i love to help people understand the world through their lens and invest accordingly. you can call us christmas eve at four o'clock in the morning. we're gonna always make sure that you have all of the financial tools and support to secure your financial future. that means a lot for my community and for every community.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com by this time tomorrow night, kevin mccarthy down the next speaker of the house or he could be the frustrated would-be speaker. house republicans could still be fighting over who the next speaker will be. that's where we could be tomorrow because that's where we are tonight. nothing is certain for republicans right now. what is certain is what gop members tend to do with their majority because they've said so. they intend to investigate the biden administration. we have details on that now from our randi kaye. >> we would love to talk to people in the biden family. >> reporter: republican congressman james comer of kentucky, as the incoming chair

of the house oversight and reform committee, he's determined to investigate whether joe biden and his son, hunter, are, as he puts it, compromised. >> this evidence raises troubling questions about whether president biden is a national security risk and about whether he is compromised by foreign government. >> reporter: this all dates back to 2014, when hunter biden joined barista, he was paid $50,000 a month. at the time his father was vice president and handling policy in ukraine for the obama administration. at the heart of the planned investigation are dozens of suspicious activity reports that republicans banks filed related to hunter biden's financial activities. as the incoming majority in the house, republicans can use subpoena power to get those reports as well as subpoena foreign entities and others who did business with hunter biden. there is no evidence joe biden did anything wrong, and hunter biden has denied any wrong

doing. >> we went to afghanistan because of a horrific attack that happened 20 years ago. that cannot explain why we should remain there in 2021. >> reporter: republicans have also signalled they'll investigate america's withdrawal from afghanistan. >> this is going to be a stain on this president and his presidency. and i think he's going to have blood on his hands for what they did. >> reporter: nearly 20 years after the u.s. established a presence in afghanistan, biden pulled the last american troops out of there in 2021. the withdrawal was brokered between the trump administration and the taliban in february of 2020 and left thousands of afghan citizens who had helped the u.s. in limbo. some made a frantic attempt to leave the country by clinging to airplane wings. in the days following biden's withdrawal announcement, 13 u.s. troops were killed, along with more than 170 afghans, in a bombing at the airport in kabul.

>> they totally blew this one. they completely underestimated the strength of the taliban. they didn't listen to the intelligence community. >> reporter: house republicans are threatening to subpoena state department officials over the flawed withdrawal. and there's this. >> we want to find where the origins of covid began so it never starts again. how did that happen? >> reporter: house republicans are also planning to investigate how the pandemic started, despite the fact two studies released in july both concluded that a seafood market in wuhan was most likely the epicenter for the virus. >> we want to bring in and interview all the scientists who, early on told dr. anthony fauci that this is obviously a lab leak. this is obviously man-made. but then they change their story. >> reporter: they are also vowing to investigate dr. anthony fauci, the newly retired director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases. >> all i have ever done was to recommend common sense, good,

cdc-recommended public health policies that have saved millions of lives. if you want to investigate me for that, go ahead. >> reporter: randi kaye, cnn. >> more now may lie ahead. joining us, former democratic national committee chairman howard dean, also cnn political analyst and former clinton administration official, kristen powers, and charlie d'anton, phil mattingly. republicans have been telegraphing their intentions to investigate the president and his family for quite some time. has the biden administration been preparing for this? >> intensively, anderson. quietly, but intensively, for months, back into the spring of this past year, where there was a recognition that this was likely coming because of the politics and they needed to be prepared. and that means hiring up lawyers, hiring up communications teams, hiring up legislative experts as well all to work on kind of a small team

that has been separated from the day-to-day operations at the white house. there have been private meetings between the members of this team and the various agencies that look like they are going to come under scrutiny from house republicans. when you talk to officials at the white house, they acknowledge, one, that they know this is coming. many are veterans. the obama administration dealt with this when republicans took control of the house in 2011. but also recognition they need to be prepared for whatever is coming. and that means trying to do as much work in advance as possible. a number of the lawyers that have been brought in are long-time veterans of oversight investigations, of dealing with capitol hill investigations. and they appear to be prepared. they just submitted a letter to the two lawmakers expected to lead the committees in the republican house majority, saying they are going to need to resubmit their requests for investigatory documents when they take over it. it's a bit of gainesmanship. it infuriated republicans.

