were murdered sometime between 8:30 pm and 5:50 pm. the defense attorney told the jury the talent is a work request cell phone records indicate he would've had less than 10 minutes to kill them, get up to the house, get in the car and he would be covered in blood. >> we also learned from the opening arguments, the prosecution saying that paul was killed before maggie. also a lot of discussion about circumstantial evidence and reasonable doubt. more specifically, prosecution literally providing definitions for these comments on the jury that circumstantial evidence is still evidence and reasonable doubt does not mean there is no doubt, the defense attorney of course still a trial lawyer, likely to continue trying to poke holes in the case saying, that the state doesn't have one. >> diane gallagher, thank you so much. on the ground reporting on

this. thank you all for joining us. anderson starts now. >> good evening, would be content with breaking news. exclusive reporting on a story we were first to bring the discovery documents of classified market inset mike pence indiana home. tonight, we know just what kind of material the former vice president had. a special correspondent joined us now with the very latest. what have you learned, jamie? >> according to multiple sources, we learn that among those roughly 12 classified documents that were found at the home, our materials described as background briefing memos, that were prepared for then vice president pence foreign trips. we told some of the classified documents, were likely used to prepare pence for foreign meetings, and actually may have been overlooked during the packing process. because they were found tucked into old binders,

kind of interspersed with other papers. perhaps, they would not have been visible unless the packers actually went through these binders, page by page. just for contest, it is not usual for president and vice president to be given these travel briefing binders. they include background memos on people there reading with in front of countries, sources say that sometimes, they just include basic biographical information on foreign leaders, government officials, but sometimes, they also include more sensitive information. >> understand the fb has worked with us intelligence agencies to assess the documents from vice president pence. what more do you know but the level of classification? >> our colleague, evan perez reports, the fb has worked with us intelligence agency, tonight, to assess exactly that. the level of classification, the potential risk. because let's remember, these papers were not in a secure location. they have been in the pence private home. but according to one source who was briefed on some of the classified documents, based on what they were told, there was nothing

particularly unusual in the papers. and they describe the classification markings, these are for some of the documents, as on the quote lower level. the source also said there was no mention of documents with sci or sap markings. these are two designations of the some the most sensitive, classified, top-secret information. that said, we need to into the fbi finishes its assessment. >> and finally, i understand there's new reported by the national archives. >> right. what we have been able to confirm, the archives is looking to sending a letter to all living former presidents, former vice presidents, asking them to go back to their records, and triple check, that there are no classified documents. even though we've been told by all of them that they turned everything over,

after trump, joe biden and now mike pence, the archives clearly wanted to check one more time. >> thank you. now in ukraine the commitment from the us and nato allies after months of asking and weeks of wrangling within the western alliance, ukraine is going to get the embattled tanks include frontline leopard two from germany and 31 m1's enough to equip a battalion from the united states. >> ukraine is fighting an age-old battle against aggression and domination. a battle americans have fought proudly time and again. it battle that we will make sure the ukrainians are well equipped to fight as well. >> minimum will talk to former nato supreme allied commander -- and how he sees the battlefield impact of those tanks. also, a russian scholar on the ranch in moscow where germany's decision to phase already be compared to nazi german invasion of russia, and the second world war by the russians. first, cnn at the pentagon with more of what ukraine is getting and how quickly.

what do we know about the tanks that the united states has committed? >>reporter: present joe biden paid this is a son of nato unity they us as well as germany and other countries, willing now, defendant takes after months of ukrainian president pleading that declining forces need tanks and it is a major significant commitment. this is the most powerful direct offensive weapon the us and the west have provided. not the other things that further frontline from a distance, instead, takes a design for face-to-face, on the battlefield confrontations with russian forces. that's exactly what ukraine will be getting. it will take some time, they are expected to arrive much sooner, the german tanks and then us takes but this is part of the effort from the us and west to provide ukraine the power of the weapons and systems to take back territory and fight the russians are now dug in on defensive lines. >> to know how long the pentagon expects it will take before the tanks, the american tanks appear on

