Preparedness to respond to the disease. On wednesday 29yearold Amber Vincent was the second nurse to die from ebola after caring for ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan of the Texas Health Presbyterian hospital in dallas. Zin sent received the diagnosis two days after boarding a plane to return from cleveland, where she was flown last friday to prepare for her wedding, including a visit to the bridal shop. She said vincent was running a slight fever and should not have boarded the plane in cleveland. But when they called before the flight to report her temperature, the the cdc did not advise her against getting on the plane. The cdc director offered a different opinion when she said given her temperature reading and her close contact with duncan, she should not have traveled on a commercial airline. Who were on the Frontier Airlines flight from cleveland to dallas. Although, frieden said there was an extremely low likelihood anyone on the the flight is exposed to ebola. So this new information is now saying we got to go back now to the flight that she took on friday the 10th, and include them in our investigation of context. Those potential contacts also now include people who visited an akron, ohio, brooi dal store where vincent was shopping with friends on saturday. On wednesday she was flown to Emery University hospital in atlanta. While nina pham, the first nurse to contract ebola was flown to a National Institute of Health Hospital in bethesda, maryland, on thursday. The hospitals are two of the four in the United States that are especially equipped to handle ebola infections. And before leaving dallas, pham recorded this video from her hospital bed. Yeah, were really proud of you you. All right. Probably now. Okay. Do you need anything . I dont think so. Theres no crying. Its not allowed. As authorities continue to try to determine exactly how the the two nurses were infected, Texas Health Officials have ordered any person who doctored thomas duncans room not to use any Public Transportation at any time within the 21day window during which the developing ebola infection is possible. This is the latest effort to contain the possibility of the virus spreading at the the texas hospital where, as one hospital official admitted during a congressional hearing this week, not all of duncans care had been properly handled. In ou initial treatment of mr. Duncan, despite our best intentions and a highly skilled medical team, we made mistakes. We did not correctly diagnose his symptoms as those of ebola, and we are deeply sorry. And earlier this week dr. Frieden acknowledged those lapsed in judgment included decisions that had been made by the cdc. I have thought often about it. I wish we put a team like this the day the first patient was diagnosed. That might have prevented this infection. But we will do that from today onward with any case anywhere in the u. S. The admission of mistakes made in the federal response to ebolas arrival in the United States, comes as president obama seeks to chart a course on the u. S. response to the spread of the virus from this point on. Yesterday the president named former Vice President ial chief of staff ron klain as ebola czar. A position to put them in the front to address americans. But made on thursday, an executive order allowing the deployment of the National Guard to west africa to fight the spread of a disease that is a reminder of the warning issued by cdc director frieden at thursdays hearing on capitol hill. One of the things i feared about ebola is that it could spread more widely in africa. If this were to happen, it could become a threat to our Health System and the health care we give for a long time to come. It is a reminder that the ebola virus does not respect national boundaries. And the timeline of this epidemic did not begin with the rival in the United States. It was in march when the cdc first reported 86 boel lebola infections and 59 deaths in guinea w additional reports in liberia and sierra leone. It was in march. Seven months later. The number of the dead has exploded. From the first 59 to now more than 4,900. Since the first to today, those infections have surpassed 9,000 infections. It is a reminder when you see your neighbors house on fire, you dont substantiate there watching it burn, you run and grab the nearest hose and do whatever you can to help put that fire out. For more on what the white house is doing to put that fire out now, Kristen Welker joins me from washington. The New York Times is reporting that the frus president is frustrated and angry about how the government has handled the smons to ebola. That is consistent with my reporting. President obama was anger bid the governments response. Particularly in the meeting he had with taupe officials on wednesday. He expressed anger at the mik mistakes and missteps that have been taken. That was part of the reason he felt it was necessary to appoint this ebola czar. But he was getting pressure to do that from a lot of different angles. One, there has been widespread public fear. To some extent not totally justified. Of course, we know that ebola is actually difficult to catch. But there is a sense from the administration that they needed a point person who could help to quell the feel that was really spreading throughout the country, and then he was getting a lot of political pressure as well, melissa. Democrats. Democratic sources telling me that they were concerned that the criticism that the administration was getting for its handling of this ebola situation would make it more difficult for them to hold on. As you know, as we have been reporting for weeks and months, the democrats are in a tough fight to hold onto the senate, and the midterms are just around the corner. The president felt it was necessary to have a point person on this, and that point person, ron klain, someone no stranger to how the government and congress works. Thats why president obama felt he was the right person. I want to ask you a little bit more. Youre saying hes no strangeer how how government works. Its also clear part of what this ebola czar will need to do is quell the the sense of fear and anxiety. Is there something specific about his expertise or experience that we think will make him good at that task. Youre right to point that out, melissa. Republicans have been critical of the pick. Mr. Klain doesnt have a background in health care, so why is he the right person. The pushback from the white house is president obama wasnt looking for an expert in ebola, necessary, but rather an implementation expert. This is someone who has a background in law and business. He served as chief of staff to Vice President biden, former Vice President al gore. He had strong relationships with congress. His charge from the president is to make sure all of these different agencies get on the same page. You have congress, the white house, and Health Officials talking to each other to get the correct information out to the public. Nbcs Kristen Welker at the white house. Thank you this morning. Now i want to bring in my panel in new york, joy reid, host of msnbcs the reed report. The Infectious Disease specialist, deputy physician and chief at the memorial sloen Caring Cancer center and contributor to this the daily beast. And frankie, a journalist and director at new york universitys journalism school. Thank you all for being here. Thank you. What do you think of this. So hi hear Kristen Welker is telling us, well, this is about implementation. This is about politics. But is that the right person for our ebola czar . I think any person is fine. I dont think we need this for the Public Health response. This is staged politics and picking a politico to do it rather than another doctor that talks like a doctor and sounds like a doctor and uses terminology and approaches to the problem is probably a bad idea. I think its okay by me. Im disappointed this is becoming not a Public Health issue but an optics of how are we going to look issue . And you know, whats it going to mean to the senate races . But i guess, on that, i fly every week. I commute up here. Right. I commute here. And i keep saying, we have these backup plans not because i think im at risk of getting ebola. I worry public panic could set in motion a set of things to close airports or freak people out or keep me from being on a plane to get home to my family. So part of what im wondering is what makes us feel better . Hearing from a doctor who sounds like a doctor . Or hearing from a political person who we know is optical . I get the sense that hes there more not to calm the public, but to calm congress. Congress the politicians. Hes a good manager who is known to everyone on the hill. Hell make the hill feel better. Hell say all the trains are running on time. I think thats what he is there for. That suggests the person communicating with the public will sty wind up being a dr. Anthony fouchy, that youre still going to have the doctors, or the president decided hes going to be the calming voice. You wouldnt send ron klain to do that. Thats not what hes expert at. And the plain fact is there is a fupgs in the government built in and it has been for a few decades, whose job it is to educate the public. Its called the surgeon general. Interesting we dont seem to have one. I wished i lived in world where we had one. Hold for me a second. Were going to take a break. But when we come back, i want to ask you, because what has happened as part of the panic in congress, is this question of whether or not we ought to shut off the flights, close the borders, keep the people out . Lets have a travel ban. Lock those people out. I want to talk to you about that as soon as we come back. My grandsons got this blankie that gets filthy. But hes got such sensitive