Bill. Good evening, joshua. We are getting in the new 8 00 p. M. Advisory from the national hurricane center. We are also now for the first seem seeing the center of the storm on radar. Thats the green you see here beginning to show up. That is about 275, 285 miles from New Orleans at the current time. So the white is the clouds. The green is the rain bands. And those will be moving on shore as we go throughout the overnight hours. This is the Satellite Imagery and we color it to kind of see the brighter reds. Kind of lets meteorologists know where the stronger portions of storm are. This is the new advisory. 105 miles per hour so the winds did not increase. Thats great. We want to keep this as weak as possible. We dont think it is going to get weaker before a landfall but we do expect it to get stronger. Hurricane center still thinks it could become a category 3 hurricane overnight. It may be right before landfall, possibly getting up to a category 4. So we should expect major Hurricane Landfall in south earn louisiana tomorrow afternoon. Direct impact grand isle, Morgan City. Those are the cities that have the greatest risk of extreme winds and extreme Storm Surge of up to 15 feet. Now, notice New Orleans is to the right side of it track. Any, little shift or wobble brings those stronger winds to New Orleans but as of now, we expect the core of the storm to miss new or leans and thats important for Wind Damage for that highly populated area. Then, Sunday Night and monday, we are bringing the storm through mississippi with serious concerns for flash flooding, River Flooding and tornados. Our Computer Models in pretty good agreement taking the storm through southeast louisiana, then up toward baton rouge. We know where the storm is going. The question is what intensity will it be when it gets there . Right now greatest Storm Surge threat from Morgan City southwards down along the coast of grand isle. Notice even all the eastern portions of louisiana which borders up to New Orleans. 7 to 11 foot Storm Surge. Its important to note after katrina 16 years ago, the levees were built high enough to survive this Storm Surge. The levees are 17 to 19 feet so we are not expecting the levees to break or breach because of the water. Now, will the Pump Systems be able to get rid of all the rainfall is another question . Because we are expecting up to 20 inches of rain possible in southeast louisiana, including maybe even in New Orleans. So that will be another story to watch as we go through sunday evening. And then, flooding possibly through mississippi and in areas of tennessee. So, joshua, typical major landfalling hurricane, there are many aspects of it. Number one killer in all these storms is usually the Storm Surge so hopefully everyone is already out of there as the sun sets Tomorrow Morning when it rises, the storm will be approaching. Yeah, everybody who has left is pretty much already left and they will be dealing with a strong category 3, possibly marginal category 4 hurricane by tomorrow. Thank you, bill. Thats Nbc MeteorologistBill Karins starting us off tonight. Now, lets get to the situation in afghanistan. If you are not looking at the tv right now, stop for a minute. Look up. Today, the pentagon identified the Service Members who were killed by a Suicide Attack on thursday. These are their names. 13 of them. It happened at a checkpoint outside the airport in kabul. The blast also killed dozens of afghan civilians. President biden promised swift retaliation for the attack, some of which has already come. Last night on his order, the u. S. Military carried out a Drone Strike against isisk. That group claimed responsibility for the airport attack. This morning, general William Taylor confirmed that the strike killed two highprofile isis targets and another one was wounded. But the threat of another attack at the airport remains. The State Department is urging americans in kabul to stay away from the facility. This afternoon, a statement from the president warned that another attack is, quote, highly likely in the next 24 to 36 hours. Unquote. Now, tuesday is the deadline for the u. S. To pull out of afghanistan. Pentagon officials say they will continue the evacuations as long as possible. We continue to evacuate american citizens and vulnerable afghans out of kabul. In fact, there are approximately 1,400 individuals at the Kabul Airport who have been screened and manifested for flights today. As i said yesterday, we have the ability to include evacuees on Military Airlift out of afghanistan until the very end. We will have more on the status of the evacuation in just a moment of the. Here at home, many americans were focused on Voting Rights today. Thousands of people took to the streets of washington, d. C. And cities all over the country. They are marching in support of federal efforts to protect Voting Rights. Today marks 58 years since the historic march on washington for jobs and freedom. That is where the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, jr. , gave his most famous speech on this date in 1963. My little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream. On thursday, republicans in the Texas Legislature advanced a bill that would restrict access to the polls. Democrats