the battlefield? >>reporter: it will take time. we are not talking weeks, we're talking months, perhaps even many months. because us is to prepare the tanks. although there is no m1 abrams production i go now, the us uses the thousand tanks already has to refurbish those, we prep them and update them for what they're needed. it's a process that takes a long time. again, months. but the white house said they might start trading on tanks sooner so that what they are ready, ukrainians can employ them immediately on the battlefield. >> are the other an action of the pentagon is taken that would indicate the us is prepared to support ukraine in the war for years to come or months more? >> we've been a number of different actions that suggest this and support this. the us is in this for the long term, as of course is ukraine. first, some of the systems mentioned will take years to arrive and they say defensive systems in the air are contracted out for a couple of years. the patriot training will take many more months. these are long-term commitments. on top of that, the lessons

come from the army acquisition is cheap, they're setting up new ammunition plan to produce more ammo. not just to supply ukraine but also to restock american supplies. and the supply of allies. 40 acquisition that this looks to him like the largest wrap up in production going back to perhaps, korea. that signifies how much the us is involved in this and making sure ukraine stays in the fight and stays equipped. >> thank you. now at the white house for more on the decision getting germany on board is a big change of policy for the white house in terms of what they're willing to provide ukraine in the war was a message joe biden was wanting to deliver on that? >> talking to officials with direct knowledge and lesser weekly pointed several times to the number of times the president talked about unity and durability of the western coalition for serving as a good crystallization of the driving force behind the

policy shift, behind the decision to deliver those us tanks at all. something that us military had not recommend something that officials of the white house were very weary of doing. they didn't believe it was the best use of capabilities in terms of the battlefield dynamics, that are currently in play but it gets at the central driving force behind how president biden has viewed this war throughout the 11 months it has been ongoing and also in the months before hand as the us is trying to put together this alliance. there been no shortage of reasons and predictions for >> or fractures in the 30+ country lines up to this point. it underscores the point is one official told me, this is about one weapon system more specific weapons capability. this is about maintaining unity, maintaining durability going forward. there is no clear endgame right now for the war. keeping the unity, keeping the coalition together is by far and away the presidents driving force here. >> and change between the present and a reporter during remarks. >> artie taken the decision now -- the germany force you to change your mind on sending tanks?

>> germany did not force me to change my mind. i want to make sure we are all together. that's what we're doing right now. >> what do you know about the discussions that happen between the united states and germany before the decision was made? because there was a lot of back-and-forth. >> is a significant amount of back and forth. a lot of frustration on the us side and once they viewed the german position is something that was to some degree in transit. however, the president said there is an entirely accurate and since the germany was the entity in the negotiation that drove the rest position, drove the us decision-making. this also gives a window when you talk to officials who have been walking on a should behind the scenes not just the last couple weeks but the last several months, into president biden' approach here. there's actually a good example a couple weeks ago and germany signed off on sending a patriot missile system to ukraine, it is notable that it was an announcement made with the white house, joint statement from the chancellor shelton

president biden, lengthy, very detailed and outlining what the us commitment would be that would be coming at the same exact time. i'm told it was a statement that was requested specifically and explicitly by chance socials. made very clear the is needed to show his commitments and also the us needs to make clear they supported germany's position and support for the domestic political decisions, and port for how the chancellor has viewed back home present but understand that. official said and is an essential component to how is operated with his counterparts across this coalition the last several months. >> appreciate it. for the bountiful difference, these tanks to make and russians reacting where this could lead. during the reforming of the supreme allied commander retired army general wesley clark. some cnn analyst. -- general clark, her reporting from the white house and pentagon. what's your opinion a number of tanks being sent to ukraine? both in the us and germany. and perhaps from other

allied countries. is it enough for ukraine to have a new russian offensive if and when it happens? >> i do not think those tanks will be there when their russian offensive happens. the m1 will be an majority of others will be there that's the problem. they need other weapons. the tanks are great statement, a great statement of philip political unity but there is no urgency in getting the tanks there right now. i think there should be. but there doesn't seem to be. they will be the heart of three or four combat brigades, that will form up during the summer. they will be going after maybe -- were used two blocks of marsh in offensive in the summertime people take four months or five months for the armored vehicles and go with the tanks, self-propelled artillery and additional ammunition and so forth. the near term problem is the russian offensive.

