we'll always strive to be more right than wrong and when we fail, we will own it that's our promise to you. i like to say there is always a bull market somewhere and i promise to find it just for you right here on "mad money." i'm jim cramer see you tomorrow restaurants packed, virus spreading. it's risky, but unstoppable. i'm shepard smith. this is "the news" on cnbc spring break is on and masks largely off. >> going to try to have a good time no matter what. >> thousands have come to the beaches, sparking fear in possible surging cases. shots in arms and money in the pockets. >> the white house comparing a billion dollar campaign to inspire confidence in the vaccine but there's growing partisan resistance that

scientists say can threaten recovery two men arrested and charged with assaulting a capitol hill police officer who later died after the insurrection plus, a cheerleader mom charged with using deepfake technology to frame her daughter's rivals. live from cnbc, the facts, the truth, "the news with shepard smith. good evening, the pandemic has not left us, but spring break 2021 has arrived more americans are traveling, restrictions are lifting in some places by the day and, yes, more americans are getting vaccinated but the health experts warn, fun in the sun is not worth ruining the progress the nation has made in miami beach, cops say they used pepper spray balls to break up an aggressive and unruly crowd. cops say they made more than 100 arrests and have seen several weapons over the weekend in ft. lauderdale, some people

appeared to forget all about the pandemic and decided to party like it's 2019 on friday more than 1.3 million people passed through u.s. airports, that's the most in a single day since march 15th, 2020, one year ago today we're all eager for a return to normal but health experts insist we need to wait a bitlonger. >> i'm pleading with you for the sake of our nation's health, these should be warning signs for all of us. cases climbed last spring, they climbed again in the summer. they will climb now if we start taking precautions when we continue to get more and more people vaccinated. >> and right now more people in the united states are getting vaccinated, more than ever before the white house says states administered about 3.2 million doses on saturday alone. that is a new daily high, according to cdc data. nbc's jay gray on cnbc's top story, live in south padre island, texas.

jay? >> hey, good evening, shep we're in a section of this beach that's a little less crowded i want to give you a realtime look what's happening. more spread out here, more families on this end but a mile away you have beach clubs, huge crowds and parties expected along with concerns to grow here they tossed out covid restrictions in texas, which for some means no mask and no distancing during spring break on south padre island. >> the state is open up for business so that means we're open for business. we're trying to give the kids something to, you know, enjoy their spring break so they come back to the island >> reporter: and they're coming back, many award but not all that worried, it seems, to the virus. >> imf mun to covid. i haven't gotten since this all started. here i think -- some wear masks some are not but if you're

trying to have a good time, just come no matter what. >> reporter: not every spot on the beach is packed. families are a bit more spread out and joan i what for the first time in a year feels like a normal getaway. >> the beach is coming back to live, town coming back to life, having fun out here. restrictions not so crazy. everybody is kind of relaxed. >> reporter: but doctors and officials warn now is not the time to relax, with concerns about what they fear could be a dang dangerous spring break hangover. >> i hope this doesn't come back to see an influx of cases and super spreader number of cases during spring break. >> reporter: now, look, the concern here two-fold, first will there be a spike in cases here on the island because of spring break as students and families head home, shep, will they bring the virus to their communities >> better outside than in. jay gray, thank you. the biden administration is preparing to launch a sweeping

campaign to boost confidence in the covid vaccine and convince skeptics to get that shot. the white house says it will use trusted messengers, including evangelical leaders, to reach out to conservatives and other americans who might be hesitant to receive the vaccine today president biden suggested he did not need the former president's help to reach his supporters. >> i discussed it with my team and they say the thing that has more impact than anything trump would say to the maga folks is what the local doctor, what the local preachers, what the local people in the community say. >> the former president was notably absent from a recent public service announcement that included all of the other living u.s. presidents. cnbc's kayla tausche now on who the campaign will target hey, kayla. >> hey, shep the beds is focusing on a few key demographics who have concerns about vaccine

convenience or lack confidence in the vaccine according to an administration official, that is young people, people of color and conservatives and of those groups, recent poll conducted by npr and marist found republican men were the most skeptical, 49% saying they'd choose not to be vaccinated if the shot were available to them. 47% of trump voters would not take the shot. a dynamic dr. anthony fauci said he found perplexing. >> how such a large portion of a group of people would not want to be vaccinated merely because of political consideration, it makes absolutely no sense. >> reporter: in his first appearance since leaving office, president trump, who got his shot privately, gave a brief endorsement of the vaccine developed on his watch. >> so, everybody, go get your shot >> reporter: and the white house today said it would support an

