Joshua johnson. Welcome to the week. I work a Lot Of Saturdays but the senate really doesnt and we have been following a Raresaturday Session in the senate today. Senators are waiting for the final text of that bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. It includes 550 Billion in new spending. Now, our understanding is that the text could come, pretty much, at any point this weekend. This evening, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that the senate remains in session, and the discussions are ongoing. After weeks and weeks of negotiations, the senate voted, wednesday, to advance the package, 6732. That number, 67, is key. That means, 17 republicans supported the move. And that is seven more than the 60vote threshold. But the bill they voted on was just a shell. Its a placeholder that the actual Fulltext Bill will replace. Clearly, Leader Schumer would like to see that text, asap. I have said, for weeks, that the senate is going to move forward on both tracks of infrastructure before the beginning of the august recess. The longer it takes to finish, the longer well be here. But were gonna get the job done. Now, remember, this is one of two Infrastructure Bills moving through congress. There is this 550 Billion bill, of physical infrastructure. Thats the bipartisan bill. And then, the 3. 5 trillion bill on socalled human infrastructure. Now, senate democrats hope to pass that one with a simplemajority vote through the reconciliation process. The margins for error are razor thin. It is likely that both bills would need to pass for either of them to survive. Getting them to this point has not been easy. President biden and his allies in congress have had to tread very carefully to avoid losing support from moderate republicans and democrats in the senate, without alienating Progressive Democrats in the house. As we said, well speak to the Vice Chair of the house progressive caucus, Congresswoman Marie Newman, in just a moment. It is an act of legislative gymnastics worthy of Sunisa Lee from team usa. Granted, less flashy than the move that won her the gold in the womens all around but can congress show the same focus and stick the landing . Lets begin with mike debonus, he is a congressional reporter for the washington post. Mike, where do things stand on the Infrastructure Bill right now . The bipartisan bill . Well, thanks, joshua, for having me. You were right when you said, at the top, that its rare for the the senate to be in on a saturday. That doesnt mean there was a lot to watch today. It was a hurryupandwait kind of day on capitol hill. We are still waiting for this group of bipartisan senators, the socalled g22, to come up with an actual bill. Were still waiting. Its 8 00, and theres still some hope that it could happen before The End of the day today. But it theres no guarantee. But whats important here, and why theyre in this weekend is that Leader Schumer is really trying to create a sense of urgency around this. He doesnt want any momentum to go to waste. He wants to make sure that they get this done. They can start the amendment process. And i think there are aiming to wrap this up, certainly, by The End of the week. Back up a step for us. Why did they move this bipartisan bill forward, this way, with a shell bill, as opposed to the actual text of a bill . Why not just finish writing the bill, and then put it before the senate . Well, a couple of reasons. Theres some really wonky constitutional reasons why you need a house you need to take a House Bill to to pass a bill that raises revenue. Its in the constitution, actually. So, thats one reason you do the shell. The other reason you do the shell is they have an agreement in principal. They have a handshake deal. They have an outlined they they have the votes to proceed with this. They have the votes to keep it started, to get it started. And the rule, if theres any rule in congress that every party adheres to, its when you have the votes, you take the vote. So they took the vote. Theyre on in the process. Theyre in the legislative process of debate now. Now, we are just waiting for that next step where you actually have the bill. And were, still, waiting on that. What about the other half of this process . The house. Theyre out. So this seems like its going to have to sit, until midseptember . How does that work . Well, Nancy Pelosi has made perfectly clear this bill could sit for weeks, maybe months, while this wholeother parallel process plays out. The the Reconciliation Bill that you talked about, 3. 5 trillion. She has said, on multiple occasions, as recently as this past week, that she does not expect to hold a vote on the bipartisan bill until that democratsonly bill is ready to go, alongside it. And thats the reason they are doing that is, frankly, its politics. Its internal politics in the democratic caucus. They wont have you know, people are threatening not to vote for the the bipartisan bill on the democratic side, until they see that parallel product that has all the goodies that democrats have been campaigning on, for years, if not decades. Things like, you know, climate provisions. Things like freecommunity college. Things like extending that new childtax credit, into the future. All of those things are on the line. And basically, you have Progressive Democrats, who are holding this bipartisan Bill Hostage to make sure that that other other bill gets across the finish line. Mike debonis of the washington post, i appreciate you starting us off tonight. Thanks very much. My pleasure. Lets continue, now, with democratic Congresswoman Marie Newman of illinois. She is the Vice Chair of the congressional progressive Caucus And Member of the House Infrastructure and transportation committee. Her district includes