man. they listened, they gave him words of encouragement, and they did what they promised. they gave the men in need of a hug the phone number to a local crisis center, and they went further. take a look. >> it's all right. it's all right. >> if you need to talk, or you can't talk to them -- >> call us. >> call that number. dude, all come out, on the issue. i'll sit down and talk with you. >> i appreciate it. >> if you ever need anything, just give us a call. >> it means a lot. thank you. >> that is a master class and compassion, and empathy. a reminder, if you are, somebody you know is facing a crisis, you call the national suicide prevention lifeline at 988. that is 24/7 again, at 988. news continues, erin burnett, out front, right now.

>> a special edition of out front next -- president biden albert ready to announce he's running again, as we are getting new details into out front about his visit to florida, tomorrow. why it has everything to do with ron desantis. plus, why a special election of the control the pennsylvania house of representatives is giving reason democrats across the country reason to celebrate. something you should be watching. and biden going after chinese president, xi jinping, by name. china responding, tonight. we go live, to beijing. let's go out front. good evening and welcome to a special edition of out front, i'm erin burnett. -- the president is heading to florida tomorrow. and he has his sights set in large part on the state's governor. this is reporting from phil mattingly at the white house this hour, and it comes as biden is expected to announce his own run for reelection in the day. in fact, in a new interview with judy woodruff, he took the question about his age head on. listen to what he said.

>> you will be 80 to the day of the next election, 86 if you are successful and elected to finish that term. does it give you any concern? >> watch me. that is all i can say. look, i'm a great respect specter of faith. i will be completely, thoroughly honest with the american people if i thought there was a health problem that would keep me from being able to do the job. >> let's go straight to phil mattingly, who is at the white house. and phil, you've got new reporting tonight about why biden is going to campaign in desantis's state and some very fascinating insight into how he sees florida. >> there are two primary reasons why this is one of the early post state of the union travel destinations for the president. the message, and the foil. to some degree, the foils. the message -- you saw it, last night, live and in person, in the exchange of president had back and forth with the republicans off-script on issues of medicare and social security.

we talk to white house advisers. they made clear, there are no two issues that pop more in their polling than defending medicare and social security, no state where that is more important given the size and scale of the population that is over the age of 65. and you stay with two politicians that represents the contrast that the president, the biden ministration, -- the president, personally, wants to detail. ron desantis the governor, and rick scott, the senator from florida, who he was citing last night it was -- we want this fight, we relish this fight. that fight is certainly going to be brought to the table by the president, as you saw on the state of the union, as you saw in wisconsin. but keep something in mind here. take a look at the travel of the vice president and the president in these first two days. one state is not like the other. the president, going to wisconsin, then florida -- the vice president going to georgia and then minnesota. three of those four states are critical to any electoral path for the president in 2024. florida is not one of them. white house officials are candid when they say they are not expecting it to swing dramatically back towards democrats given the way it has

gone over the course of the last couple of cycles. but they know that this is a perfect place to lay out that message on social security and medicare and you have four evils. as one white house official pointed to me, we like foils, there are no better foils in politics than rhonda scent is and rick scott. again, when you talk to white house officials, they make clear that florida is not necessarily a political winner for them. but on the message and on the actual politicians, they believe it is. that is why he is going down there. when you talk to them about what happened last night, the back and forth with republicans, as one official put it to me, we did not plan for that. but republicans walked right into the trap. chaos and extremes -- i asked if that is how they view ron desantis and senator scott. they said, the most chaos, the most extreme. >> all right. phil mattingly, thank you very much with that reporting. out front now, margaret hoover, jon martin, harry enten, and errol louis. what's interesting here is that biden is going to florida. and i hear the reporting on for, as the message, and that'll make sense. but fascinating, john, just in the world we lived in here over the past decades, giving up on

winning florida -- >> yeah. and look, this is democrats recognizing that it has slipped away from them. and that is largely the fault of democrats in the state. the distinction inside the state florida democratic party think is indicative of the week things that democrats need to watch out for. but i think it's a mistake to consider ron desantis and rick scott to your perfect foils. i would put my money on marjorie taylor greene and donald trump, if you want that. desantis matches up a lot more -- he's a bigger problem for joe biden than, say, a matchup at the presidential level, potentially, with all trump. rick scott, we saw last night, policy wise, take it all day long. he's not really sympathetic figure. but they should be trying to peel off florida the fact that florida slipped away from democrats is a problem for them they need to be dealing with. >> it is trusting that they will admit this. they are not coming out publicly and saying that they are clearly admitting it, it's a message, that they are trying to make, which is fascinating when you've got the senior population of florida, you think the message works by you think you are giving up on the state. >> florida democrats put a lot of money into the volumes

campaign just in last cycle. it didn't work out for them. there are a number of factors that are working against them. but one of the sleeper issues is that there has been a lot of migration into the state by venezuelans and others, who are refugees from socialism who have been sort of targeted with the message that democrats are socialist, it's just like the country that you fled. and it is not kind of run out of control, so that is not just refugees or second and third generation cubans, but now venezuelans, nicaraguans. it's a whole change going on in miami-dade. it's no longer as reliably blue. >> which is fascinating -- and margaret hoover, in this context, president biden is asked if he is going to run. and he's making clear that that's my intention. but i have not yet decided. here is something else he said to judy woodruff about that. >> it sounds like you are running. >> i haven't made that decision. it's my intention, i think. but i will make that decision. >> he's been using that word, intention, for a while.

