on the 20th anniversary of 9/11, victor blackwell hosts "front row to history." now 27 years old, and their teacher, made it all look so easy on that day their world was turned upside down. >> this is my classroom. >> and you came through this door? >> this exact door. this is the door. i was sitting up here. book easel. president bush's chair. >> was there a greeting that you rehearsed with the class when the president walked in? >> no. there was no greeting. i tried to keep it as natural as possible. this is our former principal. he comes to the classroom all the time to observe. but when they saw him come in with her, they were a little -- is this really the president? >> good morning. >> they were very spontaneous, they knew how to behave. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> when the president walked in the classroom, like, we all kind of froze a little bit. i'm like, oh, my goodness, that's george bush, that's the president. >> describe from your perspective his mood, his energy, as he crosses in to meet the children. >> probably a little bit more serious t

victor blackwell, thank you so much.y, the 9/11 classroom sunday night at 10:00 eastern. >>> thank you for joining us tonight. ac 360 starts right now. >>> good evening. the death toll on the east coast from the remnants of hurricane ida is now at least 50 people. alive report from louisiana where the storm hit and president biden visited today. we begin though with a speed bump on the administration's road to covid boosters by the 20th of this month. as you know, that's the date the president announced just last month. >> pending approval from the food and drug administration, the cdc's committee of outside experts will be ready to start these boosters, this booster program through the week of september 20. in which time anyone vaccinated on or before january 20 will be eligible to get a booster shot. >> well, that was the president on

. >> tonight cnn anchor and correspondent victor blackwell hosts a cnn special report. house aides who were in that sarasota, florida, classroom with president "wonder woman 1984" whe george w. bush when he got word that the second plane hit the world trade center. here is a preview. >> what does it feel like to be back in this room? although it's different, what's it feel like? >> i started here in 1993. this is my starting school. this is my home. >> read, read, read, read, read. the teachers were here day and night reading, teaching, teaching, reading, but they did the hard work and they made the gains and that's why president bush was here to congratulate them. >> reporter: the principal of this school asked you to greet the president. >> i knew i didn't have to do anything but to say hello, shake a few hands. so i was pretty much calm at that point in time. >> reporter: when did things change that morning on the way in? >> we were getting very close to the elementary school and everyone's pagers started buzzing, buzzing, buzzing. we get these notes from the white h

victor blackwell, thank you so much.story, the 9/11 classroom airs tomorrow night at 10:00 p.m. on cnn. >>> all right, so 18 years ago, a young man went fishing in alaska and was attacked by a brown bear. dr. sanjay gupta brings us his remarkable story of survival in today's "the human factor." >> reporter: in 2003, dan bigly was a free spirit and a back country guide in alaska. that summer, the 25-year-old and his friend headed out on a fishing trip. bigly said good-bye to his girlfriend. >> i told her i would call her when i got off the river. and unfortunately, that was a promise that i was unable to keep. i had had lots of bear encounters and this one was very, very different, very unique. the bear comes ripping around the corner and she was upon us. she was standing on top of me basically with either claw digging in. she cocked her head sideways and bit down across my face. every single bone in my head had been broken except for my mandible. >> reporter: but they were so remote, it would be five and a half hours bef

i'm victor blackwell. >> and i'm alisyn camerota.are spotlighting those who making the world a better place. they are not famous. not making headlines. >> they are innovators and problem solvers with extraordinary ideas. let's start with kate baldwin. she cares passionately about the oceans and she met a woman trying to make seafood sustainable from boat to kitchen to plate. >> captain, how are you? may we board? >> yes, permission to board. >> thank you, sir. >> all right. >> that is what we're going to try to catch. >> i grew up fishing with my family and my dad and my mom, all through any childhood. i love seafood, i love fish. i did not understand how close to extinction some of my favorite fish were. >> target species. >> hey! how's the season been? has it been a good one? >> regulations they have put in place has paid off. now, if you catch a 40 pounder, it has to be released. >> stronger than i expected it to be. holy smoke show. lunch. how big is the problem of overfishing? >> it's big. there are 3 billion with a "b" people o

