we have been calling around the neighbors, family members, coworkers and they are in the same situation. >> good morning and welcome to "the cross connection." i'm tiffany cross. we have a lot to get to today, including the latest on some accountability for the violent insurrection last month, but we begin today's show with this. today marks one month since the biden administration took office, and the new administration is staring down major challenges this week, including an unprecedented winter storm that's caused widespread power outages in texas and claimed at least 30 lives this week, including an 11-year-old boy who died in a mobile home that went unheated for days. power is finally being restored to more and more homes across the state, but many are now facing food shortages and a mounting water crisis due to bursting pipes and freezing wells. pyatt says he will ask fema to accelerate a request for a major disaster declaration for texas and he plans to visit the state next week if it doesn't strain local authorities. joining me now from texas, congressman collin allred, whose district includes dallas county. congressman, i'm very happy to have you with me this morning. look, texas is in a lot of trouble. not only is there the challenges with water, but there's also a food shortage. so tell me, if you can, what's the latest going on the ground there? >> tiffany, thank you for having me on and thank you for talking about this. the power is mostly back on, but now the biggest issue is water and food. in the grocery stores, the aisles have been swept clean. you can't find milk anywhere. i know because my wife and i have a 2-year-old and are looking for milk right now for ourselves. and for most folks in texas, about half the state are under a boil water notice or their pipes have burst and they don't have water in their homes. that's the biggest thing i've been working on with fema right now is to try to get potable water out to as many people as possible. >> i want to ask you, congressman. because right now, 14.6 million texans remain under this boil water advisory. you know, i often here when there are disasters like this, people are saying, flee, you know, or go someplace else, because this thing is happening. but when you consider the wealth gap between black and brown communities and our white counterparts, where are people supposed to go? what are people supposed to do? what's your advice to your constituents? >> well, you're right. first of all twb roads are still icy, because we had a freeze again last night, even though a lot of the snow melted during the day yesterday, then it froze overnight. so it's hard to drive, as well. and most folks can't get away. and that's the truth. and so what we have to do is we've got to get into these communities. we need fema, we feed our texas disaster emergency relief folks to get on the ground, into the communities that are going to be the hardest hit. just like with covid, this is a disaster that's not going to be felt equally across our communities. communities of color, communities where you know, lower socioeconomic are going to be the ones that are hit the hardest by this. and we've already seen that. most of the deaths are located in that community that we know of. that unfortunately, we're probably going to find out about a bunch more. >> wow. so, like you said, most people cannot afford to hop on a plane and go to cancun, certainly, for a getaway. and i think, you know, as we expose this ted cruz escape, so to speak, you know, there is a question of, well, what are elected officials supposed to be in this situation? you're a congressman. given the fallout from ted cruz taking a getaway to cancun, what exactly have you been doing as a member representing people who are deeply impacted by this crisis? and i hope the senator is watching. perhaps you can give him some pointers on what elected fshls are supposed to do in a time of crisis such as this? >> the question is, what is there not to be done? there's so much to be done. yes with power grid is run by the state, so it's not a federal issue in those regards. but there's so much aid that is needed. and fema is the main agency that's going to be dealing with that. and this is going to be one of the most expensive and largest cleanups we've had in the state. it's going to be worst than hurricane harvey that hit houston. what we've been trying to do is communicate all the time. thank you for having me on your show, because that's part of us communicating and telling folks things like, don't burn your gas stove inside your home, because you can get carbon monoxide poisoning from that. we had two folks in my district died yesterday from carbon monoxide poisoning. you know, having a phone bank, which is what we're doing later today, to check in on people, to call into our most vulnerable communities to see if they need anything, to see if we can get water to them. i had a tweet that was sent to me by a domestic violence shelter saying they were out of power and having to relocate. and i had got in touch with our local officials and said, can we get some help to this domestic violence shelter. it's just been nonstop. and there is so much to be done, that i really -- i don't have any patience and i can't understand somebody who would think that during a crisis like this is the time to go on vacation. i've heard some people saying, well, he's a united states senator, he's not responsible for things on the ground. that is nonsense. there is so much for all of us to be doing. and many members of congress here in texas are doing that. >> yeah, even members of congress who don't represent texas are trying to help the great state of texas. so i want to ask you before i let you go, you're a former nfl player, and i can't let you go before i ask you about jerry jones whose company has been hit with high prices as people starve to death. >> i think there has to be an investigation into it. there are laws against price gouging. swrooel to see if any of those laws were broken during this crisis. but at the very least, tiffany, i would hope that some of the folks who are the richest and wealthiest among us who have gotten even richer while texans have frozen to death would choose on their own to contribute the profits from what they've made to charities, to the state, to help the folks that are the most impacted. i think that would be the best thing to do in their own personal capacities. now, we also have to say that this crisis was preventable. some of the energy companies that did not winterize their grid, did not do the right thing to make sure that they could dlifr power during this crisis are the ones making a lot of money in this crisis. that has to be looked into as well. >> the citizens of arlington, texas, have committed over $300 million for jerry jones' playhouse, so certainly you would think he would contribute back to those constituents. covid relief, people understand what is happening in texas. this has impacted citizens in a way i can't even fathom. your district, north texas, has the fourth largest community of undocumented immigrants. there was an amendment that passed in the senate that undocumented immigrants would not be eligible for stimulus checks. is that something that can be overturned? these people are frequently on the front lines. they're health care workers, they work in restaurant industries and provided relief as grocery store workers. do you anticipate that undocumented immigrants will be eligible to receive stimulus checks? >> tiffany, it doesn't look like it's going to be in this package. but what we are doing, and it's raising the minimum wage 15 an hour, it's just going to raise wages for everyone across the country. that's something the house is pushing for. hopefully we can get the tenant to agree with us. i want folks to know that we got nearly $50 billion for vaccines, testing, tracing, all the things we've got to do to get through this and make sure that folks don't have to worry about getting sick and potentially dying in these essential jobs, which is what you mentioned many of our undocumented folks do work in those essential jobs and have been working through this crisis and putting themselves at risk. the $1,400 checks per person, up to $2,800 if you're married, $5,600 for a family of four. that's a lot of money that could be coming your way and we hope it will be out as soon as possible. and we'll do everything we can to try to target as much as this aid as we can. but you know, we've got to work with the senate and make sure we have enough votes to pass these things. >> all right, congressman. it's a lot of money. hopefully it doesn't get eaten up by overdraft fees and what not as americans struggle with this. i'll bring in your colleague now to ask her about that. i'll get back to you to assist your constituents. thank you for joining me. and like much of america, texas has been hit hard by the economic toll of the pandemic and across the country, americans are wondering when president biden's $1.9 trillion covid relief package will become a reality. so democrats hope to pass the much-needed relief before the end of next week, racing to beat this march 14th deadline when extended unemployment benefits are set to expire. it's like america is staring down a barrel of a shotgun. you're joining us next to the edmond pettus bridge. i have to ask you about this covid relief, for the people watching at home right now struggling, watching for this pandemic, as all of us are, how soon can they expect for this $1,400 stimulus check to hit their account. >> well, first of all, tiffany, thank you so much. congratulations on your show. it's an honor for me to make my debut on the tiffany cross show. >> i want you all to know that help is on the way. help is on the way, as you stated. we plan on getting that biden rescue plan, on the floor near the house of representatives next week. we are racing against time. that is absolutely true. here's what i know for a fact. the american people elected joe biden, because joe biden promised to deliver on covid relief. we have to crush this virus. we have $1.9 trillion package that will deal with everything from rental assistance to food security to providing $1,400 per person up to a maximum of $5,600 per family. it's critically important that we get help right now. we are in selma, alabama, my hometown and we know the fierce urgency is now. now for the people of texas who are on top of dealing with covid, are dealing with frozen pipes and unable to have dribble water. it's really unacceptable. but i know that biden has a compassion. this president will do all that they can with the assistance of house democrats, as well as our -- i hope our republican colleagues will help us across the aisle. the american people are hurting, hurting unequally. we know that a disproportionate amount of the burden of the pain is being felt on communities of color and underserved communities across this nation. i truly believe that help is on the way and that we will do all that we can to make sure that we pass this legislation and enact it into law. >> i want to hone on in minimum wage. as you know, that's a huge sticking point in the covid relief bill. we heard president biden speak about it. you in 2019 introduced a bill for regional. you have evolved since the democrats have taken control of both the house and senate in congress. do you think that the minimum