xfinity. it's a way better way to watch.

back to life, back to the old reality, new york city that has the biggest school system in the country just announced students will go back to in-person learning this fall, no remote action with covid cases and deaths dropping to their lowest levels in a year people are partying like it's 2019. ball games, dining, indoors and out getting back to prepandemic levels all across the country. with that new optimism comes a potential new concern about the vaccine. the cdc investigating rare heart inflammation in a small number of teens and young adults. and we're live in the middle east where president biden

announced he is sending tony blanken to the region. president biden this morning also condemned the recent rise in antisemitic attacks here at home. we start here in washington. as we come on the air the supreme court is coming into session in the final sprint to the spring term. we could get more here in a moment. i want to bring in chief legal correspondent ari melburn. let's talk about what we expect potentially today and what you're looking for as the court finishes out it's term. >> well, the case that affected the most people's lives, it would be a huge deal. the arguments in that case left

many thinking that the supreme court did not want to make a major change. they discussed the idea, the challenge, that would according to republican lit gators argue they have to strike down the whole thing. i fully realize to everyone listening that may sound like deja vu. but health care is a huge issue and it is possible that one way the court would potentially know is to do that. i would say hallie that is the biggest case of significance that can affect people's lives. >> what else are you looking for? there is a few big ones, supreme of expression cases? >> yeah web voting rights, the student athletes issue is reaching the court which is raising the question of whether or not the way we do labor for unpaid athletes in colleges in america is fair or works.

so all of those cases are some of the things that we're looking for. they talk about how the court parcels it out. on obamacare it was interesting because we had all of these debates about liberty before they raised a new season of questions about masks, health care, and what can the government make do you if that is governors, state governments, basic rules for health safety in the pandemic, or what can be done to make you divide insurance. so the argument in that case from the conservative challengers is if they can't make you buy insurance, maybe it should be wiped. >> court starts we know at 10:00 eastern. it means in the coming minutes

we should known which of any of the cases will be there. we're going to bring you that news the second we get it. we turn now to a big story this morning. in another sign of this nationwide return to normal, bill deblasio making a big announcement on this network a couple hours ago. >> new york city public schools, one million kids be back in their classroom in person, no remote. that's what everyone is waiting for. we will be back strong, ready, safe. >> we're joined now by cathy park who is live for us along with dr. natalie azar. cathy, let me start with you

there. it is the biggest school district in the country, right? we start to get more and more states returning to normal. you see the crowds, you see the energy, people are taking off their masks, dining indoors and outdoors. however, the vaccination rate is here in the center this morning. it is just one of ten mass vaccination sites throughout the state participating in this back to scratch program. it is essentially just what it sounds like. you get a vaccination and you get a scratch off ticket and it costs nothing. once you get the vaccine you get the $20 ticket and once you

scratch it off you have the opportunity to get a chance to win $20 or up to $5 million. this is just a waiting area. when you come in to the center you register, you get the shot, and people are waiting here behind me to see if they have any side effects from the vaccine. this is where you pick up that scratch off ticket. the odds are pretty good. we're told one in nine will get some sort of prize. this is an incentive that was launched again to get more people vaccinated. in recent weeks the vaccination has slowed down and it declined about 30%.

>> once i found out that you can get an appointment easily or do a walk in i hopped an 18 hour flight back to america, literally in order to get vaccinated and what an extraordinary thing to see a massive empty center with so much capacity. >> and we should note that she is a u.s. citizen that lives in singapore, but knew this program was available. but this incentive is available in places like maryland and kentucky as well. >> katy, thank you. a small number of heart problems in adolescence, and they say it seems to occur so much in

adolescence and young adults. mostly more often after a second shot than the first shot, right? put this into some context here. this is a condition that could be clear. this is a cacausiation. the cdc has been made aware of this potential, and with studying this in israel even a month earlier as you pointed out, this is considered to be very, very uncommon. the background rate of

miocarditis it one in every few thousand. my son and daughter received their first doses about a week ago. i'm not concerned about this, but i'm also heap to have the knowledge that this could be an association so i know what signs to look for. that way clinicians can also know that this could be an issue. >> let me ask you about something else coming out today. this new report that is giving more credence that this may have come from a lab instead of a live market. researchers at the wuhan lab went to the hospital in november of 2019 before the confirmed outbreak. i want to play for you what scott gottlieb just said on cnbc.

