america day. my how times have changed. having banned dr. suess, we now found, find, that dr. suess books right at the top of amazon's best-selling list. that is the response of consumers. banned from dr. suess, they buy it. time's up for me but, neil, it is yours. neil: you know the whole thing with dr. suess though without wading into the controversy, how if you couldn't find with normal words i made up words. so isn't that cheating? stuart: yeah, i guess so, yeah, i guess so. neil: i really have nothing to weigh in here. thank you, stuart, very, very much. i always thought if you want to be a poet use real words. welcome, everybody. glad to have you. here he goes. we have a lot we're following. lifted restrictions in texas, mississippi. mississippi's governor will join us shortly, tate reeves why he is doing it and what is behind

his recommendations, not outright mandates that he is calling for here. just reversing some of those restrictions. all of this at a time we're getting very good news on the covid front, including the 100 vaccine count right now that had been distributed already with more to come. as you heard yesterday, president biden's optimistic that every single adult american will have access to a vaccine by the end of may. we're going to be exploring that with dr. marty makary, what that means, what he makes of the state code reversals going on. other suits may follow suit in this broadcast. all the restrictions, easing up, they are having a stimulative affect at the corner of wall and broad, it is not as broad-based you think. first to jonathan serrie on restrictions being lifted, what is happening at certain states, on the national front a lot going on. jonathan from atlanta.

reporter: neil, the biden administration is leveraging the private sector not only to ramp up more vaccine production but bet more shots into arms especially more vulnerable. they announced more than moments ago more than a dozen will reach out to one million seniors in underserved areas. >> appointment scheduling for seniors. they will arrange transportation to and from a vaccination site and insure seniors get back for a second shot. reporter: vaccinations increase texas governor greg abbott announced starting next wednesday his state will no longer mandate the use of face masks. businesses including restaurants and bars may operate at 100% capacity. >> it is clear from the recoveries, from the vaccinations, from the reduced hospitalizations and from the safe practices that texans are using that state mandates are no

longer needed. reporter: texas move faces tough criticism. houston mayor sylvester turner tweeted texas keeps making national news for the wrong reasons. a electric grid failed systemwide throughout the state and rolling back the mask order, when 88% of taxance are not vaccinated. we are better than this. leadership matters. effective today mississippi is also lifting its mandate and lifting its capacity restrictions on businesses. governors in both states are still urging their residents to follow the advice of public health experts, only now the incentive is personal responsibility rather than government oversight. neil? neil: all right. jonathan, thank you very much. speaking of those governors implementing such lifting of restrictions, stressing personal responsibility, the governor of mississippi, governor tate reeves who joins us right now. governor, very good to have you

back. >> thank you for having me on, neil, always a pleasure. neil: so what was behind this, governor? you feel obviously comfortable doing this but, you seem to take pains to say this is a little bit different than what is going on in texas. explain. >> what i would tell you is we have focused on our primary goal, our primary objectives throughout this pandemic. we never attempted to say that we're trying to keep every single mississippian from contracting the virus. our goal has always been to protect the integrity of our health care system such that if anyone gets the virus, if they can get better with quality care, that they receive that quality care. so for us to utilize the heavy hand of government to mandate things, it had to be justified. at our peak, neil, we had 1450 mississippians in hospital beds. today, we have 420.

at our peak, neil, we had 360 mississippians in the icu. today that is below 120. so we now have a situation such that if you get the virus, you have the opportunity to get quality care. the other thing that is truly a game-changer, due in large part to "operation warp speed," we have been able to distribute and get shots in arms in almost 700,000 innoculations in mississippi. as you know we're a state of 2.97 million. we have seen significant up take in the vaccines and that is making a huge difference. and because of that our numbers are plummeting. neil: are you worried you might jinx it? i talked to dr. richard besser, a former acting cdc director, who took a look particularly referring to texas which is far

more sweeping that they're playing with fire, that the governor is playing with fire. that they're risking the great improvements that have been made not only in that state, by extension i assume yours, and the potential of it reversing. are you worried about that? >> well as i have said throughout the pandemic, if sentence begins with are you concerned, are you worried then the answer will always be yes because there are so many unknowns out there. my rhetorical question back is, if not now, when? if we've gone from 2500 cases a day, 15,000 cases in a week and our health care systems maintains its integrity, now we're down to the last three days we have not had 1000 cases total over three days. in fact our seven day moving average is literally 85% below where it was just two months ago. there are some on the other side of this debate, on the other side of this argument that would

try to convince you that we're never going to be able to not have mask mandates. that we're never going to be able to be in a position in which we can loosen these restrictions. the fact is in my state the numbers do not justify heavy interaction by the government. that doesn't mean that mississippians are not smart enough. that those are most vulnerable when they go out into public, they will continue to do things that help mitigate the spread of the virus. we'll continue to see less crowds and in those areas where we do have crowds, the people are making an individual decision to go into any of those venues should they choose to do so. neil: recommendations are, in other words you're a little more cautious than texas i guess. you not allow businesses to open up 100% full capacity. you are recommending i believe, you are recommending that people still wear masks for their own

comfort level and what have you, but, this is not sort of like full 100% reopening of the state, do i have that correct? >> well, actually it's a full 100% opening of the state, neil. the fact is -- neil: at 100%. restaurants at 100% capacity? >> the only restriction is maintained is in large indoor venues, as you know, college baseball is a big deal down here in the south, particularly, mississippi we have two top five college baseball teams. with removed restrictions from outdoor venues. we still have a 50% restriction on large indoor venues. there are no restrictions on private businesses. we did maintain a few restrictions on k-12 schools, mainly because of the debate going on in this country and the fact so many places in blue states are not in classroom as you know. our kids in mississippi have been in the classroom since the

first week in august, well over 95% of our kids are in the classroom today. that is something that -- neil: so, governor, i'm sorry, governor, i sorry i misspoke then, restaurants 100% capacity then? >> 100% capacity in restaurants right now, yes. neil: got it. governor, thank you very much for clarifying all of that. let's see how all of this goes. governor tate reeves, the man who leads the state of mississippi through this, one of the few states now reversing a lot of restrictions that have been in effect rather dramatically here on the heels of texas and of course florida. has been doing this quite some time. reaction from dr. marty makary, johns hopkins university professor, the price we pay, author, much more. doctor, what do you make of the moves on the part certainly of the mississippi governor, texas governor? these have been in effect quite sometime in florida. your thoughts? >> i think they're premature,

neil. look i would advise against it if i were advising those governors. there are two entirely lifting restrictions. one the ability for businesses to have higher capacity. that is much more feasible right now. you can do that safely with universal masking. a lot of businesses rely on the universal masking advisory from the state to enforce it and protect their employees and encourage people to come through. i think you get more business when you have a universal masking policy we'll transition to a selective masking policy where you only wear mask if you have got symptoms or susceptible or very high-risk and concerned and it is no longer you will see something most people do. i think it is good to give people hope and light at the end of the tunnel. the uk did that. they set the opening dates in april, april 12 and june 15th. that is much more reasonable way to go about this, rather than jump the gun, put some at jeopardy. neil: so how do you play it?

you envision, doctor, this heard immunity taking hold by next month. a lot of people hear that. they have a great deal of respect for you. all right, i'm not going to be devil-may-care, but by the same token i can ease up. what do you tell hem? >> the most important message i want to get out to people, for the first 10 days you get the first dose of vaccine, you have essentially no immunity. that immunity does not kick in until high protective levels until four weeks out. one of the reasons why we're seeing a lot of actions we see now, the broad benefit, will have mid-april, late april, maybe may. herd immunity is not binary. we have already herd immunity for health care workers in the united states. many whom had the infection or have been vaccinated. we're about to reach herd immunity in nursing homes in three to four weeks. herd immunity will be in rolling

ways in different geographic parts of the country in the month of april and some parts in may. some states rolling back restrictions by the way are not doing very good on the vaccine rollout. texas is the third worst in the vaccine, vaccination rate. mississippi vaccinated 14% of its population. alaska has vaccinated one in four adults. neil: doctors, when you look at the various stats, i'm sure a lot come into your office by the hour, i know there are hospitalizations, there are new cases, there are tragically deaths we have to monitor as well, some of those can be lagging indicators, especially deaths, but having said that what would you recommend governors observing straighting these restriction easings something that they would immediately have to pounce on, something they should watch, that you would watch? >> well i think hospitalization is a good indicator.

