[sfx: kids laughing] [sfx: bikes passing] [sfx: fire truck siren] onstar, we see them. okay. mother and child in vehicle. mother is unable to exit the vehicle. injuries are unknown. thank you, onstar. ♪ my son, is he okay? your son's fine. thank you. there was something in the road... it's okay. you're safe now. >> hi there, i'm stephanie ruhle in with you for another hour today. president biden will arrive soon to lay a wreath at the tomb of

the unknown soldier. the day has personal meaning to biden who lost his son, beau, a veteran six years ago yesterday. he will speak as part of the ceremony and we'll bring you nose remarks when they begin. first he is laying the wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier and i want to go to courtney. what can we expect today? he made very personal remarks with his own experience with loss. you mentioned he just lost his son six years ago yesterday. he said that look, one day you will make it through this pain and this loss and one day when you talk about the loss of your son or daughter or loved one it will bring not only a tear, but

a smile to your face. this is historically a very somber event. of course it's memorializing the men and women that died in service to this country all of the way back to the civil war. the ceremony here dates back. and the u.s. was involved in more and more conflicts and more and more men and eventually women were killed in service and it became known as memorial day an it is remembered the last monday of every may. we should expect to hear from president joe biden, secretary lloyd austin, and general mark

milley all expected to be very somber in their done, steph. >> we'll take you back to arlingtop to hear those remarks. >> the house of representatives is set to reconvene one hour from now after they stunned republicans by walking out of the chamber last night it is considered one of the most restrictive voting bills in the nation putting new limits on ab senteeballots. what happens now, but remind our audience about this bill, right? they think expanded voting hours, but it's for people who have hourly wage jobs that cannot miss work to vote and

they need times to vote. >> places around harris county in houston saw more people to turn out to vote more than ever. not just there, but across the state of texas. more people were able to exercise the right to vote by mail or hours during which they could go to the polls. the goal was to have as many americans as possible be able to vote. it restricts the hours that early voting can happy, and a whole slew of other things that you currently see on your screen. there is a bereave period of a waiting game, and the governor of texas is the only person that can call for that special session of the house and the senate to come back. he already said late last night that he is going to do that.

i will send it right back to you. >> thank you, we will turn now to the wreath laying ceremony.

[ silence ] >> let's bring in our colleague, courtney. walk us through what we're seeing here. >> sorry, stephanie if you're talking to me we had a plane go overhead and i could not hear what you said, but we're seeing the ceremony now at arlington ceremony. president biden will lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. he is with demanding general

omar jones. he oversees this entire area. you see him at many of these ceremonial events. you may recognize him as when he escorted president biden that day. as we spoke about before this is a very somber event. you see members of the old uard there, members of the band. now we can listen in.

[ silence ]

>> we're going to continue to watch this ceremony taking place at arlington national ceremony. i want to turn now for a moment as we -- we'll stay on this as we see president joe biden, vice president kamala harris making their way in. >> present. >> present. >> arms.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

present.

present. arms. ♪♪

[ silence ]

[ silence ]

president biden, vice president harris laying a breathe at arlington national cemetery. we're going to take a quick break and when we return we will be joining this ceremony again when president biden will be giving his remarks. nt biden wile giving his remarks

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welcome back, i'm stephanie ruhle. as we honor the falling this memorial day we are also marking a new beginning.

stadiums are filled with americans eager to move past the pandemic. this seen of more than 50,000 spectators at the indy 500 it is pretty incredible. we have cal perry, laura barrett in doylestown, pa, also we have dr. blackstock, founder and ceo of advancing health equity. tsa reported the highest number of travelers on friday and we're also seeing it play out on the road. you're at one of the busiest rest stops on the eastern seaboard. >> furious about the weather. anyone that has been watching this weekend has watched me standing in the rain. people's worlds changed, not everybody has to be back at work tomorrow, not everyone will be back out in an office.

