today, police departments across this country are taking steps to make sure the asian communities remain safe. it's a busy hour on the hill. the government's top doctors are making a house call. they are testifying as we speak. in a few moments, the cdc director's stark warning about one of the covid variants ripping across the country. right now, the secretary of homeland security is testifying before a house committee. his message so far about the increase of migrants crossing our southern border. all of that coming up. we start with that breaking news there in atlanta. police say the suspect, 21-year-old robert long, is likely behind all three shootings in and around atlanta. georgia state troopers arrested long tuesday night driving 125 miles south of atlanta. officials say it appears he was going to florida. reporters and analysts with us now. blayne alexander has been on the ground in atlanta. she has the latest on the shootings. tom winter following the investigation. i want to bring in frank. frank, former fbi assistant director for counterintelligence. he is an nbc news national security analyst. blayne alexander, outside one of the spas. we learned a lot in the press conference that just wrapped up. what did you hear? what more do we know about how police officers were able to apprehend this suspect? >> reporter: we did a lot in that press conference. a couple of things, one, the fact that according to law enforcement, during questions that suspect did take responsibility for all three of the shootings. that's one piece. secondly, during his interview, the suspect claims he was not motivated by race. i will give the caveat that law enforcement say it's too early to make a determination. it's too early to rule and determine whether race was or was not a factor. according to law enforcement, that suspect says that he was not motivated by race but rather telling officers that he had some sort of a sexual addiction and, quote, saw these places as potential temptation for him that he wanted to take out. i think it's important as we say that to also say what the mayor said that as far as the city of atlanta knows, employee know, these were legitimately operating businesses. they had not received any calls about them in the past. they made it clear they were not going to get into any sort of victim blaming or victim shaming. that's what we know about his potential motivation during that interview. as for how he was apprehended so quickly, that's a very important point. as you mentioned, he did indicate while talking to law enforcement that he was driving south. he was about 2 1/2 hours south of where that first shooting took place, driving straight down, as he says, on his way to florida to potentially commit more heinous acts of the same nature. the fact that this was able to kind of be coordinated between three different law enforcement group at least in three different counties and bring him into custody quickly potentially saved lives in all of this. >> the police chief just a few moments ago -- this is part of what he said about the investigation. >> we have received a number of calls about, is this a hate crime. we are still early in this investigation. we cannot make that determination at this moment. again, we are very early in this investigation, even though we have made an arrest. there's still a lot more work to be done. >> tom, again, the fbi now involved. what do you make of their involvement? what could that mean to this investigation moving forward? >> i think, craig, that's something that should be expected when you have a case like this where there's the possibility of interstate travel, that he was going to go to florida, perhaps target the pornography industry there, according to some of the statements from the georgia law enforcement officials. it makes sense that they would be involved here. they obviously can bring a lot of investigative resources to bear in a case like this where you have several incidents. let's look at a couple other things. when and how did he get that handgun? if there was a federal law violation there, that might be something the fbi gets involved with. according to the officials, they believed he was acting alone. they want to look into issues like that to see if there is some sort of a federal crime. the other thing is, i just want to point out with respect to this crime and incident, he has made the statements he has according to officials there. but there are a number of other adult entertainment or a number of other facilities that may speak to his motive that have no ties or perceived ties to the asian community that were open in atlanta last night. it does appear he targeted some facilities where there was obviously perhaps asian ownership or other ties to the asian community. i want to say that as officials in atlanta have said, we don't want to victim shame. when we look at this, the reason why he went after these specific facilities, i think, is something we will have to look at and the reason why, i would suspect, officials are not ruling out the idea that this could be a hate crime. more information obviously needs to be gathered. if that were to occur, then perhaps the fbi would be involved