parts of chicago and its southwestern suburbs. Congresswoman newman, good evening. Welcome. Good evening, thank you for having me. Where do the members of your Caucus Stand on the handshakebipartisan plan, at least as it appears right now . Do you feel like you know enough about it to take a position on it . Or are you, still, waiting for more details . Well, the devil is in the details. And i just want to make a quick correction, from the journalist that was just on. Very quickly, were not playing politics. We are we are keeping our commitment that, in fact, Madam Speaker and our caucus has shared, on multiple occasions. So its no surprise, and were not playing politics. In fact, we need that Budget Resolution prior to signing off on anything. And we also have to see that this Infrastructure Bill is doing what we need to do. It cant be a bill that is this 1950sstyle antiquated lets go Throw Cement at things. This has to be a forwardthinking, bringing our economy into the 21st century around Climate Action. And making sure that were supporting transit agencies. So, this is a very critical, forwardthinking bill that has to come out. So well well see whats in the next. I am looking forward to it, and i am hoping that it is more forward thinking. Could i ask you specifically about climate . Congressman Peter Defazio was one of the people who expressed concerns about whether this bill would Throw Cement at things, as you put it. He said, among other things, it looks eneemic at best on climate change. And in his words, i do not want to have a bill that does not deal with Fossil Fuel Reduction from our largest polluter, which is transportation. Congresswoman newman, im not sure how you build a Jobs Bill of the future that is all about cement for an array of reasons. But do you have specific concerns, in terms of what the deal is . Or are you willing to kind of let it move forward, based on what the framework looks like now . Well, i can be optimistic, and be watching, very carefully, at the same time. And i think thats what were doing, in the progressive caucus. Is that were watching the what the details come out. In terms of Climate Action, to get at your question, we need to see that there is a strong electrification, researching renewables, making sure we are starting to use renewables and making sure we are looking at things like highspeed rail. And most importantly, joshua, the most important thing we can do right now is getting people back on Public Transit. And if we can spend enough on Public Transit to make it accessible, affordable, and convenient, that creates jobs. It, also, allows people to get to their jobs. So for all of these reasons, and much more, we need to make sure. Now, we are being very clear that our priorities have to be met, in this reconciliation package. Things like housing, a pathway to citizenship, expanding medicare to make it very robust with vision, dental, and hearing and and more. So, those those priorities are critical as part of the reconciliation package. But we are standing firm that, if we do not have Climate Action in this package, um, we will never get to a 21stcentury economy. You know, theres two things that that we desperately need to think about. Is that we need to think about um the economy, in terms of more people is always better. Thats how a gdp it grows, right . Its a very practical concept. That econ 101, if you will. That we need to build the economy, with people. Could i ask you to respond to one of the concerns that critics of the Reconciliation Bill have . Just to ask it very simply, what does a pathway to citizenship have to do with infrastructure . Because we need more people to produce more jobs to fulfill these jobs and have businesses grow. Its really simple. So, lets be clear. You should um allow our 11 11 Million undocumented a roadmap to citizenship because its the moral thing to do. But its, also, the very practical thing to do, right . Its the only way the gdp grows so lets let these folks that have been doing great things in our country and producing money and jobs and all those things. Lets let them continue to do so. And we should know, there are plenty of industries right now, including agriculture, in parts of the west western part of the country that are, i think, quite concerned about what that will turn into, understandably so. Also, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasiocortez tweeted, in response to a report that Senator Kyrsten Sinema of arizona would not support that largerspending plan. Basically, saying, good luck tanking your own Partys Investment on childcare, Climate Action, and infrastructure, while presuming youll survive a threevote house margin. Especially, after choosing to exclude members of color from negotiations and calling that a bipartisan accomplishment. This is one democrat taking on another democrat. How is your party doing, right now, in remaining unified enough to get this bill passed . I understand all the disagreements. But your party still wants this to become law. How is that working, in terms of just keeping Everybody Kind of facing the same way . We are all talking, constantly, right . And i i agree with my colleagues comments. That i think its unadvisable for a senator of a state that is largely behind all of these infrastructure measures. Making sure that we address Climate Action. That state is in desperate need of Climate Action. So shes effectively ms. Sinema is voting against her constituents. I think, at her peril. So i i would hope she comes around, in the coming days, to understand that this package strengthens our care economy, produces jobs. We we are looking at a package that would produce 2 Million jobs, per year, over the next ten years. I dont think ms. Sinema wants to be the