For 4 hours. It sounds like a unique experience that you should tell everybody out. I said that out loud. Who do you think were kidding. Snl on life after the pandemic. Indeed. Of course, questions linger about the strength of the economic recovery after that disappointing jobs report. The question, is the pandemic looking at Unemployment Benefits . And work is under way to restart a top u. S. Pipeline after a massive foreign cyber attack. The question is what do we know about the perpetrator . And donald trump tightens his grip on the Republican Party as they look at replacing the leadership. The question is what does it mean for the gop . Its way too early for this. Good morning. And welcome to way too early, the show that is definitely still practicing its postpandemic conversations, im kasie hunt on this monday, may 10th. Well start with the news. A ransom ware attack that shut down the countrys largest Gasoline Pipeline was most likely the work of russians. Two sources tell nbc news, a new Russian Criminal Group known as dark side, the leading suspect in the attack against colonial pipeline. The company was forced to pause operations for the entire east coast. The White House Press secretary says the white house was working to help restart the pipeline and make sure attacks like this dont happen again. Unfortunately these sorts of attacks are becoming more frequent. Theyre here to stay. We have to work in partnership with business to secure networks to defend ourselves against these attacks. As it relates to colonial, their president was briefed yesterday, its an all Hands On Deck Effort right now, and were working closely with the company, state and local officials, to make sure that they get back up to normal operation, as quickly as possible. And there arent disruptions in supply. Nbc news sources say early indications say the attack did not look like the work of the kremlin and rather a criminal plan. Dark side is known for the extortion plots. Colonial pipeline has not said what the hackers demanded. Gasoline futures are up nearly 1. 5 this morning. Heating oil up nearly 1. 3 . All right, to politics now. House republicans are scheduled to meet Behind Closed Doors this wednesday to vote on the fate of gop Conference Chair liz cheney. And minority leader Kevin Mccarthy is telling us what we all already knew, and in an interview with fox news yesterday, mccarthy officially endorsed congressman Elise Stefanik in her bid to oust cheney. Any member could take any position they believe in. Thats what the voters vote on the individuals and they make that decision. What were talking about is a position in leadership. Were in one of our biggest battles ever for this nation, and the direction, whether this next century will be ours. As Conference Chair, you have one of the most critical jobs of the messenger of going forward. Thats why we need a conference that is united and a Conference Chair that is delivering that message, day in and day out, and uniting the nation to make sure that we are on the right footing going forward. Do you support Elise Stefanik for that job . Yes, i do. Republican congressman jim banks meanwhile of indiana supports removing congressman cheney from her leadership position. He cited what he calls her lack of support for the gops quote Single Mission. If cheney is being replaced and shes clearly, it seems, more conservative than stefanik, is it just because of the fact that shes not as loyal to donald trump . Well, chris, lets start with that, this completely misses the point about why we need a change in the republican leadership. Let me tell you, republicans are almost completely unified in a Single Mission to oppose the radical Dangerous Biden Agenda, and win back the majority in the midterm election, and any other focus other than that is a distraction. Any leader whos not focused on that, on pushing back against the radical Dangerous Biden Agenda at this point needs to be replaced. Were going to make it about the agenda, and just a friendly reminder, liz cheney has voted more conservatively than Elise Stefanik the past couple of years. And there is a comparison of the innerparty conflict surrounding cheney to the titanic. Liz cheney is saying exactly what Kevin Mccarthy said, the day of the insurrection. Shes just consistently been saying it. And a few weeks later, Kevin Mccarthy changed to attacking other people, and so i think what the reality is, as a party, we have to have an internal look and a full accounting as to what led to january 6th. Right now it is based on the titanic. Were like in the middle of this slow sink, we have a band playing on the deck, and telling everybody its fine and meanwhile as ive said, donald trump is trying to run around and find Womens Clothing and get on the first life boat. And this is not good for the future of the party but this is not good for the future of this country. Okay. Meanwhile, as this Leadership Fight intensify, the former president is continuing to work to keep his grip on the party. The Washington Post is reporting that trump is moving to handpick members of the house gop leadership team. Relentlessly attacking cheney and endorsing Elise Stefanik to replace her and trump is plotting to take down republican lawmakers