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Airplane Debris Fall Over Denver; Attorney General Nominee Merrick Garland Face Senate Hearing; GOP's Future With Or Without Trump; Middle Schools In New York To Reopen; Wall Street Waiting For Stimulus Package. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired February 21, 2021 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[17:00:00]

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ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Thanks for joining us this afternoon. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Erica Hill in New York in for Ana Cabrera. A brand-new frightening piece of video we want to show you right now. This is the exact moment that some of those giant metal pieces from a commercial airliner crashed into a residential neighborhood just outside Denver. Take a look.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

HILL: This is what was happening in Broomfield, Colorado on Saturday afternoon. Folks there did not know at the time that that debris was from a Boeing 777 airliner that was in big trouble some 10,000 feet overhead. The debris falling from the sky, pieces of that airliner's broken engine.

Now, remarkably, no one on the ground was hurt. And a despite a debris field nearly a mile lon in giant pieces like you just saw there, only a few vehicles and homes were damaged.

And then this, on the morning of the Denver flight, a cargo carrying Boeing 747 departing from the Netherlands had a seemingly identical uncontained engine failure. That incident in the Netherlands, airline engine failure, including parts that fell into a residential area, although in that instance people were, in fact, hurt.

Joining us now, CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean and CNN national correspondent Omar Jimenez who is in Denver. So, Omar, let's first start with what happened here in the U.S. What are airport officials saying today? What more do we know about this incident?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN NATIIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, Erica, today operations here at the Denver International Airport seem to be going on as normal. But on the investigative side, they're literally picking up the pieces from what was Saturday afternoon, that right engine failure for United Flight 328.

And on the ground, people were literally seeing huge pieces of debris fall from the sky at heights of close to 10,000 feet. And while there were some fragments and pieces, these were huge pieces that destroyed vehicles, but could have destroyed homes, killed people, even injured people. Miraculously, none of that happened.

Meanwhile, in the air, passengers described hearing a loud boom. They looked over and saw the damage on that right engine, missing the pieces that at that point had already fallen down to the earth. This was a flight that was bound for Honolulu from here in Denver.

And thankfully they weren't over the ocean when this happened. So they were able to turn around and get back to the ground safely pretty quickly. Passengers cheered as they were able to exit the aircraft guided through all this, again, by the pilots and the crew who were able to get everyone to the ground safely.

But now, the investigation is in the hands of the National Transportation Safety Board. And at the end of the day, this was a scary situation that could have been so much worse, Erica.

HILL: Yes, it certainly could, you're right. Pete, you are not just our aviation correspondent. You are an experienced pilot yourself. You are also a flight instructor. The video that we saw of the engine, this video right here taken by a passenger, this is what they're seeing out their window as this, you know, 777's engine was falling apart.

We can see the pieces are gone there. Just give a sense. We heard some of that mayday call. We heard how calm the pilot was. I know that there is training for this, but just walk us through what would have been happening on the flight deck as this is unfolding and how the crew responded.

PETE MUNTEEN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: A highly coordinated response, Erica. You know, flight crews train for engine failures all of the time. In simulators, they drill over and over again. You know, first they have to overcome the emotional response, the startle factor of all this, that big boom.

And then they have to recognize the problem, then they have to follow a procedure that really just has to be memorized and wrote. They have to be spring loaded to go into action, sort of a challenge response kind of script.

First thing, shut the engine down, get fuel away from it so this doesn't become a worse problem. Put out the fire and then try to elicit a bit of help. In this instance, it came from air traffic control. I just want to play back the mayday call here which is so interesting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Mayday, Mayday, United Air 328. United 328 heavy Mayday, Mayday, aircraft.

[17:05:00]

UNKNOWN: 328 heavy, say again please, repeat all that again?

UNKNOWN: Denver, departure. United 328 heavy Mayday, aircraft just experienced engine failure. Need to turn immediately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN (on camera): In some versions of this recording, you can actually hear the in-cockpit fire alarms going off. That's something that the flight crews had to respond to right away. And something they are trained to do over and over again.