one that votes against a jobs act. I just think thats not wise. Particularly, when arizona, desperately, wants all that. Well, there are so many details for the devil to be in, with this package. I know you are avidly looking forward to the next. We, certainly, are. And i will be interested to see how this shakes out, if you have folks like senator sinema, whose objections may be dropped or who come around. And whether or not enough people align on both sides of of the party to move this thing forward. But we will discuss that, once we actually have the text of it. Congresswoman Marie Newman of illinois, good to have you on the program. Thank you very much. Coming up, there is a new push in congress for a slimmeddown voting Rights Bill. The provisions on redistricting could decide which party controls the house. And up next, florida reported a Record Number of newcovid cases, today. More than 21,000. FormerWhite House adviser, andy slavitt, joins us when the week continues on msnbc. Ugh, these balls are moist. Or is that the damp weight of selfawareness you now hold in your hand . Yeahhh. laugh keep your downstairs dry with Gold Bond Body powder. We have to be able to repair the enamel on a daily basis. With Pronamel Repair toothpaste, we can help actively Repair Enamel in its weakened state. Its innovative. My go to toothpaste is going to be Pronamel Repair. Customer Hi . burke happy anniversary. My go to Toothpaste Customer for what . burke every year youre with us, you get Fifty Dollars toward your home deductible. Its a Policy Perk for being a farmers customer. customer do i have to do anything . burke nothing. Customer Nothing . burke nothing. Customer Nothing . burke nothing. customer hmm, that is really something. burke you get a whole lot of something with Farmers Policy perks. See ya. kid may i have a balloon, too . burke sure. Your parents have maintained a Farmers Home Policy for twelve consecutive months, right . We are farmers. Bumpadum, Bumbumbumbum Burke Start with a quote at 1800farmers. The Sleep Number 360 smart bed is on sale now. Its the most comfortable, duallyadjustable, footwarming, temperaturebalancing. Proven Quality Night Sleep weve ever made. Save up to 1,000 on select Sleep Number 360 smart bed and adjustable bases. Plus, free premium delivery. Ends monday. After more than a year of the pandemic, some areas of the country are, still, shattering records. Today, florida reported more than 21,000 new cases of covid19. And that is the states highest oneday total since the start of the pandemic. Meanwhile, an nbc News Exclusive is shedding light on how common Breakthrough Covid19 cases are. At least 125,000 fullyvaccinated people have tested positive for the virus. But, that number needs context. More than 64-million'>164 Million people have been fully vaccinated. These Breakthrough Cases are less than. 08 of them. Now, this reporting follows a shift in mask guidelines from the cdc. That includes recommendations that vaccinated americans mask up, in some areas. And now, were getting a look at the science behind that decision. In a Newcdc Report, first obtained by the washington post, The Agency issued a stark warning. Quote, acknowledge the war has changed. Joining us to discuss it is andy slavitt. He is the biden administrations formersenior adviser for covid response. His new book is called Preventable The Inside Story of how leadership failures, politics, and selfishness doomed the u. S. Coronavirus response. Mr. Slavitt, good evening, good to see you, again. Joshua. So what do you make of that remark . Acknowledge the war has changed, especially in light of this Newcdc Report . Well, the job of the cdc to keep up with all the changes that we are seeing with the virus, and to report to us, honestly and clearly. And what the cdcs seeing now is, what . They are seeing a virus that can spread among unvaccinated people, in as little as five minutes. They are seeing some erosion of the level of efficacy of the vaccine, towards The End of people who have been taking it for a while. They are seeing some other issues, which are causing local communities to see more and more pervasive threat. So, what theyve said, basically, is this looks like a different virus than the 2020 version did. Its far more easy to catch. You can catch it in in much quicker amount of time. And even vaccinated people, if exposed to enough virus, can also get a breakthrough case, as you showed. It doesnt happen very often but it does happen. So, i think this is a report where they said we have got to go tell the public. Thankfully, earlier in the week, thats what Rochelle Walensky did. She went out and said we got to make some changes here, folks and thats important. What do you think vaccinated people should make of these Breakthrough Cases . I mean, we have heard a lot in the last few days about the cluster of cases in provincetown, massachusetts, which is all the way on the tip of cape cod. That there were about 75 of the people who were infected were fully vaccinated. Only four ended up in the hospital. None has died. I have to admit, i im a little bit bothered by some of the way that this has been characterized, cause i was in provincetown, this month. Spent a few days there. Had a wonderful time. Came back. Got tested. Im negative and im vaccinated. So, now, i dont know what the hell to think. Was i lucky . Did the vaccines work, the way they were supposed to work . Like, im not sure how to interpret this, now. How do you interpret it . Well, heres what heres what that report said. The report said that if you have been vaccinated, you are oneeighth as likely to get covid as someone who has not been vaccinated. So indeed, joshua, the vaccine did protect you. You are also about 1 25th as likely as someone who