who voted to impeach him for inciting the deadly January 6th Insurrection on the u. S. Capitol while continuing to stoke the false claims of a stolen election. According to the post, trump is especially interested in endorsing candidates who will take on republicans who voted to impeach or convict him, and his team has begun making claws in wyoming to clear the field so making calls in wyoming to clear the field so one person can oust cheney. It seems liz cheneys fate at this meeting on wednesday is a forgonna conclusion. You heard kind of that messaging from weekend shows from republicans across the show and she of course is saying she will not stay on the side and will force people to take a vote to say i want to get rid of you. Whats your take on where she goes next, where these goes from here, and where this vote leads, you know, the Republican Party . Well, i think we should really note here that liz cheney is not actively whipping for this position and said repeatedly, if her Leadership Post requires continuously lying about what happened in the 2020 election, and not speaking out about President Trump, then shes not going to be a good messenger here. But i think what were seeing this week, is really the mending, the clearest sign yet, that an allegiance to President Trump, former President Trump is a requirement to hold power in the gop. And you know, you obviously saw, just saw jim banks deny that this is about trump. But any lawmaker, House Staffer will tell you, privately, on background, that this is about trump exactly. That he holds, he still wields power and influence in the party. Hes out for scalps and those proimpeachment gop lawmakers, if they want to survive, if they want to have some political future, they should keep their heads down. As for whats next for liz cheney, that still remains to be seen. She does represent a district that voted overwhelmingly in favor of trump, plus 43 in that district over joe biden so her constituents at home arent quite happy with her, but as one house aide said to me last week, losers at the end of the day dont make policy so she is not able to keep her job for reelection, beyond this leadership battle, how she will have still have influence in this party is a big Question Mark for her. Its a favorite saying of mitch mcconnell, winners make policy and losers go home. Now, of course, in this particular case, liz cheney is saying that, well, he won, we lost, everyone has to get used to it, and at this point, jackie, you have some reporting on the Conspiracy Theories that trump has enabled the biggest of which of course is this idea that joe biden lost the election, didnt happen, and what did you learn in the course of reporting this out in terms of what role these Conspiracy Theories are going to play in any future for the party . Well, one anecdote actually that we were able to look at last week which is a telling sign how far right this party has drifted is that congresswoman Marjorie Taylor greene may have actually helped liz cheney save her job, safe her from losing her Leadership Post the first time around back in february when voters were, when her fellow Chair Members were angry with her and wanted to vote to oust her, concurrently greene was under attack for resurfaced antisemitic, islamophobic Conspiracy Theory and social media posts that promoted Political Violence so a vote was held at the same time, whether her, whether greens peers wanted to strip her of her Committee Assignments and whether cheney was to be removed from the number three position leadership, and basically the calculus that was made at the end of the day, by leadership, according to republicans who had knowledge of House Leadership Thinking at the time was that we need to protect both of them because the optics are going to be toxic if we protect Marjorie Taylor greene but decide to cut cheney loose. This time around, cheney is really on her own. A fair assessment. Washington post, jackie, thank you for getting up early with us. We appreciate having you. And still ahead, new questions about a possible cheating scandal after a horse that won the Kentucky Derby failed a postrace drug test. And what dr. Fauci is saying about indoor Mask Guidance as more americans get vaccinated against the coronavirus. Those stories and a check on the weather when we come back. Checke weather when we come back. [sneezes] hey allergy muddlers. [sneezes] are your sneezes putting your friends in awkward positions . [sneezes] stick with zyrtec. Zyrtec starts working hard at hour one and works twice as hard when you take it again the next day. Zyrtec. Muddle no more. And try childrens zyrtec for consistently powerful relief of your kids allergies. People everywhere living with Type 2 Diabetes and try childrens zyrtec for consistently powerful relief are waking up to whats possible with rybelsus®. 