In fact, even if you're a captain flying with a stranger first officer or a first officer flying with a captain you've never met before, they have to be able to do this like clockwork, like a well-oiled machine with no hesitation whatsoever.

They were only at 13,000 feet, so that wasn't very long into the flight, and they had to get this airplane turned around, a left turn which is harder to do with the right engine failed and get it on the ground right away. A very serious problem that thankfully wasn't any worse.

HILL: Yes, absolutely. And then you're also learning a little more about the engine. What more have you learned, Pete?

MUNTEAN: Well, this engine is made by a company named Pratt & Whitney, the PW4000 engine. And what's so interesting here, you mentioned that case in the Netherlands where another PW4000 had a seemingly similar failure earlier the same day, but then there have also been other PW4000 issues on United Airlines' jets,.

Another 777 also bound to Honolulu only a couple years before had a similar issue as it was descending into the airport. Not as big of a deal as this one, although the NTSB released its final report not long ago, and it cited inspection issues on the fan blades of the jet. It is not exactly clear here yet.

When you play back some of that video of the engine on fire, rattling off of the right wing, if a fan blade came loose in this case again. It is something that investigators will definitely lean into as they literally piece the parts that fell onto the ground in Broomfield, Colorado, back together.

HILL: Yes, absolutely. Pete Muntean, Omar Jimenez, thank you both.

Let's dig a little deeper into this investigation as investigators are working, of course, to figure out exactly what happened with that engine aboard that United Airlines flight. Joining us now, transportation and safety analyst Mary Schiavo and David Soucie.

Mary, I want to start with you. You know, former inspector general of the Department of Transportation here, when we're looking at what is happening not only with this flight as Pete mentioned, and I believe you mentioned yesterday, Mary, when we were watching all of this unfold, there was a similar issue with a plane in the Netherlands yesterday.

Other incidents involving these engines, these PW4000 engines. You know, as the investigation is ongoing, I would imagine they'll be looking not only at those incidents, but would even some of the investigations into prior incidents have found to see whether there were any similarities?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: Absolutely. The NTSB is all about trend analysis. They want to find out if they're working with a trend that's going to repeat itself, a problem that they thought they had addressed.

By the way, the United Airlines' previous one in 2018, the NTSB just issued that report last year. Japan Airlines, a 777 there had one of these in December. So the NTSB is already, I mean, before they even get all of the pieces collected on the ground, they have combed through the records.

They have combed through the inspections because on the last one, the report they issued last year from the previous United 777, they cited -- they faulted Pratt & Whitney's inspectors for not being trained in spotting these flaws.

And when they went back and looked, they could have spotted the flaws if they had done it right or it appears that they could have. So that's what the NTSB is going to do. Do we have a problem that's system wide, that's engine wide, that's Pratt & Whitney wide or do we not?

HILL: I do want to, you know, we actually are just getting here to us at CNN, a statement from Boeing which reads, we're following news out of the Netherlands regarding the incident involving LGT 5504. That is the flight number. We'll refer you to the Dutch safety board. The statement goes on to say, for any information about the incident. So that is the latest from Boeing.

David, look, there are a lot of unknowns here at that point. The fact that Boeing is just saying, okay, you need to talk to the Dutch safety board. David, is there anything to read into that or is this just sort of standard operating procedure so early on?

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Well, Boeing has really learned overtime that it's time to just take a back seat to this and allow the NTSB to do their job. Previously, before the Ethiopia crash and before the MAX 8 and all of that, Boeing would have been approaching this much differently.

But I think they've learned to act with the team, to act with the NTSB to cooperate and help the investigation along and not try to lead it in any way. So I think that's what that says. It doesn't say anything more than that necessarily.

HILL (on camera): You know, as we look at just a little bit ago, I spoke with former NTSB chairman Jim Hall, and we were talking about these prior investigations, and he said bluntly, he had some real concerns about where the responsibility lies today when it comes to safety oversight. Take a listen.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM HALL, FORMER NTSB CHAIRMAN: Well, in the last decade the FAA has been a very sluggish regulator. And a lot of the regulatory responsibilities have been transferred from the FAA to the industry. I am hopeful that the new secretary will put a commission in place to address what I think is a failure on the part of the FAA to provide the type of safety oversight that we as taxpayers and people who pay the airline taxes pay for.

