i'm john berman with erica hill this morning. nice to see you. >> nice to see you. did you put the exclamation point after "this morning?" >> i did. erica hill. >> i'll take what i can get. >> all right. >>> did president biden's plan hit a road block, frisch the metaphor. will joe manchin stand in the way of getting plan passed? is he more a political pothole or full street closure, met for continued. manchin indicated overnight he's opposed to passing key legislation on strict party line votes. he's alarmed, he says, by that process. how alarmed since we haven't heard a single republican say they support the white house plan yet. this puts infrastructure in serious peril. >>> meantime overnight the united states recording over 70,000 new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations at their highest level in a month, the cdc confirming the highly contagious b.1.1.7. variant first identified in the uk is now the most common strain in the u.s. the cdc director says overnight she expects all kids will be back in classrooms by september. let's begin with jeremy diamond live

i'm john berman with erica hill. >>> it's a jet-black

john berman with erica hill. major breaking news this morning.prince philip at the age of 99. a statement from buckingham palace reads it is with deep sorrow that her majesty, the queen, announces the death of prince philip, duke of edinburgh. further announcements will be made in due course. >> he married then princess elizabeth in 1947, five years before she became queen. they were married for 73 years. flags at prime minister boris johnson's residence have been lowered to half-staff. >> like the expert carriage driver that he was, he helped to steer the royal family and the monarchy so that it remains the institution to the balance and happiness of our national life. >> these are live pictures right now. buckingham palace as you see there. the country learning of this news which really has implications around the globe. cnn royal correspondent max foster joining us now from london. max, we know that the prince had just been in the hospital for some time. and yet, i think this was somewhat surprising for many people to learn this morning of his

in new york, i'm erica hill, cnn. >> and i'm rosemary church. thank you so much for your company.th k ken brunhilber. have yourselves a wonderful day. is scotts turf builder rapid grass. it grows two times faster than seed alone for full, green grass. everything else just seems... slow. it's lawn season. let's get to the yard. the first survivor of alzheimer's disease is out there. and the alzheimer's association is going to make it happen. but we won't get there without you. join the fight with the alzheimer's association. >>> and welcome to all of you watching us here in the united states, canada and around the world. i'm ken brunhuber. ahead on "cnn newsroom" -- >> members of congress, i have the high privilege and distinct honor to present to you the president of the united states. >> u.s. president joe biden delivered his first address to a joint session of congress promising an ambitious plan to transform government. india's coronavirus case count is surging. now they say they're running out of space to bury the dead. >>> we're live outside the courthouse in moscow

visit petmeds.com today. >>> i'm erica hill in new york. been watching day five of the testimony in the murder trial of former minneapolis police officer derek chauvin charged in the death of george floyd. compelling testimony this morning from the most senior officer in the minneapolis police department, lieutenant richard zimmerman who heads up the homicide unit was called to the crime scene shortly after the deadly incident and offered a damning assessment of

cnn national correspondent erica hill has been looking into how we as a society got to this place whereber of shootings and all the blood and the mass deaths. >> reporter: tragedy on a near daily basis. >> three shootings in atlanta-area spas where at least seven people have been killed. >> breaking overnight, another mass shooting in the u.s. >> at least eight people were killed at a fedex warehouse near the airport in indianapolis. >> i think it's difficult to not be numb. the numbers are so huge, it's almost unimaginable. >> reporter: almost unimaginable and yet increasingly predictable. >> on average there's probably at least 20 times the likelihood that someone in the united states will die of a gun death than people in other developed countries. >> reporter: it's not just mass shooting events which are only a small fraction of gun-related deaths in the u.s. in 2019 more than 60% were suicides, and every day an average of over 300 people are injured by a firearm according to researchers at pen and columbia. our gun violence epidemic is a uniquely american problem but firearm holds