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Wake up to whats possible with rybelsus®. Please dont take my sunshine away you may pay as little as 10 per prescription. Ask your Healthcare Provider about rybelsus® today. Wanna help kids get their homework done . Well, an Internet Connections a good start. But kids also need computers. And sometimes the hardest thing about homework is finding a place to do it. So why not Hook Community centers up with wifi . For kids like us, and all the Amazing Things were gonna learn. Over the next 10 years, comcast is committing 1 billion to reach 50 million lowincome americans with the tools and resources they need to be ready for anything. I hope youre ready. cause we are. The roars have returned in golf. Welcome back. Rory mcilroy feeding off the highest energy crowd since golfs return from the pandemic. Isnt it nice to see fans . He earns his first title in 18 months at the wells Fargo Championship in north carolina, and mcilroy controlled the finale round with backtoback birdies from the bunker on the back nine and got in some trouble in the last hole driving into the hazard of the 18th hole and needing two putts from 45 feet to hang on for a 1 shot victory. Mcilroy 10 under 274 finish in the tournament is good for the 19th career victory. His third at quayle hollow. Now this, medin spirits Kentucky Derby win is now in jeopardy. Hall of fame trainer bob bafferts revealed that his horse had failed a postrace drug test with a drug used for treating inflammation. Denying any wrongdoing, he said medinas spirit was never treated with the drug as derbly officials wait for results for another sample before deciding whether the horse is disqualified. The horse is expected to compete for the second jewel of the triple crown this saturday in the Preakness Stakes in baltimore. And troubling signs for the New York Mets and jacob degrom continues to struggle with a right lat injury. Coming off a tenday layoff, degrom exited yesterdays start with tightness around the lower right side of his back. The Cy Young Award winner was perfect for four innings before struggling in the fifth when he walked three and allowed a run before leaving the game at the end of the frame. The team said he was removed for precautionary reasons and will undergo an mri. The mets meanwhile streak to a fifth win in a row defeating the diamondbacks 42. Now to a highlight reel effort from atlanta. Braves tyler reaching behind the head without looking to begin a double play notice 7th inning. He receives an ovation from the crowd. And the brave goes on to beat the phillies 61. That is a very beautiful Baseball Catch right there. Time now for the weather. Lets go to meteorologist bill karins for a check on the forecast. Bill, good morning. Good morning, thanks for showing that twice. The first time you couldnt tell what you were looking at and the second time it was pretty cool. Hope everyone had a wonderful mothers day weekend. The weather cooperated in some chases, in other areas, a little or a lot rainier than we wanted it to be and the rain in the northeast and the ohio valley is leaving this morning so thats good. It is going to be heading on out during the day today. A nice monday for everyone in the northeast. And that grass is growing fast, too. A lot of mowing to be done, in the south. Where we will continue to have some issues. For today, if any, would he have Severe Weather concerns, we have two spot, one is in north carolina, areas from fayetteville to the albemarle pimlico sound areas. And raleigh could see a strong storm or two. A section in texas with large hailstorms from del rio to san antonio and down to laredo. For the week ahead, today, cool in the middle of the country a little bit of snow in the highest elevations of the rockies today. But most of the weather concerns this week will do with the heavy rain along the gulf coast. A soggy may already. And that is going to continue this week. Finally, by friday, well dry it out in the southern half of the country. So it looks like a pretty decent day week coming for many across the nation, after a wet weekend. I love it. Bill karins, thank you very much, my friend. We will see you tomorrow. And still ahead here, President Biden makes the case for the sweeping infrastructure plan. After last weeks disappointing jobs report. And before we go to break, we want to know, why are you awake . Email us your reasons for being up and early or drop a tweet at way too early and we will read some of the favorite answers coming up later in the show. W. Im greg, im 68 years old. I do motivational speaking in addition to the substitute teaching. I honestly feel that thats my calling to give back to younger people. I think most adults will start realizing that they dont recall things as quickly as they used to or they dont remember things as vividly as they once did. Ive been taking prevagen for about three years now. People say to me periodically, man, youve got a memory like an elephant. Its really, really helped me tremendously. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. The calming scent of lavender by downy infusions calm. Laundry isnt done until its done with downy. From prom dresses to workouts and new adventures you hope the more you give the less theyll miss. But even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past they may be missing vaccination for meningitis b. Although uncommon, up to 1 in 5 survivors of meningitis will have long term consequences. Now as youre thinking about all the vaccines your teen might need make sure you ask your doctor if your teen is missing meningitis b vaccination. vo nobody dreams in conventional thinking. It didnt get us to the moon. It doesnt ring the bell on wall street. Or disrupt the status quo. Tmobile for business uses unconventional thinking to help you realize new possibilities. Like our new work from anywhere solutions, so your teams can collaborate almost anywhere. Plus Customer Experience that finds solutions in the moment. And firstclass benefits, like 5g with every plan. Network, support and value without any tradeoffs. Thats tmobile for business. Pepto bismol coats and soothes your stomach for fast relief and get the same fast relief in a Delightful Chew with pepto bismol chews. This is wealth. This is worth. That takes wealth. But this is worth. And that thats actually worth more than you think. Dont open that. Wealth is important, and we can help you build it. But its what you do with it, that makes life worth living. Principal. For all its worth. Welcome back. President Biden Pointing to last weeks lackluster jobs report, as evidence to help pass his 2. 3 trillion infrastructure plan. The u. S. Economy gained 266,000 jobs in april. That was far short of the more than one million analysts had predicted. Here is how the president responded. Todays report is a rebuttal, to the loose talk, that americans just dont want to work. I know some employers having Trouble Filling Job but what this report shows is that theres a much bigger problem. It is that our economy still has Eight Million fewer jobs than when this pandemic started. The data shows that more workers, more workers are looking for jobs and many cant find them. After the jobs report, the Chamber Of Commerce called for an end to the extra 300 in federal Unemployment Benefits. Saying its keeping people from returning to work. Treasury secretary janet yellen refuted that idea. Its also worth pointing out that all of the job gains in april, they all went to men, which underscores that there is still a real issue with child care in this pandemic. Meanwhile, President Biden will meet with a group of republican senators this week to discuss a path forward on his infrastructure plan. Several ranking members of key commits will join the discussion includes Shelly Moar Capito and others and comes after biden meets with the gang of four, pelosi, schumer, House Minority leader mckorgty and Senate Minority leader mcconnell. Now to the pandemic. As more and more americans get vaccinated, dr. Anthony fauci now says hes open to relaxing indoor masking. Watch. More people get vaccinated, the cdc will be almost in realtime, george, updating their recommendations and their guidelines but yes, we do need to start being more liberal as we get more people vaccinated. He was responding to comments made last week on cnbc by former fda commissioner Scott Gottlieb who said it is time to start lifting mask restrictions. I think we should start lifting these restrictions as aggressively as we put them in and preserve the credibility of Public Health officials to perhaps reimplement some of these provisions as we get into next winter. Dr. Fauci also says masks during cold and flu season might become the norm going forward. I dont know about you but one side effect was not getting the flu this year. Which was great. Still ahead here, a Bombing Attack at a girls school in afghanistan. At least a dozen dead. Many of them students. We have more on the latest developments. Well be right back. N the latest developments well be right back. Derriere discomfort. We try to soothe it with this. Cool it with this. And relieve it with this. But Preparation H soothing relief is the 21st century way to do all three. Everyday. Preparation h. Get comfortable with it. Sure, about this . Experience capability, crafted by lexus. Were good. The Remarkable Gx and lx. Get 0. 9 Apr Financing on the 2021 gx 460. 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Speak to your doctor before stopping, skipping, or delaying prolia®, as spine and other Bone Fractures have occurred. Prolia® can cause serious side effects, like low blood calcium, serious infections, which could need hospitalization, Skin Problems and severe bone, joint, or muscle pain. Dont wait for a break. Call your doctor now and ask how prolia® can help you. Welcome back to way too early just before 5 30 on the east coast, 2 30 out west. Im kasie hunt. We should get more answers this week to the pentagons response to the january 6th attack at the capitol, former acting defense secretary Christopher Miller is set to testify on wednesday before the House Overoversight economy. Miller will be joined by dcs new police chief robert conte and the former acting Attorney General jeffrey rosen. More hearings are scheduled this week, including today for the Inspector General for the Capitol Police as well as the Architect Of The Capitol on wednesday. Meanwhile, u. S. Officials reportedly have significant reason to believe the Russian Military encouraged attacks against american troops. The newly declassified information was given to the New York Times by a National Security council spokesperson. The nsc says that it is quote independently verified ties between Criminal Organizations in afghanistan and a unit of russias military intelligence service, known for carrying out assassinations. Last month, critics