Right now in geneva we are about to get an update from the officials at the world health organization, youre looking at live, covid will mutate like the flu and is probably here to stay. President biden getting a briefing from his Pandemic Response Team in a matter of hours before his big Speech Tomorrow on that topic. New details from our team there, and on the other end of pennsylvania avenue, House Speaker Nancy pelosi expected to take to that microphone any minute now the democratic to do list looking long. Well bring you the head lines as they happen. Good morning im Hallie Jackson in washington along with our news team, Cal Perry in kentucky, Shannon Pettypiece at the White House to start us off. Cal as we follow the Court Hearing in florida where the governor is fighting against School Mask mandates the governor of kentucky is in a fight in his state where you are to keep them in place. The stories mirror each other and shows you where we are as a country when it comes to these Mask Mandates. In florida you have a republican governor trying to keep Mask Mandates out of the school system, here in kentucky a democratic governor trying to keep Mask Mandates in the state of kentucky, the Supreme Courts in both states are weighing in on these arguments, it comes down to how much power these governors are really going to have. Governor bashir here in the state of kentucky as i said trying to pass the statewide mandates, knocked down by the Supreme Court. Now the State Legislature in an Emergency Session this week, heres what he had to say about Masks Yesterday in that Emergency Session. Remember, masking works. It worked last year when our kids came back. This is a health and a science issue. Its not red and blue. Its not democrat and republican. Its a virus that wants to kill as many of us as possible. I hope we can all agree on the steps any of us would take to fight a virus. Reporter the backdrop to the state politics and these Mask Mandates are rise in cases certainly here in the state of kentucky, Record Number of cases in the last week, 13,000. Hospitals are literally busting at the seams. Add to that 38 School Districts here of 171 across the state are currently closed. These are School Districts that started last month, had to shut down, hoping to reopen again. You add to that the staffing shortage, it is a very serious situation indeed here in the state of kentucky, hallie. Cal perry live for us in kentucky. Shannon, let me go to you. In about 24 hours or so, we know President Biden will deliver this big speech, looking at the administrations strategy, setting that in the fight against delta. Hes getting an update later this afternoon from his covid team. One might think that he would take what hes getting in that update, incorporate that into his remarks. I understand you have some new reporting though about what we may hear and what experts really want to hear from the president tomorrow. Reporter right. White house officials are working to finalize this plan. We hope to get some more details before the president actually gives his speech. The White House is framing this as a major new strategy to tackle this next phase of the pandemic, and while we dont have the specifics yet, i can tell you a few areas that experts are really watching for and hoping that the administration will address, includes schools, as you heard cal talking there, nbc News Tally about A Thousand schools closed because of outbreaks and theyre just past labor day. There are questions that remain about how schools should handle testing, how they should handle outbreaks and if Theres Anything more the administration can do to address these issues of Mask Mandate bans and what more they could do to help out those schools. Another area to watch out for Booster Vaccination Rollout plan. The administration has had a seth back last week. They do not expect to have the moderna boosters cleared by the fda by this September 20th deadline, they set for themselves. They plan to go forward with pfizer, how are they going to encourage people to go get a third shot when they have struggled to get people to go in and even get their first shot and whats the distribution of that going to look like . Are we going to see millions showing up at pharmacies and long lines and waits for people to get a Booster Shot . Just some of the issues we know that the White House is thinking about that outside experts are pressing them on and things we could possibly hear more from the president on tomorrow. Shannon, thank you. I want to bring in wflas yvonne Dan Donovan joining me from the tampa newsroom. We talked about the top of the show the florida Court Hearing on Mask Mandates today. You are in the center of it. Talk to us about whats happening. Reporter so just started just a few minutes ago and here is the background for how we got here. Two weeks ago, judge John Cooper ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, the families in this case who sued governor Ron Desantis and the Florida Department of