is not vaccinated to get more serious case of covid. So if the people in provincetown who got a mild case of Covid Hadnt been vaccinated, it would have been a horror show. There would have been lots and lots of people with very serious illnesses. Lots of people hospitalized and, unfortunately, people would have died. Because of the vaccine, much fewer number of people got covid. Much fewer number of people got a serious case. And thankfully, people like you and and many, many, many others, in fact, the majority of people, didnt get covid, at all. So, this is evidence that the vaccine works. We need more people to take it. Yeah. I appreciate you saying that. I just want to admonish my my gay brothers out there, who go to events like in, you know, provincetown and Puerto Vallarta and elsewhere. Please, be vaccinated. Please, protect yourself, please protect the rest of your community. Get vaccinated. With regards to protection, though, the shift on masking, in terms of wearing a mask, even if you are vaccinated, what do you make of that . Especially, with more venues, like disney World And Disneyland saying they want everybody wearing masks indoors, whether youre vaccinated or not. How do you read that . I think about it this way. When its raining out, i will carry an umbrella so i dont get wet. If its really raining, hard, i will carry an umbrella and ill wear a raincoat because i because i dont want to get wet and because theres a possibility that the wind the rain can go sideways. We all hate that slanty rain. And i think thats how we should think about this new strain delta. That the that the umbrella, that the vaccine, helps us a great deal. But that a mask adds a layer of protection. And in this climate, now, now that theres more covid. Now that its easier to get. I wear a mask indoors. Whereas, even a week or two ago, before it was clear that delta could spread among people who are vaccinated at all, i was fine with just the first layer. Just just the umbrella. So if you are living in a climate where you are seeing a little more covid, doesnt hurt to put on a mask. I think i think its a wise move. In addition, it will protect you and it will reduce the spread. And before i have to let you go, i am wondering what you make of some of the pushback against the cdc not tracking some of these Breakthrough Cases, since Breakthrough Cases were part of the calculus for the cdc offering this new guidance about masks. Do you think they should have had a more complete Tracking Policy . Or how how do you see this . Theres a good reason to track, and theres, also, an important reason why they didnt. The reason to track is because you always want more data. And you always want to be able to do the analysis, which says heres how likely it is, if you have been vaccinated, to get covid. I think your analysis showed 0. 8 have gotten an infection. And its important information. The reason they didnt is because their best information, at the time, had been that those cases, mild cases, most of em, wed never know about because most of them would be asymptomatic or very lightly symptomatic. And would be very difficult to track and wouldnt be worth tracking because their belief was that those cases would be less likely to spread. They may want to revisit that, in the context of the fact that if you get even a mild case of covid on a breakthrough case, you can spread this to someone else. So i think its i think its something that they should go back and revisit and look at. And im not i appreciate you saying the best information, at the time. We have to keep remembering this is kind of publicscience research, discovery in motion. And the data we have today might turn out to be different from what we have, six months from now. Part of the reason, just kind of have to stay on top of whats happening. Andy slavitt, appreciate you making time, sir. Thanks very much. Now, some americans choose not to be vaccinated. Some cite a sense of patriotic rebellion. But what would our founding fathers do . Im not kidding. Theres some history you should know about. But up next, republicans have their sights set on retaking the house, in 2022. They could make winning easier, by just redrawing some districts. Well show you, when we come back. Ug. So then i said to him, you oughta customize your Car Insurance with Liberty Mutual, so you only pay for what you need. Oh um, doug can we talk about something other than work, its the weekend. Yeah, yeah. [ squawk ] hot dog or. Chicken . [ squawk ] only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Trelegy for copd. Birds flyin high, you know how i feel. Breeze drifting on by you know how i feel. Its a new dawn. If youve been taking copd sitting down, its time to make a stand. Start a new day with trelegy. No oncedaily Copd Medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. With three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy helps people breathe easier and improves lung function. It also helps prevent future flareups. Trelegy wont replace a Rescue Inhaler for sudden breathing problems. Tell your doctor if you have a Heart Condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. Do not take trelegy more than prescribed. Trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. Call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, Mouth Or Tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or Eye Pain occur. Take a stand and start a new day with trelegy. Ask your doctor about oncedaily trelegy. And save at trelegy. Com. Im really nervous. Ask your doctor about oncedaily trelegy. I dont know what i should wear. Just wear something not too crazy, remember its a Business Dinner not a Costume Party. On a spotty network this is what she heard. Just wear something crazy, remember