in texas say that bill would have an outsized impact on marginalized groups if it becomes law. Texas is just one state to pass restrictive Voting Laws this year. According to Nyus Brennen Center for justice, 18 states have passed 30 laws that restrict voting access. Meaningful Voting Protections that counter those laws can only come at the federal level. That effort made some progress this week, but perhaps not enough. On tuesday, house democrats passed h. R. 4. The John Lewis VotingRights Advancement Act. It passed 219212. Straight Party Line with zero republican support. At the moment, it appears to have no path to passage. That is what happened to the for the people act. It got stuck behind a Gop Filibuster and thats a big reason we are seeing these marches today. In a way, the crowds are marching for an audience of two. Senators Joe Manchin and kyrsten sinema. These moderate democrats have both publicly resisted calls to remove the filibuster from legislation on Voting Rights. Doing that would let the democrats pass these measures with a razorthin majority, assuming that Senators Manchin and Sinema Vote for the bills, too. So, is that it . Whats next in the fight for Voting Rights . Especially, if these bills fail to become law. Joining us now is democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson lee of texas. Her district includes parts of houstOn And its suburbs. Congresswoman lee, its good to have you with us tonight. And i wonder if i might begin by having you react to something that the reverend Al Sharpton said at one of the Demonstrations Today in washington. Watch. We decided not to go to lincoln memorial. But to go where you could see over our heads the Capitol Building of the united states. The reason you needed to see that building is because, in that building, the senators will decide whether to continue the segregationist legislative strategy of filibuster. Or whether they are going to give the people of this country the right to vote with no prohibition. That building is the target of our Social Justice movement. Congresswoman lee, how confident are you that there is a path forward for the John Lewis VotingRights Advancement Act . Right now, it looks pretty bleak. First of all, joshua, thank you so, very much for having me. I think as you can see, i am coming in from the march on washington. I was there with Reverend Sharpton. But before i answer that, allow me to, first of all, give my deepest sympathy to the families of the fallen soldiers. The ones that were injured and the afghans that were killed and injured, as well. We obviously need to come together, as americans, in these times. And to be able to move the people who need to be moved out of afghanistan. And to be able to stand with the president as he keeps his word and helps us Move Forward and the people of afghanistan. But it is shameful as i listen to dr. Martin Luther King and Reverend Sharpton that we may not be judged by the color of our skin and we may. But we see the Voting Rights laws that are now being denied are being denied seemingly on the people who voted in 2020. And so, shamefully, we have seen a rage of Voter Suppression laws across america. 49 states and almost 20 have passed raws. Laws. And we see the Big Lie of the 2020 election when young people, disabled people, people of color, intergenerational people voted and expressed their constitutional right to vote. Right. My thought is that we cannot deny the constitution. Joshua, my right to vote is in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendment and that is for all americans so here is what i think the solution is. We cannot tolerate the filibuster as it was in segregated america. Lyndon Bains Johnson helped pass the 1965 voting Rights Act and he did that. He overcame the filibuster. He insisted that senators, particularly in our party and i wish it would be others because ive seen Voting Rights be bipartisan. Right. Cease and desist and move legislation forward to protect the Voting Rights of all americans. That is what we will insist happen in the senate. And we hope to see it happen as early as october. I guess, what i am not seeing at the moment is where the leverage is, congresswoman. I understand trying to appeal to Peoples Morality and their ethics in Terms Of voting. But both in congress and in the Texas Legislature in austin, i just dont know where democrats have the leverage to either compel republicans to change course or to entice republicans. To find some kind of a compromise. A bill that everybody can live with. I just dont see the path for it. When i spoke and it does look like a the road looks untenable. But today, when i spoke i mentioned Conscience And Purge which will be found in the late John Lewiss last book that he wrote to take care and to carry on. Its gonna be a question of conscience and a question of courage. And it will be a question of the united States Senate and the leadership working with president Joe Biden. Frankly, as we Move Forward on the Invest Act and the Build Back America Act and the White House will be energetic in doing that. I see a pathway forward with the president insisting that this is a vital part of americas justice. Do we want a Democratic Republic . Or do we want a nation that forces people out of the Voting System . And it means people of all different colors and background. What comes and hurts people of color will hurt all americans. And i think these senators have to address that question. What side do they want to be on . The promotion of democracy . Or the promotion of isolatiOn And providing stigmative voting, it is going to be a matter of courage. So i think it is going to have to be a team effort. I know we passed it this past week with every single Democrat Voting and i would venture to say there were republicans who wanted to vote for it. But obviously, they are lockstep with their party. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of texas. Safe travels the rest of way home. We appreciate you making time on your way back from washington. Thanks very much. Up next, the u. S. Has as we said just a few days to get out of afghanistan. The State Department says hundreds of americans want to leave. Will they make it out . Plus, a federal judge sanctions the lawyers who filed a string of frivolous lawsuits challenging the election results. But will that be enough to curtail the socalled Big Lie . Those stories and we will keep you updated on hurricane ida, as the week continues on msnbc. Its laundry truths, with cat and nat. I have so many kids and so much laundry. I dont have time for pretreating. What even is this . It looks like cheese but it smells like barf. With tide pods, you dont need to worry. The pretreaters are built in. So you just toss them in before the clothes. Tide pods dissolve even when the water is freezing. Nice if its got to be clean, its got to be tide. vo when you are shopping for a new vehicle, how do you know which brand you can trust . With subaru, you get kelley blue books most trusted brand winner, seven years in a row. In fact, subaru has won most trusted brand for more consecutive years than any other brand. 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President biden says another attack on the civilian airport in kabul is highly likely. Possibly, tomorrow. Meanwhile, the evacuation continues. Large crowds returned to the airport desperate to escape afghanistan. It has only been a few days since a Terror Attack killed more than 100 civilians and 13 u. S. Service members. In response, the president authorized a Drone Strike. Pentagon officials say the strike Last Night killed two highprofile isis targets. The airlifts have evacuated more than 117,000 people, so far. Many more are waiting to be taken to safety. The plan is for americas longest war to end in three days. And the president is holding firm on u. S. Troops leaving afghanistan by the August31st Deadline. How significant has the evacuation been so far . And what remains to be done . Lets discuss it with national Security Correspondent for npr news. Greg, its good to see you, again. And i wonder if we might start with that Drone Strike. Where does that put the u. S. In Terms Of, a, its ability to get out of afghanistan . And, b, its ability to leave having to secure what we intended to secure which was a bit more confidence that there would be no more terrorism directed at America Coming from afghanistan. What does that leave us . Right. Well, as as you noted, the president s Statement Today was quite striking. I never recall a president talking about a Terror Strike is highly likely as as President Biden said today. Possibly, in 24 to 36 hours. He also said that the u. S. Would continue with these Drone Strikes against isisk. And and the attack you cited did kill two of their members. But this is a group that has lots of small cells. So, its not like this is going to completely cripple the group. Um, so i think President Biden wants to show the u. S. Can still strike. But its ability to to strike militarily has been diminished. And and already, the pentagon was calling this strike an Overthehorizon Strike as an indication that they are going to be doing things long distance and they may continue after the u. S. Pulls pulls out but with a lot less capacity. Sounds like there is a lot of reasons at least for the taliban to be upset about this. A, that there is a strike taking place on afghan soil when they are trying to assert control over all this territory. The Taliban And Isisk are not friends. They are rivals, at best. Right. Right, joshua. So, you know, thursday was a terrible day. These deaths of 13 americans. But it was also a terrible day for afghanistan because it was really a taste of what could be in store. We saw that the taliban couldnt secure the most important or most focused place in afghanistan right now. The airport. They havent been able to really formally establish a government. Its not clear how theyre gonna run the economy for a very poor country. So what we saw, as horrible and terrible as it was for the u. S. , it was really a badnews day, also, for for afghanistan and the taliban and the and the extremist factions theyre going to have to deal with, as well. Who are their rivals. Hows it look in Terms Of this August31st Deadline . Our partners at Sky News reported that the uk has completed its part of the drawdown. So they are out of afghanistan, officially now. Does it look like the deadline is going to be met by the u. S. . The pentagOn And the president