education. The judge found in a verbal ruling read aloud from the bench the governor and the Department Of Education acted unlawfully, exceeding their constitutional authority effectively banning Mask Mandates. The same appealed that ruling last week as soon as the Written Order was entered. By law that automatically stays his order. The families then filed a motion to vacate that stay and thats where we are here today. Interestingly, the same judge who heard this case in Trial Court is The One who will hear this motion to vacate the state today. So after today, we will find out whether or not School Districts will be able to require masks in schools while this case moves through the appeal process. Ha hallie. Evan, thank you for making the time. Cal perry and Shannon Pettypiece, thank you. Dr. Natalie azar, great to see you, first of all. Second of all, backtoschool season, this is what were hearing about and what were covering this morning, whats happening in kentucky, whats happening in florida. Should kids need to wear masks in school and now theres this word of this potential surge in covid in pediatric cases, right, in kids. What do parents, what do families need to know and how do you read the data . I think the data actually speaks for itself. I think at the moment, pediatric cases account for about a quarter of all cases in the country. As we reported on yesterday or maybe the day before, rates of hospitalizations in children and teens has increased fivefold, just since june, and even higher than the peak of last january, but whats really important here and in this data and this was from Two Cdc Studies from last week, hallie, is the relationship to vaccination. In terms of Emergency Room visits and hospitalizations amongst teens and children, there was an inverse relationship to the Vaccination Status in the community, suggesting that in areas where low vaccination rates, that trickles down and that affects your kids. Number two, we found that the kids who were hospitalized were ten times more likely to be unvaccinated than kids who were vaccinated. So the Takehome Message here is that what the adults are doing in the community is affecting your children. So when it comes to schools, hallie, its very simple. All eligible individuals who can be vaccinated, kids 12 and up, and all staff and all teachers 100 need to be masked to protect the kids, and because they cant be vaccinated, masks need to be worn universally, period, full stop. Its pretty clear. Its pretty clear Advice Dr. Azar. Theres also this word, discussion this morning as we talk about Health Headlines about the potential for whats being called this mmultidemic, adding flu to the mix. Im waiting to hear an update on the Delta Variant what it means but can you talk about the confluence of covid and the flu . People might be wondering last year, when everybody was wearing masks and everybody was staying home, we didnt see a lot of flu and that ended up being a bit of a good thing. Looks like it might be different this year . Yes. It has experts incredibly concerned, hallie, not only are we worried about the flu but theres been a significant spike in multiple other respiratory viruses in particular rsv, which is impact kids adversely. Yes, we saw a significant probably one of the lowest number of Flu Cases since we started tallying influenza in this country last year because all the Covid19 Mitigation strategies, masking, hand washing, social distancing helped and also we werent traveling, kids were home schooling and now everything is opening up and were kind of just sitting almost like Sitting Ducks in a sense, because even with adults who get the flu, there is some leftover carryover immunity from one season to the next. So theres not a lot of immunity amongst adults or kids actually from last year heading into this flu season, which is why its even more imperative to get more than 50 of the Adult Population vaccinated against flu, 50 number that were at, only 60 of kids are getting Flu Shots as you know came out with Recommendations Yesterday all kids over the age of 6 months should be vaccinated against the flu. They can get vaccinated as soon as the shot becomes available. Up to eight years you sometimes need two doses, you might know this from your little one, given four weeks apart. All people should be vaccinated for flu by The End of october to be fully protected. Dr. Azar, great of to you and your expertise on the show to start us off this morning. Thank you very much. You bet. We turn to capitol hill. We have a live look at house speak speaker nancy pelosi, starting her weekly briefing in front of reporters and boy, does she have a lot to talk about. So far nothing yet on the phrain str structure, Reconciliation Bill working its way through congress but as democrats try to put the pedal to the metal on the multitrilliondollar Spending Bill. I bring in leigh Ann Caldwell on capitol hill. Democrats are hoping things are moving now, legislative text and also this curveball it seems that Senator Joe Manchin is throwing into this with axios reporting overnight he may only support a far lower figure than where most democrats are. Reporter hey, hallie, thats right. Democrats are speeding up these negotiations on figuring out the details of what this 3. 