>> governor dean, what would your advice be to the biden administration on how to go about dealing with various investigations? s do it exactly the way phil just described. the big risk for republicans is they're going to look like gas bags. this has been going on for a long time. this kind of attitude is what allowed us to pick up a seat in the senate and to do much better than expected in congress. people are tired of this stuff. so, it looks to me, based on the segments you ran from the republican congress people, that they're just going to cater to their base. that didn't help them win this election, and it's not going to help them win the next election. >> kirsten, do you agree with that? do you think the american people will be interested outside the base? that's the same arguments republicans were using about the january 6th investigation, saying, look, the american people don't care about this. do they? >> well, the bottom line is you don't just do the investigation

because the american people are going to care about it. whether they cared about it or not, the january 6 investigation needed to happen. so, the point is, is it a legitimate investigation? is there some sort of bipartisanship like there was on the january 6 committee? or is it just a fishing expedition? is it just a transparently political gambit, which i think most americans can look at what's going on with hunter biden and see that that's what they're doing. and in that sense, yes, i think people will kind of find this repellant, except for the base. they're going to look at this and say, look at all of the things that are going on in the world, and this is what you're doing. you're going -- trying to use the president's son to tarnish the president, even though there's really no evidence to support what you're saying that would even merit an investigation, let alone all of the time that you have expended on it. >> congressman, how do you see it? the likely next chairman of the house oversight subpoena said he

will likely not subpoena president biden but will subpoena hunter biden. >> republicans have to be very, very careful with this oversight. for example, the issue for oversight, if they're going to go down the road of impeaching secretary mayorkas, that's a loser. same thing on covid. there's legitimate issues on oversight on covid. again, attacking dr. fauci i think is a loser, a very popular figure. they have to always worry about overreach, whether it's on hunter biden or any other area of oversight. as somebody just said, republicans just can't play to their base through these oversight hearings. they have to talk to their more moderate members because the moderate members are sensitive to the independent and swing voters. those are the folks they need to be talking to in these oversight hearings. they need to do it in a more understated way without all the bombast, just trying to get the facts. and the administration is going to stiff arm the republicans as much as they can on all this

stuff. i would urge republicans to be very cautious, less bombast, more seriousness. >> phil, will the biden administration be treating all these investigations equally? are they expected to be more cooperative with some than others? >> no and yes. i don't think there's any question about this. when you talk to white house officials, they understand there are legitimate inquires they not only have to respond to but they should respond to. when you talk to officials, they point to the afghanistan withdrawals that they, a, know is coming, and b, know they're going to have to respond to in significant and substantive manners. and i believe they're going to do so, the same with homeland security and what they've done on the border up to this point. when you listen to what congressman dent said, formerly of the republican congress, it's not just a possibility that they think republicans may overreach. it's an expectation. i think politically they think that's advantageous to them. however, they are keenly aware that's not going to be every inquiry they get.

there are going to be some legitimate aspects they need to respond to, comply to, cooperate with. how they determine which is which though i think is still very much a strategy they're not willing to lay out in public. we're going to have to wait and see as these inquires come toward them. >> it's interesting because on the face of it, something like an investigation into covid, i mean, in some regards, that could make a lot of sense. was it a wise policy to close down schools? did it do more harm long term to children than previously thought because of their concern about overt overflow in hospitals? understanding things like that would would help for the next pandemic. i guess it is a fine line about is it just a political thing to go after fauci because that's politically popular? or is it an actual kind of 9/11 investigation to kind of understand something to prevent next time? >> i think you're right. but i think these particular republicans are incapable of conducting an investigation like that. i mean, when you start out

saying, no, the investigation was wrong and this was manufactured in a lab and let go by the chinese, you're kind of starting out from the bottom of a hole. you probably should stop -- i mean, there's some things that are worth investigating. i personally was very critical of the president during the afghanistan withdrawal. there's some things, some lessons, we could learn there. >> sure. >> but, i think it's much more likely -- look, these people are not playing with a full deck. i mean, look how much trouble mccarthy is having getting elected speaker, and he's -- i would not exactly call him a moderate. but he is somebody who probably understands how to be speaker. and he's got nine people in his caucus who appear to me to be completely crazy. and that is going to be the jim jordans of the world who are going to run this investigation. they're going to look terrible. there is fodder for a decent investigation and finding out what the facts were. i happen to think biden's done a very good job the last two and a half years.