have been absolutely firm about that so its tuesday. At some point tuesday, the pentagon says they are already starting to pull out but there are still more than 5,000 u. S. Troops there. Um, its not like they just throw their Duffel Bag on a plane and get out of there. Theyve got heavy equipment. Um, armored armored cars, helicopters. Were not sure if theyll take all of that with them but they certainly could. And as you cited, the the british have left. The french have left. Others are are scaling back, if they havent left already. And yet, the pentagon also says they want to do these airlifts right up to the very end. So its going to be a very intricate dance to continue to take out people who are trying to get out. More desperate, by the day. While 5,000 u. S. Troops and their equipment try to get out of there. I mean, we had one of my npr colleagues had an amazing interview today. It was with a marine Master Sergeant whos been running Air Traffic control. Hes been living in a tent on the airfield there since august 13. Um, hundred flights a day coming in and out. And they work 12hour shifts. And then, even when youre off, there are still planes landing every five or ten minutes. They have been getting all these flights out safely. Its quite an extraordinary operation. And theres literally two Air Traffic controllers doing one 12hour shift. And then, they get replaced by two more doing a 12hour shift. I have i wonder what your sense is how they are going to handle the taliban once the u. S. Is out, particularly as relates to these other groups . The taliban spokesman in qatar about what would happen if the taliban caught Al Qaeda or isis on afghan soil. And the spokesman made it at least tried to make it clear that they would not tolerate that. That they would not allow isis or Al Qaeda to operate in afghanistan which was the whole point behind the war in afghanistan, to begin with. Before i have to let you go, greg, what is your sense of whether the taliban are ready or willing or able to make good on that . Their leadership certainly knows the risk um that that they were driven out of power because of that Al Qaeda attack in 2001. So they know that but theyre very, deeply integrated with Al Qaeda. Um, it its going to be and weve seen the weakness in their Security Forces and security service. So keeping Al QaedaUnder Control will be difficult. And as we have noted, their rivals with isisk which is still there. So the the challenge for them even if theyre willing, will they be able to control the whole country . Its one thing to to wage an insurgency. Very different to try to secure the entire country. Thats npr national Security Correspondent. Greg, good to he see you again. Still to come, President Bidens Poll Numbers dropped sharply this week, particularly over his handling of afghanistan and covid. But there is more to those Poll Numbers than just his Approval Ratings. Well show you, just ahead. Stay close. I looked on ancestry and just started digging and found some really cool stuff. It was just a lot of fun. Just to talk to my parents about it and to send it to my grandparents and be like, hey this person were all related to look at this crazy stuff they did in arizona 100 years ago. It actually gives you a picture of their life, so you get to feel like youre walking the same path they did. 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Liberty. President Bidens Poll numbers dropped sharply in the latest Nbc News poll. That is driven largely by bipartisan criticism of the afghanistan withdrawal and the latest spike In Covid cases. For the first time in his presidency, the president s overall Approval Rating has dipped below 50 , just barely. 49 of americans say they approve. 48 say they dont. Dont read too hard into that because that is within the Threepoint Margin of error so its basically, statistically tied. But if you dig a little further, the survey reveals some striking differences, including based on where people get their news. From more conservative outlets, the president s Approval Rating is only 24 . Those who turned to more liberal outlets give about 69 approval. Those who say they just read the newspaper or just watch broadcast tv. 60 support. And as for those who rely on Social Media for their news . 47 say they approve of the president s performance. Lets break down these numbers further with nbc senior Political Editor mark murray. Mark, lets start with just the Approval Rating. It is pretty close. Basically, tied within the margin of error. What do you make of these numbers . Is this kind of normal for this point in a presidency . Or does this point to something more specific to the biden administration . Yeah, josh, its not too surprising given the stage of the presidency where President Biden is right now. Where he is kind of coming out of that Honeymoon Period after the first100 days. And obviously, kind of dealing with some rockier, trickier subjects. Our poll ended up showing that the biggest Decline And Erosion in his Approval Rating actually came from independents. The democrats were firmly behind him like they were in our April Poll. That republicans were firmly against him like they were in our April Poll. But the movement came from independents, who were about 