i'm erica hill in today for kate bolduan. here's what we're watching "at this hour."t's at stake. >>> priorities in peril. as he heads to europe, his domestic agenda seems to be falling apart. is biden's trip coming at the worst possible time? dr. fauci joins us to talk about what worries him with the covid crisis and his legacy. right now president biden is on his way to england for his first international trip since taking office. he leaves behind a domestic agenda stuck in grid lot, as he faces the major challenge of bolstering relationships with international allies. his scheduled is jam-packed, eight days of diplomacy from england, brussels, jean new year's eve have, where he'll

but as cnn's erica hill reports, this move comes after week's of criticism that the u.s.ay in vaccine diplomacy or done nearly enough to help save the lives of people who are not americans. >> half a billion shots heading to nearly 100 countries around the globe. >> this is about our responsibility. our humanitarian obligation to save as many lives as we can. >> the first doses set to ship in august. back home, a focus on chirp, as an fda advisory panel decides what should be considered before authorizing the vaccine for kids 11 and younger. >> what they are talking about today is the nitty gritty, the lonlistics and practicalities of doing clinical trials in children as young as five or even as young as six months of age. >> this morning, moderna filed for mrnl use authorization of its vaccine for 12 to 17-year-olds. pfizer's eua was expanded for 5 to 15-year-olds late last month b a quarter of that age group has now had at least one shot. >> if everybody else gets vaccinated percentage wise, children will be the most susceptible section of our population to get covid. s

erica hill, cnn. >>> a building has partially collapsed just north of miami beach.ormation on the story, we'll have an update nooext. >>> and apple's daily newspaper in china is closing as beijing teaten tightens its grip on the territory. our new scented oils give you our best smelling scents. now crafted with more natural ingredients and infused with essential oils that are 100% natural. give us one plug and connect to nature. another day, another chance. it could be the day you break the sales record, or the day there's appointments nonstop. with comcast business, you get the network that can deliver gig speeds to the most businesses, and you can get the advanced cybersecurity solutions you need with comcast business securityedge. every day in business is a big day. we'll keep you ready for what's next. get started with a great offer, and ask how you can add comcast business securityedge. plus, for a limited time,ask how to get a $500 prepaid card when you upgrade. call today. >>> more now on our breaking news, dozens of rescue crews are responding to a partial b

i'm john berman in surfside, florida this morning along with erica hill in new york. here in surfside the agonizing search for survivors enters day seven as questions mount about the cause of this deadly building collapse. this morning eyewitness who escaped from the condo tower is filling in critical new details about the timeline of this disaster. >> there was a big boom, and i was running to see where the sound come from, and i saw all the garage collapse. god watches us. god was waiting for us to leave the building. and then another big boom. then we didn't see anything. the then suddenly quiet after the big boom and it was all over. >> critically there she saw the garage collapse first. and then the rest of the building. we'll break down what that means. first the dangerous and deadly heat wave gripping the u.s. northwest. record breaking temperatures have now been reported in california, oregon and washington. a lot of people in that part of the country simply don't have air conditioners. at least three people have died in washington state with hundreds of heat

erica hill with that. >> reporter: shots of hope at a new york city playground. >> if it benefits mea good way and a safe way, then why not get it? >> reporter: an attitude the administration is hoping more young people will adopt as a new cdc study shows a recent troubling rise in covid hospitalizations among 12 to 17-year-olds. >> it is these findings that force us to redouble our motivation to get our adolescents and young adults vaccinated. >> reporter: friday morning, mobile vaccine clinics were ready outside schools. >> our families trust their pr prin principals. they trust their schools. if they can come to what is almost their second home and get it done, it makes a big difference. >> reporter: with plans to park at bars and nightclubs on friday night. >> we're going to go where young new yorkers are. >> reporter: meantime, massachusetts announcing plans to close all its mass vaccination sites in the coming weeks. two-thirds of the state's adults are now fully vaccinated. new jersey not far behind, just dropped all indoor capacity limits. >> vaccinations are up. jobs are up.

