durbin: thank you. senator grassley echo sen. grassley: i will start -- sen. grassley: i will start with jackson-akiwumi during the recent seventh circuit hearing we heard about the supposed link between indiana gun shows and street violence in chicago. for four years you represented a man who during one year had bought nine firearms in the indiana gun stores and proceeded to sell them without a license to people in chicago, including at least one fella. he was investigated when the police in chicago recovered seven firearms he had bought and indiana. you said in the pretrial motion that the case was not about gun violence or gangs in chicago. do you stand by the view that a case about illegal firearms trafficked from indiana to chicago is not about guns, violence, or games in chicago? judge jackson-akiwumi: senator, i live in chicago for many years. my formative years as an attorney and a private citizen. i am all too aware of the questions regarding guns that chicago faces and so many other communitie

chair durbin: thank you, ms. abrams. let me concede at the outset that jim croat its worst was more violent than the situation we face today. i don't want to recount all of the horrors of that bigotry and racism that occurred in that era. i think the bottom line question which we are addressing in this hearing is whether there is a design or an intent in legislation that is being considered and passed in many states, including the state of georgia, to limit or restrict the rights -- right to vote of minority populations. with the intent of having influence on the outcome of the election. i think that goes without saying. clearly there is a difference in the witnesses who appear before the committee. but i'd like to ask, stacey abrams, for example, the speaker pro tempore, mrs. jones, said earlier that the new georgia law made it easier to vote in the state. can you -- you have recounted a few instances, but can you think of elements in the law that was signed by governor kemp which do the opposite? ms. ifill: first this

durbin: senator cornyn? sen. cornyn: you and i may be only two or three people on the committee that nowhere that part of texas is. thank you for what you do day in and day out. i cannot imagine the challenges that confront the director of the bureau of prisons, and i want you to let us know what we can do to help you accomplish your goal. you made the point that you want to be able to release inmates when they are no longer a threat after they have served their time. i think the perception is just the opposite, and i'm glad you clarified that. but in texas come as you know, we made a major effort that criminal justice reform focused on people who would take advantage of the opportunity to deal with their addictions, learn a skill, and he prepared for life outside of prison, and it was that state aced experiment that was duplicated that -- that state-based experiment that was duplicated around the country. i want to make sure my partner is recognized for his contribution, too. by its name, we did not expect to st

durbin: mr. holly. >> we have heard an extraordinary number of lies told about this law from the novet united states, all the way down, including members of the committee, including today and also from an unbelievable assortment of for-profit corporations. this has been one of the most incredible organized campaigns to try to influence legislation and all matly overturn it. and of course now the same corporations are taking this effort to states across the country, no doubt soon coming to missouri where we have our election integrity measures adopted by our voters in our legislature and also by referendum will soon, i'm sure, be in their sights. let me just ask you about these lies that have been told other and over, the president of the united states, his big lie that this legislation cut off the amount of time, closed the polls early. that was a lie. we've heard that water is not made available to people waiting in line, that's a lie. we've seen it told over and over and over. i want to zero in

durbin: thank you senator. let me add another element, i do not want to incorrectly infer this but i want to make it clear about this hearing is scheduled today cannot because of a plea by any special interest group at all. the nominees go through an extensive background check, all of them do. it takes some period of time before that is completed and submitted to the committee, both sides of the committee. we have scheduled the five nominees today as soon as that process had been completed. i am looking through your questionnaire spent agenda not know how human is to accumulate all of this information in response but it was a good faith effort to comply with everything under the law as soon as it was ready, we set this hearing. no outside group's demands or plays had to do with the timing of this hearing. senator hirono are you available by remote? sen. hirono: imp aren't democrats have long criticized the role of dark money in politics and judicial nominees, if what i am hearing is that our republican colleagu

chair durbin: thank you, senator grassley. at this point, we will have introductions of the two nominees. first, colleague senator kiersten gillibrand will join us remotely to introduce ms. clarke . senator gillibrand, are you with us? senator gillibrand: yes, i am. thank you. it is my honor to introduce ms. clarke. at this point in time when we are seeing a horrifying rise in bigotry and anti-semitism and an increase in voter suppression, it could not be more important for the civil justice department to have a leader who can address these challenges from day one. ms. clarke is that leader. she is the right person for this job at this moment. she first became interested in civil rights law on a high school field trip to watch the arguments in a connecticut school desegregation case and has spent her entire professional life in public service in virtually every area of civil rights. her career began as a trial attorney in the civil rights division of the bush administration where she served for six years. if confirmed, she wou