even more visible effort. >> if former president trump woke up tomorrow and wanted to be more vocal about the safety and efficacy of the campaign, of the vaccine, certainly, we'd support that. >> to shore up public opinion, the american rescue plan allocates $1 billion for what it calls vaccine confidence activities that's on top of a public education campaign under way, led by hhs, that has already spent millions on paid programming and despite being federally funded, aed station officials say that they're going to need to rely on local communities and those trusted messengers to convince people to show up for that first shot. the cdc found that nine out of ten people who get that first shot show up for the second. shep somewhere kayla tausche, thank you. as the vaccine rollout ramps up, two of the biggest states are allowing even more people to get a shot in the arm. in california, everyone aged 16 and older with pre-existing

health conditions is now eligible to get the vaccine. but officials warn, appointments in some areas will not be available because, frankly, they're low own vaccine. and in florida, eligibility has been lowered to people 60 years and older. governor ron desantis said he plans to lower the age to 55 before possibly making it available to everybody else. just a reminder, our parent company, nbc universal, has an online tool to help you get a shot no matter where you live. you can sign up for alerts to stay on top of changes, vaccination plans in your local area, and like peacock, it's free as a bird, at planyourvaccine.com. the feds arrested and charged two men with assaulting a capitol hill who died following the insurrection on january 6th. federal investigators say the suspected rioters sprayed

officer ryan sick nicnick -- i n to say brian sicknick, with a chemical, possibly bear spray, as a mob barriered police in officer sicknick said he was sprayed in the face. another officer said the spray was so potent, it left scabs under her eyes for weeks notably, the two suspects are not charged with icknick's death. nbc's ken dilanian covers national security. ken, how do they track down these suspects >> shep, it started with a tip with one who recognized one of the defendants, george thanos, from a photo in an fbi flyer the fbi identified the pair in surveillance video and police body camera video. another tipster identified the second defendant julian cater from a linkedin page

and the fbi noticed thanos was wearing the same sweatshirt that he was during the capitol insurrection bearing the insignia, sandwich university. these two men were in korlt facing nine counts including conspireing to assault police officers the court reporters say cater at one point is heard on video saying, "give me that bear expletive, and then nine seconds later spray the substance into the eyes of brian sicknick and two others who were tell tore rarely ingas tated now sicknick later died and his death is not linked to the spray but the investigation continues. on these nine counts alone, these men face 20 years in prison, shep. >> can in a dif-- and in a diff case, a family member of another suspect warned the fbi about a

possible case. what do we know? >> that's right. in a court filing last week, shep, a family member of one of the capitol rioters called the bureau late last december 2020 and warned them a man was going to do serious damage related to federal legislators in washington that appears to be the first time in court records the fbi had some advanced warning that the capitol was under threat for january 6th. now, the court records don't say if the family maybes gave a date or what the fbi did with this information. this man is in jail and charged with participation in the capitol riots but this filing is bound to add to the question, shep, about why the fbi and other federal agencies weren't better prepared for possible violence on january 6th. shep >> ken dilanian, thank you the defense team for derek chauvin, the now-fired cop charged with killing george floyd, is trying to delay his murder trial and move it out of minneapolis. this comes after the city on friday announced it would pay

george floyd's family $27 million to settle a civil lawsuit. chauvin's lawyers, i should say, called the timing of the announcement perplexing and argued it could taint the jury pool the judge said the defense does have a legitimate concern. meanwhile, jury selection continues at a quick pace by court standards, with 9-14 jurors seated. here's nbc's shaquille brewster. >> shep, the judge said he's taking all of this into advisement but said at some point he will call back the jurors who have already been seated he wants to make sure the new record settlement that was on the front page of the local paper does not impact their ability to be impartial. the judge also expressed frustration at the position city leaders have now put him in. >> i don't find any evil intent they're trying to tamper with this criminal case it's just the civil litigation was going on and i'm guessing both sides said -- one side said