>> sam, west been the response from ukrainians today? >> it has been one of the light. but also, a delight put into some context. and as general clark was saying, here, the defense minister, said early today were air raid sirens going off during the interview. that they had a wide shopping list of what they really needed. the needed 3 to 400 tanks they said, they wanted fighter jets, fighter-bombers. and they need above all the ability to protect their skies from the ongoing drone attacks from russia. but they are delighted because they think that these battlefield replacements effect of the communist party replacing things that they've already lost in the fighting. might be able to get them onto the front to maintain some of the initiative. this work resident zelensky said. the defense minister said. >> will use them so kind

of, iron fist, to break through the defense line of enemy. because we need to make our, continue in different directions. >> this campaign from ukrainians is a bit about maneuver. all about momentum. you will recall that deliberated large area of kharkiv earlier in the summer than in the fall, they were able to liberate another province it is now run into the sand or rather the mud. now britt or trench warfare particularly in the east. and by the ukrainians it is hoped that this equipment being supplied will get them back to have that maneuver capability to get the momentum going. but they are desperately in need of immediate resupply. and it is that that will really be dependent of what happens in the next near

future. >> the russian embassy in berlin has called germany's decision extremely dangerous. they said it takes the conflict to a new level of confrontation. any actual response that, beyond rhetorical response that you expect? >> i don't really think so. what can we do at this point? what the rhetorical is really important because you know, especially the german tanks, really strike a nerve with russia. you can see some of the reaction, but the president spokesperson, saying, you know, those tanks burn just like every other tank. and then you have warnings of nuclear war. they're putting out all the stops and the reason it is so sensitive, is because russia, the soviet union victory over the nazis, in world war ii, is a seminole part of the ideology of vladimir putin. and he has brought this --

which is available, which

is being held up by department of the army because they want to send it through foreign military sales. that could be released, 100 of those in and the missile, so you can strike behind the lines. and break up the momentum of any russian offensive. that's we looking at and you know, the administration just has not wanted to do this. don't want to take the risk of escalating it too rapidly. they want to respond to the battlefield, but not anticipate it. they want ukraine to succeed, but not at the risk of heightening a nuclear escalation by russia. geobalancing act and there's difference between was needed in the battlefield and with the ministration and nato are willing to provide. >> and the drones you're talking about, using the military has them in available but will not lease them but for what reason? >> right, these switchblade 600 drones require extended monitoring.

part of the -- [audio lost] thus far, we have not been able to get that. ask for it almost a year. >> is vladimir putin propaganda working? are russian citizens

continuing to rally behind this war? >> that is always very hard to figure out. but the indications are you have to say probably the majority do. but you know, this, when he uses world war ii, and nazi germany, it really goes to the heart of eunuch, russians and their reason for their country to survive. they would argue, and so, really, weapon rising history and i think it can be effective. because remember, during world war ii, the soviet union lost millions and millions of people, 20 million people. so, when he strikes that cord, and a lot of people remember. >> appreciate it, thank you. up next more breaking news. what went into the decision to reinstate the former president of facebook and instagram nearly 2 years

after january 6.s on later after january 6.s on later senator bernie that. sending tanks intostom ukraine and how roblpresident biden should handle the upcoming debt c ceiling showdown with debt c ceiling showdown with house rerepublicans.! what if i'm new to at&t? cam, can you? - nice! - hey! but what about for existing cus- it's the same deal! is he okay? at at&t, we give everyone our best deals on every smartphone. get up to $1000 off on our most popular smartphones. couldn't use cpap. now i have this. inspire is a sleep apnea treatment that works inside my body with the click of this remote. no mask, no hose, just sleep. learn more and view important safety information at inspiresleep.com.

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giving you some idea of what might be the story, the former presently play post apparently unprovoked personal attack on his former top advisor on his own social media site. according how one of the greatest villages i had as president was firing deborah burks. the only thing she had going, was nice scars. june is not latest on facebook and instagram reinstatement, sullivan and sarah matthews, deputy press secretary. what was behind this decision? >> two years ago, and they took jump off their platforms which of course also includes instagram, it was because he said there was a chance of further harm, further incitement to violence. what they determined they said the risk in facebook you that it has sufficiently receded and the former deputy prime minister of united kingdom, now at present facebook involved in making this decision, here's what he had to say. >> he was suspended for two years from using facebook and instagram. and that to clock it

