space suits but those won't be ready until at least 2025. >> nasa has gotten quite good at keeping these old clunkers running. i think nasa has a really capable team that will keep these suits going as long as they have to. but the right thing is to get a new suit and the sooner the better. >> reporter: kristen fisher, cnn, new york. >> really unbelievable. thank you so much for joining us. ac "360" starts now. good evening. the reckless outrageous lies of alex jones and the conspiracy theories he spread about the mass shooting at sandy hook elementary school that killed 26, now carries a price for him and a big one. $45.2 million. i'm jim sciutto in again nfor anderson tonight. that's how much a texas jury awarded damages to the family of

children killed in a deadly mass shootings. one of the parents spoke to reporters after her son was murdered and spoke about the need for lessons at this moment in time. >> care and concern is so important and we saw what happens when there is a lot of that. i hope that everyone who is reading these articles and choose love with your kids because you can, that means being present in the moment with them. looking into their eyes, giving them a hug and just moving from there. just every moment realize that you have a choice and your choice is love. >> that's good advice and they are brave words from a mother

who lost who was most precious to her. the judge in this trial could reduce today's figure due to a texas law that will not, though, mark the end of alex jones' legal troubles. two more lawsuits ahead brought by more parents of those killed at sandy hook and the fate of records of his private conversations now sought by the january 6th committee. let's begin tonight with drew griffin. first, let's begin with this award, $45.2 million awarded today. how did the jury come to this decision? >> the jury was given a bunch of financial information, the net worth that they thought that alex jones was worth, and more importantly, as you said, this is the punitive phase, this is the punishment phase. not what damages emotionally did alex jones put upon these two parents, but how should we punish him for what he did to these parents and to make sure

he never does it again, jim. which he has done over and over again to other people. so the jury was asked that question, three different questions. they came back with their sum and is the sums added up to this pretty big punishing blow. this would be 75% of the generated income from alex jones' media empire in a year. so it is a big hit. if it holds, as you said, there are caps in texas on these punitive penalties. >> just that figure, as you say, not even all that he earns in a year, shows that there's money in the business of disinformation. can you explain what happened earlier this morning when the plaintiffs called an economist to the stand. what was revealed about his finances. >> i think the first big thing that was revealed is just like in this trial, alex jones and his attorneys were not forthcoming in getting information to the plaintiffs about what they had. so the economists said, look, i

had bare bones, i had to dig around for this information. what he said was the alex jones empire is worth between 135 and $270 million a year. he also said that in the last year, there's been some interesting moves. in 2021 is when alex jones collectively lost these three lawsuits which he now has to pay for. it was after that he started moving around. he took a loan of $62 million or pulled $62 million out and then $11,000 a day was being transferred into other businesses or another business that he controls. so, you know, the economist was basically saying there's a lot of money there. we can't find it all. there's a lot of moving around that took place, but i think the jury did agree that this alex jones empire is worth a lot of money, it makes a lot of money and now if this jury holds up,

this jer vury verdict holds up,s going to have to pay a lot of money. >> paul callan, to your credit, you said last night you expected a far larger award in the punitive phase of this, i do want to play what jones' attorney said immediately after the verdict. have a listen. >> i think the verdict was too high. as for punitive damages, texas law caps them at $750,000 per plaintiff. so this verdict today amounts to $1.5 million in punitives. alex jones will be on the air today. he'll be on the air tomorrow. he'll be on the air next week. he's going to keep doing his job holding the power structure accountable. that's our only statement. >> you've spoken to mr. jones today. what was his reaction? >> his reaction was that, you know, he had been found guilty

before he ever had a chance to defend this case on the merits. that the -- the first amendment is under siege and he looks forward to continuing the fight. >> from a legal standpoint, paul, you know that texas law. it has these caps here. is it a hard cap or is there a way around that? >> well, it's -- you know, it's an indication that the texas legislature doesn't trust its own juries to make a decision. that cap was meant to prevent large corporations like gm from being put out of business by a trillion dollar verdict. it wasn't meant to put somebody like alex jones out of business and here you have the audacity of this attorney representing him to celebrate the fact that he's going to be back on the air again immediately. instead of demonstrating some remorse for these remarks that he said, saying that the shattered bodies of these elementary schoolchildren were

