in reality, vanita gupta has never advocated that all drugs should be legal. as a senior -- as the senior senator from texas knows, gupta did write nine years ago that she favored decriminalizing the simple possession of small amounts of marijuana and other drugs. take a look at what we have done with sentencing in drug crimes in america even under the trump administration. at her hearing she was forthright in explaining she changed her mind over the years in decriminalizing drug possession due in part to family experience with opioid addiction. despite the fact that they strongly supported president trump and many of his nominees many of whom were just white males who made such harsh statements and speeches and social media posts they were legendary. they argue that she is dangerous. she has a career-long record of working with business leaders and law enforcement. that's why she has the support of so many prominent republican leaders now. i am looking forward to voting for her and to watching her serve in the department of justice. she will follow the trail t

here's what they said about vanita gupta. pta always worked with us to find common ground, even when that seemed impossible. isn't that exactly what we want

vanita gupta a cargo ship stranded at sea after 12 crew members were rescued.deo shows crewmembers pulled to safety, helicopter calling for help during a severe storm off norway's coast. some of them jumping into the sea as they awaited rescue. officials fear the unmanned ship could sink causing oil to spill out, adrift without any power. jillian: "fox and friends first," apple ceo tim cook says parlor could get back on the apps store with moderation. parlor's ceo is live in the next hour. lawrence: michael walsh, a boycott of the beijing olympics. change april 7th, can you help me? a young boy terrified and abandoned at the border. what does the white house have to say? live in washington. >> good samaritan to the rescue after a massive home explosion in philadelphia, the bomb squad figuring out what happened. >> all-star game has a new home in denver, outrage headed to extra innings. ♪♪ jillian: a live look at the brave no longer home of the all-star game because the suspension it departed the state of georgia. it is going to be in colorado and lots of people

confirmed deputy attorney general lisa monaco and recently confirmed associate attorney general vanita gupta. they are leaders of great ability and integrity and i am very happy that they have returned to serve again at the justice department. the department is stronger for their presence. the united states department of justice is a federal law enforcement agency our nation's police departments. we are uniquely aware of the challenges faced by those who serve as police officers. we see their commitment firsthand every day and we recognize the complex issues that make their already difficult jobs even harder. the justice department is also charged with ensuring that the constitutional and federal statutory rights of all people are protected. as i explained last week, congress has authorized the department to conduct pattern or practice investigations to help it fulfill that responsibility. those investigations and the recommendations and actions that ensue do not only protect individual civil rights, they also assist police departments in developing measures to increase transparency and acco

incidentally, the first vote in the full senate on vanita gupta's nomination is expected for tomorrow. she is expected to be confirmed in a final vote next week even though republicans have done their best against her. just like vanita gupta, there's no reason that kristen clarke will not be confirmed to run the civil rights division despite the grilling she got from republican senators. if she is confirmed, that will put the country one step closer to having a justice department that leads the way in protecting the right to vote in states across the country. whether the business community is going to be a sort of faithful and utile ally in that point is a jump ball at this point. ms. ifill, thank you so much for making time. >> thank you, rachel. >> let me ask you first about the kristen clarke nomination. you have been an outspoken proponent that kristen clarke is the right person for this job and that she should be confirmed by the senate. her confirmation hearing was marked by republicans sort of doing a fox news pageant, acting out fox news prime time arguments against her as if

senate, republicans failed in their efforts to block the confirmation of civil rights attorney vanita gupta to become one of the top officials at the justice department under attorney general merrick garland. the republican senate leader mitch mcconnell had insisted, insisted, that there would be zero republican votes for vanita gupta. but he was wrong. and it's never a good sign for a leader in congress when they make a public promise about what a vote count is going to be in his or her own party and then that vote count is wrong. when it came down to it today, republican senator lisa murkowski of alaska crossed over and voted with democrats to support vanita gupta's confirmation. so gupta was technically confirmed in a bipartisan vote even though mitch mcconnell and his leadership team on the republican side of the senate said that wasn't possible, she wouldn't get a republican votes. in fact she did. her confirmation marks the first time a civil rights lawyer, the first time a woman of color, would be in the number three position at the u.s. department of justice. and, you know, substant