it lags behind the case numbers and i think the age distribution of those case numbers is important, neil. because what you are going to see, case numbers come down dramatically in april but the folks who have the infection are going to be predominantly young people who are most commonly asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. that is going to linger for a while. you know that is not the worst end of the pandemic. what we're concerned abought is people who are vulnerable feel empowered and liberated to be out there, stop doing anything that protection them and have this false sense of security. you don't want to get the infection in the last one month or 1 1/2 months of a year-long pandemic that would be tragic. neil: you know by the end of may we're told that every american adult who wants a vaccine will be able to have one. that timetable. does that jive with what you're thinking? >> that is exactly right and i

don't think it is because of any hero in this vaccine story. these were plans, you know, that started nine months ago and that railroad was built by admiral bret giroir, some other pretty impressive folks i talked to late last year and early this year. the reality is what drives the vaccines coming online, off the production line, is demand in the market and the reason "operation warp speed" was successful is it created an insured a market for the pharma companies. otherwise they weren't sure that market was going to exist. so they prepurchased the vaccine, what is driving the market and production, is not politicians but massive global demand. countries want to pay good amount of money for the vaccine. you're seeing j&j, merck come together and us blowing through the targets with a lot of more sack seen coming online in mid-march than we anticipated.

neil: dr. marty makary, thank you very much. good to see you again. >> good to see you, neil, thanks. neil: we'll look at the financial implications of all of this, especially the vaccine and the aggressive rollout and how it is affecting the stimulus debate. we're seeing signs that the biden white house is giving in to some moderate senators request they ease up on some of the expenses in this. that might be in response as well, to improving news on the vaccine front. ♪.

♪ limu emu & doug ♪ hey limu! [ squawks ] how great is it that we get to tell everybody how liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need? i mean it... oh, sorry... [ laughter ] woops! [ laughter ] good evening! meow! nope. oh... what? i'm an emu! ah ha ha. no, buddy! buddy, it's a filter! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ municipal bonds don't usually get the media coverage the stock market does. in fact, most people don't find them all that exciting. but, if you're looking for the potential for consistent income that's federally tax-free, now is an excellent time to consider municipal bonds from hennion & walsh. if you have at least 10,000 dollars to invest, call and talk with one of our bond specialists at 1-800-763-2763. we'll send you our exclusive bond guide, free.

with details about how bonds can be an important part of your portfolio. hennion & walsh has specialized in fixed income and growth solutions for 30 years, and offers high-quality municipal bonds from across the country. they provide the potential for regular income...are federally tax-free... and have historically low risk. call today to request your free bond guide. 1-800-763-2763. that's 1-800-763-2763

when you switch to xfinity mobile, you're choosing to get connected to the most reliable network nationwide, now with 5g included. discover how to save up to $300 a year with shared data starting at $15 a month, or get the lowest price for one line of unlimited. come into your local xfinity store to make the most of your mobile experience. you can shop the latest phones, bring your own device, or trade in for extra savings. stop in or book an appointment to shop safely with peace of mind at your local xfinity store.

♪. neil: all right. back to that $1.9 trillion stimulus plan cooking up in the senate right now. apparently chuck schumer is saying that the senate will be able to take up the covid-19 bill as early as tonight. now remember there is a huge and very, very involved process to all of this. a vote-a-rama they look at different amendments, various

parts to this, takes forever to do, that might kick off tonight. that the gist i'm taking away from it. blake burman on some early concessions. i don't know if strong term, certainly one term that you could explain how the white house is positioning this so moderate democrats will vote for it. blake, can you tell us what is going on? reporter: what is happening on capitol hill negotiating with senate democrats to try to put together this $1.9 trillion plan that will have the backing of the white house. remember it will need all 50 votes from democrats to get it back over to the house, eventually over here to the white house. here is what i'm told from a democratic aide that there has been an agreement as it relates to targeting of the direct payments, 1400-dollar direct payments. here are the numbers, neil, that i was given just a little while ago. it would still be up to 75 thou dollars for an individual filer but the phaseout ends at $80,000. the full 1400 up to 75,000.

less after that, up to $80,000. then for joint filers, again full 1400 up to $150,000. then the phaseout up to $160,000. you can see as well, what it would mean for head of household. the negotiation, neil had to do with the phaseout level, which was brought down. if you bring down the phaseout, it means less money goes out as it relates to direct payments. democrats can use that money in other portions of the $1.9 trillion bill. by the way, i'm told as it relates to the unemployment insurance benefits, there had been some discussion whether it, federal plusup or $400 or $300. i'm told it will stay at that $400 level. in any event, neil, democrats in washington still confident they can get it over here, that bill to the white house in a final form by march 14th. 11 days from now for president

biden to sign. neil: neil. that is an interesting footnote on that, blake. so the money they might be saving by making sure fewer checks go to people who might be over certain income limit, it is not as if that will go into savings, to reduce the size of it? it will be just going somewhere else, right? reporter: that is it what we believe, chuck schumer, senate majority leader democrats feel the need to go big. it is a matter if you take from here, where will you put that money to over there and that is sort of what they're dealing with up on the hill. neil: got it. blake burman at the white house. the atlanta federal reserve is so optimistic about stimulus, keep in mind the forecast for first quarter gdp growth is up 10%. before any of this presumably kicks in. so that is pre, pre, two trillion dollar stimulus. carol roth, former investment banker joins us. larry glazer, mayflower advisors managing partner.

carol, that is the high side of some estimates of the atlanta fed but there is also a federal reserve tracking report that says that is absolutely doable, and that is again before stimulus kicks in. what do you make of that? >> welcome to day 315 day of 353 days to slow the spread. people are just over it. there is so much pent-up demand. if you look at personal savings rate, before we talk about any stimulus, it is the second highest level since world war ii, 20.5%. as the vaccine rolls out, as people are looking to get out of their homes, the weather is improving, hospitalizations are down, there is no doubt when you turn the economy back on that is actually what is going to stimulate it. so i don't think it is unrealistic based off low levels we're looking at we see the double-digit potential increase. i think that is what stimulates

it, not cash for cronies program coming out of the government. neil: you know, larry, leaving aside about prior stimulus efforts and now we've got another two trillion presumably in short order what's the fallout for the economy? judging from a lot of corporate plans and hiring initiatives and expansions and plane purchases whether you're talking united airlines a host of others they're looking forward to something. what is it? >> that's right, neil. look, last year in the throes of the pandemic it was wall street that appeared to lead main street. it was really on the backs of big technology firms that actually benefited from covid. now wall street is saying different tune. it is listening to these economists, yes there is a reopening going on but reflation rotation starting to happen in the markets. we're seeing that. if you look, year-to-date, you're seeing energy stocks leading. you are seeing regional banks leading, agriculture. the work boots, brown shoes are

in charge of this economy right now. last year was all about the tech darlings. it is all about tesla. buying tesla now is a lot like the dope nut for breakfast. it seemed like a good idea at time. i regret later on. there were probably better choices on the menu. given that, we need to make better choices for our portfolios in 2021. they are a lot of good choices. they're not the choices we made last year, neil. you know what? consumers are sensing it too. lumber prices going through the roof. gas prices going through the roof. grocery store, governor 20 year average on prices. throw this on top after reopening, on top of a vaccine, maybe it is misguided it winds up in the wrong place and we'll all regret it, like i regret the doughnut. neil: never regret the doughnut. good analogy, nevertheless there is a hole in that story. see what i did? we'll have you guys back in a little bit.