strategic -- >> it's pointed. he clearly wants to run. he's trying to take the best interest of the country and his party. i think it's clear he wants to run, he wants to do it. it is working well for him. he wants to finish the job. this is an acidic he tested last night. >> -- a long time -- >> finish the job -- >> he clearly wants to. and he sat down with judy woodruff. look, go into florida is a gutsy move. florida is a red state. let's just be really honest. it has been red for the last -- i know, i know. the pollsters are here. >> no, i just -- >> this is basically a red state. he's going to florida campaign, especially, it's -- >> playing offense -- >> playing offense -- if democrats demonstrates a degree of vitality, from an 80-year-old incumbent president. >> invigoration -- >> right --

>> harry enten, in this context, desantis has this message and you talk about whether he is a foil, whether he is a foil or not -- certainly he's a formidable candidate, it seems, we have not really seen a lot of outside of florida yet. >> true. >> but he has made the whole issue of social policy and has he put it the center of his existence. right? every day -- so, today is the florida house bill really giving desantis a chance to run disney. i'm shortchanging it. i'm sure that bob iger would not like that shortchanging. but that's what he wants to do in florida. here is desantis today. >> disney is going to pay its fair share of taxes. disney is going to honor the debt. this is obviously now going to be controlled by the state of florida, which is no longer self-governing, for them. so, there's a new sheriff in town. and that's just the way it is going to be. >> he is the sheriff. he loves, it right? just to be clear -- in case anyone -- >> sheriff ron desantis. >> sheriff ron desantis. he loves the culture war. how is that working for him? >> the fact that we are talking about it, the fact that he is

making himself a recognized name throughout the country, not just in florida, i think, gives you an idea -- i feel it is working for him. we can just look at the issue of education. and we can look at the idea, you know, that he is running, and he has said, i am done with the book educators, he doesn't want critical race theory being taught to children. if we look at the polling nationally, and we see a centrally, ceará kept slider dissatisfied with the state or quality of k through 12 education, most americans say that they are dissatisfied, and the vast majority of republicans say that they are dissatisfied at this particular point. and if we look, particularly, at critical race theory, whatever that exactly means, right, but he is going to run at it. if you say, okay, do you believe that critical race theory should be taught in schools? what do we see? we see that the majority, in fact, far less than majority of americans say that critical race theory -- look at this. look at this. a proof of public schools teaching critical race theory -- just 39% of all voters. that's 16% of republicans. john, you really want to -- >> yeah, yeah -- >> the key point here is that

critical race theory is not taught in public schools. >> but all of us and the truth matters in politics -- >> context matters in politics. here is the blind spot. because it does poll well. you are right. desantis was reelected by 20 points. so, he is doing something right, not only with the republican base, but within -- previously what had been the swing state of florida. so, i don't want to take this issue of the table but you have to have the context and say, just because you proved disagreeable critical race theory, it matters that it is not the fact of the greats cool. >> let's be really clear here as well. there's a rift within the republican party in the conservative movement about what is the appropriate place for government to play in the context of corporations and private business. >> yes. >> rhonda sanchez is on one side of this. he has his entire legislature and act as a punitive measure against the corporation, a punitive drop provider in his state. >> a big one. there >> are republicans like asa hutchinson and chris christie and others who think that that's exactly not the

role and republicans -- >> -- >> but what's interesting -- know, go ahead. >> what's interesting is they are now going to reach ahead and go into the classroom, elementary school classrooms, high school classrooms, when you consider the amount of censorship of books that is going, on a lot of stuff, bad stuff coming out of tallahassee -- who is the last president who got elected based on banning books or attacking gays or running any of these extremist programs? really, it is not necessarily a winner. it may get him started. it may even get him through the republican primary. but as a winner for the country? i don't see it. >> one thing that's also happening here is that you have biden going and you heard phil mattingly's reporting. you are laughing. you don't want to know who desantis is as a foil. but he wants him to be a foil -- desantis. >> -- trump and not use his name. but less listen to what he had to say about biden. >> i will also just say this. i spend my time delivering results for the people of florida and fighting against joe biden. that is how i spend my time. i do not spend my time trying