a lot of people moved their trips to take trips this week because they can. this is one of the busiest spots on the east coast. 8,000 to 10,000 people would come through here every day. it's increasing 30% every week. the two hiccups are gas prices up $1.08. nationally compared to a year ago. the other problem is rental cars. they have prevented the fleets from refreshing their inventory. people are having difficulty getting their cars. we have heard horror stories about people renting uhaul's to drive around the island. >> where do computer chips go? basically everything that we use. alison, you're in one of my favorite places in the country, the grand canyon, what have you seen absolute the honestly just

people, there is a lot of different ways to visit the grand canyon. this right now, an rv, is one of those options. come in our rv with us here. this is a way, a mode of travel, becoming more and more popular and it has become more and more popular throughout the pandemic. they have seen demand for rv enales increase six times compared to what it was prepandemic. and with views like this right here it is easy to understand why so many people, especially at a time like right now, are opting for a hotel that can move around. the grand canyon is packed this weekend and it seems to be on track to hit pre-pandemic visitation levels. we met people from new jersey to california. many felt this was a safer wa i

to travel to the pandemic. some health care workers out here taking a minute to just reset. listen to what nurse practicer told us. >> we worked harder than i ever have because not only was i seeing patients in the clinic, but i was seeing them in the parking lot. i have never seen more anxiety and depression ever than in the last year. so this, what we're doing now, has been a cure for a lot of that. >> they bought their rv in the pandemic. they're both nurse practitioners and they have been treating patients throughout the last year. >> all right, alison, thank you. let's go to pennsylvania there. besides, i'm guessing, everyone in doylestown talking about the

east town finale, what are people telling you? >> it is a over whelming sense of joy. the memorial day parade is the oldest in the country. yesterday would have been the 150th anniversary. with the lifting of all capacity restrictions, that gets you thousands of people that came out today. fire trucks came out, color guard, things that we have seen. people here clearly very joy us. happy, smiling, a lot of them not wearing masks. it doesn't exceed the mandate that is still in place, but 70% of adults have that in their shot. and along this parade route is a lot of small businesses. a town supported by independent businesses.

i spoke with business owner this is weekend. >> to have everyone here and not being so nervous, there is still an awareness of being safe, but to just have that energy is such a positive thing. we're so happy to see people again. actually seeing people again. smiles, i love their smiles. >> i was here in pennsylvania covering protests and today we're finally seeing everything fully reopen, an extreme sense of excitement and outlook for the summer ahead. steph? >> it's amazing when you hear them talk about pennsylvania. 70% of adults there have at least one shot.

compare this holiday weekend to the last year where time and again we saw a spike in cases. now that so many people are vaccinated is that not a big concern any more? >> we made tremendous progress. it was wonderful to see all of those people out doing the things they used to love but i think we still need to exercise caution. we're still a tale of two countries. half vaccinated, half unvaccinated. the northeast is doing great, but the southeast not so much. about a third of the population is vaccinated and so what we have to be concerned about is regional outbreaks. people that are not vaccinated are still vulnerable. we really need to continue those efforts around outreach, messaging, decreasing the structural barriers to accessing vaccines. we know that paid leave is a

huge issue especially for black and latino workers. and so we need to keep pushing forward, those outbreaks may happen among communities where vaccinate rates are quite low. >> all right, thank you. to our reporters, now let's turn out to miami where we just got a update on saturday night's mass shooting there. multiple gunmen shooting 20 people and killing two at a cop sert. police still looking for suspects. sam, what's the latest? yes, the key there is that they're still searching for suspects. i was able to listen to the first half of that. that is not one but two mass

shootings over the weekend. so if if it adds up there is still two deceited and 20 injured here. so they were putting them together. it doesn't seem like the people that were injured yesterday, if we have a status update we're still waiting on that information. in terms of where the suspects are, they said they're putting in all of their resources to finding the suspects. that leads you to believe they don't have a beat yeah on where they are. as far as what i have seen from parents here absolutely heart broken. a couple of them have come to talk to the immediate them. there was potentially 100 plus rounds of ammunition discharged. some say they got phone calls

from their kids in the middle of the night saying they were shot in the stomach, in the leg, and they're saying hopefully it was not my kid, but for some of them, it was. >> i'm a nurse in new york and a 13 year marine corps vet. this is a war at home. >> now the mayor of miami-dade said the u.s. attorneys would be using the rico act to increase enhancements on these three suspects. they are cold blooded killers in the words of police. they do not know where these three suspects are. >> 100 plus rounds of ammunition discharged. i mean, sam, just hearing you say that is extraordinary.