skin that you worry about what you use in the laundry. So i use new tide pods free gentle, to get a deep clean thats gentle on skin. New tide pods free gentle. For over 19 million people. [ mom ] with life insurance, were not just insuring our lives. Were helping protect his. [ female announcer ] everyone has a moment when tomorrow becomes real. Transamerica. Transform tomorrow. Transamerica. Synchrony Financial Partners with over two hundred thousand businesses, from fashion retailers to healthcare providers, from jewelers to Sporting Good stores, to help their customers get what they want and need. Banking. Loyalty. Analytics. Synchrony financial. Engage with us. For over 60,000 extra curricular activities help provide a sense of identity and a path to success. Joining the soccer team. Getting help with math. Going to prom. I want to learn to swim. Its hard to feel normal, when you cant do the normal things. To help, sleep train is collecting donations for the extra activities that, for most kids, are a normal part of growing up. Not everyone can be a foster parent. But anyone can help a foster child. If we try to eliminate travel, the possibility that some will travel over land, will come from other places, we wont be able to check them for fever when they leave. We wont be able to check them for fever when they arrive. We wont be able to take a detailed history to see if theyre exposed. We wouldnt be able to impose quarantine, as we now can, if they have highrisk contact. That was cdc director tom frieden on the house hearing on ebola on friday. He should always have a francy drum beat behind him in part. Im wondering about the whole issue of a travel ban, which has emerged as the discourse of panic about how to address ebola in the u. S. Its unfortunate, but it really does not do anything. It might make you feel better to say lets keep the west africans out. What do you do about stopping ebola at its source . And what happens to American Workers there already . What happens to International Workers . The Economic Community of West African States have opened travel. So you can go to nigeria. You can go anywhere you want without a visa. What if you do a travel ban to those three countries and people go to mali and get on a plane to come here . Its an absolute nightmare to do a travel plan. And Thomas Eric Duncan came from belgium. There are no direct flights from sierra leone, guinea, and the infected west african countries into the United States. None. Zero. People are flying in from nigeria or europe. So if you had a travel plan on all three of those countries, Thomas Eric Duncan would still be here. There are eight confirmed cases of ebola. One was Thomas Eric Duncan. Four were americans who came back into the country infected. You cant chemothem out. And some we brought. Three missionaries and a camera man. They were taken immediately to a fillsy who knows how to deal with ebola and were treated there. Thomas eric duncan was the one case weve seen primarily treated in a hospital had no experience treating a peasht with ebola. I want to push on that question of the experience in treating ebola. I hear we need to go to west africa. But when we go, we. In the persons that are our soldiers and National Guards because of the president s new governing this week, are we prepared to manage that crisis there . A new reporting saying maybe four hours of training on ebola protection. I think its not that hard to be trained. Uhhuh. I think four hours aint going to cut it. Were talking about something that no one sees that you have to avoid. But you say its not that hard to be trained. The first language we heard of nina pham, well, it is really hard to take the suit off and maybe she failed in the cdc protocol on that. Sure, but lets shift to the Nuclear Power history. They have incredible protocols. They know how to doff. They take stuff off. Theyve trained thousands of people how to do this. Its not difficult. Its very methodical. Its not the way we do anything else. You cant touch this until you touch that. Its just a matter of doing it, 50, 100 times. Its not a challenge challenge. You have to do it, and do it, and do it. I dont think you could learn it in four hours myself. And they were treating him for days before he was diagnosed. Without any. And thats right. Theres a texas nurse risking her own career to speak out for others risking their lives. What her story tells us about americas response to the ebola crisis is next. 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Because we have seen that ebola has ravaged west africa, the people on the front lines fighting the virus are also among the most vulnerable to infection. That continues to be true in the United States as two nurses became the first to be infected when the virus crossed the u. S. Borders. Now many u. S. Nurses say as they worked to protect patients from ebola, theres been a failure to protect them. This week on the today show, matt lauer spoke with brianna, a nurse at the dallas hospital where the two nurses two treated Thomas Eric Duncan were infected. Heres what she had to say about the precautions and protocol after duncan arrived. I flat out asked several Infectious Disease nurses. Why would i be wearing two pairs of gloves, three pairs of booties, a plastic suit covering my entire body and then leave my neck hanging out this much so that it could something can potentially go close to my mouth or nose. When i started expressing the concern, the Infectious Disease nurse at that time said we know, we know thats an issue. And our stance on that is taking tape and taking at that time four or five pieces of oneinch tape, and we are closing that gap in the suit. And some of the same concerns about the safety of caregivers in the u. S. Are being echoed by nurses in hospitals across the country. Katie is on the board of directors for the California Nurses Association and the National Nurses organizing committee. So do you think there is something insufficient about the cdc protocols . Absolutely. I absolutely believe that. All you have to do is look at what the cdc people are wearing when they are transporting these patients and what theyre saying in protocols. Its different. So we see the protocols or guidelines. And then you look at the cdc workers who may be transporting patients and the people transporting waste in full hazmat gear with respiratory measures in place. The nurses are not given the same equipment, when we are most at risk in terms of treating these patients. The people that get ebola, the nurse in spain, the two nurses here in the United States, theyre the Front Line Health Care workers, and theyre nurses. We want the very highest standards and protocols in place before a patient walks into the hospital and the training to put the equipment on and off. I heard a contributor say we need to be able to do it 50 to 100 times. We need that training. Prigt now thats not what were getting. Talk to me about why nurses in particular. I think obviously all of us who are primarily patients in the Health Care System know the interaction with nurses is different than doctors or surgeons. But im wondering what is it about nurses that make them uniquely vulnerable and if you could talk to me about custodial staff, orderly, maybe not contacting the patient, but contacting the fluids or gear are also expressing concerns. Yes. Nurses spend the time with the patients. So while a doctor will come in and do a diagnosis, the people who spend the most time with the patients who are monitoring the patients, providing the care, assessing how the patients are responding to care and who would mobilize the the team, should it need to be mobilized are registered nurses in the United States. So we spend the most time with the patients and as a result have the most risk of contracting any kind of Communicable Disease that our parent might have. It just so happens ebola is a particularly deadly one. And so it is different from other things. We require different kinds of protections in order to stay safe. Are other people expressing concerns . They absolutely are expressing concern. Depending on where you work. If you work at nebraska, who has treated several of these parnlts, they are really limiting the number of people who will access care. If you look at dallas, they failed to do that because they didnt have plans in place to be able to deal with the patients. So many of the 70 people accessed the room where mr. Duncan was being treated and therefore got exposed. If you plan ahead of time and you know, put those plans in place and train to those plans, you can avoid some of those things. I just want to say we are really reaping. Rewards. We have defunded the public Health System in the United States. And this is what happens. The cdc has lost more than a billion dollars in funding since 2010. We have not funded the health care infrastructure. And this is what happens. Now were not putting forth the resources ahead of time. The nurses have been talking about this for months and asking for very specific things to be put in police. And we havent gotten it yet. We need to listen to the registered nurses in the United States of america who are saying whats happening. Bruin na is a National Hero in this country for speaking out and saying whats happening so we can then respond and put in place what we need to put in place. Katie, thank you for drawing the narrow picture and the very big picture about what we are addressing here. Up next, how ebola may kill many who are never even infected. So i can reach ally bank 24 7, but there are no branches . 