to smear other republicans. >> look, obviously, desantis wants to be in the same sentence as joe biden. he wants to say, i am the opposite of joe biden. and therefore -- >> right -- >> forget the primary -- >> this is exactly what he wants -- >> it's the oldest play in the book. and he -- and avoid any direct conflict with all trump. because that's not his advantage in a prospective primary. not yet. >> in a strange, why he's doing donald trump's work for him to. he is trying to be the guy. he's fighting. trump he's fighting the opposition. he's fighting biden. he is going to do it instead of trump. therefore, he is the inheritor. >> all right. stay with -- our conversation continues after this. president biden also spoke to judy on the investigations into his son hunter. >> the only thing they can do is make up things about my family. it is not going to go very far. >> and twitter executives grilled on capitol hill today. we will tell you why.

as embattled congressman and serial liar george santos firing back at republican senator mitt romney after romney scolded centers face to face at the state of the union. for safe driving with liberty mutual. they customize your car insurance. so you only pay for what you need! whoo! we gotta go again. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ my a1c stayed here, it needed to be here. ray's a1c is down with rybelsus®.

i'm down with rybelsus®. my a1c is down with rybelsus®. in a clinical study, once-daily rybelsus® significantly lowered a1c better than a leading branded pill. in the same study, people taking rybelsus® lost more weight. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. need to get your a1c down? you may pay as little as $10 per prescription. if you think thinkorswim® isn't for you, think again. it's a dynamic suite of trading platforms designed for every kind of trader.

so no matter how you like to trade, there's a thinkorswim® platform for you. ooh, we're firing up the chewy app. can't say no to these prices! hmm, clumping litter? resounding yes! salmon paté? love that for me! essentials? check! ooh, we have enough to splurge on catnip toys! we did it, i feel so accomplished. pet me, please! okay that's enough. now back to me time. luv you! great prices. happy pets. chewy. welcome to the next level. this is the lexus nx with intuitive tech... (beeps) car: watch for traffic ...and our most advanced safety system ever. ♪ ♪ ♪ i gotta good feeling about this, yeah ♪ ♪ i'm with it ♪ ♪ i gotta good feeling about this ♪ ♪ yeah, ♪

♪ so let's get it ♪ ♪ i'm feeling good vibes ♪ three nights, esg... the broker will take your bonds. -diversification, futures, options. fiduciary. leverage. [whispering] -frothy markets. psst. virtual real estate is a lock. ♪ cold hard cash ♪ j.p. morgan wealth management knows the world is full of financial noise. i'm looking at your asset mix and plan. you are right on track. great, thanks. our easy-to-use app and local advisors are here to help you figure out what's right for your investments. j.p. morgan wealth management. >> all right, new tonight, president biden saying the -- members of the family won't go anywhere and will only backfire with the american people. here is that clip. >> one of the things

republicans say is a priority for them is investigating your family. there is your son hunter, your brother, jim. they talk about access that they say others have gotten because of you, because of your political success. how do you plan to deal with that. >> the public is not going to pay attention to that. they want these guys to do something and the only thing they can do is make up their family, it's not going to go any far. >> okay. she's talking about the investigations there to hunter biden, the classified documents also came up in that context he said there were some straight documents, and know they are there. >> look. i think that interview with the -- raises a couple of. issues for small, there is that issue of vigor. he was amped up last night. he was fiery, he was feisty. that is that sort of a similar biden we hear sometimes it's. very understated. >> right. >> as it comes to say the american people are not gonna care about investigations it hunter biden i think the republicans have along is we

have a blender and when it comes to obsessions. that said, first of all, it's true, people make a mistake if they don't think about the policies that impact people. but he should not cross over the legitimate questions that exist about why hunter biden was being paid so much money by questions when his father was vice presidency. >> to do so little -- >> to do so little -- that's not in the realm of obsession with conspiracy theory. that's legitimate questions and maybe answers to them. there may be nothing. there may be ethical questions but not legal questions. but they should not be dismissed out of hand. >> and errol, that's the question. when she said the first part of your question, she really pointed out there so well. when you talk about access, they, say others have gotten because of you and your political success. she was not saying corruption. she was -- she was just pointing at the sort of basic, as john avlon was saying, the basic, the obvious -- >> she's asking in a reasonable way. the republicans in that trump topheavy are literally trumped up. they are not asking in a reasonable way. the questions are made in utterly bad faith.