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HILL (on camera): Mary? Mary, do you share his concerns?

SCHIAVO: Absolutely. There is a real strange fact here. Back when the 777 was certified, I was the inspector general, and Congress had some concerns way back then. That was 1995 that the FAA had just given to Boeing and other manufacturers -- Boeing is not unique in this regard, but they had given over their inspection and oversight to the manufacturers.

And also there was concerns about airlines and just said, you're going to do this. And Congress actually tasked me to say -- to find out how much of this was turned over to Boeing to self-certify the 777. And the number that my office came up with and, you know, some of this was judgment, was over 95 percent. And this was back in 1995, and it has gotten worse since then as shown by the 737-MAX 8 situation.

HILL: I mean, it is sobering, you know, to hear you both address this, to have had that conversation with Jim Hall earlier. The other thing is as we keep seeing this video we have up on the screen now that a passenger took from inside this United Airlines flight yesterday afternoon. You know, you're supposed to be going to Honolulu. You're not supposed to be looking at the inside of the engine on this plane.

David, Jim Hall said to me, it's the most chilling piece of video he'd ever seen when it comes to an aviation safety issue. That really stopped me when he called it the most chilling video he'd ever seen.

SOUCIE: I don't really -- I've seen more chilling video if you want to compare, but I'm not comparing. But to me, this engine was well contained. There was some fire still coming out of it which is scary to most people to look at.

But at this point, the engine had been contained. The fire had been contained. And in fact, the containment ring which we spent many years before this, assuring that all the airplanes were certified with containment rings to prevent the idea of a piece of the fan blade coming out and going straight into the side of the cabin.

So, a lot of that debris that you see coming out of there is part of or attached to the containment ring for that. So, I'm sure it was incredibly difficult for people to watch it and they were just scared to the bone. And it does look pretty dramatic, but you need to know, too, that a lot went into this. The system worked the way it was supposed to. The fact that engines -- you're talking 50,000 rpms in some of those

turbines flying through the air, you know, pushing air behind it. Anything gets in the way of that and that can cause that the turbine to push the air forward instead of backward like it's supposed to and literally tear the engine apart to the forward side.

Something also to remember in this, I want to point out that a lot of these failures that we're talking about are not from the manufacturer. The manufacturer is not putting them out. We dealt with that back in the '80s with the titanium metals to make sure that there were no failures in the metal as it's being poured, as it's being blended.

So we do x-rays. I'm from the maintenance side on the FAA. So, we do x-rays on the blades and we do that routinely under a schedule. In addition, there is very specific criteria for how you repair a blade if something gets into that blade and nicks that blade, and that's how you do the inspections as Mary was referring to earlier.

In 2018, there is report saying that there was a failure in the way that they maintain those blades. It wasn't a failure in how they were manufactured. It was a failure in, at least my understanding, is how it burnished out. So when a crack is there, it has to be treated and you're talking a large blade that now has this tiny crack in it.

So, there is very specific ways to do that, and that's what they didn't follow on that case. So, do we have a systemic problem with Pratt & Whitney? I don't think so. I haven't seen evidence of that necessarily. But what I do see is that there needs to be some tightening up on how these inspections are done, particularly repairs on these blades.

HILL: Yes. Well, that does seem to be a consistent refrain that we are hearing from all our analysts and experts. David Soucie, Mary Schiavo, appreciate your expertise and insight. Thank you.

SOUCIE: Thank you.

HILL: Just ahead, he has waited five years for a confirmation hearing. So what exactly can we expect to hear from attorney general nominee Merrick Garland tomorrow in his opening statement? That's next. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

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HILL (on camera): President Biden's pick to lead the Justice Department, Merrick Garland, will face senators in his confirmation hearing tomorrow. Garland, of course, was former President Obama's 2016 Supreme Court nominee, but his nomination was scuttled by then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Garland is facing some tough questions from Republican lawmakers on just how he intends to lead the Justice Department in this post-Trump era.