well, the result of the criminal case can go one of two ways. for one it might raise the amount and the other result would lower the amount that would be paid. >> the family attorney general told nbc news the timing of the settlement was out of their control. they say this is something that has been negotiated for a period of months. meanwhile, the trial of the officer accused of killing george floyd this week we're hatclfway there. nine members are seated. they're trying to get to 12 jurors and 2 alternates. we know the majority are white in color, most are men but three are women. we know their ages range between 20s, 30s and 50s jury selection will continue until a full jury is empanels and opening statements will begin march 29th. shep >> shaquille brewster, thank you. pope francis has been called

a reformer but that label has its limits tonight, the decree he approved that keeps the catholic church unchanged in its view of same-sex marriage. plus, the latest in the public war between meghan markle and the crown. buckingham palace lawyers up to bullying claims. and critics of universal basic income programs save $500 a month with no strings attached, does nothing but reward laziness. and later in this news hour, increasing evidence for the benefits of the broader economy. >> theac fts, the truth, "the news with shepard smith" back in 60 seconds and unmatched overall. together with a dedicated advisor, you'll make a plan that can adjust as your life changes, with access to tax-smart investing strategies that help you keep more of what you earn. and with brokerage accounts, you see what you'll pay before you trade.

personalized advice. unmatched value. at fidelity, you can have both. ♪ more than this ♪ [ "could have been me" by the struts playing ] at fidelity, you can have both. ♪ don't wanna wake up on a monday morning ♪ ♪ the thought of work's getting my skin crawling ♪ hey, mercedes? -how can i help you? ♪ i can't fear you, i don't hear you now ♪ ♪ wrapped in your regret ♪ ♪ what a waste of blood and sweat ♪ ♪ oh oh oh ♪ ♪ could have been me ♪ the 2021 e-class. motortrend's 2021 car of the year. ♪ ♪ three people are dead and six others injured after a car plowed into a sidewalk in downtown san diego today it happened this morning police say the driver is a 71-year-old man suspected of driving while impaired

the police chief said the driver veered to the right under this tunnel here, where people were hiding from the rain he said the victims appeared to be homeless. police say the driver tried to help the people he hit before turning himself in to police in other news tonight, pope francis drawing a clear line in the sand on how progressive he's willing to be. under his watch, the catholic church will still not be blessing same-sex marriage the reason, the vatican considers it a sin and says god, quote, cannot bless sin. that from the statement it gave in response to a question on whether the church has given the power to give the blessing the vatican did clarify that the church should welcome and bless day people but it argued same-sex marriage is not part of god's plan catholic teachings healed lifelong unions between a man and a woman are intended for the sake of creating new life. francis de-bernardo is with us

now, executive director of new ways ministry which advocates for lgbtq catholics. francis, thank you the church is willing to welcome lgbtq plus people but won't bless our marriages. what message does that send? >> it's a mixed message very much and i think that lgbtq people today more and more are leaving the church because of that mixed message. and their supporters are leaving as well. >> the church does consider anything but a union of two people for the purpose of pro creating a lifelong union, anything but that to be sinful how do you make the case that a same-sex marriage should be blessed by the church? >> well, first of all, a blessing is not the same as

marriage and i think that while marriage would be ideal for same sex people, the idea of a blessing is not in the same category as marriage but even with that, it's important theologians and even people in the pews recognize that love exists in the relationships of gay and lesbian couples. and that the scriptures tell us the most fundamental definition of god is that god is love so i don't see how the church can say that this relationship is a sin if it's a relationship based on love, which is what god is like. >> it took the united states until 2015 to come around saying that same-sex marriages are okay

constitutional in that case. the church has been around a whole lot longer do you see a world in which the church adapts? >> yes, i do actually, i think part of the reason that this decision came down is because in europe, particularly germany and austria, bishops and priests -- bishops are ready to approve blessings for same-sex couples and priests are already doing them so i don't -- i think when the vatican makes a decision like this, and makes a statement like this, it's intended to cut off the discussion, but, in fact, the effect is it enlarges the discussion so i think their strategy backfired. >> true in so much of life, when you talk about it, it often