victor blackwell and alisyn camerota take over right now. >>> hello, i'm victor blackwell, thanks forbegin with gut-wrenching testimony on capitol hill from some of our most decorated and beloved olympic gymnasts. they bravely recounted the sexual abuse they endured at the hands of former olympic team doctor larry nassar and blame the fbi for ignoring their complaints and allowing the abuse to continue for years. in 2018, more than 150 women and

victor blackwell and alisyn camerota take over right now. >>> hello, i'm victor blackwell, thanks for joining us for newsroom. >> and i'm alisyn camerota. we begin with gut-wrenching testimony on capitol hill from some of our most decorated and beloved olympic gymnasts. they bravely recounted the sexual abuse they endured at the hands of former olympic team doctor larry nassar and blame the fbi for ignoring their complaints and allowing the abuse to continue for years. in 2018, more than 150 women and girls said nassar had sexually abused them over the past two decades. >> he was sentenced up to 175 years in prison and the justice department found that the fbi officials who were investigating the allegations violated the agency's policies by making false statements and failing to properly document the complaints. among today's senate committee witnesses, simone biles, who said that, quote, the entire system enabled the abuse that she and her teammates suffered for so many years. >> to be clear, i blame larry nassar and i also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abu

i'm victor blackwell. >> and i'm alisyn camerota. this afternoon, a critical congressional vote. lawmakers trying to avoid quote economic catastrophe as the treasury secretary calls it. the house is going to vote on this continuing resolution that would fund the government through the end of the year. if that does not pass, the government could shut down at the end of this month. >> and part of that vote involved raising the debt ceiling. it's critical from keeping the u.s. from defaulting on its loans, which would be an unprecedented failure by congress. most republicans say they will not vote to raise the limit. cnn congressional correspondent manu raju is on capitol hill. explain this, and what's the plausibility that this actually gets through the house and the senate? >> very little, in fact, there's virtually no chance it gets through both chambers. the house is scheduled to take a vote in just about an hour and a half or so, in order to raise the national debt limit and avoid a government shut down. that deadline to avoid a government shut down is september 30th, the end o

i'm victor blackwell. alisyn is off.is new covid mandates. the new vaccine rules will impact as many as 100 million americans. we're talking federal workers, federal contractors, healthcare staff, and employees of large companies. now, republican governors and lawmakers call the mandate government overreach and they're vowing to challenge it in the courts. today, the president was asked about how he would respond to those lawsuits. >> have at it. look, i am so disappointed that particularly some republican governors have been so cavalier with the health of these kids.

." >> i'm victor blackwell. good to be with you. we are just a few hours away from the start of a congressional showdown. it could lead to economic catastrophe, not my words, those are from the treasury secretary. >> so, the house is going to vote on a continuing resolution to fund the government through the end of the year. that part of the vote involves raising the debt ceiling. that, of course, is a critical move needed so the u.s. does not default on its loans, but republicans say they're not willing to help democrats do that. >> and that is not the only self-inflicted crisis on capitol hill today. house speaker nancy pelosi says president biden's economic agenda is entering a critical 48 hours. she's trying to lock down two deals here. one on that bipartisan infrastructure bill, the other on the $3.5 trillion human infrastructure plan as they call it. >> but there's an impasse between progressives and moderate democrats. progressives say they will not sign off on the bipartisan infrastructure deal unless the bigger social safet

i'm ana cabrera in new york, you can find me over the weekend on twitter, and victor blackwell and alisyn camerota take over and alisyn camerota take over from here. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> hello, everyone, welcome to "newsroom," i'm alisyn camerota. >> i'm victor blackwell, good to be with you. we are just now a few hours away from a crucial fda decision, its advisory panel is set to vote on whether millions of americans should start getting covid booster shots. now, this decision would impact people who have received both doses of the pfizer vaccine. advisors on the fda panel are debating the issue right now. there's a live look at their zoom call. they're weighing evidence from the uk and israel, which shows that boosters are necessary because of waning immunity. >> now, the advice is not unanimous. two departing high-level fda scientists say a booster shot is not needed at this time. president biden's covid response team had planned to begin distributing boosters next week, but even if this fda panel signs off, another approval must come from the cdc. president biden