Here's part of his opening statement. "150 years after the Department's founding, battling extremist attacks on our democratic institutions also remains central to its mission. If confirmed, I will supervise the prosecution of white supremacists and others who stormed the Capitol on January 6th. A heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy, the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government." CNN's Jessica Schneider has more.

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MERRICK GARLAND, ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE: Our law is not the instrument of partisan purpose.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Judge Merrick Garland guaranteed impartiality when he accepted the nomination for attorney general one day after the capitol insurrection. But the issues he's expected to face at next week's confirmation hearing are very political.

ANDREW CUOMO, GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK: We made a mistake.

SCNEIDER (voice-over): This week, Senate Republicans demanded Garland commit to fully investigating New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, in what Republicans are calling a cover up for not reporting all COVID related nursing home deaths in 2020. The FBI and the U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn have already opened an inquiry sources tell CNN. And that's not the only probe Republicans will press on.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I'm absolutely calling on a special counsel to look at all things Hunter Biden.

SCNEIDER (voice-over): A Republican aide says senators will raise the investigation of the president's son, Hunter Biden, who federal authorities are looking into for possible violations of tax and money laundering laws in business dealings with foreign countries, China in particular.

The Department of Justice has already charged more than 220 people in connection with the capitol attack.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We fight. We fight like hell.

SCNEIDER (voice-over): But Garland is expected to face questions about whether to investigate former President Trump for inciting the insurrection and how to broaden the domestic terrorism crackdown, something Garland tackled head on as a top official at DOJ in 1995 when he was on the ground one day after the Oklahoma City bombing.

GARLAND: From a personal point of view, I wanted to go. I mean, it was a terrible scene on the television.

SCNEIDER (voice-over): Garland has acknowledged his personal connection to the Justice Department.

GARLAND: Entering the Department of Justice will be a kind of homecoming for me. SCNEIDER (voice-over): He started his legal career there in the late

1970s and worked as a prosecutor before becoming a top official during the Clinton administration.

JAMIE GORELICK, FORMER DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: I am very confident that he will look at every case on the merits. He will make sure that the department operates seamlessly across different elements.

SCNEIDER (voice-over): People who know him say Garland will bring his deliberate demeanor as a judge to a position that has been politicized over the past four years by four different attorneys general. And will have to decide whether to continue defending Trump era policies in court, something Biden officials have already begun backtracking on.

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SCNEIDER (on camera): Merrick Garland will likely face intense questions from Republicans on Monday and will have to walk a fine line since he's still technically a sitting judge and has not seen specific details about the cases he'll soon have to confront.

I am told Garland's opening statement Monday will focus on the importance of an independent DOJ, the value of integrity, and also how civil rights will be a main priority of the Justice Department. Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.

HILL: Time now for "Cross-Exam" with CNN legal analyst Elie Honig. He's a former assistant U.S. attorney with the Southern District of New York. Elie, always good to see you, my friend. A viewer asks us, what issues do you see facing Merrick Garland if he's confirmed as attorney general and just how aggressive should he be in pursuing them?

ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Erica, Merrick Garland is going to have some big issues waiting for him on his desk if and when he is confirmed. I see three big ones in particular. First of all, what to do with all these Donald Trump-related investigations.

Everything from potential obstruction of the Robert Mueller report, to these hush money payments, to Ukraine all the way up to the January 6th Capitol riots. Merrick Garland will need to decide will DOJ at least open investigations. If so, who will handle them and ultimately, he'll have to decide whether DOJ will charge the former president.

I believe that at a minimum, DOJ has an obligation here to fully investigate, get the facts, make a decision right down the middle, no politics without fear or favor. Second, DOJ has pending investigations into Hunter Biden relating to his taxes, relating to his financial dealings overseas.