i saw your little bit with dick durbin. he should be ashamed to be there. kick that garbage out, with what's happening in chicago. it only gets worse, lawmakers do nothing about it and i think that the crime rise has a lot to do with leadership. they sit there and they talk, talk, talk in do nothing. we have a lot worse things than gun control. the gun control that has been passed, there you go. they need to take a look at themselves. leadership stinks. host: as far as crime and johnson, tennessee, how would you characterize it? is it a concern? caller: we do not have a lot of crime. we have good leadership in local lawmakers that stay and talk about it. we have some, but it is not that great. it has been going on in the same cities for years and years. then you want to defund the police. the lawmakers in this country, they think they have a problem, they sit and talk and talk with their little committees and all of that crap and things get worse and worse. host: well, let's talk about the situation in johnson city. you said leadership is the reason you don

durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: mr. president, before making a comment related to vanita gupta which is before the senate, i would like to respond briefly to the minority leader, senator mcconnell's remarks. the senate is a venerable institution, but when it comes to defining infrastructure in the 21st century, what we are hearing from the other side of the aisle is not venerable thinking. it isn't even old fashion thinking. it isn't in tune with the times in america. it doesn't reflect reals. -- reflect reality. for the republicans to argue that unless it's bricks and more tar, the government -- mortar, the government shouldn't be involved in building it for the good of the economy and strength of business and good-paying jobs really is sinking their head deep into the sand. and i think we taught to make a record, at least for the moment, that in the last four years of the last presidential administration, there were no infrastructure bills, none. after all of the promiseles of the -- promises of the trump administrati

durbin: thank you, mr. gardner. >> good morning chairman durbin, ranking number grassley and members of the committee. my name is sherilyn ifill, i am the president and executive council of the naacp legal defense foundation. think of the opportunity to testify this morning. vince its founding, we have been a leader in protecting voting rights for black voters. we represented martin luther king junior. we have medicated seminole cases over decades. and we continue to litigate and work with communities in the south to strengthen and protect the ability of black citizens to participate in the political process free from discrimination. beyond litigation, we monitor primary and federal elections every year through our nonpartisan and voting rights defender initiative. last year, we partnered with lebron james to recruit young poll workers to the 2020 election and ensure polling places could remain open and black communities despite the covid-19 pandemic. over 40,000 new poll workers were approved as part of th

durbin: that is a good question. it is important to note that we have real world evidence of efficacy against a variety. we know that the u.k. variant, that so far the vaccine used there has been very effective against that. when we see how well the antibodies attack, like johnson & johnson, moderna, pfizer, all of those antibodies recognize and work well against the b- 1-1-7 variant. the south african variant is different. we know that the vaccines will not protect against infection as well, but the encouraging data we have out of south africa is experience with johnson & johnson vaccine, which was 100% effective against severe covid and death caused by the south african variant. even though the antibodies to not -- do not work against the variant as well, we think all the vaccines will be effective against severe and hospitalized covid caused by the south african variant. matt: one of the questions we repeatedly get, especially from viewers who have gotten shots, is what can you do once you are vaccinated? can you

senate, dick durbin. i want to start with how -- with the green chutes of bipartisanship we saw this week, but specifically sort of how it came together to deal with covid hate crimes. you tell me this, senator durbin. do you think the threat that democrats could be united in ee eliminating the filibuster motivated them to work on it? >> yes. i think they have been saying, don't kill the filibuster. it's an important part of the senate. we have been saying back to them, then just prove to us that with the filibuster, we can do something. that created an environment positive for the hate crimes bill. >> you have been the person that a lot of people have ascribed the optimism on various immigration -- smaller immigration bills. comprehensive thing we know how that went eight years ago. you have the bruises among others to prove it. what is possible do you think in this congress when it comes to the smaller -- there's some demands when it comes to improving the processing at the border. that's one thing we k

durbin: if i can -- mr. warner: i want to thank again the brilliant ruling of the parliamentarian on that clarification. mr. durbin: as i understand it we are in measured time two hours to a side, any speakers from our side will be taken from that two-hour total? the presiding officer: that is right. mr. durbin: thank you very much. mr. warner: i want to touch on two critically important subjects that the senate is considering today. first, i want to rise in support of vanita gupta, president biden's nominee to serve as the associate attorney general. the third highest ranking position in our justice department. i think my good friend, the senator from illinois, has already spoken about ms. gupta. i want to make a personal note first that ms. gupta is a fellow virginian. i'm proud to say she and her husband lee are raising their two sons in the commonwealth, i believe in arlington. ms. gupta is also an outstanding public servant. she served from 2014 to 2017 as the principal deputy attorney general at d.o.j.