gives it oxygen. francis de-bernardo, thank you very much. it's great to have you in. the biggest sandstorm in decades and the palace makes a move against meghan markle as we go "around the world in 80 seconds. the united kingdom, buckingham palace prepares to bring in outside counsel to investigate claims that meghan markle bullied royal staff. the move threatening to worsen relations between the royal family and harry and meghan, whose team called the bullying accusations a calculated smear campaign china, a major sandstorm in beijing, snarling traffic on the roads and in the air the storm forcing officials to cancel more than 400 flights out of the capital's two main airports and with good reason you can barely see these skyscrapers because of the waves of sand. air pollution measurement show

levels in some districts reached 160 times the recommended limit. russia a giant castle symbolizing covid engulfed in flames it happened during an end-of-winter festival the designer made the nearly 80-foot-tall castle out of wood. he said he was inspired to create the structure as a symbol of covid that the fire would destroy. that's our trip "around the world in 80 seconds. police in london are facing backlash after they broke up a vigil for a murder victim, a woman allegedly killed by a police officer her name is sarah everard. the 33-year-old vanished two weeks ago while walking home in southeast london police officers -- i should say police officer wayne cousins was suspected of having kidnapped

her and then when her remains were later found, police charged him with murder. since her death, thousands of women across britain have spoken out about their own abuse while walking london's streets some gathered this weekend for a vigil to honor everard video shows police shoving and coughing women london's mayor responds calling for an investigation and saying the response was, quote, now, "at times neither appropriate nor proportionate. that winter storm on which we reported on friday lived up to the predictions in colorado more than two feet of snow reported in some areas check out the scene near denver international airport, wideout conditions leaving cars stranded on the highway 27 inches officially here. the heavy snow also brought down power lines and tree limbs authorities say tens of thousands of customers are in the dark the wind so strong, forecasters say they picked up some of the dust in mexico and blew it over

to colorado. national weather service tweeted this photo, that brownish layer that you see there, that's the dust they say it's pretty rare for something like this to happen. meantime, the south bracing for severe weather day after tomorrow wednesday in alabama, texas and oklahoma, they're all facing the possibility of tornadoes more than 100,000 migrants tried to enter the country through the southwest border last month, as republicans and democrats blame each other what are the chances two house reform bills will see any bipartisan buy-in? and the f-35 stealth fighter, projected to cause americans enough as the american relief plan. tonight the pentagon's need for speed may mean a whole new plane. ♪ highway to the danger zone ♪

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the fog facing pentagon facing new pressure from lawmakers now over the f-35 new stealth fighter jet. the military built it as a highly advanced top of the line jet, versatile and lethal. but so far it frankly has not lived up to its price tag. the jet is the most expensive weapons system ever built. it's projected to cost taxpayers about $1.7 trillion over the course of its lifetime hundreds of software and design flaws have plagued the jet and slowed its production throughout so now the pentagon reports it's

considering spending even more money on an entirely different mix of jet the air force chief of staff put it this way, you don't have -- you don't drive your ferrari to work every day you only drive it on sundays here's cnbc's morgan brennan >> reporter: the f-35 jet is in a fight over its own future. >> what does the f-35 give us? is there a way to cut our losses is there a way to, you know, not keep spending that much money for such a low capability? as you know the sustainment costs are brutal. >> reporter: the fifth generation aircraft has faced scrutiny from new presidents in the past from management changes n under obama to sensational tweets by trump. but experts say this time could be different. >> there's a lot of change, a lot of studies ongoing by what dod really needs the next 20, 30 years.

certainly f-35 will be in that mix but there are other programs and capabilities and things like that, that are going to need to be funded in a new budget environment as well. >> reporter: the air force recently signaled its reviewing its f-35 plan but they claim nobody matches the capability, even if fewerer needed. >> the jet tells you everything happeni happening in the battle space so you make far better decisions. >> reporter: the f-35a is now less thaen $80 million, 70% drop from the earliest contracts and lockheed martin, who makes the jets, will cut costs further. >> we're able to cut our costs of sustaining and maintaining the f-35% 44% in the last four years alone. if we look forward we see another 40% to 65% reduction. >> even as costs come down and