from the standpoint of filing federal charges. their involvement in an incident this large played out across so many areas at this stage is totally normal and something we would expect. >> to tom's point there, for folks who are not familiar with the geography of atlanta, atlanta proper and the surrounding area, this suspect covered a lot of ground yesterday. >> reporter: he absolutely did. i'm standing in the north part of the city of atlanta. the shootings happened about 45 minutes to the north of where i am. that's in cherokee county. the first shooting happened there. we understand while law enforcement working that scene, they got a call less than an hour later or so that he had come clear 45 minutes down, targeted these locations across the street, feet away from each other. by the time he was apprehended, he was about 2 1/2 hours south of where that first shooting took place, where that initial shooting took place. you heard law enforcement talk about the fact that it took a tremendous amount of coordination to bring him to justice. they were able to get his family's cooperation, which was a major factor. also that georgia state troopers were able to get into place, were able to track him down as he drove and perform what's called a pit maneuver in order to stop him and take him into custody without incident, really it's remarkable when you think about that coordination, stopping him before he potentially committed similar crimes. >> frank, i want to play something that we heard from the sheriff of cherokee county, georgia. this is sheriff frank reynolds. >> was this racially motivated? >> as the chief indicated, it's still early. the indicators right now are it may not be. it may be targets of opportunity. again, we believe that he frequented these places in the past. may have been lashing out. >> frank, for the purposes of this conversation, we should point out that you worked in the atlanta field office there for the fbi. your reaction to what we just heard from the sheriff? typically, do officials -- are officials able to discern whether something is a hate crime this quickly? >> it's too early. but it's very helpful the suspect is talking and that the family is cooperating. one of the reasons the fbi is in support mode right now is to glean whatever they can for any potential federal charges. for example, we seem to all be focused on ethnicity. let's not miss the point that gender will be a major role here. his victims were, by and large, women. if his wrath is women, if he is trying to eliminate that which tempts him in his addiction -- it's early for us to get our hands around this whole thing -- it's possible that gender could be a protected class that might apply to a state or federal hate crime as well. let's not forget that. also, the impressive work of law enforcement. i lived and worked in my fbi career in that area, lived near where this happened, north of atlanta. the coordination was incredibly impressive, particularly because this is going to be a spree killer. a spree killer will not stop until he is stopped. we are hearing he was on a mission, perhaps heading further south to florida, for more killings. the coordination and the efforts of all the georgia law enforcement need to be applauded here. lastly, the behavioral science folks will be fascinated by this. is someone who is addicted to sex or feeling like he is committing sin, lashing out at those who tempt him, to do that? is there any logic to that? is there any comparison to the in cell movement, which is a domestic terror threat, where people lash out at women because they seem not to be able to develop relationships with women? all of this is going to get studied. we will learn more about what the threats are facing us. >> one would assume that agents are right now pouring over this guy's social media accounts, trying to glean information from that. i understand we are starting to get the names of some of the victims as well. what more can you tell me? >> reporter: that's right. we have a bit of developing news here from cherokee county sheriff's department. we are getting the names released by the sheriff's department. four of the women who were killed, we know includes daelana ashley yaun, paula andre michelle, also deceased. also shou jae yin, also killed on the scene. there's an individual who was injured, ecles ortiz. he told investigators he is blaming the businesses themselves, which do not have a police record, according to the atlanta mayor, for providing and i quote, an outlet for his addiction to sex. as we look at this, you can see from the names here on the list of the deceased that we have so far that three of these names are asian. it's very clear. when you look at the broader landscape of what's happening across the country, when it comes to the anti-asian hate and violence and assault that we have continued to report on over the last year, you will see why it's happening. if you look at the data from stop aapi hate, it was released yesterday, you can see that verbal harassment is 68%, the lion's share of the hate reported so far. 11% is physical assault. it makes up a very large chunk of the hate that's been reported by asians and asian-americans. when you look at who is reporting it and you compare it with the cherokee county sheriff's update that we just received with the names of some of the victims there, you see 68%, according to stop aapi hate are women reporting the hate incidents. that's 2 1/2 times compared to men. where does this discrimination and assault happen? 