wage hike, will it survive as the covid relief bill heads to markup in the house next week? >> i sure hope it does. i was also a cosponsor, an origin cosponsor of a raise the wage bill that the representative scott did. the reality is that we are now in control of the house, the senate, and the white house. and i know that my constituents deserve a livable wage. the fact is in the state of alabama, we're still stuck at the federal minimum wage of $7.25. it's simply not enough for anybody to live off of. and we must increase it. i do believe that the cost of living here in selma, alabama, is different than the cost of living in new york city. but having said that, i think that the fact that we are gradually increasing it to $15 an hour will help a lot of my small businesses. when i think about my small businesses, my minority and women-owned businesses, they are struggling. but they, too, want to provide their employees with a livable wage. and so, i think we will fight to make sure we do increase the federal minimum wage. $15 an hour still will leave a lot of my constituents behind. and so i think that we have to do our very best to be able to compromise and to work together to make sure all americans have enough money in their pockets to be able to provide for themselves and their families. >> you've been an outspoken proponent on voting rights. you've been outspoken proponent of reparations. i have to ask you, black women were integral in delivering the power of the federal government to democrats. right now, black women are not represented in the senate at all. your fellow alabamian richard shelby has announced he will not run for senate. women are looking for someone to represent them in the senate. will you, congresswoman, run for senate in alabama? >> i think the reality is exactly right. black women have helped deliver biden to the white house. we helped to deliver senator doug jones to the senate and i believe we deserve a seat at the table. obviously, we look very closely. an opportunity to represent my opal district is the honor of a lifetime for me. i've worked hard over the last ten years. black women need a seat at the table. we've earned that right and we are obviously missing that seat isn't the senate and we'll be critically important that we have a seat at the table and help set the agenda. i look forward to exploring my options when it comes to that, but i know you to know they am committed to making sure that we represent alabama, all of alabamians in the united states house of representatives and i look forward to continuing to do that. >> all right. before i let you go, congresswoman, i want to hone down on this. we say we helped deliver doug jones. a lot of people who covered that race want you to know, you helped deliver doug jones. what are you considering as you help to deliver yourself to the senate. what's your thought process around that? >> i think that -- i really -- i disagree with the premise that somehow alabama is not -- we cannot turn alabama blue like we did georgia. the reality is that we can expand the electorate. the reality is that african-american community, both men and women, really did deliver that win for doug jones. and i know that it is a steep climb, but i also note that we are resilient people and that african-american women, if anyone can do it, that we can. and so, look, i will be looking at the opportunities in alabama, but at the same time, i'm singly focused on delivering for the people that i represent now in alabama's seventh congressional district. it's so important that we get that covid relief, that we crush the virus, that we get an increase in minimum wage. that we get food security and deal with the nutrition assistance that's so needed. so, you know, look, politics is politics, but i also know that the south is rising again and we cannot, cannot leave us behind. >> as a fellow southerner, i would just say that the south is only red until it ain't. so i hope when you do make that announcement, you will do it on "the cross connection." you have a permanent invitation on snow. thank you so much for joining us. don't go anywhere at home, because next up, a fresh miseducation of the former guy. stay tuned. resh miseducation of the formeruy g stay tuned the lasting cologne scent of old spice dynasty helps get you off your couch. and into the driver's seat. for skin that never holds you back don't settle for silver #1 for diabetic dry skin* #1 for psoriasis symptom relief* and #1 for eczema symptom relief* gold bond champion your skin struggling to manage my type 2 diabetes gold bond was knocking me out of my zone, but lowering my a1c with once-weekly ozempic® helped me get back in it. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic® ♪ my zone? lowering my a1c and losing some weight. now, back to the show. ozempic® is proven to lower a1c. most people who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. and you may lose weight. adults lost on average up to 12 pounds. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. once-weekly ozempic® helped me get in my type 2 diabetes zone. ask your health care provider how it can help you get in yours. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic® ♪♪ you may pay as little as $25 for a 3-month prescription. when you've got a business, you don't want to worry about slow internet or confusing cybersecurity. so get comcast business internet with fast, reliable speeds, and add the advanced security of comcast business securityedge. it combines the speed you need with threat protection. plus there's 24/7 support. it's internet and advanced security - made simple. so bounce forward - with comcast business. get started with a powerful internet and voice solution for just $64.90 a month. and ask how to add comcast business securityedge. call today. this violent insurrection at the capitol was orchestrated by former president trump and his lawyer along with the oathkeepers and the proud boys. and we are going to have our day in court. >> when lauren hill declared, you might win some, but you just lost one, she may have been providing a sound track to donald trump's time after his disastrous presidency. in the latest legal blow, congressman bennie thompson and the ncaap are using the civil rights act of 1871, aka the klan act, to sue the former president, his lawyer, and a host of others. they accuse trump of violating the statue by trying to interfere with certification of election results. this week has also seen the call for a 9/11-style commission to investigate that january 6th insurrection, and two former republican lawmakers are calling on congress to invoke section 3 of the 14th amendment against trump. it prohibits officials from running for office if they engage in rebellion against the united states. meanwhile, the newly dubbed former guy is still peddling the big election lie and sowing division amongst his own party. >> rush thought we won, and so do i, by the way. i think we won by a -- substantially. republicans are soft. they only hit their own, like mitch. they hit their own. >> i know trump can be a handful. but he is the most dominant figure in the republican party. we don't have a snowball's chance of hell of taking back the majority without donald trump. >> he's so thirsty. america broke up with you. joining me now, political reporter for the atlanta journal constitution, greg bluestein, civil trial and criminal defense attorney midwin charles and justice correspondent for the nation, my pal, elie mystal. thank you guys for joining me. midwynn, i want to start with you. the thing i find so striking about this, the gop remains blindly loyal to this guy. we see them cannibalizing, rooted in white supremacy, eating each other alive, but they are still the party of trump. will anybody ever be held accountable for what we saw on january 6th? it's my hope that they are. it's unusual to see them to be so beholden to donald trump, particularly when you consider the fact that he lost the house, he lost the senate, and the republicans lots the presidency as a result of him. but when you look at all the possible charges that he could be facing, i am still cautiously optimistic as to whether or not we'll ever see donald trump in an orange jumpsuit. we have a criminal justice system right now that favors men like donald trump. men who are white, men who are wealthy. and donald trump is no stranger to lawsuits, right? he is where the lawsuits reside. before he became president, he was involved in over 3,000 lawsuits. and while he was plaintiff in some, he also was sued by the federal government, for discriminates against blacks, not renting to them, all the way up to trump university, where he paid out a $25 settlement. so donald trump right now is looking at a variety of different lawsuits from the -- an investigation by the district attorney of fulton county in georgia, manhattan attorney cy vance for bank fraud and insurance fraud, civil actions, for the same underlying issues with letitia james, new york state attorney general. so the list goes on and son and on. and i know, i get a lot of on twitter asking me, will donald trump ever be held accountable for this? i am optimistic, particularly with the criminal justice system. but when it comes to civil cases, i could see him being held liable on a whole host of issues, including wrongful death cases. >> wow. i didn't even think about the wrongful death cases. that's really interesting. greg, midwynn kind of cued us perfectly for this. it's not lost on me that two black women are holding him accountable for his role in accused multiple issues with the law. but what i find fascinating in the fulton county case is the grand jury is set to convene in march, if i'm not mistaken. and the fulton county d.a. there is saying that they'll begin requesting subpoenas necessary at that time. any chance trump could be subpoena and how will she enforce that subpoena, do you think? >> yeah, there is a chance the president, the former president can be subpoenaed, but we're looking even more closely at whether or not willis subpoenas state officials, like secretary of state brad raffensperger, who was on the other end of that famous call from former president trump demanding that he find enough votes to overcome the election vote. if he subpoenas kemp, who he pressured to call a special election to over turn the results of the election. jeff duncan was urged to preserve documents that could be crucial to this case because he provides over the state senate and the state senate called hearings featuring pro-trump attorney general attorney general rudy giuliani spouting false conspiracy theories and other lies about the election. and there were some state lawmakers who could be subpoenaed, because they were the ones directly promoting these falsehoods that could be really key to this investigation. >> yeah. i mean, i think a lot of people are going to be watching this case. let me askdown more question before i turn to ellie. you know, he really doesn't have any political immunity here. but what i find interesting about the georgia case is all of these people who could potentially be subpoenaed, they were trump supporters. so, you know, they're not necessarily anti-the maga ideology, while they may be anti-the individual. any idea who actually leaked this call? >> yeah, that's a great question. and we got it around the same time as "the washington post" way