really crisis actors pretending to be dead, that's what he did. he doesn't deserve to be on any outlet and he deserves to be in jail in addition to that. perjury occurred in this trial and i really think that austin prosecutors should be looking carefully at that. >> just on that larger question, he's claiming that this is a freedom of expression case. what's the legal history here, right, when someone -- let's be frank. this is not holding the power structure accountable here. he was lying about a demonstrable crime here, dead children, it's real. and he was lying about it and making money about it. how do courts -- how does the law see that kind of expression? >> well, this is complete and utter nonsense that the first amendment somehow protects him. it doesn't protect him any more than it protects somebody f

yelling "fire" in a fear. it doesn't give you the right to make up lies to sell nutritional supplements which is what -- his business model is amazing. this came out during the trial. he's got a whole staff of people that he's hired to make up lies and create these stories like the story he made up about sandy hook and then that draws in an audience and then he tries to sell them nutritional supplements that will make them manly men. that's his business model. if he thinks the first amendment of the united states protects that business model, he's got another thing coming. it doesn't. and no court will say it does. >> drew, you've been covering this for some time. has his audience suffered from the revelation, if you want to call it that, but the confirmation that he's been peddling lies. based on his income, seems like he's still got an audience. >> it's only bolstered.

in fact, he was deplatformed by google, all the outlets. we thought his business would take a hit. it turns out, that's not the case. he may have had a covid boost because part of his scare tactics also involved buy these nutritional supplements, they'll prevent covid, whatever garble. if you watch his show, you will realize, these people are way down the rabbit hole, jim. and they believe what alex jones tells them. and what alex jones has told them about this trial, believe it or not, is george bezos is running a program to attack him in this court and this is going to spread out throughout the rest of the country to anybody else who is seeking truth like alex jones. these people believe it. >> listen, they do. and sometimes they follow through on it. that's why a gunman showed up at a pizza place here in d.c. based

on some of these lies. paul, is this a symbolic award, i suppose, is the question. given texas law, what avenues do the plaintiffs have to get the money the jury awarded them or is it more likely a symbolic victory? >> well, i think that the first part of the verdict, the 4.1 million is a pretty secure amount that they'll be able to collect and they be able to collect 1.5 million in punitive damages. it caps punitives at $750,000 per person. could they take that up to the supreme court, maybe they could at some point in time, but i wouldn't be overly optimistic about that number or that law being ruled unconstitutional because a lot of states have enacted caps on punitive damages. they're up against that. bear in mind, it's not over for this guy. he's facing at least eight other trials in connecticut where

there will be enormous verdicts against him as well and hopefully those verdicts will be enough to wipe him out and take him off the air where he does not deserve to be. >> another chapter of this, drew, is -- of course these text messages that will reveal that his own attorney supplied to the plaintiffs' attorneys here, we know the january 6th committee is interested in that because of his alleged role in the january 6th insurrection. what is the latest? >> this was really surprising. after the jury was let go, the proceedings continued, the judge was wrapping up a few emotions and the guy who has those two years of text messages asked the just what should i do? can i give these to congress? and he said, i thought you already had. and she said, there's -- i'm summarizing now, but she basically said, i'm not going to stand between you and congress in what you guys want to swap material.

so basically i think if mark bankston wants to give those communications to the january 6th committee, whom apparently has asked for them, they could be in the hands right now as far as i know. >> more chapters to come. thanks so much to both of you. >> thank you, jim. for more, catch the special report, megaphone for conspiracy, the alex jones story tonight at 11:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. next, the shout-out that alex jones got today at the conservative movement's big convention. that and the showcase it became for the newest elegroup of elecn designers. >> and amy klobuchar on what is shaping up to be a big win for the president but also calls for fellow democrats for biden not to run in 2024.