expires now.this month. and so, we're confirming that if he wants to, he can in the coming weeks, he can use facebook and instagram again. i mean of course, there are guardrails. there are rules, he has to play by the rules. we are nothing additional once today, to encourage him, you know, to stick to the rules. >> look, as you point out, the challenge is going to that trunk continues to push the 2020 election. interestingly, my colleague confirmed with a spokesperson plant that the new rules that trump will have to obey, are that he is allowed to attack the 2020 election, but not a lot to attack the 2024 election. but continue to attack the 2020 lesson you are undermining integrity in elections here. nevertheless. >> so-and-so appalled by the former presence actions on january 6, you nearly designed is it wise he's back? >> i don't believe it is a

wise decision that he is back. sure, there's an argument to be made of how long you can ban him and, i think it is good that they said that they're putting guardrails in place. but i think that the guardrails aren't strong enough. i think trump is going to violate these rules and he will get banned pretty quickly. as he is reinstated. some of the guardrails are, he cannot delegitimize upcoming elections. but he can assist you as of the 2020 election, so who is to stop him from wanting to undermine the results in the 2024 election? and i think another one of the guardrails that they said they put in place, is that he cannot post anything about qanon. but we've seen him post about qanon and openly embrace them on his platforms. i think it's only a matter of time before he violates the rules and get spanned again. >> i mean, he has, he started with q and on.

he is been photographed with qanon folks at mar-a-lago. i don't know if he's actually come out and said i love qanon. has he? >> all but that essentially. >> e re-tweeted graphic. >> and we repeatedly see their love qanon account is consistently retreating or reposting accounts. if you look at them they are very pro- qanon. i will mention one thing. taking a step back from this, at the time and trump did get suspended, you know, a lot of people in the us that it was the right decision. but you know, lives on the world including angela merkel at the time, no great fan of trump did say, is exactly the right thing? a company should be able to take then sitting president off of a platform like this? this is going to come down to republican and democrats in some ways of whether this was the right decision but i think the aclu which

also pointed out it has many issues with trump and has in the past, the said this is the right call, like it or not, president trump is one of the leading political figures and the public has a strong interest in hearing his speech. >> you think is social media has been defeated and people ultimately get sick of it? >> i do think that his influence clearly has been put under stress with not having access to these platforms, such as facebook, instagram and twitter. if not many people are in truth social. his post on their do not pack the same punch that they once did. but i do think that him being able to rejoin these platforms, once his exclusivity contract with his own truth social, you know, is up, which i believe is the summer, then it will be only a short matter of time before he is back on these platforms. because we deafly want to have access to them again. not only just to have access to his supporters, and have a microphone where

he can have a large influence, facebook in particular, is really going to be huge for men is 2024 campaign because it's also fundraising platform for him. and the trump campaign is very adept when it comes to digital fundraising and they use it to collect data and make money. and so, i think that is going to be hugely beneficial to him as well. >> do you think he will be the republican nominee? >> and hopefully he won't be. but obviously, no one has declared as of now. and only time will tell. i think some folks are flirting with the idea of entering the race. and so, hopeful others will enter the race soon and challenge him because he is definitely vulnerable and it will not be like it was in 2016 hopefully, where we have enormous amount of people entering the race. i think the republicans need to be smart, and just have a couple of choices that we can coalesce around and sell, that way the challenger can be stronger against donald trump and defeat him in the primary.

>> appreciate it, thank you. just ahead, senator bernie sanders joins us.the present returning to social media and congressman george santos. hea so every day, you can say... ♪ youuu did it! ♪ with centrum silver.