back on january 3rd, i think it was. i can't say who the source was, but clearly that call is the centerpiece of this investigation. because -- but i should say, it's not the only part of the investigation. it might be the headline of this investigation, but the dark's office has also made clear, it's looking into other things. potentially lindsey graham, the senator from south carolina. his own call to secretary of state brad raffensperger allegedly urging brad raffensperger to find other ways to toss out legitimate ballots. president trump's role with the federal prosecutor here in atlanta, who resigned very suddenly, right before the january 5th runoff. there's a lot of different avenues. she made very clear that this is going to be a is very far-ranging investigation. so we're carefully watch everything step she has takes. >> ellie, i want to turn to you on this naacp lawsuit. you wrote yet another brilliant article in "the nation" where you talk about the lawsuit and say the klan acts made it illegal to use forced intimidation or threat to make government officials from discharging their duty. does this lawsuit that the naacp and congressman bennie thompson have brought, does it have legal standing? >> absolutely. it's almost like the law was written specifically for this kind of situation. because it was written specifically for the situation where a mob of angry white people tried to prevent the government from functioning. so it absolutely has legs. this is actually the second klan lawsuit the naacp has filed. shout-out to sheryl. the other came in december and it's alleging the same violation of the klan act, based on his big lie. it sues trump and the republican national committee for trying to intimidate officials into decertifying the election, specifically to throw out black votes. it's a really good idea. trump really only has one legal defense. it's called sovereign immunity. the government officials are generally immune for their conduct if it's taken throughout their duties of office. so if you think of like a meter made putting a boot on your car, she can't be sued for, you know, stealing your car. however, if the meter made kicks out your window and drives away with your vehicle, like, she just jacked your ride. she can be sued for that. and that's what donald trump has done. by arguing that the election was still in doubt, in fact, it shows that he was making that -- he was doing that rally on january 6th. as a presidential candidate, not as the president. so i think he will be hoisted on his own loud petard. >> ellie, leave it to you to close us out on a great note. two former republicans are calling for invoking the 14th amendment, that would mean trump can't hold office again. but you have to wonder, there were also 57 republican lawmakers who took part in the insurrection. so how does this affect them? stay tuned, i'm sure i'll have you back to discuss this and more. thank you all. and don't go anywhere at home. next up, we at least try to make it make sense. stay tuned. ke it make sense. stay tuned psst! psst! allergies don't have to be scary. spraying flonase daily stops your body from overreacting to allergens all season long. psst! psst! you're good. my dvt blood clot... stayed on my mind... was another around the corner? or could it be a different story? i wanted to help protect myself. my doctor recommended eliquis. eliquis is proven to treat and help prevent another dvt or pe blood clot. almost 98 percent of patients on eliquis didn't experience another. ...and eliquis has significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. eliquis is fda-approved and has both. don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. if you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily... and it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. what's around the corner could be your moment. ask your doctor about eliquis. ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ hey limu! what's[ squawks ] corner could be your moment. how great is it that we get to tell everybody how liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need? i mean it... oh, sorry... [ laughter ] woops! [ laughter ] good evening! meow! nope. oh... what? i'm an emu! ah ha ha. no, buddy! buddy, it's a filter! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ when our daughter and her kids moved in with us... our bargain detergent couldn't keep up. turns out it's mostly water. so, we switched back to tide. one wash, stains are gone. daughter: slurping don't pay for water. pay for clean. it's got to be tide. welcome back, everybody. it's time once again to make it make sense, so let's get right to it. this week's question is coming at you from miss patricia in durham, north carolina. >> why should schools be reopened during the first 100 days of biden's presidency? i feel that schools should be reopened perhaps around september, when everybody, most people have had a chance to get vaccinated and perhaps by then, we would have a vaccine that kid could take and we could reopen the schools in that -- by then. help me make it make sense, tiffany. because i don't understand. >> well, miss patricia, let me say, like most relationships i had in my 20s, it's complicated. and to be all the way real, i honestly don't know if there's a right or wrong answer for you. but i coknow there are a lot of voices in this conversation. so just last week, the cdc issued new guidance on how to safely reopen schools. but only districts with low or moderate transmission rates are urged to consider full in-person learning. and some doctors say the strict adherence to those guidelines could keep most schools closed tor at least partially closed for months. so as the country grapples with a lot of demand and little supply of covid shots, the vaccine, there is growing debate over whether teachers should be vaccinated as a prerequisite for opening schools. >> we're all really clear, teachers should be a priority. and the states are making decisions individually about where they will be on the list of who gets vaccinated. i believe they should be a priority. the president believes they should be a priority. >> i think that we should be vaccinating teachers. we should move them up in the hierarchy, as well. >> if you were going to say that every single teacher needs to be vaccinated before you get back to school, that's a nonworkable situation. >> does the president believe that teachers need to be vaccinateded before they go back to school? >> neither the president or the vice president believe that it is a requirement. it is not a requirement to reopen schools, but they believe that teachers should be should be prioritized. >> so are other groups, as well. for the next number of weeks, at least, we'll have a short animal situation, and everybody prior tied isn't going to be vaccinated. governors have very difficult decisions to make. >> so can agree that teachers shown a priority, but there's also the issue of younger students that may be asymptomatic carriers transmitting the disease to older folks in multi-generational households, which we know exist. so, now, patricia, you know, i'm not a doctor, but stick around, because after the break, so many of you have questions, i'll be joined by two actual doctors who can dig deeper into this and answer all your other questions. so stay tuned. and for you watching at home, you know this is one of my favorite parts of the show. i love the video questions you send me and my team every week and we're trying to figure out how we can answer all of them. if you have a question about politics and want a little more light shed on your question, break out that camera, shine some light on yourself, and shoot me a video and we will certainly try to answer your question. record your 60-second or less question, post it on social media using the hashtag cross connection or you can drop me an email at cross connection@nbcuni.com and together we can answer them. m d together we can answer them. (dad vo) i saw them out of the corner of my eye. just a blur when they jumped the median. there was nothing i could do. (daughter) daddy! (dad vo) she's safe because of our first outback. and our new one's even safer. (vo) welcome to the 2020 subaru outback. an iihs top safety pick+. the highest level of safety you can earn. (vo) get 0% for 63 months on select new 2021 models. now through march 1st. i'm greg, i'm 68 years old. i do motivational speaking in addition to the substitute teaching. i honestly feel that that's my calling-- to give back to younger people. i think most adults will start realizing that they don't recall things as quickly as they used to or they don't remember things as vividly as they once did. i've been taking prevagen for about three years now. people say to me periodically, "man, you've got a memory like an elephant." it's really, really helped me tremendously. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. your mission: stand up to moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. and take. it. on... ...with rinvoq. rinvoq a once-daily pill can dramatically improve symptoms... rinvoq helps tame pain, stiffness, swelling. and for some rinvoq can even significantly reduce ra fatigue. that's rinvoq relief. with ra, your overactive immune system attacks your joints. rinvoq regulates it to help stop the attack. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious infections and blood clots, sometimes fatal, have occurred... ...as have certain cancers, including lymphoma, and tears in the stomach or intestines, and changes in lab results. your doctor should monitor your bloodwork. tell your doctor about any infections...and if you are or may become pregnant while taking rinvoq. take on ra. talk to your rheumatologist about rinvoq relief. rinvoq. make it your mission. if you can't afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. riders, the lone wolves of the great highway. if you can't afford your medicine, all they need is a bike and a full tank of gas. their only friend? the open road. i have friends. [ chuckles ] well, he may have friends, but he rides alone. that's jeremy, right there! we're literally riding together. he gets touchy when you talk about his lack of friends. can you help me out here? no matter why you ride, progressive has you covered with protection starting at $79 a year. well, we're new friends. to be fair. eh, still. introducing fidelity income planning. we look at what you've saved, what you'll need, and help you build a flexible plan for cash flow that lasts, even when you're not working, so you can go from saving... to living. ♪ let's go ♪ darrell's family uses gain flings now so their laundry smells more amazing than ever. to living. isn't that the dog's towel? hey, me towel su towel. more gain scent plus oxi boost and febreze in every gain fling. the history of how the government has treated minority populations decades and decades ago is shameful. it can never happen again, but that history gets passed down and you've got to say, i respect your concern, but these are the two or three reasons why you really need to get vaccinated, for your own health, for the health of your community, and literally for the entire nation. >> that was dr. fauci last night answering vaccine questions from one of his best interviews yet from our very own joy reid. speaking directly to communities of color about why getting the vane is so