i'm john berman along with erica hill. >> nice to see you. >> you know how dos equis has the most interesting man in the world, with the beard? >> i know all about it. >> how about the most powerful man in the world. this morning it might not be joe biden or zee others. how about joe manchin. he's putting himself in the middle of passing the $2 trillion bill. he indicated overnight he's opposed to passing key legislation on strict party votes, that he is alarmed by that process. and since we haven't heard any republican saying they support the white house infrastructure plan just yet, that puts it in serious, serious peril. later this morning the president will announce his first executive actions on guns in response to the latest flurry of mass shootings. >>> meanwhile the united states reporting more than 70,000 new coronavirus cases. hospitalizations climbing to their highest level in a month, and the cdc confirming that the highly contagious variant which was first identified in the united kingdom is now the most common strain of the coronavirus here in the united states. despite that, th

cnn's erica hill has the latest in our series on guns in america. >>> 16 children, just 5 and 6 yearsr gunned down in an elementary school in scotland 25 years ago. weeks later 35 people killed in a popular tourist spot in australia prompting massive buyback programs in both countries and strict new laws. >> the people have spoken. parliament has spoken. handguns are banned. >> reporter: new zealand 2019. more than 50 murdered in attacks on two mosques. >> australia experienced a massacre and changed their law. new zealand had its experience and changed its laws. to be honest with you i do not understand the united states. >> swift action after horror but not in the u.s. where thoughts and prayers quickly devolve into politics. >> i think the big problem is the culture wars, that this is part of the u.s. culture wars. >> reporter: wars that leave little room for address the root of this violence. >> we can talk about making the guns safer, but we also have to talk about keeping the guns out of the hands of the people who are highest risk. >> reporter: despite grabbing the headlines, m

they are going to do everything possible, erica hill, to distract us. they say, look over here at this angry crowd trying to suggest, look at these angry black people. that's the reason why derek chauvin kept his knee on his neck. and then they are saying, oh, it's the paramedics fault. they're blaming everybody else. they're saying, oh, the trace amount of drugs. his health condition. and that's why we're so grateful that dr. tobin was so effective in presenting his testimony that it completely destroyed the defense's theory that george floyd died as a result of trace amounts of drugs or health condition because he said unequivocally that a healthy person enduring what george floyd had to endure would have died as well. and so i expect, and i am confident in my heart that there will be a conviction of derek chauvin being criminally liable for killing george floyd but the american legal system has broken my heart before. >> benjamin crump, appreciate you joining us this morning. thank you. >> thank you. >>> despite more than one-third of the country rec

patchwork of laws that varies from state to state and deep political divisions about the issue as cnn's erica hill first time in american history that the supreme court has defined gun rights under the second amendment to the constitution. >> that pivotal 2008 decision district v. heller marking a major shift in the u.s. >> in that case the supreme court held for the first time that the second amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms for certain private purposes like self-defense. >> while many americans had long interpreted their rights that way, now the highest court in the land agreed. the second amendment was not just about organized militias. yet more than a decade later, the nation feels increasingly divided on gun rights. >> right now, because everything is so polarized, people don't take a deeper look into understanding the why. >> this is really about people wanting to keep themselves and their families and their loved ones safe and choosing different ways to go about that. >> reporter: paths that often fall on well-worn party lines. despite broad support nationally

you can have christine romans, you can ask erica hill, mikhaila ferreira. know why you can't hold on to a good woman. i don't know why everybody leaves you, but it's true. and just thank you from the bottom of my heart, john. this has been a wonderful partnership, and i know it will continue and our friendship will never end, but this has been really, really special. >> i mean, despite the fact of some of the things we've seen in the last 6 1/2 years, i'd do it all again in a heartbeat. i'd do it all again in a heartbeat. look, i know how lucky i am and have been. and i know how lucky the next guy is going to be. so i want to hear from him. your next co-anchor, victor blackwell. >> dear alisyn. a-l-l -- are there two ls? no. dear alisyn. a-l-y -- wait, no, why. there's an "i" first. dear alisyn. a-l-i-s-o -- i think i was -- no, there's no "o." hi friend. this is just a note to say i am looking forward to working with you monday through friday, 2:00 to 4:00. yours truly, victor. p.s., won't it be great to not be awake at 3:00 a.m.? >> yes, it will. yes, it

erica hill with me this morning. >> it is friday. >> it is, we're going to make it. >>> new overnightng in on congressman matt gaetz.