60 approve in april. And that went down to 46 in our august poll. And, joshua, you and i have talked a lot about polls and the margin of error and how theyre all conducted in the past. But one important thing is we have to kind of understand when these polls are conducted. And our poll was conducted right when kabul ended up falling to the taliban. And certainly, sometimes you could actually see that News Environment and what occurs during that frame of a poll can sometimes show a little erosion like we ended up seeing in our own survey. I appreciate you mentioning independents, by the way. Its important, i think, for us to remember independents are the plurality, if not at times just barely the majority of the u. S. Electorate. So, i would be very interested in looking at the numbers with independents specifically, as time goes on. Particularly, as we get closer to the midterms. You mentioned that the poll was taken just before the fall of kabul. Lets Take A Look at the numbers regarding afghanistan. Again, broken out by peoples different news sources. Here, you see the overall Approval Rating and the way that it dropped from our April Poll to our august poll. Now, basically to a statistical tie. With regards to approval on afghanistan, broken down by media consumption, its easy to see that if you consume more conservative sources, approval is much lower. But even for people who say they rely more on liberal sources. Thats not terribly high, either. What do you make of that as it relates to how the nation, in general, views the president s approval on afghanistan . Yeah, joshua. This was one of the areas where actually no matter how you end up getting your news, you are pretty much all in agreement. And when your Approval Rating is in a 25 Percentage Range where it is on that afghanistan approval, you are not going to get a lot of support from any segments, and including as you mention from people who get their news from liberal media. And that was one of the you know, one of the few results where almost everyone was in agreement. But when you get to other matters, including bidens overallApproval Rating and some of the other things that you and i are going to discuss later in this segment. You see humongous differences and a really wide gap in how you get your news and your perceptions of politic and what is happening in the country. Yeah, with regard to that, what about covid . I mean, these are the numbers based on different kinds of Media Outlets and the Publics Approval of bidens handling of covid. Liberal media sources and more Conservative Media sources. There seems to be a huge pullout, a carve out almost from people who conserve consume Conservative Media and i know what the reaction is. Its fox news. Its oan. Its news max. Lying to the american people. Making them think you should take Horse Dewormer instead of vaccines. Its their fault. This is what they are doing. Is this the kind of thing were seeing based on Media Outlets . Or would you see the same among republicans versus independents . Or conservatives versus progressives . Like, what is this, really . It it is. It is really a big segment of republicans and people who are strong trump supporters and people who voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 election. But, joshua, it does stand out to me that one group is so different than everyone else and those are people who end up getting news from conservative Media Outlets giving the president poor marks on his handling of covid. And also, when we end up looking at people who get their news from Conservative Media when it comes to the coronavirus and the pandemic, they are much more likely to view Anthony Fauci in an unfavorable light. They are much more likely to actually not be as concerned about covid. And they are much less likely to be vaccinated as weve actually found out in our poll. And so, there is some kind of striking differences on people who get their news from Conservative Media and the rest of everyone in the poll. Its so interesting when we talk about this in a theoretical way in Terms Of what we think about people, what they watch and how we think that they behave. But theres an interesting correlation thats kind of emerged in Terms Of the way people voted in 2020 for president. Trump or biden. And the Infection Rates with covid. Take a look at this chart. I know its got Little Bitty type. But what were showing here are the the counties in the country that have the highest Infection Rates per 100,000 people. Basically, the highest Infection Rates per capita. Cook county, georgia. Wayne county, mississippi. Tiff county, georgia. And On AndOn And on. And you will note that these counties in 2020 all but one went for Donald Trump by very significant margins. Cook county, georgia. 