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>> former president getting facebook and instagram accounts back.we just mentioned is one of flashpoint plan. also interview support for the war in ukraine and tanks. that support comes and as conservative lawmakers take the demanding spending cuts. transfer cuts to social security and medicare pay jordan, senator bernie sanders of vermont.

appreciate you being with us just briefly, do things right twitter facebook and instagram to have the president come back? >> you know, look, you got is a pathological liar perhaps to be the former president of the united states. and he has a right to express his views. >> in your meeting with president biden to come to the war in ukraine,? the support the president's decision to send 31 tanks? >> no, i didn't come up. mostly what we are talking about is assuming the position of chairman of the health education labor and pensions committee. and the issues that we will be working on in that committee. >> we said to the president is actually right to refuse negotiating with republicans over the debt ceiling. why do you think that if democrats refuse to come to the table, won't they be culpable if us -- >> i think was the american people understand what the republican agenda is, i think they will retreat from the agenda. look, you're living in a moment of massive income

and wealth inequality. billionaires are getting richer. working people are struggling. something like half of all workers in the country, have nothing saved for retirement. so the idea that under trump as you recall, give $1 trillion in tax breaks for the very rich and large corporations. now republicans are coming back saying, guess what? we're really worried about the deficit. the national debt, we want to cut social security, medicare and medicaid. the programs that are vital prince life and death for their working families. i don't think they will get away with that. i think american people say no way. you won't do that. >> you are a strong support expanding social security, the congressional budget office says, without dementia the program will become insolvent as it is 2033.some lawmakers litigated a bipartisan panel to look at is saving the program, would you support the approach? >> i would not support the approach because the last time around, the conclusion i came up with was major cuts to social security.

etc. the solution is the problem is not very hard to understand. we've got legislation and to address it, right now, if you have one person who makes $100 million a year, and another person makes $160,000 a year, both of those people, put in the exactly same amount of money into social security, there is a ceiling on how much your taxes will be paid into the program. if you lift the, starting at $250,000, you can make social security, not only solvent, for the next 75 years. 75 years, you can increase benefits for lower income elderly people who are struggling, really hard right now, to get by. that's the solution to the problem. and hope that we will get a large amount of support toward that. >> on the debt ceiling though, how does it end? how does the problem get

resolved? >> i think it is very simply. the way it should end in a democratic society. that is the american people make the decisions. do you really want to cut social security, medicare and medicaid, several years after republicans gave a huge tax breaks to the richest people and the largest corporations, and at a time when we had more income and wealth and equality then we have had in 100 years! really? is that what you want to do? is that we think the american people want? and none other than our old friend, donald trump, who i disagree with needless to say on everything. tom told republicans, you are crazy! you can't cut social security and medicare. and i think they will listen to him. >> finally, i mean, you've seen a lot in your time in public service. does it make sense to you, why republicans in the house are standing by congressman george santos?

>> who knows. anna said don't pay a lot of attention to that. i doubt that the american people are.what i'm worried about, we have a critical health education labor. we have a dysfunctional healthcare system, we spent twice as much per capita on healthcare of people in any other country. 85 million people uninsured or underinsured. you have an educational system with where childcare, and pre-k is in real trouble. real disarray. we're losing hundreds of thousands of teachers per year, salaries are much too low. classroom conditions are bad. we have to address the issue. we had to do with student debt and in terms of labor, your 60 percent of our people living paycheck to paycheck. what i'm going to try and do is i'm going to try and pay attention, to the needs of working families, many of whom are struggling

right now. just to put food on the table. >> senator bernie sanders, i appreciate your time as always. thank you. >> thank you. >> the first day and that court for alex murdaugh. he said killing his wife and son. we were in thehe courtroom and we have that next.

>> the double murder trial in south carolina alex murdaugh killing his wife and youngest son, began today with prosecutors laying out the evidence. they state includes video taken from their dead son's phone. defense attorney told the jury that the forensics case did not backup the prosecution case. we were in corinth and following it from the beginning. before we get to what was in the opening statements, an exten-- understand the famil should appear. >> and quite interested in putting him. his brothers were there, they have been strong defenders of his, also his only surviving son, buster was in court today. i was sitting right behind him. when he walked in and sat down, alex murdaugh turned around and gave him a thumbs up. as defense finished presenting the opening statement, alex murdaugh turned back around to him and gave him sort of a nod of approval of the opening statement but the opening statements may last an hour or so, at times they were

very disturbing. they should both sides about what they learned from the murder scene. here is a little bit of those opening statements. >> the evidence is going to show, that neither paul, nor maggie, had any defensive wounds. neither one of them had defensive wounds. as if they did not see a threat coming from their attacker. >> the attacker says the prosecutor, alex murdaugh as he lays out the facts in the case of his opening statement. he described the brutal slaying of both paul and maggie murdaugh on the night of june 7, 2021. >> picked up that 300 blackout rifle, and open fire on his wife maggie, two shots. and took her down. after that, there are additional shots, including two shots to the head.

