your best sleep. and tells you exactly how well you slept, with your sleepiq score. our smart sleepers get 28 minutes more restful sleep per night. so, you can be your best for yourself and those you care about most. and now, save 40% on the sleep number 360 special edition smart bed queen now only $1,499. only for a limited time. check out this time space wormhole i creat

how's it work? let me see your togo, and i'll show you. "poof" burt, you have my lunch. introducing togo's new pastrami cheese ste loaded with our world famous pastrami, sauteed mushrooms, roasted red peppers, and smothered with melty american cheese. the new pastrami cheese steak. try steak or chicken, too. now at togo's when you need help it's great to be in sync with customer service. a team of reps who can anticipate the next step genesys technology is changing the way customer service teams anticipate what customers need. because happy customers are music to our ears. genesys, we're behind every customer smile.

president biden today issuing an executive order aimed at getting detained americans back home. basically what it does is give the administration the power to impose both sanctions and visa bans on anyone involved in hostage taking or wrongful detentions. the order coming amid criticism that the white house simply has not done enough on this pressing issue. now one of the most high-profile cases is that of wnba star brittney griner. she's been held in russia for five months now, faces ten years in prison on drug charges. the coach of griner in russia is the general manager and head coach for the chicago sky. coach, i really appreciate your time because you have been very direct in how you feel about this. you called griner's treatment by

the united states disgusting at one point, implored the u.s. government to pretend it's tom brady that we're talking about here. what about her treatment made you feel this way? >> i've always thought that our entertainment sport were pillars that brought the world together, so they were kind of untouchable when it came to politics. and the fact that brittney has been wrongfully detained and casually been there for five months without -- i didn't feel it was a sense of urgency. i felt a little more comfort once i heard that biden's administration reached out to cherelle griner and let her know they were exhausting every option they could, but i felt like the sense of urgency should have been before that.

she's someone that has, you know, played for her country and represented her country at the highest fashion. she's someone that should be at the top of everybody's thoughts and minds when it comes to actually getting her home safely. >> to be honest, coach, it didn't seem that way when you made those comments. it made a difference. it certainly seems to have. and now biden signing the executive order. he has spoken with brittney's wife cherelle and bill richardson is also getting involved travel to moscow to try to negotiate her release. has your opinion of how her case is being handled changed? have they in some fundamental way upped the ante? >> i mean, i still feel the same until she gets home. i think the pressure should be on them to do whatever the they could do and whatever they can do.

it does give me some comfort that she is at the top of their minds. i won't feel, you know, resounding rest or comfort. i think i speak for the entire wnba when i say this. we need her home urgently at the earliest moment possible because with each day that goes by, it's one day more that she doesn't get to be with the people that really love and care about her. >> so, coach wade, you coached her for three years. you fknow her. what do you want me to know, everyone watching to know, about who she is? >> she's a beautiful person. very soft spoken, someone that -- we had a great time in russia as far as playing for the organization that we were a part of. she always represented the united states at the best of her

ability, was always there for the fans, was someone that, you know, was there for her friends and there for her family. very open to a lot of people, and she just carried herself with a certain pride, a pride that all americans would be proud of. so when you think about someone that represents the united states, she's that perfect person that does this and that's why i think she should be at the top of everybody's mind and hearts and thoughts when it comes to making sure she's safe. >> you are certainly keeping her there by speaking out. coach wade, i appreciate it. thank you. >> thank you. and next, parents of the students killed in the uvalde school shooting demanding officers be held accountable. but now a crucial question. who actually has the authority to discipline them? plus, 100 million americans in the danger zone as a brutal heat wave blankets a huge portion of the u.s.

with best western rewards you get rewarded when you stay on the road and on the go. find your rewards so you can rennect, disconnect, hold on tight and let go! stay two nights and get a free nht. book now at bestwestern.com. hold on tight and let go! it's true. everyone gets a free new samsung galaxy s22 with a galaxy trade-in. any year. any condition. really? even if my old phone looks like this? (♪ ♪) (gasps) dude - why? uhh - how could you? it's okay, people. i've trained for this. it's not complicated new and existing customers get a free new samsung galaxy s22 with a galaxy trade-in. any year. any condition. (♪ ♪)

do you struggle with occasional nerve aches in your hands or feet? try nervivenerve relief from the world's #1 selling nerve care company. nervive contains alpha lipoic acid to relieve occasional nerve aches, weakness and discomfort. try nervivenerve relief. okay everyone, our mission is to provide complete balanced nutrition for strength and energy. woo hoo! ensure, complete balanced nutrition with 27 vitamins and minerals. and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. ♪ ♪

people with plaque psoriasis, are rethinking the choices they make. like the shot they take. the memories they create. or the spin they initiate. otezla. it's a choice you can make. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, you can achieve clearer skin. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. otezla can cause serious allergic reactions. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you.