, republican senator lisa murkowski of alaska crossed over and voted with democrats to support vanita gupta confirmation. gupta was confirmed in a bipartisan vote, even though mitch mcconnell and his whole leadership team on the republican side of the senate said that was not possible and she wouldn't get any republican votes, in fact she did. her confirmation today marks the first time a civil rights lawyer, the first time a woman of color will be associate attorney general, which is a big deal. it's the number three position at the u.s. department of justice. and you know, substantive we that means, wow there's a really accomplished civil rights lawyer at those fights of the u.s. justice department. that is a very big deal. procedurally, politically, it also means the republicans in the senate are losing their own members, and biden confirmations. that's not a good sign for them on anything. if they don't know what their own caucus is going to do, it's worth watching that space in particular. internationally, today's news started to look like we might be seeing the start of a good size wa

confirmed deputy attorney general lisa monaco and recently confirmed associate attorney general vanita gupta. they are leaders of great ag garland: good afternoon. i'm joined today by a recently confirmed deputy attorney general lisa monaco and recently confirmed associate attorney general vanita gupta.

senator murkowski said she had a meeting with vanita gupta.'s listen to what she said herself. >> i felt i was speaking to a woman who had not only committed a professional life to try to get to the base of these injustices, to try to not just direct a little bit of money, put a program in place and walk away and call it a day but to truly make a difference. >> most of the rest of the republicans were opposed for various reasons. they said that she had previously said she supported defunding the police, which gupta denied. they criticized her for criticizing republicans during the trump administration. republicans in congress were nearly unified against her. there was a lot of republicans outside of congress who wrote letters to mcconnell and members of congress signifying their support, including the fraternal order of police, not necessarily that they're republican, but the fact that it is a more conservative organization, including former homeland security secretary chertoff. former top coke executive. she is an honest broker and highly qua

vanita gupta tell us about these side effects people are experiencing. >> the most common side effect 2. sometimes some people develop a fever or a headache. a little bit of fatigue, a little bit of bodyaches. the good news is it is short-lived, only lasts a day or two and take a little acetaminophen, tylenol or motrin could help your symptoms and got to remember the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the short-lived side effects that are easily treatable and can protect you, keep you off the ventilator and keep you from dying. lawrence: we are going to put up these vaccination numbers and i want your comment, a little over 33% of the population is fully vaccinated. i want your comment about this debate about herd immunity. what can you tell us about this? >> historically we need up to 70% to 90% of the population to either have had a vaccine or natural infection, that gives us herd immunity. that means so many people in the population have those antibodies to protect them against the virus, the virus can't replicate or spread and we can go about our normal usual business. this is a dis

so the civil rights division, hopefully headed by vanita gupta soon and kristen clarke can once again be in the business of holding entire police departments accountable and not just individual actors like derek chauvin. but they can go so much farther. they can impose remedies that empower the communities that they're investigating instead of pumping more money into police. similarly, the justice in policing act can do more to take funds out of what we know is a broken system and reinvest them in people so that, again, instead of looking backwards and enforcing backwards, we can be building up communities looking forward. >> all right. thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you. >>> the floyd family's lawyer says that painfully earned justice has arrived. we're going to hear from him and george floyd's brother about what this verdict truly means. dually-adjustable, i, foot-warming, temperature-balancing... proven quality night sleep we'v've ever made. and now, the new queen sleep number 360 p p5 smart bed is only $1,79999, save $600. only for a limited time. when a truck hit m

vanita gupta a lot of lawrence: a lot of people applauding the action and a lot of the community willk about it. jillian: you are watching "fox and friends first" on wednesday morning. lawrence: president biden going to bat for major league baseball after it pulled the all-star game from atlanta in the new election law. jillian: jackie ibanez here with the president's message as small business owners break for impact following the decision. >> reporter: a lot of people talking about this, the president admitted the removal her georgia workers but said he respects their decision. >> it is reassuring to see that for-profit operations and businesses are speaking up about how these new jim crow laws are just antithetical to who we are. the best way to deal with it is for georgia and other states to smarten up. jillian: when the president was asked about the golf tournament he said it was up to them. the game will be held at coors field in denver. critics know that colorado has similar election loss to georgia with id requirements and fewer days of early voting. the white house says the tw