chairman durbin: thank you. next witness is miss edith duffy. >> thank you, chairman, ranking member grassley, and members of the committee, for the opportunity to speak today. for so many who are depending not only just me, but the legislation of equal treatment under the law. like all of you, i am a person of faith, an african-american woman, the leader of a faith institution and a mother. , i also have welt with hundreds of thousands of members of the national board of directors, but in all of my identities my most important will be my children. my husband and i have two adult children. they could not be more different. but we are proud of them both. our older child brian never had any doubt they would be loved and accepted for who they are because that is the message they always received from my husband and me and from the faith community of the united church of christ. brian wanted to be fully out to everyone, but at the time my husband and i were afraid for his safety, being black and gay in a predominantl

durbin: thank you, now we have president jan jones. ms. jones: thank you for inviting me to testify before today's committee hearing. i come before you as a proud georgian, a member of the georgia general assembly where i serve as speaker pro tem for the georgia house of representatives. in georgia, we are making it easier to vote and harder to cheat. we are ensuring voter accessibility, transparency, and integrity. in 2021, we held primary and general elections using a new statewide election system during the first modern worldwide pandemic and record turnout. all of these together, along with changes in voter preferences and choices, stressed our election system. our obligation was to initiate a

durbin: that's a great question.don't have an absolute answer, but my answer is it would be possible. we don't need -- we don't know how much virus is needed and part of that depends on whether the other person has been vaccinated or not. if the other person has been vaccinated, the risk of transmission is much lower and that's why we need to get as many people vaccinated as possible. because we don't know, that's why we are asking people to even if you are vaccinated, to wear a mask until we get the vast majority of people vaccinated. matt: thank you very much for your time. the professor of international health at the johns hopkins universe -- johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health stop the johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health is supported by our founder and majority owner, michael r. bloomberg. we will continue to follow the markets for you and get look at what's going on in the trial. this is bloomberg. ♪ it's moving day. and while her friends are doing the heavy lifting, jess is busy moving h

durbin: thank you senator cruz. >> thank you mr. chair.efore i begin, i want to take a moment to remark on the significance of this hearing. as chairman durbin reminds us and tells us, for the past four years, the prior administration appointed 226 judges to the federal courts. almost 30% of the current federal judiciary. an overwhelming majority of those appointees were white. nearly as many, 171 were men. over the course of the prior administration, our judiciary came markedly less diverse -- became markedly less diverse. this is an important step in reversing that trajectory and creating a judiciary that reflects america that it serves. this committee has heard and will hear testimony from five nominees, all persons of color and three women. they have experience in public defense, prosecution, civil litigation, municipal law and military service. the diversity of backgrounds and professional experience they offer to the judiciary in addition to their impressive qualifications is remarkable and important. i hope mr. chair and expect that

durbin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the president be immediate lay notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on on the motion to proceed to calendar number 13, s. 937, a bill to facilitate the expedited review of the covid-19 hate crimes, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the motion to proceed to s. 937, a bill to facilitate the expedited review of covid-19 hate crimes, and for other purposes, shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll

chairman durbin? chair durbin: two disclaimers. i am a liberal laws lawyer, not nearly as tech savvy as i should be. number two, my experience in government suggests that we are slow to recognize issues that are fast breaking and having very spotty record when it comes to responding to them in a thoughtful way. i hope this is an exception. if i could address kristin harris first and then, may i ask you this question. i have been trying to understand why the european union is taking such a bold and innovative approach to the subject and we are so slow to respond. any thoughts? mr. harris: in this country, please value free speech. that makes it harder to regulate an environment where the composition of what constitutes speech is a frankenstein monster that spits out lots of attention to people on a personalized basis. i don't think we have had a framework. to your earlier point, one of the quotes we reference austin is that the fundamental -- reference often is that we have medieval institutions and accelerating godlike mentality. i