i'm ana cabrera in new york, you can find me over the weekend on twitter, and victor blackwell and alisyns by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> hello, everyone, welcome to "newsroom," i'm alisyn camerota. >> i'm victor blackwell, good to be with you. we are just now a few hours away from a crucial fda decision, its advisory panel is set to vote on whether millions of americans should start getting covid booster shots. now, this decision would impact people who have received both doses of the pfizer vaccine. advisors on the fda panel are debating the issue right now. there's a live look at their zoom call. they're weighing evidence from the uk and israel, which shows that boosters are necessary because of waning immunity. >> now, the advice is not unanimous. two departing high-level fda scientists say a booster shot is not needed at this time. president biden's covi

i'm victor blackwell. >> and i'm alisyn camerota.ritical components of the economic plan that i have put before the congress. i know we still have a long way to go, but i'm kconfident the congress will deliver to my desk both the bipartisan physical infrastructure plan and the build back better plan that i have proposed. i have said many times before i believe we are at an inflection point in this country, one of those moments where the decisions we're about to make can change, literally change the trajectory of our nation for years and possibly

i'm victor blackwell. >> and i'm alisyn camerota.n president biden will make his latest case for that $3.5 trillion economic agenda. here is the president now. >> house committees for working hard this week to advance critical components of the economic plan that i have put before the congress. i know we still have a long way to go, but i'm kconfident the congress will deliver to my desk both the bipartisan physical infrastructure plan and the build back better plan that i have proposed. i have said many times before i believe we are at an inflection point in this country, one of those moments where the decisions we're about to make can change, literally change the trajectory of our nation for years and possibly decades to come. each inflection point in this nation's history represents a fundamental choice. i believe that america at this moment is facing such a choice, and the choice is this. are we going to continue with an economy where the overwhelming share of the benefits go to big corporations and the very wealthy or are we goi

i am victor blackwell. >> thank you for watching. ♪ >>> all of our viewers here, i am robyn curnow.oming up of the show, the end of an era in germany. voters are choosing angela me merkel's run. >>> and afghanistan, taliban crates a shocking display of what they say is an effort to deter crimes. four alleged kidnappers and hung and on full display across the country's largest city. >> we do begin with breaking news. emergency crews are on the scene of a passenger train derailment, near the u.s. canadian border. the amtrak train was traveling from chicago west ward to seattle as you can see here and about 4:00 p.m. mountain time, it goes off the track. investigators from the national transportation safety board are en route to the scene. images showing multiple train cars on this side with rescue personnel at work. you can see standing near by. authorities say three people were killed and a number of others injured. according to amtrak, there were more than 140 passengers and 16 crews on board at the time of this derailment. a passenger on that train derailed. she joins me now. tell

. >>> hello, i am victor blackwell, most of us remember where we were on september 11th, 2001. was in college and i remember clearly walking into class and seeing my professor fixated on the tv, his hands was over his mouth and i looked at the tv and i saw smoke bellowing from the skyscraper. that was all i knew. i remember seeing the president surrounded by young school kids that morning. we learned president george w. bush got words of the first plane crashed into the center. he was there to honor a second grade class for their academic achievements. the president of the united states and they were star-struck. then andy carr walked in. as those children watch the image is still haunting 20 years later. those students are 27 year olds. i wonder whatever happened to those kids and do they remember and how do they feel and their connection of the most terrifying of american history. >> ♪ >> the day i discovered the white house was coming, i was sworn to secrecy. so imagine i had to - for three months as much as i talk. >> the earliest memory i had is the black board. we were be