listen to this. >> i think the ledger on the side of the lab continues to grow, the question is when are too many coincidences too much. you know, right now there is more circumstantial evidence, certainly. >> we want to be clear this is from the wall street journal, but what do you make from what they said? >> they used to make it into moving into main stream a little bit. the first known cases were identified on december 8th. however based on the viruses way of mutating, experts think it was circulating a number of months earlier.

the w.h.o. in march concluded that it very likely originated in a bag, went to a animal, and then to a human. the animal has not been identified. all of the lab data of the lab in wuhan has not been fully explored. i think was something intentional and a culpability on the part of the chinese. looking backward and looking forward as we look at everything we can about the pandemic. >> thank you for that perspective. thank you. turning to other news this morning, president biden is announcing that secretary of state tony blinken is going to the middle east. tensions there spilling over here at home with a rise in antisemitic attacks and hate crimes. president biden is talking about

that too saying recent attacks are dispickble and they must stop. he says i condemn this hateful behavior at home and abroad. stephanie gosk is there with more reporting on that. what the secretary of state hopes to do when he gets over seas. >> yeah, he is going to the middle east today and spending time in several different parts of this region starting in jerusalem. he will also be meeting with the palestinian authority in the west bank. that is significant. after those two meetings he will move on to cairo. the president playing a big role, and on to aman, jordan.

a key regional ally here. the goals, we understand the chief goal social security to solidify the cease fire, and also to look for ways to improve the lives of palestinians. we have seen the images from gaza. the damage is extensive and vast. there is a big need for food and medical aid there representatives are there and they continue to go in to assess the damage. when asked what do we do here? how do you help the lives of pal tinians without helping hamas they say there is no guarantees but we will do everything we can to make sure the aide gets in the right hands. >> that is new information developing for us this morning. you have the president who is

also concerned about this spike in antisemitic attacks what is going on? >> we are so closely connected to the middle east with our population, this kind of connection, the political connection. that is what we're seeing. on thursday night, they are protests, palestinian protest, and in the middle of it there was a 29-year-old jewish man attacked by a gang that was shouting racial slurs. he was being beaten, kicked, and punched. when looking back at the video he was afraid for his life. there has been one arrest on an alleged hate crime. the nypd says they are looking

for more people involved in that incident. it's part of what they fived as a 50% spike since this recent violence. there is also incidents of violence in l.a. as well as a number of synagogues including the synagogue for gabby give fords. also that there has been some, here in new york city, there has been vandalization of mosques as well. today you have the president of the muslim public affairs council stoeping out to say all of this on both sides is december pick able. >> steph, thank you very much.

we have more to cover on the show incloougd a new poll showing an over whelming majority of customers favor creating a commission to figure out what happens on january 6th. how republicans are responding. and more body cam video released in the death of ronald greene. we have more with his family on what they're calling for. then, a very intimate conversation with chris martin, the store clerk that served george floyd just ahead of the police encounter that lead to his death. o his death. it drives you crazy because you know you can never go back in time and change it. you can k in time and change it.