durbin: mr.nt, i'm going to raise an issue at this point that is not relevant to the water bill. i'd like unanimous consent to be given that opportunity. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, we're in the midst of the worst opioid epidemic in a generation and one aspect of this is the widespread use of fentanyl, a deadly opioid that has killed thousands of people in america. in 2018, the drug enforcement administration took the unprecedented step of placing all fentanyl-related substances -- also known as fentanyl analogues -- on schedule 1 under the controlled substances act. that makes it easier to prosecute any individual who sells or simply possesses fentanyl analogues and subjects those individuals to stiff mandatory minimum penalties regardless of individual circumstances. typically, a drug is only added to schedule 1 after the department of health and human services conducts a scientific study to determine if it has a hypotension for abuse and no accepted med

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>> yes, thank you, chairman durbin. can you hear me? >> please proceed. >> yes.nk you, chairman durbin and ranking member grassley, for letting me share a few words about regina rodriguez. i want to add a little bit to what michael bennet said so elegantly. regina rodriguez comes to this committee with broad, well-earned support in our state. 30 years of legal experience and accomplishment. she really has dedicated her career to the people of colorado and fighting for historically disadvantaged communities. it's not surprising she got the enthusiastic support of the colorado lawyers committee, the colorado bar association. these two organizations consist of attorneys dedicated to providing legal services to children, to the poor, using knowledge of the law to improve our society and our legal system. former united states attorneys appointed by presidents from both political parties note that regina's experience, knowledge, demeanor, and work ethic make her an ideal candidate. throughout her career she managed the coordination of hundreds if not thousands of cases

he wants to punish in particular dick durbin for cutting off his time prematurely.y public like this, but this is where things are at the current moment. >> and let's talk about where else things are when you look at marjorie taylor greene scrapping plans for her america first caucus after outrage that it was racist. kevin mccarthy condemned the idea, but he didn't call her out directly. should he have gone farther to make it clear the republican party doesn't stand for that? >> listen, she has a lot of wacky out of the mainstream ideas. she has been stripped of her committee assignments. and i do think republican leaders are really at a loss of what to do with someone like marjorie taylor greene, because she was elected. what i keep coming back to where that moment of decision making really needed to be made, needed to be made last summer when she was following around parkland gun rights activist david hogg on capitol hill as he was engaging in advocacy for stricter gun control. but she followed him with a video camera, essentially harassing him, and i'm not going

thoughts on the issue of guns, the chair of this hearing that the committee took place, senator dick durbin, here are some of his thoughts. >> last weekend in the city of chicago 20 people were shot. 20. dr. rogers, you know that well, you know what happens in your hometown, four of them died. across the nation every day we lose on average 109 american lives to gunfire, 109, suicides, domestic violence shootings, accidental shootings, homicides, and another 200 americans are injured by guns. the numbers are sobering. each number is an individual person, loved one, a neighbor, a friend, a husband, father, a son, or a daughter. we have seen too many desperate trips to the emergency room, too many funerals, too many families and communities card forever by gun violence. we have come to accept it as part of american life. disproportionately this violence affects people of color, but nobody is immune. host: that hearing available at c-span.org. david atlanta, georgia. caller: thanks for having me. a couple things about policing in my opinion. the first thing is we have to stop arguing with the s

as durbin said, say it ain't so, joe. what the president had promised in the campaign and even in the early weeks of his administration. we are heading into the 100th day of his administration and this white house feels good about the progress they have made on a number of issues, but the one thing that has really been a thorn in their sides has been migration and immigration broadly. we have heard from administration officials that this is all a consequence of, effectively, the trump administration dismantling our legal immigration system and the hyper partisanship around the issue more broadly. here's what happened. president trump, former president trump had set a low cap, around 12,000 for refugee admissions this year. president biden had promised teresa to upper 60,000. the white house announced on friday they were going to do that. they're going to hold to that initial cap, blaming the broken immigration system, saying they need more time to restructure it when he saw the outcry there was a quick track to say, well,