. >>> i'm erica hill. this is day four of testimony in the trial of former minneapolis police officer derek chauvin. in the death of george floyd. the gentleman you see on your screen right now, an ems with hennepin county there. in minneapolis, and let's listen in again. >> to the scene of someone under the influence of methamphetamines? >> yes. >> do methamphetamines cause that same restriction in the eyeballs? >> my understanding, no. >> it, in fact, dilates them, correct? >> yes. >> nothing further. >> thank you, you may step down. >> thanks. members of the jury we'll take our lunch recess and try and reconvene at 1:30, thank you. >>> so the judge there announcing this one-hour lunch break now. wanted to take a closer look at what we have heard and learned over these last few hours with us is cnn senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor laura coates and also with us cedric alexander, the former public safety director for de kalb county, georgia. laura, picking up where we just left off. with

erica hill is here with me this morning. >> morning, my friend. >> nice to see you. >> has one man just thrown the president's infrastructure plan off the rails? you thought i was done. you thought i was done with infrastructure metaphors there. west virginia democratic senator joe manchin wrote a message opposing passing key legislation on strict party line votes. manchin says he's alarmed by that process. since no republicans at this point publicly support the biden plan, at least not yet, that puts it in serious peril. or, i guess, as much peril as joe manchin wants it to be. >> meantime, overnight, 70,000 new coronavirus reported in the united states. and hospitalizations just hit their highest level in a month. the cdc confirming the highly contagious b.1.1.7. variant first identified in the united kingdom is now the most common strain of coronavirus here in the united states. >> we begin with the developing news on president biden's infrastructure plan. joining us, chief political correspondent dana bash. she is the co-anchor of cnn's "state of the union." and i know when you read

. >> reporter: i'm erica hill.. governor ned lamont was on hand in east windsor. no appointments needed there, first come first served for the shots and food being distributed. more than 50 of connecticut's vaccination sites are now allowing walk-ups. >> reporter: i'm bianna golodryga in new york. undergraduate enrollment in colleges and universities for the 2021 spring semester saw the steepest decline since the start of the pandemic. according to the national student clearinghouse research center, overall enrollment fell by 5.9% compared to last spring. with community college enrollment down over 11%. native americans experienced the largest drop in enrollment at 13%, followed by declines among black, white and latinx students. one potential bright spot, grad rat enrollment rose by 4% for those seeking masters degrees and 8% for those seeking doctoral degrees. >> reporter: i'm jean sass ras in new york city. mayor bill de blasio is announcing he plans to fully reopen this city july 1st. he says the goal is to ope

. >>> i'm erica hill in new york. we have been watching day five of the testimony in the murder trial of former minneapolis police officer derek chauvin charged in the death of george floyd. compelling testimony this morning from the most senior officer in the minneapolis police department, lieutenant richard zimmerman who heads up the homicide unit was called to the crime scene shortly after the deadly incident and offered a damning assessment of chauvin's actions. >> what is your -- you know, your view of that use of force during that time period? >> totally unnecessary. >> what do you mean? >> well, first of all, pulling him down to the ground facedown and putting your knee on a neck for that amount of time is just uncalled for. i saw no reason why the officers felt they were in danger if that's what they felt, and that's what they would have to have felt to be able to use that kind of force. >> so in your opinion should that restraint have stopped once he was handcuffed and prone on the ground? >> absolutely. >> i

. >>> looking live at capitol hill were families of loved ones killby with lawmakers. relatives of george floyd and ericaarner were among the group pushing for police reform. the visit comes after president biden called on congress last night to pass legislation by the first anniversary of floyd's murder next month. in march, the house passed the george floyd justice and policing act. it would been chokeholds and some no knock warrants and prohibit racial and delicious profiling. >> now is our opportunity to make some real progress. >> in the senate republicans are against changes to make it easier to bring lawsuits against individual police officers. the plan focuses more on police training and tracking that officers. >>> the cdc is giving cruise operators the green light to sail again as early as this summer. that is if 90% of the crew and 95% of passengers prove that they are fully vaccinated. those that are fully vaccinated would be able to take a rapid test at the time of departure. >> the cdc has been missing in action for months until the cruise industry how to get started so i'm glad they are, th