but there have been mistakes. they're worth looking at. and the point you made that we should find out what we could have done better in covid, in terms of emptying the schools and so forth and so on, i think they're incapable of running an investigation like that because they're incapable of doing anything but being partisan. >> i really appreciate it. thank you. coming up next, newly released texts between white house officials, including hope hicks on january 6th. what it reveals about their awareness that they were part of something terribly wrong. and even as the lies keep coming, a charge on george santos that could be coming back to life as we speak. mailchimp takes the guesswork out of email marketing by analyzing data from billions of emails to offer suggestions for how to improve engagement and r revenue. guess less and sell more with intuit mailchimp. there's nothing like hitting the waves. there's nothing like volunteering. but my moderate-to-severe eczema can make it hard. dupixent helps heal your skin from within. so you can have clearer skin and noticely less itch.

serious alleic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. ask your doctor about dupixent. sometimes you're so busy taking care of everyone else you don't do enough for yourself, or your mouth. but eventually, it will remind you. when it does, aspen dental is here for you. we offer the custom dental treatments you need, all under one roof, right nearby. so we can bring more life to your smile... and more smile to your life... affordably. new patients without insurance can get a free complete exam and x-rays, and 20 percent off treatment plans. schedule your appointment today.

eva's about to learn her fear of missing out leads to overating. i totally eat stuff to not miss out. ♪ that's just a bit of psychology eva learned from noom weight. sign up now at noom.com [ melissa ] you hear about cancer. i just was afraid that i would lose my son. you think, why us? you know, why me? why my child? [ marlo thomas ] you can join the battle to save lives

by supporting st. jude children's research hospital. it is such a gift to give hope back to a family. as a dad, i'm eternally grateful. [ non-english speech ] [ marlo thomas ] join st. jude with your debit or credit card for only $19 a month, and we'll send you this st. jude t-shirt. st. jude is only possible because of the people who donate. you're saving children's lives. you're keeping families together during the hardest thing they've ever faced. [ marlo thomas ] please call or go online right now and become a st. jude partner in hope. if we use kevin's college fund, we can afford this house. the house whisperer! this house says use realtor.com to find options within your budget. good luck young man. realtor.com

to each their home. we all look like domestic terrorists now. that is just part of a text message sent january 6, 2021, sent by hope hicks. it comes from another batch of messages from the white house committee. before we bring you more on what she and other insiders had to say on that day, first what adam kinzinger has to say about charging the former president in connection with what he spent months helping investigate. >> if this is not a crime, i don't know what it is. if a president can incite an insurrection and not be held accountable, then really there's no limit to what a president can do or can't do. i think the justice department will do the right thing. i think he will be charged. and i frankly think he should be. if he is not guilty of a crime,

then i frankly fear for the future of this country. >> joining us now with more on the new material from the select committee, sara murray. what more did we learn about hope hicks? >> you get a sense of how much she and other aides stress were under. in these messages, hope hicks is texting with ivanka trump's chief of staff at the time. she says, in one day, he ended every future opportunity. that doesn't include speaking engagements at the local proud boys chapter. she said, this made us all unemployable, like, untouchable. god, i'm so fing mad. and this is really reflective of their text chain, where they're talking about what was unfolding on january 6th and how angry they were with what had just laid out, anderson. >> it is remarkable. they're sitting there in the white house watching the capitol being attacked, and they're worrying about their future job

prospects. that says a lot about hope hicks. the committee also released white house call logs from the days leading up to january 6. what was in them? >> to get an idea of where the former president's head was at the time leading up to january 6th. among the people he's calling vice president mike pence. he know their relationship had soured with the run-up to january 6th, trump still trying to get him involved the in blocking the certification of the election results. he's calling doug mastriano, a pennsylvania state senator, who pushed the stop the steal lies. he's reaching out to lindsey graham, who had been amenable to not certifying the election, had been willing to embrace fraud claims if only he could get evidence. he was reaching out to rand paul. he was reaching out to house minority leader kevin mccarthy, someone who on january 6th would desperately be trying to get in touch with donald trump. he was reaching out to john eastman, an attorney we now know

is involved with coming up with this notion that mike pence could block the certification of the election result. that is what the former president was focused on just ahead of january 6. >> thank you. alyssa farah griffin, who served as white house communications in the previous administration. also cnn legal and national analyst, carrie cordero. what do you make of these text messages, hope hicks texting, we all look like domestic terrorists now. this made us all unemployable. >> she's right. those who attacked the capitol that day were domestic terrorists. i'm glad she used that language. hope in the white house was an assistant to the president. that's the highest ranking level you can have as commissioned officer of the president. it's my belief that anyone that senior had a duty to speak out and to speak out publicly. what's remarkable two years after the fact is some of the