claim the c. I. A. s report of a russian Bounty Program had been debunked. This was after a u. S. Intelligence briefing, where officials said they had quote low to moderate confidence that russia had offered bounties. Intelligence experts however say that low to moderate confidence only means that officials have not yet found a smoking gun. Not that they believe that a conclusion was wrong. In this case, the nsc says it has quote high confidence in its evidence of ties between the russian government and afghan Criminal Organizations. What hadnt been discovered though, is specific proof of a Bounty Payment or proof showing a kremlin leader authorized any of the payments. Interesting update there. And the death toll from a car bombing outside an afghan high school is now at least 68, as concerns grow about the removal of u. S. Troops from the country. The blast happened as the class of all girls were leaving school in kabul and followed by two other explosions. According to the New York Times, a witness reported speaking to a man shaking with nerves in this car, shortly before the attack. The man reportedly told him to mind his own business. No group has taken responsibility for the bombing but it comes as the u. S. Begins his mission of pulling all american troops from afghanistan by september. This has sparked fears from Military Experts about a resurgence of the taliban. Joining us now, nbc news correspondent covering National Security at the pentagon, courtney kube, great to see you. Thank you for being here. How could we expect the white house today to respond to this attack, especially with concern about women and girls in afghanistan, given the u. S. Plans to withdraw . So weve already heard the u. S. State department condemn of it course which is standard when we have one of these horrific attacks like these in afghanistan, theyll condemn it in the strongest terms. But this one is particularly concerning for the white house, and for the United States, because it was targeting a girls school. One of the biggest concerns by people who have spoken out against the u. S. Plan to withdraw troops by september of this year. The concern is that human rights that have made advances over the last 20 years, since the u. S. Went into afghanistan in 2001, that human rights and particularly the rights of women and girls, will be degraded. And the concern is that if the taliban continues to gain traction, and power, in that country, then the restricted rules against women and girls will go into place. This attack is symbolic of the concerns that many of those people, including lawmakers on the hill, you know very well, the concerns they have about the withdrawal. Yes, absolutely underscores that, and courtney, can you just take us inside the pentagon in terms of as this plan is being implemented, from the president , i mean many who have worked and fought in afghanistan over the last so many years that we have been there have urged previous administrations not to do what President Biden decided to do. What is your sense of where tensions are, between the president , and some of those advocates, and whether there is anything that may adjust or change the decision that the president s made . So one of the biggest sources of tension is the fact that the president made this decision and its not conditions based. That is something that we have heard drilled into us by the pentagon, by u. S. Military leaders for years, is the notion that any withdrawal has to be conditionsbased. Now they set a tame line and thats that. Once that happened, u. S. Military leaders said if were leaving, we want to get out and they want it do it safely of course but they want to do it quickly. The longer that theyre there, the smaller that the presence is there, the more dangerous it becomes for those who are left behind closing up shop, basically. So one thing that we should look for in the month, the weeks and months ahead, is the drawdown up until september will move faster than september, we should expect the troops and the equipment, weve already seen a percentage of those troops and equipment have started moving out of the country. We will see them all gone, or a vast, vast majority of them gone before that september deadline and that is due in large part to again to the Security Situation on the ground. Military leaders, they have been given their orders, we heard from general miller about two weeks ago saying he had his orders to execute the retrograde, which is the withdrawal, and he has begun that, but that doesnt mean that theyre necessarily happy with the way its being done here. There is a serious concern about the Security Situation on the ground, for The Americans who are there, its still not clear what is going to happen to the embassy. We know that they will have to leave a pretty significant presence of u. S. Military there, to secure that embassy. Its a large facility. Its right in the middle of downtown kabul. And its not clear, according to the military officials, ive spoken with, what thats going to look like yet. Theres also going to have to be what the Military Calls an across the horizon presence. Basically what that means is theyre going to have assets, people, aircraft, just outside of afghanistan. So in