24 7 its just im a little reluctant to try new things. Whats wrong with trying new things . Feel that in your muscles . Yeah. I do. Try a new way to bank, where no branches equals great rates. For over 60,000 extra curricular activities help provide a sense of identity and a path to success. Joining the soccer team. Getting help with math. Going to prom. I want to learn to swim. Its hard to feel normal, when you cant do the normal things. To help, sleep train is collecting donations for the extra activities that, for most kids, are a normal part of growing up. Not everyone can be a foster parent. 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The hardest hit countries, farmers who have abandoned their land, skyrocketing food prices and increasing scarcity of food could mean an unprecedented modern fam inand hundreds of thousands more lives lost. Is this potentially the greatest sort of danger of the ebola crisis . Yes. Absolutely. That and, you know, hospitals not being able to do anything else. People are hungry in this country. They can get goods from one place to the other. People are not farming. And if you are, there are so many roadblocks. So you cant get your crops to places so theres a lot of hoarding going on. What has been good to hear is the president of ghana went to nigeria and got a big plane and got lots of food supplies. So there is movement on the ground. We have to get food to these places. Its all ebola all the time. Ff people cannot eat, were going to see a huge catastrophe on our hands. Definitely starvation zone is coming up pretty quickly. So starvation zone, and the other piece of what you said is other illnesses other than ebola not being treated. Does this mean everything from ordinary Health Crises from flu, malaria, hiv. Pregnant women as well. Very disturbing stories of women afraid to go to the hospital to give birth because you know what happens there. And so people are having their babies at home. We saw this in the u. S. During anthrax. When everybody and their dog were showing up in the emergency room thinking think had anthrax and people with real emergencies were shoved to the side. The u. S. Health care system was overwhelmed. In the infected countries you have very sick contagious people in the hospitals and well people with real problems are scared to go there. So theres already Collateral Damage thats substantial. And the fam inwill be the the next wave. Enit feels also like, part is the whole complicated nature of this. Civil war and economic underdevelopment and sis trust and a vulnerable Health System could contribute to the crisis and the the crisis contributes to the further problems. But the only thing we respond to is the urgency of the crisis. Can we also maintain a longer term structural relationship to these other issues . Ale theres all of that. You have the countries nearby who want to seal off the borders between their country and these three west african countries. It doesnt just affect patients in nigeria or the democratic republican of congo where they have isolated and put down the epidemic. You also have economic ties. You have femeral as soccer matches being canceled. And the economic boost. But really when i hear the numbers, melissa that you cited, what is really outrageous is you think ebola has existed and weve known about it since 1976. The most people have died was 298. That was 88 of the people who got it. By the time more than 30 different discreet outbreaks happened in those 40 years, you had fewer than 298 people. It got lore lower and lower to the point of 50 survival rate. How we got to where 10,000 people were infected and 900,000 some odd people have died is the answer because how in the world was where in the world . Is the answer because africa . Or is that the wrong way to think about it . I think thats part of it. Business people in the United States think about these countries as where to go and get started from. Thats about it. Even the Political Leadership doesnt keep about it. Lets get tires from firestone. Thats about it. What really needed to happen is to say we have a country thats an American Partner that has an outbreak that we saw years ago that was problematic. That did not happen. And france, which i, you know, believe shares a huge part of the blame in this because guinea is the colonial territory, france should have been the leader in saying we have a country problematic. Everybody come and help us. Now we have a country saying where are you, france . Go to guinea and stop the epidemic. Were already in liberia. The u. K. Is in sierra leone. Are you sticking around for us . Joy is sticking around. Thank you, doctor ken, and frankie. Up next, a letter from the family of Thomas Eric Duncan and a scathing message for americans Health Care System. You know how fast you were going . About 55. Where you headed at such an appropriate speed . Across the country to enhance the nations most reliable 4g lte network. Hows it working for ya . Better than ever. Howd you do it . Added cell sites. Increased capacity. And your point is. So you can download music, games, and directions for the road when you need them. Whos this guy . Oh thats charlie. 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Experts have said on this program and elsewhere we should not be worried about an ebola outbreak. They believe unlike liberia, we have a functioning medical system. A wealthy developed nation, and thats true. But as Thomas Eric Duncan nephew is right, his story should remind us that america does not have one Health Care System, it has many. Pane whether you get the world class medical care or any care at all depends on how much money you make, whether you have Health Insurance, whether you are a United States citizen, which state you live in, and your race. Because even when you control for Health Insurance status, africanamericans and latinos receive a lower quality of care than do white americans. And while having Health Insurance is still essential to getting medical care too Many Americans dont have it. And people without insurance are more likely to be report being in poor health. A 2009 harvard study estimateded 45,000 deaths every year because they dont have Health Insurance. And africanamerican and latinos are more likely to be uninsured than white americans. And its not by some accident of history. In 1996 as part of welfare reform, congress made it harder for Illegal Immigrants to get medical care. Now legal immigrants, the ones who followed all the rules are not eligible for medicaid or chip until theyve been in the country for at least five years. And remember this moment in september of 2009 . Thats congressman joe wilson screaming you lie at president obama during an address to congress about health care reform. The president was there to debunk myths about his health care row poe sal. Do you remember what made congressman wilson shout at the president of the United States in an unprecedented break in congressional decorum . There are also those wlo clawho claim Reform Efforts would insure Illegal Immigrants. This too is false. The reforms the reforms i am proposing would not apply to those here illegally. You lie president obama had to go bere congress and promise not to give Health Insurance to 11 million people, and he kept that promise. Dreamers, immigrants brought here as children who have been granted quazi legal status cannot benefit from the Affordable Care act. We have two standards of care in the country. One for the well off and insured and one for everybody else. Thomas eric duncan was one of the everyone else who is a victim of a broken system. And when it comes to contagious disease, if some of us are vulnerable, then all of us are vulnerable. I love this candy crush game. Its so simple. Its just like my Car Insurance. I saved 15 in fifteen minutes. Dont live in shirlees world, live in the modern world. Where you could save money on Car Insurance in half the time. Esurance, backed by allstate. Click or call. receptionist Gunderman Group is growing. Getting in a groove. Growth is gratifying. Goal is to grow. Gotta get greater growth. I just talked to ups. 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A republican and chair of the House Oversight committee, speaking during a hearing on thursday on the administrations ebola response. According to a tally by the hill newspaper, hes one of at least 60 lawmakers who wants to ban all travel to the United States from the western african countries at the center of the ebola outbreak. Now some immigrants are reporting they are feeling stigmatized as people assume they have the deadly disease and keep their distance. Nearly 574,000 immigrants living in the u. S. Today were born in west africa. There are more than 71,000 west african immigrants in new york city alone. As i touched on previously, immigrants of any region. Back at the table is msnbc, roast of the reid report, joy reid, and cecil ya fisher. Associate commissioner and director for the center of Health Equity at the new York City Department of health and mental hygiene. And i understand that you have been in the west african communities in new york having conversations about this topic. Absolutely, a big part of what could perpetuate ebola in the country if it comes to new york city especially is fear and miscommunication. Misinformation. Our job and role is making sure everybody has access to accurate information. So we thought it was important that we took a step forward and reached out to all of our west african communities across new york city. Weve made hundreds of phone calls and emails and really got feedback from a sense of what is really happening . What are your concerns . How can we help you and they helped us guide making the materials we have done and put out in public, whatever they are. Its important that we have their voices and we understand what is there. And the feedback that were getting is discrimination is mounting. We hear taxi drivers saying theyre not able to pick up