its a Costume Party. A Costume Party . Yes anybody want to split a Turkey Leg . A voting Rights Bill might survive congress, after all. Perhaps, in a different form than its in, now. Yesterday, President Biden and Vice President harris met with the topcongressional democrats at the White House. They are finalizing a Scaledback Voting Rights Bill for the senate to vote on, before going on recess. One of the most criticallyimportant parts of the bill would end partisan gerrymandering. Why is that so important . Well, a new analysis shows that republicans could retake the house, in 2022, just with their control of redistricting, in just four southern states. That is according to the democratic firm, target smart, as first reported by Mother Jones. The republicancontrolled legislature in North Carolina could draw one or two new gopcontrolled districts. In texas and georgia, it could be up to three, each. In florida, it could be as many as five. According to the political report, when redistricting begins, republicans will be in charge of redrawing congressional lines for 187 districts. Democrats will control 75 districts. Joining us, now, is charlie cook. He is an msnbc special units political contributor, as well as the founder of and contributor for the cook political report. Mr. Cook, good to see you, this evening. Welcome. Thanks for having me on, joshua. I wonder what your thought is on this. Before you respond, here is a quick clip of Congressman Ronny Jackson from texas speaking at an event for the Faith And Freedom coalition, last month. Listen. We are four votes, right now, from controlling what happens on the floor, right . We have everything working in our favor, right now. We have redistricting Coming Up, and the republicans control most of that process in most the states around the country. That, alone, should get us the majority back. What do you make of that . Well, its actually five votes but anyway, it the thing is, when you have got the Mother Jones piece is absolutely right. Redistricting could cost democrats their the five seats that republicans need to get a majority, absolutely. But when you have got a majority thats that small, anything going wrong. I mean, yes, redistricting. But just the reapportionment process. You know, where they reallocate states, at The End of each decade, seven seven house seats are going to be switching states. And mostly, going from bluedemocratic states to redrepublican states. That could be three out of the five that republicans need, just right there. So, youve got redistricting as a problem. Youve got reapportionments a problem. And then, youve got just sort of the historic average that only, you know, 3 out of 39 midterm elections since the civil war, the party in the White House that actually gained seats. So, democrats, there theres a lot that can go wrong. And they they need everything to go right for em to hang onto a majority this small. What about the impact of, you know, voters . Whats it look like in terms of the actual leanings for the election . Like, are there districts that youre following that look like theyre leaning more to tossups when they were more solid or that might be leaning kind of away from one party or another . How might that work just taking redistricting out of it for a second . Well, the thing is because because 43 states argue to crack their maps open, we dont know what the districts are going to look like. So theres that. But there you know, there is always going to be 30, 40, 50, whatever house seats that are going to be really, really close. And we have a general idea of what whatits going to be but we wont really know for sure in each state until the maps are are are are drawn. But this is a very challenging situation. I mean, to give you an idea, the democratic majority in the house, basically, was determined by fewer than 32,000 votes in a halfdozen districts. 32,000. Thats, like, the population of wallawalla, washington. Thats what thats such a narrow, narrow majority that democrats need everything to go right. And um, you know, the good news for democrats is that president President Biden is not unpopular. And he is, certainly, a lot better off than where President Trump was, at this point. But but at the same time, voters have a tendency. One of the things that happens, these midterm elections, is that that unfortunately, love and and and and gratitude are not the dominant motivations for voters in midterm elections. Right. Its anger and fear. And it, generally, its the losing side from the previous election. Their voters are more motivated. So thats the challenge that democrats have, this election. I wonder what your sense is of how some of the Voting Restrictions that states have passed factor into this . We spoke to gabriel sterling, who is one of the topelections officials in georgia approximate a few months ago over on peacock. And i asked him, very categorically, on the record, if he actually believed that the guardrails of government would prevent those new laws in georgia from being used to partisan aims. Here is what he told me, then. I think itd be extremely difficult and unlikely. And if somebody tried it, i got a feeling that, joshua, you and every other journalist in the in the country would say, what what the heck are you doing . Because it and the thing is, its a long process. Theres a lot of Due Process involved. Its not, like, a Snap Thing that can just happen. But we have years of counties in this state that have made mistakes and and really damaged their voters abilities to vote. How do you see that, now . Well, you know, i had heard democrats talk about voter suppression, for decades. And until about 2011, 12, 13, i, frankly, think it was it was it was exaggerated. But we have seen, over the