unicef. come over here. this is the line of people who are here in order to receive this aid. they're taking it and they go off, but this is the last major food distribution of this program by the world food program. after this, this won't exist any longer, and they'll be on their own. so, when you talk about what's happening when people get back? this is what's happening. certainly in the rural communities, and then when you get to the city, port-au-prince, you've got gang violence on the streets, crime, and some of the same issues with regard to access to clean food, clean water here in haiti. back to you. >> okay, thanks, jacob, for that. and a very good day to all of you from msnbc world headquarters in new york. welcome, everyone, to alex witt reports. here's what's happening, a bit past 2:00 p.m. eastern. some breaking news of women's marches against abortion restrictions that are happening right now in cities across this country. thousands of women already gathered in major cities to raise their voices against abortion restrictions. women are speaking out against the new texas ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. and speaking up for access to abortions in general as more states pass restrictive laws. one woman in chicago shared her story of how she made a very personal decision. >> the guilt of bringing a child into a broken home, not having the means to take care of myself, let alone a child, and trying to come to terms with why alcoholism kept me up at night. a baby deserves more than i could give at that time so i made the hardest decision of my life. >> and here right now is a look at washington, d.c. women are marching to the steps of the supreme court. a live look right now. this ahead of a direct challenge to roe vs. wade that's coming up for a hearing in early december. more than 200,000 women, in fact, are expected to turn out at more than 650 events around the country today and we'll have live reports from the ground. meantime, in washington, the infrastructure showdown between progressive and moderate democrats showing no signs of slowing down. just last hour, senator kyrsten sinema releasing a statement blasting house democrats for delaying the vote on that bipartisan bill, calling it a, quote, ineffective stunt. but it comes after president biden this morning reaffirmed his confidence that both bills will eventually get done. they're not making any promises in terms of timing. >> i'm going to work like hell to make sure we get both these passed and i think we'll get them passed. i've been on the phone with them a lot. >> sir, do you think this could all be done by thanksgiving? >> i think it could be done by 2:27 a.m. on -- come on. i think we'll bet done. >> we're going to have more on the battle of capitol hill in just a few minutes for you. but right now, let's shift our focus to the women's marches under way with nbc's stephanie stanton and lauren egan. also msnbc contributor victoria de francesco soto. >> reporter: alex, i'm hearing a lot of fear and a lot of concern on two key things, first, that texas law that you previewed. there's a lot of concern that it's not just going to be in texas, but it's going to spread beyond, across the country, and other states with republican legislatures. second is the supreme court case that's going to be heard on december 1st regarding a mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks. there's a lot of concern here that the supreme court is going to rule against roe v. wade. i've heard that from countless women this morning who are really directing a lot of their anger at that body. take a listen to what one person had to tell me about it. >> i hope that they realize that we're not going away. we're going to be here and we're going to hold them accountable, and it's not just the supreme court. it's going to be the people that put them on the bench. >> reporter: there are thousands of people behind me right now. they are marching down pennsylvania avenue to the supreme court and that is intentional. they're hoping to send a message to the justices when they reconvene for a new term on monday that they are here and they are allowed and that they want to see the justices protect abortion rights. alex? >> you can bet those supreme court justices have a very good understanding of what's under way behind you right now. thank you so much, lauren, for that. from there now to stephanie stanton at the rally in austin, texas. stephanie, welcome again to you. what are you hearing from the ralliers there about why they came out today? >> reporter: well, alex, you know, obviously, they want nothing more than to see this ban overturned completely. i am actually here outside the state capitol in austin, and the rally just wrapped up about 20 minutes ago. there were thousands in attendance here. fortunately, everything ran very smoothly. there were no major problems, no skirmishes. in fact, i can show you what's going on here because it looks like they are breaking down the stage as we speak. i do want to say that we did see some anti-abortion protesters come here to the capitol as this whole thing was wrapping up, and we saw them shouting down some of the people in attendance in the rally, police quickly moved in and, again, nothing serious happened with that. however, you know, we did have a chance to speak to some of the people