35%, the plurality of it is happening at businesses. this is what we are seeing happen here. of course, we want to continue to reiterate that the investigators say it's too early to determine a motivation here. the suspect, of course, saying that this was not racially motivated. the mayor acknowledging the pain and hate and the violence happening against asian-americans right now. she pointedly said, this is an issue happening across the country. it's unacceptable. the mayor adding it's hateful and it has to stop. >> to what have officials attributed this rise in violence against asian-americans and pacific islanders? >> reporter: so, what we are hearing in our community is that this has been fuelled by a long history that has not been acknowledged of discrimination and assault and violence against the asian-american community. activists say this is happening because of what they believe to be former president trump's rhetoric inflaming this kind of racist attitude towards asian-americans. if you look at the rhetoric, much of which i will choose not to repeat, you will see that when the coronavirus took hold in china, back at the end of 2019, the beginning of 2020, we reported on the businesses that took an immediate impact. they said they were discriminated against by a lot of their customers and passersby, saying the coronavirus was their responsibility. that racially tinged and motivated language came from the top, according to the advocates and activists saying, this has to stop. we are seeing an uptick, an increasing frequency in numbers. when you dig into the data, you see that this is happening across the board, but primaprim, people who are reporting are asian-american women, 70% of the reports of anti-asian hate, according to stop aapi, come from women. there's this intersection that we are now grappling with where it's an issue of racism and alleged sexism. when you look at an incident like in atlanta -- we are very early and we do not have the formal conclusion here. it's very difficult for the asian-american community to witness this and see this unfold in the broader context of what the community is enduring right now. there's a lot of pain. there's a lot of confusion about why this is happening as we continue to cover and try to understand why this event -- this awful tragedy in atlanta happened, craig. >> still so many questions. he is expected to be in court tomorrow, the suspect in court tomorrow. maybe we will learn more then. blayne alexander in atlanta, thank you. tom winter, jo kent, frank, thanks to all of you here on that breaking news coming out of atlanta. we are keeping a close eye on what has turned into a busy morning on capitol hill. right now, dr. fauci and the cdc director right there, dr. rochelle walensky testifying on the vaccine rollout at a house committee. they gave us an idea about when we could see children fully vaccinated in the united states. first, the homeland security secretary called out a big policy from the trump administration that the biden administration ended. our own new and exclusive reporting, border patrol agents are under an unofficial gag order. clothes are invisible? try new tide pods hygienic clean heavy duty. see the difference, after being washed with tide hygienic clean. for a deep clean, try tide hygienic clean! if it's got to be 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 are hoping things will pick up by q3. yeah...uh... boost® high protein also has keydoug?ients [ding] never settle with power e*trade. it has easy-to-use tools and some of the lowest prices. don't get mad. get e*trade and start trading today. 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. we are encountering many unaccompanied children. children who arrive without a parent or legal guardian with them. their families made the decision to send them on a journey across mexico. the previous administration was expelling them. we ended that practice. >> the secretary is facing some tough questions about the biden administration's immigration policies. all of it coming as a new nbc exclusive report says the biden administration is now limiting what border patrol can share with journalists about the migrant surge at the southern border. we are joined by jacob soboroff. he has been following the story for a number of years. and shannon pettypiece with me. jacob, let me start with you. you have thousands of unaccompanied minors and families with young children being held at the border. secretary mayorkas talked about how his team is ending the practice of sending those minors back to their country. what challenges does that present? >> reporter: capacity. that's the number one challenge faced by the biden administration as they try to transition to a more fair, safe and humane immigration system. in the words of secretary mayorkas himself, he think get the children out of the