important. meanwhile, we could soon pass the grim milestone of over a half million american lives lost to covid. and a year into this crisis, i know so many of you still have a lot of questions. i get your tweets, your dms on any instagram. so today we have the people who can help answer those questions. joining us now is dr. naheed baa delia and msnbc medical contributor as well as dr. bernard ashby, a viewer favorite and florida state lead for the committee to protect health care. thank you both for joining me. i have to tell you all the time, i get flooded with questions, whether it's e-mails to my website or dms about covid. so i do want to start out, i'll take it to you dr. bhadelia, first. a viewer asked the question about why would we open schools. i'm sure my friends have many questions about this, eager to get their kids back in the classroom. but if you could take a stab at answering her question about, isn't it safer to wait to reopen schools until we have a vaccine. what say you? >> good morning, tiffany. great to see you, dr. ashby. i think, as you said, it's complicated. there are losses in our kids' lives with their disconnection to education and in-person learning and their ability to connect with their peers and we're seeing particularly, you know, particularly kids in lower socioeconomic strata and those in economic communities to be more heavier hit. they don't have the opportunity to continue remote learning. i think we need to make the kids safe. as you said, with the cdc guidelines, if places were able to adopt that, we could go back. but, you know, right now, with the level of transmission, 90% of our schools can't do that. i do think that if we can get to a point where we can make classrooms safe with the cdc guidance around hand hygiene, the masking, the ventilation and the distancing, the decrowding, we should do that, and if we can donate that, we need to start make sure we start by prioritizing medically high-risk teachers and move on to all the other teachers so we can get kids to school as soon as it's safe. >> it's really challenging with a decentralized response to all of this. dr. ashby, let me go to you. one of our viewers had great question about taking the second vaccine shot. this is a question from jeh johnson, who's asking, will flu medication and tylenol help alleviate the effects felt in the first 24 hours. i have had friend who have had the second vaccine and they say they do feel under the weather, but after that, they're inoculated. what do you say? >> thanks for having me back, tiffany. i'm not salty anymore, fyi. >> thank you for coming back. >> nice to be on the air with you, dr. bhadelia. yeah, with regards to the treatment for the side effects related to the covid-19 vaccine, particularly the mrna vaccines that are approved under the eua, it's important to recognize that the immune response is your body telling you that the vaccine is working, okay? so you're expected to have some side effects. the most common side effect is localized, meaning you have pain at the injection site, but beyond that, you can have systemic effects related to the immune response, such as fever, fatigue, even chills and rigors. so when you do have those symptoms, you can take medications such as tylenol or acetaminophen or ibuprofen, an example is advil or motrin. and there's no specific data about whether or not to taking nsaids and acetaminophen prior to the vaccine being given, but there is anecdotal data with previous vaccines that indicate that it can diminish your immune response, so do not take these meds prior to getting the vaccine, unless you speak with your physician. >> dr. ashby, let me tick with you. i thought this was an interesting question, who wanted to know if providers mess up. if you accidentally take the second vaccine first, how effective is the vaccine in the, in that case, or does the order not matter? >> so the latter, the order does not matter. i mean, the vaccines are the same. meaning that for pfizer, you get the 30-milligram dose. it's no difference from the first to the second. it's just -- the difference is you, meaning the individual. so you getting your first or second dose? but there's not a second dose formulation, so to speak. and the same thing with moderna. you get the 100-milligram dose once and the second dose after that. so there's really no difference. that's not something that should really be of concern, but it's a great question. >> dr. bhadelia, let me turn to you for this one. i think this is a great question. people want to know, if you've had covid and survived, this is from 4france1997, if you've had covid and survived, how long before most people are vulnerable again and is there a test to show how strong your antibodies are? >> great question. and you know, although we're still nailing down how long natural immunity lasts from this disease, there is some new data, so what we know from what cdc says is at least three months right after you've had an infection, the chances of getting a reinfection are very, very low. and then there's studies that show that, you know, up to eight months, you can have a pretty good, at least up to eight months, you can have pretty good antibody response that shows that you potentially could protect yourself. now, there are a couple of things that complicate this. the new variants that are out now, including the variants, the b1351 that was originally discovered in south africa, the concern is people may get an infection with that variant. the terms of test, the type of test, i would say they're not as useful. so you could get an antibody test that could tell you how much antibody you have, but the trouble is, we don't know how much antibody is enough for you to be protected at this time from an infection. they are not useful. instead, i would just continue to take good public health measures. >> all right. well, we have literally hundreds of questions that we can ask, but we're out of time. we'll have to have you both back. thank you very much, dr. nahid bhadelia and dr. bernard ashby. maybe you guys can weigh in on twitter and get to some of the questions we didn't answer today. i'm happy to have you back. and next up, joe biden has been anything but sleepy. when he come back, i'll take a closer look at how the 46th president is doing. 46th president is doing wanna build a gaming business that breaks the internet? that means working night and day... ...and delegating to an experienced live bookkeeper for peace of mind. your books are all set. so you can finally give john some attention. trusted experts. guaranteed accurate books. intuit quickbooks live. feeling sluggish or weighed down? it could be a sign that your digestive system isn't working at its best. taking metamucil everyday can help. metamucil psyllium fiber gels to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down. it also helps lower cholesterol and slow sugar absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. so you can feel lighter and more energetic. metamucil. support your daily digestive health. take the metamucil two week challenge and feel lighter and more energetic. sign up today at metamucil.com. (man) i'm a verizon engineer, part of the team that built 5g right, the only one from america's most reliable network. we designed our 5g to make the things you do every day better. with 5g nationwide, millions of people can now work, listen, and stream in verizon 5g quality. and in parts of many cities where people can use massive capacity, we have ultra wideband, the fastest 5g in the world. this is the 5g that's built for you. this is 5g built right. only from verizon. here you go, let me help you. hi mr. charles, we made you dinner. ahh, thank you! ready to eat? yes i am! welcome back to "the cross connection." i'm tiffany cross. just one month on the job and president biden put the world on notice that america is back, and so are american values. just moments ago he approved a disaster declaration for winter storm-ravaged texas. he's also pushing his desperately needed $1.9 trillion covid relief package and he's endorsed a landmark immigration plan unveiled by democrats this week, that includes an eight-year pathway to citizenship for undocumented people who arrive by january 1st of this year. it also lifts hurdles for legal immigration of workers and moves to replace the word alien with noncitizen in u.s. law. this comprehensive bill is just one of the measures democrats are planning to roll out on issues like policing, infrastructure, and voting rights. but late friday a major hurdle to the biden agenda emerged from his own party. west virginia senator joe manchined he will owe biden's pick to lead the office of management and budget because of her prior tweets on republican lawmakers. like really? joining me now to talk about this and more is pbs newshour white house correspondent yamiche alcindor, making her debut on "the cross connection." thank you for joining me. how do you anticipate joe biden will strike this delicate balance with an increasingly progressive congress and the more conserve tv-leaning democrats like joe manchin and christian sinema? >> joe manklen is representing what he thinks are the values of west virginia and taking position of what he thinks will win that conservative seat, a seat still held by a democrat but in the deeply red part of the country. that being said, talking to sources at the white house, there's no intention at this point from president biden to you pull the nomination of near tandem. they're going to fight for this conversation and get at least one republican to vote for her but things are really, really tight. this announcement by joe manchin really does put her nomination in a trough position. all of this happening after president trump said all sorted of things on twitter that republicans took by during that but we are seeing a different tone coming from joe manchin. >> let me move from that to covid relief. while neera tanden's nomination is important but people at home who can't afford to pay their mortgage, can't afford to feed their kids and standing in bread lines are wondering when will the stimulus check hit my account? any idea how president biden is working to advance this agenda in congress or is some something that falls in vice president harris' portfolio? is she talking to her old colleagues in the senate? >> this is joe biden's number one priority, this $1.9 trillion bill. we speak to democrats on the hill. they are very confident they will pass this bill. the only question is will this have a $15 minimum wage requirement on the federal level or will it not? democrats, even as president biden was meeting with republicans and saying he was trying to get this bill to be a bipartisan bill, they were also going at the same time in a parallel process to go through reconciliation which allows the bills to be passed with only democratic votes. nancy pelosi is on the rd ro telling myself and other reporters at the white house a few weeks ago this bill will be passed by march 15th. oopts that's their deadline. they understand this is when they want to get it done which means checks can come late march, early april. this is something the president made clear to every single person on his white house and capitol hill. he wants this bill passed and it seems very clear democrats are going to use their new power to say we can get things done and this legislation is going to be a