. >> i'm erica hill live in new york. thank you for starting your morning with us. within 45 minutes people are still holding on to hope that at any moment there could be word someone has been found alive beneath that rubble. >> hope is the only thing people here have right now. the latest update from the scene, a state of anxious anticipation. 159 people still unaccounted for. literally a short distance from where i stand rescue crews have not stopped working since the building collapsed thursday morning. they're carefully sifting through debris. fire, smokey conditions complicate their work. there's a wall honoring the missing not far from here. of course, adding to the frustration and uncertainty of the families here, the mystery. we still have no idea what brought most of this building down. we are getting some very important contexts, potentially clues as to what may have led to this collapse. the new york sometimes saying an engineer worried of, quote, major structural damage. they were urged to make major repairs. that work was about to get underway. experts

erica hill is with me in new york.vors enters day seven here. israeli search leader told me just moments ago that more victims have been found in the debris overnight. also found overnight, and this is critical, too, tunnels that they're now able to search through. >> at the last 24 hours, we found some more people, and we -- >> you found more bodies? >> we found people. unfortunately, they are not alive. we found some more tunnels. it was between the balconies. so the balconies, between them remains a big space of air that we crawled. we crawled in those tunnels. >> also developing overnight, crucial new crews about the cause of this deadly building collapse or at least the sequence of it. an eyewitness who escaped from the condo tower with just minutes to spare is filling in critical new details about the time line here. listen. >> it was a big boom, and i was running to see where the sound come from. and i saw all the garage collapse. god, watch us. god was waiting for us to leave the building. then another big boom

in new york, erica hill, cnn. >>> the uk is struggling to curb the spread of more transmissible covidariants. there are growing concerns that hot spots linked to these strains could jeopardize plans to further lift covid restrictions. cnn's phil black joins me from essex county in england. boris johnson facing some pressure to put the brakes on the plan to ease covid restrictions, you've been looking into the facts find the growing alarm there. what can you tell us? >> reporter: indeed, kim, it is frustrating timing just as the uk was prepared to move beyond the pandemic, throw off remaining restrictions, these cases and infections are now spiking because of a new highly transmissible variant. scientists agree a new wave is building, but they can't be sure what it's going to look like in a country where the vaccine program is advanced but not yet complete, so it does mean boris johnson the government face some difficult political decisions in the coming days. in this corner of northwest england coronavirus anxiety is peaking again. here british army soldiers walk the streets handing o

erica hill with me in new york, and this morning, the search and rescue operation at this collapsed condo building is entering day six with teams continuing the agonizing task of combing through concrete and mangled steel. showers, thunderstorms expected to complicate the effort today. we just had a rain shower a few moments ago. the death toll now stands at 11 after the discovery of two more bodies. 150 people remain unaccounted for. now, just two days before the building came down, a pool contractor snapped these photos of the basement garage. he shared them with the miami herald and says he was struck by the apparent lack of maintenance and the amount of standing water. resi residents and a former worker tell "the washington post" that reports of leaks and flooding in the garage, they go back decades, although it is not clear whether they contributed to the disaster. condo owners here recently approved $15 million worth of repairs to their building with payments set to begin this week. last night the city of miami beach decided to deploy structural engineers to 540 buildings currently

. >> i'm erica hill live in new york. thanks for starting your morning with us today. people across the country and in that tight knit community of surf side praying for a miracle today. rescue crews, as boris mentioned, wourking around the clock putting their own lives at risk hoping there are lives to save beneath the rubble. >> here in surf side hope is the only thing a lot of people have right now. 159 people still unaccounted for. at least four people are dead and being here on the scene you realize not just the scope of the collapse but also the factors that are going to complicate a rescue. the smoke that's still in the air from nearly incessant fires underneath this field of debris. of course, the scale of the challenge that is facing these emergency teams. right now they're racing against the clock and yet having to move in a painstakingly slow fashion to sift through debris as, again, those frequent fires, bad weather, and smokey conditions complicate their work. we're all essentially stuck waiting for news, any sign that would keep hope alive and as we speak