folks. People are not going into their cars, which means that has an Economic Impact as well. Now theyre saying they cannot send this money back to their family. So theres a trickle effect. This is a human tragedy. It doesnt have biases. Ot the one hand, ebola itsz as a virus does not have biases. But this is the cd that Infectious Disease helps us remind us the biases already preexisting in our system make us all vulnerable. We cant close off participation of people in a global economy. People are going to go back and forth. Theyre going to visit their families. West africa is a part of the community h here in the u. S. And yet if we have an unfair Health System, it does make us vulnerable. Not so much ebola, but all the crises. Absolutely. And when peoples mortality is threatened or they feel it is threatened. They tend to run back to their communities and use the other Cultural Community as a scapegoat and to say we will control this. Recreational bias. Exactly. And medical schools do not train Health Care Professionals how to really deal with the discrimination, poverty, and other kinds of vulnerabilities that patients bring. And so you have this kind of bias that runs through the medical profession that they may not be aware of. And we certainly know that kind of privilege reduces health care in this country. And ive got all the experts who sit here and told me early on, dont worry, melissa. The reason its taking route in west africa is people dont trust the Health Care System. Because it doesnt serve. I was like, hello but go to the delta in mississippi. People dont trust the health care because it doesnt serve them. And to that point, we have a long standing history of mistrust in the country towards the government, especially towards communities of colors because theres a long standing history well documented, plenty of evidence. That document the history of exemployeeation of communities of color in this country. And so it is a real fear and a real mistrust of what can happen when you enter the system. And thats where especially in this situation where protocols has become very important. Policies has become very important to ensure there is equal treatment of people. Now granted, we know there are people. So how they utilize the policies and the training is one thing. But the best we can do is making sure that folks are trained. And can we talk about the politics earlier, we can just not get away from the opt iics and racial Politics Associated with the fakts that the only people, the only person to have died of ebola is a west african black man and the two nurses are both women of color. Yeah. Theres an optic to that that could undoubtedly have impact. And also the urban legends going around essentially blaming Thomas Eric Duncan for lying his way into the country, to bringing this passage, as if the body of a west african is a weapon hes using against us. He did trust the system. He was sent home with a 103 fever. Thats not supposed to happen for the flu or ebola. Thats not supposed to happen. He was uninsured. That played into it. Was he treated in and out because he wasnt insured . Has tylenol and go home . That plays a part. More than being an african plays a part in it. But i keep going back and forth. A part of me is like, you dont treat people when you have a crisis and someone presenting. On the other hand, i dont want to quarantine every west african immigrant who appears in the hospital with a flu. And thats the problem and the ethical challenge of Public Health. Public health is there to protect the community, not to protect individuals. And they have a challenge about whether or not quarantining, which takes away the liberty of individuals should be balanced by protecting a larger population. Another thing is, in terms of the ban on air travel. Theres a naive assumption that the germ itself causes the epidemic. Germs cause disease, poverty and lack of resources causes epidemics. And one of the problems is a ban is going to akree just the factors to make an epidemic come a pandemic. Thank you. Joy is going to be back in the next hour. Dr. To dr. Cecilia fisher. And i want to update you an story we have covered extensively, the grand jury investigation into the august 9th Police Shooting of Michael Brown in ferguson, missouri. So according to the New York Times, Darren Wilson, the officer who shot and killed brown has told investigators the 18yearold reached for wilsons gun in a struggle in the plils car. He says he was pinned to his vehicle and in fear for his life. But his account does not explain why after he emerged from the vehicle he fired multiple times at brown, who was unarmed. And wilsons m testimony contradicts several witnesses who say brown appeared to be surrendering with his hands up as he was hit with a fatal gunshots. We will, of course, continue to follow this story as the investigation continues. Coming up next, Tech Companies covering the cost of employees who want to delay their ferti fertili fertility. What it says about work and family and corporate fortunes and the woman who says her past is living with the bones of men who underestimated her. Man, i wish i would have been the one who said that. More nerd land at the top of the hour. Are the largest targets in the world, for every hacker, crook and nuisance in the world. But systems policed by hps Cyber Security team are constantly monitored for threats. Outside and in. Thats why hp reports and helps neutralize more intrusions than anyone. In the world. If Hp Security Solutions can help keep the Worlds Largest organizations safe, they can keep yours safe, too. Make it matter. Ghave a nice flight r bag right here. Traveling can feel like one big mystery. Youre never quite sure what is coming your way. But when youve got an entire company who knows that the most ontime flights are nothing if we cant get your things there too. Its no wonder more People Choose delta than any other airline. Hi michael looking good trying to keep up with you i told my producer karen that i take metamucil because it helps me feel fuller between meals. Its just one small change that can help lead to good things. Now shes breaking up with the vending machine. Nope. I call that the meta effect. [ female announcer ] 4in1 multihealth metamucil now clinically proven to help you feel less hungry between meals. And promotes heart health. Experience the meta effect with our new multihealth wellness line and see how one small change can lead to good things. Welcome back. Im melissa harrisperry. This week apple ceo tim cook was the man of the moment. The new ipad air two and ipad mini 3. The new versions are slimmed down versions of their predecessors. The air two is thinner than a pencil. And both the air 2 and mini 3 come with id Fingerprint Technology and available in a new color, gold. This just weeks after the successful introduction of the iphone 6. The slim new gadgets were not the biggest story out of the tech world this week. The slim new toys, instead, its apples announcement that it would follow facebooks lead and provide Health Insurance coverage up to 20,000 for employees to retrieve and store eggs for the purpose of future fertility treatments. Apple released this statement about the new policy. We want to empower women at apple to do the best work of their lives as they care for their loved ones who raise their families. So, is this good news . How any of us react to the fact that apple and facebook are extending coverage for Reproductive Technology likely says more about us than it does about the policy itself. Some of you who follow the show closely remember that i disappeared suddenly back in february when my daughter was born. I say the departure was sudden because well, i was never pregnant. So it is reasonable some were surprised when i went out on maternity leave. As i i shared back then, my husband and i were able to become parents of our own biological child because we worked with a surrogate who carried our embryo. Using my then 40yearold eggs. I can tell you fa few things i know for sure. Egg retrieval is neither easy nor painless. And when it comes to assisted reproduction technologies there are no promises and no sure things, but you know what, after nearly 13 years of being a mom and eight months after starting the journey over again, i can assure you there are no certainties for anyone when it comes to making and rearing a family. Reproductive technology is very expensive. And typically available only to the most wealthy. But if we truly believe in reproductive justice, its important to access Birth Control so women can choose when they dont want to have children and maybe we should also expand access to reproductive technologies so women have options to explore when they decide that the time is right to have a family. This policy may be a step in that direction, or i could be totally, utterly wrong, and maybe the industry is telling women you cant have it all. You better not try in your 20s. T the best, most productive years of your working life, give them to us and good luck figuring out work Work Life Balance in your 40s . Is it one small step for justice or another pregnant pause in the continuing struggle . Joining me now, host of msnbcs the reid report, joy reid. And also columnist and ceo of malcolm productions Carmen Rita Wong and she has her eggs frozen a couple of years back and wrote bt a it for essence. Tell me about that. Okay. Well, i was 35. I had always said if i reached 35, didnt have a partner, that i was going to freeze my eggs. I had been saying this since my late 20s. And you know, it was a decision that i made, that i knew it was going to be right for me because i want to have my own biological children. I also hope to adopt. But the reality is the health and the viability of your eggs declines