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alex jones had few defenders in court today but a very

different story at the conservative political action conference in dallas. there amid some of the leading names in the republican maga verse, including the former president who will be there tomorrow, was congresswoman marjorie taylor greene. she took a moment to highlight the people she claims are persecuting alex jones. >> why do they get to lie about president trump, his administration, republicans like me, why do they get away with it? yet at the same time, you want to know something, like, somebody like alex jones who did say some things but yet, he's being politically persecuted right now and being forced to pay out millions and millions of dollars and no one agrees with what he said. but what we're tired of is the political persecution. >> yesterday's keynote speaker, you should know, hungarian prime

minister viktor orban. he said he wanted to prevent europe from becoming a mixed race continent. and conspiracy theories were everywhere there. and here's the my pillow guy talking about sinister voting machines. >> over 54 countries have been taken by the machines and you never get to go back. venezuela, australia, they're gone. you don't get to vote out the machines once they're there. once they're there, you don't get your country back. >> there's no evidence of that. also on display, a performance art jail cell depicting a january 6th defendant and along with all of that, some of the next wave of trump accolades fresh from primary victories this week. here's more. >> reporter: fresh off a republican primary victory, kari

lake arrives to a hero's welcome at the conservative political action conference in dallas. >> we did it. >> reporter: in her home state, he's leading in every single county centering her campaign on donald trump's lie about the 2020 election, a position she pledges she will not pivot away from. >> we outvoted the fraud. we didn't listen to what the fake news had to say. the maga movement rose up and voted like their lives depended on it. >> trump endorsed election-denying candidates won up and down arizona's ballot tuesday. blake masters and secretary of state candidate mark fincham says he wants to eliminate all voting machines. >> we can do that. we used to do. >> reporter: election experts say that would mean months long counts.

not just in arizona. >> thank you, michigan. >> reporter: but in michigan this week, republican gubernatorial nominee tutor dixon. >> do you believe donald trump legitimately won the 2020 election in michigan? >> yes. >> reporter: now dixon is dodging that question. >> there were some things that happened in michigan that didn't happen in other states which are very concerning. >> reporter: these wins are just the latest in the steady advance by those sowing distrust in elections being put on the november ballot. a secretary of state running to oversee his state's election. >> i believe it was stolen, yeah. i believe that there were enough irregularities that we need to do an audit. >> reporter: and then there's another secretary of state candidate who doesn't believe the 2020 results. election liars on state ballots show trump's grip on the develop

celebrated by mike lindell at cpac. >> everybody is going to vote these great candidates like kari lake and override the machines. >> reporter: on the cpac agenda. >> they stole the 2020 election. >> reporter: it is relitigating 2020 and also looking ahead to november and beyond. >> they want to rig elections, institutionalize voter fraud, we're not going to allow it. >> i see your hat there. how important is it for you to talk about 2020 as we look at 2022. >> he won. he won in 2020 hands down across the nation. >> reporter: what does this say about where the republican party is in this country? >> maga. they're with maga. they're with trump. they're trump followers. >> reporter: and that woman including the gentleman before her say that they are eagerly awaiting tomorrow's closing speaker. that speaker will be donald trump. we fully expect that he will be

talking about his chosen slate of primary winners. he had a very good week when it came to picking the winners in michigan, arizona, and across the country. not on the official schedule tomorrow, jim, is kari lake, but she did tweet that she will be the speaker right before trump. jim? >> thanks so much for covering. joining us now, cnn political analyst and washington correspondent maggie haberman, and a cnn political commentator during the trump white house. good to have you both on tonight. thanks so much for joining. maggie, in terms of his endorsements, it's been a good week for the former president in several of these primaries in a number of states. what is your sense of what he believes he gains from these endorsements and speeches and do you believe -- and you've been covering him longer than anyone -- this is building up to another presidential run. >> the honest answer, jim, is