5 trillion Human Infrastructure is going to look like, but as they get deeper into the details, the challenges and the obstacles also pile up. You mentioned one big obstacle right there, Senator Joe Manchin, and he has indicated for some time that 3. 5 trillion is a number that is way too high for him. Now, my sources are telling me, though, that the house and the senate, who are figuring out the legislation separately are still working under the framework of a 3. 5 trillion bill, but it is very clear that negotiations are going to have to continue. For example, in the Ways And Means Committee in the house of representatives, they have unveiled the outline of what they want to do in their portion of the bill, which totals more than 1. 5 trillion. It includes paid Family Leave for people who just have babies, for example, expansion of medicare, to include dental and Vision And Hearing benefits for people. It also talks about how its going to be paid for, including increasing taxes on people, making over 400,000, and increasing taxes on corporations. So this is a very big, complex piece of legislation, and no source that i have talked to, while democratic leadership wants to pass this legislation by The End of the month, none of my sources have said that that is very likely. This is very likely to extend into october, especially as they get gritty into the details, and these negotiations get just more and more difficult, hallie. Leigh Ann Caldwell live on the hill, thank you. Speaker pelosi is still talking, if she makes any news in the next couple of minutes we will bring that to you live from the hill. We have a lot of other things. Senator Bob Menendez is coming up after the break about the 3. 5 trillion Budget Proposal and what Senator Manchin has to say and talking with him about what youre seeing on your screen and what you just saw, what happened in New Jersey in the town that President Biden just toured. We are live on the ground as new storms again threaten parts of the northeast. And later, two new rallies for one former president. Why some in Trump World think that sends a signal, with new reporting on just what might be in the works. Then i discovered sofi. Lower interest rate. My principal is going down. Sofi is a place where you can start to tackle those money goals today. What happens when we Welcome Change . Thwe can transform oury. Workforce overnight out of convenience, or necessity. We can explore uncharted waters, and not only make new discoveries, but get there faster, with better outcomes. 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The nation and the world are in peril. Thats about as serious as a warning gets from President Biden after seeing the destruction from the socalled remnants of Hurricane Eye ta in New Jersey and new york. Hes pushing for Climate Change. Today parts of both states under a Flash Flood Watch again this afternoon with storms set to roll in. Ellison barber is in manville, New Jersey. Ellison, good morning. Reporter hey, hallie. Residents here they need help not just promises. This is one of the places that President Biden visited yesterday, one of the homes that exploded, presumably after a gas leak, once Hurricane Ida rolled through here. Just across the street you can see part of their roof, the house that is next to it, that family a mother, her three children. They had to be rescued from the floodwaters out of a top window. They shared video with us of that night. You can see what they were dealing with here. Speaking with that family, they said that they appreciate people coming to visit, people asking what they need, but they also say just look around and youll see exactly what they need. They need everything. Listen to what the father of that family, louis, told us. Everybody comes by and says oh, we feel bad for you. Im sorry. All good and well. Talk is cheap. Where i come from, dont talk about it. Be about it. Dont Tell Me you know anything you need. Dont Tell Me that, because thats kind of insulting me. I work hard for the little bit that i have, so just Tell Me what youre going to do. Reporter hallie, this is a politically divided area. I saw a sign, a makeshift Sign Yesterday thanking the president for visiting, another sign calling him looney, but when you get down to it, you look at all of this, this is not about politics. People here who were hit the hardest, they arent talking about politics. What theyre talking about is just getting some kind of help and they hope that process is already under way because it has been days living in these conditions. Hallie . Ellison barber, thank you for that reporting. I want to bring in somebody who knows New Jersey as well, democratic Senator Bob me den nez, chair of the foreign Relations Committee and i think you are at a shelter in patterson, New Jersey, am i right . Correct. Visiting with some of our citizens who are still displaced. Youre seeing it for yourself, what theyre living, what theyre going through. We heard it from my colleague Ellison Barber on the ground in manville, the White House asking congress for 30 Billion to go towards recovery from natural disasters, also for afghan resettlement. 