i do want to update on all these type of expansion efforts both of these guests were talking about. las vegas is an example of that, a series of reopenings right now are far more widespread for sin city than we ever thought. doesn't right now grady trimble know it? reporter: neil, vegas is back. that is the message from mgm resorts as they reopen all of their casinos and hotels for 24/7 operations. we'll tell you why they say now is the time to reopen. that is coming up. ♪.

metastatic breast cancer is relentless, but i'm relentless every day. and having more days is possible with verzenio, proven to help you live significantly longer when taken with fulvestrant. verzenio + fulvestrant is for women with hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer that has progressed after hormone therapy. diarrhea is common, may be severe, or cause dehydration or infection. at the first sign, call your doctor, start an anti-diarrheal, and drink fluids. before taking verzenio, tell your doctor about any fever, chills, or other signs of infection. verzenio may cause low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infection that can lead to death. life-threatening lung inflammation can occur. tell your doctor about any new or worsening trouble

breathing, cough, or chest pain. serious liver problems can happen. symptoms include fatigue, appetite loss, stomach pain, and bleeding or bruising. blood clots that can lead to death have occurred. tell your doctor if you have pain or swelling in your arms or legs, shortness of breath, chest pain and rapid breathing or heart rate, or if you are pregnant or nursing. every day matters. and i want more of them. ask your doctor about everyday verzenio.

♪. neil: all right. not entirely open for business but a lot more open than it has been in the better part of the year. the latest on on sin city and what las vegas is doing right now to entice you to visit. grady trimble has more. reporter: hey, neil, the casinos

and hotels are still following state ordered restrictions of capacity at places like casinos and restaurants but they are a lot more open than they have been in a long time. we're at the mirage. as you can see here, not open yet but 30 minutes from now this hotel and two other mgm operations will be back open for 24/7 operations. that means all mgm operations will be at the 24/7 spot. that is because of demand. they made changes here. they put plexiglass up at video poker machines. there is a lot of signs encouraging social distancing. everybody has to have a mask on, but they're seeing that demand come back. people are more confident traveling once again. the sports book is a big reason for that. the march mad mess is driving visitors to vegas. they want to bet on march madness games. by memorial day they hope to be almost back to normal. listen. >> there is distancing between

tables at the restaurants. there is mask wearing, plex sy gas between the play spaces at some of our casino games. but otherwise it will look and feel like prepandemic las vegas. reporter: two areas have sort of lagged behind the is the casinos and restaurants but shows are starting to reopen again especially smaller ones at mgm resorts. big ones like david copperfield is coming back later this month when capacity expands for the venues. there is a big conference scheduled for june, neil. it is still on as of now. which of course would be a huge boost for vegas. 30 minutes, this place is back open. we'll be at the slots. neil. neil: watch what you're doing, young man, watch what you're doing. grady trimble in the middle of all of that. there is positive developments after senator steve daines the beautiful state of montana. senator, very good to have you.

this has been happening in your state, couple of other states, it picked up steam with texas and mississippi dropping a lot of restrictions and some of them to kick in as soon as today if not next week in texas what do you make of all of this? >> well we have a great governor in greg gee giantforte in montana. i worked with greg in the private sector for number of years. montana is open for business. we're looking forward to having a strong summer season, finishing strong in the ski season. we're getting lots of snow, neil. the ski is great. that means snow melts and fishing will be better this summer. neil: when some of the mandates were being dropped, senator, obviously residents, you know, prefer that, if they had their druthers would like this to end sooner than later, those empty medical community are worried we might let down our guard.

seems the numbers held up very well in montana, post some of these moves, on the part of the governor. can you update on things where they stand? >> we're proud in montana. we're leading the nation in distributing vaccine. number one out of 50 states. we could use more vaccines but we're doing a great job getting into the arms of mon montana. our unemployment rate is 4.4%. what we don't need right now, neil is a great big $1.9 trillion package, this package nancy pelosi put forward is liberal wish-list disguised as a covid-19 relief package. neil: you're a no vote on that. is it safe to say all your republican colleagues are no votes as well? >> i think we'll have every republican senator voted against it. look what happened in the house,

it passed wee hours of the morning, with all democrats opposed it two democrats opposed it on the house side. this is a sad fact, all five covid packages were bipartisan when republicans controlled the senate. this package, pelosi, schumer, president biden said their way or the highway. we have a trillion dollars of unspent appropriated dollars right now, covid relief dollars have not been spent yet. what is the rush to push this liberal wish-list of $1.9 trillion? very concerning. i've been listening to the show here the last few minutes, in terms of what impression, gdp growth, unemployment coming down, hospitalization rates are dropping 20% across the country due to covid this week versus last. so we definitely are starting to see economy rebounding, infection rates going down, vaccines going up. you tell me what is the rush to push another two trillion dollars in money we have to borrow for covid relief when

most of it is addressing the wish-list of the liberals? neil: how do people respond when you lift restrictions, senator, some welcome them obviously. others fear lifting them too soon? how does montana handle that? i know it's a different case. obviously all the numbers were with you before justified the moves now but i'm just curious how people respond? because there is a good plurality of americans who worry this is going to come back or these variants will take hold and get some traction? what is that view in montana? >> you know, we believe in the idea of being good neighbor and personal responsibility. we have got to protect those most vulnerable. senior citizens, those with compromised immune systems. there is a proper time for social distancing and for masks but we really believe in kind of the adult responsibility, personal responsibilities relates to treating your neighbor. as we say in montana, neil,

we've been social distancing since 1889. it comes kind of natural out there in montana. a lot of open space. i think our governor, governor giantforte is bringing common sense to leadership in government. protecting most vulnerable. personal responsibility is key. got to get kids back in school. we're clearly hearing from our parents, they want to see kids in the classroom. that is a really important place to start. neil: all right, senator daines, thank you very much. be well. corner of wall and broad we're up 50 points. they will take up a lot of arguments in the stimulus measure tonight. it could go quite light. it could be days before this is resolved. some say this could portend a weekend vote. what we do know right now they're working on it. hope to resolve it. this is decision tech.

find a stock based on your interests or what's trending. get real-time insights in your customized view of the market. it's smarter trading technology for smarter trading decisions. fidelity.

(vo) ideas exist inside you, electrify you. they grow from our imagination, but they can't be held back. they want to be set free. to make the world more responsible, and even more incredible. ideas start the future, just like that.

♪ neil: they're not impeaching him yet, or asking him to resign either way, but stripping governor cuomo over his powers dictating how to tackle covid-19 in the empire state. bryan llenas with details in new york. hey, bryan. reporter: neil, we got word that new york governor andrew cuomo will be speaking at 1:00 p.m. for the first time since sexual harrassment allegations were made against him by three woman. pressure is mounting on democrats to speak out against these, against the governor. right now we have a situation here where critics are noting that these same democrats were people who led the charge against democratic senator al franken and judge brett kavanaugh. yesterday at the white house press secretary jen psaki was pushed as to why president biden and vice president kamala harris, who is the first female

vice president have not made a direct comment about these allegations against cuomo. listen. >> the benefit of doing a briefing every day i can certainly speak on behalf of the president and the vice president and so let me reiterate that they both believe that every woman coming forward should be heard. reporter: there is a small but growing number of democratic state lawmakers calling for cuomo to be impeached or resign. both seem very unlikely at this point. in fact new york state's democratic committee chairman, jay jacobs, writing it is premature and unfair for anyone to opine on the outcome until that investigation is completed and the results reported. yesterday senate majority leader chuck schumer said he is taking a wait and see approach too. >> these women have to be listened to. there is an investigation in the hands of a very, very capable person, the attorney general of new york state.