My advice about what Merrick Garland needs to do here is nothing. Let the prosecutors who are already working on these cases, do their jobs, finish the investigation. Don't interfere, don't influence. Let it play out and treat it the same as if it was any other person being investigated. And then third, the Durham investigation into the origins of the

Russia investigation. Same approach here. Don't shut it down, don't try to squash it or limit it. Let Durham finish his work. Let him issue his report. See where the facts fall, let them fall where they may.

Bottom line, Erica, after four years of politicization by Donald Trump, by Bill Barr and others, this is a real moment of opportunity for Merrick Garland to restore DOJ's independence and integrity.

HILL: It certainly is. We'll be watching for that. Meantime, a viewer from California writes in, asking, are we likely to see civil lawsuits against former President Trump and others seeking damages relating to the January 6th capitol attack, Elie?

HONIG: Yes, we've already start today see them. So last week, Representative Bennie Thompson from Minnesota brought a lawsuit using an old obscure federal law that prohibits the use of force or threats to interfere with the government. I think this is just the tip of the iceberg.

[17:25:01]

I think we are going to see many more sort of conventional personal injury lawsuits. And the key issues in those cases will be, can the plaintiffs prove that Donald Trump or whoever they name as defendants caused their injuries, and that those injuries were reasonably foreseeable?

So think about it this way. If you were to play a videotape of that January 6th rally and at the end hit pause, you ask the question. Now, from this point on, is it reasonably foreseeable, would you reasonably expect people to be injured?

If the answer is yes, those lawsuits will succeed. And if the answer is no, they will not. I do expect to see a lot more of these kinds of lawsuits coming down the pike.

HILL: A lot of focus on New York State over the last week or two. And a viewer from New York writes in to ask, just how significant is it legally that the FBI has opened a criminal investigation relating to the handling by Governor Andrew Cuomo's office of data relating to COVID deaths in New York?

HONIG: So, this is an investigation, Erica, by the FBI and the Eastern District of New York which is the DOJ prosecutor's office located in Brooklyn. Now, in order to start a criminal investigation, prosecutors need what we call predication, essentially meaning you need something. You don't need much, but you need some evidence that a crime has been committed. There's a bar. It's a low bar, but it's not nothing.

Now, the FBI is investigate whether Governor Cuomo's office provided full and accurate data in response to federal investigators. One Cuomo aide said that when they were asked for information, "we froze." Now, that seems to suggest that the governor's office's response may not have been full and accurate. It is a crime to lie or to mislead or to omit important information

from federal investigators. So, let's see how all the facts play out here, but it certainly is significant that the FBI and the DOJ are taking a look.

HILL: Elie Honig, always good to see you. Thank you.

HONIG: Thanks.

HILL: Even while he is now at Mar-a-Lago, no longer in the White House, former President Trump's hold on the Republican Party hasn't really diminished. So just what does the future of the GOP look like with or without him? We'll discuss next. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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HILL (on camera): South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham is said to be at Mar-a-Lago this weekend spending time with former President Trump. He is just the latest Republican to make the pilgrimage to Trump's Florida resort. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy visited, of course, just weeks after the Capitol insurrection. And the number two House Republican, Steve Scalise met with Trump just last Tuesday. Here he is this morning, Scalise, three months after Joe Biden won the presidential election, five days after his meeting with Trump. Take a listen.

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JON KARL, ABC NEWS HOST: Clear this up for me. Joe Biden won the election. He is the legitimate president of the United States. The election was not stolen, correct?

REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): Look, Joe Biden is the president. There were a few states that did not follow their state laws. That's really the dispute that you've seen continue on.

KARL: Congressman, I know Joe Biden is the president, he lives at the White House. I asked you is he the legitimate president of the United States and do you concede that this election was not stolen? Very simple question. Please just answer.