10 Billion of that specifically go to ida aftermath. Is that enough based on what youve seen . Well i think 10 Billion is a good number for ida alone, not for sharing with other disasters, but you know, were in the midst of getting the accounting from all the counties. Weve had six major counties that have major Disaster Declarations. Were pushing for more. We sent a letter to the president asking for declarations for nearly every New Jersey county, and we also joined as a delegation urging the appropriators to do a supplemental for disaster relief, and certainly ida has been a huge disaster coming on the heels of just the ninth anniversary of superstorm sandy. So this is a critical moment, and as i heard the report before i got on, this is what a Disaster Declaration is all about. Its about helping people financially get back in their homes, help them replace to some degree the essentials that they lost. I want to turn to afghanistan here, senator, because i know this is a topic of importance and of utmost interest to you. Nbc news speaking out, the State Department Official who says that the u. S. Has not found anyone on Manifests Prompting Security Concerns and the agency is not stopping them from taking off. What are your contacts at the State Department and in the administration, senator, telling you about the process to evacuate two planes at an airport in the northern part of the country. Can you give us a Status Update . Well there seems to be some type of conflict between those who are seeking to take off and the taliban saying that some of them dont have the appropriate travel documents, and that is, as i understand it, the issue at stake. The reality is, is that we just simply as far as im concerned cannot depend upon the taliban for the security of american citizens. They will ultimately be accounted for by how they treat american citizens and others who are supposed to be allowed out, and so this is part of what the hearing next week that i will chair will review. Yes, were going to check the president s, you know, decision in terms of how it was executed, but were also going to look at the history that led us to this point, including the immediate past history, where President Trump in essence signed a Surrender Agreement with the taliban, and of which the taliban as far as im concerned didnt do any of the things that they were supposed to do in that agreement. Speaking of the taliban, theyve announced their interim government, a lot of familiar names from 20plus years ago, when they were in charge. What are the implications in your view for not just the region but for any potential recognition of the taliban by the u. S. . I cannot imagine, hallie, that the united states will recognize the taliban especially when they have members of the Haqqani Network terrorists as designated by the united states a Terrorist Organization whose leader has been designated, and they are in their government, so that is an absolute nonstarter, and in addition to all of the other challenges the taliban has as it relates to how they will treat women and girls and how they will treat civil society and making sure that every american citizen that wants to Get Out, gets out, and that those who helped us Get Out as well. So theres a long way as far as im concerned before any potential recognition, but as long as a member of the Haqqani Network is part of their government, i dont see that happening. Im almost out of time. Republican Senator Graham says he believes the u. S. Will have to go back to afghanistan at some point down the road because the threat will be so large. Is he right . Look, i dont know whether thats the case. I believe that we have the ability to deal with Counterterrorism Actions that we need to take, but only time will tell whether the taliban stops any foreign fighters from coming in, using it as a base for terrorism against the united states and the west, or not. But i believe that whether they do or they dont, we will have the Counterterrorism Abilities to strike when we need to, to make sure the homeland doesnt get attacked. Pushing my luck in my control room. Senator joe manchin, have you talked with him about the threat he appears to be making this push that he wants a lower sort of package in this Spending Bill . Do you think hes serious about that . I havent spoken to joe, but i do know that Senator Manchins the ultimate negotiator, so im not sure that what he says is the final number, but hes probably trying to get it down from 3. 