40point Margin for Donald Trump. Crockett county, tennessee. Only outlier with a 24point Margin for Joe Biden who became the president. Mark murray, what about what about this . This feels like stronger evidence of this correlation than some of the other polls that ive seen. Yeah. Particularly, during a pandemic, joshua, in which we know that people who are vaccinated are much less likely to be hospitalized and get really sick from covid. Um and, you know, our poll as i ended up mentioning, if you get your news from Conservative Media, youre much less likely to view Anthony Fauci in a positive light. You are much less likely to have been vaccinated. And i actually see when you are looking at those Infection Rates, in those counties, i do think there is a correlation. Now, its important to also note the very beginning of the pandemic we ended up seeing high Infection Rates in some of the bluest parts of the country. Right. In New York state. In new jersey. But now, as the pandemic has actually become a complete correlation between whos been vaccinated and who hasnt been vaccinated. Who is listening to medical professionals . And who isnt . I do think that were seeing some some some numbers that are showing on the news that you actually end up getting during a pandemic could be really, really important on how you treat the pandemic and treat yourself. Yeah. And thats also holding up with the Fastestgrowing Infection rates. You see mackinaw county, michigan. 26fold increase over the last two weeks. Voted 24 points in favor of Donald Trump. All of the fastestgrowing counties with Fastestgrowing Infection rates supported trump by at least double digits. Thats nbcs Mark Mur Richlt mark, thank thanks very much. Later on, we have got another poll that might surprise you. Apparently, most teenagers say they are concerned about today but optimistic about the future. Highly optimistic. Plus, we will explain what Moo Juice is and why it is so worrisome for the fight against covid. Thats all ahead when our saturdaynight panel joins us at the top of the hour. R. vo at tmobile for business, unconventional thinking means we see things differently, so you can focus on what matters most. Whether its ensuring food arrives as fresh as when it departs. Being first on the scene, when every second counts. Or teaching biology without a lab. We are the leader in 5g. 1 in customer satisfaction. And a partner who includes 5g in every plan, so you get it all. Without tradeoffs. Unconventional thinking. Its better for business. man go on, girl, go On And get help thats it, girl [heartwarming music] man ah burke smart dog. With farmers crashassist, our Signal App can tell when youve been in a crash and can send help, if you want it. Its new and one of many Farmers Policy perks. 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He spoke publicly about the incident for the first time in an Nbc News exclusive. Congresswoman Madeleine Dean was among the Lawmakers Lieutenant Byrd was defending that day. She reacted to the news with msnbcs joy reid. This is a man who has some sense of duty that is absolutely within his core. I like you, i didnt know who he was. I didnt know what color he was. And and just you can see the extraordinary integrity in him. Lieutenant byrd told nbcs Lester Holt about the moment he decided to use deadly force. We see your arm out there for a considerable amount of time. Were you you wavering . I was taking a tactical stance. Youre ultimately hoping that your commands will be complied with. And unfortunately, they were not. Reporter when you fired, what what could you see . Where were you aiming . You are taught to aim for center mass. The subject was sideways, and i could not see her full motion of her hands or anything. Um, so i guess her movement, you know, caused the discharge to to fall where it did. And what did you think this individual was doing at that at that moment . She was posing a threat to united States House of representatives. Reporter but an attorney for Ashli Babbitts family disputes that. He did not respond to our request for a comment. But in a previous statement, Said Babbitt was not brandishing a weapon, not in close proximity to members of congress, and was not an imminent threat of death or serious injury to anyone. Her Family Points out that she was not armed. Thats correct. Reporter the fact that you werent aware whether she was armed or not, did that alter the decisionmaking . It did not. Reporter what should we make of the fact that there are other officers in other potentially lifethreatening situations who didnt use their Service Weapons that day . Um, im sure it was a terrifying situation. I can only control my reaction, my training, my level of expertise. That would be upon them to speak for themselves. Reporter Formerpresident Trump has has talked about you and this and this incident. He says she was murdered. What does it feel like to hear that from a former president . Well, its disheartening. If he was in the room or anywhere and im responsible for him, i was prepared to do the same thing for him and his family. Reporter would you have his Back Today if you were so assigned . I sure would because its my job. Reporter as i said, your name has has been on the internet for some time in in an unofficial way. Lot of rumors. Lot of accusations. One of which is that you had some sort of political motive. Um, you were you were a political operative. I do my job for republican, for democrat, for whites, for black, red, blue, green. Reporter a few years ago, you were investigated for leaving your your Service Weapon in a bathroom. And thats been brought up by by those who were questioning your competency. You want to respond to that . Sure. It was a terrible