what he gains from it is attention and people talking about him as we are and other people are. and that's how he looks at this. he tends to treat these endorsements as if it's, you know, a scoreboard as opposed to sort of an ongoing amassing of supporters and, you know, he dives into some of these primaries, you know, at the last minute, like in the case of tutor dixon, in some cases it's without giving it much aforethought. in missouri, he endorsed two of the three i think it was erics in the senate race. he did have a good week in terms of the fact -- the candidates that he backed won. whether it is all building to another presidential campaign, i think that, you know, the main impetus for him running again, jim, is not because he wants the job again, he will talk about that, but the second that he says that he is not running, the crown in the republican party goes to somebody else and i think it's as simple as that. >> do the ongoing prosecutions

both january 6th committee but more notably the doj possible criminal prosecution, is that a factor? you've heard theorizing that he wants to run because he thinks that would headoff potential criminal charges, indictments. >> yeah, i believe it is based on my reporting, yes. this is something that he has alluded to in some conversations. he tries to project confidence about -- at least about the doj investigation. he has openly talked more worriedly about the georgia investigation in fulton county into his actions in that state. however, donald trump fears investigations generally speaking and the fact that the doj is calling in witnesses from the white house only ups the level of concern. >> alissa, it was notable when you saw the speeches among well-known election deniers,

that was senator rick scott talking about stolen elections. he's the chairman of the republican party senatorial committee. he's trying to get senators elected across the country. does trumpism own the party? you see folks pushing back at it, liz cheneys of the world and so on, but does it own the party right now? >> it does. it does. and, listen, the former president's grip is very strong on the party but i actually think much of what he created is even more powerful than him. denying the results of the 2020 election is essentially a litmus test now to be an elected republican in office. rick scott, this is not a man who thinks that the election was not won by joe biden. you're expected to say that. i'm seeing more and more very kind of sound-minded, serious people who have served in office before starting to embrace the big lie. maggie makes a good point. i believe the former president is going to run again and it is simply because it could just as

easily be a ron desantis or someone else that could hype up this base and energize them. >> state by state, are these maga candidates, the election deniers strong or weak candidates in the general election in your view, alissa? >> largely -- statewide, they're lar largely weak. jd advvance is not doing as wels he should in red ohio against tim ryan, a popular moderate democrat. there are some instances statewide, hershel walker is not doing as well as he should be. 60% of republican voters think that either the election was stolen or there was some sort of significant fraud. so this is an issue that is about educating the voters, like we can't just blame the candidates so much as party

leaders at every level have embraced this lie and it's bled down into the voters. peter meyer, a good member of congress, lost. they did put money against him in support of boosting his candidate, republican voters still came out for that person. that's the problem. we got to educate the voters. >> i asked senator klobuchar about that phenomenon. >> we had a lot from liz cheney on cnn talking about how important -- how it is more important for her to stop donald trump in her view from becoming president again than to save her own congressional career as she's about to face a primary. does she have a viable shot at the republican nomination? 2024 if she were to decide to run? >> it's very hard, jim, to see what the lean in this republican party is for liz cheney. there are places where she might do better than others. i do think she would provoke donald trump if she ran. i think she would be in the same

way she's done something others have not done. she's focused attention on allegations of donald trump and misdeeds in a way that very few people have. some of that is the fact that he's not on twitter, it's the structure of this house select committee, some of it is the fact that he's not in office anymore. but all of that combined means that she has sort of laid out this factual case in a way that others haven't and i imagine she would continue doing that except she would get a lot of national media attention while running against him. and i think that would be something he would have to grapple with on a day-to-day basis as long as she was in a race. while i don't think there's a way for her to win, in her mind, there's probably a way that she could help him lose. >> so good to have you on. hope you have a good weekend. >> thank you. coming up next, what it looks like a big victory for president biden and the democrats ahead, but also doubts within his own party about whether he should run again. i asked senator amy klobuchar about those topics and that's coming up.