SCALISE: Once the electors are counted, yes, he's the legitimate president. But if you're going to ignore the fact that there were states that did not follow their own state legislatively set laws, that's the issue at heart that millions of people still are not happy with and don't want to see happen again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL (on camera): So just a quick fact check for you here even though we shouldn't have to keep doing this repeatedly. Joe Biden did win the election legitimately and there is zero proof of widespread election fraud. With that in mind, let's bring in CNN political commentator and host

of "Firing Line" on PBS, Margaret Hoover and CNN senior political analyst and author of "Washington's Farewell" and "Wing Nuts," John Avlon. Always good to see the Hoovalons. Guys, this morning or, sorry, this afternoon, as we look at this, Margaret, why does the ring kissing continue here? What do these Republicans want from Donald Trump or what do they need is perhaps the better question?

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, the Republicans that have been participating in the ring kissing, Ana, are the ones who continue to cower to the base of the Republican Party. They're afraid of the base. They're afraid of telling the truth to the base of the Republican Party.

And they are -- it's very clear. I mean, there is a -- Mitch McConnell drew a line in the sand. The Republican Party is divided between those who will continue to be fearful of Donald Trump and the way that he can embolden the base of the Republican Party and continue the big lie.

And the people who are willing to call the lie for what it was, whether, by the way, those are senators who voted to convict and those are senators who called it a lie even though they didn't vote to convict. That's Mitch McConnell and several others.

So, there is certainly a fight for the soul of the Republican Party, but Donald Trump still, if you look at the most recent Quinnipiac Poll, has significant power over the party. Only 20 percent of the Republican Party says that the GOP -- the Republican Party should leave Trump, move away from Trump and be more like established Republicans, all right. Imagine that. So Trump does have a hold on the party still, and that's what Steve Scalise and Lindsey Graham and those others are -- continue to cower to.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. I would only add that I'd reject that framing, whoever thought of the polling question because the choice isn't between Trump and the establishment, it's between truths and lies. This is a stupid civil war. This is not -- this is about the soul of the party. This is about in many cases whether we can have two functioning parties in the republic.

[17:35:02]

But if the question, you know, if Steve Scalise, the whip in the House, can't answer the simple straightforward question whether Joe Biden is a legitimate president, he is either a fool, afraid, or a liar. And I don't think he's a fool and I don't think he's a liar. So I think he's afraid and it makes him a liar. And that is simply unacceptable in American politics for this many people to no longer have the credibility -- excuse of living in fear of a mean tweet, to be cowering in the face of fundamental facts at the expense of our democracy.

HILL: Yet, here we are. Meantime, I do want to take a look at the other side of the aisle. Progressives as you know, are really pushing President Biden on certain policy issues including student loan forgiveness, the $15 minimum wage. Biden is pushing back here, I think partially in the interest of bipartisanship.

As we look at this, John, you know, they haven't even gotten COVID done yet. You know, Arlette Saenz is reporting that this is a laser focus, the president is laser focused on that this week. Are Democrats, more progressive democrats putting the cart before the horse in this case? Do they need a win first?

AVLON: Yes, they need to win. They should not be focusing on anything other than getting the COVID relief bill passed. Now, the $15 minimum wage could be part of the COVID relief bill. And there are other ways to get this done, you know. I mean, Biden could get creative. You know, there's a Romney proposal on the minimum wage.

You know, there are ways to get this done. This is clearly a priority for the base. But getting in stylistic fights about free college tuition or $50,000 college loan tuition forgiveness is not a good use of anyone's time right now particularly if Democrats are trying to get a signature $1.9 trillion bill through. It is a big deal for the country. It's a big deal for the Biden administration and circular firing squads don't help right now.

HILL: The battle, though, is not going to go away, Margaret. How do you see it playing out among Democrats moving forward?

HOOVER: Look, there is -- Joe Biden, for all the Republicans and all the conservatives say about how, you know, liberal and radical Joe Biden's socialist agenda is, you know, that's laughable because there is a progressive flank of the Democratic Party that is pulling Joe Biden to the left.

And recall, you know, he said bipartisanship and working together and unity -- unity seven times in his inaugural address. I mean, this is a president who really does -- he's a moderate Democrat and he wants to governor from the center. He really does want to try to heal the country.