now the number two democrat in the senate dick durbin said these justice department investigations could be a way of forcing changes at the local level, especially if they don't get a deal on the federal level, and on that federal legislation, jake, dick durbin told me the federal ban on chokeholds is essential, very important he said to getting a final deal but he said he did not want to put any red lines as the negotiations condition. >> manu raju on capitol hill, thanks so much. >>> also breaking today, the u.s. is not using it, but until now they were not sharing it. that's its stockpile of the astrazeneca vaccine. sharing it now with the rest world. too late to make a difference. >>> and will former president trump give the vaccine effort in the snarm why those around him are urging him to make a psa for his skeptical supporters. stay with us. e could only imagie enjoying freshly squeezed orange juice. now no fruit is forbidden. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for all-day, all-night protection. canhi guys! check outurs this side right here. what'd you do? - tell me know you

you know, senator dick durbin is leading that conversation in the senate right now. they met a bipartisan group of senators met this week to discuss the issue and senator dick durbin told my colleagues there's a long way to go on this. and then you have police reform legislation where congresswoman karen bass who spearheaded through the house is negotiating on this with senator tim scott, the only black senator in congress. and they're trying to find a deal, cut a deal before the year anniversary of george floyd's death, which is may 25th. they're working on that. and it's timely given that senator tim scott is working on this issue because he's expected to give the republican response to president joe biden's address to the joint congress this week. you know, biden will lay out as my colleague jasmine just said what he wants to see in the next year. he's going to tout, you know, the achievements of his administration and senator tim scott has been tasked with the response to that for the republican party. a lot of things going on in congress this week. boris and chr

senator durbin asked about stimulus checks for inmates. there were two votes on the floor of the senate, one in 2021 and senator cotton and senator cass zpee senator cruz offered amendments that would have prohibited the issuance of stimulus tchokes prisoners. that failed by a vote. there was another one by senator cruz and senator cotton, joined by senator cassidy, that would prohibit any individual who was incarcerated in a federal or state prison from getting stimulus checks. that also failed by a vote of 49-50. but just going back on the history of these stimulus checks under the cares act, initially congress was silent as to whether prison inmates would receive those checks. the i.r.s. took the position that they were not eligible. and then there was a class action lawsuit filed, which said that congress had to -- the i.r.s. had to comply, because there was no explicit prebusiness. did i recite the history of your experience correctly? in other words, originally congress was silent, then i.r.s. took the position they weren't entitled,

your with senator durbin. he played arguably a role in your political career. i wonder if you had conversations with him that shape that part of the book of this any notable dialogue about this as you wrote? >> when he wrote the first half of the book i shared it with him. it's an army writing style. the army teaches you fact checked writing you get the point keep your subjects short. you do it. that is how i write because that's how the army taught me and i'm plainspoken because i spent 23 years in the army. is it tammy is very moving i learned a lot about your experience as a child. i can see why you are the way are now. you may decry it with your passage about tammy turn down the army languishes a little bit? i don't think that's good be good for your future career to have that much on. he cannot even say f bombs he said i that i don't think you should do it. i laughed i gave him a copy of the book the other day i said i did tone it down. said yeah thought you would. [laughter] oh my gosh that's really funny. >> is always watching out for me he is my mentor.

has announced that president idriss deby has been killed while visiting soldiers on the front lines durbin who just won reelection and was one of africa's longest serving leaders his son general and how much kaka is expected to be the interim head of state the army has now implemented a curfew and shut the borders it says democratic elections will take place following a transition period to the morgan has more from the capital into mina. the president at me himself went to the frontlines along with top army officials to lead the battle against the group announced later that at least $300.00 were killed and more than $140.00 were captured while the rest fled and were being pursued by the government military now we hadn't heard from debbie over the weekend we didn't hear from him yesterday as well on the day that the national electoral commission announced that he had won the election by nearly 80 percent we were expecting to hear a statement from him. to assure his supporters and to basically welcome the results of the national electoral commission that's now will not be happening we know t

illinois senator durbin says he hopes new investments work. we're starting to see a slowdown in the number of people who are showing up for vaccine and says people should get the johnson and johnson vaccine. once it's back on line, we're only at the halfway point sleep dramatically need to increase the number of people who are protected by vaccination. >> the fda says the johnson and johnson vaccine could be back in use as early as saturday. today. the cdc director noted that the johnson and johnson vaccine because it is a single dose can be much more convenient for those struggling to get to vaccination sites for now in washington, raquel martin, back to you. >> thanks, raquel the biden administration is considering changing its policy on face masks during the pandemic. the white house press secretary jen psaki answer questions about whether the president will still ask americans to wear masks after his first 100 days in office. >> he is working and in discussions with our health and medical experts about what we need to do to get the pandemi