i'm searching for info on options trading, and look, it feels like i'm just wasting time. that's why td ameritrade designed a first-of-its-kind, personalized education center. oh. their award-winning content is tailored to fit your investing goals and interests. and it learns with you, so as you become smarter, so do its recommendations. so it's like my streaming service. well except now you're binge learning. see how you can become a smarter investor with a personalized education from td ameritrade. visit tdameritrade.com/learn ♪ this is the sound of change. the sound of a thousand sighs of relief. and the sound of a company watching out for you. this is the sound of low cash mode from pnc bank, giving you multiple options and at least 24 hours

to help you avoid an overdraft fee. because we believe how you handle overdrafts should be in your control, not just your bank's. low cash mode on virtual wallet from pnc bank. one way we're making a difference. ♪it's, oh, so quiet♪ low cash mode on virtual wallet from pnc bank. ♪shhhh shhhh♪ ♪it's, oh, so still♪ ♪shhhh shhhh♪ ♪and so peaceful until...♪ ♪you blow a fuse♪ ♪zing boom♪ ♪the devil cuts loose. zing boom♪ ♪so what's the use. wow bam♪ ♪of falling in love?♪

take a look at these pictures from right behind where i'm sitting. those are national guard troops sent here after the january 6th insurrection. just packing up the buses and making their way back home after the insurrection. chuck schumer gets ready to take up that bill on a bipartisan commission with a matter of days. and the split between senate republicans and others.

a significant day near this. not a single senate republican so far has committed to a yes vote. they're out of town. >> that's right, hallie. some republicans tell me that voters are not focused on this. they care about things like the economy and covid. when voters are asked about this it is clear they important a commission to look into what happened. they found that an over welling number of democrats and williams support it. the reason they decided not to snort is political. they don't want it to bleed into the midterm elections.

they gave democrats a political talking point go home to their twenties and to their voters. so we'll see if that is going to be enough of a mote may tor to find ten republicans to change their mind and support the change of this commission when the vote comes down at any time perhaps this week, but at this point it is going to be very difficult to do. mitch mcconnell at this point does not support it. >> when we come back even with congress not meeting president bide's deadline for police reform by tomorrow's anniversary how the white house is now reframing it's approach to this day of remem brans, next. y of rt

you're clearly someone who takes care of yourself. so why wait to screen for colon cancer? because when caught in early stages, it's more treatable. i'm cologuard. i'm noninvasive and detect altered dna in your stool to find 92% of colon cancers even in early stages. tell me more. it's for people 45 plus at average risk for colon cancer, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your prescriber or an online prescriber if cologuard is right for you. i'll do it. good plan. i'll do it. (vo) nobody builds 5g like verizon builds 5g. thousands of engineers taking peak performance to a new level. that's why in parts of many major cities where people can use massive capacity we added verizon 5g ultra wideband,

the fastest 5g in the world. nice. it isn't just a step forward, it's a leap forward. because the more you do with 5g, the more your network matters. it's us pushing us. it's verizon vs. verizon. and who wins? you. saturdays happen. pain happens. aleve it. aleve is proven stronger and longer on pain than tylenol. when pain happens, aleve it. all day strong. ♪ ♪ i had the nightmare again maxine. the world was out of wonka bars... relax. you just need digital workflows. they help keep everyone supplied and happy, proactively. let's workflow it. then you can stop having those nightmares. no, i would miss them too much. whatever you business is facing... let's workflow it.

servicenow. this academic year has been, um, challenging. but i think there's so much success to celebrate. woman: it's been a year like no other. man: yet, for educators across california, the care, compassion, and teaching has never stopped. woman: addressing their unique needs... man: ...and providing a safe learning environment students could count on. woman: join us in honoring the work of educators. together, we will build a better california for all of us.

>> at the white house there is a couple deadlines coming up quick. a day that sparked an international racial justice movement and the current momentum around police reform. you can see that here.