and we know that both vanita gupta and christian clark are exceptionally qualified nominees for the justice department. we need the senate to confirm them immediately so that we can get to work for the american people because we need people in these seats that are fighting for civil rights for all. >> it looks like we must've lost garrett's shot. donovan, i'm going to give you the last word here. i've got to ask, what is it like to be so revered as an athlete? people all over the country are wearing your jersey and singing praises. and then when you leave the court, you have just as much of a chance as any other black man of having a routine traffic stop escalate into something that could be deadly. >> um, it's the reality. i think the craziest part about it. i've been pulled over while in the nba. i have a pretty loud car, colorful, definitely a car that's not, you know, with the music blaring. i got pulled over in a neighborhood that the cop thought i shouldn't be in. and it was very aggressive kind of like what are you doing here, are you sure you're going home? and it wasn't until i gav

i have also nominated two key justice department nominees, vanita gupta or chris clark who are highlyualified fighting for racial, equity and justice. vanita and christian has the experience and skills to advance and root out unconstitutional policing and reform our criminal justice system. they deserved to be confirmed. we also need congress to act. george floyd was murdered a year ago. there is meaningful police reform legislation under his name. you just heard the vice president speaks of it, she helps write it. ensuring law enforcement and the people they entrusted to protect. it should not take a whole year to get it done. my conversation with the floyd's family, i spoke to them again today. i assure them we'll continue to fight for the path of george floyd's policing act so i can sign laws quickly as possible. there is more to do finally it is the work we do everyday to change hearts and minds as well as laws and policies. that's the work we have to do. only then we'll full of justice and quality delivered to all americans. that's what i just discussed with the floyd's family. t

and we know that both vanita gupta so we need the senate to confirm them immediately so we can get toause, you know, we need people in these seats that are fighting for civil rights for all. >> oh, it looks like we must have lost garrett's shot. so, donovan, i am going to give you the last word here. you know, i have got to ask. what is it like to be so revered as an athlete? i mean, people all over the country are wearing your jersey and singing praises. and then, when you leave the court, you have just as much of a chance as any other black man of having a routine-traffic stop escalate into something that's -- that could be deadly. >> you know, it's -- it's -- it's the reality. you know? and i think the -- the craziest part about it -- i've been pulled over. while in the nba. and, you know, i have a pretty loud car, colorful. definitely, a car that's not, you know, with the music blaring. and, you know, i got pulled over in a neighborhood the cop probably thought i shouldn't be in. and, you know, it was very aggressive. kind of like, what are you doing here? are you sure you are goi

back in the united states, the senate confirmed vanita gupta to be associate attorney general wednesdayn a narrow 51-49 vote after alaska republican lisa murkowski joined with democrats. gupta, a civil rights attorney, will be the first indian -american and first woman of color to assume the role. a u.s. judge has ordered the city of los angeles to shelter all unhoused residents of skid row. judge david carter said -- "all of the rhetoric, promises, plans, and budgeting cannot obscure the shameful reality of this crisis -- that year after year, there are more homeless angelenos, and year after year, more homeless angelenos die on the streets." the judge paused order says all women and children on skid row need to be sheltered within 90 days and every unhoused person in the area must have shelter by mid-october. here in new york, the manhattan district attorney's office announced it will stop prosecuting sex work and unlicensed massage. the da is also dismissing over 5000 cases of loitering connected to sex work -- or what's commonly known as the "walking while trans" law, which was repe

we should note that vanita gupta has been confirmed as the associate attorney general. she barely got across the finish line. senator lisa murkowski saved the vice president from having to cast that first tie-breaking vote to get her confirmed, and in this position she's the first civil rights lawyer and woman of cole tor have this number three job at the justice department, but also she's going to be overseating civil rights division and, of course, wolf, that's the division that president biden wants to look into systemic racism. >> let's go to our political commentator, bakari sellers with us and cnn national correspondent sara sidner is with us as bell. bakari, derek chauvin is facing sentencing in about eight weeks or so. what does the judge take into consideration here especially since the sentence for each of these three charges is served concurrently, not necessarily back to back. >> well, first, thank you, wolf, for bringing that point up. i think a lot of americans will learn the different in sentencing between concurrently and consecutively. there are a lot o