." >> joining me now is the man behind this special, cnn anchor victor blackwell. e kids, now adults, what they told you about the impact of 9/11 on them. >> yeah. this is a story that few people have heard. and they're still, 20 years later, trying to dissect the answer to that question and find it. some have gone into law enforcement. some left sarasota and came straight to new york. we know that the teacher, ms. daniels, who still is teaching today, still keeps in communication with her babies, as she calls them. she said it had a massive impact on them, and they all remember that day. the president was coming to congratulate them for getting better grades in reading. and when he walked in, one girl put her hand over her heart like she was pledging allegiance to the flag. she thought that was the right thing to do when the president shows up. another boy thought maybe he's like a king, he'll have a crown and there will be trumpets. and then george bush walks in, president bush. moments later you saw that whisper from andy card. and the teacher says that he left h

. >> and i'm victor blackwell.s old could be a few weeks away if getting a covid vaccine. pfizer announced results today and the company said the vaccine is safe and triggered a robust antibody response in children ages 5 to 11. and pediatricians say more than one in four cases are in children. and that is led to a rocky start to the school year in certain districts. >> according to a cnn analyst, if the fda approves the pfizer vaccine for kids another 28 million americans would become eligible. pfizer reaches the conclusions after studying its vaccine in more than 2200 children, but those were small doses. roughly a third of what an adult gets. so cnn's jason carroll is here with us covering the developments. so the big question, the parents

up next, don't mess victor blackwell's special report, front row to history, talking to the class president learned of the attacks. in the meantime, never forget, have hope, and good night. ♪ i'll see you in my dreams when all our summers have come to an end ♪ ♪ i'll see you in my dreams we'll meet and live and laugh again ♪ ♪ i'll see you in my dreams yeah up around the river bend ♪ ♪ for death is not the end because i'll see you in my dreams ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ walter, twelve o' clock. get em boy! [cows mooing] that is incredible. it's the multi-flex tailgate. it can be a step, it can even become a workspace. i meant the cat. what's so great about him? he doesn't have a workspace. the chevy silverado with the available multi-flex tailgate. find new adventures. find new roads. chevrolet. subway® has so much new it didn't fit in our last ad. like the new app with customization, curbside pickup and delivery. there's so much new, we don't even have time to show you who's holding this phone. bet you don't treat brady this way. come on, man! you clearly haven't seen the other ads. it's the eat fresh refres

i'm victor blackwell. >> i'm alisyn camerota. thank you for watching. >>> imagine what it was like when the rolling stones could shock people everywhere. >> you could take me out of the ghetto. >> it was a tough time. >> i learned how to write for myself. it's ironic that most people related to it. >> there it is, platinum record. >> country music has taken over the airwaves and the record charts. >> the honeymoon's over. now we're getting down to real commerce. >>> aren't these girls just crazy? [ cheers ] ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> you may think of it as the channel that rattles your china, occasionally your teeth, and hypnotizes your children. but what you may want to know is that mtv is responsible for a complete revolution in the music business in this country. ♪ >> mtv makes the hits. it's as if there were just one national radio station for new songs. >> ending the '80s in terms of rock music, you're getting a lot of hair bands. you've got poison, rat, warrant. ♪ ♪ sweet cherry pie ♪ >> a lot of hairspray going on. a lot of sexually sugges

i'm victor blackwell. >> and i'm alisyn camerota.urrently at stake, that $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and that $3.2 trillion safety net bill. >> the democrats say they and the white house have agreed to a framework to pay for the massive reconciliation package, but it's unclear what that means and how they plan to raise the funds. >> first they have to avoid a government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling. they have one week to do that. if they don't the country will default on the national debt for the first time. >> you have a vote about details. tell us about it. >> reporter: the house budget committee will meet on saturday to take up that massive $3.5 trillion plan to expand the social safety net. this is not the final deal because they are still negotiating the final deal, but the democratic leadership wants to try to make it clear that they are moving forward on this process ahead of a separate vote, a key vote that's happening on monday. it is tied to this vote that would approve the senate-passed infrastructu