along with erica hill in new york.r survivors in the condo collapse has been going on 24/7. nine people dead and 159 unaccounted for and 152 families clinging to hope even though no one has been found in the collapse five days ago. they dug a deep trench to help in the search effort and special equipment was brought in to help detect signs of life through the concrete. a grim assessment of what they have found so far. >> it is horrific. that is one word i will say and, again, one of the most difficult collapses to deal with and the operation of what we're seeing is just a very difficult situation. >> the type of debris, unfortunately, that we're coming across, this is assuming it is a tough to describe. you know, we don't have the things we were looking for. that's what i mean by horrific. it is a very difficult, difficult situation. >> so, this morning we're learning that a 2018 report detailed significant damage to the shamplain towers building including cracks and breaks in the concrete. experts are trying to zero i

erica hill with me in new york this morning.at the site of the collapsed condo building. combing through concrete and steel inch by inch hoping to find a survivor. showers and thunderstorms, we just heard a rumble seconds ago, might hinder their efforts today. the death toll now stands at 11. 150 people unaccounted for. so, just two days before the building came down, a pool contractor snapped these photos in the basement garage. he shared them with the "miami herald" and said he was struck by the apparent lack of maintenance and the amount of standing water. residents and a former worker tell

both cases get at this debate over personal rights versus public safety as cnn's erica hill reports. texas. refusing to get the covid-19 vaccine. >> we should be allowed to make our own decisions. >> reporter: staffers at houston methodist hospital had until yesterday to get vaccinated. more than 100 employees filed a lawsuit last month citing concerns over the vaccine's emergency use authorization rather than full fda approval the hospital's chief executive pushing back. >> these are remarkably safe. we're not making anybody take the vaccine. what we're saying that in order to care for our patients and work at our institution you have to have the vaccine. if that's not something you are comfortable with you can exercise that choice and you can move some place else. >> the decision to require vaccines playing out in businesses large and small nationwide. norwegian cruise line ready to set sail from miami in august. all passengers must be fully vaccinated, a direct challenge to governor ran desantis who has barred florida businesses from requiring proof of vaccination. >> freedom over

"at this hour" with erica hill today starts right now. >>> hello, everyone. here's what we're watching at this hour. a bombshell report on just what was happening at the justice department during the trump administration. secret investigation to find the source of leaks and investigation targeting democrats in congress. president budiden hinting at meeting but first critical meeting with his g7 at lies. what do we need to know before younger children can be vaccinated. of shots in the coming months may be too soon. but what does that mean for the fight against the pandemic? >> at this hour, shocking revelations about how the doj weaponized its power under donald trump. targeting democratic lawmakers, their staff, even their family members. it is the latest example of the very real threat facing our democracy. the trump justice department subpoenaed apple from data from 100 counts as part of a leak investigation. fl among the targets, house intel chair adam schiff and eric swalwell. the doj is looking for the source of news stories which revealed connections b

erica hill with me in new york this morning. frustration, desperation growing by the hour as the painstaking search for survivors in the rubble of a condo building collapse stretches now into its fifth day. at least nine people are now known dead. 152 people still unaccounted for. 152. on sunday buses brought families of missing to the site where they could view the pile and see the rescuers at work. and we're now learning about the building's past and the concerns, concerns that existed for years about some major structural issues. an engineering report from 2018 details significant cracks and breaks in the concrete. new reporting focuses on the base of the 13-story condo tower. engineers have told "the new york times" that an initial failure there at the base may be at the pool level or below, could have triggered a structural avalanche. the tragic collapse has prompted inspections at neighboring towns and frankly across the country. the husband of one of those still missing tells "the miami herald" just before the condo fell