they are about the past and not the future. this is a talking point that has run amok. this is intended as a talking point during the 2020 election. they are mad somehow that did not take off. it did not do what they hoped it would do for the trump campaign to sort of neutralizes toward first impeachment or make it seem like everybody down here does this. it is the past. i mean, american families, i think the president is exactly right about -- this they are concerned about getting new sneakers for their kids. they are thinking about their next promotion they want their kids to go to college. they want to buy a house that they can afford. they are absolutely not concerned about a talking point from the 2020 election. >> and that said, i do think there are super reasonable, thoughtful questions about what a vice president son had access to, what feels he had access, to what business. >> -- >> they showed the half naked pictures of him. they can control themselves. >> but, but -- >> paying $50,000 a month --

>> there are real questions about what opportunities hunter biden had in the context of his business, because he was the vice president son that other people would not have had. and there is a transparency question. there is a transparency issue that the american people deserve to know. maybe the far edge of the right wing of the republicans are going to take advantage of that but regular ordinary americans don't have access to these kinds of privileges. and they ought to be able to figure out what the answer is. >> but they have the disciplines of how to stick to the facts and stick to the issues that matter. they might get somewhere with it. i don't see that happening. >> harry enten, do you see this is an issue that has any staying power in the middle? right? you are going to see the republicans do what they do. and you're going to see the democrats and the die hard democrats do what they do. so, it's whether this issue has any play on this way-able vote. >> no. no, i just don't buy. you know what i mean? to be perfectly honest with you --

because we have had this script a little bit at the end of 2020. now obviously there have been some new revelation since then. >> that's fair. >> but the fact is that they have to agree with my man errol louis here. voters care about the economy. they care about putting food on the table. they care about the price of gas that they are putting into their car. they care for a brief moment about the withdrawal from afghanistan, which is when biden's decline really sort of accelerated back in 2021. but i have not seen any poll -- and i look at a lot of polls -- that suggest that hunter biden is anywhere near the top of any real a voters list, at least in the middle, in terms of the most important stuff. >> and terms of the overall world we are in right, now you saw the midterms not go the way the republicans expected. there's no red wave. now they're some things that people may not be watching, but maybe they should be, harry enten, as they come into another cycle. democrat securing control of the pennsylvania state house last night -- this is a state that could've had a republican state, house an election denier governor, election denier secretary of state, all of it.

right? and it did not go that way. and you say that the special elections that we are seeing, pennsylvania being first and foremost, they may really matter. >> yeah. i mean, look -- if you look so far there have been so far nine special elections the beginning of 2023. and if you compare what has compared in those nine special elections, in georgia, virginia, and of course pennsylvania, compared to the 2020 baseline, what we see is that, in fact, democrats are doing one point better compared to biden's 2020 margin. of course of course, biden won the presidency. so, the fact that they are at least keeping up with that margin, it's -- >> widening the win -- >> widening the win. and more, that pennsylvania right, what we saw in 2022, you look at pennsylvania, you look at michigan, you look at wisconsin, three states have voted for obama in 2012 and then voted for 2016 and then biden in 2020 -- look at how those races went for governor. it's all a democrats. senate, split. but four of the five key races win for democrats. so, that, i think, gives you an indication of where this country is. he expected to be far more

republican given how low joe biden's approval rating is -- >> we are all sitting here talking about biden making this decision and how long is going to drag it out or delayed or strategically to decide or announce's decision. that is the special elections? do what you just showed us -- historically, does that mean anything for the next presidential election? >> i mean, i think we can look at the last midterm election. i think he gives you a pretty good indication that special elections can in fact be the leading indicator. after roe v. wade was overturned, what we saw was this massive flip in these special elections, whereby, before then, they were leaning much more republican compared to the 2020 baseline. well, after them, they laid much more democratic compared to the 2020 baseline. you can see on your screen right now, six points was before dobbs was implemented. six points better for democrats than biden did after it was -- so, for me, the fact that the special election so far are not too bad for democrats -- we will see what happens down the line. it's a pretty good indicator for them despite the fact that biden's approval rating is -- >> you have got to pay attention to the state

legislatures. they start swinging against obama, democrats lost real ground. at this is where redistricting starts creeping in. these are either laboratories of democracy or laboratories of democracy autocracy, to quote david pepper, so the fact that something like the keystone state legislature is swinging democrat is a very big deal. because not acting as a typical counter weight. and harry enten is exactly, right the role that dogs played in swinging that. it >> also explains a lot of what was on the speech last, night the president harping, over and over and over again on the industrial jobs, and on the 20,000 infrastructure projects that he's got to take credit for. that is what brings home the bacon, that's what he has been focused on from the very beginning. and that's what we are going to see in the run up to 2024. >> final thought, margaret? >> i think what we are going to see is president biden affirmatively announcing his reelection. i think you are going to see republicans do exactly what you expect -- what you see in ron desantis and whomever -- the final word is that there has been a conventional wisdom that is counting donald trump