But it's going to be quite difficult I think with his progressive base especially with progressive Senator Schumer who is trying to fight off his left flank and trying to avoid primary challenges from the likes of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

So, there is a real dynamic playing out where if the Democrats, they would like to get everything done through reconciliation and destroy the filibuster and ram through a progressive agenda. The problem is Joe Biden wasn't elected to be president to govern from the progressive left.

And that was just evident and abundant all down the line as Republicans won at the state level and the state legislative level, and even in Congress. So, I think you're right, Ana, we're really teeing up to have quite a contest, I think, between the progressive left and those moderate Democrats.

AVLON: That said, just quickly, Ana, I mean, the $1.9 trillion bill is actually one of the most -- the proposal would do more to address structural income inequality than anything the progressive left has ever put forward. So, again, you know, focus on -- you know, he has a progressive agenda. He is not of the far left. That's a far-right boogie man.

But, you know, and I actually think it was a great at the CNN town hall where he absolutely shutdown this leading request because most politicians would pander. He didn't. But focus on the structural inequalities being addressed in the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill and not on a wish list that simply becomes an excuse for infighting to derail the whole deal.

HILL: Margaret Hoover, John Avlon, great to see you. Thank you.

HOOVER: Thanks, Ana.

AVLON: Hey, bye.

HILL: Still to come, this week, New York City is opening middle schools for in-person learning. So, what does it really mean for the country's largest school system? What are the precautions being taken? More on that next. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:40:00]

HILL: This Thursday, the nation's largest school district is re- opening its doors to middle school students for in-person learning. This is a major milestone for New York City which has really wrestled with bringing students back to the classroom while not putting the broader community at risk.

CNN's Polo Sandoval joining us now. So Polo, the department says it does plan to test 20 percent of the faculty and student body at random each week. What are some of the other precautions that have been in place to bring students and staff back?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erica, it's going to be a new norm for this roughly 62,000 middle school students that have previously opted in for some of the in-person teaching. So, what you can expect, like we said, going to be a long list of different safety measures that have already been implemented.

The first, of course, that you mentioned will be that random testing of students and staff. But also they have been, if you look at this year, they have also been prioritizing vaccinating those teachers and staff at least here in New York. In fact, they've actually dedicated the mid-winter break to that that just wrapped up this weekend here.

And then also, they've been trying to put that infrastructure in place including air purifiers that I'm told have already been installed at all middle schools, about 471, and roughly half of those will be welcoming those students back by the end of this week, Erica.

You're looking at about a quarter of the roughly 1 million students enrolled in the public school system, being back to class. It is certainly going to be a step towards normalcy for the lives of these children that have been asking for that already for months.

And that's really what the school chancellor and also the mayor of New York City would like to give some of those students. But we should point out, though, Erica, it's still a majority of the students are going to continue with their teaching at home.

HILL: You know, you mentioned, Polo, how they had prioritized vaccines for teachers, used the break over this past week to try to ramp up some of those vaccinations.

[17:44:59]

But the city as we know, one of several areas facing a shortage in vaccines this weekend because of the severe weather which has impacted shipments. Did that impact at all some of those planned vaccinations for teachers? Any impact on schools re-opening?

SANDOVAL: Well, just consider the numbers alone, Erica. Looking at about fewer than a thousand vaccine doses, first doses that are -- the city reported are still available for a population of well over 8 million people, that's really not going to work out.

However, city officials have made very clear that they do expect some of those delayed deliveries that you mentioned to begin to come in as early as tomorrow. It's certainly going to hopefully provide that boost to efforts to vaccinate those teachers.

But, you know, you spoke to an expert in the last hour who said that ideally, they could at least dedicate many of these Johnson & Johnson doses when and if those are actually authorized for use to teachers. But the reality is, just because they can potentially do that, doesn't necessarily mean that that will happen, not just here in New York but throughout the country.

But I can tell you, again, there is that next allotment that is scheduled to arrive here in New York, because again, fewer than a thousand first doses available as of this hour, and that's really a number that they want to get high as soon as possible here in the city.