tonight cnn is learning that uvalde school officials have informed police chief pete arredondo his fate will be depp sided in a school board meet

that go will happen this weekend. a source telling cnn discussions are under way to remove arredondo after several parents demanded his firing during the school board meeting last night. one even state officials blame arredondo for the decision to wait more than an hour before any officers e entered the classroom. arredondo told state lawmakers he didn't consider himself the commander that day. rosa flores is out front. what are you learning about how much longer arredondo will sustain this back and forth? >> reporter: you know, apparently not long. that's according to the incredible sources that my colleague shimon prokupecz has. school officials have told pete arredondo they plan to meet saturday to determine his fate and further, that the board plans to vote to terminate him. this according to shimon's

sources. i reached out to arredondo's attorney. i have not heard back. >> parents are asking for apparena accoun accountability. the state agency tasked with disciplining police officers in texas says it doesn't have the authority to do so in this case. how come? >> reporter: you know, the description of the authority that they have is, quote, toothless. let me take you through this. in the state of texas, the agency regulates law enforcement and you and i both have seen that surveillance video, the bodycam video. i think it begs the question, should these police officers keep their badges. that's why i reached out and asked that question. will these findings be used to discipline officers? the response i got was that they don't really have the power to do anything based on these findings, based on this video. i did a little more digging.

turns out, it's being audited by the state legislature. this is normal practice, because agencies within the state have to be audited to make sure they're doing the work that's best for the people of texas. in that report, the state is describing the power that they have as, quote, toothless. then again, the state of texas isn't known for its regulation. >> not at all. amazing, as you say, fair to raise the question of whether they should have their badges. it's unbelievable. i don't think there's anyone in the country who wouldn't believe that to be the case. thank you so much. next, multiple heat waves around the globe. more than 1,000 people are believed to have been killed in the extreme heat, is igniting wildfires in europe. there are fires in london tonight.

fishing helps ease my mind. kinda like having liberty mutual. they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. woah! look out! [sfx: submarine rising out of water ] [ sfx: minion spits bobber ] minions are bitin' today. [ sfx: submarine hatch closes, submarine dives ] ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ hello! minions: the rise of gru, only in theaters. hey!

there's a reason comcast business powers more businesses than any other provider. actually, there's a few. comcast business offers the fastest, reliable network... the protection of security edge... and the most reliable 5g network. want me to keep going? i can... whether your small business is starting or growing, you need comcast business. technology solutions that put you ahead. get a great offer on internet and security, now with more speed and more bandwidth. plus find out how to get up to a $650 prepaid card with a qualifying bundle.

tonight, one-third of the u.s. population under heat related warnings. temperatures over 110 expected in the great plains. in europe, 21 countries under heat warnings. fires in london. temperatures in the uk reach 104 degrees, the hottest day ever recorded there. the meteorological office's chief scientist saying this would be impossible in the country in an undisrupted climate. sara sidner, what are you seeing? how odd does this feel there? >> reporter: it's surreal. the fire is out. the pictures that you were seeing from outside of london look like something that you would see from an infamous fires that we see every year in the summer in california. fire and stratospheric temperature score muches millions around the world.

the united kingdom has never been this hot. parts of bring ton hit 104 degrees. >> we never had this kind of heat. why would we be prepared. >> reporter: where no one and nothing is acclimated to this heat, it's a true danger to people and infrastructure alike. climate scientists say this is not normal. not by a long shot. the new normal will be that it gets exponentially hotter for longer. >> as long as we keep dumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the world will continue to warm. it's warming around a quarter of a degree per decade. >> reporter: in london, a runway buckled under the oppressive heat, stopping flights. it has been repaired. fear over buckling rail lines, one of the main modes of transportation in the country, led authorities to paint as many as they could with' reflective substance to repel the heat. trains at one of the busiest stations were stopped for hours. trains that were running were told to slow their speeds to lessen the friction on the

boiling hot tracks. less than 1% of the homes in the country have air conditioning. inside, temperatures are like being inside an oven in the heat. >> the world is burning. rewith doing nothing about it. we are consuming, the industry is running and nobody is doing anything about the climate. >> reporter: the land is literally burning. london firefighters face one of the toughest days every. the heat fires deaths. europe is looking a lot like the united states where more than 100 million people are under heat advisories from texas to kentucky. fires are burning thousands of acres in texas and oklahoma, where temperatures have reached over 110 degrees. there is no immediate end in sight. as millions try to find relief. >> we just have to adapt. our homes have to change, our way of life has to change.

>> reporter: that's easier said than done. we should mention that in arizona, a temperature of 100 or 104 is like a cool summer day there. but here in the uk, it's truly dangerous, with the government telling people not to go anywhere and not to do anything until the heat subsides. >> incredible. sara sidner, thank you. live from london tonight. thanks for joining us. "ac 360" starts now. good evening. the first trial, the first person charged with denying a subpoena to appear before the house january 6 committee is now fully under way. we're not just talking about any person. this is steve bannon, one-time "time" magazine cover boy who was in and out of the president's administration and whose name has come up with the january 6 committee hearings. in opening statements today, federal prosecutors argue the right wing podcaster put himself above the law. the defense