neighboring countries and nearby, so that if there is some kind of a problem there, theyll be able to react quickly, kasie. Very interesting points. And something to keep an eye on this morning as you point out, those concerns about the last remaining americans and the speed of our withdrawal. Courtney kube, thank you very much for getting up early with us. We really appreciate it. Still ahead here, a toty different role for elon musk as the tech maven does Sketch Comedy on saturday night live. Way too early back in a moment. Night live. Way too early back in a moment wait, this isnt your bed. Howd you get here . Ah yes. Groceries. Earn points now to use on travel later. One of the many things you could expect when youre with amex. This is a cold call. Yeah, what yall want . Will you turn to cold washing with tide . Tide cleans better in cold than the Bargain Brand in hot. So, mr. T can wash his hanes tees in cold. Thats true mr. T. I pity the fool who dont turn to cold. Ahh. 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After facing initial criticism from viewers and cast members when the decision was first announced, in the opening monologue, the spacex ceo referenced his aspergers syndrome, at least the first to host the show or first to acknowledge it and Dan Ak Corrode is actually the first of the dan aykroyd actually is the first. And he cracked jokes about his sons unique name and even his mom and given musks appearance, the show brought the third highest ratings of the season. And still dont understand what dogecoin is. A chinese Booster Rocket that made an uncontrolled reentry Back To Earth landed in the indian ocean sunday after a weekend of uncertainty. The rockets reentry started over the mediterranean with debris spotted over parts of the middle east before splashing down in the indian ocean near the maldives. It launched the main portion of chinas new Space Station on march 29th. The Standard Practice is to fall into an unoccupied area, and china elected not to do that letting the rocket fall out of orbit on its own uncontrollably with the possibility of hitting an occupied area. Its not the first time space debris has reentered uncontrollably. Nasa administrator bill nelson said in part quote, Space Fairing Nations must minimize the risks of properties and people on earth and maximize transparency regarding the operations. This is entirely terrifying. All right, now this. The obamas are mourning the loss of their beloved dog bo who died over the weekend. The Portuguese Water Dog died, after arriving from the white house at six months old, a gift from ted kennedy to sasha and ma lea and joined by sonny in 2013. In a statement, Michelle Obama said in a part quote, as a family, we will miss bo dearly, but we are thankful that he lived such a joyful life. With evenings lying on the couch. Our condolences to the obama family. So hard to lose a friend like that. Still ahead, we will dig into a you in report suggesting the government used its power to seek access to communications from journalists during the russia investigation. Way too early coming right back. Estigation way too ear lycoming right back les are down from last quarter but we are hoping things will pick up by q3. Yeah. Uh. Doug . Sorry about that. Umm. What. Its. Um. You alright . [sigh] [ding] never settle with power e trade. It has powerful, easytouse tools to help you find opportunities, 24 7 support when you need answers plus some of the lowest options and futures Contract Prices around. Dont get mad. Get e trade and start trading today. Welcome back. A Bombshell Report from the Washington Post claims the Trump Administration secretly obtained Phone Records of three Washington Post reporters and trying to get access to theyre mail records surrounding their reporting on russias role in the 2016 president ial election. According to the post, the reporters received letters from the d. O. J. Saying they were here by notified that pursuant to Legal Process the United States department of justice received Records Associated with the following Phone Numbers from the period april 15, 2017 to july 31, 2017. It is rare for the Justice Department to use subpoenas to get records of reporters in investigations and such moves would have needed approval by then Attorney General william barr. The revelation comes just days after a federal judge ruled that the d. O. J. Must release the controversial Justice Department memo, that barr claims helped guide his decision in declaring that special counsels Robert Muellers report on his investigation into trump did not support a charge of obstruction which is not what muellers report concluded. Join cans now, former u. S. Attorney for the Northern District of alabama and the msnbc legal analyst joyce vance. Good morning. Thanks for getting up early with us. We appreciate it. I want to ask you about this story. What do you make of this fact, that the kind of records were these, and just how rare is it for a Justice Department to ask for this kind of information, and what does it say about bill barr . Its a fascinating situation, because theres a legitimate vote for the d. O. J. To obtain these kinds of records but there is a lot of red flags in this situation that mean we need to dig