most compelling and important testimony we've gotten from january 6th was from junior people, people like cassidy hutchinson, people like sarah matthews, a deputy white house press secretary who spoke out even when her boss, kalely m mcenany, did not speak out. >> why do you think hope hicks didn't speak out. >> hope wasn't someone with a huge public or outward facing profile. so, i don't put it as much on her as much as people who had public images, people like the former chief of staff, the press secretary, and others. but i would like to hear her speak out. i thought that her testimony was actually extremely helpful. she clearly had insight into what the former president was thinking. and it sounds like she gave him sound counsel privately. that's something the public needs to know. >> she also texted, she said, alyssa looks like a genius, which is a reference to the fact you had resigned already. >> when i resigned a few weeks after the election, it was first and foremost because i was

wildly uncomfortable with the lies that were being told about the election being stolen. it wasn't true. i couldn't put my name and my integrity to that. i stayed a couple weeks because i wanted to help my staff find jobs, move on, and let them know there will be a transition of power and that matters. in this moment, you know, jobs don't matter at the end of the day. our integrity is the only thing we have. and i just wish that more people were thinking about the good of the country and the constitution as we look at this era, rather than just self-preservation. but that continues on. >> kerry, you hear outgoing republican congressman adam kinzinger saying he thinks the former president should be charged with january 6th. is there any indication as far as you can tell in term of what direction the doj may be moving. >> the department of justice is continuing its ongoing efforts, the attempts to subvert the election, to have fake ballots, to have electors that were not

legitimate. so, that investigation into electoral interferences is continuing to conduct. we don't know for sure how extensive that reach is to the former president himself. but the january 6th committee obviously feels very strongly that the evidence that they developed is relevant to the juste department's investigation. >> if they did decide to bring charges, how would that be impacted by the timetable of the election? i mean, is it possible they could, you know, bring charges and then have a trial after the election? or, i mean -- this is uncharted territory. >> in terms of the timing, i think there's two different things. first of all, we have to recognize that the january 6th committee is on its own time line. it needed to wrap up its work. and the justice department investigations are on their own timeline, including the election investigation and the classified documents investigations related to the former president. so, those two things are not the same. and the justice department is going to consume information

that has been released by the committee, for example, the transcripts, whether they'll look for exculpatory information or information from witnesses that they interviewed that are inconsistent. but i don't necessarily see the relief of information by the january 6th committee as speeding up the justice department's investigation in any way. i do think that they will take into account how had the presidential election of the future transpires over time. they won't want to influence that election, but they also will be aware of the political consequences of any major decision they might have. >> alyssa, do you have any sense how concerned the former president may be about this investigation? >> i think he's very concerned. that's what i consistently hear. it's the dual track investigations, mar-a-lago documents, january 6th insurrection, so on. he's very concerned and he shows it. when he's lashing out, when he's attacking fellow republicans,

the things he's posting on truth social are not that of a sound minded leader. one thing i do want to say again on what we've seen in the transcripts that have come out is keep in mind the kind of consistency in the theme i've seen is that senior officials who were public servants, who swore an oath to the constitution, were willing to admit privately what the american public knew, which is the election was not stolen. january 6th was a shameful day for democracy. but so few have said it publicly. >> also when you see the text messages from hope hicks talking about, we're unemployable, on january 6th, the day the capitol is being attacked, they were concerned about their future employment. >> you would think that would be the last thing on someone's mind that day. i was weeping with my in-laws in florida not thinking about future prospects. had people gotten to the president sooner? any senior staffer could have gone up to the white house and

said stand down, the election wasn't stolen, you're being lied to. >> that would have been incredible. >> it would have taken real courage, which we didn't see a lot of. >> thank you so much. carrie cordero as well. thank you. coming up tonight, a scary moment, a player went down during a devastating hit between the bills and bengals. we'll speak with a playeyer fro the buffalo bills next. it immediately feels like somebody's poking directly on the nerve. i recommend sensodyne. sensodyne toothpaste goes inside the too and cas the nerve down.

and my patents say: “you know doc, it really works." my husband and i have never been more active. shingles doesn't care. i go to spin classes with my coworkers. good for you, shingles doesn't care. because no matter how healthy you feel, your risk of shingles sharply increases after age 50. but shingrix protects. proven over 90% effective, shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older.

shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. shingles doesn't care. but shingrix protects. ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingrix today. ♪ we know you care. [music plays] but if this is all too real for you and your loved ones. make the call. because we care too. ♪ home instead. to us, it's personal.

just look around. this digital age we're living in, it's pretty unbelievable. problem is, not everyone's fully living in it. nobody should have to take a class or fill out a medical form on public wifi with a screen the size of your hand. home internet shouldn't be a luxury. everyone should have it and now a lot more people can. so let's go. the digital age is waiting.