republicans are, also, opposing vanita gupta's nomination as associate attorney general.oining me now, zerlina maxwell, host of zerlina on peacock and senior director of progressive programming for sirius xm. hey, zerlina. i want to start with senator cornyn and what seems to be his lack of understanding of satire. here is the exchange between he and clarke. >> you seemed to argue that african-americans were genetically superior to caucasians, is that correct? >> no, senator. that -- i believe, you're referring to an op-ed that i wrote at the age of 19 about the bell curve theory. a racist book that equated dna with genetics and race. as a black student at harvard, that time, we took grave offense to this book. this op-ed opened with a satirical reference to -- to the statement that you just noted. >> this was satire? >> absolutely, senator. >> zerlina, do you want to bet that he doesn't know what satire is? or do you want to bet that he willfully ignored the fact that this was satire? >> you know, in this case, i am actually not sure, alicia. but, i think that, you know,

amy: kristen clarke's confirmation hearing comes as another civil rights lawyer, vanita gupta, awaits vote on her nomination to become the justice department's assistant attorney general. from our, we go to ben jealous, president of people for the american way, former president of the naacp. welcome back to democracy now! also for gubernatorial candidate in maryland. if you can comment on this right wing smear attack on kristen clarke? >> first of all, happy birthday, amy. amy: thanks. >>he iro of hearing a guest on tucker carlsen's show accuse anyone of being anti-semitic, let alone racist against a group of people, just sits with me. earlier this week the anti-defamation league called for him to be fired because of his anti-semitism in the civil rights community has long been concerned about his racism. but that is what the right wing do. there has never been a woman of color to lead the united states department of justice civil rights division. there have only been two black men to ever lead it. and whenever one comes up, they make sport, quite frankly, of trying to destroy their c

the senate confirmed vanita gupta as the next associate attorney general with a near party line vote.ta will oversee the civil division, tasked with defending the biden administration in court. lisa murkowski was the only republican to support gupta. she said wednesday that she had concerns but thinks gupta demonstrated she's, quote, deeply committed to matters of justice. >>> this morning, greta thunberg testifies on earth day. her message to lawmakers and president biden's message and pledge on how the united states is going to fight climate change. >>> the secretary of the interior just shared this reminder about the role we all play in protecting our planet today and every day. >> celebrate our planet today. we must recognize that we are in an urgent fight for our future. everyone deserves clean water, air and land. for too long an unequal burden of pollution has fallen on communities of color and poor communities. we all have a role to play in leaving this land better for future generations. we must each commit to work every single day to take care of our earth. (vo) ideas exist

senate confirmed vanita gupta today as associate attorney general, 51 to 49.ill be the first woman of color to serve as the justice department's third-ranking official. nearly all republicans argued she was too radical. alaska's g.o.p. senator lisa murkowski broke ranks, and voted to confirm. plans for a so-called european soccer "super league" collapsed today after 10 out of 12 clubs dropped out. their plans to break away from existing leagues had ignited backlash from fans around the world. a founder of the "super league," andrea agnelli, said he still believes in the project. >> it would have given that stability which is required, the rest i can see where they are coming from, other comments that resemble greediness but i would push back that because simply, today football, it's an economic industry. >> woodruff: european soccer officials had threatened to ban "super league" clubs from this year's european championship and next year's world cup. on wall street, stocks were broadly higher today, led by tech companies and banks. the dow jones industrial aver

confirmed deputy attorney general lisa monaco and recently confirmed associate attorney general vanita gupta. they are leaders of great