out. and i think donald trump is still a factor here in the republican party for that's too easy for commentators to forget about, especially at this moment. >> all right. thank you all very much. and next, george santos is firing back at mitt romney, who told, him directly that he does not belong in congress. santos's fellow house members prepare a resolution to have him expelled. will it work. ? plus, an unlikely critic of woke politics. why new york city's democratic mayor worries about the fate of his party. i owe john avlon a heads up on this one. credit where credit is due. is he alone. we will be back. will you make something better? create something new? our dell technologies advisors can provide you with the tools and expertise you need to bring out the innovator in you. let's get started. bill, where's your mask? i really tried sleeping with it, everybody. now i sleep with inspire. inspire? no mask? no hose? just sleep. learn more, and view important safety information

at inspiresleep.com you love closing a deal. but hate managing your business from afar. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire

meet three moms who each like to bank their own way. luckily they've all got chase. smart bankers. convenient tools. one bank with the power of both. chase. make more of what's yours.

>> tonight, we are learning a

resolution to expel congressman george santos has been drafted. democrats in congress act introducing this tomorrow. but it's not expected to be brought for a floor vote, as of, course right, now speaker mccarthy stands by the battle congressman. this comes as santos is firing back at senator maroney after the senator told my last night state of the union that he did not belong in congress. >> it is not the first time in history that i have been told and shut to shut up and go to the back of the room, especially by people who come from a privileged background. and it's not going to be the last. and i'm not going to shut up and go to the back of the room. i think it's reprehensible that the senator would say something to me and demeaning where he said to me. it wasn't very mormon of him. that's what i can tell you. >> upfront now, democratic congressman, richie torres of new york. he is among those who filed the house ethics complaint against santos and his he is cosponsoring this resolution to expel him from congress. congressman torres, i appreciate your time, and i know you're gonna be announcing

this resolution tomorrow with your fellow democrats. why do you decide to take the step now? >> my colleagues, bobby garcia from california, is leading ago aleutian of members, including goldman daniel goldman, myself, and others, to use legislation to expel george santos. senator mitt romney spoke with the majority of americans. he spoke to both democrats and republicans. when he denounced george santos as a sick puppy. there is something sick about a man who lies about struggling with brain cancer, lies about his mother dying in 9/11, lies about his employees dying in paul's mass shooting. lies about his ancestry surviving the holocaust. he has defrauded the voters of new york state. he's defrauded his way into the united states congress. it is time for him to be held accountable. >> now, we can mccarthy is still sticking by santos and he's waiting for the ethics committee. he's refused to call from the too step down. despite the many lies you are and some of them that have been uncovered of the past several weeks. many of these are just simply

lies. they are absolute lies. they are separate from other investigations that are now ongoing into whether there is real legal culpability and other things. do you think santos is in congress to stay at this point? if mccarthy does not change his view? >> it appears that mr. santos is is intent on clinging on for as long as he can. his own reason to maintain office is to maintain leverage for play bargain in the event of criminal prosecution. but i want to be crystal clear. these are not simply lies. he won his congressional seat under fundamentally false pretenses. they are more egregious than his pathological lying. it's his lawbreaking. he violated ethics. he violated campaign finance law. he violated securities law. there is ample evidence to justify his removal from congress. and the fact that he resigned from his committees, presumably under pressure from kevin mccarthy, ease admission of guilt.

>> certainly, under that pressure -- we will see what mccarthy will do as this moves forward. i do want to ask you, before you go, congressman, about something the new york mayor eric adams said today. because we have been talking so much tonight about the elections and president biden's likely -- very soon announcement that he will be running again -- so, mayor adams is blaming woke democrats for pushing away some voters. he got really specific about it. i wanted to play it for you. >> it is the imaging of our latino community and our aapi community that is leaving the traditional democratic base is because we have allowed the loudest and those who consider themselves to be woke -- some of us never went to sleep. and we hear and speak directly to people. >> so in the 2020 election, the 2022 election, democrats won latino men by eight points. that was down 21 points from 2018. democrats dropped 14 points

with latino women. this is what he's talking about in terms of the hemorrhaging. do you agree with the mayor as to the reasons? that he is talking about the woke setting the democratic agenda? >> i do acknowledge that there has been a loss of support among latinos and members of the asian community. but keep in mind, some of those patterns are historical. if i remember correctly, george w. bush, when he ran for president in 2004, one 40% of the latino vote. so, the latino community has never been a monolith. it's an ideologically varied community. and that's a pattern that has held for decades, while before we even heard the term wokeness. >> all right. i appreciate your time. congressman richie torres, thank you. >> of course. >> also, tonight, house republicans are kicking off their fight with with hunter biden. the oversight committee is holding a hearing. and that is where former twitter executives admitted that the company made a mistake by suppressing a new york post story about the contents of hunter biden's laptop in 2020.