last, say, six, seven years. State legislatures and governors putting in completely arbitrary changes that have made it very difficult for certain kinds of people to vote. And, you know, it it you know, at first, you know, it might seem coincidental. But after a while, a pattern appears and is obvious. And, you know, its pretty clear, now. Whether theyll succeed or not. But again, the margin that democrats have is so narrow that littlebitty things can make all the difference in the world. So, i think, democrats are very you know, theyre theyre theyre not theyre not paranoid to think that there are State Legislatures that are out to try to cost them their majority. Theres no no question, in my mind, about that. Charlie cook, always good to have you on with us. Thank very much. Thanks, joshua. Coming up, at the top of the hour. Simone biles steps back from her olympic competitions to focus on her mental health. Our saturdaynight panel is just ahead. But first, more unvaccinated americans are weighing whether to, finally, get the shot. If youre skeptical, it might help to consider this question. What would George Washington do . Welcome to allstate. Phone Notification where weve just lowered our Auto Rates. And savings like that will have you jumping for joy. Now, get new lower Auto Rates with allstate. Because better protection costs a whole lot less. Youre in good hands with allstate. Click or call for a lower Auto Rate today. Most Bladder Leak pads were similar. Until always discreet invented a pad that protects differently. With two rapiddry layers. For strong protection, thats always discreet. Question your protection. Try always discreet. Seeing blood when you brush or floss can be a sign of early gum damage. New parodontax active Gum Repair kills Plaque Bacteria at the Gum Line to help keep the Gum Seal tight. New parodontax active Gum Repair toothpaste. I dont just play someone brainy on tv im an actual neuroscientist. And i love the science behind Neuriva Plus. Unlike ordinary memory supplements, Neuriva Plus fuels six key indicators of Brain Performance. More Brain Performance . Yes, please neuriva. Think bigger. I booked our hotel on kayak. Its flexible if we need to cancel. Cancel. I havent left the house in a year. Nothing will stop me from vacation. No canceling. Flexible cancellation. Kayak. Search one and done. Its one of the biggest pushbacks to getting vaccinated. Personal freedom. Some critics of the push to administer vaccines speak with a sense of patriotic rebellion. A refusal to give into a heavyhanded government. They argue that its downright unamerican. That argument may seem strong. But is it valid . Is pushing to inoculate people against covid unamerican . Well, you know that america won its independence in a grueling Revolutionary War. George washington had his hands full commanding the Continental Army. Turning Volunteer Militias into a, more or less, professionalfighting force. But do you know what killed 90 of his troops during the american revolution, 90 percent . Give you a hint. It was something the british no longer had to worry about. The answer . Diseases. Especially, smallpox. When the war broke out, europe was well acquainted with inoculating people against diseases by beginning them a lesslethal form of the disease. Thats what vaccines do. They teach your body how to fight a disease, by giving it a weak or dead form of the virus to beat down. George washington knew, firsthand, how awful smallpox was. He caught it, as a teenager, during a trip to barbados. It knocked him down for weeks. Rashes, back aches, chills, painful sores. Nearly, a month of sickness. According to the cdc, smallpox, once, killed about 30 of its victims. Survivors were, usually, left with scars, including young George Washington. Decades later, General Washington wrote, to the president of the continental congress, john hancock. He passed along concerns that the british were releasing smallpoxinfected people into the population. Flatout biological warfare. Then, on february 5th, 1777, George Washington ordered all troops to be inoculated against smallpox. It had to be done strategically so there would still be enough soldiers to fight, while their comrades healed up. And it had to be done in secret so the british would not catch on. But that allowed the Continental Army to fight on, until three and a half years after that order, the british surrendered at yorktown. This fall marks 240 years since the Revolutionary War ended. Perhaps, it could mark The End of another war, if we fight it with Everything Weve got. See . Americas Fight For Freedom only began with rebellion. It ended with wisdom. Look. If you are choosing not to get vaccinated, thats your choice. Just know that our young country depended on more than firing bullets. It depended on taking shots. The kind of shots that save lives. Sick of the mandates . Tired of the restrictions . You want your freedom back . Maybe, consider doing what George Washington did. Lead us out of this pandemic, and just like washington, you can do it privately, quietly. Wouldnt want the british to find out. Its easy now, than ever, to get vaccinated. Planyourvaccine. Com has all the information you need to get it done. Theres info for people, in every state, and links to register online. Thats planyourvaccine. Com. After years of wading through lengthilycourt battles, congress will finally get formerPresident Trumps Tax Returns. Thats next. Thats next. Age before beauty . Why not both . Visibly diminish wrinkled skin in. Crepe corrector lotion. Only from gold bond. Seeing blood when you brush or floss can be a sign of early gum damage. New parodontax active Gum Repair kills Plaque Bacteria at the Gum Line to help keep the Gum Seal tight. New parodontax active Gum Repair