there's breaking news right now. a serious injury on the field during the buffalo bills/cincinnati bengals game. what you're about to see is bills defensive back damar hamlin collapsing on the field. we're only going to play it once because it's difficult to watch. >> wide open to midfield and lowers the shoulder. this is where joe burrow is so good. >> now another bills player is down. >> can't tell exactly who that is. >> may be hamlin. >> jordan poyer was able to go

tonight. he was iffy, the only pro bowler on this very good defense. hamlin's taking the place for the injured micah hyde. >> joining us now, cory wire, played nine seasons in the nfl, six for the bills. cory, obviously we don't know what has gone on exactly. it looked like hamlin was able to stand up after the hit, and then he collapsed on the ground, though it wasn't seen from that angle. there's another camera that shows him collapsing. >> yeah, never seen a response from a hit like that, anderson. there didn't seem to be any direct hit to the head or neck area. his head didn't even look like it got jostled all that much. so, i can't assume what type of injury this might be. i'm worked up right now. i feel a lot of flashbacks. you know, i had multiple concussions in my nine years in the nfl, where i didn't remember anything sometimes until the

next day. i also have a plate and four screws in my neck from my time at the buffalo bills. but i think more than that, i was on the field two other times when other players were seriously hurt. one time when i was in college playing against the washington huskies, and their safety came up to make a hit, much like damar. and he got paralyzed from the waist down. and when i played for the buffalo bills, my teammate, kevin everett, we were covering a hickoff together, and he got paralyzed. seeing those scenes kind of brings that back. i'm trying to keep my composure for you because i think it's important that we send prayers, think about damar, think about his family. i'm so proud that the nfl has suspended the game because i think maybe ten years ago, that might not have happened, anderson, with what we know. the importance placed on players' safety nowadays, they stopped the game. i think that's progress.

>> cory, if you can stay with us, i just want to bring in our dr. sanjay gupta. sanjay, obviously you're seeing this as we're seeing this. there is another camera that shows hamlin standing up after the hit. but then suddenly goes limp and just collapses -- you know, just collapses onto the ground. this is this other angle where you actually see it. we'll play that one time. >> that's not what any of us want to see. now everybody's around him and just hope that he's going to be okay. so, we'll take another break.

>> sanjay, what do you make of this? >> it's horrifying to watch, obviously? everyone is talking about this. he got up right after this hit. and i mean, right away when you think about somebody having this sort of outcome, you think of something to the brain, spinal cord, and heart. i think brain and spinal cord are less likely, given that he stood up right after this hit, and then quickly went down, which really does point to blunt force trauma, it sounds like, to the chest. sometimes it can be a cardiac arrest that can be induced by the blunt force trauma. it could be something to the lungs as a result of that. my understanding was that he had cpr that was being performed on him. so, clearly a cardiac arrest resulted from this. but what initially caused that is just, it's hard to speculate at this point, anderson.

it's just horrifying. obviously happened very quickly. he's young. he's otherwise fit. so, it's something at that time from that hit caused this cardiac arrest that resulted in him needing cpr for several minutes it sounds like. >> sanjay, you and i have spoken many times about heart issues. i've never really considered the idea of blunt force trauma to the chest, what that does to a heart. >> what is the risk? >> well, there's a condition that's called commotional kor tis. it's a rare condition and a serious condition where basically as a result of that blunt force trauma, that significant blow to the chest, it can actually disrupt the electrical rhythm, where the heart is conducting its electrical rhythm normally, and result in this destabilization

and cardiac arrest. again, it's a rare condition. i just want to be really careful here, anderson. we just don't know the underlying condition, the underlying cause here. but that is something that has been described. it's even happened in baseball, for example, someone taking a fastball to the chest. there's been instances described where someone can develop commotional cortis as a result of that. was that the situation here? i don't know. it was a bit unusual, again, this happened and there's this period of time where he does stand up, doesn't seem to be a problem, and then clearly, you know, staggers backwards and falls. so, it might be the case, but it's just very hard to speculate right now. >> well, sanjay, if you can just stand by with us, if cory is still with us, coy, when you were playing, when you go out on the field, is this kind of stuff