they also testified that the federal government had no influence on their decision to do that. here is the clip. >> i believe twitter aired in this case, because we wanted to avoid repeating the mistakes of 2016. i am aware of no unlawful collusion with or direction from any government agency or political campaign on how twitter should have handled the hunter biden laptop situation. >>. okay. saying no government involvement or pressure. but despite that testimony under oath, republicans continue to claim, without any evidence, that the fbi was behind this. >> many americans did not know about it. because of a coordinated cover-up by big tech, this swamp and mainstream use. >> twitter was basically a subsidiary of the fbi. >> i think you guys want to take it down. i think you guys got played by the fbi. >> donie o'sullivan is out front. donie o'sullivan, as you are hearing, and can see, basically

a subsidiary of the fc fbi. despite the testament to the contrary. but this overshadows many of the fireworks and the clashes that have come on this committee. because they now have it. they have got the gavel and they are going to use it to investigate president biden and his family. >> yeah. and look, i think today was a really missed opportunity. because, look what you heard there about twitter being a subsidiary of the fbi -- what we actually saw in the so-called twitter files, kind of selectively released internal documents and emails from twitter, is a lot of pushback from twitter employees, including some of those who testified today, when they were getting requests, which we are learning, by the way, of from both sides, and both political parties saying, no, we are not going to take this down -- and when they were getting emails -- content that was being flagged by the fbi, the fbi specifically, as far as we can see, did not say, twitter, you need to take this down. but they were flagging content. twitter also pushing back -- look, i think there are real

questions to answer here about how these platforms could and if they should at all be working with governments. the whole reason that the fbi was talking to twitter in the first place because of all that russian interference in 2016 and. the feeling was that everybody kind of missed the ball on that. but there was none of that discussion today. what we also heard, of course, was from democrats, who were pointing out that the whole premise and parts of the new york post hunter biden story, that him from his story, are false. have a listen. >> that is false. it's 100% false. >> is the gentleman sure about that? >> yes. in fact, i am sure about that. as lead counsel in the first impeachment investigation, we proved that he was actually fired because he was not prosecuting corruption. >> i'm sorry. with the gentlemen yield -- corruption of the presidents son company? >> i would like to reclaim my

time. >> the gentleman is recognized. >> so we are going to be seeing a lot of that, i guess. but look, despite the point there that you have about the parts of the story that were false, they twitter executives themselves admitted that the company should have blocked the story in the way that they did it. but we have not seen evidence that the fbi directed them to do so, which is the basis of why -- >> of sort of the -- >> yes -- >> the corruption allegations -- >> so, what did twitter executives say about the question of the trump white house taking their posts? because what's interesting is, when you have republican saying, okay, okay, the government is trying to direct it and the government is doing this, well, requests come from elected officials and administrations to both sides all the time -- >> yes. this is -- all we've heard so far from the so-called 20 vials is how democrats were badgering twitter, saying you need to take down this and this. it's misinformation, disinformation. what we learned today, though, from one former twitter employee, who twist defied testified under oath before the

committee, who was working at twitter at the time back in 2019, she said, she learned from a supervisor at twitter that the trump white house requested this chrissy teigen tweaked to be taken down. i think we can show it there on the screen. first, i should point out that donald trump took a pop at chrissy teigen, saying musician john legend and his filthy mouth wife -- it goes on. chrissy teigen responded in kind with some words there that they have told me i am not allowed to say on tv. apparently, the white house took exception to this, contacted twitter. they said, you need to take a look at this and you guys should take this down. and twitter did not take it down. cnn has reached out to the trump team. we have not heard back from them. but look -- free speech, censorship, all of this -- >> it's huge questions. everybody wants to censor what they don't like. >> precisely. >> we'll, next, brand new

information tonight on what the u.s. knew about the chinese spy balloon before it entered american airspace. why defensive fischel chose not to act right then. and the moment the senior u.s. official says things got, quote, strange -- plus, a couple finds out there and born baby as a fatal condition. they have to get an abortion to save the mother's life. but it is against the law in their state of ohio. you will hear their powerful and heartbreaking story. ental car is so boring to drive. let's be honest. the rent-a-car industry is the definition of boring. and the reason can be found in the name itself. 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.

there's nothing like volunteering at the fire department. there's nothing like hitting the waves. but with my moderate-to-severe eczema it hasn't always been easy,... ...since my skin was so irritated and itchy... ...and even worse with all my gear on. now, i'm staying ahead of my eczema. there's a power inside all of us to live our passion.

and dupixent works on the insie to help heal your skin from within. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema. so adults can have long-lasting clearer skin and fast itch relief. serious allergic 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. healing from within is a powerful thing. ask your eczema specialist how dupixent can help heal your skin from within.