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it is a far cry from the original build back better legislation president trump tried to pass, but tonight with the sign-off from senators joe manchin and kyrsten sinema, a

smaller more stream lined package now looks within reach. democrats are claiming victory. republicans are united in their opposition. the truth is, though, the bill includes provisions that have been popular with some in the gop in the past and unpopular with some democrats. when you look closely what you see are a series of trade-offs. here are the facts about what's in the legislation as it stands. it would be the biggest climate investment in u.s. invest with $360 billion. that includes consumer tax credits on electric vehicles, solar panels and energy efficient water heaters. but there are billions of tax credits to fossil fuel companies to encourage them to invest in clean manufacturing, and the bill supports expanding investment in domestic oil and gas exploration on federal lands and in federal waters. in fact, for the next decade, any new wind or solar energy

project on federal land can only be approved if a new lease is approved for oil and gas drilling as well. it abandons tax increases opposed by republicans, including raising the corporate tax rate, the personal tax rate or the capital gains tax rate. on prescription drugs, the bill would empower medicare to negotiate the prices of certain costly medications which has garnere garnered bipartisan support. it would extend the obamacare subsidies. add for the carried interest loophole, even president trump had expressed support for it multiple times in the past for eliminating that loophole. a word comes to mind here, a rare one in washington, d.c., these days, and that word is compromise. shortly before air time, i spoke about the bill with minnesota democratic congresswoman -- democratic senator amy

klobuchar. senator klobuchar, thanks so much for joining us. >> thanks, jim. it's great to be on again. >> you have a busy week ahead but also progress. joe manchin has made the point that in different times, a bill like this that, for instance, has trade-offs between green tax incentives but also more drilling permits for fossil fuel companies, that in a different time, this would get bipartisan support. what does it say to you that that's not even a question at this point? >> i can't really explain it because this is the inflation reduction act and our republican colleagues have been very focused on things in the past like deficit reduction and this actually reduces the deficit by $305 billion and it also, which i think is key, puts in a corporate minimum tax of 15% which really creates an even playing field for small businesses and retailers and

others that have been paying ta taxes as well as regular people. that is how we get that money for that deficit reduction which every economist who is -- including ones who have been critical in the past have looked at this and say there's a reason it's called the inflation reduction act. you add to that bringing down the pharmaceutical costs, something i've been waiting on for years, care so much about with negotiation under medicare and as you point out, the climate investments. 40% reduction by 2030 of greenhouse gasses. this is a win-win and we're excited no matter how late we're up all night, we're ready to get this done. and yes, it will be with democratic votes. >> a couple weeks ago folks might have thought this was dead in the water. but it is smaller, of course, than initial aspirations for this and your colleague, senator bernie sanders, he says that it doesn't go far enough specifically with the people who need the most relief right now.

folks suffering from higher prices given inflation. what's your answer to sanders but also to folks at home who might say, what's in this for me? >> first of all, i have a lot of respect for bernie and it's important for people to know he will be supporting this bill. we are united on this bill. and like me, he would like to see more. i would like to actually see -- he and i have joined together on prescription drugs. we've jointly worked on this and that means more drugs being negotiated in the future. bernie and i would like to put all the drugs in there, just like we have with the va. our veterans deserve a good deal. i use that as an example because i think it's glass half full, not half empty. >> objectively, it's been a good week, arguably a good month for the president beyond the progress on this budget bill, al zawahiri killed in afghanistan, the passing of the pact act. but as you know, there's no public noise among some

democrats about whether president biden should run in 2024. two of your house democratic colleagues from the state of minnesota recently said they don't think he should run again. and i wonder what's your response to that? >> my response is simple, he has said he's running again and i support him. i think that when we get home for august and we know these elections are coming up, the midterms, the focus actually will be on everything we got done, as you pointed out. many of these things are focused on the costs that people are facing right now. and that's going to be an important, important message for us to bring home, that we're tackling these problems for the people at home. >> as you know, michigan gop congressman, one of the ten house republicans voted to impeach the president this year, he lost his primary last week and demohis opponent was proppe.