600,000 deaths from covid, some americans are still shying away from the shot, however, as cnn's erica hillks ago we had about 10% of our strains being the delta variant. and now more recently about 20% of our strains here in the united states are the delta variant. >> reporter: a rapid increase for this more transmissible, potentially more dangerous strain of coronavirus. and a warning. >> it will be the dominant strain among those areas, those regions of the country where the vaccination rate is lower than we would like. >> reporter: these four states have the lowest vaccination rates for adults in the country. among those 18 and older, less than half have at least one shot. compare that to vermont, where nearly 85% have at least one dose, and 75% are fully vaccinated. yet even in areas doing well, the push continues. >> we are going to keep innovating new ways to get people the vaccine, new ways to make it work for them. >> reporter: more companies requiring shots, a source tells cnn employees and guests entering morgan stanley's new york offices next month must be vaccinated. in texas,

i am erica hill. john king picks up right now. >>> welcome to "inside politics."washington. thank you for sharing your day with us. president biden is en route to europe for the first foreign trip of his presidency, and that will include staring down vladimir putin. plus the democratic family feud the president leaves behind. his ambitious agenda is stalled and ne

i'm john berman in surf side, florida, with erica hill in new york. the search and rescue effort continues unabated. this is the largest nonhurricane disaster response that florida has ever seen, ever. family members and search teams are holding out hope for survivors even five days after the collapse of the condo building. as of now, nine people are confirmed dead. 152 still unaccounted for. over the weekend, rescue crews were able to dig a deep trench to help in the search effort and special equipment was used to try to sign finds in the can concrete. a grim assessment of the situation. >> it's horrific. that's one word i say. again, one of the most difficult collapses to deal with, the operation of what we're seeing. it's just a terrible situation. the type of debris, unfortunately, it's tough to describe. we don't have things that we're hoping for. we're still looking. it's a very difficult, difficult situation. >> this morning, we are learning that a 2018 report detailed significant damage to the champlaign towers including cracks in the concrete

"at this hour" with erica hill today starts right now. >>> hello, everyone.s happening at the justice department during the trump administration. secret investigation to find the source of leaks and investigation targeting democrats in congress. president budiden hinting at meeting but first critical meeting with his g7 at lies. what do we need to know before younger children can be vaccinated. of shots in the coming months may be too soon. but what does that mean for the fight against th

i'm john berman in surfside, florida this morning along with erica hill i

i am erica hill. john king picks up right now. >>> welcome to "inside politics." i'm john king in washington. thank you for sharing your day with us. president biden is en route to europe for the first foreign trip of his presidency, and that will include staring down vladimir putin. plus the democratic family feud the president leaves behind. his ambitious agenda is stalled and new infrastructure talks are the gateway to progress. half of the u.s. population over the age of 12 is now fully vaccinated, but dr. anthony fauci is warning saying the indian variant of the virus poses as a giant threat. up next, a visit to europe packed with allies and anxious to work with washington now in sync. let's get straight to england. the president is en route, arlette. >> an overarching goal of the trip is restoerg the saw allian the united states has had, and president biden wants to put adversaries on notice. shortly before the president took off, just a few hours ago, the president outlined some of the goals of the trip. take a listen. >> make it clear to putin and to china

erica hill and wolf blitzer pick up their coverage right now. >>> i'm wolf blitzer in surfside, florida. we're watching the late breaking developments in surfside. today the death toll and demand for answers growing as the search for survivors enters day five. families praying for miracles in the rubble. here's what we know right now. ten people are now known to be dead. but 151 people are still missing. what we do not know, what exactly caused this building all of a sudden to come crashing down. but reports of structural damage leading up to this tragedy are raising some very, very serious concerns. let's begin with rosa flores who is here with me in surfside. update our viewers on the latest. >> a press conference just wrapped up, wolf. i can tell you one of the things that really stood out to me are the conversations that are first responders are having with the families. bauds, again, they're the focus, the ones that want to know exactly what's going on right now, because it's their family members under the rubble. and these families, able to go to the site of the collapse. and acco