then again, catastrophic damage. kill her instantly. >> the prosecutor also makes an attempt early on, to give u-- convince the jury that alex murdaugh was on the scene despite the defense saying that he wasn't. >> 8:44 and 55 seconds, paul recorded video. you will see the video and you hear from witnesses that identify paul's voice. maggie's voice, and alex voice. anyone who would listen, he told was never there.8:44 and 55 seconds, there was a video. evidence will show that he was there. >> the defense attorney, opened with this. >> stand up. this is alex murdaugh.

he was a loving father of paul, and loving husband of maggie. >> then, he moved to describe the gruesome terms, how paul died. >> literally, exploded his head. like a watermelon hit with a sledgehammer. , all that was left is the front of his face. everything else was gone. his brain, exploded out of his head. hit the ceiling and the shed and dropped his feet. horrendous! horrible! >> defense in one hour before paul was killed, he and his father having a good time, riding around the property together. he took the jury, it doesn't make sense alex killed his son. he also pointed out that whoever shot paul, would have been covered in blood given the violent nature of the shooting. alex murdaugh, was not. >> his head exploded. you would be covered in blood from head to foot.

>> but they did their best to place the murder weapon and alex murdaugh scruffy hand. >> will hear from the evidence the case is found and cases found at the range were ejected out of the same weapon, that fired all the cases around maggie's dead body. and killed her. it was a family weapon that killed maggie murdaugh. >> where the prosecutor mentioned the audio found on the cell phone, which puts alex murdaugh at the scene earlier in the night. were you able to learn what is on the audio? >> we did. as you know, alex murdaugh always and he showed up at the house and found his wife and son bleeding and not breathing. then he called number one it -- 10:07 pm, we don't

with the artist of the defensive zone from the conversation, nothing nefarious about your tank with the defense finally told us what was on that audio. it was alex murdaugh talking to some paul, according to the defense about a dog attacking a chicken. he said there's nothing bad in the conversation.in fact this is called intent to grow about 10 minutes later, asked her to go to movies. it does put alex murdaugh at the scene muchearlier about 8:44 pm , far before called number one it 10:07 pm. i will be up to the jury to decide what they want to do with the information. >> we appreciate it. extrem-- not only followed by government minders also took away someone she was interviewing midsentence. you can ed tsee it right there more and that ahead , tivenext. . so every day, you can say... ♪ youuu did it! ♪ with centrum silver.

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report now you'll only see on cnn. china zero covid policy kept people in their homes for weeks at a time. authorities kicked down doors to remove people, forced them into quarantine, barricaded streets, refused to change their policy until rare mass protests sprung up across the country. most of that was taking place in large cities. while the vast interior of the country was pretty much forgotten. our selina wang wanted to see what was happening hundreds of miles away from the lockdowns and protests. so, she went, and her report is remarkable. watch. >> reporter: this is how people celebrate the lunar new year in daly village. >> cheers. >> reporter: this year's celebration is particularly special. the adults around this table all work in factories in the cities. this is the only time when many of them can see their children. the men next to me says, we've got to go anywhere we can make money, and china's zero covid

policy over the last three years has made it harder. he said the policy prevented them from going home, but now that the country is open, they can all be together. we came to this place to see how a part of rural china is celebrating the lunar new year without pandemic restrictions. we visited villagers' homes. this woman greets us with a treat and alcohol, both made from rice from the paddy fields nearby. drinking is a big part of celebrating here. about 1,000 people live in this village. and for hundreds of years, they've lived in these traditional wooden houses. and you can hear the chickens crowing, and there are these ducks as well that they raise for food. in many ways, this place is like a time capsule. its physical isolation has preserved their way of life for centuries. their china's ethnic minority. they have their own language, tradition, and culture, but they

can't escape the economic realities. normally this village is full of elderly and young kids, with most of the working age adults gone, working in far away f factories, sends money home. this couple works in guangdong province making circuit boards. he tells me he hasn't seen his kids for a year. last time he left, his son couldn't even walk. he says it's emotional to see them grow so much. for the first time in three years, millions of chinese migrant families are finally able to reunite without the fear of covid lockdowns. almost everyone i speak to on camera says no one around them has gotten covid, like this elderly woman, who makes traditional crafts. she says she has not been wearing a mask and points to her shoulder, saying she's had the vaccine shots. but we run into another group of young people who say otherwise.