i supported it and called for it. reporter: yesterday under pressure to enact some sort of retribution against governor cuomo new york state democrats did decide to repeal the governor's emergency pandemic powers, which gave them extraordinary authority over the state's covid-19 response. under this proposed legislation, cuomo's existing executive orders like on masks, vaccinations, indoor dining will actually stay in place. if he wants to modify them, or extend them in terms of the length in which they're out there, he will need to ask and, well, he will need to let the democratic leadership know, give them a chance to comment or ask questions. republicans are saying, this was quote a back-room deal and they believe this thing has no teeth to it. we'll see. neil. neil: bryan llenas, thank you very much. bryan in brooklyn, new york. we told you earlier about texas essentially dropping pretty much all covid-19 restrictions, even

mask mandates. but they all take effect next week. but ahead of that some disturbing news on the virus front. news of 108 migrants released from border patrol testing positive since january 25th. casey stegall looking at that side of the story in eagle pass, texas. reporter: neil, actually in brownsville, texas, is where the news is coming from. city officials confirm to fox news 108 migrants tested positive for covid-19 but they say they have no authority to detain someone based on their test results and keep them from traveling on buses further in the country to stay with other family members or sponsors until they await their immigration court date. now the white house has even responded to this afternoon they're aware of isolated instances where this has happened but they still urge anyone who has tested positive

for covid to follow cdc guidelines, to self-isolate and quarantine which could be difficult to do clearly on a bus or a plane. we will look at some big picture numbers, with unaccompanied minor apprehensions. unaccompanied minors, kids under the age of 17 that are crossing into the country illegally by themselves, here in the del rio sector where we are for fiscal year 2021 they are up 122%. big bend sector, up 141%. when you look at the entire southwest border, a 64% jumped in the number of kids now detained compared to this same period last year. the fox news flight drone is also back in the air with us today. a look at pictures of mexico, across the river from where we are in eagle pass, texas. the white house has this to say about the situation on the ground here. >> it is still a difficult time. it's a difficult journey. we're not encouraging people to

come, but we also believe, differently from the past administration that we are not going to turn away kids who are under 18. reporter: these are pictures of that bus terminal in brownsville, texas where a lot of migrants are dropped off. they board those buses to go to interior parts of the country. that is where the covid-positive tests among migrants have been released. city officials say that that does account, neil, for about 6.3% of all of the screenings that they have been doing since that program was launched at the end of january, but, 6.3% ends up being again 108 migrants that tested positive for covid and then, they couldn't stop them from traveling and being, exposed to others. so just continued updates down here on the border here. neil: that is a big fear, to your point. thank you, casey stegall

following all of that. you know there was some news out of ride-sharing service lyft a lot of people ignored but it seems to be the surest sign we're getting back to normal with this economy. i will tell you exactly what that is. ♪. i had shingles. horrible. a young thing like me? actually anyone 50 or over is at increased risk for shingles. the pain, the burning! my husband had to do everything for weeks. and the thing is, there's nothing you can do about it! well, shingles can be prevented. shingles can be whaaat? prevented.

you can get vaccinated. frank! they have shingles vaccines! whaaat? that's what i said. we're taking you to the doctor. not going through that again. you can also get it from your pharmacist! 50 years or older get vaccinated for shingles now. lately, it's been hard to think about the future. 50 years or older but thinking about the future, is human nature. at edward jones, our 19,000 financial advisors create personalized investment strategies to help you get back to your future. edward jones.

[ sigh ] not gonna happen. that's it. i'm calling kohler about their walk-in bath. my name is ken. how may i help you? hi, i'm calling about kohler's walk-in bath. excellent! happy to help. huh? hold one moment please... [ finger snaps ] hmm. ♪ ♪ the kohler walk-in bath features an extra-wide opening and a low step-in at three inches, which is 25 to 60% lower than some leading competitors. the bath fills and drains quickly, while the heated seat soothes your back, neck and shoulders. kohler is an expert in bathing, so you can count on a deep soaking experience. are you seeing this? the kohler walk-in bath comes with fully adjustable hydrotherapy jets and our exclusive bubblemassage. everything is installed in as little as a day by a kohler-certified installer. and it's made by kohler- america's leading plumbing brand. we need this bath. yes. yes you do. a kohler walk-in bath provides independence with peace of mind.

call... to receive one-thousand dollars off your kohler walk-in bath. and right now we're offering no payments for eighteen months.

♪. obviously showing confidence in post-pandemic world. those looking at ride-sharing services, there is clientele we're going after that is higher end of that crowd, right? >> it is customers who want to trust in safety and cleanliness. customers who do not want to be comfortable in mass transportation or also on trainses. neil: all right. that was the ceo of blacklane. it's a sort of a high-end lyft if you will, a card sharing service. this can take you anywhere you want to go and premium because it is backed by daimler, of course of mercedes fame.

they see robust demand after lyft said they have seen the best week for rides since the start of the pandemic. so something is percolating here. back with carol roth and larry glazer, what is going on? >> i think lyft is a better proxy than a company like uber that you might think would be similar because remember that uber has the delivery component. so they were doing uber eats while we were all locked down and delivering their food. now if you look at something like lyft, really more pure ride-sharing. as that is percolating, guesting out more, apparently larry is getting his doughnuts. i think that is a good proxy to keep an eye on that. the more people feeling comfortable about getting out, the more likely we are to use ride-sharing services especially a pure play like lyft. neil: wonder, larry, how many ultimately get out, ultimately

how many get back to work? americans are working from home, telecommuting some days or say nothing of people seeing their kids go to school virtually. it will depend on what that final number is, right? >> of course, neil. it is not a question of do people want to get out. they want to get out. the reopening is already happening. you said vegas is opening for business. but corporate travel has not come back. some important pieces of it haven't returned. neil, of course that is where the money is. if you're a uber or lyft driver, what is one cloud could screw this up. getting two trillion dollars, people will go out and eat. gas prices are going up, could affect the very people hardest hit from the entire recession this is not traditional recession. this will not be a traditional recovery. it's a service-led recovery. you won't get multiplier effect. people won't renovate the kitchen like usually out of

recession. they go on travel, uber or lyft but they don't take all the lyft rides they missed during the pandemic. you don't make those up. the real question, how sustainable will this be? will we get multiplier effect in the economy. not clear once you get past the two trillion of stimulus, the economy is self-sustaining based on the policies in place. that is the piece we need to worry about, something investors need to think about putting money in these names. neil: a friend is in the corporate leasing business. it is very hard to get new ones or generous ones coming up for renewal, companies don't need the space or additional space if at all. he has operations in boston, new york, philadelphia, what have you. how big of an issue will that be for cities? >> i think it is going to be a huge issue and i think that the small business issue, the trade show issue, i mean all of these things put together, we tend to talk about the economy as one

thing but, as larry was alluding to there is really the haves and have knots. so there will be a lot of money, a lot of demand. the aggregate numbers are going to look great but again whether you think it is k-shaped or e shaped you will have different levels of recovery. as an investor, instead of looking at the market overall holistically, looking at the specific companies and sectors and these specific theses is important. then also in a longer term fashion, as you mentioned corporate leasing and whatnot, look what will happen at the state level with their budget and their pensions, the drag that may have longer term. neil: carol final word. larry, thank you very much, up 87. stay with us. ♪ you can spend your life in boxing or any other business,

but one day, you're gonna take a hit you didn't see coming. and it won't matter what hit you. what matters is you're down. and there's nothing down there with you but the choice that will define you. do you stay down? or. do you find, somewhere deep inside of you, the resilience to get up. ♪♪ [announcer] and this fight is a long way from over, leonard is coming back. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

hi, i'm dorothy hamill. if you're turning 65 soon, like me, you might be thinking about medicare. i know i want coverage that connects

all the different parts of my health care to keep me aging actively. that's the aetna medicare advantage.