mistake. I acknowledged it. I owned up to it. I accepted the responsibility. I was penalized for it. And um i moved on. Reporter multiple investigations have now upheld byrds actions on January 6th. Capitol police in their Press Release after exonerating you said your actions potentially saved members and staff from serious injury and possible death. What was it like to hear those words . To see those words . Those words meant a lot because thats exactly what i did. On that day. Thats nbcs Lester Holt reporting. They say that elections have consequences. Well, apparently, lying about elections in court does, too. That is next. Reliable network by rootmetrics. And our customers rated us 1 for Network Quality in america according to j. D. Power. Number one in reliability, 16 times in a row. Most awarded for Network Quality, 27 times in a row. Proving once again that nobody builds networks like verizon. 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They must pay the legal fees of the state of michigan and the city of detroit. Judge Linda Parker also ordered them to undergo 12 hours of legal education on Election Law and pleading standards. And she is referring her decision to the state of Michigans Attorney Grievance commission for investigation. That could result in suspension or even permanent disbarment. Judge parker was scathing in her opinion. She wrote that the lawsuit was, quote, not about vindicating rights in the wake of alleged Election Fraud. Instead, it was about ensuring that a preferred political candidate remained in the president ial seat, despite the decision of the nations voters to unseat him. Unquote. Joining us now is msnbc legal analyst, barbara mcwade. She is the former u. S. Attorney for the eastern district of michigan and a professor at the university of michigan law school. Professor, i love your thoughts on this, particularly in light of this excerpt from the opinion. The judge also wrote, quote, this case was never about fraud. It was about undermining the Peoples Faith in our democracy and debasing the Judicial Process to do so. Unquote. I think i speak for just about all of us when i say, duh. I think the amazing thing for some people is that anything has come of it. That there is any kind of punishment for attorneys who do this. Well, youre right, joshua. Its actually pretty rare for judges to impose sanctions on lawyers. And i think its because they want to give lawyers a lot of leeway to try out theories. Um and to develop their cases. But in a case like this, where as the judge said all of the socalled evidence was simply based on speculatiOn And conjecture. There was no basis for this lawsuit. And i think we often use the phrase frivolous lawsuits which is what the law prohibits. The the sanctions rules. This lawsuit was beyond frivolous. As Judge Parker wrote in the language that you cited, it was much more sinister than that. The goal here wasnt simply to file, in good faith, a lawsuit. But to undermine public confidence in the outcome of the election. It was really just to establish another Talking Point that President Trump and his allies could hang their hat on in trying to spread the Big Lie. So help me understand this as a nonattorney. Where is the line . I mean, we weve all heard that expression you can sue a Ham Sandwich in this country. Its the beauty of the system. But where is the line between a lawsuit thats fanciful . Versus a lawsuit thats frivolous . Versus a lawsuit thats foul . Where does the law draw the line . Well, the line . The law gives quite a bit of leeway to lawyers. They dont expect them to be able to prove their case Beyond A Reasonable Doubt or even by a preponderance of the evidence the day it is filed. But you do have to base it on actual facts. There is rule 11 of the rules of Civil Procedure that says before a lawyer may file a lawsuit as an officer of the court theyre supposed to undertake a good Faith Investigation of the facts and the law to make sure that there is some basis and some support for what they are asserting. In this case, one of the reasons that Judge Parker spent 110 pages writing this legal opinion is because she meticulously went through each of the affidavits that was submitted in support of this complaint. And they said things like, you know, heres a person who says i saw somebody with a Plastic Bag at the Polling Place with some papers in it. That could have been Election Fraud or fraudulent ballots. Or i saw a truck pull up at the Convention Center where votes were being counted. I was very perplexed about why that truck was there. None of those even if true has any probative value whatsoever regarding Election Fraud. Which as parker said did any of you interview any of these people . Did any of you try to develop any of these facts to find out whether they were actually true before you filed this lawsuit and during a Sixhour Hearing she went through them one by one. The answer every time was no. Separate from this Rudy Giuliani has been suspended from practicing law in New York and washington, d. C. Over his actions after the election. We also heard from David Fink whos an attorney for the city of detroit. Heres what he told Rachel Maddow on wednesday. The judge did something thats very, very rare. Shes reporting