rapidly at 35. And me being the type a personality, i said i would reach 35 and do it, and so i did. You said that. And you framed it initially saying because if i make it to to 35 and didnt have a partner, or the partner you want to have children with, and i keep thinking the language is all about our jobs, but in fact when you look at the evidence, the vast majority of women delaying are delaying because of partnership. I have the slr plan that you did. I had a plan when i was 30 to set aside money, being the final person that i am. I was already planning to have to basically have either an Adoption Fund or sperm donor and knowing that i may be a single parent, having to sock away extra money and all this sort of thing and actually have a sister putting money into an Adoption Fund as well. It really was about for me the same thing. Nobody wants to go it alone. Now i find myself a divorced single parent, and i can assure you, doi dont wish this on my worst enemy. This is the point. I was a single mom for many years. After being married, having my own bio kid in the easiest way possible in your 20s. The other criticism ive been hearing all week, joy, is this is giving women false hope. All of its false. You can do it all right and still end up you cant control it. Its funny. I think this is a type a panel. I had a plan, too. And you personally did. I did i did it on purpose. I had a mother that died young. I said im not going to have any kids in my 30s. Whatever kids i have by 30, thats it. If i dont have any, im not going to have any. I decided thats it. And unfortunately i kept going and going and going. I got three. But the thing is, as long as its a choice, im fine with it. I also know friends who felt tremendous pressure going out of law school, getting a job and feeling the subtle sense of youre not going to have a kid, are you . And feeling the pressure that the job you want so badly doesnt want you if you want a children in the next 10, 15 years because they want your most productive years. As long as its a choice im fine with it. When i first got my show on cnbc, a partner network, a producer said youre not pregnant, are you . Like, within the first month. And theyre not there anymore. But that pressure exists. I think we also put it on ourselves. But the reality of the maternity penalty is real. Meaning its going to cost you more throughout your life, and youre going to be less financially secure if you get pregnant and have a child before the age of 30 or 35. So the longer yo go, and if you can go until 35, that maternity penalty could disappear because of the finances and the experience to be table to snap back more quickly. So this is part of what has been distressing to me in the reporting, its been reported as sort of, oh, apple and facebook will pay for you to freeze your eggs, but when we look at the other perks, facebook is providing for fertility treatments, adoption fees. They have a 4,000 baby cash for male and female employees. Four months of paid maternity leave, amen. They subsidized day care. They have Company Nursing rooms. Apple fertility treatment adoption fees extended maternity leave. This is in part about assisted reproductive technologies. But doesnt that feel i mean, its the whole piece of it. I have a problem with the word perk. I think i know how we can sensationalize things. But its not a perk. Its a benefit. Quite frankly, we want companies. We want, you know, corporations to provide benefits for their employees. Its a benefit. And its something we choose and elect to do it or we dont. And is this the other part of Reproductive Technology . And we do talk about the language as a pro choice. Its only relevant within having the resources to do so. And the fact is that for most people reproductive technologies are so overwhelmingly expensive that there is no choice. Exactly. And these are lets be real. Theyre higher paying jobs. This is an industry that needs to do something to correct the image of not pronoting women success. Only 10 to 20 of the tech jobs are women. Half are in administrative jobs and et cetera. You think of women outside of this realm of the relatively high paying jobs. That kind of benefit just isnt available. And thats why i call it a perk. And the timing. But ill tell you why. What i have always covered are folks who dont have access to benefits and who more and more so, that is the trend, to not have access to benefits and health care. So when something is beyond Health Insurance, that seems like a big deal. They also have day care and massage. So where is the line . Its not that im being negative about that its there, but it is not the norm. Its not what most employers go for. I want to talk more about how we make the decisions, what constitutes choice and whether we could imagine this going to basic coverage, for example, when we come back. Everyone in aa almost every day, you notice a few things. Like the fact that youre pretty attached to these. Ok, really attached. And thats alright. Because well text you when your package is on the way. Were even expanding sunday package delivery. Yes, sunday. At the u. S. Postal service, our priority is. Was. And always will be. You. Our priority is. Was. You know how fast you were going . About 55. Where you headed at such an appropriate speed . Across the country to enhance the nations most reliable 4g lte network. Hows it working for ya . Better than ever. Howd you do it . Added cell sites. Increased capacity. And your point is. So you can download music, games, and directions for the road when you need them. Whos this guy . Oh thats charlie. You ever put pepper spray on your burrito . I like it spicy but not like uggggh spicy. He always like this . You have no idea. At t. The nations most reliable 4g lte network. So ally bank really has no hidden fethats right. Accounts . Its just that im worried about you know hidden things. Ok, whys that . No hidden fees, from the bank where no branches equals great rates. Oats go wow go power oats go go power yayyyy they all lost their lives because of preventable medical errors, now the third leading cause of death. Only Heart Disease and cancer take more lives. Proposition 46 will save lives with drug and Alcohol Testing to make sure impaired doctors dont treat someone you love. Safeguards against Prescription Drug abuse. And holds the medical industry accountable for mistakes. Im barbara boxer. Lets save lives. Vote yes on 46. However panel is discussing the decision by apple and facebook to cover up to 20,000 worth of costs for employees or spouses and partners to freeze their eggs. Its part of a push to increase the number of women in the hightech industry. Some say by giving them the option of concentrating on their career, putting their biological clock on hold. Its important to remember there are no guarantees in the science of delayed fertility. Joining the panel now is msnbc National Reporter erin carmon. This is the other side of the reproductive story. If were going to talk about it, the other thing is access to assisted reproductive technologies. Im wondering in part, specifically of women in color because if we know if you enter into the the egg market. Theres an egg market out there. Its true. Its very hard to find biological material of people of color. Theyre much less likely to be in the market. So theres a lot of reason for have people of color to preserve their own genetics. I think inside adoption and fertility markets there are a lot of ugly realities that reflect our overall structure. Thats true across the board and with the ability to adopt and with the ability to access these kinds of services. But anything that makes it a little bit less pressured, a little less stressed. I mean, i think for women of color in particular, but women in general theres so much pressure to be perfect and to do everything right. The conversation that weve been having has been all about if i can just get the timing right, everything will be okay. And thats not true. I remember the first conversation that i had with my friends, women aof cross cultures about fertility. We were 18 and in college. What if i cant get pregnant when im 40. I think taking the pressure off a little bit to say you have to do everything right at the right time, i think it would really go a long way. And as important as the conversation we had this week, and as important as it is to have frank conversations about fertility, Everybody Needs to chill out just a little bit. And the reality is having children in your 20s, i dont think its true for everyone, but it does delay your career. It definitely tlaed mine. It has implications and its expensive. Not just having the child and paying for the hospitalization. God forbid you dont have insurance for a medical bill. But day care. I became a freelance per because i had a third child. It didnt make sense to fork up that much many unfor day care. Tough make different decisions about how you work. Whether or not you try to change your career. Thats the biggest cost. Thats what i write about. I love supporting women and supporting potential people. Yes. I want more support for actual people. The Little People we bring forth. I work for myself in going back to tv going full time because i ended up a single parent and my child needed me. I had to be with her. I p made that choice. It was that tough choice. Thankfully i could because i delayed having her until i was 36. But child care is absolutely not a perk. That is essential. We talk so much about fertility issue and creating children. And especially talking about certain politics, about preserving life and nobody wants to take care of the lives that come out. Where is the structure there for that . But i think theres one critical piece that were missing. And talking to a lot of men tees about