the program's house three branches of military, seven partnered countries and customers, attention is closely being paid to the airport as it studies the best fighter aircraft mix that include boeing's f-15x or new plan to replace the aging f-16 the air force said the f-35 will continue to be the, quote, cornerstone of the fleet but the question will be how many over the coming years shep >> morgan brennan, thank you. gas prices are going up and that's what's topping cnbc's "on the money. the average price for a gallon of self-serve regular jumped 25 cents over just the past three weeks to $2.89 a gallon. the highest in the nation, $3.86 in the san francisco bay area. experts blame higher crude oil costs and lingering effects of power outages and oil refineries in the south triple a predicts it will get

worse before better. it predicting gas prices will reach $4 in some states by the summer. ford plans to recall nearly 3 million vehicles over potentially air vats the second largest automaker reports there's a small chance air bags may rupture during a crash and send metal fragments through the air. ford announced the recall will cost them $210 million. and toys "r" us spotting another comeback their new owner whp global announced they want to open a few stores in north america before the christmas holidays. could be flag ships, stores inside airports, they're not being real clear, but they will have to wait and see where jeffrey pops up. on wall street, the dow up 175, s&p up 26 the nasdaq up 140. i'm shepard smith.

on cnbc, it's the bottom of the hour time for the top of the news the cut dloet world of cheers landing a pennsylvania mom in handcuffs. deepfake videos and threatening calls, just some of the measures she took to eliminate her daughter's competition. italy entering its third lockdown more european countries stopping the use of astrazeneca but this time might what happened there stay there and house minority leader kevin mccarthy leading a delegation of republican lawmakers to the southern border at el paso democrats and republicans now playing the blame game on a very real record-breaking surge of migrants arriving at the border. >> this crisis is created by the presidential policies of this new administration there's no other way to claim it than a biden border crisis. >> the last administration left us a dismantled and unworkable system, and like any other problem, we are going to do everything we can to solve it.

>> no matter who caused it, the fact remains more than 100,000 migrants tried to cross the southwest border last month. that's almost triple the number of people from february of last year people are coming, and they need help the biden administration now deploying fema to step in and provide basic care, like food and shelter. the agency, acting as a stopgap, while health and human services looks for sponsors for children without parents. nbc's garrett haake has been in el paso, texas, talking to lawmakers. garrett, what are they saying? >> shep, these republicans want to shine a light on what they say is a crisis here and they want to make sure they lay the blame for it at the feet of the biden administration, arguing there were changes to the trump administration's policies of requiring refugees to remain in mexico while their asylum applications were processed and change to a pandemic-era rule that now allows unaccompanied minors to go through their

refugee process in the country instead of out of it that led us to this point. although they were short on solutions for the problems of the migrants who are already here here's some of my interview with kevin mccarthy on what he thinks the administration should do now. >> what happened was why are they all coming now, the incentives if you don't change the incentive with the new presidential policies, this is only going to get larger next month and month after. we know how to care for people here but the problem is if you don't do some action different, you're overwhelmed like we are now. >> shep, this is a seasonal problem, it is a rolling crisis. there are more migrants on the way from their homes, particularly in central america. i asked mccarthy what to do about this that is happening now, and he said tell them don't come now don't come now. >> well, garrett, the house has two reform bills, immigration reform bills in the works this week a path to citizenship for

dreamers and bill giving legal status to temporary farm workers. any chance on bipartisan support on either of these >> it's possible and these bills were chosen to be voted on this week for that reason the biden administration comprehensive administration reform package, frankly, isn't ready for primetime. i have been talking to democratic and republican lawmakers about it in my day job up on capitol hill and the reality is there are not votes for the comprehensive package yet but both democrats and republicans are hoping the measures laid out which certainly or more popular, certainly the protection for dreamers that received bipartisan support in the past, could be things that past potentially through both houses this spring and maybe create some momentum for a comprehensive plan in the months ahead, shep. >> garrett haake live in el paso, thank you. many americans appear to be putting the pandemic behind them, even as covid is surging again in parts of europe here's a look at confirmed cases

in the united states and in the european union now, roughly a month ago we were averaging about the same number of new cases every day, but since then, cases in america have continued to drop but in the eu, they've spiked so today most of italy went into another strict lockdown to try to slow the spread of more contagious variants. dr. robin bowen jr. is with us now, professor of infectious diseases at johns hopkins. doctor, why is europe spiking? >> shep, it's a perfect storm. they have got a new variant that's highly transmissible and they've taken their foot off the gas on some of the prevention strategies and so that's exactly what you would expect to happen. >> that sounds familiar. throughout the pandemic, the covid trends we see in europe, they happen three weeks or so later in the united states given that the u.s. has significantly ramped up vaccinations, more than 109