i'm victor blackwell. >> and i'm alisyn camerota. democrats announcing moments ago they will tie an increase in the debt limit to the government spending bill. this move sets up a looming show down with republicans. >> for more, let's bring in manu raju and lauren fox on capitol hill. lauren, i want to start with you. walk us through what this decision means and how it will work. >> essentially democrats are daring republicans to vote against an increase in the debt ceiling. there of course is a looming deadline coming sometime in mid october to raise the country's debt limit for what democrats say is money that they have already borrowed. with republicans, given all of the spending for coronavirus over the last year and a half, now, republicans have been saying over and over again that they are not going to join with democrats to actually increase that debt limit. here democrats are saying if you want to keep the government open, if you don't want to vote for a government shut down, you also have to vote to increase the debt limit.

. >> and i'm victor blackwell. kids as young as 5 years old could be a few weeks away if getting a covid vaccine. pfizer announced results today and the company said the vaccine is safe and triggered a robust antibody response in children ages 5 to 11. and pediatricians say more than one in four cases are in children. and that is led to a rocky start to the school year in certain districts. >> according to a cnn analyst, if the fda approves the pfizer vaccine for kids another 28 million americans would become eligible. pfizer reaches the conclusions after studying its vaccine in more than 2200 children, but those were small doses. roughly a third of what an adult gets. so cnn's jason carroll is here with us covering the developments. so the big question, the parents want to know, when is it available for 5 to 11 years old. >> and the short answer is could be in about a month. and that is creating a split sort of reaction from parents. some of whom say, look, the time is now and others who say, it should be waiting.

i'm victor blackwell. >> i'm alisyn camerota.have stunning new details about former president trump's erratic behavior in the aftermath of his election loss and the capitol attack. two days after the january 6th capitol riots, general mark milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs, was worried that president trump's election loss was causing him to spiral out of control. milley feared trump would order a military strike or attempt to launch nuclear weapons to distract from his loss. so milley called a secret meeting to instruct his military brass to refuse orders from anyone including the president unless milley himself was involved. >> this reporting is from the new book "peril" by legendary journalist bob woodward and "washington post" reporter robert acosta. >> an early copy of the book was obtained and jamie joins us now. incredible to have you. let's start with the secret meeting that happened on january 8th. what have you learned about that? >> first of all, the book contains just chilling details of trump's final days in of

i'm victor blackwell. alisyn is off. we are beginning today with this major pushback against president biden and his new covid mandates. the new vaccine rules will impact as many as 100 million americans. we're talking federal workers, federal contractors, healthcare staff, and employees of large companies. now, republican governors and lawmakers call the mandate government overreach and they're vowing to challenge it in the courts. today, the president was asked about how he would respond to those lawsuits. >> have at it. look, i am so disappointed that particularly some republican governors have been so cavalier with the health of these kids. so cavalier with the health of their communities. this is -- we're playing for real here. this isn't a game. >> and more than a third of adults in the u.s. are still not fully vaccinated. and it's the unvaccinated, in large part, who are overwhelming hospitals in some states. the country is now averaging more than 1,500 covid deaths each day. that's up 9 % from last week. cnn's ni

victor blackwell spoke to some of the kids, now adults, about their memories. >> this is the perspectiveheard in the last 20 years since the attacks of 9/11. these are the students who were with president bush in sarasota when andy card walked up and whispered in his ear america was under attack. the students are now 27 years old. there are a lot of surprises in this special. they express some guilt they felt but also some gratitude for the second grade teacher who held them together the last two decades. >> a lot of people say you know, you guys looked so good, so well mannered, that was every day. miss stevens drove a tight ship. >> it wasn't for the president, that was every day. >> what does that comma mean? let's read that sentence again. >> we were good at it. wasn't nothing to be nervous about. >> that was not a performance? >> no. >> they did the work and they were in front of the president and they were holding their own. it was authentic and what you saw were my babies doing what we did every single day. and i felt like a proud momma. >> what was your impression of mrs. daniels