♪ ♪ ♪ neil: all right, we're minutes away from hearing from the from the new york governor andrew cuomo, at the same time we're learning right now that democrats in the state legislature are leading an effort to strip away his powers to handle the covid-19 mess in the empire state. this as there are numerous investigations on not only how he handled the nursing home

issue, but these women who keep popping up -- now three -- who have pointed to abusive language and behavior. again, what the governor has to say on any of this, we'll keep you posted. in the meantime, keeping you posted on how that $1.9 trillion stimulus measure is faring in washington. we're told they're going to to be taking up debate of it tonight. we know it's a very long and involved process. jacqui heinrich with more from capitol hill. >> reporter: hey there, neil. well, republicans believe it has some wins paring back that $1.9 trillion bill, the subway session proposed in california was struck down by the senate parliamentarian, they abandoned the funding for that bridge in new york saying that it was actually the trump administration who requested that about five months ago and the sticky issue of the $15 an hour minimum wage hike was also removed due to a procedural hurdle, but they've got plenty of items they want to tackle

ranging from funds to advanced portions of president biden's executive orders on climate change, to $180 million to change the definition of an at-rusk -- at-risk school child for meal reimbursement. >> they're going to try to ram through a partisan wish list completely unrelated to the pandemic because they've got power, and they don't want to waste the power. i think that's unfortunate. >> reporter: senate republicans are considering drawing out the marathon voting session with amendment after amendment, but the democrats are really confident the bill's going to pass, and they believe the optics are in their favor with republicans stand between americans and their checks. >> the legislative graveyard very simply, mcconnell refused to put bills on the floor. i'm putting bills on the floor. people are going to be forced to vote on them. >> reporter: now, in the next hour a group of republican senators are going to detail why they're opposed to $350 billion in assistance for state and local governments which they see

as a reward for states with the strictest lockdowns that are now suffering financially. the biden administration, though, sees that money as crucial to continuing services, avoiding layoffs after revenues were really gutted by the pandemic, just one example of an area where the two sides will not see eye to eye, neil. neil: all right. that's probably the understatement of the century, right? thank you very much. jacqui heinrich in the capital. we will be monitoring governor andrew owe mow who will be -- cuomo who will be making an announcement, an opportunity to update the world and more importantly new yorkers on exactly where we stand on restrictions. and in some state they're being lifted dramatically. in texas all but lifted completely and mississippi. we'll see what he says. but lydia, who is following all of this on the lifted restrictions here and the fallout from all of them. lild ya. >> reporter: hi there, neil ya. we now know more than 78 million

vaccines have been administered across the country, and goldman sachs estimates that 47% of the population has either been vaccinated or infected. and now fox news has learned that the cdc is expected to announce in this week small steps toward easing some restrictions. but there's not going to be the widespread rollback not even for fully advantage nateed people. -- vaccinated people. small group visits will be permitted as long as all parties are vaccinated, but the guidelines will still recommend that americans little social gatherings, wear masks in public and continue to socially distance and follow other public health measures. now, as the cdc slow plays reopening, states are deciding that the time has come to lift mandates. montana and iowa lifted their mask mandates, texas and mississippi also dropping mask requirements and also announcing yesterday that they will allow most businesses to operate at full capacity.

massachusetts governor charlie baker e -- eliminated restrictions on restaurants op monday. >> if not now, when? there are some on the other side of this debate and on the other side of this argument that would try to convince you that we're never going to be able to not have mask mandates, that we're never going to be able to be in a position in which we can loosen these restrictions. the fact is in my state the numbers do not justify heavy interaction by the government. >> reporter: but california governor gavin newsom is slamming texas' decision, calling it absolutely reckless. many governors at the opposite end of the political spectrum than democrats are now facing backlash for reopening, newsom is being sued in california over restrictions on indoor high school sports. in michigan a veteran reporter

there says he's preparing to sue governor gretchen whiter gretchn whitmer over access to coronavirus-related death access. we know that johnson & johnson is going to expedite access for adults across the country, president biden saying every adult american should be able to receive of a vaccine by may, and we expect that's going to administer pressure to states in its return to normalcy, neil. neil: all right, liz -- lydia, thank you very much for that. a number of white house officials are concerned about some of these states that they say might be dropping their guard just as we are fending off covid-19. this is coming from the white house briefing right now that the president hopes that americans will continue to follow coronavirus guidelines just as some of these states are loosening guidelines themselves, a restriction that they should listen to the scientists and the health experts ons masks, covid restrictions just to save lives and be ahead of the curve, not behind it.

texas republican congressman brian babbitt on all that, kind enough to join us now. congressman if, what do you think of what the white house is saying, apparently in response to moves in texas to all but lift all restrictions, saying be careful here, be very careful. what do you think? >> well, this is not surprising at all, neil. and the criticism coming from people like governor newsom from california is not surprising either. the democrats, i mean, here's a guy, governor newsom, that's about to be recalled. he's got so many people, he's had draconian lockdowns there for months and months and months. he's about to lose his job, and to hear this coming from the biden administration as well is no surprise. but the numbers show that we have got the least infections, the least hospitalizations we've that had in many, many years. by next week we'll have already are immunized over 7 million texans. and the best stimulus package,

you know, we're looking at this $2 trillion stimulus package, the best package would be to put this country back to work, put people, kids back to school to and open up the economy. still, certainly, use common sense when it comes to personal hygiene and things of this nature. and i want to say this, our governor of texas is not outlawing masks, he's not mandating anything, he's just saying we're good enough to open up 100% for our restaurants, and it's going to be good enough, i think, to be a great stimulus panel for our economy -- package for our economy in the state of texas. neil: you know, congressman, you're also a retired u.s. air force captain. i thank you for your service. you know of what you speak p which is why i never ask you tough questions because you can beat me up. [laughter] but having said that, the white house is responding to this apparent attack on a u.s. military base in iraq saying

that it will take action if needed. do you know much about this, and what would you advise? >> well, you know, i guess a little over a week ago we did have a biden response, and i thought it was -- neil, let me say this, that's the only thing i believe i've agreed with this administration on, and that is a retaliatory strike against those who were responsible for really the hitting of -- and killing -- of an american citizen. and so if we can trace and find out who is responsible for this attack this morning, then by all means i think we should retaliate. this is the only thing that the iranians and their proxies understand, and that is hitting back, hitting back hard and hitting back quickly and suddenly. and i, i believe that as long as

we give them a long leash, the iranians are going to test us. as soon as biden was elected, they stopped allowing inspections over there of nuclear sites that had already been declared, and an absolute, obvious test of the tenacity of our new president, president biden, who appears to be very, very soft on them because he's wanting to get right back in the jcpoa, the iranian nuclear deal, which i think is going to have a replay of what happened before under obama. and so i am, i'm of the opinion that when terrorists strike, you hit 'em back, and you hit 'em back really hard. neil: all right. we'll see. again, we don't know the source of this attack or who was behind it, but i know you supported the president on this attack in syria that targeted iranian militia groups within syria. it was a one and done, but this might be a follow-up, planned attack. we'll keep you posted if we get

it. in the meantime, with the dow up about 89 points, some signs here that businesses are expanding and trying to do a little bit more, but in the case of fedex going carbon-neutral within just a few years. after this. ♪ let's dance. ♪ put on your red shoes and dance the blues. ♪ let's dance. ♪ to the sound playing on the radio ♪♪

did you know you can go to libertymutual.com to customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need?

really? i didn't-- aah! ok. i'm on vibrate. aaah! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

♪ >> welcome back to coast to coast, i'm susan li, the tech dragging on the stock market today, yields are back up. the barn field 1.5% on your 10-year treasure is, that makes tech look less attractive. also the reddit wall street bets brigade is back. the brigade wants to kill the shorts la like they did to gamestop last month. over 40 of rocket's stop is being shorted amid bets that the stock will fall and if it's a perfect target with high short positioning, low volume and short sellers so far have lost over $800 million on rocket.