clear example of, they believe, to get things done. >> i have to say when you say checks are late march, early april, and we look at the cliffhanger it sounds like an eternity away. my heart goes out to people wait egg on money if we're talking weeks away can be beaten up by overdraft fees. i want to shift to the vaccine rollout. one thing i notice, i live in a neighborhood that's not quite gentrified so there are a lot of different communities and i don't see it pr campaign like signs at bus stations or ads or endorsements or community validators on black and brown radio stations. i know there's a huge budget for ad rollouts. how instrumental or how aware do you think the administration is in making this case and meeting people where they are, especially given who helped put this administration in office and the gap between the distrust between those communities and the medical community. what do you think their plan is in encouraging people to get this vaccine? >> so the biden administrations ha really said they're going to be focused on equity, focused on getting this vaccine into the arms of the most vulnerable populations in this country. of course, they've been saying over and over again they really inherited no vaccine plans. talking to sources i can tell you people told me the plan for the trump administration was essentially to dump the vaccine on to states and not to have any other plan on how it would actually get to the people. that being said, the ways the biden is using to target vulnerable communities is coming under some criticism because they're using pharmacies, they're using health centers. there are a lot of communities in this country, the south side of chicago, parts of miami, where there are not even pharmacies, there isn't good access to health care in the health care infrastructure that is existing now. and we are seeing this really -- this lack of access to health care could mean there are people who might not get the access to the vaccine, even as the biden administration is trying their hardest to get them. they are also rolling out mobile vaccine centers and i think that will be key to reaching some of those communities that don't have the health infrastructure that other communities have. they're saying they're going to be in -- they've already gone into east oakland and they're going into miami and to orlando. but they really are also having a vaccine supply problem, right? >> right. >> it's not just they want to get the vaccine but there isn't enough vaccine right now to go around. >> yeah, and especially with like inclement weather and things that happen. but joe biden is sticking today, he's going to get 100 million vaccinated in his first 100 days. let me ask you, reparations, the house held a panel this week, jen psaki, white house press secretary talked about biden's support for reparations but stopped short saying joe biden would sign the bill if it got to his desk. what do you make of that? >> it was a real telling moment. what i make of that is white house press secretary jen psaki wanted to be cautious on this topic but it's a topic that especially african-american voters and black women who were key, integral to president biden winning this election, they are watching this closely and wanting -- and wanting this to happen. this is not saying that people are going to get checks in the mail tomorrow. this is saying that's there's going to be a study and reparations. vice president biden is on the record saying he would support something like that. so i think it's telling she didn't want to go as far as to say he would support this specific bill. so i think this is a place where we're really going to have to watch closely what happens. this is a bill moving through congress for a while now and i think now that democrats have so much power, you have african-american people, african-american leadership saying why can't we focus on this issue? we know african-americans are not being treated equally in this country. we know there are economic consequences to the institutional racism that black people have faced in this country and that is separate and apart from any other race in this country. black people being held in bonden, enslaved for years in this country, that hurt generations of african-americans and this study, people think, will be integral to trying to right some of that wrong. so we will have to watch the white house and continue to press them on their response to that bill. >> yes, congressman daniels will be on with my copart tomorrow on "the sunday show." and before we go, i want to ask on a personal level, how is it to cover this administration? we also saw you getting harassed by the 45th president of the united states. so covering this administration, i'm curious how you show up with your olympic experience there and how it's been for you in your first month. >> i can tell you things have been radically normal. we have a schedule. the press briefings are when the press briefings are. that's not to say we're best friends with the administration, right. the relationship will still be one that's adversarial because you have a press pushing for answers. you have an administration at times who do not want to give us answers to questions, critical questions. when are things going to get back to normal? president biden said maybe as early as christmas. the white house press secretary more cautious about giving a specific date. that being said, president trump had an agenda, a strategy to make the media part of his opposition, to harass and target reporters and he thought that was to his political benefit. we just have not seen that with president biden. we have seen a president who while he's pushed back on members of the media, has done so in a pretty respectful way. so i think right now we're still having a shared sense of respect. and it's a good change to go forward in a democracy facing so many challenges in the middle of a pandemic, in the middle of a racial reckoning, in the middle of a climate crisis, with so many things going on, it's good we can have normal and respectful exchanges. >> and your presence in that briefing room is certainly appreciated by the viewers. thank you very much, yamiche, for making your debut and we certainly have to have you back. thank you for joining us. i want to shift to our panel because joining us is editor at large for the 19 and ins ms. contributor, and co-host of "breakdances with wolves" and the podcast indigenous pirates radio, and the krooed of the american institute for congressional studies and paula ramos, msnbc contributor and author of "finding latinx." thank you very much for being here. i want to hop into this whole idea of it's been one month. paula, i want to start with you on this because immigration has been this huge initiative he rolled out this month. we are seeing pushback from republicans in congress. but there's a lot of challenges facing the country. i think language matters. so the fact he's even starting out with we're going to remove the term alien and replace it with noncitizen is a big step. tell me when you stand on this. >> no, of course. i think one of the things we learned from this election is he cannot afford to not fight for immigration reform. when we look at the republicans, we know we cannot expect much from a party who has decided to be the party of trust but i think republicans are faced with a moral dilemma they can't get away from. in the past eight months we have come to understand this country is surviving at the hands of undocumented immigrants and you can't escape the fact 3-4 undocumented immigrants are essential workers. how are they going to go around that? when you look around president biden and what the democrats are doing just in this week, you do understand they made this a priority. the most important thing is democrats have to unify around the idea they must legalize as many people as possible. compromise is no longer an option. there's many ways to get there. two things that are important, politically, i do think this will haunt them if they go back to an obama administration example where nothing happened. more than anything, we have an unprecedented opportunity for truly once and for all reimagine and rewrite is this country a country of immigrants or is it not? i'm talking to you from an extremely dangerous city full of asylum seekers. the number one question, is the american dream still alive? why have i been stuck here over two years? i come here for months, crossing the most dangerous borders, and now they're stuck. truly, it's a matter of life and death. so it's time to truly rewrite whether or not this is who we are. >> republicans are expected to oppose many of the provisions in the legislation, to push it through the senate. they will need 60 votes for it to proceed. we will see how dems can get this done and certainly keep an eye on it. jaffe, i do want to turn to you. president biden certainly benefited from native american voters, particularly battleground states like arizona. now as an outsider, it feels like the community is cautiously optimistic he will be able to make good on some of the treaties that were violated between the u.s. government and native american communities. where do you stand on this and what would you like to see out of this administration, considering we're only one month in? >> yeah, good morning, panel, good morning, tiffany, and thank you, as always, for having me. a month in is very promising, tiffany. one of the very important steps the biden administration has made in regards to protecting and upholding treaties that have been broken is canceling the keystone pipeline. that's very significant. there's been other things where he shows he has a willingness to listen to native communities and willingness to undo some of the damage this last guy did but also a lot of other folks have done for the last 150 years of industrial development. one of the biggest steps, perhaps the biggest step, tiffany, that the biden administration can do in regards to protecting treaty rights but also in regards to protecting the next generation and generation after that and generation after that is ensuring by using whatever pressure he has to do to make sure deb haaland is the next secretary of interior. it's so crucial, in the same way it's unfair, tiffany, the same way black women are charged unfairly with saving this democracy, saving this union every four years, is deb haaland might be the last great hope of this nation to preserve treaty rights, but also to preserve the environmental integrity of this nation for decades to come. so that's the next crucial step to make sure treaty rights are indeed preserved but also to make sure our children and our grandchildren and great grandchildren have a meaningful future to have the quality of life we have, tiffany. >> yeah, and we will definitely be watching deb haaland's confirmation unfold. thank you for that. and something that's just heartbreaking are these asian american pacific islander attacks in this country. i think when we think of discrimination, people don't often think of the api community but certainly the community is impacted by this. is there something that the biden administration can do to address this? >> well, thank you for having me, tiffany. and happy lunar new year. it's a special occasion for the asian american community right now with our cultural festival and heritage. i