5 trillion. Senator Bob Menendez i appreciate your time and being with us this morning. Thank you for joining us live from New Jersey. Good to be with you. Coming up next, were heading out west can democrating bringing out the big guns to the California Reelection as the Vice President tries to give a boost to governor newsom today. Later the first public reaction from Rfks Widow to the possible release of the man who assassinated her husband. Were live later in the show. Lw frequent heartburn . Not anymore. The Prilosec Otc Twoweek challenge is helping people love what they love again. Just one pill a day. 24 hours. Zero heartburn. Because life starts when heartburn stops. Take the challenge at prilosecotc Dot Com. Mm. [ clicks tongue ] i dont know. I think they look good, man. Mm, smooth. Uh, they are a little tight. Like, too tight . Might just need to break em in a little bit. You dont want em too loose. For those who were born to ride theres progressive. With 24 7 roadside assistance. Okay. Think im gonna wear these home. Excellent choice. Psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen, painful. 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Maybe more than ever before, we are ready for this school year. Im so excited to see all of my students. Were doing all we can to make sure our schools are safe. Woman . To make sure our schools are safe. I want to thank parents and families for working with us. And continuing to be our partners. Thank you so much. We cant do it without you. We cant do it without you. Woman because we know quality public schools make a better california. Today in california democrats sending in the cavalry so to speak to try to keep Governor Gavin Newsom in office. Vice president Kamala Harris on her way there as we speak. She is now the highest Profile Democrat to campaign with the governor so far. That is until President Biden heads there himself early next week according to the White House. Jacob ward is in san leandro, california, where the Vice President will be holding that rally today. Good morning. Looks like the setup going on behind you right now. Reporter good morning, hallie. This podium is the stage for arguably the second biggest weapon in the democratic political arsenal to make her appearance alongside her colleague of 20 years, gavin newsom. These are really extraordinary times and they call for extraordinary measures. Just how extraordinary are these times . This Recall Election could usher in a candidate who any political strategist would tell you could never win a popular election here in california where Democrats Outnumber gop voters 2 1, and yet we face the very real prospect that that could happen, and if it does, just imagine the national implications. California is one of the most progressive states if not the most progressive state in the union and with 40 Million people and the seventh, sixth largest economy. It is an incredible playmaker for how all of the nation sorts out everything from Climate Change to law, all sorts of things are influenced by this state. If a Dark Horse out of nowhere gop candidate suddenly becomes governor after next weeks election, it could be an extraordinary turn of events. That is why it seems newsom is hoping that Kamala Harris local roots and national standing could turn the tide here. Jeff ward live in california with the Truck Backing up right behind your shot, live tv, jake, thank you very much, appreciate it. Republicans hoping newsom will be unseated and the candidate leading in the polls will ends up in the republican side. In republican party politics there is more speculation about a national ticket in 2024, a national ticket maybe, maybe led by the guy who was on the national ticket four years ago and this past november, Donald Trump. The former president announcing two new rallies in important states, georgia and iowa, this politico reports a turnkey 2024 Campaign Operation laying the ground with boots on the ground in iowa, accelerated fundraising, more national media interviews, we should note on outlets more conserative in case he tries to bring a rematch to Joe Biden. Meredith, it is lovely to see you on the show. Listen, lets call it like it is here. Donald trumps been teasing this potential 2024 since just about the second it became clear he would not be president again this year. Ive talked to people in Trump World and heavy skepticism even still he is going to do it for real and not just trying to play the media. Bring us the Gut Check here. Is the media getting played on this or is there a real shot based on what you heard from Donald Trumps allies he could do this again in 2024 . We are so right. There is a political strategy to all of this. A Potential Run in 2024, he freezes the field of republican hopefuls, people like Mike Pompeo or South Dakota governor and he can continue to raise money but in conversations with people close to him, they say he is very serious about another run because hes been paying close attention to President Bidens Poll Numbers especially right now as he deals with a Fourth Wave of covid, and afghanistan. An interesting point in your piece its Afghanistan And Covid that