it is one of just many protests around the country that happened this weekend. instead of a much talked agent educative overall, a kind of constellation prize to mark the day well short of what anyone hoped for. president biden is now set to host george floiz's family at the white house. shannon pettypiece is at the white house. they hoped to have a police reform bill passed. they are also looking ahead to this memorial day deadline behind the scenes. how is the administration managing this and handling this when they're coming up short? >> like so many things in washington right now, both of these pieces of legislation are stuck in the senate. on the george floyd bill you mentioned the president laid out a pretty aggressive timeline of trying to get this passed by the

one year timeline. they wanted to mark this solem occasion. there was concern that that could upset these fragile negotiations going on in the senate. lead by tim scott to try to get a deal done. there seems to be a lot of optimism that there is a deal, that the talks continue on that front. but i will say i have been talking about it for a year now that there is optimism around getting a police reform legislation passed. we have yet to see it and we're entering an election year next year that means it will be even more difficult to get something through there. the infrastructure, the two parties seem wide apart. the white house is waiting to hear back from republicans if they have any counter proposal. republicans don't seem very eager based on what they have

seen come from the white house as of friday. >> we should note, too, it's not congress missing a deadline, this is not congress's deadline tomorrow, this was president biden's deadline. i know some of our reporting had been that members of congress were saying don't put may 25th on us, we didn't come up with that, the bhous did. >> yes, and we have seen that pattern. giving everyone 70% of the population vaccinated by july 4th. that has been a marker of his administration sometimes the president has come in ahead of that schedule like on vaccinations but here on legislation he has not. he has fallen behind of these mile markers that he set for himself. when you're talking about dealing with a very divided congress it's to be expected really. >> shan non live for us here, thank you. one of the witnesses here in the

trial, the officer connected with murdering george floyd was a young store clerk. he took that counterfeit bill that lead to george floyd's interact with the police. why he says he feels like the big domino that set things into motion. >> before chris martin's testimony was on the nightly news, before he witnessed george floyd being murdered, and before we ever knew his name chris was just a teenagerer treeing trying to piece together a life. he was back at school, playing soccer, living with his mother and sister above cup foods. part of what he called a family work family. >> it looks so happy and peaceful and then it went the

opposite direction. >> may 25th, 2020 george floyd walked into cup foods and passed what turned out to be a fake $20 bill. did squlou a sense of how seismic the shift in your life would be? >> in that moment i knew it was a big deal because someone had just gotten their life taken away, but i guess in my mind i didn't really connect the fact that everyone was recording. >> the killing of george floyd ripped open the wounds of racism in america sparking a worldwide movement. for chris martin and the other eyewitnesss there are ripples of pain slow to heal. >> i think i'm more traumatized than i realize. my mind just blocked it out and

it won't let me access certain parts of that day. it felt like something supernatural was at work that i could not control. he said he felt like the big domino that set everything in motion. >> i would say now i'm more of a medium sized domino. overtime and the more i analyze the situation i feel less and less guilty about it. >> after he testified, martin says he just cried. >> it was like an ugly cry. it was like relief, honestly. >> what was the hardest part for you? >> i think it was when i would sit back and think about what if or what if i just told them to leave. just drive away, go home, or whatever. there is so many what ifs in the situation, it's like but you

know you can never change it. >> he is leaning on his faith and his family to get through. >> they have all been extremely supportive. telling me i can talk to them at any time. and my sister also said that we'll never understand what you're going through, but we're here for you if you just need to talk and we can listen to you. >> a year, of course, since the death of george floyd and still so much fallout for so many people. you can listen to more of the interview and the conversation on the podcast "into america." coming up next today on the show, a commercial plane forced to land after a fighter jet was ordered to intercept it in the air. we'll talk about the international fallout that is very intense this morning. remember this key witness at

then president trump's first trial. gordon sondland, who he is suing now to recoup the $2 million he spent on an attorney. e spent on an attorney skin was n. my psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant™. with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is the only medication of its kind also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. emerge tremfyant™. janssen can help you explore cost support options. ♪ ♪ tremfya®. emerge tremfyant™. mornings were made for better things

than rheumatoid arthritis. when considering another treatment ask about xeljanz, a pill for adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis when methotrexate has not helped enough. xeljanz can help relieve joint pain and swelling, stiffness, and helps stop further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections, like tb and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c, have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra may increase risk of death. tears in the stomach or intestines and serious allergic reactions have happened. don't let another morning go by without asking your doctor about the pill first prescribed for ra more than eight years ago. xeljanz. (vo) this is more than just a building. it's an ai-powered investment firm with