think at this point it's also something to take notice, yesterday was a day of remembrance. so when you think about february 19, 1942, an executive order 9066 that president roosevelt talking about encarse rating 120,000 japanese-americans and using the word alien, all of that is related to some historical racial issues the community had throughout the years as they helped to build this country. so president biden's recent memo in regards to addressing the racial tension with the asian american community was helpful when he first started this administration. i think it also needs to move further than that. the k pac press conference that was held yesterday shows this is really about breaking down systemic racism. it's not just asian americans feeling assault, and deadly assaults at that. we're looking at also economic insecurity that all of our communities are facing. and the only way that we can, you know, take down systemic racism is to work together in communities of color and with community driven solutions. so this is important for us when you think about his direction to the department of justice to ensure that law enforcement work with communities because it is such a tragedy that these reports are underreported because asian americans are fearful of talking about these incidents. >> yes, i have to say thankfully it's becoming a national headline and blanketed my timeline on instagram and twitter and a lot of other people, we've gotten a lot of questions about these attacks. it's unfortunate i think people overlook the asian american community when it comes to situations like this. it's terribly heartbreaking and i hope to see there's some federal legislation brought in to address this. aaron, i want to turn to you, you have covered the campaign trail and covering this administration as well. one month in, is there anything that you think should fall squarely into vice president harris' portfolio, having just recently interviewed her yourself? >> thanks, tiffany. let me just say i see madelyne in that lunar new year, so happy new year of the ox for sure. listen, when i talked to vice president harris last week what she stressed and continued to stress with meeting with lawmakers and leaders is the impact of this pandemic on women. particularly women of color. and the administration has kind of centered racial equity as their priority and racial equity as pertains to the pandemic, both in terms of the vaccine rollout but also the pandemic seems to be their top priority. and addressing everything from the equitable vaccine rollout to rent assistance, mortgage assistance, that $1,400 stimulus check, et cetera, is something that she seems to understand will have a direct impact on the women who have been disproportionately impacted by and responding to this crisis from the public health and economic standpoint. but i think the other part of this is because you saw plaque women standing up for democracy in such a huge way, just in spite of attempts at voter suppression and being the main ones who put them in oefs, the issue of voting rights has to be front and center for this administration too. because that is again part of what black women tell me, the return on their investments. you see voting rights legislation enshrined at the federal level even as you're seeing state legislatures once again attacking access to the ballot, going after the millions of voters, many people of color, many women, who had increased access to the ballot through the mail-in and absentee balloting process even in the midst of a pandemic. they were mobilizing and galvanizing those voters to turn out and participate in this democracy again. i think getting that voting legislation across the finish line is something that has been communicated to this administration as a priority. and i think that's something joe biden and also kamala harris seemed to understand. she said she felt a great deal of responsibility as a plaque black woman as to bring all of these issues to the table and all of those voters in the every every time she's addressing their agenda. >> you talk about economics and we will keep you around for the next segment because we will be talking about women of color and economics. erin will be right back. thank you, i have to have all of you back. we never have enough time. next up, we'll discuss the harsh economic impact the pandemic has had on women of color specifically. you don't want to miss it. stay tuned. ♪ you're not using too much are you hon? nope... charmin ultra soft is so soft you'll have to remind your family they can use less. charmin ultra soft is twice as absorbent so you can use less. don't worry, there's plenty left for you, dad. we all go, why not enjoy the go with charmin. ♪♪ for skin as alive as you are... don't settle for silver 7 moisturizers 3 vitamins 24 hours hydration gold bond champion your skin we will keep you around for the color specifically. we will keep you around for the color specifically psst! psst! allergies don't have to be scary. spraying flonase daily stops your body from overreacting to allergens all season long. psst! psst! you're good. the issue of 2.5 million women out of the workforce is a national emergency as far as i'm concerned. so a national emergency of a big problem requires a big solution. and we have to talk about proportionality. you can talk about the dollar amount, but let's talk about the harm that that is designed to address. >> this pandemic is hitting women hard but it is hitting some women harder. as vice president harris just pointed out, a whopping 2.5 million women have left the workforce. she's making this a key focus, meeting with women lawmakers and activists this week as well as penning a "the washington post" op-ed. black and latino women are bearing the bankrupt of long-standing economic disparities. as the saying goes, when america catches a financial cold, we catch a fiscal pandemic. and a one size fits all approach ain't going to cut it this time. but my pam does have thoughts. so errin haines is back with me and we're adding jamella misher in, co-director at the cornell center for health executive. i love the study you and margaret did together. i read it in the post a couple weeks ago and found it quite fascinating. the same way affirmative action programs unfortunately disproportionately benefit white women, i think this is happening on these policies. how are latina and black women disadvantaged now when it comes to the global pandemic and recent economics. >> yeah, let me count the ways. it's hard to even encapsulate it. but i think one of the same sources of disadvantage are really the differential sort of occupation structure that black and latina women face. they're simply working different jobs than many white women are working and working in jobs in the industry like travel industry and service industry, the industries are that suffering most as a result of the pandemic. and so they're experiencing the most sustained job loss and highest unemployment. even while they're facing larger neighborhoods and communities that are experiencing the pandemic most harshly. so the most exposure to the pandemic, the least support because they're more likely to be leading single-parent households and most vulnerability because they're more likely to be operating in industries that are now suffering most dramatically. so almost every front that we can think of, block and latino women are the most vulnerable. >> yeah, and i want to shift here to minimum wage and play a sound bite from joe biden at a town hall he this earlier this week because you all point out interesting facts about this in your study. let's hear the sound bite from joe biden. >> here's the deal, it's about doing it gradually. we're at $7.25 an hour. no one should work 40 hours a week and live in poverty, but it's totally legitimate for small business owners to be concerned about how that changes. i do support a $15 minimum wage. i think there is equally as much, if not more evidence, to dictate it would grow the economy and long run and media run benefit small businesses as well as large businesses and would not have such a dill atory effect. >> margaret, let me turn to you. your study found they would disproportionately affect black and latina women because they reside in states that would block increases even when local municipalities pass them. stay more about that. >> yeah, that's definitely one reason that is happening. but i think the one thing we also mentioned in the article that's important to note is that what jamella said, because so many black and latina women are concentrated in industries with really bad safeguard policies, they're oftentimes the recipients of the sub-tips eliminate wage. i don't hear anyone talking about eliminating the sub-tip minimum wage, which would make a big difference for these women. minimum wage as it is currently structured and we're only looking at the minimum wage is benefiting white women more than black and latina women but that does not have to be the case. if we focus more on their specific vulnerabilities and industries they're concentrated in, we will start to think about policies like the sub minimum tip wage and paid leave and other policies that will really safeguard them against the issues they're experiencing now with the pandemic. >> right. because very few people are using their services when where they can get tips. i completely hear that. errin, i want to ask you, one of the things the study pointed out is the covid relief stimulus check that a lot of people, particularly black and latina women, are not getting it because they're less likely to file taxes or worked in industries where they didn't file taxes. in your conversations with this administration, particularly vice president harris, are there lanes where they are specifically focused on black and latina women when it comes to economic policy? >> i will -- let's just talk about that meeting with lawmakers and activists that happened earlier this week. we are talking about people from the labor community, domestic worker community, the organizing community, all stressing really that $15 minimum wage that the study's author was just referencing here because we know who that primarily is going to affect. the inequalities that were laid bare by this pandemic particularly around race and gender, the conversation is, yes, about addressing the pandemic and the effect of the pandemic on black women but also looking towards a longer-term normal, especially for women of color, at the other side of this pandemic. on the 19 we've been reporting to what we refer to as the she sessions. we know women have born the brunt of this pandemic but it can't be a conversation about all women. it has to be focused on all women of color because they're being so disproportionately impacted. the pandemic relief package addressing specifically some of the issues that are disproportionately affecting women of color, housing insecurity, food insecurity, childcare piece and also equitable rollout of the vaccine. because we know so many front line and essential workers are women of color and also the fact 40% of domestic workers are unemployed and we know who most of those women are as well. thinking about this, with the racial and gender equity piece in mind seems to be certainly where vice president harris is focused and something she's stressing not only to president biden but also to folks that