are spurring the president , the former president to try to think about this. By the way, go the to note the irony related to the pandemic. His handling of covid was one of the big reasons why he lost in 2020, according to all the numbers weve seen. Congressman Jim Jordan was seen in this undercover Video Shot thursday by a democratic Activist Kind of this point that he thinks trump is going to run again. He says i know so. I talked to him yesterday. Hes about ready to announce after all of this craziness in afghanistan. That lines up with your reporting, right . Yes, it does. We talked to numerous people close to him, advisers, allies who all said that all the lights are green in terms of Trump Running in 2024, but again, you know, the former president is going to continue to tease this as long as he can. I think thats such an important note to make in this, but right now, hes very serious, he put off the rest of the republican primary candidates, people like desantis and others he was shown in an Emerson Poll Matchup against biden leading him by one point. Hes paying attention to numbers and really serious and i dont think anybody should just push it aside. Its just a political strategy. Hes really serious about a Potential Run here. Meredith mcgraw from politico, thank you. Theres a question how much do you cover this considering it hasnt happened yet, considering its many years away and considering this is a person who has a history of floating things in the media solely to get the media to talk about it. Well be keeping an eye out for his endorsement in the wyoming primary, meredith. Your colleagues at politico are reporting that may come any day against Liz Cheney probably his most significant endorsement in the cycle. After the break how the Texas Governor is defending the states new Abortion Law and promising to do now. Plus a monumental moment in richmond, the biggest Confederate Statue not up anymore. More on that, after a quick break. Just two pills for all day pain relief. Aleve it, and see whats possible. vo this is more than glass and steel. And stone. Its awe. Beauty. The measure of progress. Its where people meet people. Where cultures and bonds are made between us. Where we create things together. Open each others minds. Raise each others ambitions. And do together, what we cant do apart. This is space for dreams. Loopnet. The most popular place to find a space. Were watching Women Pro Choice Activists in texas dealing with the outoutfrom the supreme Courts Decision not to block the states anti Abortion Law that bans nearly all abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy even for victims of incest or rape. The governor saying Theres Nothing to worry about. Hell work tirelessly to eliminate, to eradicate rapists from texas. Reporter why force a Rape Or Incest victim to carry a pregnancy to term . It doesnt require that at all. Because obviously it provides at least six weeks for a person to be able to get an abortion. Goal number one in the state of texas is to eliminate rape. Just a quick fact check on that point. Most women dont even know theyre pregnant, thats two weeks after a missed period. Alexandria ocasiocortez called this deeply ignorant. This idea were going to End Rape when the same type of frankly Rape Culture and the same type of Misogynistic Culture that informed this Abortion Law to begin with, those beliefs are held by the governor himself and this texas State Legislature. Studies show somebody is sexually assaulted in this country every 68 seconds. So thats twice in the time that ive been speaking since the commercial break and about one in every six women will be the victim of rape or attempted rape in their life time. Bring in senior Political Editor mark murray. Sexual assault is an indemic issue and here you have Governor Abbott making a promise to eradicate rapists, to eradicate this issue that he simply cannot keep. Why . This is really showing the tricky politics behind this new law in texas, as well as just the entire political upsidedown situation you have if Roe Versus Wade is no longer the law of the land, and you end up having a situation where republican politicians, candidate or serve office who oppose Abortion Rights often end up saying i am pro life, but i end up having exceptions for rape, incest or for the life of the mother. Well, when you end up starting to remove those exceptions as the Texas Law does, that makes the Abortion Debate which was already very difficult for republicans even much more difficult. Let me explain why. I was just going to say i know youre getting into polling and i want to bring it up on screen that most texans believe there should be an exception for Rape Or Incest. Only 13 think it should be banned in all circumstances. So that is part of the backdrop to this as well, mark. Yes, thats right, hallie. Of course, i think its one thing for republican politicians and candidates for office to basically say hey, i oppose Abortion Rights, but also then to say i oppose Abortion Rights also