another awful weekend of gun violence. any moment now president biden is expected to speak at -- actually, we're going back to the ceremony now. this is defense secretary lloyd austin taking the podium now. >> mr. president, dr. biden, madame vice president, mr. emhoff, distinguished members, gold star families, my fellow veterans, ladies and gentlemen. thank you for joining us on this solemn day in this solemn place. we come together to remember and to renew our sense of common purpose, and to reach out to those who have long mourned and

to those who newly grieve. mr. president in thinking about joining you here today i reflected on a meeting i held a few days ago with some of our gold star and surviving families. one of them was a wife of a marine reservist. they have three children. her husband, chris, was killed by a suicide bomber on april 8th, 2019 in afghanistan. the first thing she said in our meeting was simply "i'm going to try not to cry." these told us that e she told him god forest bid something happens to you, but if it does,

where do you want me to bury you. he tolder her i don't care, i just want to be near you. today he is in section 60 alongside so many brothers and sisters in arms that made the ultimate sacrifice in this longest of american wars. our gold star and surviving families wage a fight that goes on long after the funerals. it is our sacred duty to do more to ease the burden they shoulder on memorial day and every day. because for as long as we have sent our sons and daughters into arms way, those on the home front have also been on the

front lines. mr. president, you know firsthand the pride of seeing a loved one put on the country's uniform. you also know what it is like to wait and worry while a son serves in a battle zone far away. and you know what it means to commit american troops to fight. and you understand the mixture of pride, stress, fear, and love that all of our military families live with. as a former commander i know these feelings myself. for the loved ones of those that have fallen let me simply say we know the depth of your sacrifice. but we can never truly know the depth of your loss.

what we can do is remember those lost by mourning them and seeking to perfect our union and defend our democracy. and by striving to live in a way to advance the ideals for which they gave their all. it is indeed an honor to be with you here today. ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. madame vice president, secretary austin, gold star families, my fellow americans.

we're gathered at this sacred place in this hour to engage in the most fundamental of under takings. remembrance. remembering those that gave their all to the service of america, to the service of freedom, and the service of justice. remember their sacrifice, their valor, and their grace. remember their smile, love, laughter, their trancendant humanity. each of these markers for those known and unknown and far beyond represent a precious life a son,

daughter, sister, spouse, neighbor. for those that mourn a loved one today. we have some idea how you're feeling. our losses are not the same, but that black hole you feel in your chest that feels like you will suck you in, we get it. i know the pride of seeing your loved one wearing the uniform and the pride they felt wearing it. our son's deployment in iraq is one of the things he was most proud of. yesterday marked the anniversary of his death.

it is a hard time of year for me and our family. just like it is for so many of you. and it can hurt to remember. but the hurt is how we feel. and how we heal. i always feel beau close to me on memorial day. i know exactly where i need to be. right here honoring our fallen heros. because through pain and anguish of his loss i remember the pride on his face when i pinned the bars on his shoulder. all of you who are fighting with a fresh pain of loss as hard as it is to believe, i promise you this. the day will come when an image

of your loved one will bring a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eyes. the bible teaches blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted. that comfort, that reassurance can be a long time coming but it will come, i promise you. my prayer for all of you is that that day will come sooner rather than later. we all know memorial day's origins lie in the wake of the civil war. a war for the freedom of all. a war for union, a war for liberty, and for the preservation of the constitution. in calling for such today, general john logan, general of the grand army republic issued