here today earlier this morning about why they felt that it was really necessary for them to show up and here's what they had to say. >> it's about standing up for the people that can't speak right now, either they can't get here or they're stuck at the home or they're just a small voice that nobody is listening to. >> we are all entitled to our own beliefs. it's when these beliefs are pushed on others and you take people's choices away that it becomes a problem. >> we have to get back out on the streets and we have to march, and we have to organize and we have to fight. and if these legislators are going to pass these draconian laws, we need to change the lawmakers. >> reporter: and i did speak to one of the organizers earlier this morning. she says that this new law is not representative of most texans. she says that about 87% of voters are against the new law. she says the only reason it was pushed through was by that small minority group of republican legislators, so that is what's happening here in austin as the fight for the women's right to choose continues, alex. >> okay. stephanie, thank you for that. we are not done with austin just yet. let's bring in victoria, msnbc contributor and analyst, also assistant dean for civic engagement at the lbj school of public affairs at the university of texas at austin, and a good friend to us here. it's good to see you. so, literally, your state is ground zero for this battle. what are you seeing and hearing on the ground as fallout from this law continues? >> the frustration that we're seeing on the television screens, alex, because the extremity of it. it is a six-week abortion ban, but more specifically, let's also highlight that there are no exceptions made. there are no exceptions made in the case of rape, of incest, of danger to the mother's life, so you see the constraint that women here in texas are put under and at the same time we're starting to see copy cat laws being circulated in other state legislatures, so i think this is really what is so frightening and what has moved women here in texas and across the country, and as i'm looking at these images, i'm thinking back to 2017, the marches we saw, and i'm thinking, and maybe i'm being an optimist, that this is going to push women to run and vote in record numbers because you see the frustration and the fear and my hope is that the end result of that is gaining more political power to push back. >> you are considering january 21, 2017, remember the pink hat march was really extraordinary there in washington, d.c. the day after the inauguration of president trump. nbc news reports just this last week, patients from arkansas, kansas, louisiana, kentucky, tennessee, and texas, these patients are driving up to 300 miles to clinics in illinois. in very practical terms, victoria, what options are left for women in texas and other states? >> so, alex, it depends on who we're talking about. if we're talking about middle and upper class women, women of means, women who can buy a plane ticket, then it's a logistical burden, which should not exist in the first place. if we're talking about poor women, lower ses women who here in texas are disproportionately black and latina, then we're talking about the fact that they just may not be able to exercise that right because they don't have the money to buy a plane ticket. they don't have the ability to get time off work to drive to new mexico or drive to illinois to receive those services and keep in mind that in some of these surrounding states, there are many obstacles where you have to go a number of times. so, what we see is an undue burden on women and especially our women of color and our lower ses women. >> you know, the doj is asking a federal judge to block the part of the law while arguing against the very disturbing vigilante justice aspect of it but even if the judge agrees to block the law while it's being challenged in the courts, will the threat of lawsuits still prevent providers from resuming operations? >> right. and that is the fear, and we saw some of that play out in 2013, so if you'll recall, in 2013, the year of the wendy davis filibuster, we saw a number of restrictions to abortion clinics be passed by the state legislature. they were winding their way through the courts as they got up to the supreme court. at the end of the day, they were not upheld, but in the interim, we saw over half of the abortion clinics in texas close because of that fear that they were going to be able to operate. so, again, there is that fear that i think even in the best case scenario that the supreme court strikes down these laws that the damage will be done. >> so, speaking to that, the supreme court picks up mississippi's direct challenge to roe v. wade. that happens on december 1st and we're going to show you a list of states where abortions would be banned if roe is overturned. first off, what are your expectations for the mississippi case, and is there real fear among activists that roe v. wade, this federal consideration, this federal law, will be overturned? >> the fear is very real. i'm going to defer to my law school colleagues down the road to weigh in on the likelihood and the legality, the technicalities of it, but what i do think is happening is clever laws such as those here in texas where they're going to try to figure out how you skirt around