in the back of your mind? or in order to play the game effectively, is this the last thing you want to be thinking about, the potential of injury? >> i think it's always there, anderson. before every game, you know, think about the workplace. it's not often that every coworker gets together and says the lord's prayer before you go and perform for that day. that's normal in football in the nfl locker room before every game. and it's because of that understanding that we're about to go into a lion's den, so to speak, where every snap is a potential for something bad to happen. you're risking your life when you go out there. so, it's very much on the minds of everyone. it's not something that you live in fear of, but you're aware of it at all times. so, many players, they do not take a single snap for granted, the opportunity to get to play the game they love. you see teammates go down every week, whether it's a knee blown out or whether it's an elbow

dislocated or a neck or a head injury. i mean, it's -- you see it all the time. so, you're constantly reminded of it, anderson. and it's moments like this where we realize just how violent the game is, just how precious our bodies, our health are. so, prayers for damar hamlin and the family. i know they're watching, wondering, trying to get ahold of him right now. and his teammates, they're probably down on one knee right now in the locker room, as well as the cincinnati bengals. i think so many people sending well wishes for damar. >> i just want to play the tackle that was made. i don't want to show the video of him collapsing. but we have the video from the other angle of just the play that was made. let's play that. >> wide open. to midfield and lowers the shoulder for 13. this is where joe burrow is so

good. >> now another bills player is down. >> can't tell exactly who that is. >> may be hamlin. jordan poyer was able to go tonight. he was iffy. their only pro bowler. hamlin's taken the place for the injured micah hyde. >> coy, when you get -- when you're on the field -- we all watch this on television, the games. and obviously, you know, people play growing up and they're little in school. but at this level of play, i mean, even with the pads you're wearing and the helmet, what is the pain like? what are the hits like that you are getting? it's hard to fathom what it's like. >> it's a valid question. there's such a wide range, anderson. sometimes you get hit. like in my case with my spinal

cord injury, instantly my arm went numb and i couldn't feel a thing. there are other times where you get hit so hard in the leg that it feels like someone took a baseball bat and just hit you in the thigh with it. and there are other times where you get hit, and you don't feel a thing until about three hours later after the game. so, there's all different types of injuries you can get, obviously, and the response of the body is different for so many of these injuries. >> and does the adrenaline that you're feeling in the game -- i mean, adrenaline does crazy things to one. it can make you not feel pain in the moment or for some time, until it sort of dissipates. and then all of a sudden that's when you really feel things. does the adrenaline help you through that initially? >> yeah, i mean, there's -- i mean, there's endorphins running through your body, cortisol. all these different hormones are surging through your veins.

you've been juiced up on two coffees that morning, a red bull before the game, at halftime. you don't realize how hurt you are until the next day when you feel like you've been in two car wrecks last night. and you feel it the next day. but as football players, when things like this happen, i think it's important to note, again, that they stopped this game. and i don't think that five years ago, ten years ago, that this would have happened. i think they would have blew those whistles and teams would have been forced to go out there and play. and that's what players have always done. and as athletes, you're trained to have this next-snap mentality. >> it's very rare to stop a game like this. >> i can't remember a time that it happened. >> yeah. >> i think that's why it's a significant moment of all of those injuries that we've seen in the past, all of the studies that have been done and the lives that have been altered forever because of the violent game they play, they have not been in vain, right? we're seeing progress. i think this was a big moment

for high school coaches who are watching this who have youth that are under their guidance. they're seeing how serious injuries can be. this is not a buckle up, toughen up, get out there, kid. no. we need to take injuries more seriously. this is a big moment. hopefully damar is okay, and we can all learn and be in a better place. >> sanjay, so, the fact that cpr was administered on the field and then obviously taken away in an ambulance, mr. hamlin, what -- how effective is cpr? what does it do in that moment? >> what the cpr is really trying to do is do what the heart should be doing, which is the heart is basically pumping oxygenated blood throughout the body. and it sounds like, from their assessment on the field, that he went into cardiac arrest. his heart wasn't doing that. so, essentially what you're doing with cpr is you're trying to essentially -- there's oxygenated blood on the body.

you're trying to pump that blood now yusing your hands and pump that blood through the body. what the goals really are are two-fold. one is you likely get the heart restarted in some way. and i would be curious and i'm communicating with jonathan reiner about this. one thing, i don't know if this was done -- maybe you or coy know -- if there in fact was a defibrillator near the field or on the field or if a defibrillator was used. that's something you use to basically give electricity to try and restart the heart. and that is sort of the key, is restarting the heart. in the absence of that, cpr is basically trying to move oxygen to the blood. the blood should still be oxygenated for several minutes at least, and the goal is to just keep that blood moving through the body, profusing the organ, profusing the heart, profusing the brain until the heart can be restarted. that's the goal. >> an ambulance, particularly an ambulance that's probably