border patrol stations, effectively border jails, within 72 hours, legally. they have had a hard time doing that. the capacity isn't there at the office of refugee resettlement where child welfare professionals can care for the children with expertise. the child welfare professionals can't. that's the crux of this. they have stopped sending kids back to mexico and back to their home countries, the danger from which they fled. it presented a large logistical challenge and a humanitarian crisis where too many kids are longer than they should be. >> what more do we know, jacob, what more can you tell us about what appears to be an unofficial gag order? >> reporter: what i would say is, i would encourage the biden administration to let us in, let journalists in, let lawyers in that want to see the conditions. they have a different message, more safe, more humane. we know the conditions are not that. if they truly do want to move away from that, the biden administration, as we reported this morning, has prevented in some cases local border patrol agents and sectors from opening doors as they did during the trump administration at the height of the separation crisis. let's just say the trump folks did it and they told me because they wanted to show the cruelty of the policy and what was going on inside. the biden administration i think wants to move away from the images of what happens to children in border patrol stations. you will not change the system by hiding what's going on behind those doors. i really hope that they offer an opportunity to journalists and lawyers to see for ourselves what's happening inside. >> shannon pettypiece, what is the latest from the biden administration about the plan to handle what has shaped up to be this administration's first legitimate crisis? >> reporter: through all of these weeks as the crisis has built, we had not really heard from the president directly, a message to migrants and what he planned to do about the situation. of course, we heard from the press secretary. we heard from the dhs secretary. the president had been notably quiet on this. he finally broke that silence and spoke out to some extent on this last night. here is what he had to say. >> i can say, don't come. we are in the process of getting set up. it's not going to take a long time. to be able to apply for asylum in place. don't leave your town or city or community. >> reporter: essentially this message, don't come while we get the system set up. the administration has been placing the blame on the trump administration, saying that it had dismantled the asylum system and they were having to essentially rebuild it from scratch. we are getting to two months into office. there's only so long they will be able to blame the trump administration for this. when it comes to the bigger issue of immigration policy, reforming the asylum system, the immigration system, it's still a deadlock in congress on trying to get any immigration legislation passed forward. while the administration can do certain things on a logistics front at dhs or with the help of fema, they can make regulatory changes, the big, tough, tricky stuff of getting a big immigration reform package through, that remains just as stuck as it has been for the last two, three presidents. >> shannon pettypiece there at white house. jacob soboroff, thank you as well. we will continue to keep a very close eye on that hearing that's happening right now on capitol hill. a few moments ago, vice president kamala harris talking about the shootings at three atlanta area sps that left eight people dead, including six asian women. this is what the vice president said. >> what happened in georgia, in atlanta, it is tragic. our country, the president and i and all of us, we grieve for the loss. our prayers are extended to the families of those who have been killed. it speaks to a larger issue, which is the issue of violence in our country and what we must do to never tolerate it and to always speak out against it. the investigation is ongoing. we don't yet know, we are not clear about the motive. i do want to say to our asian-american community that we stand with you and understand how this has frightened and shocked and outraged all people, but knowing the increasing level of hate crime against our asian-american brothers and sisters. we want to speak out in solidarity with them and acknowledge that none of us should ever be silent in the face of any form of hate. >> vice president harris a short time ago. here is what we know at this hour. 21-year-old suspect aaron long is in custody. a short time ago, authorities said that he possibly frequented these spas and likely had a sex addiction. in fact, reportedly, he told them that he blamed these spas for his addiction. they revealed he was on his way to florida before he was apprehended, perhaps to carry out more shootings. they found him with a handgun. the authorities did make it a point of saying that at this point, it's too early to determine conclusively if this was racially motivated. dr. fauci and the head of the cdc, dr. walensky, testifying at a house hearing on the vaccine rollout. we just heard an update on those covid-19 variants. we will check