toothpaste. realtor the previous owners left in a hurry, so the house comes with everything you see. Follow me. realtor so, any questions . wife well take it realtor great. vo it will haunt your senses. The Heartpounding Audi Suv family. Get exceptional offers at your local audi dealer. You need an ecolab scientific clean here. And here. Which is why the scientific expertise that helps Operating Rooms stay clean now helps the places you go too. Look for the Ecolab Science certified seal. Im evies best camper badge. But even im not as memorable as eating now helps the places you go too. Turkey Hill Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough creamy Premium Ice Cream and chasing fireflies. Dont worry about me. Im fine. You cant beat Turkey Hill memories. Only 6 of us Retail Businesses have a black owner. That needs to change. So, i did something. I created a black Business Accelerator at amazon. And now we have a program thats dedicated to making tomorrow a better day for black businesses. I am tiffany. And this is just the beginning. We are learning more about the startling lengths that formerPresident Trump went to in hopes of overturning his election loss. Handwritten notes from a formerJustice Department official, the notes suggest that mr. Trump pressured the Doj Latelast Year to declare the 2020 election corrupt. As weve said, repeatedly, there is no evidence of the kind of widespread fraud that would change the outcome. The actingdeputy Attorney General, richard donoghue, took those notes. They recount a Phone Meeting he had with President Trump and formeracting Attorney General jeffrey rosen, on december 27th. According to the notes, mr. Trump told the doj officials to quote, just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the r congressmen. R, presumably, refers to his republican allies in congress. Now, this punctuated a difficult week for the former president and his family and closest allies. They were hit with a number of legal challenges, including a ruling from the Justice Department. The doj ordered the former president s Tax Returns delivered to the house. Lets break down these cases with carole lam, she is a former federal prosecutor and an msnbc legal analyst. Ms. Lam, good to see you. Welcome. Thank you, good to see you. What do you make of the release of these notes . And what they say . And not even just whats on those notes. But the fact that the notes were released, at all . I find it very extraordinary. And in fact, im im im sort of impressed. They were released without a lot of hullabaloo. And i think what happened is Justice Department said, these are notes that, although written by departmentofjustice now this Department Of justices notes. And we have decided that we are not going to assert any kind of privilege, executive privilege, or other privilege. And we are going to release these notes to the Congressional Committee and they did and i think the notes are extraordinary. How significant or how damaging are these notes, just in their existence . I remember, in the past, we have had to learn about how the notes of a federal prosecutor or the notes of somebody, like formerfbi director, jim comey, could be significant, in and of themselves, almost with the weight of being sworn. Being testimony. That they are considered to be credible. Yes, and Youll Recall that Donald Trump, once once said he doesnt want an attorney who takes notes. Just for this reason. Um, of course, when people take notes, they are taking notes in order to memorialize whats actually happening happening, at the moment. And theyre what we call contemporaneously. Theyre theyre being taken, at the time that the events are happening. And so, in terms of credibility, theyre given quite a bit so theyre viewed as being contemporaneous recordings of whats happening at the moment. So the fact that Rich Donohue took these notes with verbatim quotations from the president at that time is pretty significant. They, you know, you read these notes and hes a trained lawyer and you read these notes and you say, you know, theres not much question about what was going on here . This was the Department Of justice whose job it is to develop evidence, you develop evidence and you see if theres credible evidence that would cause you to find somebody guilty or not guilty of a particular allegation. And heres the President Of The United States saying, heres the result i want, you announce that result and ill find a way to get us there. Its extraordinary. What about the doj, the current doj under the biden administration with Merrick Garland as Attorney General. That doj, ordering the Treasury Department to give the u. S. House the former president s Tax Returns. Where do you see that heading . So thats another somewhat unusual thing to have happen. You do sometimes see that when an administration flips from one party to the other, you do sometimes see that the Department Of justice taking different position from the prior Department Of justice. The Office Of Legal Counsel within the Department Of justice is supposed to be a fairly resilient, you know its supposed to be a department that just follows the law. And when you have a flipflop like this, when you have one olc, Office Of Legal Counsel, opinion reversing one from just two years ago, it is a little bit jarring. However, i think that in this case, it was the right thing to do. Because, basically, what the Office Of Legal Counsel under trump said was that the Treasury Department could just secondguess a Congressional Committee. That has a right to request Tax Returns. And they could just secondguess their motivations and say, we find their motivations to be pretextual. This Department Of justice said, no, you cant do that. Before i have to let you go, something