whether that was the divisive factor, we don't know. is it acceptable for democrats to be boosting election deniers among republican candidates in primaries? >> well, i wouldn't be doing it in my race. i've never done things like that. i think you've seen this kind of behavior on both sides of the aisle. we've seen republicans messing around as well. what i would like to see through all of this, i don't care if you're a democrat or republican, i think that's why you're seeing democrats doing it too, i like to see better campaign finance laws that basically and end citizens united and all of this dark money, outside money, and make people responsible for the ads they're running themselves. my focus right now, fixing the electoral count act that we're close to doing, getting the freedom to vote act passed that i've led, making sure we have those campaign finance rules.

that would go a long way toward get at some of what you're seeing of spending in other races. senator, we appreciate you joining the program tonight. >> thank you. it was great to be on. still coming up, the first piece of encouraging news for the families of brittney griner and paul whelan. the brother of paul whelan is going to join us next.

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encouraging signs tonight perhaps for the families of brittney griner and paul whelan. the russian foreign minister said he's, quote, ready to discuss their imprisonment. president biden has said he is hopeful. i'm joined by the brother of paul whelan, david whelan. good to have you on tonight. >> thanks so much for having me. >> i know this has been a long road for you and your family. 1,316 days i believe that your brother has been held in russia. as you hear those words from russian officials, do you have a sense of hope that perhaps a deal could be coming? >> there's still many hurdles to cross and time to pass, but the offer that that they've made appears to be in their self-interest to take it. >> the discussion has been that brittney griner and your brother being released at the same time. does it concern you at all that they might be split up in some way, that your brother would not be part of such a swap?

>> absolutely. all of the detention cases are separate cases. they're separate individuals and the american government has to work on each one separately. although they've made an offer that would bring both of them home, the russians are sticklers about parity. if the u.s. government kicks out 25 russians, the russian government will kick out 25 americans. i could see the russians coming back and asking for either an additional russian to be freed or to limit it to one american for one russian. >> i know it only adds to your family's stress and i feel for you. you have said that your parents are able thankfully to speak with paul regularly. when was the last time -- what's the most recent you've heard from him? they spoke to him this week, i think on wednesday, and he sounds like he's doing the best

he can day to day. he's hopeful i think like we are. in order to survive 16 years in a labor colony, he focuses on today and focuses maybe on tomorrow but not too much further. >> it's amazing when you hear these terms, penal colony, labor colony, that they exist in the 21st century, but that's how russia operates. as i mentioned before, 1,316 days you keep tram of this on social media. and a lot of it is the uncertainty, right, you don't know how long it will be. what advice do you have for brittney griner's family for dealing with that unknown? >> i think every family has to find their own way, their own path. it's a personal experience and not a positive one. i would say to focus on the long term and use your resources as wisely as you can. you have limited resources. someone once said to me, i would do anything for my brother and you really want to do anything for your brother, but you have to have a job and you have kids to take care of and parents to

take care of and you will end up making choices that you'll regret having to make but you'll have to. >> survival is an operative word. is there anything else you would like to say to secretary blinken, other u.s. officials involved to express just how much you want your brother back home? >> first i would say thank you. i think that the u.s. government really has done everything it can so far to bring paul home. it has made an offer. it has made a difficult offer. president biden has supported it. it's got the support of the inner agency and now it's up to the russian government. and i think that's where wrongful detentions become tricky. you have to wait for the hostage taker to agree as well. >> our heart goes out to you and your family and to paul. we wish you the best and we wish that good news is coming soon. >> i hope so too. thanks, jim. coming up next, long lines for the monkeypox vaccine as the biden administration now call it is outbreak a public health

emergency and takes some heat for its handling of the situation. heyyy! (steins breaking) your cousin. ♪ from boston. ♪ it means, “ok-to-beer-fest”. another sam octoberfest? boston. ♪ nein. make it ten! i like this guy (cheers)