is the same we we invest and plan our careers, we have to invest in developing relationships that will yield the families that we want. We talk about relationships materializing. Children materializing. Nothing materializes. It takes investment. The same way that youre planning out your career, you need to invest in dating if you want a partner. You need to figure out those things as well. I also say, and this maybe goes to your chill out point. There are aspects of it simply not in our control. So i had the first baby at 28. I got pregnant in like a week because heck, i was 28. And i was in a point of my career, pretenure. And as much as it worked out, that marriage dissolved. So i had what i thought was a partner, then i had a baby at 40 and i had to jack up and ursula. You named your ovaries they had to do all this work to produce eggs in their 40s. They were tired as a result. Its been ezier in some ways. I have a partner in some ways willing to sacrifice the work of his own career. So part of it is partnership and love. But part of it is like my husband is like, all right if one of us have to take the baby to the meeting, ill take the baby. Youre on live tv. That is critical. And where do you find the right person . I didnt invest in that. I happen to find the right person. Not only that, but who would tolerate me having to be the batty freelanceer. I cant afford this day care. Im going to stay home. And you have to have the flexibility. So the partnership is important. If you dont have a partner, you also need community. Right. Or the policies that allow that to be possible. I think the irony of the Tech Companies that weve been talking about is when i talk to my friends that work for big Tech Companies, they say this is a great place for women to work. On one hand you have the paradox they want them to stay on campus forever, and theres pressure of always being in touch. But on the other hand they have so much freaking money, and they have so many benefits. And they help you get yourer rands done while youre there. The trade off is a lot of employers might need to, because they need to keep women there, and they need to keep people there, that they might be good places to help out. I would back up in the final cloud further and say all of those choices that i made, from having the baby at 28 and so on were all related to my income and my Health Insurance. And that was all the related to the facts there were affirmative action policies that provided me with the capacity go to college an not come out with an enormous amount of debt. If i had still been paying 200,000 worth of Student Loans and i wasnt because there were aggressive efforts to take working class students of color and provide them at one times. And like all of those things are interacting. We can see that freezing egg policy as part of it. But in fact, all the way back to head start and to college access. That is all part of the freedom of choice question. And were saying we want a society where women have mobility. It has to this go back to support for that womans mom and then support for day care so she can be educated and for her to get a head start. For her to have access to college. College is incredibly expensive. Which is why we dont have universal College Matriculation in this country. Not as high as other countries. I dont know how we have enough women qualified. Are the little eggs still frozen . I just froze the eggs literally a year ago. Im paying storage on them. So my parents say that my grand kids are collecting rent. Which is fine. Im renting the surrogate. I have ten eggs on ice. They retrieved 12. I did one cycle. Im an sbrerp entrepreneur. But again, i made a decision that i wanted to do this. And it was a choice that i made. So when you think about apple and facebook, one of the things that is great if you are not the 22yearold going to work at apple, but youre the 34yearold who says i have been here working at apple l. This is a benefit i want to take vak of. If you ever file the little ties, let us know. Well get them a very fashionable nerd land onesie. I love it. Well, most of the panel is going to stick around. Not just people will determine the midterm elections, but potentially persons will determine the midterm elections. [ male announcer ] every time you use dawn, youre using a brand that supports Wildlife Rescue efforts. Because its tough on grease, yet gentle. You by my side makes the Little Things so good be a part of the bigger picture. Go to facebook. Com dawnsaveswildlife. Nothinchocolate chip cookie. Rite nestle toll house made with real butter, eggs, and brown sugar for that scratch made taste. Well now you can bake as few or as many as you please. Frozen and ready to bake, new nestle toll house frozen cookie dough is made with wholesome ingredients like the original recipe and lets you bake just the batch you want. So bake the world better, and turn any moment into a warm cookie moment. Find them in the frozen aisle. Nestle. Good food good life. For months now on this program, weve been telling you the story of people in texas that provide reproductive care for women. A state law passed last year targeted clinics like this one in mcallen, texas. Clinics were forced to close requirements where admitting plj privileges at surgical centers. One court after another weighed in. Clinics closed, reopened and closed again throughout the legal process, and then this week abortion providers across texas began seeing patients after the Supreme Court issued a stay late tuesday on a decision that would have permanently closed all but eight clinics in the state. The reprieve is temporary, and affects 13 clinics. Those providers must convince the conservative leaning fifth court of appeals to rule in their favor. Arguments are likely to be heard in december, and chances are one side or the other will appeal the case back to the Supreme Court. For now advocates for reproduct ef rights are enjoying a minor victory. Soon to come, however, are bigger challenges. On november 4th in addition to choosing 36 state governors, about a third of the u. S. Senate and all the members of the house voters across the country will be dealing with a favorite issue to discuss, Ballot Initiatives. See Ballot Initiatives are a quirkry aspect of the democratic process. The great side dish to an otherwise standard main course. Have you ever stared thinking chicken or fish, quite honestly not caring but you found yourself making a decision based on the incredible garlic roasted br brussell sprouts that come with one. You can get them to turn out for a mundane selection between political chicken or fish and those spicy ones twinkled with bacon bits. Turn out for that indeed. This november, three states, colorado, north dakota and tennessee will offer voters in addition to the main course of candidates to choose from, a decision to make about new laws regarding a womans right to maintain dominion over her own body. In tennessee voters will decide on a constitutional amendment to allow state lawmakers to pass a ban on all abortions, and in north dakota and colorado, the Ballot Initiative is generally referred to as personhood. Making the Legal Definition of a fetus a person, and thereby making any abortion a crime. Msnbcs e has been reporting extensively on this issue, and why this election day side dish may be doing anything but galvanizing the appetite for november 4th main course. What is going on in colorado . Well, i think the important thing to note is that, you know, usually when you look at a menu, you know what youre getting when you order it. Ul three of these Ballot Initiatives have incredibly confusing language that make it sound like they have to do with Car Accidents that harm 8monthold fetuses. The fetal homicide bill makes it sound like taxpayer funding for abortion, which doesnt exist. The north dakota one is also confusing. None of them say is a fertilized egg a person . Yes or no . Do you want to ban abortion . Do you want to plan the iud . They very unclear. Whats at stake is processes for ivf, potential miscarriages if they look suspicious, banning all abortion, at this point, were talking about is rng morning after pill something these people consider abortion. So i think you have a very strong stall work continuously rallying to get this stuff on the ballot. Each time even when they lose, theyre still changing the way were talking about the stuff. But id did lose in mississippi, for goodness sake. So in places where there is no great prochoice reproductive movement that represents a majority, and yet, people are like, whoa, okay, were not freezing our eggs anymore if we have a personhood ballot. Do the personhood initiatives push too far and still manage to bring that vocal fringe out in a way to impact the elections . Yeah, because inside of the movement, and colorado has a very large one. They have a huge campus near colorado springs. So theres a big evangelical Movement Based in colorado. They are smarter about internally making sure that we know what were doing here. Then on the outside, in a more moderate way. And Corey Gardner who is running for the United States senate has done that to this the point where the denver post, which wen i was growing up in my house, it was a sober, serious paper. Ridiculous endorsement of him where it tried to play him as a moderate. Lets listen, in fact. This came up in the colorado debate. I want to listen to that pushback for the notion that he is a moderate. You continue to deny the federal life and conception act, which you sponsor, is a personhood bill to end abortion. And we are not going to debate that here tonight because its a fact. Your cosponsors say so. Your opponents say so. Independent Fact Checkers say so. Lets talk about what the entire episode may say more broad