erica hill with me in new york this morning. it is day six of this heartbreaking search and rescue operation here at the site of the collapsed condo building. combing through concrete and steel inch by inch hoping to find a survivor. showers and thunderstorms, we just heard a rumble seconds ago, might hinder their efforts today. the death toll now stands at 11. 150 people unaccounted for. so, just two days before the building came down, a pool contractor snapped these photos in the basement garage. he shared them with the "miami herald" and said he was struck by the apparent lack of maintenance and the amount of standing water. residents and a former worker tell the washington post the reports of leaks and flooding go back decades. it's not clear if they contributed to the disaster. >>> and breaking news, moments ago cnn obtained a letter sent by the condo board president to the residents of the collapsed tower warning about the severity of the damage prior to the collapse and the urgent need for repairs. that letter was sent in

erica hill and chris cuomo pick up the breaking news right now. >> we're watching the rescue efforts in realtime in south florida. and the situation is very hard. and it is right now in a moment of even greater difficulty. as you can kind of see over my left shoulder, that haze is fire. they've been dealing with rolling pocket fires. why? because an entire building collapsed and the infrastructure along with it and everything in it. that means every kind of chemical in every unit. you know, dozens of units involved. cars, of course, power lines. fuel lines. water informal everything that is feeding one another in a cycle of incendiary incidents. you're seeing a fire that popped out of a low floor. it starts to burn in color. that means that's the fire actively eating through what the fuel is. eventually it starts to turn more white which is proof the suppression efforts are gaining ground. that is of the utmost importance. why? because fire will kill who is still inside and alive, and it can hurt and kill the people who are trying to get in to do search and rescue. they have to deal

erica hill and wolf blitzer pick up their coverage right now. >>> i'm wolf blitzer in surfside, floridang developments in surfside. today the death toll and demand for answers growing as the search for survivors enters day five. families praying for miracles in the rubble. here's what we know right now. ten people are now

erica hill and chris cuomo pick up the breaking news right now. >> we're watching the rescue effortshoulder, that haze is fire. they've been dealing with rolling pocket fires. why? because an entire building collapsed and the infrastructure along with it and everything in it. that means every kin

. >> i'm erica hill in new york this morning. thanks for joining us this hour.in surfside. all of this as families continue to hold out hope for their loved ones. >> that is all many of them have at this point.

i'm erica hill in for kate bolduan today, john king picks up our coverage right now. ♪ >>> hello, everybodyand welcome to "inside politics," i'm john king in washington. stunning new abuse of power allegations, the trump justice department seizing data from more than 100 accounts linked to lawmakers and others viewed as trump political enemies. and is there really a bipartisan infrastructure deal? ten senators say, yes, they have an agreement but most progressives say it is way too timid and the white house is in wait and see mode. >>> plus, president biden's first big meeting with world leaders, the covid pandemic, the climate crisis and cyberthreats, atop a packed g-7 agenda. >> be sure that we're beating the pandemic together and discussing how we'll never have a repeat of what we've seep, but also that we're building back better. >> back to that story later. >>> up first, degts and the house intelligence committee getting a briefing this hour on the scope of what some lawmakers say is a shocking trump abuse of power. we know the trump justice department took extraordinary measures to in

and some southern states are now being referred to as sitting ducks as cnn's erica hill reports. >> reporterope at a new york city playground. >> if it benefits me in a good way, in a safe way, then why not get it? >> reporter: an attitude the administration is hoping more young people will adopt as a new-cdc study shows a recent, troubling rise in covid hospitalizations among 12-to-17-year-olds. >> these findings that force us to redouble our motivation to get our adolescents and young adults vaccinated. >> reporter: this morning, mobile-vaccine clinics were ready outside schools. >> our families trust their principals, they trust their schools. and so, if they can come to what is almost their second home and get it done. it just makes a big difference. >> reporter: tonight, the bars and nightclubs. >> we are going to go where young new yorkers are. >> reporter: meantime, massachusetts announcing plans to close all its mass-vaccination sites, in the coming weeks. two-thirds of the state's adults are now fully vaccinated. new jersey, not far behind, just dropped all-indoor capacity limits. >