in cases of rape, incest, and the life of the mother is at stake is a perilous political situation and one of the reasons why, hallie, that weve seen republicans not only so defensive on this subject, but also really not even kind of spiking the football, since the Texas Law ended up being signed and other states want to do the same thing. Theres a lot more attention on Joe Biden in afghanistan than republicans trying to celebrate what happened in texas. We should note as always, this is people first, politics second. The political piece of this is the backdrop to some of this, which is why were talking about it. When it comes to the people you have the White House, the administration looking to make some moves, looking to make some changes to hopefully help women in texas who are being affected as it relates to Abortion Access in this law. Bigger picture, though, its about the judiciary because of the Supreme Courts move last week that ended up allowing this law to go into effect. Nbc news Mike Memoli is reporting the president plans to announce several nominees for judgeships soon including three who are latino. Talk about this effort from the White House to try to do what frankly conservatives have been doing for years and reshape the judiciary. What impact might it have and how much further do democrats have to go . They have to end up going at least four years or more and of course the impact that Donald Trump was able to make was four years as president with a Laser Focus on this topic, and so hallie, not only do democrats need to continue to do this for the next four years but in a safer place once you win reelection. If you control the White House for eight years, 12 years, thats when you can make a really big dent on the courts and one of the ironies thats come about, democrats had a whole lot of success winning the White House but less success at putting their people on the u. S. Supreme court for a whole host of reasons, and that is one of the reasons why there is a conservative majority on the Supreme Court right now. Mark murray, thank you very much for your perspective. Appreciate it. We want to show you one of the images of the day already happened, even at 10 43 eastern time this morning and coming out of richmond. After months of legal challenges, this is the moment the nations biggest Confederate Statue was taken down. It had a group of people in richmond this Morning Gathering to watch, many of them were cheering. The removal took about two hours and happened because the state Supreme Court cleared the way for the removal of this statue last week. The governor ordered it, days after the death of George Floyd last year. Coming up opening arguments in one of the most Silicon Valley criminal fraud trials. Elizabeth holmes faces trial, this is a big moment. Plus Ethel Kennedy speaking out on the release of the murderer of her husband and how this may be dividing the family, next. 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. One, two one, two, three only pay for what you need with customized Car Insurance from Liberty Mutual nothing rhymes with Liberty Mutual. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. In just under an hour from now, we expect to see Opening Statements get started in the trial of elizabeth holmes. This is a Blockbuster Trial in Silicon Valley, the most prominent ceo to face a criminal trial in the history of Silicon Valley. Holmes was accused of lying about her defunct Blood Testing Startup theranos. Erin mclaughlin is covering that in San Jose. Reporter hallie, Opening Statements are expected today in the San Jose courtroom behind me. The prosecution expected to lay out its case against elizabeth holmes, founder of theranos, stands accused of multiple counts of Fraud And Conspiracy to commit fraud relating to theranos which she founded some ten years ago claiming she was able to perform hundreds of diagnostic tests using Pin Prick of blood. The entire thing attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in investment. Theranos once valued at 9 billion. Prosecutors say it was based on a web of deceit. In terms of her defense, according to unsealed court documents, her lawyer arguing that she was a victim of manipulation by her then boyfriend sonny balwani, the c. O. O. Of theranos and also stands accused of fraud in a separate trial. He also denies all allegations against him. Its a defense that journalists who follow this case closely say they find extremely hard to believe. Take a listen. You know, i have become convinced shes a chameleon, shes an incredible actress. She can charm people and get them to believe what she wants them to believe, so i expect her to be a very effective witness for herself and the question will be, will the jurors go for it . Will the jurors buy it . Kerry is also a witness for the defense along with other Government Officials and he says he believes thats because another line of defense for holmes will be that she is the product of a Witch Hunt being attacked by all sides of the