lif. It would seem a charitable interpretation would be you have a difficult time admitting when youre wrong, and a Less Charitable interpretation is youre not telling us the truth. Which is it . I think again, i do not support the person hood amendment. Its simply a statement that i support life. It got real in colorado. Well, he just contradicted himself very much so. But that confusion, by the way, and we know this is marketing and pr. That confusion is very much on purpose. And it has so many implications, and its so heartbreaking to basically present a woman and the story that you mentioned about the car crash, and its for many of us who are are mothers who say, of course, i lost my baby almost at term. But the implications of that are so extreme and dire for the rest of us, and to have the politicians, the male politicians understand exactly what theyre standing on and dont see this is just a muddled mess is horrifying to me. I keep thinking, okay, in one case, if a fertilized egg is a person, then wouldnt that mean citizenship doesnt have to be birthright. It could just be fertilization. So, in fact. Where were you when you got pregnant . So people just have to come here . On vacation. People just have to come here and get pregnant. And the end of anchor babies. Anchor embryo. Anchor embryo that would stop a lot of visas. Its maybe we need to get more creative in our push back in part. Im sort of being silly. Not entirely. It feels like if we could build a broader Reproductive Justice Coalition by pointing out these are the moments that simply go too far. Right. Well, ive spent time in colorado this past week. I think that coalition is really really filled. It has folks who may not support abortion rights or may not be comfortable talking about their stance on abortion. It includes reproductive justice advocates from a local group. Their outreach is much more about this broader idea of how latinas would be disproportionately criminalized if there were investigations in what was harming a fertilized egg. You mention the sympathy for that situation. There is a fetal homicide law in colorado. It exempts a woman from prosecution for any procedure she gives consent to. Its extremely important to put this into who will be criminalized . Who will be investigated and that is building that coalition. And a question of dplesic violence. Sometimes we want to protect the idea that in Domestic Violence circumstance, that an abuser would be held culpable for damage done both to a woman as well as to an unborn child. Yes . Is. Its a stocking horse to prosecute women. It still come ms down to our favorite word, consent. Not only that. Right in the middle of it. Wont happen for your eggs. You have to use them all. Thank you to joy reid and erin and Carmen Rita Wong. Up next, my letter of the week. This is where i met your grandpa. Right under this tree. man some things are Worth Holding onto. Theyre hugging the tree. man thats why we got a subaru. Or was it that tree . man introducing the allnew subaru outback. Love. Its what makes a subaru, a subaru. In life there are things you want to touch and some you just dont. Introducing the Kohler Touchless toilet. We chaching chaching many empt chaching it felt like we were flushing money away. Mom thats why we switched to charmin ultra mega roll. Its charmin quality and long lasting. With more gos per roll, it pays to use charmin ultra mega roll. Charmin ultra mega roll is 75 more absorbent so you can use less with every go. Plus it even lasts longer than the leading thousand sheet brand. For us, mega roll equals mega value. Chaching we all go. Why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra mega roll . The midterms are only weeks away, and the drama of local and state elections are reaching a fevered pitch. One of my favorite moments this week happened in South Carolina when democratic gubernatorial challenger suggested it was time t to retire the Confederate Flag that flies in front of the South Carolina state house. I believe it is time that we retire the Confederate Flag to a place of respect, where the history of the great state can be told and we all rally together under a flag that unites us all, the american flag. That looks towards the future and not the past. This is how incumbent governor republican nikki haley responded. What i can tell you is over the last three and a half years i spend a lot of my days on the phones with ceos and recruiting jobs to this state. I can honestly say i have not had one conversation with a single ceo about the Confederate Flag. And then she continued with this. What we really fixed all that when you elected the first indianamerican female governor, when we appointed the the first africanamerican u. S. Senator. That sent a huge message. And that is why my letter this week is to the republican governor of South Carolina. Dear governor haley, its me, melissa. This is a fascinating moment in American History. As you highlighted you are you are a woman and a first generation indianamerican, and you appointed senator tim scott, the first black senator from the south since reconstruction, and scotts opponent in next months election is also black, meaning one of them will be the first africanamerican to win statewide office in South Carolina in 142 years. Those facts are meaningful. But they have little to do with whether the Confederate Flag should fly on Government Land or whether we have fixed all that. Im a southern girl. I grew up with a Confederate Flag displayed all around me. I love the dukes of hazard and general lee and took the kids to the dixie classic fair last week. I know, nerd land. Black americans are by and large southerners. Our roots, stories, struggles, lives of a distinctly southern flavor. Yes, slavery and jim crowe are part of the experience. So are Church Picnics and black College Football games and jazz music. Theres no black American History not deeply intertwined with southern history, and as southerners, we could have a lomply kated relationship with the stars and bars. We paint it on our pickups, but we dont flinch and recoil when we see it. Governor haley, youre a duly elected governor in these United States of america. And while those who serve the confederacy may have been honorable men and good soldiers, the reality is the Confederate Flag represents the ultimate act of treason. On dis20th, 1860, your state became the first to secede from the union. In april, the attack in your state ignited the civil war that almost tore this country apart. Yours was the first to nullify not only the law, but the bind that ties auz americans. We would no longer be a single nation, but just a great experiment dashed on the shores of slavery and state rights. If your state won the Confederate Flag would fly over the state house and Jefferson Davis would be on your dollar bill. Thats not what happened. Four bloody years of struggle and loss and brutality ensured this government of the people, by the people, for the people did not perish from the earth. And so to remember that we are one nation indivisible, we flag the. To display the flag is to suggest and honor that an act of treason is in fact reasonable, but it might have been just as well if our nation was apart. And we havent fixed all that yet, governor. Indeed, some in your party have spent the last six years attempting to nullify it through resistance to the Affordable Care act. Governor haley, it is extraordinary to see you as a southern woman of color holding the highest office in South Carolina. But that flag is not solely or even mostly about race. Its about our collective history and our remaining struggle to stay united. Even as you seek to hold office in your state, its worth remembering that you are governor in these United States. Stand under our flag. Its time to take the other one down. 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But when youve got an entire company who knows that the most ontime flights are nothing if we cant get your things there too. Its no wonder more People Choose delta than any other airline. My past is littered with the bones of men who were foolish enough to think i was someone they could sleep on. As much as i truly wish i had said these words, i didnt. These are the musings of the newly elected executive director of the nba player association. And as soon as i read them, i knew i had to meet Michelle Roberts. Roberts was the first woman leader of a major u. S. Professional sports union. And with the nba season set to kick off in ten days, she has a lot on her plate. From the nba testing out a shorter game to some marquee players like lebron james calling for a shorter season. But to avoid having my own bones littering her history, i would like to go on record that i think shes up to the task. Having been both a trial lawyer with the public difder office as well as representing large fortune 500 clients for several years, shes ready to step up and negotiate on behalf of the worlds best and most famous athletes. Im pleased to welcome Michelle Roberts. So here is my question. Why do multimillionaires need a union . Well, Everyone Needs to have the ability to exercise as much leverage as they can. And in our game, we as basketball players together need to confront a league that is otherwise inclined to pay people less than theyre worth. And so as great a basketball player as lebron james is, his ability to receive compensation that is fair is strengthened with his brothers. Thats why we need him there. When you frame the case in that way, particularly the question of whether or not the people pay a fair wage, within the context of the sport, my first thought is the ncaa and the effort of College Players saying not only are they not being played any wage, much less a fair one, but others are profiting from