we may be joined by senator durbin for opening remarks as well. last month the judiciary committee held a very important hearing. as my colleagues know, on constitution and common sense steps to reduce gun violence that has recently claimed so many lives in atlanta, boulder, indianapolis, and elsewhere. gun violence is a real problem. we all know it. but there are also real solutions. i believe, strongly and passionately, that we have a path to put some solutions into law during this session. i believe we can with bipartisan cooperation. i am not naive. i do not believe that all gun violence prevention proposals will be adopted by you and emmett -- unanimous consent. but i hope that this afternoon at least we can focus on one topic or there does appear to be at least some measure of common ground, extreme risk orders, also known as risk warrants. that is the name in connecticut we have adopted for red flag laws. whatever you call them, we know they save lives. we know that red flag extreme risk orders save lives. their practical and proven tools t

collaborator that worked with me and helped me along and i had lots of good proofreaders and dick durbin my senior senator who was in the book, i talk about how he found me in the hospital and gave me a new mission encouraging me too run and i send him copies to read and then at two different folks that i'm a big fan of sherrod brown and his writing and his wife is also aro "new york time" -- you know connie is a best-selling author so i sent a chapter here and there and i got feedback so i had lots of people helping me along the way. >> i love that. i love them helping out, that's a great detail. what was the hardest part of the book to write, i mean, i'm assuming it's talking about the crash but there may be another part? guest: my early childhood was the hardest part. it was not a cry she was a shoot down. it was not an accident, it was intentional and we actually landed the bird. it's not on me, it's the fact that the pilot in command of the aircraft did a remarkable piece of flying and landed that bird in one piece and that's why we are all alive so i went to honor his expertise and

thank you to chairman durbin training today.erally people hear the word algorithm, you might think of complicated medical formula or piece of computer code but as many of us have been increasingly aware, algorithms impact what literally billions of people read and watch and impact what they think everyday. facebook, twitter, youtube, three major tech companies represented today's hearing use algorithms to determine what appears on your screen when you open engage with the opposition. there's nothing wrong about that inherently billions or even trillions of pieces of content to choose from and each platform, it makes sense they should have a way to help us sift through what they think users are looking for and what we are actually seeking. advances in machine learning make the technology possibly led to other context, machine learning is driving innovation across many industries. medical science companies to deliver better service. many have recently argued this technology is harnessed into algorithms designed to track time and a

>> thank you, chairman durbin for the question. since 2003, 59 election and the phils have been passed by the georgia general assembly, at least once every year. after the 2018 elections, we had an elections bill that addressed some of the concerns expressed by democrats. in this bill, after a worldwide pandemic record turnout, a new election system once again we are coming back to address concerns expressed by democrats and republicans. the bill absolutely will reduce the lines and it will make clear that there has to be proper notice so the voters can know if a precinct has changed, it has to require notice at the old precinct location with a 4-foot by 4-foot sign. also at the new location. there are many provisions, but let me mention specifically with your regards about shortening the absentee hours. as recommended by the association of county commissioners, which is a bipartisan group, and the u.s. postal service, our training to request national absentee ballot allows someone to request the friday before the regular election,

thank you to chairman durbin training today. generally people hear the word algorithm, you might think of complicated medical formula or piece of computer code but as many of us have been increasingly aware, algorithms impact what literally billions of people read and watch and impact what they think everyday. facebook, twitter, youtube, three major tech companies represented today's hearing use algorithms to determine what appears on your screen when you open engage with the opposition. there's nothing wrong about that inherently billions or even trillions of pieces of content to choose from and each platform, it makes sense they should have a way to help us sift through what they think users are looking for and what we are actually seeking. advances in machine learning make the technology possibly led to other context, machine learning is driving innovation across many industries. medical science companies to deliver better service. many have recently argued this technology is harnessed into algorithms designed to track time a