billion-dollar views. a cutting-edge data-security enterprise. yes, with a slide. a perfect location for the world's first one-hour delivery. an inspiration for the next workout cult. and enough space for a pecan-based nutrition bar empire. it could happen. this is where dreams become brick and mortar. find yours, on loopnet. try one a day 50+ multivitamin gummies. with vitamins c, d & zinc for immunity support. plus 8 b-vitamins for brain support. one a day and done. new projects means new project managers.

you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a short list of quality candidates from our resume database. claim your seventy five dollar credit, when you post your first job at indeed.com/home. you'd never want leftover onion residue or any food residue on any of your surfaces. but that's what you could be doing if you're cleaning with a used dishcloth, even after you've rinsed it. so, switch to a fresh sheet of bounty for a more hygienic clean. unlike used dishcloths that can carry and redistribute residue, bounty keeps your surfaces cleaner. because better hygiene begins with bounty. bounty, the quicker picker upper. some say this is my greatest challenge. governments in record debt; inflation rising, currencies falling. but i've seen centuries of this. with one companion that hedges the risks you choose and those that choose you. the physical seam of a digital world, traded with a touch. my strongest and closest asset.

the gold standard, so to speak ;) people call my future uncertain. but there's one thing i am sure of... u. we are learning this morning that mike pompeo is being called on for some big promises he made. today in the last couple hours he filed a suit against pompeo to cover his legal fees. it's fees that he promised the state department would reimburse him from but then did not after how he testified. calling it a commitment that was abandoned for political

convenience. kelly o'donnell is with us. what do we know about this? >> this could certain i will be a movie plot that takes us back to a time when we remember the intensity around impeachment and some of the figures holding government office that became characters in this drama. gordon sondland was prominent among them. because his employer did not pay for his legal representation when he was part of what his documents call a highly charged testimony in front of congress, that he incured considerable expenses. sondland says he was given assurances by secretary of state pompeo that his costs would be covered. his legal bills total $1.8 million and the government renigged on that promise.

he was ultimately fired by the administration after then president trump was acquitted by the senate, but he was one of the lynch pin characters in that drama talking about his conversations, his understanding of the military component with ukraine. his quid pro quo that became so much part of the impeachment drama. he says his testimony was candid. it was ultimately viewed by many as not for president trump. he was a donor, a prominent figure that was likely one of those people that the fates brought him into this and now he is bringing it back saying mike pompeo needs to be held accountable for this. this will go to court and take

gordon sondland back to another kind of hot seat. >> kelly o'donnell, thank you for that trip down memory lane. appreciate it. new calls into what western leaders are calling an act of piracy. you heard about this. the president of belarus forcing a fighter jet to intercept a plane. they are calling it a shocking act that endangered the lives of more than 120 passengers including americans that were on that plane. the u.s. is also demanding the release of that journalist. you see him there, he reportedly told passengers he was facing the death penalty when the plane was diverted. what kind of pressure can these countries put on the president

who has concocted a tail that there is a bomb threat which is why they diverted this flight even though where they ultimately landed was further away from where they were headed in the first place. they were trying to compel him for the better part of a year now since the elections last year, something that many international observers think was won by the opposition. this it is something that he was part of for that campaign. so he is already heavily sanctioned, it is just not much more that you can do. at the same time you have russia on the side. one of the main reasons that he survived this long is essentially because of unconditional support from

vladimir putin and russia. it is not because putin or russia supports anything he has done, there is signs that they are not thrilled with these kinds of things. but it is there. so it is very difficult to look at what they did to compel a lighter touch, but also there is very, i think concrete commercial concerns. now we're calling for european airlines to avoid belarus air space. but that is a large thing they're trying to avoid. you would be depriving belarus of some money it received over it's air space, but it's not a lot of money. at the end of the day you're putting the cost on airlines and consumers, so the options don't seem great at this moment.