are outside and inside of this process in congress and otherwise to make sure that that this pandemic relief package was intact as possible as it goes through the markup process, which is happening as we speak. >> yeah, and, errin, i think this is why diversity in politics is just as important as diversity in media. when you have this blanket statement about what works for women and you don't disaggregate that data, some of the story lines can get lost. jamella, i'll come back to you. as you look at the study, i'm curious of the distinctions, i know you point out the differences between black and latina women as it relates to our white counterparts, is were there distinctions between black and latina women as relates to economic policies? >> absolutely. i think is this kind of not one size fits all policy applies across the board. for example, the earned income tax credit was a policy that very much benefited black women but not as much latina women and that might have been for reasons liar more latina women are undocumented and not available to benefit from a policy that's channeled through the tax code, right. and public health insurance, like medicaid, really was a huge benefit and support for latina women and we know unemployment insurance is highest for latina women. so the housing piece in the biden relief plan, i think that is really key. who is the face of eviction in this country? it's black women. that doesn't mean white women aren't being evicted or men or latina women are not being evicted but black women are dealing with the scourge of eviction in a way no other group of women are. when we talk about housing, that is going to affect them tremendously, whether it's an eviction with moratoria, which is just the baseline or trying to figure out how to get rental assistance to people and how to protect them or getting people lawyers in housing court. there are so many things we can do but we have to recognize who has the most at stake here? >> this is fascinating, and i encourage everybody to read your study. i'll tweet it out after the show so folks know where to find it. and i thank you guys for doing the study and i thank you, errin, because the 19 essentially focused on this. thank you all very much for bringing this issue to light and being willing to have this discussion here on "the cross connection." don't go anywhere at home, next, a tour of a very special landmark in harlem. take a walk with me. stay tuned. did you know that dove bar washes away germs? here pepper represents germs. with dove the germs wash away. with 1/4 moisturizing cream. dove cleans effectively, cares beautifully. ♪ ♪ are you ready to join the duers? those who du more with less asthma. thanks to dupixent. the add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. dupixent isn't for sudden breathing problems. it can improve lung function for better breathing in as little as 2 weeks and help prevent severe asthma attacks. it's not a steroid but can help reduce or eliminate oral steroids. dupixent can cause serious allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. get help right away if you have rash, shortness of breath, chest pain, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection and don't change or stop your asthma treatments, including steroids, without talking to your doctor. du more with less asthma. talk to your asthma specialist about dupixent. if your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. 1 in 2 kids is under hydrated. ♪ plant-powered creative roots gives kids the hydration they need, with the fruit flavors they love. and one gram of sugar. find creative roots in the kids' juice aisle. and one gram of sugar. (man) i'm a verizon engineer, part of the team that built 5g right, the only one from america's most reliable network. we designed our 5g to make the things you do every day better. with 5g nationwide, millions of people can now work, listen, and stream in verizon 5g quality. and in parts of many cities where people can use massive capacity, we have ultra wideband, the fastest 5g in the world. this is the 5g that's built for you. this is 5g built right. only from verizon. i just want to get in one second. these are the original floorboards so we're literally walking in the footsteps of luminaries. i try not to be hyperbolic. but i do get excited because we walk in my big footsteps and stand in the shoulders of these giants and know from where we came, for me, is standing on this sub board right here. >> for over a century, harlem has been the center of african-american arts and culture. in honor of black history month, jermaine lee has dedicated the last three episodes of his podcast "into america" into the giants of black history who were central to the harlem renaissance, something i care deeply about. he recently toured the shamberg center for black culture, a space that not only preserves the heritage of the african-american die as pra but captures the brilliance of the united states. joining me now is my longtime friend jermaine lee. this is amazing work you've done. i'm curious what made you focus on the harlem renaissance for this black history month. >> tiffany, thank you very much for having me. as you know for a very long time i told stories that on times centered around our trauma and tragedy of white supremacist and violence. but we're also defined by our triumphs as well so i wanted to go back to the past and i had the opportunity to get my hands on these amazing photographs schomburg and abraham hill. i had not heard of abraham hill but i found out he was a black american playwright who displayed a class of color with race and racism and that set us off through a journey through harlem. this was such a joy to actually watch in the footsteps of such giants but also connect us to the facts, right? >> right. >> we had this concept that the harlem renaissance is so far away but we're definitely tethered to our past. >> i want to play a soundbite from when you were touring the schomburg center. >> you're entering langston hughes lobby and in front of you is what's called the cosmo gram. this is the coming together of langston hughes and schomburg here in harlem. the center, symbol of the fish -- by the way, the instances around the cosmo gram are hughes' first published potential a negro eck spoos rivers, and his ashes are in the center in a book-shaped urn. >> there are so many people who took part and made up and comprised the harlem renaissance. as you talk about langston hughes, he's one of the people who made me ever want to write, want to put pen to paper. i'm curious in your research did you ever uncover why langston hughes and dorineal hughes had beef during this time? >> i did not. but i will tell you, this time was messy. you had affairs going on and beef between luminaries. i did not discover that but one thing that was amazing at the schomburg center, as a little black boy, a white teacher told tore shawn that black people didn't have any heroes and no life. and he spent his life convincing people we did have a history. and you mentioned his life before, before this collection found its way to the 135th street library and schomburg center, they would go to mr. schomburg's house to do research. he had 12,000 pieces of ephemera and books and first editions and they would go to the home. i discovered not the beef, but there was some scandal. there was things going on back then, crazy. >> i want to play a wonderful sound bite you had a chance to talk about, sanya sanchez. we'll take a listen. >> when we talk to folks, it's like a constellation of luminaries moving in a circle but the center was the schomburg library. everybody had experience coming to the 135th street library. >> sonja sanchez tells a powerful story. we were here two years ago and she was looking out the window, she was seeing another exhibition, and she realized, wow, this was the original reading room. i used to walk up the stairs to go see the librarian and started to go to the exit doors. we unlock it, turn off the alarm and she stood there and told us the story of coming here as a young woman in her 20s and learning about black literature from gene blackwell hudson herself. >> i think that was such a powerful moment because there are so many people who want to create, who want to be artists and i always tell people, as i was told, if you want to be a great writer, you must first be a great reader. i think you talked to a lot of people who inspire that. tell me what's upcoming for you from your podcast "into america. ". >> the series is called "harlem on my mind." so we went to the great painter, schomburg and then nievleist who is probably your favorite writer's favorite editor. she's the first one to publish langston hughes and wean finishing off with abraham hill, the playwright who started this off. and luminaries like harry belafonte, sidney poitier, ruby dean, ozzy davis all emerged out of the american negro theater. this final episode centers on the life of and legend and legacy of the great abraham hill. >> jer main, you out here doing it for the culture every day. that's why i rock with you. thank you very much for showing up for the show today. don't go anywhere at home because up next, why the texas storm could be a cautionary tale for all of us. stay tuned. built just for customers 55 and up. saving 50% vs. other carriers with 2 unlimited lines for less than $30 each. call 1-800-t-mobile or go to t-mobile.com/55. what are you doing? art class. it's abstract expressionism. when you start with a better hot dog from oscar mayer, you can do no wrong. it's all for the love of hot dogs. is now a good time for a flare-up? enough, crohn's! for adults with moderate to severe crohn's or ulcerative colitis... stelara® can provide relief and is the only approved medication to reduce inflammation on and below the surface of the intestine in uc. you, getting on that flight? back off, uc! stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection... flu-like symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine. pres, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. lasting remission can start with stelara®. if you've been financially impacted by covid-19, janssen may be able to help. (noise of fridge opening) if you've been financially impacted by covid-19, guy fieri! ya know, if you wanna make that sandwich the real deal, ya gotta focus on the bread layers. king's hawaiian sliced bread makes everything better! ♪ (angelic choir) ♪ umm, honey...why is guy fieri in our kitchen? i don't know. i'm booking you a one-way ticket to flavortown with a king's hawaiian meatball sub. ♪ ♪ i gotta go. your neighbor needs king's hawaiian bread. hey, i got you. guy fieri? go pro at subway® for double the protein on footlong subs and new protein bowls. and if you want to go pro like marshawn, you got to feed virtual marshawn, too. thanks for the footlong, irl marshawn! go pro and get double the protein for just $2 more. darrell's family uses gain flings now so their laundry smells more amazing than ever. go pro and get double the protein isn't that the dog's towel? hey, me towel su towel. more gain scent plus oxi boost and febreze in every gain fling. wanna build a gaming business that breaks the internet? that means working night and day... ...and delegating to an experienced live bookkeeper for peace of mind. your books are all set. so you can finally give john some attention. trusted