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there are now monkeypox cases confirmed across the country in all but two states, wyoming and montana. the biden administration has declared the outbreak a public health emergency. in the meantime, lines for the shots are long in some places, and there's concern over the lack of overall urgency. here's cnn's david culver. >> we started early, just before 6:00 a.m. our destination, familiar to our uber driver. we were her third passenger that morning also headed to san francisco's zuckerberg general hospital. as we arrived, so, too, the son, revealing a line with dozens, mostly men, camped out. waiting. some nearly all night. >> security guard telling me

that this line started building around 2:00 in the morning. >> reporter: all of them wanting to be vaccinated against the monkeypox virus. cody aarons tells me he's been trying for weeks, from new york to now here in the barrier. >> it definitely shows that people are concerned about it. >> reporter: and willing to stand in hours-long lines that spill on to the sidewalk. inside, exhausted hospital staff face another day's surge in vaccine demand. covid-19, still raging. and now, monkeypox. >> i think one of our biggest challenges is really just the inconsistency of the supply. >> reporter: here in california, nearly all of those who have reported probable or confirmed cases, more than 98%, are men, with 97% of patients identifying as lgbtq. while deaths are rare, the symptoms are visible and painful. >> i had between 600 and 800 lesions. it was like someone taking like a hole puncher all over my body, right under my skin.

so there are points where i couldn't walk, i couldn't touch things. really difficult. >> reporter: kevin huang says his symptoms lasted some two weeks. he chronicled his recovery on social media. >> i think i really just didn't want to be alone. i wanted to connect with people and see if other people were also experiencing what i was. >> reporter: a familiar sentiment for longtime lgbtq advocates living and working in san francisco's famed castro district. >> you get a sense that there is this growing uneasiness around monkeypox. for a lot of people, it's eerily reminiscent of what they experienced here in the early '80s with the aids crisis. there's fear, there's anger, there's anxiety, and there's stigma. it's personal for tylertermere. he runs the san francisco aids fo foundation and lives with hiv. >> we have a responsibility to not further stigmatize or politicize this issue. we're a community that has long-faced many issues, dating all the way back to the earliest days of the hiv epidemic. >> reporter: facing mounting

criticisms for its handling of the outbreak, on thursday, the biden administration declared monkeypox a public health emergency. >> the feeling that this is not getting the attention that it would if it were impacting straight people is real. >> reporter: back on san francisco's front lines. cody aarons makes his third attempt to get vaccinated against the virus. off-camera, a hospital staffer makes an announcement to the crowd. just 45 minutes into the hospital's distribution -- >> oh, no guarantee for vaccines. >> reporter: they had already reached their daily limit. >> reporter: and jim, this declaration of a public health emergency, local officials expect it should help a little bit in speeding up the vaccine rollout. another big issue, though, is production backlog. they have a significant amount of the vaccine available. the issue is, it's in bulk, large bags. they're now trying to find manufacturers that can bottle, cap, and label those, so as to get them to the front line as

quickly as possible. but that's going to take time. >> no question. david culver, good to have you on the story. and we'll be right back. that's the one. at university of phoenix, you could earn your m master's degree in less ththan a year for under $11k. learn more at phoeoenix.edu announcer: type 2 diabetes? discover the power of 3 in the ozempic® tri-zone. in my ozempic® tri-zone, i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. announcer: ozempic® provides powerful a1c reduction. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. and you may lose weight. adults lost up to 14 pounds. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it.

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tune into cnn sunday night at 8:00 for the "a.c. 360" special report, what happened in uvalde. it is a closer look at the misinformation spread after 19 children and 2 teachers were killed and what took place during the 77 minutes before law enforcement finally confronted the gunman.

>> more and more officers ary, but no one makes a move to neutralize the shooter, though clearly some officers know time of the essence. >> we've got to get in there, he keeps shooting. we've got to get in there. >> and it's clear police know where the gunman is. >> okay, guys, he's armed in the building. it's going to be in the building on the process. >> you can watch the "a.c. 360" special report, what really happened in uvalde sunday, 8:00 p.m. eastern, here on cnn. the news continues. let's hand it over to the great laura kocoates. >> have a wonderful weekend, my friend. thank you, everyone. i'm laura coates. this is cnn tonight. look, we've all been waiting to see what lies might cost, eventually. we know what they might cost a