it, where maybe it's not essentially directly related to roe v. wade but the damage is still being done, and i think that is what is so scary and also making american women doubt this protection that they have under roe v. wade, because of the legal loopholes that they are finding. >> chipping away is what you're suggesting, at bare minimum, that's what they're doing, chipping away at the law. >> absolutely, alex. >> yeah. okay. victoria, it's always good to talk with you. thank you so much. the fight on capitol hill over spending bills, what's in, what's out, and how big will the numbers really be? we've got some answers for you ahead. be? we've got some answers for you ahead. ♪ ♪ dignity. it demands that we can still do the simple things. so it demands life-changing technology, to relieve chronic pain. ♪ ♪ as someone who resembles someone else... i appreciate that liberty mutual to relieve chronic pain. knows everyone's unique. that's why they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. 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>> reporter: yeah, alex, it may have seemed like there were negotiations taking place on capitol hill, but in reality, the two sides were really far apart, progressives and moderate democrats, that is, so what the president told us he did was essentially reset the game. he told both sides, moderates and democrats, you are not getting the better hand. you're going to have to come together somewhere. he gave a price tag, but he also had an extended q&a with reporters this morning, and alex, you couldn't help but notice a little bit of frustration there, that he feels like there is so much focus on this process and on the topline numbers versus what's actually in the bill and what it will do for the middle class, and that is why he basically announced a new phase where he'll be traveling and it's called, telling people what's in the bill. here's what he said. >> there's an awful lot that's in both of these bills that everybody thinks they know, but they don't know what's in them. when you go out and you test the individual elements in the bill, everyone is for them. not everyone. over 70% of american people are for them. look, i'm not -- you're asking if i'm confident, okay? am i unyielding? do i commit that i'm going to do this? come on. i believe i can get this done. i believe when the american people are aware what's in it, we can get it done. >> reporter: so, that may be, alex, why the president said, while i'm giving you a framework -- well, i'm giving you a range here, i really want you to focus instead on the framework and your priorities, for instance, are you going to make those priorities the child tax credit, universal pre-k, medicare, pick what it is that you want to prioritize, and we discussed this previously, but also, give a number, maybe, that is not a ten-year window, maybe a five-year window and that may be a way for these two sides to come together because what they're doing right now is really just fighting over numbers and they were so far apart in different corners that he had to come at this in a different way. now, the timetable is blown up, but he did give them potentially a new way to go at the negotiations. >> yeah, and it's great that he's going to get out there and just explain to the american public what's in the bill. that is key. okay. thank you so much, heidi przybyla, for that. let's turn to the breaking news on capitol hill. senator kyrsten sinema is putting out a statement. julie is on capitol hill for us. what is the senator saying today, julie? >> reporter: alex, i read senator sinema's statement as a warning shot to house and senate democratic leadership and to president biden and they know better than anybody that she's not bluffing. she's playing hardball here. in her statement, she called it an ineffective stunt, the bipartisan infrastructure bill, that is. she notes she's been playing ball with the negotiations with the administration. i saw firsthand how she was taking part in those just those last week with members of the administration coming and sitting in her office for hours. she also says that she has been negotiating and giving democratic leadership what she wants as part of the bill. but that she's not going to negotiate in the press and an aide close to her told me that. he said that she, in fact, has been detailing her plans in private. she also notes in her statement, good faith negotiations require trust over the course of this year, democratic leaders have been making conflicting promises that could not all be kept. canceling the infrastructure vote further erodes that trust. here's what a congressman from her state, ruben gallego, said this morning on msnbc. watch. >> tell us what you are for. don't just tell us what you're against, right? that's hard. i want to compromise. i know she wants to compromise. i know my other colleagues want to compromise. but it's hard to compromise when all you say is, no. let's put down our values and figure out where we can meet in the middle ground because at the end of the day, democrats don't win this, progressives don't win this, certain democrats don't win this. you know who wins this? the american people. >> reporter: again, alex, senator sinema would push back on that. she would say, look, i've been negotiating. she was just on the phone with the white house yesterday. she's