>> that is something that the secretary of transportation at home has addressed this morning when asked if citizens should feel comfortable at this point. we're also hearing more, matt, on this potential meeting where they say it is a place that that is the most likely venue, do you think their support is something that might come up if that meeting happens? >> i think it probably be will because it's not hard to draw a line between the two of them. this is a big picture. it is a lot of baggage in recent years. i think both sides want it. they seem to get worse with every week.

will russia concede anything to make that happen? >> matt, live for us there from moscow, a couple stories that i know you're juggling this morning. attorneys for ronald greene's family now combing through the full video of the police involved incident that they have just released video on. what state has thousands of people that just voted to leave it and join the neighboring state of idaho. will this become a idaho will this become a

what happens when we welcome change? we can make emergency medicine possible at 40,000 feet. instead of burning our past for power, we can harness the energy of the tiny electron. we can create new ways to connect. rethinking how we communicate to be more inclusive than ever. with app, cloud and anywhere workspace solutions, vmware helps companies navigate change. faster. vmware. welcome change. my name is douglas. i'm a writer/director and i'm still working. in the kind of work that i do, you are surrounded by people

who are all younger than you. i had to get help somewhere along the line to stay competitive. i discovered prevagen. i started taking it and after a period of time, my memory improved. it was a game-changer for me. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. oh, i had never seen a picture of her until i got on ancestry. it was like touching the past. my great aunt signed up to serve in the union army as a field nurse. my great grandmother started a legacy of education in my family. didn't know she ran for state office. ended up opening her own restaurant in san francisco. paralee wharton elder, lupe gonzalez, mary sawyers, margaret ross. there's a lot of life that she lived. who are the strong women in your family?

there's any fallout this morning after additional footage has come out from the deadly 2019 encounter between a black man and police in louisiana. the superintendent of the louisiana police releasing every hour of it after clips were put out by the associated press. he says those clips were not approved by state police and releasing the full footage gives context. we are talking about ronald greene. his cause of death was misreported by police. now there's a federal and state investigation to find out how

and why that happened. joining us now, the attorney for the family of ronald greene. good morning. thank you for being with us today. >> thank you for having me. >> a couple of questions to lay out the facts. i understand you have been talking with the union parish district attorney. what can you tell us about those conversations and where things stand in terms of criminal accountability? >> having a look back at the video footage that's available to the public, it's clear that this wasn't only a case of what we thought initially which was excessive force of maybe someone who was resisting on an officer, sort of applying a little more force than necessary, inadvertently resulting in death, this is more intentional. when you look at the gratuitous nature of the violence inflicted upon ronald greene here, there are state criminal charges that should be levied against specific officers, corey york,

dakota demoss and the supervisor who came on the scene while ronald was being brutalized. lieutenant clary should be considered for criminal charges. >> do you believe those criminal charges should extend higher up the chain? do you believe this was a coverup that extended beyond just the officers there at the scene? >> i think there's certainly evidence of a coverup. i think the federal investigation should include a pattern and practice investigation. it's tricky. it's not just a county. this is the louisiana state police. they oversee all the other parishes and counties within louisiana. if it's already a problem up the highest chain of the ladder, that brings governor edwards and the attorney general into the

conversation about how truly systemic this issue, not only of ronald greene, but this pattern of violence and cover up in louisiana is. >> you mentioned the attorney general. you have spoken with the attorney general since this full release of the footage? >> not since the full release. we have been speaking with representatives of the black caucus. we have been in contact with ted james and the governor's office. those were set up originally. the meeting with governor edwards and the family, when we returned to louisiana -- we hope to speak with the governor. it hasn't been confirmed yet, and with the attorney general in a separate meeting about what louisiana is going to do about what this evidence really reveals. >> are you hopeful the governor will meet with you? >> i'm certain the governor will meet with this family. this is what the people of louisiana elected him to do. there's no way at this point the