million doses so far, has the united states done enough to avoid a repeat of that and another surge here like we are seeing in europe >> well, we're certainly in a better place than we were this time last year but we're not out of the woods yet we are increasing the vaccination rate but beginning to open up, as you know, around the country, we have increasing evidence that these variants are transmitted in the united states as well. so really and can the take our foot off the gas right now this is the wrong time to do that. >> doctor, in europe and elsewhere, people have been getting the vaccine from astrazeneca. it's not applied for emergency use authorization in the united states, but today several major european nations followed other countries in suspending the use of that vaccine after people who received the shot reported getting blood clots. astrazeneca officials say there's no evidence the vaccine increases the risk of clots at all. the world health organization also saying the vaccine is safe. so here's the question, are

countries in europe doing the rightthing by halting these vaccinations >> not all of the countries are halting the vaccinations, as you know, they're not halting it in great britain and many other countries. so some of the countries are taking a look at this but i have not seen any evidence that this vaccine is the actual cause of blood clots. i can tell you what we do know is the infection itself is associated with an increased risk of blood clots. so people who get covid are high risk, but there's no evidence getting the vaccine is associated with a higher risk. >> doctor, thank you so much appreciate it. getting creative to cut out competition. videos like this showing a young girl smoking, completely fake, and allegedly doctored by a cheerleader mom who's now facing multiple charges and what's better than a vaccine? a vaccine and a free concert, of course the surprise appearance by a

worlfausd mo musician on a cnbc trip coast to coast. is my son still a dependant if he eats my food? file a simple return for free now with advice from a turbotax live expert. file a simple return for free ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

(vo) we live in a world of fees. airlines, hotels, food delivery, and especially car dealers all charge excessive, last-minute fees. when you want something badly enough, it feels like your only choice is to pay up. but what if you had a choice to take a stand instead? at carvana, we believe in treating you better. with zero hidden fees, you can drive off without feeling ripped off. that's what it means to live feelessly. a pennsylvania cheerleading mom arrested and accused of using deepfakes like we've been telling you about to go after her daughter's rival investigators say she manipulated video and photographs of them, making it look like they were doing inappropriate things to get them kicked off the squad nbc's stephanie gosk with more on this alleged sabotage >> reporter: it's a troubling new take on cyberbullying, a mom

in pennsylvania is accused this morning of using so-called deepfakes to anonymously harass members of her daughter's cheerleading team. >> i think i was so much in shock with everything going on, i couldn't really comprehend what was going on. >> reporter: madi hime said after getting several threatening calls and texts from unknown numbers, some even saying she should take her own life, her cheer coaches told madi they received this video that supposedly showed her vaping she and her mom shared it with us they said it's fake. >> if i said to someone, no one would trust me they have the video on proof, even though the video wasn't real. >> reporter: according to court documents, images from madi's social media was also doctored to make it appear like she was nude and drinking. her mother turned to police. >> i didn't know how to protect her from that. i didn't know who to protect her from there were a lot of sleepless nights. >> reporter: authorities say behind it all was raffaela

spone, whose own daughter is a teammate of hime's she's charged with three counts of cyber harassment of a child and harassment. >> my client denies what they have charged her with and we're going to aggressively fight this >> reporter: in a statement the victory vipers stated in part, our group always promoted a family environment and we're sorry for all individuals involved deepfakes that made headlines before with manipulated videos like this one, showing what appears to be tom cruise. >> the real thing. >> reporter: but they're not real they're altered through software the district attorney in pennsylvania fears this is the start of a dangerous trend. >> we have always taken for granted a photo is a photo, a video is a video we can't take that for granted any longer. >> reporter: a disturbing new tool that has this community demanding justice. for "the news," i'm stephanie gosk. a surprise concert at a

covid vaccine clinic and severe weather hits the southwest as they get ready for more on a cnbc trip "coast to coast. texas, more severe weather forecasters say several tornadoes touched down in the pan handle over the weekend, leaving behind significant damage this is the town of happy, 35 miles south of amarillo. drone video shows homes ripped apart, a truck blown off the road, and a cell phone tower toppled. nobody hurt. utah, students who are blind learning new skills in the aerospace industry it's happening thanks to a unique course offered by davis tech near salt lake city, computerized numerical control, students who are legally blind learning how to design precision machine parts. one of the two instructors behind the course say they're exceeding expectations, dreams they can now pursue thanks to a few adjustments.