. >> i'm erica hill in new york. thanks for starting your morning with us. at this hour, families in surfside are waiting for news, any update on whether there has been sign of life amidst that rubble. and they're also searching for answers, trying to figure out how this could happen. >> and breaking overnight, a clearer picture of the state that this build was in before it partially collapsed. these clues finally starting to come to light, as to what may have led to this disaster. cnn has confirmed that an engineer actually raised concerns in 2018 of structural damage at the condo complex. now, there was no warning of a collapse risk, but managers were urged to make important repairs, and that work was actually about to get underway soon before this collapse took place. the mayor of miami-dade told me just moments ago that, quote, we are going to get to the bottom of what happened. i also spoke to a town commissioner who calls this new context shocking. listen to this. >> seen that "new york times" article. to me, that's -- that's shocking. this year is the

. >> i'm erica hill live in new york. thanks for starting your morning with us today. of surf side praying for a miracle today. re

. >> i'm erica hill in new york this morning. thanks for joining us this hour. we are waiting at this moment for a briefing from officials in surfside. all of this as families continue to hold out hope for their loved ones. >> that is all many of them have at this point. the one thing we've heard again and again from family members of those missing is a demand for answers. why this happened and could it have been prevented. this morning, we are learning more about this building and getting a potential new clue that could give us some insight. as you take a look at just the size and scale of the devastation. back in 2018, an engineer warned of major structural damage at the building. now, at that time, there was no warning of a collapse risk, but managers were urged to make repairs. we understand that work was about to get under way. unfortunately, experts caution it could take months to know for sure what actually happened here in surfside. the mayor says he is now looking into that report from the engineer. he's also told us that he's recommending residents of

cnn national correspondent erica hill has our pandemic report. >> reporter: a focus on children as anisory panel decides what should be considered before authorizing the covid vaccine for kids 11 and younger. >> what they are talking about today is the nitty-gritty, the logistics and practicalities of doing clinical trials in children as young as 5 or even as young as 6 months of age. >> reporter: among the committee some disagreement on the urgency for these trials as infection rates drop. >> the burden of disease is so small and the risks are just not clear. >> we don't know what's going to happen. i think that's precisely the vision why we want to have these in our arsenal. >> reporter: moderna just filed for emergency use authorization of its vaccine for 12-17 year olds. pfizer was expanded for 12-15-year-olds late last month. about a quarter of that age group has had at least one shot. >> children are going to be the most susceptible section of our population to get covid, so we need to protect them. >> reporter: more than half the residents in these eight states are now fully va

anthony fauci will join cnn's erica hill live at 11:00 a.m.iant and other health headlines. a chance to get some of those questions answered. stay tuned. >>> ahead -- vice president kamala harris on defense after taking heat over the border and how she's responding to a question about why she hasn't visited there yet. >>> a new pro publica report from leaked irs documents show the wealthiest -- 25 wealthiest americans, many of them paying very little or close to nothing in federal income tax. more on that ahead. >>> and we're moments away from the opening bell on wall street. u.s. stock futures, a little bit mixed right now here ahead of the open. the s&p 500 has been subdued for much of the last two weeks as investors weigh the reopening of this economy with rising inflation and supply chain concerns. key inflation metric due out tomorrow. we'll stay on it. hey, dad! hey, son! no dad, it's a video call. you got to move the phone in front of you like..like it's a mirror, dad. you know? alright, okay. how's that? is that how you hold a mirror?

erica payne. i went to chapel hill for my undergrad and i worked in politics during the early part of my career and then decide i had enough of politicians. i was in business school and nda worked in the private sector for a few years and my heart just called me back to the policies. so i started doing policy work advocacy in my return to the private sector around 2010 in this work it was a lame-duck session of congress became clear president obama was a real interest said the bush were in over million dollars and it infuriated me. your both american political parties working together bridges tax burden on millionaires. so i got a few they crafted a letter essentially said that the country raise my taxes and tit absolutely blew up in the beginning we don't now organization a few hundred members. 75 countries and we met with countless lawmakers to talk to themabout what is going on in this country . those was my friend partner an author morris pearl. >> thank you erica. i grew up a long ways away in a little town in upstate new york near the canadian border . my parents all i can see the tallest bui