the man in the brown jacket with his back turned is a doctor at a hospital in a nearby city. he says almost all of the villagers have been infected. i asked them if they just don't realize they have covid. in response, he says, they've never been tested but clearly they have covid symptoms. >> so, we have the three government -- following us. >> reporter: it's common for local officials to keep a close eye on journalists in their jurisdictions, but they were especially persistent in this village, following our every move. so, we drive out of the village to visit a public hospital about two hours away, hoping these government minders won't follow us, so people will feel more comfortable speaking freely. we walk inside the fever clinic. in the main hospital area, there are more people, but it's not packed. it's a stark contrast to the images of overflowing hospitals in major cities across china for weeks before.

i ask a nurse on another floor of the hospital if it was packed with patients a few weeks ago. she says, it's always packed and busy here. we try to ask why. it looks empty here. but another doctor interrupts, ending our interview. we find one woman, a patient's family member, who is willing to speak to us. she says everyone around her has already gotten covid and recovered. soon after, we realized we're being followed, apparently by a whole different crew. >> at least two, three, government minders. they are still following us all the way here. it's very obvious. >> reporter: they follow us to hospital after hospital, preventing anyone from speaking to us. i try confronting them. i asked them why they're following us everywhere, and he ignores me. so, i tried this official. she refuses to even acknowledge my question. and what happens next during my interview with this girl shocks

us. okay. so, i was just interviewing the girl, and the minders literally took her away from us. the man pushes the girl and her family away, then later leaves them alone. but our interviews in the marketplace are over. china's cdc says the covid peak in the country has passed, but in rural areas like this, experts say there's likely far more silent suffering, people who died at home because they couldn't afford to go to the hospital or were unable to get there on time. back in the village, we're greeted by the sounds of squealing pigs getting ready to be slaughtered. it's a lunar new year tradition. decades ago for most countryside family, this was the only time of the year they could afford to eat meat. >> the whole families, relatives, getting together for

the lunar new year. she shows me the fabric she made herself. sewing just a thin strip of this cloth takes her more than a day. whether it's in the village or far away factories, they're hardworking people. they'll do whatever it takes to give their kids a better life, even if it means long boughts of separate from them, making reunion likes this all the more meaningful. >> so amazing to see life in that village. it's also amazing to see the level of minders following you. i mean, the amount of resources they are devoting to, you know, this one report that you're doing. is that normal? >> reporter: yeah, anderson. i mean, it is normal for these local officials to basically they get a heads up when a foreign journalist with a foreign passport, they check into a hotel or a home stay. we weren't surprised when six minders greeted us.

but we were surprised by the level of persistence. there was a moment we were trying to get an amazing shot at the top of the mountain. we walked up and down the mountainside probably for two hours, and they followed us every step of the way up, every step of the way down on this winding, narrow road. i said to them, look, we're just trying to get some b roll of the shot. you don't have to follow us that closely. they were basically like, that's pretty much our job. we tried driving away to get more information on the covid situation. so, we went out several hours out of their district, but somehow they knew we were going there too because we had a different group of people tailing us the entire time we were reporting at hospital after hospital. they were much more aggressive there, much more obvious in the way they were trying to obstruct our reporting, clearly talking to the interviewees. we would speak to someone, they would cut in, speak in the local language, and suddenly they wouldn't speak to us anymore. clearly they had planned and alerted the networks of clin you cans there that we were coming.

this is the level of obstruction cnn faced a couple years ago in shin joao reporting on sensitive stuff. but now everything is considered sensitive. >> selina wang, i really appreciate what you do. thank you. coming up next, new developments in the tyre nichols case, the man who died after confrontation with memphis police. we're awaiting video of the confrontation to be released, but in the meantime, news about an autopsy ahead. rent - a - car. you don't want a friend. you want the friend. you don't want a job. you want the job. the is always over a. that's why we don't offer a car. we offer the car. ♪ sixt. rent the car. 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