massachusetts, yo-yo ma treating people to an impromptu concert at a coronavirus vaccine clinic ♪ it happened at berkshire community college in pittsfield. school officials say the world-famous cellist broke out his cello during the 15-minute observation period after he received his second dose he played ave maria and other classics, bringing comfort through music on a cnbc trip "coast to coast. a basic income experiment that gives free taxpayer money to the poor. we told you about the result u.s. of this out of stockton, california now another part of the country is giving it a shot, and this time we're there at step one as the process launches. plus, one of the biggest supporters of the idea, andrew yang, joins us live. his push to bring that soroft system to new york city as a candidate for mayor.

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so what if the government

gave you $500 every month, no strings attached would it make your life a little easier that's the question being asked in ulster county, two hours north of new york city half of the residents there were living paycheck to paycheck, even before the pandemic now they're applying for the biggest universal basic income program in the country here's cnbc's contessa brewer. >> i have a side job just to make a little extra money to pay for food it's just getting too pricey. >> reporter: single mom paulinio strander has two kids, one with special needs. she works two jobs, usually 12 hours a day, and makes $25,000 a year. >> it would mean me not having to work two jobs and be home more with my kids. they don't see me very much. >> reporter: she's justified to be part of the pilot program in ulster county, new york. families who earn less than $47,000 would receive des 500 a month for one year some 4,000 people have applied

for 100 slots. >> it's encouraging people want to participate but it is tragic that we have that many families struggling right now >> reporter: county executive pat ryan believes direct payments, no strings attached, is a more efficient way of helping those in need with wider impact. >> our whole economy is going to benefit. >> needs are flexible. what you need month to month is going to shift and most of our programs don't work that way there's no flexibility. >> reporter: university of pennsylvania researchers studied this problem in stockton, california, and a half dozen other cities and results are promising. now for the first time they will study it on a county wide level. >> we take a basic survey including metrics around psychological well being, financial strain, stress, household food insecurity and dynamics. >> reporter: the money to fund the the program kamd from donations, sidestepping for now arguments against using taxpayer money. critics also arguesing

guaranteed income incentivizes laziness evidence saw the exact opposite. >> we actually saw an increase in full-time employment. so what we learn when you give people a bit of a floor, $500 is a floor, something to jump off off, it relates just enough strain and time and sort of opportunities people are able to apply for better positions. >> pauline ostrander, the mom you met in my story, believes so strongly in the way a monthly payment can help, of her $25,000 salary, she donated to andrew yang's presidential campaign because he supports universal basic income shep >> contessa, thank you andrew yang is with us now, candidate for new york city mayor these days, former presidential candidate, of course andrew, great to see you you ran on this. it's happening here and there. between experiments like the one in upstate new york and others, plus stimulus checks, local and federal governments are spending billions of dollars and sending

them directly to americans is this a good test of your campaign platform and do you think it will catch on >> of course it will catch on, shepard, because we're living it right now tens of millions of american families have seen their incomes either reduced or in some cases completely taken away by the pandemic and now tens of millions of us are getting these $1,400 stimulus checks that are helping provide a lifeline for millions of families it makes us stronger, healthier, more secure. mentally healthier, improves our relationships. 55% of americans are now for cash relief in perpetuity and 85% are for cash relief during this pandemic. >> as a candidate for mayor in the big city, you've proposed what amounts to a billion dollar a year plan to give that money directly to the city's poor. new york city is in a world of hurt financially and you have not shared specifics on where you'd get the money. why not?