. >> i'm victor blackwell.s are trying to present this unified front but there are major divisions in the party and they could cost the president his top legislative priorities, including a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and a $3.5 trillion reconciliation package to better fund social needs like child care and college tuition. >> so, president biden met with both sides separately on wednesday. the moderates, who say $3.5 trillion is too expensive, and the progressives who say they've already conceded enough and will not support the smaller bill unless the bigger bill comes with it. no specifics yet on if the gap

." >>> hello, i'm victor blackwell. most of us remember where we were on september 11th, 2001. i was in college, and i remember clearly walking into class and seeing my professor fixated on a tv. his hand was over his mouth, and i looked at the tv, and i saw smoke billowing from a skyscraper. at that moment, that was all i knew. i also remember seeing the president surrounded by young school kids that morning. we later learned that president george w. bush got word of the first plane that crashed into the world trade center as he was on his way to visit a classroom in sarasota, florida. he was there to honor a second grade class for their academic achievements. the president of the united states. and they were star struck. then andy card walked in, and the image of the then white house chief of staff whispering to the president that a second plane had hit the world trade center, as those children watched, is still haunting 20 years later. those students are now 27 years old. and i wondered what ever happened to those kids and their teacher. do they remember that day? how do the

i'm victor blackwell. >> i'm alisyn camerota.the aftermath of his election loss and the capitol attack. two days after the january 6th capitol riots, general mark milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs, was worried that president trump's election loss was causing him to spiral out of control. milley feared trump would order a military strike or attempt to launch nuclear weapons to distract from his loss. so milley called a secret meeting to instruct his miliry

. >> i'm victor blackwell.testify before the house foreign affairs committee over the deadly and chaotic u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan. now, we expect tough questions, frankly, from both parties over how the u.s. failed to foresee how quickly afghanistan would collapse into the hands of the taliban. according to a preview of his prepared remarks, secretary blinken will

spotlighting bold thinkters and doers who are challenging the norms and making huge impacts and victor blackwellally been called you're that suit lady, right? it just makes me smile. >> sara monday is my champion. she founded suited for success in north florida. >> i founded suited for success in 2004. we provide professional business atie, suits, shirts, accessories for men in transition seeking employment. nobody else was meeting the career needs of men. >> i'm passionate about anti-recidivism efforts because the system obviously is broken there. needs to be a bridge to support the men who are being released, and this charity is that bridge. >> i started with some of my friends. i asked them if they had any extra suits because i wanted to suit a couple of guys in jail. they were going to their court appearances, and they would wear the jail scrubs, so we got a couple of the guys dressed to go to their court appearance and we found out later it made a huge impact on the judge. >> not all of the men are ex-offenders. some are homeless or young men who just need a suit. >> we work with any male i

. >> and i'm victor blackwell, happening right now, this high stakes meeting at the white house, nearly all of the president's domestic agenda is o on the line. president biden is talking with major players to bridge the gap with progressives and moderates. if they don't come together these bills will likely fail to reach his desk, including this trillion dollar bipartisan infrastructure bill. the other is the $3.5 trillion budget reck onciliation plan, tt social safety net we're talking about. one top democrat puts it this way, i hope biden is the secret sauce. >> so right now, the president is meeting with senate leader chuck schumer and nancy pelosi. here's an action shot of them arriving. nancy pelosi at the white house. on top of that, the government is veering as we just discussed toward a government shut down. it would be a first in american history, default on the loans, if the ceiling isn't raised, the debt ceiling. the house passed a bill to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling. it needs senate approval, and republicans say they will not vote for raising the limit. c

i'm victor blackwell. >> i'm alisyn camerota. miles from where ida first came ashore. at least 20 people have died between maryland, new jersey and new york, including a 2 year old. last night saw unprecedented flash flooding sweep