HILL: Yes. That it is. Polo Sandoval, appreciate it. Thank you.

SANDOVAL: Thanks, Erica.

HILL: CNN's Christine Romans has a preview of what to expect on Wall Street this week. Here's this week's "Before the Bell."

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Erica. House Democrats could move to pass President Biden's rescue package later this week. Investors have already priced in a $1.9 trillion rescue bill. That's one factor driving stocks to record highs even as the latest numbers from the job market underscore the need for more help.

Another 861,000 workers filed for first-time jobless benefits last week. At the same time, retail sales were surprisingly strong in January. Sales jumped more than 5 percent, the first increase since September. Economists credited government stimulus as a big reason for the surge.

This week several retailers deliver their corporate report cards to Wall Street. Home Depot, Lowe's, Macy's and TJX are among the companies reporting results. America's economy, of course, runs on consumer spending so the health of the retail sector is crucial. In New York, I'm Christine Romans.

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[17:50:00]

HILL (on camera): A former Nazi concentration camp guard who has been living in the United States for more than six decades has been deported back to Germany. The Justice Department making the announcement on Saturday -- 95-year-old Friedrich Karl Berger admitted last year to serving at a concentration camp near Hamburg in the mid- 1940s.

The camp held prisoners who were forced to work in brutal conditions to the point of exhaustion and death. Berger told U.S. officials he guarded those prisoners from escaping and never requested a transfer from the camp. He even continues to receive a pension for his service from Germany. The DOJ says his removal shows just how serious the U.S. is about not becoming a safe haven for those who have committed crimes against humanity.

Abraham Lincoln is often hailed as one of America's greatest president who ended slavery and saved the country from collapse. But the truth as it often is, is more complicated than that. The CNN original series "Lincoln: Divided We Stand" explores Lincoln's personal life and political career to reveal the real Abraham Lincoln, in all his complexity and imperfection. CNN's Tom Foreman unravels some of the biggest myths about America's 16th president.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every president sells an image. Patriot, dealmaker, groundbreaker. Abraham Lincoln was the rail splitter. Sold to voters as a hardworking laborer, a man of the people. But that is also the first big myth about Honest Abe, pushed by his political party.

UNKNOWN: They wanted stories that showed Lincoln being this sort of humble rail splitter, being a country bumpkin.

UNKNOWN: The plain truth was Lincoln was a lawyer and a politician and had been a rail splitter a very long time before.

FOREMAN (voice-over): The second myth, Lincoln rose to power by supporting the abolition of slavery. Although Lincoln thought slavery might die eventually, he focused on simply not letting it spread to new western states, fearful of the political and economic consequences if it did.

CHENJERAI KUMANYIKA, CO-CREATOR, UNCIVIL PODCAST: I mean, the idea of abolition is demonized because abolishing slavery was a radical idea. He basically has to defend himself against being an abolitionist.

FOREMAN (voice-over): The third myth, Lincoln was a champion for black American rights. To the contrary, he explicitly argued that whites were the superior race, and he adjusted as needed.

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: He had the tendency to say, well, he's this moral paragon or he's just a political animal. No, he's a hybrid. If you want to understand him, you've got to understand both sides.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Myth four, Lincoln was destined for greatness. One might think so, but Lincoln's career was marked by many business professional and political failures. He won the presidency only because the democratic opposition split between three different candidates. And, myth five, Lincoln single-handedly drove his destiny with ambition, intelligence, and humor.

CONAN O' BRIEN, LATE NIGHT SHOW HOST: He used wit and comedy at his own expense to connect with people.

FOREMAN (voice-over): That's partially true, but by all accounts, his wife, Mary Todd, pushed him hard to become the president so loved and remembered facts, myths, legends, and all. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

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[17:55:06]

HILL (on camera): Be sure to tune in for a new episode of "Lincoln: Divided We Stand." It premieres tonight at 10:00 only right here on CNN.

Thanks so much for joining me this afternoon. I'm Erica Hill in New York. My colleague Pamela Brown picks up CNN's coverage after a quick break. Have a great night.

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