media, as well as the government. The question now becomes will she be question now becomes wil she be able to convince a jury . Ethel kennedy is out with a rare public statement opposing parole for the killer of her husband. His parole is pending a review period. Some progressives argue that democrats should support his parole as a matter of Criminal Justice and that opposing it is a misguided effort. The family is divided. Two Fwloet Support of the parole and six agree that he should not get it. Pretty significant, right . We dont hear from her that often. Exactly she has been out of site for quite awhile. She had some tshl losses, her granddaughter more recently. She is speaking out very passionately. She and six of her children believe strongly that he should not get paroled and he should continue to serve his life sentence. This time the Parole Board did recommend that he will free. After that if the board sticks to the decision that is most likely then the governor will have 30 more days to decide if he should stick with that decision or whether or not to deny it. So that will be on governor new some. But assuming that he survives that challenge, that will be directly on his plate. It is troefl with but for many people in the Kennedy Family now, this is just a passionate issue and they disagree with those two siblings including Robert Kennedy Junior and douglas. Thank you for being with us. Well have more coming up here at noon earn. Plus an emotional conservatives about what it means to be a Muslim American in the united states. At one point a Guidance Counsellor said to my face we dont want your kind here. Seriously . One up the power of liquid, one up the toughest stains. Any further questions . Uh uh one up the power of liquid with Tide Pods ultra oxi. Mission control, we are go for launch. Um, shes eating the rocket. Lunchables built to be eaten. And there you have it woah. Wireless on the most reliable network nationwide. Wow big deal . We get unlimited for just 30 bucks. Sweet, but mine has 5g included. Relax people, my wireless is crushing it. Thats because you all have Xfinity Mobile with your internet. Its wireless so good, it keeps one upping itself. Switch to Xfinity Mobile and save hundreds on your wireless bill. Plus, save up to 400 when you purchase a new Samsung Phone or upgrade your existing phone. Learn more at your local xfinity store today. Lives of millions of americans changed overnight after the attacks on september 11th. Not only did they have to deal with an attack on their own country, but also with the rise of Islam Phobia that followed. We sat down with a diverse group of muslimamericans to reflect on all of this. Good to be with you. Hi, good morning. You said it, right . 9 11 fundamentally changed the lives of everyone around the world but for Muslim Americans it was about that day and the intense islamophobia that came with it afterwards. Lets thereon what followed. I was only 13. We did not understand. Were supposed to give and help and then youre telling me someone is doing this. I remember thinking i should just go home and stay. My wife went to Ground Zero and set up the first triage centers and pharmacies. A fellow arab said i would cover my name if i was you, and she said no, im very proud of what i am, i serve my nation and i serve my city. My son, my eldest, and he was in the u. S. Army as a national guards man. And he was deployed the very next morning to Ground Zero. And people higher up than him saw the looks and stares that he was getting and they gave him permission to put his i. D. In his pocket. You try to teach your children to be prideful of where they are. He suffers withmenial health illness. People who are directly there, you know, i feel like my child lost his innocence at Ground Zero. They feel like Islam Phobia have increased they were talking about what is happening, it is a pivotal moment in history where they can change the track. They can start to heal and eradicate islamaphobia and they are speaking with so many others. It was honest and emotional and incredible to hear their voices yesterday. And incredibly important. Im glad you brought it to our show. We appreciate it. We want to give you a programming note, by the way, tonight is the night that they present memory box. It it is a new featured documentary that tells the story and the same people, the same eyewitnesss come back to the both to reflect on the past couple decades. That is commercial free tonight at 10 00 eastern here on msnbc. You can also stream it here exclusively on peacock. Find us on twitter, i have more coming up with Craig Melvin right now. Good Wednesday Morning to you, Craig Melvin here, were keeping up with lots of fast moving stories here this hour including the threat of more extreme weather in parts of the northeast. Were goesing live as more floods are set to hit tonight. This hour President Biden is set to speak on one of his favorite topics. Labor unions. Well go live to the White House. Were going to start this hour with the pandem