host: ted cruz last month with vanita gupta, now the associate attorney general in the justice departmentwe are asking you what police reforms you would support this morning. joseph in florida on the line for law enforcement. are you a cop? caller: i have a brother that is retired and three nephews who are in high-level positions in the police force. number one, recruitment. number two, police unions. recruitment should be some kind of universal, national standards. in other words, my understanding is there are 18,000 different police units around the country. they have to have standards for recruitment, including psychological screening. two, you -- host: you are talking about one national standard? caller: i believe that would be the best route to take. and i think that police unions have to stop protecting bad cops. some police unions have contracts wherein a police can do a misbehavior and after six months or a year, it is erased from their record so if they go to another police department they have no knowledge this person has had this kind of history. i think that those two things c

today we make the case for vanita gupta and kristen clark and to address the unfair and unsubstantiated attacks that we have heard from the other side of the aisle against these eminently qualified women. i have worked closely with ms. gupta and ms. clarke for many years and i am confident they will lead the department of justice with honor and integrity. their nominations also represent an historic opportunity to make progress toward the goal of ensuring that our government looks moore like the people d. more like the people it represents, especially at the department of justice. when we confirm ms. gupta, she will be the first civil rights lawyered and the first woman of color to serve as the associate attorney general 689 and when we confirm ms. clarke, she will be the first senate-confirmed leader of the civil righted division to be a woman of color. and they will bring years of experience to bear to take on the challenges we have right now, like hate crimes, which we are taking action on this week in the senate; like voting rights, where we just had hearing today in the judiciary c

vanita gupta. she is someone that i have worked closely with for years on voting rights, on police reform, and just last year, i marched with her across the edmund pettus bridge with the late john lewis to mark the 55th anniversary of bloody sunday in selma, alabama. after working alongside her to build a more just system, i have no doubt that she will take this job on with two words, two words that i think are so important right now to build trust with the people of this country -- honor and integrity. that is what has marked her career. as a civil rights lawyer, public servant, and as president of the leadership conference on civil and human rights, the nation's oldest, largest, and most diverse civil and human rights coalition, she has a record of fighting for all americans with dedication, consistency, and, and a willingness to work across ideological lines to achieve results. why did she get those police endorsements and the kind of support that she got? even though she was taking on reform. i

here's what they said about vanita gupta. gupta always worked with us to find common ground, even when that seemed impossible. isn't that exactly what we want at this moment in american history as we cope the civil rights challenges of our age? this is our chance. i hope the senate with its vote, i hope it is a bipartisan vote, will give vanita gupta the chance to serve america again. i yield back my time and ask for the the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: all postcloture time has expired. the question is on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: vote: the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change his or her vote? if not, the yeas are 51, the nays are 49. the nomination is confirmed. mr. schumer: thank you, madam president. first i just want to say, before i move on a motion to discharge, it is really so good too have vanita gupta -- so good to have vanita gupta installed as associate attorney general. to have

vanita gupta to be the associate attorney general of the united states. in the 44-year history of the position, a woman of color has never served as associate attorney general of the united states. we have the opportunity to confirm a qualified, proven, and respected woman of color in ms. gupta, and the senate should not delay any longer. as associate attorney general, ms. gupta would help restore professionalism, empathy, and dignity to the highest levels of the justice department. through more than five hours of testimony -- five hours -- before the judiciary committee and in a lengthy career in public service, ms. gupta has demonstrated exactly why our nation would be well served by her leadership in the department of justice. throughout her career, ms. gupta has paid particular attention to the most marginalized and much the least heard -- and often the least heard of those among us. from defending wrongfully convicted individuals to the time in her leadership roles in the aclu, leadership conference and the department of justice, ms. gupta has demons

last week the senate confirmed vanita gupta to associate attorney general, the first woman of color and the first civil rights attorney ever to hold that position. last month dr. rachel levine became the deputy secretary of health and human services, the first openly transgender federal official in american history. federal agencies have enormous influence over the policies that affect the date-to-day lives of the american people. whether registering for social security, filing for unemployment, veterans benefits are seeking a small business loan, average folks interact with these cabinet agencies every single day, hundreds of thousands if not millions of piems. having cape -- times. having capable experience and energetic public servants at the top of these agencies matters. and it matters, too, that they come from different backgrounds and have lived different experiences. by confirming historically diverse nominees, we're showing the american people that their government represents them and that all of their voices matter. we also know that a cabinet with diverse views will produce p