them. Does the ncaa need a union . Its interesting. The sans is probably yes. And there are efforts under way. But i think everyone knows that the Sports Industry is a multibillion dollar industry. And there are people that are responsible for creating that product. Those are the players. Universities are making a lot of money from those players. And it is somewhat disgraceful. The players are given an education, but other than that, none of the money is enjoyed by the university. If i had my way, they would have been unionized yesterday. In this context of you coming into this world the reality is not only have issues of race been a part of Major League Sports for a long time and the question of integrating the sports and players but most recently issues of race and racial bias as well as issues of gender bias, Domestic Violence, both in the nfl and nba. So youre a trial lawyer. Thats what you are, what you do. But no one can mince that youre also a woman of color. Is it meant to this be something about your identity in addition to your expertise in this moment that to to be part of the work that youre doing there . Well, you know, i would like to believe that the fact that i was a woman the fact that i am a woman, and an africanamerican woman, i now believe it did not impede my ability to secure this position. But i do think it enhances my ability to do the job. And ill tell you why. Issues of race and gender will always be an issue. In this sport and other sports. But to the extent we can encourage people to be more sensitive about it. Then i think i do have a pulpit that allows me as an africanamerican woman to be heard in a way that a white male or a black male cannot be heard. Sure, there has been in the past some problems with some of the owners, and expressions of racial and what im proud of that the league and the players together did exactly what had to be done to remove that problem. If it happens again, we will once again remove that problem. On the issue of Domestic Violence, i am proud we are able to have discussions about it. Were talking more and more about prevention in my sport. But i think this is an opportunity for discussion. And as a woman, people do give my opinion a little bit more umph than they would if i was a white male. The good news is that we are confronting the the problems and not simply speaking under a table. We were talking earlier in the show about women protecting their fertility and waiting to have children and what our work is and our family is, and you know, my eldest sister is a public defender and a trial lawyer for most of her career. Good for her. And she has convinced me there are lessons we can learn in our daily lives of negotiating everything from our personal interactions to economic interactions from trial lawyers. So what have you learned in your work that is something if p im never going to represent nba players is valuable, particularly for women to know as we engage our world . As a trial lawyer, as both a public defender and someone i was representing in fortune 100 companies, at the end of the day, what youre doing is helping someone or something, helping companies solve a problem. As a trial lawyer, the problem is either going to be solved by negotiation or its going to be resolved by a jury. Most of the time the cases were resolved in negotiation. And as a woman i didnt believe that i needed to walk in, and this is i found true about most women. We dont walk into negotiations with our fists folded. We walk in understanding that we both want to walk out. And with women, theres no ego. Theres appreciation that were going to get it done. And were going to get it done without calling each other names. Without deciding who is smarter than the other. And so whenever i had a negotiation with a woman, it was a lot easier. We didnt have we simply had a job to do. I encourage people not to believe that they have to be tough and brutish in order to be effective. Its never a compelling argument for me to make when im walking into a room with my fists balled. So, frankly, its the art of negotiation and the notion that you have to make a deal is something that i learned as a trial lawyer. I love that you extracted the bones of those men so delicately. Thank you to Michelle Roberts for being here. Thank you for your work in representing the players as laborers. Up next, our foot soldier this week is giving a hand. [safety beeping] [safety beeping] the nissan rogue, with safety shield technologies. The only thing left to fear is your imagination. Nissan. Innovation that excites. receptionist Gunderman Group is growing. Getting in a groove. Growth is gratifying. Goal is to grow. Gotta get greater growth. I just talked to ups. They got expert advise, special discounts, new technologies. Like smart pick ups. Theyll only show up when you print a label and its automatic. We save time and money. Time . Money . Time and money. Awesome. Awesome awesome awesome awesome all awesome i love logistics. So i can reach ally bank 24 7, but there are24 7branches . Its just im a little reluctant to try new things. Whats wrong with trying new things . Feel that in your muscles . Yeah. I do. Try a new way to bank, where no branches equals great rates. Ring ring . Progresso you soup people have my kids loving vegetables. Well vegetables. Shh taste better in our savory broth. Vegetables . No. Soup oh soup loaded with vegetables. Packed with taste. The ultimate arena for business. Hour after hour of diving deep, touching base, and putting ducks in rows. The only problem with Conference Calls eventually they have to end. Unless you have the comcast business voiceedge mobile app. It lets you switch seamlessly from your desk phone to your mobile with no interruptions. Ive never felt so alive. Get the future of phone and the phones are free. Comcast business. Built for business. Our foot soldier of the week is john schul, a research scientist. Media, arts, games, interaction and creativity. Last year, john came across some youtubers who collaborated across the globe to produce a 3d printed prosthetic hand for a child in south africa. Once the printed hand was complete, they shared the plans online for free. John loved what he saw and was inspired to get involved. He created a google map and linked it on the comet section of that video. The premise was simple. If you have a 3d printer, add a pin on the map with your location. If you need a hand, add a pin to the map. Within just a few weeks, there were more than 70 pins. John then founded enable, a Global Community of volunteers who spent their free time printing, assembling, distributing and improving upon 3d printed mechanical hands for children in need. The volunteers of enable include engineers, teachers, 3d print enthusiasts, occupational therapists, artists and many more people from all walks of life. The only cost is material, about 50. Traditional prosthetic hands can cost more than 40,000. The hands are mechanical. If you can bend your wrist, you can make a fist. Users can pick up a toy or a cup, hold to their bike handles or give a handshake or even a fist bump. This is 3yearold raden. Enable volunteers made him a hand with a special twist. He has his own iron mancolored superhero hand. In addition to having a more functional hand, they also become the coolest kids in school. The folks at enable are clear about the fact that these helper hands are not the same as a fullblown prosthetic ones but these are lighter, easier to access and just plain cool. And lets not forget, for kids in need, these hands are free. John always tells the kids, with great hands come great responsibility. He fully expects the hand recipients to join the good fight by someday buying their own 3d printers and assembling hands for others. For bringing together those who need a hand with those who want to lend a helping hand, john schul is our foot soldier of the week. Thats our show for today. Thanks for watching. Ill see you tomorrow morning at 10 00 a. M. Eastern. Right now, time for a preview of weekends with alex witt. Hello. Thanks so much. Were going to be talking about the report in the New York Times on what officer Darren Wilson says happened in the minutes before he shot and killed Michael Brown. And ebola in your dreams . Really . Youre going to hear from the author of a new article about how anxiety over ebola is probably more contagious than the virus itself. Ill be right back. I make a lot of purchases for my business. And i get a lot in return with ink plus from chase. Like 70,000 bonus points when i spent 5,000 in the first 3 months after i opened my account. And i earn 5 times the rewards on internet, phone services and at Office Supply stores. With ink plus i can choose how to redeem my points. Travel, gift cards even cash back. And my rewards points wont expire. So you can make owning a business even more rewarding. Ink from chase. So you can. I have the worst cold with this runni better take something. Dayquill cold and flu doesnt treat your runny nose. Seriously . 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For advice, retirement, and life insurance, connect with axa. Direct hit, one hurricane slams into bermuda and another one is heading for the hawaiian coast. A live report ahead. On the ebola front, new details on the condition of dallas nurse nina pham. Why no word on how the second victim is doing . And answering quirky questions that have come up since the ebola crisis, like Hand Sanitizer . Some of the Biggest Senate races going down to the wire. Can we expect a dead heat in the kentucky derby. Well run you through the latest polls. Hey, to everyone. High noon in the east. 9 00 a. M. Out west. Welcome to weekends with alex witt. New developments in the ebola crisis today. The condition of the first nurse to test positive for