in on that right after this. -i'm down. -yes, please. [ chuckles ] don't get me wrong, i love my rv, but insuring it is such a hassle. same with my boat. the insurance bills are through the roof. -[ sighs ] -be cool. i wish i could group my insurance stuff. -[ coughs ] bundle. -the house, the car, the rv. like a cluster. an insurance cluster. -woosah. -[ chuckles ] -i doubt that exists. -it's a bundle! it's a bundle, and it saves you money! hi. i'm flo from progressive, and i couldn't help but overhear... super fun beach day, everybody. darrell's family uses gain flings now so their laundry smells more amazing than ever. but overhear... isn't that the dog's towel? hey, me towel su towel. more gain scent plus oxi boost and febreze in every gain fling. ♪ and a little bit of chicken fried ♪ ♪ cold beer on a friday night ♪ ♪ a pair of jeans that fit just right ♪ ♪ and the radio up ♪ get 5 boneless wings for $1 with any handcrafted burger. only at applebee's. at fidelity, you'll work with an advisor to help you build a flexible wealth plan. you'll have access to tax-smart investing strategies, and with brokerage accounts online trades are commission free. personalized advice. unmatched value. at fidelity, you can have both. mom and dad left costa rica, 1971. unmatched value. and in 1990, they opened irazu. when the pandemic hit, pickup and delivery was still viable. and that kept us afloat. keeping our diners informed on google was so important. the support from our customers, it honestly kept us going. i will always be grateful for that. right now on capitol hill, three top biden administration officials are testifying before house lawmakers, dr. fauci, dr. walensky and a top fda official are facing questions on the national vaccination effort. congresswoman shakowski there. 40 million americans are fully vaccinated. i want to bring in this internal medicine physician at california pacific medical center. let's start with what we heard from cdc director dr. walensky on these covid variants. in her testimony, dr. walensky said the vaccines appear to have, quote, reduced neutralization against the south african variant. it's unclear what impact that could have on the effectiveness of our vaccination effort. does that sound concerning to you? >> well, craig, i do think it's important to start from the beginning. that's knowing that viruses need human hosts to mutate. the speed at which this is spreading globally and changing is concerning. this is, of course, not the time for states to be making purely politically driven decisions which fly in the face of science and open up to full capacity and remove their mask mandates. we know these variants, several are circulating in the u.s. the true number of cases is likely higher than what's reported, because it does require special genomic sequencing to identify them. there's promising data the pfizer vaccine is effective at preventing illness and death with the uk variant. it did not look at the south african variant. the fact remains -- here is the takeaway. all variants are potentially deadly for all age groups. we need to proceed with caution here as states are reopening. we need to get as many people vaccinated as possible as quickly as we can. >> i think dr. fauci popped up a second ago in this hearing as we are having this conversation. dr. fauci just gave an update on when children will be able to get vaccinated. let's listen in. >> for high school students, it looks like they will be available to get vaccinated in the beginning of the fall. very likely for the fall term. with regard to children, we are doing an age-deescalation study in elementary schoolchildren, from 12 to 9 and 9 to 6, 6 to 2 and six months to two years. we anticipate we will have enough data to be able to vaccinate these younger children by the first quarter of $2022. >> it sounds like high school students should get shots in arms this fall. middle school, elementary, preschool it sounds like a little bit later for them. >> this is good news. young people are suffering. we want our children back in school, in person, five days a week. there's no question. based on a number of factors in much of the country, the benefits of opening schools of which vaccinating children will get us there much more safely do outweigh the risks. this is impacted by the community, a level of community spread of the virus. when we think about offsetting the risk, with reopening schools, we need to keep driving down community transmission. we need to get people, including our teachers and our adult school staff, vaccinated as fast as possible. with the appropriate mitigation strategies like enforcing masking, good hand hygiene, social distancing, better airflow indoors, cohorting kids and symptom screening. this decreases the risk of transmission. if we are able to vaccinate kids as soon as this fall or later this year or the end of the year, that's huge in terms of allowing the country to reach herd immunity. >> yes, it will. thanks as always. we will continue to keep a very close eye and ear on this hearing on capitol hill. right now, this is the scene in minneapolis. picking jurors in the trial of former police officer derek chauvin just got a whole