governor ignores this family wanting answers about the death of their loved one. >> you talked about the full footage needing to be gone through with a fine-tooth comb. you have found anything that you had not seen before? are there new revelations that you are seeing from this video? can you share them with you? >> yeah. one that stands out for me is lieutenant clary comes on the scene, ronald was in handcuffs. men are kneeling in front of him spray painting -- spraying him with pepper spray and sayin -- excuse me language -- i can't repeat the language because it was so constantly laced with profanity. it hurts, doesn't it? they are torturing him. their acts are intentional in a way that i hadn't fully appreciated before. >> the superintendent of the

louisiana state police came on the job, i think it was in the end of 2020. in some sense, inheriting this situation, if you will. it was in progress. do you think that works in favor of what you and the family are hoping to see or works against the potential for criminal charges? >> ultimately, the superintendent would have the responsible for administrative decisions. the criminal issue is going to be a matter for the district attorney and the attorney general's office if he decides to uphold his responsibilities. i think the situation with the superintendent won't impact criminal accountability one way or the other. except i will say this of colonel davis. he has been willing to be more transparent than his predecessor. >> okay. looking at this holistically, i know you have been involved in a number of police brutality cases. tomorrow, as you know, is the

one-year anniversary of george floyd's death. i wonder what your message is as we approach that day, your message to americans, to congress before we go here. >> i will speak to the people who have been fighting so hard for accountability for these families. there's very specific families all across the country, the people who have organized for briana taylor and george floyd. we are now a community of people who started something with george floyd, a new wave, if you will, of activism and demands for equity within our system. that was the start. unless there's massive reform in the way of legislation rapidly, we have a responsibility to continue the movement, to continue to fight now for ronald greene and so many other families that will be attached to the second wave of

accountability and change in the united states. >> the attorney for the family of ronald greene, thank you very much for being on the show. we hope to touch base later in the week after the meeting with top louisiana officials. >> thank you so much. turning to other news. five counties in oregon looking to secede. they agree to move the borders. it's not the lure of the state's world famous potatoes or the slopes of sun valley, but just, well, politics. we will bring in kirk johnson who has been all over the story. the voters have spoken. the folks of the five oregon counties want to leave. they want the border changed. is that going to happen? what's behind this? >> thanks for having me on. no, probably not. almost certainly not.

i think the really interesting aspect of it is the dynamic that has pushed them toward that. there's a suite of forces from the disruption of the violence and protests in portland last year, the covid clamp down they felt was unfair and then the trump election that they did not go along with. i think they have been nudged along the way to this new place. >> talk about the grievances that voters in the counties say was behind their desire to leave their state. >> well, the grievances are nothing new. they have simmered for years out there in feeling ignored at the capital in salem where democrats are in charge. democrats hold all statewide offices in oregon.

i think part of what is driving here is in the covid moment a lot of people are moving around. i think there's a feeling that borders are not as firm as they used to be. there's sort of a fluidity that they feel, too. >> on that point, is it your sense -- oregon is not the first state that has threatened this. you have americans so divided. borders, as you say, more fluid in the eyes of some of the people. do you expect more of these efforts around the country? >> wouldn't be surprise me at all. the feeling that you hear from residents out there is that the old lines were drawn in a different time. why should they not be reconsidered now? whether they would, in fact, be happier in idaho is another

question. there are a lot of things that they receive out there in the rural parts of the state from the oregon state system. >> kirk johnson from "the new york times," thank you for bringing us your reporting and what your sources are saying. that does it for us. we will see you back here tomorrow morning. right now, more with craig melvin. ♪♪ good monday morning to you. craig melvin here. right now, the fight against covid. the united states is close to a major milestone. nearly half of all americans are now fully vaccinated. this morning, there are brand-new concerns after a small number of teenagers who received the vaccine experienced some heart problems. this hour, i will