just not telling it publicly. >> okay. let me ask you about something i was just getting an alert on my phone, something in the last hour that the senate passed while they were very briefly in session. does this relate to the negotiations under way over infrastructure and reconciliation? >> reporter: yeah, briefly indeed. in fact, it happened, as i made may way to the capitol and back, between my two hits with you. but they passed surface transportation extension. that's something that would have been automatically passed in that bipartisan infrastructure bill should the house have taken it up on thursday. of course, some of those key programs, the funding for the key highway programs lapsed and that's what the senate passed by unanimous consent today. that does relate to what's on the table and speaker pelosi laid that out in her "dear colleague" today. she reminded these programs will lapse in another 30 days and that's the new deadline she's setting for the bipartisan infrastructure plan, but moderates like senator sinema will sure hope that vote takes place sooner than that date because they need to take up that multitrillion dollar democrat only human infrastructure plan as well. >> indeed. okay, julie, thank you so much. joining me now is pennsylvania congressman brendan boyle, a member of the congressional progressive caucus. welcome back to the broadcast. thanks for joining me. can i get your reaction to that new statement from senator kyrsten sinema? what's your response to that? >> yeah, you know, i generally don't do democrat-on-democrat violence. i would say that senator sinema's statement is not something that gets us closer to yes or closer to an ultimate compromise. i will say that while the last 48 hours, you know, might be ugly to look at and there's so much focus on process, i guess i probably have a sort of contrary view than most. i think the last two days ultimately will lead us closer to reaching a final compromise agreement. frankly, i've seen more progress the last two days than i've seen the last two months. there are many people here in the house, the overwhelming majority, who want to get to yes, who recognize that we need both bills. we need them substantively. the american people need them. and also, frankly, we need them politically, whether you're the most progressive member or the most moderate member or somewhere in between. so, at the end of the day, i actually think we're going get this done and i think it's a matter of weeks, not months. >> okay, well, a couple things on note here. you are reflecting the same sentiments expressed by your colleague, representative madeleine dean who was on earlier. she feels the same way. and duly noted, no democrat-on-democrat violence coming from you, brendan boyle. let's move to your democratic colleague, josh gottheimer. he's also put out a statement after the bipartisan infrastructure bill was delayed. he says, we cannot let this small faction on the far left who employ freedom caucus tactics as described by "the new york times" today, destroy the president's agenda and stop the creation of 2 million jobs a year. not asking you to go violent, but do you have a response to him? >> well, just to be fair, it's not a handful. it's about 40 to 50. but frankly, the person who ultimately made the decision to, you know, reset this course was president biden. when he came here to capitol hill yesterday afternoon and spoke to all of us, he reflected the view that i have always had, which that ultimately, it wasn't just going to be one bill passing. it had to be both. that's just a matter of math. and i think the president got that reality and said, look, let's take a time-out, let's talk about what we're for instead of focus always being on the number. the president was right when he made the point, this wasn't a $3.5 trillion bill. it was a zero bill in terms of its overall impact on the deficit. because every single dime is paid for. i'm a member of the ways and means committee. we voted a couple weeks ago to put in there the revenue increases necessary to pay for this. the president, also, toward the end, talked about, when you add up all the things that are really important to people, the things that are the must-have in that reconciliation bill, you get somewhere in the $2 trillion to $2.2 trillion range. i think the overwhelming majority of folks here would accept that. i hope that we can get all 50 democratic senators to accept that as well. and if we do, we will get this done. >> let me ask you about that number you just gave, you know, that it's going to have to be a lower number. we heard congressman jones earlier saying it's going to be about $2.2 trillion. is that something you can get behind? is that something progressives can get behind? i mean, where is a bottom line for you? >> i'm willing to compromise, but i do want to echo something the president said and shift the focus here, because it's been on process and it's been on number, and what gets lost when we do that is what exactly is in the damn bill. we're talking about paid family and sick leave for the first time in american history. universal pre-k. extending the historic child tax credit, which has already helped lift 50% of children above the poverty line. child care. those are the sort of things that need to be in the bill. but if you're looking to get the