stationed at a stadium like this, it's likely they would have a defibrillator inside the ambulance, wouldn't they? >> i would imagine so. and i think that in fact, even outside the ambulance, big public arenas, including stadiums and things like that typically do have defibrillators. so, i don't know, again, if one was used on him and if so at what point it was used. the sooner the better. as soon as you determine someone is in cardiac arrest or has abnormal cardiac rhythm, warranting defibrillation, it should be used. as coy is pointing out, this is an unusual situation. young, healthy people on the field. but a defibrillator should still be very accessible. >> yeah. >> for situations like this. >> hey, sanjay, i want to bring in our friend wolf blitzer, who is a huge buffalo bills fan. for anyone who doesn't know that, he's a major buffalo bills fan, having grown up in buffalo. i know you were watching the

game, wolf. you must just be in shock. >> totally shocked and so sad. it's really awful. i've been a buffalo bills fan since the buffalo bills were created back in 1960 when i was a little boy and my dad used to take me to the buffalo bills games and i love the buffalo bills. i've seen so many buffalo bills games, and i can't remember ever seeing anything like this, a player getting hit and then collapsing and an ambulance showing up on the field and cpr being administered. my heart goes out to damar hamlin right now. and like millions of other people are praying for his health. i'm hoping we get a report from the hospital that he's okay. i've never seen players cry like they are right now and just trying to come to grips with the awful situation that's developed. anybody who's a football fan knows this is not something you see. i've never seen it. coy, have you ever seen it before, anything like this?

>> yeah, wolf, when i was in college, we were playing against the washington huskies and our running back hit their safety head on, and their safety was paralyzed. and when i was with the buffalo bills, you may remember kevin everett, he hit the wedge, and he was paralyzed after that. and i think you mentioned, you know, you're seeing these tears and the players' reactions are so powerful. and i think you mentioned early kwer are, anderson, how we're seeing this on tv. we're seeing it from far away. when you're a player on that field, you notice straight away, there were some cincinnati bengals players taking a knee right away. teammates started gathering around. and you're seeing things that you don't see on tv. you sometimes see eyes rolling into the back of their head. you see their arms shaking and quivering uncontrollably, things that you don't notice. but as a player, you see and you feel those things. so, to see their response, the way they were reacting, they

were seeing some things that even they were probably shocked to be having to witness. >> essentially what you're saying, coy, the intimacy you're talking about that exists on the field -- we're all looking at this from a great distance, whether it's on television or in the stadium. but when everybody is on the field together, huddled together, knocking into each other, standing around, milling around each other, there is an intimacy to it. you hear things, you see things. >> yeah. you're hearing things from the injured player that you might not want to hear, sounds that they can't control. and then you also hear prayers. you hear players actively calling the player's name and letting them know that we're here, we're with you, you've got this. all those things are happening. all the while, it's frantic and hectic for those first responders who are on the field, the team doctors. they're all rushing, trying to first assess the situation. you're on with a football helmet

and a chin strap and you have a mouth piece in. and they're told don't remove that yet because it might be a spinal cord injury. and they're trying to assess and evaluate. and there are shoulder pads on. and you know, this guy, if he was hopefully still breathing, his chest is rising up and down at a rapid rate because we're in the middle of a football game. that adrenaline you mentioned, anderson, so much emotion, so much physical energy buzzing all in this chaotic moment while you're just trying to figure out how can we best help this young man. and so it's very stressful. it's haunting when you've experienced it. that's why i was a little worked up earlier. i had my bills gear on. i'm enjoying watching our team play, and then you get this reminder of just how violent the game is at all levels. so, again, i hope college and high school coaches out there are watching the this and seeing how seriously we need to take

our players' health and safety and care for them. >> and not just a reminder how violent the game is, how fragile life is. >> that's right. >> one minute somebody is at the height of their performance, at the height of their skills, doing extraordinary things on a field, and the next moment collapses and is needing assistance. again, i'm not going to show damar hamlin collapsing again. it's disturbing. out of respect, don't want to do that. we're going to show the incident that precipitated that, the tackle that was made. and joining us, as we watch it, is cnn sports analyst christine brennan. and that was it. christine, seeing that, they cut away to another shot just because nothing was happening after the tackle. and it was just seconds later that damar hamlin stood up and