deeper. D. O. J. Guidelines are very stringent regarding obtaining reporters records an they require the Attorney Generals personal signoff. The records have to be essential to an ongoing investigation. And there has to be no other way to obtain the information. So as you say, its exceedingly rare. Whats notable here is that this surrounds a political controversy in essence, involving former Attorney General Jeff Sessions contacts with the russian ambassador, at least given the time line, thats what this appears to be about. So now, there will have to be an inquiry to determine whether there was any proper political influence, and whether this move was animated by the white house instead of by a legitimate investigation. Interesting. So joyce, you also wrote in your latest oped about this order from federal judge amy berman jackson, and we have covered this a little bit, but you say that what, her rebuke here deserves a lot more scrutiny and attention. What is your sense of what we can take away from what we learned from the judge, and whether that means that bill barr is held accountable in some way . This is a complicated situation. So lets try to get down to the basics on it. This is really a dispute about whether one internal d. O. J. Document is going to be released, after an Organization Called crew tried to get it through a Freedom Of Information Act request. D. O. J. s response was that this document, which was used to advise d. O. J. , former Attorney General barr about his decision about whether or not to indict President Trump following the release of the Mueller Report, d. O. J. Says that the document was covered by something called the deliberative privilege, which protects internal documents where people are going back and forth making different arguments and trying to reach a decision. The judge concluded that barr had already made his decision before he received this document, and has ordered that it be turned over, and so again, what is at stake is a question about whether Attorney General barr made a decision with improper political motivation, as opposed to strictly legal analysis, she points out that barr made his decision, wrote to congress that he would not indict the president , within days, and hours of the Mueller Report being released, and that he would barely have had time to skim it to reach that conclusion. So it will be interesting to see what this document contains, when its released later this month. All right. Well be paying close attention to that. Joyce vance, thank you as always for being with us. We really appreciate it. Earlier on the show we asked you why are you awake. One viewer says theyre up early, cleaning up after mothers day with this crowd. Isnt it wonderful to be able to do that safely . Happy mothers day. Im awake way to early because it is the best time to find the machines in the apartment laundry room available. Fair enough. Good morning. Jeff tweet, 3yearold yelled for me to get water for him at 4 00 a. M. He was asleep before i got back. Im still awake. Ive been there. Curt, im up way too early because im off all week and my three dogs, katie, molly and truman are still getting me up at 4 30 to go outside. Thank you for watching. 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Thats tmobile for business. Welcome back. Joining us now with a look at axios a. M. , political reporter for axios, hans nichols. Hans. Whats the axios one big thing today . Good morning, kasie. The one big thing were looking at is Bernie Sanders and where he is on salt limits, state and local tax limits. Clearly, Bernie Sanders is opposed to any effort to lift them. We know Chuck Schumer wants to do it and nancy pelosi wants to do it. We know there are a core group of tristate democrats. Bernie sanders is opposed. Listen to this broader response when talking about how the Democratic Party is losing Working Class and noncollegeeducated voters. I think if i am a Working Class person in this country, ive seen my job go to china, im working for 9 an hour when i used to make 20 an hour, i dont have health care, i cant afford it or i cant afford prescription drugs. Youre resentful. Are we talking to those people . I think were beginning to see that in the last few months under biden. But democrats traditionally have been very tepid about going big. And i think i would say i think theres a glossiness to it, as well. Sort of san francisco, new york gloss. Oh, yeah, im so smart. I am really smart and, you know, we got 100 dinners and who really cares about those Working Class people . Kasie, clearly Senator Sanders is signaling that he wants the party to really focus on those voters. A lot of what he said there, his intonation, how hes talking is going to be very familiar to you. And also, kasie, also familiar will be this coming debate about fact and form. I think we know where bernie will be. The question will really be, how vociferous will Bernie Sanders be on the salt issue. Will he give schumer and pelosi the space to cut a deal. The indication is maybe not. Kasie . Yeah, there was a lot there in terms of Body Language and the way that Senator Sanders was talking about the Democratic Party. Its a reminder, he, of course, ran for the democratic nomination twice. But he remains an