number down, there's always a way to do it. perhaps instead of 12 weeks of paid family leave, which i strongly support, you look at something a little less than that. maybe you say, all right, we're going to pass this for 6 to 7 years as opposed to the 10-year window. so if people are open-minded and committed to compromise, which i believe most of us are, there is very much a way to get this done. >> so, i appreciate the fact that you're bringing up what is in the bill. i'm going to have my director, rob, put that back up again. it's something the president is going to focus on now. he said, we've got to get out and tell people what's in the bill. do you think that the reaction from americans as what's in the bill is explained to them and they're not thinking about just numbers and infighting among democrats? do you think americans will get behind this overall and say, you know what? we need this. and so, go for it. >> yeah, that's why, i mean, every time i answer the questions, i really attempt to stress what is in the bill, because ultimately, look, the people i represent back home in pennsylvania, that's what they care about. okay, what did you do? what did you deliver? and they tend to not get, for the most part, most people don't come up to me about process. they don't necessarily follow the ins and outs as actively on capitol hill. >> let me ask you. what are your constituents saying to you? a lot of it has been about the sausage-making, if you will, and the infighting. are they saying, calm down? are they saying, we completely support you? what are you hearing from people? >> yeah, so, i was about to mention, actually, people i talk to and i have a town hall coming up in a couple days, the overwhelming majority of the questions tend to be about substance and not process. i find generally most of my constituents just really don't care about the ins and outs and the inside baseball in capitol hill. they just want to know what the bottom line is, what's going to be in the bill, when does it start, what will they be getting. i mean, basic -- those essential elements are really what most of my constituents care about. >> can i then just ask you. this is one last thing about process. why is it that situations and issues with such high stakes like these, whether it be raising the debt ceiling or funding the government, or trying to put forth all these plans that, to your point, will really increase the quality of life for americans, why is it that congress goes into the 11th hour, if not 11:59, to get these things passed? what is it about the procrastination there? >> i don't think capitol hill is any different than any other place. i've noticed that whether it's management-labor negotiations, whether it's business deals, deadlines tend to concentrate minds, and so, i think what we're talking about, frankly, is actually human nature. you know, how many times do we have, perhaps, in our own lives, three weeks to do something and we find ourselves the night before the deadline finally sitting down and doing it. i know i've been guilty of that. so, i think it's really, you know, more about that and less about something unique to capitol hill. >> cleaning out my basement. okay. congressman brendan boyle, thank you so much. a day of protests from coast to coast, women in hundreds of cities turning out to send a message about reproductive rights. we've got live reports on that ahead. ghts we've got live reports on that ahead. regina approaches the all-electric cadillac lyriq. it's a sunny day. nah, a stormy day. ♪ ♪ we see a close up of the grille ...an overhead shot. she drives hands free along the coast. make it palm springs. cadillac is going electric. if you want to be bold, you have to go off - script. experience the all-electric cadillac lyric. (vo) at t-mobile for business, unconventional thinking if you want to be bold, you means we see f - script. things differently, so you can focus on what matters most. whether it's 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 trade-offs. unconventional thinking. it's better for business. did you know that your clothes can actually attract pet hair? with bounce pet hair & lint guard, your clothes can repel pet hair. look how the shirt on the left attracts pet hair like a magnet! pet hair is no match for bounce. with bounce, you can love your pets, and lint roll less. the new sensodyne repair and protect with deep repair has the science to show that the toothpaste goes deep inside the exposed dentin to help repair sensitive teeth. my patients are able to have that quality of life back. i recommend sensodyne repair and protect with deep repair. back now with more breaking news of the women's marches around this country, thousands of women showing up and raising their voices against the restrictive abortion law in texas. they're marching to the steps of the supreme court right now in d.c. as the court prepares to hear a direct challenge to roe vs. wade. joining me now, jennifer gersen, news reporter with the 19th. jennifer, welcome to you. count them, 561 new restrictions have taken effect across 47 states with bans on various services. what are the most troubling policies that marchers are hoping to draw attention to today? >> well, i think, of course, sb-8 is really top of mind for folks right now. in texas, you have -- it's discussed and reported on as