in some other news, you have walmart, they want to buy american spending over $350 million over the next ten years, and they want to buy u.s. products to support u.s. manufacturing and hopefully support 750,000 jobs across america. walmart also recently increased their minimum wage to $15 an hour. elsewhere, lyft outperforming after reporting its best week of business for ride hailing since last march, and as a result they are predicting a smaller loss this quarter, might even get to profit about outside of expenses a little bit earlier. draftkings is close to record highs after announcing an interesting deal this morning with dish tv. this means that dish's 11 million subscribers can now bet on draftkings. win-win for both. draftkings had over a million active players at the end of 2020, and finally, a booming business, a new one, cryptoart or nonfungible tokens worth

hundreds of millions of dollars. prices have been skyrocketing the past few years, and they're one of a kind artworks that are stored using block chain this is which is the underlying hedge technology in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. i know how interested you are in this, neil, but it's the new world. neil: it's stun thing -- stunning, these images -- [laughter] you thought i would be jaded, i'm not at all. i'm trying to be hip, susan li on all of that. in the meantime, you've got the latest private sector payroll data in today, and it came in okay, 117,000 more private sector jobs. they had been expecting a lot more than that though, and this is partly a concern because all of the growth was in the services sector industry within the private payroll arena. now, how this sorts out when we get the big employment report for the month of february is anyone's guess, but let's go to

brian wesbury, hadty -- women's forum director of policy. the trend is certainly picking up and looking better in the services industry, brian, but it does seem to be isolated in the private sector, services sector. it's not expanding yet to manufacturing, construction. maybe that will with the low interest rates and home building going on, but it is a little lopsided. what do you make of that? >> yeah, i -- neil, i totally agree, and it's all about shutdowns. it's how quickly we can open up the economy. and for us -- well, first of all, for the month of february we're looking for 180,000 jobs, as you said, in the big report, the real report. so a little bit better than adp. but we still have a long, long way to go to get back to where we were february a year ago. in fact, we think we're going to have 5-6 million new jobs created this year, and that's

based on easy money, all the stimulus coming in and also the fact that we believe we're going to get to herd immunity by april. so opening up is the key to getting wide, widespread job gains. neil: you know, texas really put the pedal to the metal here if you think about it by virtually opening up the state to what it was pre-pandemic revels. mississippi, very similar. and i'm just wondering, hadley, you might call it rolling the dice, medical experts are are concerned they could be revisiting problems down the road. but what do you make of the economic impact? >> well, i agree with brian that the best stimulus is ultimately reopening the economy. people can interact with one another especially in these sectors that are more social. i understand the concerns, too, about reopening too quickly. on the other hand, you know, i appreciate that throughout the pandemic many of the decisions

that policymakers have had to make deal with local pandemic conditions. certainly there's a lot of cause for optimism when it comes to pandemic conditions across the country seeing the decline in covid infections, covid hospitalizations, covid deaths. the increasing number of americans who have access to and who have received the vaccine, the seasonality of covid which we expect as the warmer months come we'll see fewer infections because simply we're spending more time outside or it's easier to social distance in the summer months particularly the way the virus behaves in warmer conditions is men official to humankind. -- beneficial to humankind. so i've got a lot of optimism when it comes to peeling back these restrictions that i would say simply as a matter of public policy, we've got to think about what is sustainable over the long run. and i think there is a danger, maybe a miscalculation in some skate states in keep -- states in keeping restrictions too tight for too long.

many americans get the sense they haven't been based purely on science, and so you kind of lend fuel to that fire if you keep the restrictions in place for too long. so i think there's risks on either side for policymakers if they don't reopen quickly enough or if they reopen too quickly. neil: you know, brian, i'm wondering because florida's obviously benefited from having this open policy for quite some time, and it hasn't really hurt its numbers in any way, shape or form. but having said that, between the statements that might start reopening quickly, the stimulus that's on the way and these companies' expansion plans like so many building a lot more than they had into their prior plans united buying more thanto two dozen 737 max planes, put that all into the blender and what do you get for this year? >> yeah. i -- so, first of all, i want to agree 100% with hadley about what she said. and then just add one quick

point, and that is according to the cdc every person that we found that had covid, there are four other people who probably had it. so if you add that number, positive tests times four, plus the percent of the people that have at least one shot of the vaccine, those are people that have immunity or technical immunity to covid. and that number is about 50%. so if you go back a year ago, it was everybody could be infected. now one out of every two people that you might come in contact with can't get infected again. and that's the key here. that's why cases and hospitalizations and deaths are falling. we're getting to herd immunity, and we have to open up. and so then to go to your, you know, directly to your question, neil, as we open up with, first of all, with money growth where it is, the fed has added tons of

money to the economy, we're going to do $1.9 trillion of stimulus whether people think it's right or wrong, it's going to flood into the system. and so when we put all of that together, we're ending up with about a 6% gdp growth for 2021. it is huge, massive growth. 5, 6 million jobs created, so this year is going to be one of the best economic years we've ever seen in u.s. history. neil: nothing compared to the year before, sort of like i was bracing my parents for a report card with all fs and i got bs and cs, they thought i was a genius. [laughter] >> exactly. >> a +to me, neil. [laughter] neil: there we go. when we come back, we're going to discuss other states, even dem democratic-run states that want to get back to business as

usual, even new jersey pushing to get all kids back in class by next fall. hopefully, after this. ♪ and if you don't love me now, you will never love me again -- ♪ i can still hear you saying you would never break the chain. ♪ never break the chain. ♪ and if you don't love me now, you will never love me again. ♪

i have the power to lower my a1c. because i can still make my own insulin. and trulicity activates my body to release it. once-weekly trulicity is for type 2 diabetes. most people taking it reached an a1c under 7%. trulicity may also help you lose up to 10 pounds and lower your risk of cardiovascular events, whether you know you're at risk or not. trulicity isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. it's not approved for use in children. don't take trulicity if you're allergic to it, you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, changes in vision, or diabetic retinopathy. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. taking trulicity with sulfonylurea or insulin raises low blood sugar risk. side effects include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea,

which can lead to dehydration and may worsen kidney problems. i have it within me to lower my a1c. ask your doctor about once-weekly trulicity. (vo) ideas exist inside you, electrify you. they grow from our imagination, but they can't be held back. they want to be set free. to make the world more responsible, and even more incredible. ideas start the future, just like that.

these days, we want sophisticated but simple. cutting edge made user friendly. in other words, we want a hybrid. and so do retailers. which is why they're going hybrid, with ibm. a hybrid cloud approach with watson ai helps manage supply chains while predicting demands with ease. from retail to healthcare, businesses are going with a smarter hybrid cloud, using the tools, platform and expertise of ibm. this is wealth. ♪ ♪ this is worth. that takes wealth. but this is worth. and that - that's actually worth more than you think. don't open that. wealth is important, and we can help you build it.

but it's what you do with it, that makes life worth living. principal. for all it's worth. ♪ neil: all right, neera tandem took herself out of the running to be joe biden's budget director after looking that she probably would not pass muster and get enough votes, and that all taliban with joe manchin saying -- began with joe manchin saying he would not support her and her divisive language and tweets and all that. attention centered on not only who the administration would put forward as a replacement, but what's happening right now with

the domination for the president's -- nomination for the president's choice for health and human services. he survived a committee vote with an even tie, 14-14, so what happens now? let's get the latest from hillary vaughn on capitol hill. hillary, what does happen now with him? >> reporter: well, senator schumer will need to bring, ultimately, becerra's nomination to the senate floor for a vote even though it didn't advance out of committee with a majority either way. schumer does have the ability to essentially force a vote on the senate floor for becerra's confirmation. but as you mentioned, after neera tanden withdrew herself from the running for director of omb, republicans really took a victory lap and have focused on becerra's nomination as their next potential target. senator ben sasse put it this way, quote: now that washington is done talking about tanden's tweets, the senate should focus