." >> i'm victor blackwell. good to be with you.n. it could lead to economic catastrophe, not my words, those are from the treasury secretary. >> so, the house is going to vote on a continuing resolution to fund the government through the end of the year. that part of the vote involves raising the debt ceiling. that, of course, is a critical move needed so the u.s. does not default on its loans, but republicans say they're not willing to help democrats do that. >> and that is not the only self-inflicted crisis on capitol hill today. house speaker nancy pelosi says president biden's economic agenda is entering a critical 48 hours. she's trying to lock down two deals here. one on that bipartisan infrastructure

. >> i'm victor blackwell. good to be with you., as you know, is a highly controversy law. it bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, as early as six weeks before many women know they're pregnant. it does not allow exceptions for ra perks, or incest. >>> the law turns private citizens into abortion police allowing anyone to sue anyone who helps a woman get an abortion, even someone giving her a ride to the doctor's office. cnn's paula reed is at the justice department. tell us, what do we think the attorney general will announce this afternoon? >> reporter: well, we are expecting more details in a few minutes when the attorney general holds his press conference. it will be really interesting to see

. >> i'm victor blackwell. i've got live pics here of the president at the airport with several members of his administration there from the white house, also local leaders as well. he's getting a look at the enormous damage caused by hurricane ida today. local leaders will brief him at an emergency operations center, and then he'll tour the hard hit town of laplace. we also expect him to speak about the federal response to hurricane ida, and of course when that happens, we'll bring it to you live. >> the threat from hurricane ida and her aftermath is still not over. in the northeast, the storm left at least 48 people dead and nearly 5 million are still under flood warnings. >> still dangerous conditions in a lot of places. at the same time, we're moving into a recovery mode and a cleanup mode. the recovery process for this is going to take months. >> we now know that at least eight tornados hit multiple states. new jersey was hit with its strongest tornado in 30 years. in louisiana and mississippi where 13 peo

. >> i'm victor blackwell.oday, democrats are trying to present this unified front but there are major divisions in the party and they could cost the president his top legislative priorities, including a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and a $3.5 trillion reconciliation package to better fund social needs like child care and college tuition. >> so, president biden met with both sides separately on wednesday. the moderates, who say $3.5 trillion is too expensive, and the progressives who say they've already conceded enough and will not support the smaller bill unless the bigger bill comes with it. no specifics yet on if the gap is closing between the two sides, but house speaker nancy pelosi did say this. >> we intend to stay the course and pass both of these bills. we take it one day at a time, but i'm confident that we will pass both bills. at the end of the day, we will be unified for the american people. >> well, speaker pelosi also urged republicans to support raising the debt ceiling, which th

. >> cnn's victor blackwell joins us now.esident on the monumental day? >> i know the angles of these now 27-year-olds who were part of this story. but i was surprised. every minute we spoke about it, there actually is a degree of something akin to survivor's guilt that they feel because they are the few who are so close to this story, who from their perspective did not suffer loss or trauma. and when people find out that they are the students who were in the classroom, sometimes there is a reluctance to even talk about it because they don't want that type of notoriety, but they wanted to share this because they know now that they're the only ones who can tell that story. i also think the story of the teacher, mrs. daniels, who is still teaching 20 years later, is fascinating because she had to then determine in that moment, after having her moment, to digest what had just happened to the country, what does she tell as she calls them her babies? what does she tell them ? the president had come to congratulate them for doing s

it's victor blackwell's big birthday! >> thank you guys. >> this is so exciting.nd christie paul outdoes me and sends the beautiful cupcakes from atlanta for you. >> well, thank you guys. thank you, alisyn, thank you, christie. >> confections. my favorite things. >> how are you feeling? this is a very big milestone. >> am i supposed to blow all over this stuff? >> great point. >> let me make a wish. >> do not do that. >> okay. >> wow, that was good. >> wow. >> that's so great. >> we've got a backup. >> this is a milestone birthday. i don't know how you're so young, but you are. >> moisturize. >> beautiful. >> and how are you feeling? >> i am looking forward to my 40s. my 30s were better than my 20s. i hope my 40s are better than my 30s. thank you, guys. this was very nice to celebrate my birthday on air. i've got cake, cupcakes. >> do we have a fork and knife and plates, jay? >> okay. our producer tells me we can do it later. >> all right. >> thank you so much. >> have a wonderful birthday. >> thank you. >> have a great time off. >> i'm not here next week. >> he's