the number two democrat in the senate, dick durbin, was very critical of biden.ning jake sullivan, biden's national security adviser, went on tv to say, no, we're going to raise the quota. but what it does point to, to go back to our earlier conversation, is that to the democratic party, the progressive base is fully prepared to hold biden's feet to the fire when they think he is turning his back on what he appears to have promised them. >> sreenivasan: jeff greenfield joining us from santa barbara today. thanks so much. >> thanks for having me. >> sreenivasan: singer, songwriter and musician sam amidon has been onstage for more than 35 of his almost 40 years, with 11 albums and collaborations with the likes of guitar maestro bill frisell, as well as with his wife, the noted british singer/songwriter beth orton, amidon has developed a shining reputation for taking something very old and making it sound brand-new. newshour weekend special correspondent tom casciato has our story. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> reporter: sam amidon is a musical enigma of sorts. you might consider him a

durbin, the senator from michigan ms. tappan now, the senator from vermont mr.anders, the senator from minnesota ms. klobuchar, the senator from kentucky mr. mcconnell, the senator from south dakota mr. kuhn, the senator from wyoming mr. brought to, the senator from iowa ms. ernst, the senator from missouri mr. blunt, the senator from florida mr. scotto. >> the members of the escort committee will exit the chamber through the lobby doors to the right and left of the podium. [inaudible] >> madam speaker, the dean of the diplomatic floor. [applause] [inaudible] [gavel] >> madame speaker, the chief justice of the supreme court. [applause] [inaudible] [applause] [inaudible] [gavel] >> madame speaker, representative of the president's cabinet. [applause] [inaudible] [inaudible] [laughter] [applause] [gavel] [applause] [inaudible]

and there was immediate backlash from progressives like come permila paul and dick durbin who had a line saying president joe, say it ain't so. he's been an immigrant advocate for a long time. they seem to have -- they a bit back on their heels and since this all unfolded, the press secretary general psaki has said there is some -- jen psaki has said there is some confusion and we will learn more about it later in the month. but it seems clear the white house is nervous about giving republicans any more opportunities on this even though during the campaign this was one of those things that joe biden, president -- now president biden has explicitly cast as being about american values. and i think that's part of why the feelings around this are so raw. nancy: right. and clearly very predictable backlash here. switching gears to race and policing, in minnesota, the trial of former police officer derek chauvin for the killing of george floyd continues. both sides have now rested their cases and are expected to deliver their closing arguments starting on monday. and last weekend, 20-year-old

he gave his life to protect senate majority leader chuck schumer and illinois senator durbin call the 18 year capitol police veteran a hero. they put their lives at risk to protect this building and those of us who work here. >> and those who visit. they literally risk their lives for us. >> evans died after a man rammed his car into him and another officer at a barricade on the capitol complex. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell said evans was one of the first faces many lawmakers saul on their way to the capital each day. >> we could not have had the condor. more likable about her at this junction or more faithful protector. >> in a statement house speaker nancy pelosi called evans a martyr of our democracy. president biden and vice president harris are expected to make the trip to capitol hill to pay their respects to officer evans. now investigators are still working to learn why the suspect rammed his car into that barricade. ultimately killing officer evidence and injuring another capitol police officer in washington, rashad hudson back to you. thank you for that report were

illness, perhaps being reluctant to talk to friends or professionals is exactly the point that senator durbin made. i don't know whether you recall, but he said, people should not be separated from firearms simply because they have a mental illness. it's dangerousness. it's risk. its potential harm to others. that murderer would have no basis, none, for going to a judge and saying, nikki go eser is dangerous, a risk to harm anyone. likewise, senator cruz and i are both federalists. i was a state attorney general for way longer than i have been a united states senator. to enforce their own laws and indeed to make their own laws, and that is the whole purpose of our proposed red-flag statute -- not only to encourage states to make their own laws, but to make them better, so that when they do pass their own laws, more like connecticut than, say, one of the other states that we found less protective of constitutional rights. if they are going to be laboratories of democracy, better to elevate the results of those laboratories than let them muddle along and fail to protect the rights of american c

judiciary committee are going to shine a spotlight on all of these efforts, and i applaud chairman durbin for holding this very important hearing today. voting rights are a topic that deserves continued national attention. it's a top priority for this democratic senate majority. finally, mr. president, you couldn't find a better study in contrasts than the trump administration and the biden administration on so many issues the executive branch is finally returning to competence undoing the damage brought by four years of trump presidency. one important example came last night. beginning in 2017, the trump administration maliciously held back billions of dollars in congressionally approved disaster aid to paperwork, which was devastated by -- to puerto rico which was devastated by hurricanes and the deaths of thousands of americans. this was vicious on the part of donald trump, nasty, so typical of the pettiness and inhumanity of his administration. well, the biden administration has finally ended this appalling delay and will relief the much-needed disaster relief funds that puerto rico h