order number 11. he directed that the nation set aside a day to honor those that died during the late rebellion and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, hamlet, churchyard throughout the land. so we have and so we do again today in our time. where the children of sacrifice made by a long line of american service members, each a link in that chain of honor. we live by the light and the flame of liberty. they kept burning. we're free because they were behave. here on these gentle rolling green hills and across america and around the globe, burying the heros of the greatest

experiment that the world has ever known. ever seen. it bearing the name the united states of america. women and men, all of those that we honor today gave their lives for their country. but they live forever in our hearts. forever proud and forever honorable. they are in the sentence of lib libberty. liberators of nations. still today americans stand watch around the world. often at great personal peril. they are not relics of our american history, they are part

of america's story. here in arlington, heros that president lincoln called the last full measure of devotion. they didn't just die in normandy, but the mountains and deserts of iraq in the last 20 years. when i walk through it reminds me of the cost of war. hundreds of graves hundreds of graves here for recent conflicts. hundreds of patriots gave their all. each leaving behind a family to live with the pain in their absence every single day. i want to assure each of those families that we will never

forget what you gave to our country. we will never fail to honor your sacrifice. each day starting when i was vice president of the united states. and afghanistan and iraq. not an approximation. not rounded off numbers, but leaving behind the entire family. now that number is 7036. fallen, who lost their lives to these conflicts. on this memorial day we honor

their legacy their sacrifice. duty, honor, country. they lived for it, they died for it, and we as a nation are eternally grateful. you know america has been forged in the fire of war. the freedom of ours and others have been secured by young men and women that answered the call of history. they gave everything in service to an idea. the idea of america. it is the greatest idea in the history of human kind. an idea that we're all created equal in the image of almighty god. that we're all intitled to dignity and respect. decency and honor.

love of neighbor. they're not empty worlds but the vital beating heart of our nation. and democracy must defended at all costs. democracy is the soul of america, and i believe it is a soul worth fighting for and dieing for. this beautiful sacred place, they believe that, too. the soul of america is animated by the perennial battle between our worst instincts that we have seen of late, and our better angels. between me first and we the people. between greed and generosity.

cruelty and kindness. captivity and freedom. the americas of lexington and concord, iwo ji ma, vietnam, iraq, afghanistan, and thousands of places in between. they're not fighting for dictators, they're fighting for democracy. they're not fighting to exclude or enslave, it was to build, broaden, and liberate. they're not fighting for self, they're fighting for the soul of the nature. . libty and simple fair play and decency. today as we remember their sacrifice we remind ourselves of our duty, to their memory, to

the future they fought for. we owe them the debt that we can never we pay. to affect the union for which they died. the hand and of hearts to make good on the promise of a nation founded on the proposition that all of us, all of us, all of us are created equal and deserve to be treated that way throughout our lives. democracy is more than a form of government. it is a way of being. it's a way of seeing the world. democracy means the rule of the people. the rule of the people. not the rule of monarchs. not the rule of money. not the rule of the mighty. the rule of the people.

lives of billions have been shaped by aspirations and the greed of the few. between people's right to self determination and the self seeking of a dictator. between dreams of democracy and appetites for autocracy that we're seeing around the world. our troops fought this battle on fields around the world, but also the battle of our time. it falls to each of us, each and every day, democracy itself in peril here at home and around the world. what we do now what duo now, how we honor the memory of the fallen, will determine whether or not democracy will long endure. we all take it for granted. we think we learn in school and

that every generation has to fight for it. look, the biggest question. whether a system that prizes the individual, bends toward liberty, if that system can and will prevail against the powerful sources. all that duo in our common life is part of that struggle. a struggle for democracy. taking place around the world, democracy and autocracy. a struggle for decency and dignity. just simple decency. a struggle for prosperity and progress. and yes, the struggle for the

soul of america itself. folks, you all know it. democracy drives when the infrastructure is strong. people have a right to vote freely and fairly and conveniently on a free and independent press pursues the truth founded on facts not propaganda. when the rule of law applies equally and fairly to every citizen regardless of where they come from or what they look like. excuse me. where ever americans are, there is democracy. churches, synagogues, mosques. bleachers at soccer games. libraries and parks. it grows with an open heart and