>> you, tonight the u.s. military fail to flag an early warning about the chinese spy balloon as an urgent matter. it's headed towards the united states, sources say top defense and intelligence officials who saw the internal alert on january 27th. fortunately alarmed by it. -- cross into alaska. the urgency -- until the spy balloon moved over alaska and headed on a path nearly before the continental u.s. and that's when fighter jets -- all of this news comes a day after president biden -- xi jinping during the state of the union address. >> let's be clear. when in the competition should unite all of us. we face serious challenges across the world. but in the past two years democracy is going to become stronger, not weaker. autocracies grow stronger, not weaker.

name me a leader who changed places with xi jinping. namely one. namely one. >> selina wang is out front in beijing. selina, it's pretty incredible. the passion in the force behind that pointing and how was this -- cheating thing and a chinese government. what's the response? >> yeah, erin. that was probably one of the most fiery parts of the speech. he was practically shouting by the end of it. and beijing's response to the speech has been that the u.s. is smearing china under the, quote, pretext of competition. and so really in addition to directly calling out she jinping biden had also really underscored this rhetoric, that autocracies have grown recurrent the world -- scene challenges autocracies and said they also don't want the entire u.s. china relationship defined by competition. from beijing's perspective, that speech underscores a view

america's trying to keep china down and contain its rise. they really see biden as building on top of former president donald trump's our stance on china. they have seen the biden administration drop these broad ooh la la and policies that challenge china's influence. for instance, the sweeping restrictions and the chokes of china's access to -- other countries that and also during a speech semiconductor production at home bringing back supply chains and accused the u.s. of undermine supply chains. erin? >> selina wang. thank you very much, live from beijing. i want to go now to retired army lieutenant general mark hertling. general hertling, the context -- spy balloon i guess for back of a letter word program on china -- this chinese surveillance program extends far beyond the united states. what more can you tell us of

that? >> first, erin, i would go back to what he said at the very beginning about the military failing to flag the balloon and going over alaska has an urgent matter. i'm not sure i agree with that. the tipper that some of our reporters talked about in a recent article in -- .com. talked about information that was provided to the command about this balloon coming across the aleutian's and going into africa. now, i hate to see aaron, erin burnett, but i will give you a hierarchy of information military information. and organizations. there's an organization called, alaska command, and it is near anchorage, actually. they have responsibility, that's part of northern command, the command that eventually shot down this balloon. it's kind of guarding the coastline. they have an air force base with the 11 airports there. they have 18 different radar stations. so when a balloon like that comes over, they're going to tip on it. and send that into the defense intelligence agency. so it goes out and something

that i, as commander, and all of the commanders get on a daily basis called the black book. and until something becomes important, you won't do anything about it. the military has a phrase called zero and are. observe and report. if there is a danger associated with something, then you do something about it. but when you just observing it, and tracking it, and they had fine control this is a moved across alaska. then into canada. a different nation. and coordination with canada -- then into the united states, i think that's when it started to rise to level the joint chief of staff heard about the intelligence. then the president eventually. >> right. and of course now they know the signature of. it appears this happened multiple times before. i'm sure there's a lot of questions being asked right now. and one of the ways there gonna get some answers. it's mugging the payload, which landed off the south carolina coast when they took down. we understand, general, that the u.s. military has recovered most of the debris now from the service.

they are now going to be underwater wreckage to try to get everything they can. because at the whole point, if you are going to take daniel and any information that you are able to get. what are you hearing about what we might learn about the balloons capability from what is now sitting at the bottom of the ocean? >> i'm hearing that we are learning a lot. of course, erin i have to comment that i don't have classified clearance anymore. but i'm hearing from some of my friends in the navy and air force. and they're talking about the kinds of things they're finding. so, not only was this balloon jammed and tracked across the united states so it can't collect data. but the data collectors it did avant-garde were really looking at electronic surveillance, and signals surveillance. who is a big platform. but it was jammed the entire time it is coming across the united states. so, we learned a lot about what it is trying to report before back to china. also the fact it was certainly was not a weather balloon, but as we collect the data from the ocean floor off the coast of carolina, the carolinas.

i think we are going to learn a whole lot more about the equipment that the chinese used. by the way, this gave us a whole lot of information on a lot of other balloons. that they are using and other areas of the world to include, and most importantly, taiwan. >> absolutely. general mark hertling, thank you so much, and for sharing all that information. it's much appreciated. >> pleasure. >> after this, an emotional story. no matter how you feel about abortion rights. you're going to see a family sharing the tragic decision that they had to make, the long journey to do it, when help once could have been offered much closer to home. that is next. ♪ customize and save. ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

ugh covid-19? and being overweight makes it more risky. i'm calling my doctor. if it's covid, paxlovid. authorized for emergency use, paxlovid is an oral treatment for people 12 and up... who have mild-to-moderate covid-19 and have a high-risk factor for it becoming severe. my symptoms are mild now, but i'm not waiting. if it's covid, paxlovid. having even one risk factor, like being over 50, diabetes, or smoking increases your chances of severe covid. taken within five days of symptoms, paxlovid reduced the risk of developing severe covid-19 by 86%. paxlovid may strengthen or weaken other medicines. taking it with certain medicines may cause life threatening side effects or affect how paxlovid works. so it's critical to tell your doctor about all medicines you take including herbal supplements, because lab tests or changing the dose of your medicines may be needed. tell your doctor if you have any serious illnesses, allergies, liver or kidney disease, are pregnant or plan to become pregnant, are breastfeeding, or use birth control.