independent. And as you point out, this salt policy really affects voters particularly in places where the Housing Market is really expensive. California and new york, other places. And youre right that its a very narrow path through the house. But hans, what sanders was saying there is essentially the Trump Critique of the Democratic Party. I mean, he sounds much more like the way that say marco rubio or other republicans are talking about what the Republican Party should be. How annoyed do you think the white house is going to be watching that clip from Senator Sanders . I think they try to keep sanders very close and try to make sure that they listen and hire some of his former staffers. Its been a very converted effort by the white house to keep Bernie Sanders close. Theres always a recognition that Bernie Sanders can go solo and go out on his own, which hes just done. So how, actually, acutely angry they may be at sanders for this particular interview, i dont know, right. I think the general, theres a recognition that sanders is going to do his own thing and thats why theyve tried to keep him so close. In some ways, sanders has not been that critical at all, right . I think privately, when you talk to white house officials, they feel like theyve finessed the sanders relationship. Its one thing to Finesse The Sanders relationship for three months. Its another thing to do it for the next three months, especially when youre going into a big spending, tax, infrastructure, family planning, the next 4 trillion that the white house is proposing. I guess i would throw it back to you. In general, how upset is leadership when sanders pops off . The answer is, probably depends, right . It does, in fact. It depends a little bit on the day. Part of me wonders, too, hans, joe manchin has gotten so much attention for the way that he has been willing to essentially step out there and be a oneman senate. I mean, im interested in that dynamic, as well. Because, you know, this is to a certain Extent Sanders Stepping Out and saying, you know what, i have just as much power as joe manchin does, in a 50seat democratic majority. And thats what makes it so difficult for Chuck Schumer and whatever sort of however schumers able, if hes able to reuse the word finesse. If schumer is able to finesse it, we have the other majority in the house. And one of the key issues there is the salt. The state and local tax reduction issue. So this all is sort of being wrapped into sort of bidens question on how hes going to get this done. Is he going to go to two sequential bills, small first and then big . One big big . The challenge of one big is it gets very complex and it gets really expensive. And there are a lot of competing interest. So, again, wear rubber soles when youre down there on capitol hill and you know those marble floors, murder on your knees. Kasie . No matter what kind of shoes you have on, definitely leave the high heels at home, for sure. Hans, what is your sense of where the white house is thinking on this . Do you feel like officials still feel as though the negotiations with republicans are proceeding in good faith . We mentioned briefly that some of them are going to go to the white house this week in a muchanticipated meeting. Or do you feel like theyre still kind of posturing and saying, were going to demonstrate publicly that were doing this, but we know at the end of the day were going to only have to do with this with democratic votes . I dont think they know. I could be wrong. I dont think posturing is really i think theyre positioning themselves to be open. When you listen to ron klains interview, who also sat down with mike allen, my colleague, klain gives himself plenty of space, frustratingly so for a reporter, but plenty of space to still be open for a deal. Theyre not closing any doors, they want to be open. All the officials i talked to say they want to be open. The question is, when do they hit their turn . The general feeling is the end of this month around memorial day. That gives them a couple more weeks to negotiate, see if theres a pathway forward and then make a decision. All right, hans nichols, thank you very much for being here this morning. We really appreciate it. And of course, heading into this week, the white house and democrats looking at this Infrastructure Package while republicans are on their way to throwing Liz Cheney Out of leadership. That vote set for wednesday. So some significant questions about what that says about the priorities of the Republican Party right now. Thank you getting up way too early with us on this monday morning. Dont go anywhere. Morning joe starts right now. Every conversation with people you havent seen since quarantine started. Its such a weird time, but things seem to be opening up again. Fingers crossed. Who the hell is this woman . Is he my wifes friend or do our kids go to School Together . Is she my cousin. I feel like she might be my cousin. Hes my cousin, right . How many times can people say, its such a crazy time right now. Its such a crazy time right now. Did you travel at all . No. You . No. Cool. Is this really a conversation. I think this is going pretty well. I think im just going to be extra cautious for the rest of my life, you know