on javier becerra's assault on the first amendment. we don't need a super-soldier leading the department of human services. and while becerra's nomination is waiting for schumer to bring it to the floor for a confirmation vote, a conservative group is launching an ad campaign that targets senators they think could be swayed to vote no. >> our two senators can stop one radical nominee, javier becerra rah, biden's pick for health and human services. >> a big test for joe manchin. the radical left wants him to support javier becerra. of the biden hhs nominee thinks guns are a health crisis. >> reporter: neil, back to you. neil: all right. thank you very much, hillary. sorry for that, but we do want to take you to new york right now where governor cuomo is speaking out against some of these charges. >> -- time that i was making anyone feel uncomfortable. i never knew at the time i was making anyone feel

uncomfortable. and i certainly never, ever meant to offend anyone or hurt anyone or cause anyone any pain. that is the last thing i would ever want to do. i ask the people of this state to wait for the facts from the attorney general's report before forming an opinion. get the facts, please, before forming an opinion, and the attorney general is doing that review. i will fully cooperate with it. and then you will have the facts. and make a decision when you know the facts. i also want you to know that i

have learned from what has been an incredibly difficult situation for me as well as other people, and i've learned an important lesson. i'm sorry. i'm sorry for whatever pain i caused anyone. i never intended it. and i will be the better for this experience. thank you. questions? >> thank you, governor. if you would like to ask a question, please use the raise hand function at the bottom of your window. we'll take a brief moment to compile the q&a roster. governor, your first question comes from marcia kramer of wcbs. marcia, your line is now open.

please unmute your microphone. >> governor, can you hear me? >> marcia kramer, the dean of the delegation. >> governor, i have, actually, two questions. first of all, i wonder if given the distractions of these two investigations, especially the one involving sexual harassment, you feel that you might want to step aside or that you should step aside especially in negotiating the budget which could be one of the most important budgets that the state has ever had to deal with. and my second question has to deal with the pictures that have surfaced of you touching the face of anna rubbing. anna ruck. the reason i'm asking the question is there are pictures of you touching the faces of people young and old, and i wonder what you make of those pictures. >> yeah. thank you very much, marcia. let me take both questions. first, you're right about the state budget. it is critically important.

the state budget is going to turn the page to the rebuilding phase. we've been working very hard to get funding from washington to fill the gap. and that has been going well. we have to see what we actually get, but we then have tremendous financial needs on top of that. people have to pay their rent, they need food, etc. you also have new york city which is in a very precarious situation. it's teetering, to use a word. crime is way up, homelessness is way up. many people have left new york city. hamptons, mid hudson valley, other states. we have to get new york city functional again and safe again and viable again, and we have to

do that quickly. we have a new mayor that's going to be selected basically in june, i guess. something could happen in november, but basically in june. and that work has to start right away. so, yes, the budget is very important -- >> would you step aside, though, and let somebody else handle it? >> having said that, i'm going to cooperate with the attorney general's investigation and do the budget. remember, we did a budget last year in the spring in the heat of covid where it was the most intense period of my life, of this government's life, of this state's life, and we did both, and we'll do both here. on the pictures, marcia, i understand the opinion of and feelings of ms. roark, and you

are right, you can find hundreds of pictures of me making the same gesture with hundreds of people. women, men, children, etc. you can go find hundreds of pictures of me kissing people, men, women. it is my usual and customary way of greeting. you know that because you've watched me for let's just say more years than we care to remember. by the way, it was my father's way of greeting people. you're the governor of the state, you want people to feel comfortable, you want to reach out to them. i do it -- i kiss and hug legislators, i was at an event in queens the other day, hugged

the has -- the pastors and the assembly members who were there. so that is my way to do that. however, what i also understand is it doesn't matter. it doesn't matter my intent. what matters is if anybody was offended by it. and i could intend no offense, but i if they were offended by it, then it was wrong. and if they were offended by it, i apologize. and if they were hurt by it, i apologize. and if they felt pain from it, i apologize. i apologize. i did not intend it, i didn't mean it that way, but if that's how they felt, that's all that matters, and i apologize.

next question, operator? >> governor, your next question comes from dave evans from wabc. dave, your line is now open. please unmute your microphone. >> can you hear me okay? >> yeah, dave. >> governor, i just wanted to ask you with all these calls in the last couple of days calling for your resignation -- [inaudible] some democrats, is today, you've been gone for about a week, is in your way of saying that i'm certainly not resigning? >> yeah. dave, look, some politicians will always play politics, right? that's the nature of the beast. i don't think today is a day for politics. i wasn't elected by politicians, i was elected by the people of the state of new york.

i'm not going to resign. i work for the people of the state of new york. they elected me, and i'm going to serve the people of the state of new york. of and, by the way, we have a full plate. we have covid, we have recovery, we have rebuilding, we have a teetering new york city, we have a terrible financial picture, we have to do vaccines. so, no. i'm going to do the job the people of the state elected me to do. next question, operator? >> governor, your next question comes from andrew smith of wnbc. andrew, your line is now open. please unmute your microphone. >> governor, good afternoon. two questions. the first is given how contrite you've been today, why did it take a week for you to go before the cameras when people have noted your absence for so many days? my second question is what assurances can you provide new

yorkers that there are not other accusers who worked for you who will lodge similar complaints to the two that have already been alleged? >> yeah. two things, andrew. i apologized several days ago. i apologized today. i will apologize tomorrow. i will apologize the day after. and i want new yorkers to understand because this is more -- the facts will come out in the attorney general's review, but i want them to understand the emotion because it's really, for me, it's as much about the emotion. i never knew at the time that i was making anyone feel uncomfortable. i never, ever meant to offend anyone or hurt anyone or cause anyone pain.

i feel terrible that these people felt uncomfortable, felt hurt, felt pain from the interactions. and i'm embarrassed by it, and i feel bad from it. i'm not in this business to make people feel uncomfortable, i'm here to make them -- to help them. that's the essence of what i do, what i do. i do not believe i have ever done anything in my public career that i am ashameed of. i didn't know i was making her uncomfortable at the time. i feel badly that i did, but --

and i'm going to learn from it. marcia asked me about, you know, my usual custom is to kiss and to hug and make that gesture. i understand that sensitivities have changed and baer has change -- behavior has changed, and i get it. and i'm going to learn from it. next question. >> governor, your next question comes from karina jerry of wutr. karina, your line is now open. please unmute your microphone. >> thank you, governor. hi, how are you? >> good. how are you? >> i'm good. so i actually have two questions. my first one is, if a member of your administration had done what you are currently accused of and had, and admitted to you, what would you tell them and what would be a satisfactory disposition for you? >> well, let's be clear on the facts.

first, we haven't gotten the facts. let the attorney general do her review, and let's get the facts. that's what i said in my statement to new york thers. i'm a former -- new yorkers. i'm a former attorney general. i've been through a situation too many times where everybody has an opinion because they read this, they read this, and then all of a sudden the facts come out, and it's a different situation. so wait for the facts before you formen opinion. and as i said, my behavior here, i never touched anyone inappropriately, i never knew at the time that i was making anyone feel uncomfortable, and if i ever did make people feel uncomfortable which i now understand that i have, i apologize for it. but they're not the attorney general's office. >> yes, thank you. oh, okay. thank you. >> next question, operator?