paxlovid may affect how your birth control works. don't take paxlovid if you're allergic to nirmatrelvir, ritonavir, or any of its ingredients. serious side effects can include allergic reactions, liver problems, and issues with hiv medicines. other side effects include altered taste, diarrhea, high blood pressure, muscle aches, abdominal pain, nausea, and feeling unwell. with my asthma, i knew it could be riskier. if it's covid, paxlovid. ask your doctor or pharmacist if paxlovid is right for you. intelligent technology. courageous performance. discover a new world of possibilities in the all-new lexus rx. never lose your edge.

>> an ohio couple on a journey that would not we shine any other family. their unborn child was diagnosed with a deadly condition. they would not survive. the mother's health was also in jeopardy. but ohio strict anti abortion laws meant they could not get an abortion in their home state. elizabeth cohen is out front. >> it was a long road to pennsylvania, where beth and kyle long say goodbye to their baby daughter star. >> the road began in columbus ohio. where beth and kyle met and married, excited to start a family. they tried more than four years,

spending $45,000 on fertility treatments. finally, beth became pregnant with a baby girl they named star. at four months, star looked great. >> wow. i'm going to have your baby. >> but then, on january 4th, kyle wrote in his journal, beth receives bad test results. the doctors thought the baby had spina bifida. we are prepared to raise a child with any disability. but it wasn't spina bifida. most of star's organs were outside her body. doctors delivered the devastating news. it was fatal. they had something called -- complex. it's very rare. most of her internal organs spilled out. and a hole in her abdomen. and it was enmeshed in the placenta. >> kyle rodon's journal, he heard the doctor state, the condition was not compatible

with life. and there is more bad news. the doctors explained that because of stars can this condition, beth had an increased chance of during birth or during an abortion. and might possibly need a hysterectomy. >> the bigger she gets, the more complicated and in meshed it's going to be. so, time was of the essence. >> but because of this ohio law, the longs could not move in a timely way. beth is a nurse employed by the state of ohio. the law bans her state issued insurance from paying for abortions. there's an exception for when the life of the mother is in danger. but beth life wasn't in imminent danger. and she says her insurance company refused to cover the procedures. which would cost 20 to $30,000. >> a spokesman for her workplace which owns the insurance plan, said they would continue to comply with the law while providing exceptional patient care. >> after three weeks, the longs were finally able to schedule a abortion at a hospital in pennsylvania that would give them a discounted rates.

beth and kyle the long -- in mid january, kyle reached out to ohio governor mike dewine and u.s. senator j.d. vance, who oppose abortion. he wrote, we loved our baby girl and would have done anything to keep her. ohio's laws keep parents from the health care they need. kyle says he never received responses. a spokesman for governor dewine, and senator vance, telling cnn they plan on responding to calls a male. dewine noting that the law banning state insurance from playing for abortion was enacted before he took office. the long's left with anger and grief. a grief counselor took this picture of stars feat to help them remember her. >> -- mental anguish. because i love her. >> now, beth and kyle want

other families who might be in the situation to know that there are resources to help them get the health care that they need. now, they're recovering, beth is recovering from the procedure, and they hope to start a fertility treatment soon as they can. to finally start their family. erin burnett? >> thank you so much. such a horrible story, no matter how you feel about that issue. but thank you so much for that reporting, elizabeth. and thanks so much to all of you for being with us. cnn tonight, with alison camerota is next. prizefighter... ...meets trailblazer. ♪ ♪ classic meets modern. ♪ at morgan stanley, we may seem like a contradiction...and we are. ♪

♪ at 87 years old, we still see the world with the wonder of new eyes, ♪ helping you discover untapped possibilities ♪ and relentlessly working with you to make them real. ♪ partnering to unlock new ideas, ♪ to create new legacies, ♪ to research, innovate, collaborate, ♪ and build the way to transform a company, industry, economy, generation. ♪ because grit and vision working in lockstep puts you on the path to your full potential. ♪

new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. when you sponsor a job, you immediately get your shortlist of quality candidates, whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. visit indeed.com/hire and get started today.

- [announcer] do you have an invention idea but don't know what to do next? call invent help today. they can help you get started with your idea. call now 800-710-0020.