i saw your little bit with dick durbin. he should be ashamed to be there.k that garbage out, with what's happening in chicago. it only gets worse, lawmakers do nothing about it and i think that the crime rise has a lot to do with leadership. they sit there and they talk, talk, talk in do nothing. we have a lot worse things than gun control. the gun control that has been passed, there you go. they need to take a look at themselves. leadership stinks. host: as far as crime and johnson, tennessee, how would you characterize it? is it a concern? caller: we do not have a lot of crime. we have good leadership in local lawmakers that stay and talk about it. we have some, but it is not that great. it has been going on in the same cities for years and years. then you want to defund the police. the lawmakers in this country, they think they have a problem, they sit and talk and talk with their little committees and all of that crap and things get worse and worse. host: well, let's talk about the situation in johnson city. you said leadership is the reason you don't s

we may be joined by senator durbin for opening remarks as well. last month the judiciary committee held a very important hearing. as my colleagues know, on constitution and common sense steps to reduce gun violence that has recently claimed so many lives in atlanta, boulder, indianapolis, and elsewhere. gun violence is a real problem. we all know it. but there are also real solutions. i believe, strongly and passionately, that we have a path to put some solutions into law during this session. i believe we can with bipartisan cooperation. i am not naive. i do not believe that all gun violence prevention proposals will be adopted by you and emmett -- unanimous consent. but i hope that this afternoon at least we can focus on one topic or there does appear to be at least some measure of common ground, extreme risk orders, also known as risk warrants. that is the name in connecticut we have adopted for red flag laws. whatever you call them, we know they save lives. we know that red flag extreme risk orders save lives. their practical and proven tools t

you had dick durbin being actually vocally critical of the president, effectively. something he really hasn't done so far, come out and say, you know, this can't stand, say it ain't so. and refugee advocates, as well, coming out and saying, this is not what america stands for. and it's not what the president said he was going to do when he first came into office and it's not what jo biden had campaigned on. the interesting thing here is the speed with which the white house changed its position, 24 hours. and the fact they made a misstep on this. they judged this one wrong. they seemed to think they could get away with keeping the levels the same because of the situation on the border. they didn't want to be in a position to be criticized for raising refugee limits on the border. but it wasn't something tolerable. this is not what the administration was seem to have stand for. they didn't want to see joe biden be in that same bucket. >> jonathan lemire, give us a look behind the scenes about what happened over that 24 hours. >> certainly, joe. yes, it was stunning ho

the political developments during this election period there were people who supported president durbin and therefore having his son replace him in a military council in place with the now deceased president being a military leader himself they would accept that it's highly unlikely that there will be resistance from them the opposition were against him even before the elections many of them boycotted most prominent opposition leaders to the elections others withdrew they say that because the democracy process was not fair and that the country had no democracy and they've been calling for an inclusive national dialogue to try to steer the country toward words a transition towards democracy then you have the armed groups who are resisting president and his military in the north which is where he sustained those battles over the weekend which eventually led to his death as announced by the military this morning so the country is pretty much divided between the opposition who did not want up in power therefore will not welcome his son and the bitter institution in the form of the military

suspects in the democratic party but from those mostly aligned with the president like illinois senator durbin said the refugees wait years for the chance and go through extensive vetting, 35000 already, the greatest refugee crisis in our time, there's no reason to limit the number 215,000. dating so, president joe. >> he said in february he was going to lift the cap and i believe he needs to do that right now. >> after intense pushback from democrats, jen psaki yesterday put out a statement giving a guesstimated refugee admissions program we inherited and the office of refugee resettlement, the president's goal of 62500 seems unlikely. we can expect the president to set a final increase cap for the remainder of this fiscal year by may 15. earlier this year, the president pledged to increase numbers 2,125,000 refugees but that's in the next fiscal year, it appears that will not be met based on the issues of white house siding. mentioned today, we saw rich at the border talking about people coming to the border from south america and central american countries, refugee status is separate. when