>> governor, your next question comes from jessica of wsyr. jeff, your line is now open, please unmute your microphone. >> hi, governor. i know you apologized several times this afternoon. who were you apologizing to? >> i was apologizing to the young woman who worked here who said that i made her feel uncomfortable and -- in the workplace. >> were you also speaking to new yorkers, governor? >> oh, to new yorkers? i am saying that i'm embarrassed by what happened.

my -- i wear a pin that says pride, integrity, performance. that's, that's what it says on the pin. you can't read it, pride, integrity, performance. so i'm embarrassed that someone felt that way in my administration. i'm embarrassed and hurt, and i apologize that somebody who interacted with me felt that way. again, i didn't know at the time i was making her feel uncomfortable. i never meant to, but that doesn't matter. if a person feels uncomfortable, if a person feels pain, if a person so -- is offended, i feel very badly about that, and i apologize for it. there's no but, you know? it's -- i'm sorry.

let's take one more question, operator. >> governor, your next question comes from jennifer of whec. jennifer, your line is now open. please unmute your microphone. >> good afternoon, above. i actually -- governor. i actually have two questions, one for you and one for melissa. governor, have you yourself taken the sexual harassment training required by new york that all employers are to give their employees, and, melissa, as the highest ranking woman in city government right now and someone who interacts with the above on a daily basis, how do you feel about these allegations against him, and what is your message to women who see you in your position and see these allegations against the governor? >> the short answer is, yes. and i'll turn it over to melissa. just keep in mind there are hundreds and hundreds of people

who work with melissa. we have more senior women in this administration than probably any administration in history. but i'll ask melissa to respond. >> again, i would just ask that everyone refrain from judgment until the attorney general's allowed to do her work. we've asked her to come in, everyone's going to fully comply with that. but i am incredibly proud of the work that this administration has done to further women's rights, to expand protections for women in the workplace, out of the workplace, maternal health, reproductive health. the list goes on and on and on, and i'm also proud that in my time as secretary we've seen more women rise to highest levels in terms of commissioners and senior staff levels, and we've promoted each other and supported one another. and i don't think that this diminishes any of that, and i look forward to continuing the work that we're doing in order to continue to further the

women's agenda and strengthen women's rights for all new yorkers. >> okay. thank you all very much. have a good day. covid numbers are good. still be smart. thank you. neil: all right. you've been listening to andrew cuomo -- excuse me, andrew cuomo apologize profusely and repeatedly for incidents involving at least three women. now, to be clear, he said that this was a case of a time and a period in which he would kiss and hug people because that's just the way he is. but just to be very, very clear here, these charges go way beyond a governor who kisses and hugs people. for example, in the case of lindsey boylan who made claims about sexual harassment and bullying, she said that this was behavior that lasted, in her words, for years. she has written extensively about how the governor would, among other things, tell her to play strip poker. she also complained to friends over the years of behavior that would go off the his way -- that is, referring to the governor -- to touch on my lower back, arms

and legs. other women reported repetitive behavior that went beyond just kissing and being physically, you know, attaching. she went on to say, this is ms. boylan, that the governor sexually harassed me for years. many saw it and watched. i could never anticipate what to expect. would i be grilled on my work or perhaps on my looks, or would it be both same in the same conversation. this was the pattern for years. two other women who said that they too were subjected to this kind of behavior said it went way beyond kissing. so it's all in the ideas of the beholder here -- eyes of the beholder here, but if there were those seeing this as an opportunity for governor cuomo to resign, he's not letting that -- he's not doing that, letting the investigation take its course. all of this as there's a move in the legislature dominated by democrats, i might point out, to

rein in his covid power, strip them away. sort of lead on the covid-19 attack in the empire state and right now those powers are going to be taken away from him. charlie gasparino weighing all of these various developments. all right, well, he's up against the wall, but he's fighting, charlie. saying, well, look, a lot of this other stuff isn't true, you know, i'm someone who is prone to kissing and hugging people, but that's it. where do you think this goes? >> just want to say i had the pleasure of covering now-governor cuomo for many years dating back from when i was at the bond buyer in the early 1990s when he ransoming called -- ran something called help, a housing advocacy group that provided housing for the homeless. you know, i wrote some nasty stories about him. i never saw really his dark side. and you hear all this i stuff

about him, it just never happened to me, so i always got along with him, you know what i'm saying? listen, we'd go back and forth about different things. i wrote a book about the financial crisis, so i was somewhat critical of his time being hud secretary under bill clinton where they expanded home ownership and loans from fannie and freddie which added to the financial crisis. i've also in covering him never heard about the sexual harassment. but then again, i'm not in the office with him. and i will say this just from someone who covers business, and if you cover business, you cover this whole me too aspect is a business story as well, if the stuff, even the sort of mild stuff that he's been accused of, if he was a ceo of a company and he was accused of that stuff credibly, he would be out, okay? he would be fired. it's just -- particularly in this environment right now. so, yes, you know, everybody wants due process, but just be real clear here. if his behavior is proven in any

way, if he was working at a company, he would be out. i will say in that andrew cuomo is not going quietly. i mean, you know, this is a tough, tough guy. he learned from his father who i knew as well, mario cuomo. didn't agree with him politically, but i actually became friends with him towards the end of his life. he was a brilliant man. mario cuomo played it tough as well. these are tough guys. and they -- he's not going to be thrown out of office without a fight. and like i said, you know, this is going to be interesting to see how this develops. it's the democratic party, it's a party that threw out, forced to resign, forced al franken to resign. you remember the senator of minnesota over something stupid that he did and, by the way, stuff that is reprehensible, but there was a question whether it's a firing offense. the bar in new york state is very interesting.

you know, it's, it could be higher because he's a democrat and you don't want to get rid of him, but the democratic party is shifting so far to the left in the state that they considered cuomo a conservative. so there could be a real movement to oust him here. and so, you know, how the plays out politically, i can't tell you. i will tell you this, andrew cuomo has been an interesting and controversial figure. it would be fascinating if he gets thrown out of office because of this stuff which is mere allegations at this point right now and not the nursing home snafu on covid which clearly looks like they were hiding stuff from the if federal government -- from the federal government when the nursing home covid deaths kept going up following his decision to allow -- to force nursing homes to accept covid patients. so it'll be really interesting. and like i said, i've been covering the man for years. this is one tough guy. but there's all these conflicting political forces

now, and, neil, you know, it's going to be hard to get rid of him. but, you know, like i said, he's a marked man with the progressive left. they think he's way too conservative, so this may be the one way they can get rid of him and put in there -- by the way, it's it is fascinating how this. the attorney general, and andrew was the attorney general back in -- not too long ago, a little more than ten years ago. the attorney general is a political position, it's elected. it's usually a steppingstone to be governor. she wants his job, and now she's investigating him, ms. james. [laughter] so this is going to be a story -- neil: it's crazy. and he is up, he's near the end of his third term, and he was going to run, looked like he was going to run for four terms just like his father. >> oh, yeah. neil: his father didn't make it, lost to george pataki. obviously, this is a very different situation, but all bets are off on this. >> and you know what, neil? this is fascinating, just how fast the news cycle is.

andrew cuomo this summer was a, was considered at the top of the heap. i mean, he was the guy that joe biden said you look towards him for covid, for guidance on covid. i will say for the first month while the trump administration was, you know, couldn't get a covid message going -- by the way, did great things, that's why we're all getting the vaccine. but i'm talking about the message in the first month was all over the place, cuomo did come in for a while and fill that void. but after that he did the nursing home thing, brutally docked allowance new york -- locked down new york city. restaurant owners despise him because they think he and de blasio destroyed the new york city restaurant industry. they're on life support right now. the city economy -- neil: bottom line, there are plenty of knives out. there are plenty of knives out. you could pick your poison as to

which knife -- >> oh, yeah. neil: there are plenty of them, right? >> oh, yeah. see where it keeps going. neil: yeah. incredible. charlie, thank you very, very much. we'll be looking at this. by the way, one other woman who's charged against the governor, charlotte bennett, a former aide, she has said, again, this went way beyond hugging or kissing someone, that governor would say he was open to relationships with women in their 20s. that alone, she said, was enough. more than enough. stay with us.

. .

neil: all right. so governor andrew cuomo is not going anywhere. not resigning. feels bad, apologized profusely. hopes he can move on. that might be easier said than done. now to charles payne. hey, charles. charles: thank you very much. good afternoon, i'm charles payne. this is "making money." baseball and golf they call it the yips, causing temporary muscle loss and coordination. maybe the only cure will be money printing. reddit traders strike again. wall street is upset again that main street would try to make money during the greatest money grab in history. speaking of money grabs, president biden urging the senate to pass the nearly 2 trillion-dollar covid relief bill right now. it sends blue states, mostly, billions in bailout money. in fact