lot more complicated. two jurors that were seated and ready are now out. the reason behind that decision and how it could affect this entire jury selection process. we are taking a closer look at the hundreds of republican proposals across the country to make it harder to vote. i will talk to a longtime aide to john lewis about that coming up. on your clothes are invisib? try new tide pods hygienic clean heavy duty. see the difference, after being washed with tide hygienic clean. for a deep clean, try tide hygienic clean! if it's got to be clean, it's got to be tide. starting today, nobody has to settle for less than the very best. because only verizon gives you 5g from america's most reliable network at no extra cost. and plans to mix and match, so you only pay for what you need. the plan is so reasonable, they can stay on for the rest of their lives. aww... and on top of that, nobody gives you more entertainment you love like disney+, hulu and espn+ on select unlimited plans. you even get one of our best 5g phones on us when you buy one. and it all starts at just $35. only from verizon. some say this is my greatest challenge. governments in record debt; inflation rising, currencies falling. but i've seen centuries of this. with one companion that hedges the risks you choose and those that choose you. the physical seam of a digital world, traded with a touch. my strongest and closest asset. the gold standard, so to speak ;) people call my future uncertain. but there's one thing i am sure of... (deborah vo) i was hesitant to get the hearing aids because of my short hair, but nobody even sees them. (vo) discover the exclusive, new miracle-earmini- a nearly invisible hearing aid from the brand leader in hearing aids with over 70 years of experience. (deborah) when i finally had miracle-ear and i could hear for the first time, i started crying. i could hear everything. new miracle-earmini. so small and comfortable that no one will see them, but you'll notice the difference. call today to start your 30-day risk-free trial at your local miracle-ear. new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a short list of quality candidates from our resume database. claim your seventy five dollar credit, when you post your first job at indeed.com/home. are you packed yet? our flight is early tomorrow. and it's a long flight too. once we get there, we will need... buttercup! ♪ we have some more breaking news this busy hour. we are keeping our eye on this minneapolis courtroom and the trial of former officer derek chauvin. two jurors who had previously been seated have now been excused after questioning from the judge. the judge wanted to find out if the jurors knew about that recent settlement with george floyd's family and whether it changed their mind about the case. shaquille brewster is outside the courthouse. he has been following it from the beginning. what more do we know about what happened with those jurors? what does that mean moving forward? >> reporter: craig, at this point we are starting to backtrack. we started with nine jurors. it's down to seven. this started because the judge made the decision to call back seven of the jurors who were seated before news of the record settlement, the $27 million settlement between the family of george floyd and the city of minneapolis. he brought them back via zoom. they appeared virtually. one by one he asked them a variation of the same question. were you exposed to any of the coverage directly or indirectly? most of them said they saw a headline -- this was something on the front page of the main newspaper here all weekend long. most saw a headline or heard it on the radio, you had two of the jurors say that it impacted their ability to be impartial members on that panel. one of the men said that he heard that number and was shocked by the sticker price and was swayed. that's what the defense was concerned about, when the settlement was initially reached on friday, that's a complaint you heard them repeat repeatedly over the course of the past two days. that is something that got two of the jurors dismissed. what this means going forward, the first juror of the day, the first potential juror is being questioned. this juror did not know about the headline. the latest he heard was about the fact that jury selection was underway, which he knew because he was coming in. that juror is being questioned and we will watch this process. what you are seeing based on what we saw this morning is why the judge gave about three weeks for this process to take place, because you never know what can pop up, what levels of uncertainty may happen and what external factors can impact what happens in the courtroom. one other note -- this is something you asked about yesterday. the idea of the defense motion to delay or continue this trial and move the trial out of the city of minneapolis. the judge said that he will rule on that on friday. we will expect a ruling friday. he did say that based on what he heard from the jurors that have been seated this morning and what he will hear throughout the day, that will influence that decision. >> shaquille brewster there in minneapolis with the latest on the trial. thank you. there's