else i wanted to ask you about was Mo Brooks. He was someone who spoke at the rally on 6th'>January 6th that proceeded the insurrection at the capitol. The doj also ruled that he was not, not acting an official capacity when he spoke at that rally. Whats the impact of that . Also a significant impact there, because what the Department Of justice is saying is that although, yes, when somebody when a federal employee does something within the scope of their employment, as a federal employee, we will step into their shoes and we will defend the case and we will be liable, if anybody is liable. What the department has said here is that, no, when Mo Brooks got up there and did what he did on 6th'>January 6th and in events leading up to 6th'>January 6th, he was not acting in the scope of his employment as a congressman. What he was doing was he was basically engaging in a political campaign. And theres some credibility to that, because at that point in time, although President Trump was still technically the president , he had been voted out of office and that was going to take place very shortly. Last thing, very briefly, a federal Appeals Court said that Donald Trump and his adult children cannot send a Fraud Lawsuit into arbitration. This stemmed from his time on Celebrity Apprentice and there was a lawsuit accusing them of exploiting their Family Name to promote a marketing scam, targeting the poor and working class. Thats the accusation in the lawsuit. That seems like a big decision, to me. I mean, arbitration can be private, behind closed doors, and we never know what the outcome is. This makes it much more public. Yeah. You have that exactly right. That was the motivation in trump and his children, hoping to get this litigation, this Class Action Lawsuit into arbitration, so it would not be public. The Result Wouldnt be public and the Evidence Wouldnt be public. But what happened here was the court said, no, when you were persuading those people to invest their money in this company called acn, their agreement to use arbitration was with the company, acn. It was not you, Donald Trump, or your children. And therefore, the Arbitration Agreement does not apply to you. And youre going to have to litigate this in open court, in public. Former federal prosecutor carol lam, miss lam, good to see you. Thanks very much. Our Saturday Night panel is Coming Up at the top of the hour. Stick around. Ng up at the top O Hour Stick around how much money can Liberty Mutual save you . One two three four five 72,807 72,808. Dollars. Yep. Everything hurts. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Introducing Aleve X. Its fast, powerful longlasting relief with a revolutionary, rollerball design. Because with the right pain reliever. Life opens up. Aleve it, and see whats possible. Icy hot. Ice works fast. Heat makes it last. Feel the power of contrast therapy, so you can rise from pain. With Voltaren Arthritis Pain gel my husbands got his moves back. Feel the power of contrast therapy, an alternative to pain Pills Voltaren is the first full Prescription Strength Gel for powerful arthritis pain relief. Voltaren the joy of movement experience, hyper performance that takes you further. At the lexus golden opportunity sales event. Get 0. 9 Apr Financing on the all 2021 Lexus Hybrid models. Experience amazing. We have breaking News Tonight on immigration at the southern border. Nbc news has learned that i. C. E. Is planning to transfer migrant families to their custody and out of Border Patrol facilities that are amazingly overcrowded. I. C. E. Will give the Families Covid tests and Court Dates, Ankle Monitors will track the parents until a court determines whether they may stay in the u. S. Now, as of this morning, Border Patrol processing facilities were nearly six times above their capacities. 585 , to be more precise. Nbcs Julia Ainsley joins us now by phone. Julia, what more have you learned . Yes, thats right, joshua. So intense overcrowding in these facilities. Weve seen this happen before with children, but now they say, with an increase in families coming in, theyre worried about the spread of covid19, as well as other viruses, lice, and its really just become an unhealthy and unsustainable situation at these Border Processing facilities, especially over the last week, as its grown worse. That has triggered a number of Seniorlevel Phone calls between the White House and dhs, as this administration grapples with what to do and they say that they really have tried to keep the humane conditions here at the forefront, trying to make them as humane as possible. What that has now led to that we can report tonight is that i. C. E. Will be stepping in, in an unprecedented way. They will start to transfer families out of Border Patrol custody, into i. C. E. Custody, and i. C. E. Officers will be doing what they call the processing, helping with medical screenings, covid19 tests, even offering them vaccines, connecting them with ngos, telling them their legal rights, something that isnt typically done by The Agency tasked with Enforcement And Removal of undocumented immigrants. But they say this is the necessary steps to alleviate some of that overcrowding. The other thing it does do, joshua, as we point out, is that now these families will be released if they do pass an additional asylum screening, they will be released with a Court Date and an ankle monitor. It will be some way for the government to track who is in the united states and if theyre showing up to their Court Date, as opposed to what Border Patrol has been doing recently, where theyve had to release some people without a Court Date, simply to alleviate that overcrowding. I. C. E. Is able to provide more of that humanitarian relief, but also, to be able