then suddenly went limp and fell. your thoughts right now? >> yes, anderson, coy. i was just listening to coy as well because he played the game. anderson, i've covered football for the entirety of my career. and i've always -- pro and college, so for decades. and this is that worst fear, that worst thought that you have in the back of your head really at every game. as a journalist, obviously family members, your heart is going out to his family right now and his friends, teammates and everyone who watched this, saw this, and is now wondering, of course, this incredible, tense, horrible moment of trying to figure out what happened. is he okay? but it is such a violent game. and yet, we sometimes forget all the fans and stadiums over the weekend. college, games programs. you forget sometimes offended

screaming that these are young people. and they are, as you said, the grandchildren, and human beings. and then lots of padding. but these hits are brutal. and i've been on the sidelines, many of times, just to hear the sights and sounds of the games towards the end of the game. they bring us down before we go into the locker room. and it is jarring. and you realize how big they are, how fast they are, and how hard they're hitting. all of that, obviously, is what i am thinking right now. most, of course, that he is okay. and that he will be all right. it is a brutal game, it's a game that americans love. but my goodness, what a horrible horrible turn of events this evening. >> but those of you are just joining us -- the more hamlin collapsed after he was involved in a play and was administered cpr on the field. i was taken out in an ambulance. the game has been called off

iroquois wire and christine benner will flip to sanjay gupta. sanjay, for those are just joining 50 minutes or so ago we are talking about possibilities of what this is, again, we don't know what it happened but we do know cpi was a minister on the field. and that the marble and was of what this is, again, we don't know what it happened but we do know cpi was a minister on the field. and that the marble and was able to stand up, seemingly, okay after the tackle. after the play w. can you, again, talk about the possibilities of what, immediately, those medics ran out to a system. what would they be looking for? what would they be trying to ascertain? >> well, i think that given that he stood up and then collapsed there is some information in there. it is hard to speculate such emotionally top situation.

everybody is talking about this. but you have to assess is he breathing, does he have a heartbeat? and whatever the hit that too was that he needed to have cpr. so that was a cardiac arrest there on the field. the heart was either not beating or wasn't a writ mia. where it wasn't beating well. it wasn't pumping blood efficiently to the body. and that is why it sounds like cpr was started. he had several minutes of cpr on the field. why that happens is certainly hard to know at this point. there is a condition of your talked about earlier. and that is, basically, something that is as a result of blunt force trauma to the chest. it could result that arrhythmia. an abnormal rhythm of the hearts. and that has happened, it is rare, affectionate seen it

before. but it is talked about in sports. baseball even. from a fastball, for example. where it hit someone in the chest, i just the right time. or just a long time is maybe. and causes arrhythmia. then he had the significant blows to the chest as part of that play that we saw. that may have been what caused that. we just don't know at this point. i think they're gonna want to sort of ascertain if he was in an abnormal rhythm. did he require a different later? the disheartening to be shocked back into a rhythm? that happened? that have been a, fielded happen in the ambulance, it has not been. get those all important questions. because that is the goal. it got a restart the heart that is one most effective way to do it. >> and what happens once the heart is restarted? is any kind of blood force

trauma to the chest, is that something then -- i mean, could the hurt potentially be permanently damaged? assuming it restarts is just something that someone can bounce back from? >> it is a serious situation, anderson. i think just given the number of minutes, it's a keeper was being performed. you may have better knowledge on that than i do. but i heard at least nine minutes. that is a long time. there are certainly people who have recovered from that. he and even longer. but i mean, at this point, you have to consider to be very sad situation. when the heart is not pumping, or not pumping efficiently. obviously, the heart itself is not receiving adequate blood flow. so the hearts pumps but to itself. as the first thing that it does. that is where blood goes first. if it's not getting enough

blood flow you can start to lose heart tissue. it's probably got to the brain, but because all the organs. it's impossible, yeah? absolutely possible. but i think we will not want to minimize how seriously the situation was. >> sanjay, christine brennan, wolf, choir, obviously, first and last our thoughts and our prayers, our best wishes are for the marble and for his family and for his team. and all those who are there witnessing this. obviously, we will continue to follow the latest details in what has happened with the marble and collapsing on the field and had to get cpr administered upfield. and then taken off the field in an ambulance. the game has been suspended, we are following this now within the last 30 minutes or so. our coverage will continue, the news continues right now, cnn tonight with laura coats is

next right after a short break.

julian's about to learn that free food is a personal eating trigger. no it isn't. yes it is. and that's just a bit of psychology julian learned from noom weight. sign up now at noom.com

introducing the new sleep number climate360 smart bed. only smart bed in the world that actively cools, warms and effortlessly responds to both of you. our smart sleepers get 28 minutes more restful sleep per night. proven quality sleep. only from sleep number.