a big open question on capitol hill right now. will senate democrats kill or perhaps change the filibuster? will they do it to pass two key bills that will protect the right to vote. one of those bills is named for congressman john lewis. what would he have to say about it? i will talk with someone who worked with him for almost two decades next. >> when you see something that is not right, not just, not fair, you have a moral obligation to say something, to do something. hey, me towel su towel. more gain scent plus oxi boost and febreze in every gain fling. feel the cool rush of claritin cool mint chewables. powerful 24-hour, non-drowsy, allergy relief plus an immediate cooling sensation for your throat. feel the clarity, and live claritin clear. if you're 55 and up, t-mobile has plans built just for you. get 2 unlimited lines for only $70. and now get netflix on us with your plan. and this rate is fixed, you'll pay exactly $70 total. this month and every month. plus, switch today and get a free smartphone for each line. the best value and award-winning customer service. only at t-mobile. we need to reduce plastic waste in the environment. that's why at america's beverage companies, our bottles are made to be re-made. not all plastic is the same. we're carefully designing our bottles to be one hundred percent recyclable, including the caps. they're collected and separated from other plastics, so they can be turned back into material that we use to make new bottles. that completes the circle, and reduces plastic waste. please help us get every bottle back. if you wanna be a winner then get a turkey footlong from subway®. that's oven roasted turkey. piled high with crisp veggies. on freshly baked bread! so, let's get out there and get those footlongs. now on grubhub, buy one footlong, get one 50% off. subway®. eat fresh. [typing sound] i had this hundred thousand dollar student debt. two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars in debt. ah, sofi literally changed my life. it was the easiest application process. sofi made it so there's no tradeoff between my dreams and paying student loans. student loans don't have to take over for the rest of your life. thank you for allowing me to get my money right. my plaque psoriasis... ...the itching ...the burning. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. my psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant™ with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. emerge tremfyant™ janssen can help you explore cost support options. in a matter of minutes, chuck schumer and democrats will announce the introduction of h.r. 1. it's the for the people act. it would expand voting access and more. senate passage looks bleak. this introduction does come at a critical time for voting rights in this country. our "meet the press" team found republicans produced 250 laws in 45 states to limit mail-in, early in-person voting and even election day voting. it adds up to the biggest deuce to reduce ballot access since the jim crow era. stacey abrams, whose credited with helping democrats pick up georgia's two senate seats put it like this. >> we have to remember that vote suppression is one part of the equation. one of the most pernicious parts is it convinces you it's not worth trying. it's dismissed as voter apathy but it's despair. we have to build political infrastructure that talks to people where they are and repeatedly, because you are trying to undo sometimes generational distrust. >> i want to bring in tiffany cross as well as rashelle o'neill. she worked on the staff of john lewis for more than 18 years. in fact, he recognized her in the congressional record back in 2017 saying this, quote, mr. lewis for eight ears -- years. he was recognized back in 2017 saying, quote -- the congressman was a fan, to say the least. so let's start with you. what would congressman lewis, what would he be saying to the nation in this moment? >> thank you very much for having me. i appreciate being here. if congressman lewis was here today and would speak, he would tell you what the video shows. when something is not right, not just, not fair, then there is a moral obligation to do something, speak out. find ways to get into trouble, good trouble, necessary trouble. he would tell all of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle that now is the time to do what is right for both sides of the country. as they take up these pieces of legislation, h.r.1 and the voting act of 2020, he would be elated and happy and would tell them now is the time to do what is right. >> tiffany, in a matter of minutes we will hear from senator chuck schumer about the for the people act. it puts the spotlight squarely >> voters may or may not agree, tiffany, but it is a reality they face because that's how it's being framed for them. this is coming from politco. so is this the thing, is this the issue, is this the bill that pushes democrats to reconsider the way a fillabuster is used? >> if not now, when. this is something the democrats need to take up. democrats may not believe it and it doesn't matter. it is what is. senator democrats would not have the power. black voters deliver the power of the federal