. >> when you look at tooty and natalie, you're looking at friendship and love, that supersedes race.ing us lessons but it wasn't so overt. >> i'm looking for blare warner. >> you must be her cousin jerry. >> yes. >> the only time i ever saw a child with a disability on television was on a telethon. norman leer cast me as her cousin. what does this mean? it says i don't have cerebral palsy, i'm drunk. >> it was risky. >> how was the bus ride? >> i don't know. >> i drove. >> a car? >> no. i e-mail ln. >> when facts of life aired, i was so used to kids bullying me and calling me names, that was in my head when i saw this kid, and the one kid, there were about four of them. are you cousin jerry from facts of life? it was a real incredible feeling to be liked by kids. i mean, you're not going to make fun of me or call me names? wow. >> facts of life was won by a younger demographic. >> eventually those kids would grow up. >> what stories do you tell them? >> 1980s were a radical transformeration. ♪ ♪ sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name ♪ >>> i don't know if i can tell

you starred as tootie in the 1980s.i remember watching it as a kid growing up as well. do you feel the show has stood the test of time? it truly in many ways is evergreen, because those messages, are they still relevant to you today as i think they are? >> i think regardless if they're relatable to me, i feel like the culture overall, it has certainly proven it's not only an iconic pop culture moment in television and content, but most certainly a show that generation after generation gets to enjoy. and so some of the things, because in a lot of ways we were ahead of our time, but certainly still dealing with the issues that are still relevant today. >> the sitcoms made it safe for people to explore these topics, to have these conversations at home and beyond. kim fields, thank you so much for being so much a part of my rearing, my growing up, with memories of things that are wonderful. be sure to tune in, the cnn series "the history of sitcom" premiering with back to back episodes starting sunday at 9:00 p.m. eastern.

sorry, rudy-tooty, you were saying? >> i stand by my father.did everything ultimately by the book. >> stephen: it's nice that he stands by his father. but next time, he might want stan that bo rudy's legacy isn't the only thing crumbling, so are our roads and bridges. but that might be changing. i'll tell you all about it in my new segment: "the road to, someday making a road open." last night, a bipartisan group of senators announced that they had agreed to close to $600 billion in new spending on roads, bridges and other traditional infrastructure projects. very important, for republicans to agree, those roads and bridges had to be traditional. i'm talking about one way streets, male roads, female bridges and tunnels, as god intended. don't try to sneak in one of those european roundabouts. i'm not into that lifestyle. that's an automotive reach- around. you don't fool me. ( laughter) this morning, senators went up to the white house to meet with biden, and after going over the details, the president emerged with an "histor-ish" announcement.

she's an actress, writer, director, producer, and the artist formerly known as tootie. moving up. no more roadblocks. >> hey. now that i got my coffee, want to throw in a little quickie before work? >> i forgot about that dead end. >> no, baby, i can't. i have my interview at st. vincent's. >> yeah, baby, that's today? baby, you're going to get that job. >> i know that's right. >> it ain't nothing more sexy than a woman getting a big-ass paycheck. >> oh, pump me up, daddy, pump me up! >> oh, i hate when you like him. [ laughter ] [ applause ] >> wanda: "the upshaws" is on netflix now. please welcome kim fields! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> wanda: wow. that ain't playing around, huh? >> listen, i knew who i was dealing with, i knew what i was coming into. i had to bring the thunder. >> wanda: i see, and the lightning. thank you for doing this, thank you for being here. >> thank you for inviting me. i've never been here. >> wanda: what? >> leave to it you to make it my first visit. [ cheers and applause ] >> wanda: that's insane. >> i know. >> wanda: well, it's an honor t

. >>> i grew up with her as tootie on "facts of life." but there's a whole lot more to kim fields. regular movie night. but if you're a kid with diabetes, it's more. it's the simple act of enjoying time with friends, knowing you understand your glucose levels. ♪ if you have this... consider adding this. an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan from unitedhealthcare. medicare supplement plans help by paying some of what medicare doesn't... and let you see any doctor. any specialist. anywhere in the u.s. who accepts medicare patients. so if you have this... consider adding this. call unitedhealthcare today for your free decision guide. ♪ this isn't just a walk up the stairs. when you have an irregular heartbeat, it's more. it's dignity. the freedom to go where you want, knowing your doctor can watch over your heart. ♪ >>> the characters you can't stop laughing at, you can't get enough of since the beginning of television, sitcoms have kept generations of americans smiling and helped them navigate an ever-changing cultural landscape. now, the new cnn original series "the history of

. >> when you look at tootie and natalie, you're looking at friendship and love that supersedes race.g us lessons but it wasn't so overt. >> i'm looking for blair warner. >> you must be her cousin jeri. >> yeah. >> the only time i ever saw a child with a disability on television as a kid was on a telethon. norman lear cast me as blair's cousin on "facts of life." >> see, i had this made. it says i don't have cerebral palsy, i'm drunk. >> it was risky. >> how was the bus ride? >> i don't know. i drove. >> a car? >> no. a lemon. >> when "facts of life" aired, i was so used to kids bullying me and calling me names that that's what was in my head when i saw these kids behind me. and the one kid, there were about four of them, "are you cousin geri from facts of life?" it was a real incredible feeling to be liked by kids. you mean you're not going to make fun of me? you're not going to call me names? wow. >> "facts of life" was winning a younger demographic. >> eventually, those kids would grow up. what stories do you tell them? >> the 1980s were a radical transformation. how do you live up

i reported for tooty at the capitol as usual, early on the morning of january 6th. we understood that the vote to certify president biden's election would be taking place that day and protests might occur outside the capitol. but we expected any demonstrations to be peaceful expressions of first amendment freedoms, just like the scores of demonstrations we had observed for many years. after role call i took my post on the east front of the capitol, standing on the steps that led up to the senate chamber, as the morning progressed i didn't see or hear anything that gave me calls for alarms. but around 10:56 a.m. i received a text message from a friend forwarding a screen shot of what appeared to be potential plan of action, very different than a peaceful demonstration. caption, january 6th, lincoln park, and said the objective was the capitol. it said amongst other things that trump has given us marching orders and to keep your guns hidden. it urged people to bring your trauma kits and gas masks to link up early in the day in six to 12-men teams, indicated time to ar