experts. guaranteed accurate books. intuit quickbooks live. what are you doing to stay warm? >> nothing. there's no power. what can we do? i'm just wearing layer after layer. >> i have to bundle her up, put several pairs of socks on her and just panic in the middle of my stomach, what am i going to do? and do it fast. when i woke up, i was in full-on lion mode. my daughter is not going to be hungry and cold. >> so power has finally been restored to 2 million homes in texas after an unprecedented and deadly winter storm. but the state is facing a mounting water crisis as nearly half the population is under a boil water advisory. some states are blaming the state's privatized electrical grid to failure to meet demand, the state's governor incorrectly placed the blame on the green new deal. >> this shows how the green new deal would be the deadly deal for the united states of america. texas is blessed with multiple sources of energy like natural gas, oil, nuclear as well as solar and wind. but you saw from what trace said and that is our wind and our solar got shut down, and they were collectively more than 10% of our power grid. >> but now some scientists are saying climate change may have played a role in causing the storm. it may seem counterintuitive that winter storms could be linked to global warming but experts say rapid heating can push arctic winter storms much further south, and that appears to be what happened here. in damage done by the storm of low-income color, provide a cautionary tale for the climate crisis to come. in houston, for example, environmental groups are saying areas such as acres home, a predominantly black and latino neighborhood, were among the first to lose power. mind you, these are areas that are already struggling. the u.s. census bureau estimated in texas black and hispanic families are more than twice as likely to live below the poverty line than white families. and on the southwest border when migrants await their asylum hearings, hundreds are huddled in makeshift tents amidst freezing cold temperatures. imagine living like that? if the crisis in texas revealed one thing, when disasters strike, it's the country's most vulnerable who are hit the hardest. don't go anywhere, up next, i will tell you who "got next." when our daughter and her kids moved in with us... our bargain detergent couldn't keep up. turns out it's mostly water. so, we switched back to tide. one wash, stains are gone. daughter: slurping don't pay for water. pay for clean. it's got to be tide. age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein. we made usaa insurance for members like martin. an air force veteran made of doing what's right, not what's easy. so when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. that's how you do it right. usaa insurance is made just the way martin's family needs it with hassle-free claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. because doing right by our members, that's what's right. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. ♪ usaa ♪ instantly clear every day congestion we're made for. with vicks sinex saline nasal mist. for drug free relief that works fast. vicks sinex. instantly clear everday congestion. to support local restaurants, we've been to every city, including boise... ...and even bakersfield. yeah, we're exhausted. whew! so, tonight... i'll be eating the gyro quesadilla from...al quick stop...in... hyde park. (doorbell) excellent. and, tonight... i'll be eating the chicken pot pie from...founding farmers...in... foggy bottom. (doorbell) (giggle) oh, they're excellent. i had so many beignets i thought i was going to hurl. do ya think they bought it? oh yeah. with oscar mayer deli fresh it's not just a sandwich, far from it. it's a reason to come together. it's a taste of something good. a taste we all could use right now. so let's make the most of it. and make every sandwich count. with oscar mayer deli fresh you can't plan for your period's... and make every sandwich count. what the gush moments. but the right pad can. only always ultra thins have rapiddry technology and, they absorb 40% faster. the gush happens fast. that's why always absorbs faster. washed your hands a lot today? probably like 40 times. hands feel dry? like sandpaper. introducing new dove handwash, with 5 x moisturizer blend. removes germs in seconds, moisturizes for hours. soft, smooth. new dove handwash. in the words of malcolm x, the mother is the first teacher of the child. the message she gives to that child, that child gives to the world. when i asked who "got next" this week, the author of the three books comes to mind. it explains the pivotal role that dr. are the maen luther king, malcolm x, and the author anna malaika is here with me. congratulations on the book. it's amazing. i'm curious, why did you focus on the mothers of these three amazing men? >> thank you very much for having me, tiffany. this is so wonderful to be here. it would be an easy choice. these were incredible women. i wanted to join others correcting the erasure of black african-american stories i wanted to talk about the civil rights movement. we so often give credit to our male leaders, these three men as well as several others. i thought let's focus and women and let's further break down erasure and think about women further erased, the mothers. those who are underappreciated, underrecognized, a role many of us today feel unthanked and not given the gratitude or recognition we deserve. as soon as i looked into several different mothers as civil rights leaders, i chose these three because they were born within six years of each other and sons born within five years of each other. and we can also look through the eyes of three incredible black women. >> absolutely. i have to tell you, i would get a tattoo of james baldwin if i were bolder. he's one of the most amazing people i think to ever be born in this country. i'm curious, what was the commonality that you found between these three mothers? >> yes, first, i mean, i did really want to celebrate the differences in terms of black womanhood and dehumanization, which i'm challenging in the book. we are so often put in boxes and categories and people want to reduce our experiences so i wanted to focus on the nuance and thing about how beautifully rich and different they were from one another. the similarities in many ways are rather painful because despite how different they were, despite the different background and their different access to resources or education or where they were born, they were treated similarly because they were black women. although louise was born in grenada, she later came to the united states and as black women in the united states, they faced so many of the same traumas and attacked simply because they shared this identity as black women. the other commonality and focus on light is they focused on the future so they and their children could be seen as the human beings they knew they were, with worth, dignity and respect. they did so with approaches that hold that in our hearts that their children's humanity mattered, their own humanity mattered. >> you talk about transforming systems and it seems like an apropos time for this book as we're at a racial remaking. when i think about transforming systems, it's not just incumbent on black women but upon all people. what can people take away from your book as they pass on their lessons to their own children? >> yeah, in terms of everything happening even with the pandemic right now and we see so many women are being affected but more so women of color, black women, black latina women are being affected by think crisis as different as others, we need to focus on alleviating the difference of color. we need to celebrate these women saying, wow, it's amazing they made it through what they made it through, because so often that's what people want to say about black women and mothers, you have an incredible strength to endure more than other people. that is not what i want to accomplish. look at the issues louise and alberta faced in their lifetime and how much we are still dealing with today. there are so many tangible policies we can have in place that would alleviate this burden. even thinking about black mothers in texas who are dealing with this crisis in a way that is so different than others. they are the first to be marginalized, the fist to lose their rights, resources they need. so we need to think about a universal income and universal access to quality preschool. we need to think mr. re-evaluating mass incarceration and gun laws. all of these different things we need to solve now, the book focuses on thinking about three women in history and what would have made their lives easier then, we still could make lives easier today. >> it's a great read and i just want to say, when people hear about these books that are about black people, that's what they are, about black people, not exclusively for black people. we should all have intellectual curiosity about our fellow countrymen. i hope people pick up this book and it was a wonderful read. thank you very much, ana, for sharing this book with us today. that's our show for today. thank you four watching. i will be back next saturday. before we go, i want to say good-bye to our executive director james holmes. his last day is tomorrow. but i'm so grateful he ushered me through my first ten shows on this network. and all of his help launching "the cross connection" made this show what it is. i wish him all of the luck in his next adventure. but he has one more day so he can't go anywhere yet. so please tune in toese the sunday show" with jonathan capehart and that will officially be his last dance as i have been calling it. for now, stay tuned for alex witt. daughter: slurping don't pay for water. pay for clean. it's got to be tide. my husband and i have never eaten healthier. shingles doesn't care. i logged 10,000 steps today. shingles doesn't care. i get as much fresh air as possible. good for you, but shingles doesn't care. because 1 in 3 people will get shingles, you need protection. but no matter how healthy you feel your immune system declines as you age, increasing your risk for getting shingles. so what can protect you? shingrix protects. for the first time ever, you can protect yourself from shingles with a vaccine proven to be over 90% effective. shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. the most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. talk to your pharmacist or doctor about protecting yourself with shingrix. shingles doesn't care. but you should. start your day with secret. secret stops sweat 3x more than ordinary antiperspirants. the new provitamin b5 formula is gentle on skin. with secret, outlast anything! no sweat. secret good day to all of you from msnbc world headquarters here in new york. it's just about 9:00 a.m. noon in the east, 9:00 a.m. out west. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." we have more information on six officers suspended at the capitol with pay and 20 others being looked at for their actions in the deadly riot. this as six further members of the oath keepers have been indicted. and this as president biden marks exactly one month since taking office. he's back in the white house today after a trip to a michigan pfizer facility, where he hoped to deliver a dose of confidence in the covid vaccine and touts his $1.9 trillion relief