government to democrats to exercise it. it is the fastest way to lose your power is not recognize you have it. when you have senators like joe who vote the slim 49 and 50, it could be tough for the democratic agenda. if we can't pressure people to kill the filabuster in the name of voting rights -- we need to keep that at the forefront of the conversation. there are two pieces of legislation, but some of the bills taking place at the state level, the bill in georgia says you cannot give someone food and water if they are waiting in line to vote. we know who that attacks. they wouldn't have this power had the voters not put this to the senate. that's what this is about. we need to keep the pressure on senator democrats to support the filibuster. >> we got a preview of where the president stands on changing the filibuster. this is what president biden just said in a new interview. >> i don't think you have to eliminate it. you have to do what we did when i got to the first senate. you had to command the floor. once you lost that, someone could move in and say i move for. >> so you are bringing back the filibuster. >> i am. >> just put a hold on it. >> it is almost to the point where democracy has a hard time functioning. >> sounds like splitting the baby. is that enough? >> it's not enough. they need to kill the filibuster. there is no way you will be able to get this level of suspension. you are dealing with a party overwhelmingly supportive of trump. you cannot sympathize with crazies, with white supremacists. if not when? getting people to go out and vote again, if not now, when. kill the filibuster. >> how critical is this legislation in your eyes? >> this is the most critical piece of legislation they could take up at this particular time regarding voters. it's what mr.lewis gave his entire life from his young early days to his last breath in the 80s. he fought for people to recognize and understand they have a right to get out and vote and choose representation so they can do what is good for the will of the people. it's extremely critical. i agree with tiffany. kill the filibuster. it's time. we saw what happened when we saw the house, senate and presidency under president obama initially. we need to learn from that lesson and take a page from the book and do what has to be done for the people. it really is that simple. >> a big thanks to both of you. be sure to tune in saturday at 10:00 eastern on msnbc. that will do it for me. andrea mitchell will pick up the coverage of that deadly shooting spree in atlanta, next. y shootig spree in atlanta, next but in only 8 weeks with mavyret... ...i was cured. mavyret is the only 8-week cure for all types of hep c. before starting mavyret your doctor will test... ...if you've had hepatitis b which may flare up and cause serious liver problems during and after treatment. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b, a liver or kidney transplant,... ...other liver problems, hiv-1, or other medical conditions,... ...and all medicines you take. don't take mavyret with atazanavir... ...or rifampin, or if you've had certain liver problems. if you've had or have serious liver problems other than hep c, there's a rare chance they may worsen. signs of serious liver problems may include yellowing of the skin, abdominal pain or swelling, confusion, and unexplained bleeding or bruising. tell your doctor if you develop symptoms of liver disease. common side effects include headache and tiredness. with hep c behind me, i feel free... ...fearless... ...because i am cured. if you can't afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. alright, guys, no insurance talk on beach day. -i'm down. -yes, please. [ chuckles ] don't get me wrong, i love my rv, but insuring it is such a hassle. same with my boat. the insurance bills are through the roof. -[ sighs ] -be cool. i wish i could group my insurance stuff. -[ coughs ] bundle. -the house, the car, the rv. like a cluster. an insurance cluster. -woosah. -[ chuckles ] -i doubt that exists. -it's a bundle! it's a bundle, and it saves you money! hi. i'm flo from progressive, and i couldn't help but overhear... super fun beach day, everybody. want to save hundreds on your wireless bill? and i couldn't help but overhear... with xfinity mobile, you can. how about saving hundreds on the new samsung galaxy s21 ultra 5g? you can do that too. all on the most reliable network? sure thing! and with fast, nationwide 5g included - at no extra cost? we've got you covered. so join the carrier rated #1 in customer satisfaction... ...and learn how much you can save at xfinitymobile.com/mysavings. woo! you are busy... working, parenting, problem solving. at new chapter vitamins we've been busy too... innovating, sourcing organic ingredients, testing them and fermenting. fermenting? yeah like kombucha or yogurt. and we formulate everything so your body can really truly absorb the natural goodness. that's what we do, so you can do you. new chapter wellness, well done. good day. i'm andrea mitchell. a shocking murder at atlanta area spas on tuesday. robert aaron long is in custody after officials released footage showing him at three locations. rodney bryant was asked about a