the impetus to come together for common cause. i though parenthetically that's what you do, and that's where it will be empathy is the fuel of democracy. let me say that again. empathy -- empathy is the fuel of democracy. our willingness to see each other not as enemies. even when we disagree, to understand what the other is going through. state the obvious. our democracy is imperfect. it always has been. but americans of all backgrounds, races, creed, identities, sexual orientation have long spilled their blood to defend our democracy. the diversity of our country and of our armed services is and

always has been an incredible strength. and generation after generation of american heroes have signed up to be part of the fight, because they understand the truth that lives in every american heart. that liberation, opportunity, justice are far more likely to come to pass in a democracy than an autocracy. if every person is sacred, then every person's rights are sacred. individual dignity, individual worth, individual sanctity, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. we say those words so often. but think of it. the right to vote. the right to rise in a world as far as your talent can take you. unlimited by unfair barriers of

privilege and power. such are the principles of democracy. how do we do that? how do we make the idea real or as close to real as we can make it? this nation was build on an idea. the only nation in the world but on an idea. every other is built on ethnicity, geography, religion, et cetera. we were built on the idea of liberty. and opportunity for all. we never fully realized that aspiration of our founding. every generation has opened the door a little wider. every generation has opened it wider and wider to be more inclusive. include those who have been excluded before. it's a mission handed down generation to generation.

the work of perfecting our union. in 1830, when we were a young nation, this unionist put their interest ahead of the common good. a great senator, daniel webster, rose in the capital to defend the union. to him, we're not just a collection of competing forces but a coherent whole. his cry started across the potomac in the capital, resonates even now. he stood on the floor and he said, liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable, liberty and union. more than 142 years later, when i first came to the united states senate at a time when our country was so deeply divided over vietnam, the struggle of civil rights, the fight over

women's rights, i had the notion that my first task as i stood to make my first speech on the floor of the senate, it all of a sudden hit me, i'm standing where daniel webster had stood. his desk was next to mine. i was struck by the weight of history. as corny as it sounds. by the legacy, the work we are charged to carry forward. liberty and union, now and forever. now is then. unity is essential to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. so remember those who gave their all in the cause of unity, in the cause of a nation that endures because of them. we must honor their sacrifice by sustaining the best of america while honestly confronting all that we must do to make our nation a fuller, freer and more

just. we must remember that we may find the light and the wisdom and the courage to move forward in the words of that great hymn, fight as they nobly fought of old. in remembrance lies not just our history but our hope. not just our solemn remembrance, but our renewed purpose. not just our solace, but our strength. this memorial day, remember that not all of us are called to make the ultimate sacrifice. we all are called by god and by history and by conscience to make our nation free and fair, just and strong, noble and whole. for this battle may we now dedicate our souls, that our

work may prove worthy of the blood of our fallen, for this work, the work of democracy, is the work of our time and for all time. if we do our duty, then ages to come will look back on us and say that we, too, kept the faith. there's nothing more important. nothing more sacred, nothing more american than keeping the faith. may god bless the united states of america, and may the light perpetually shine upon the fallen. may god bring comfort to their families. and may god protect our troops today and always. god bless you all. [ applause ]

>> ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the playing of "taps" and remain standing for the benediction. ♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ >> please receive our closing prayer. lord, may we be inspired by the deep sense of loyalty, dedication and commitment of those we have remembered today.

renew our faith and allegiance to our nation and each other. lord, bless the families of our fallen, bless our nation's leaders and god bless america. in your loving name i pray, amen. >> ladies and gentlemen, please remain in place as the official party departs and for the departure of the state and territorial flags.

>> good monday morning to you. craig melvin here on this memorial day. we are watching president biden and vice president harris and the official party depart arlington national cemetery in what has become an annual tradition. today, we remember the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform who gave their lives for ours. we just heard president biden marking this somber day at arlington national cemetery. the president speaking after the traditional laying of a wretch, saying a prayer at the time of the unknown soldier. this is part of what we just heard from president biden. >> here on these gentle rolling green hills and across america and around