. >> victor blackwell sat down with the teacher and the students in that very classroom where presidenttack. >> what do you do in that moment? >> i cry. i pray. i ask why. why and how? i really needed a moment. >> we never really see her cry. it's like something definitely impacted her more than what we know, what was going on. it was deeper than what we'd seen. >> we knew ms. daniels as loving and caring. it's different from our teachers. it is jarring. we've never seen her like this. >> how long was your moment? >> it could have been two minutes. it could have been three minutes. i knew i had to get back to my kids. >> okay. >> so i didn't want them to think that they had done something wrong, so i had to let them know it was not their fault. >> something in the way that you presented it to us, like, allowed me to understand that, like, the human side of it, that i am not the most important person right now. he's got something he has to do. people are hurting. he has to leave, and that's okay. it's not our fault. >> and i think after that, that's when, you know, they cut on the tv for

. >> i'm victor blackwell. good to be with you.minutes from now attorney general merrick garland will announce the justice department challenge to texas's new abortion law. this, as you know, is a highly controversy law. it bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, as early as six weeks before many women know they're pregnant. it does not allow exceptions for ra perks, or incest. >>> the law turns private citizens into abortion police allowing anyone to sue anyone who helps a woman get an abortion, even someone giving her a ride to the doctor's office. cnn's paula reed is at the justice department. tell us, what do we think the attorney general will announce this afternoon? >> reporter: well, we are expecting more details in a few minutes when the attorney general holds his press conference. it will be really interesting to see exactly how he is going to take on this law, because it was specifically designed to deflect legal challenges. we're really looking specifically who they're focused on, who is the defendant in whatev

. >> i'm victor blackwell.ort with several members of his administration there from the white house, also local leaders as well. he's getting a look at the enormous damage caused by hurricane ida today. local leaders will brief him at an emergency operations center, and then he'll tour the hard hit town of laplace. we also expect him to speak about the federal response to hurricane ida, and of course when that happens, we'll bring it to you live. >> the threat from hurricane ida and her aftermath is still not over. in the northeast, the storm left at least 48 people

. >> i'm victor blackwell. any moment, america's top diplomat, secretary of state tony blinken, will testify before the house foreign affairs committee over the deadly and chaotic u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan. now, we expect tough questions, frankly, from both parties over how the u.s. failed to foresee how quickly afghanistan would collapse into the hands of the taliban. according to a preview of his prepared remarks, secretary blinken will say that there was no intelligence predicting that it would happen in the 11 days that it did. >> as of today, the state department believes about 100 americans remain in afghanistan. we are awaiting numbers of how many afghan allies are still stuck there. the united nations today warned that afghanistan is on the verge of famine. secretary blinken is expected to call the u.s. evacuation effort of more than 124,000 people a, quote, historic success. and the largest military evacuation in american history. >> with us is cnn anchor and chief national affairs analyst, case

i'm victor blackwell. >> i'm alisyn camerota.begin with the dangerous aftermath of hurricane ida. the death toll and destruction in the northeast u.s. are incredible. this is more than 1,000 miles from where ida first came ashore. at least 20 people have died between maryland, new jersey and new york, including a 2 year old. last night saw unprecedented flash flooding sweep through streets, homes and, as you can see here, the subway. at least 13 deaths were reported in new york. most of the victims were found in basements that flooded before rescuers could reach them. >> the streets of new jersey were filled with water. look at this. these are rescue operations happening. this is happening in new jersey there in newark. also, this is in boundbrook. we have live pictures up for you now. you can see just at the edge of flooded roadways there. we know in new jersey and pennsylvania, delaware as well, there are rescue operations happening. we have seen people stranded on roof tops. crews are using excavators, rafts to pull people tra