don't voters have a right to know >> of course we've been very clear about where we're going to get the money, shepard you have landlords like madison square garden enjoying massive tax breaks, msg tax breaks $40 million a year alone if you look at that money and you get it back into the city's hands, plus you invest some level of the city's resources, we can alleviate stream poverty here in new york city. the way the cityworks is if yo keep somebody in a more stable situation, you will end up saving public resources because when someone hits our streets or shelters, it's very expensive both on a human level and economic level. >> msg's is not going to foot the whole bill for that. the voters deserve a few more specifics than that, don't you think? >> sure. so if you look at the property tax exempt landlords in new york city, if they were paying in what they should be for police services, fire services, msg's just an example but if msg's $40

million a year alone, this easily gets into the hundreds of millions of dollars and new yorkers know that a lot of these institutions have been essentially getting a free ride on city services for years. >> you know, i worked in a place once where they called this free stuff, and say, handouts don't work i think a lot of people who believe in conservative economic policy would say, this is the worst thing you could do there are some of those in new york city. how do you convince them >> again, a majority of the americans now know this is the path we should be on because when this money comes into our hands, where does it go, shep? it goes to locally owned small businesses, car repairs, sometimes to getting a better job or even starting a business. this is capitalism where income doesn't smart at zero, which is going to function at a much higher level than if you have millions of americans who don't have money to spend, can't be consumers and even can't make ends meet.

>> you know, while you're here, there's been a surge in crimes and violence for that matter against asian americans in new york city, on the west coast, really across the country. what specifically can be done to put a stop to this >> it's a devastating time in the asian american community i just met with a worker who was attacked on the street for no reason other than his race here in new york city, i've proposed we need to fully fund the asian hate crimes task force. right now it's a volunteer effort we need to designate these incidents as hate crimes and bid connections with the asian american community because i hate to say this, a lot of these incidents are still not being reported many asian americans do not have that kind of relationship with law enforcement and city officials and i would like to change that. >> andrew yang, running for mayor in the big city. andrew, nice to see you. thanks for coming. appreciate it. >> let's get new york city back and cash relief is one way to do

it thank you, shepard. >> all right, thank you. when the ncaa canceled march madness last year, it was one of the first big signs, remember, life was changing and quick. well, a year later, it's back. yeah, there are lots of conditions, but, man, i can't wait to be a couch potato in every free minute and just watch the games. lots of changes. stay with us and the best part, it's powered by verizon. but it gets crazier. bring a friend every month and get every month for $5. which is why i brought them. two $5-a-months right here. hey. hey. plus the players of my squad. hey. what's up? then finally my whole livestream. boom! 12 months of $5 wireless. visible, as little as $25 a month or $5 a month when you bring a friend. powered by verizon. wireless that gets better with friends.

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and more amazing internet. xfinity. the future of awesome. the saints superstar drew

brees is calling it a career say it ain't so. the quarterback announced his retirement on instagram over the weekend with a little bit of help from the kids they said that after 15 years with the saints and 20 seasons overall, their dad is stepping back to spend a little more time with them. brees ends his career as the nfl's all-time leader in passing yards and second touchdown passes the nation not too shocked by the news, many many expected this season to be his last he won't be out of a job all together though, he's joining the family this morning he made a quick stop at the "today" show to see his number one fat in hoda kotb and discuss his gig as a football analyst with nbc sports. >> i'm part of the team now. >> yes >> a new team. so i'm -- listen, i'm excited about that journey i'm excited to stay very closely connected with the game of football. >> reporter: despite all of thinks success on the field, fans will also remember the future hall of famer for what he

did off the field. this is part of the reason new orleans loved mhim, because aftr hurricane kra trina, that man was right there. march madness is here at last buy-in games tomorrow. a year after being scrubbed due to covid, they return this week. baylor, michigan, at the usual number one seeds it will look a little different because duke and kentucky are not in it. all of the games will be played around indianapolis and teams will have to test negative seven straight days before they travel to indiana limited attendance allowed for fans but here's the thing about that travel, if they test positive, there are four teams waiting to replace them the first four teams out this year have a chance to dance on the unfortunate event that one of the teams that are in ends up with a covid case.

so we'll know what we know when we know it, like everything in covid. 50 seconds left on the race to the finish. the white house is now set to launch a campaign to raise public confidence in the covid vaccine and convince skeptics to get the shot, including conservatives and the former president's supporters. the feds consider arrested two men and charged them with assaulting a capitol police officer who died following the january 6th insurrection investigators say they sprayed officer brian sicknick and other cops in the case with a toxic chemical, possibly bear spray. the vatican announces the catholic church will not bless same sex unions. and now you know the news for and momonday, march 15, 2021

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