all nine of these to the michigan attorney Grievances Commission and to the disciplinary authorities of the states of the outer State Attorneys came from. This sends a critically important message. It tells lawyers that they dont have the right to just say or do anything they want. Thats not what the privilege of practicing law is about. As an attorney were subject to rules. Were subject to statutes, and we are subject to a set of ethics and rules of civility. And all these lawyers violated those rules and those ethics, and Theyll Answer for it. Barbara, rein me in if necessary, but this gives me a bit of Hope Truth is not fungible in this country, the truth still matters. Under a system of equal justice under law, you cant just go in Court And Lie forever. You cant go in and court and say things that are superfluous or ridiculous forever. Sooner or later there are guardrails. Sooner or later youre going to lose some teeth, that there are still guardrails on this system. I think so. This is very reaffirming i think for those of us who practice law and take very seriously our duties of the court to be truthful in our pleadings and legal arguments. One of the arguments the lawyersen this case made during the hearing was they had a first Amendment Right to make the statements that they made. Judge parker shot that down and said when you come into court your first Amendment Rights are cabined by the rules you agreed to by a lawyer. You are bound by rules. You are bound by ethical duties, and you have to come and tell the truth. And so i agree with you, joshua. Its a good day for truth in this country. Yeah, the first Amendment ThingThats Nail on the chalkboard to me. I have a first Amendment Right to say what i want but i dont have a first Amendment Right to work for Nbc News. Appreciate you talking us through this. Thanks very much. Up next well show you a Tennessee School District divided over covid. One woman called the Mask Mandate Smoke and mirrors and tyranny. Now with the Samsung Galaxy Z fold 3 on verizon 5g, theres no more fear of missing out. Download a movie on the go, while acting in a movie. Hyah while also writing a movie. Maybe a romcom. Vo Switch to verizOn And get up to 1,000 off. Liberty mutual Customizes Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need. 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. Music playing. Theres an america we build and one we explore one thats been paved and one thats forever wild but freedom means you dont have to choose just one adventure you get both. Introducing the Allnew 3row Jeep grand Cherokee L jeep. Theres only one. Schools getting back in session across the country as the Delta Variant drives a surge In Covid cases. The push to curb the pandemic has led to some heated confrontations between parents and school administrators. Take Tennessees Williamson CountySchool District thats just south of nashville. In the last four days covid cases there rose by 40 in four days. On Thursday Night some parents and locals railed against a temporary Mask Requirement during a School Board Meeting. And that was not the first time. On August 10th another meeting of the same School Board got even more unruly. Some parents harassed and heckled Health Care workers. That drew President Bidens attention. He said, quote, this isnt about politics. This is about keeping our children safe, unquote. Now, In The End the School Board voted to extend its temporary Mask Requirement. So what happens now . Nbcs Dasha Burns has the story from williamson county, tennessee. Reporter were in the same School District that went viral earlier this month for videos from their previous School Board Meeting showing some heated confrontations, and this time security was out in full force. We saw maybe 30 plus officers which sastriking sight, remember, at a School Board Meeting. They did keep the situation Under Control, but the tensions were high. And i want to show you a moment that is emblematic of how School Board Meetings have really become the next frontier of Culture Wars and political divisions. We were speaking to people outside before the meeting, and we interviewed a doctor who was one of the few people there in favor of the mask mandate. Heres what happened. Im going to beg for the help of our community to prevent im a physician and im trying to help our community here. Our hospitals are full and were asking for help. This is amazing im here to talk to you as your community member. We lost 12 service men in afghanistan. That is a lot more important than this and you know it. Okay. Reporter maam, why are you here today . Because i have children and grandchildren that i want to live free. And this is all smoke and mirrors. This is tyranny. Reporter what do you mean by medical tyranny . Excuse me. Ive got to go. We literally have come up with an incredibly safe and efficacious vaccine and people dont want to accept it. People are behind me screaming about how its tyranny and communism, and its silly is what it is. I mean literally theyve got a doctor here telling them how safe it is. Reporter dr. Meredith says she has two children of her own who have recently been exposed to covid19. See says her hospital is at a breaking point. And some of the people at this board meeting