sb-8, which went into effect on september 1st, has banned, effectively, all abortion after six weeks and even six weeks is really generous in its terminology because it's based on the presence of cardiac activity which is a debatable approximation. for some people, that might be as soon as five weeks, which is more or less one week after they would first know they were pregnant, after a missed period. so it's an extreme bill with no exceptions, and it's been outsourced in its enforcement to private citizens versus the government, and so, i think people are pretty upset about that, and we're seeing a big trend of copy cat bills being introduced. other states announce they intend to do so. and knowing that we have the dobbs hearing coming up before the supreme court and whether the question of previability bans and effectively overturning roe and casey is on the line right now. people are concerned, and there's a lot at stake, especially when we talk about the kind of 50-year precedent of roe and this long-term standing of previability has kind of always been off the table in terms of restrictions, and it seems right now that that's not going to be the case for very long and people are pretty upset. >> yeah. i know you've written, certainly, extensively about this. stay with me for a moment, jennifer, we're going to go to lauren egan, right along that route with the marchers there in washington, d.c. they are on their way from freedom plaza to the supreme court. where are you? have you gotten to the supreme court? we're seeing photos to the left of screen of women that have arrived and they're certainly there at the bottom of the steps. >> reporter: yeah, alex, we just made it up here to the supreme court. as we arrived to the steps to the supreme court, the protesters that were coming from freedom plaza were greeted by a large gathering of counterprotesters, people chanting that abortion is murder, and it's really underscoring the clash that we're going to see in the coming months, particularly as the supreme court takes up that december case and we've been talking about regarding that law in mississippi. this is an intensely felt debate, and it's being underscored and highlighted right here on the steps of the supreme court already. >> you know, lauren, we've been seeing all these supporters of the march and the activists. have you seen counterprotesters? any presence of that today? >> reporter: yeah, alex, a ton of that right behind me right now. we really didn't see it earlier when we were down by freedom plaza. it was really no counterprotesters at all. it was not until we made it up here to the supreme court and i think that's because the supreme court obviously is very symbolic. it was intentional for the marchers to end up here. they wanted to underscore just how important the supreme court's role is in the abortion discussion and it's no coincidence that the counterprotesters decided to meet the other group here at the foot of the supreme court and not earlier when we spent a few hours down at the freedom plaza and really didn't hear from any counterprotesters at all while we were down there. >> can you give me a sense of how many as compared to the size of this crowd? i know it's often hard to do. i'm terrible at doing this but if you were to look at the number of counterprotesters, is it like a hundred, 10% of the crowd we're seeing? what do you think? >> reporter: if you can see right behind me, right over here over my right shoulder. there's about, i would say, like 200 counterprotesters right now. you can see the people in the blue shirts over there, the signs saying, i am pro-life. and look across the street. those are the abortion activists and i don't know if you can hear behind me, but they're trying to chant each other out, drown each other's voices out. we're kind of in this -- a little bit of a standoff right here where they're shouting at each other across the street and i'm looking on the other side of my shoulder to the supreme court right here. >> yeah. passions inflamed. that's for sure. we're going to keep these photos up. thank you so much. i appreciate you coming in with this breaking news. you guys have arrived at the supreme court steps. back to you, jennifer. when you look at the number of states where abortion would be banned if the supreme court indeed overturns roe v. wade in december, is there a real sense of fear among activists that this could actually happen? >> absolutely. and that's something i have heard more times than i could count in the past, you know, few weeks. it seems like it absolutely could happen, especially given the conservative super majority on the supreme court right now and the number of states that have trigger bans in place is staggering. we really could be in a situation where we're looking at an incredibly divided country. there will be states where abortion is illegal outright and states where abortion is still legal. and the question is, and we're getting a really interesting test case in texas, where abortion more or less, you know, with the six weeks gives you roughly two weeks from a missed period to access abortion care, abortion's pretty much illegal in texas right now. so we're getting a test case there and what we're seeing is, yes, lots of people are leaving the state and going to clinics and states where abortion is still more accessible. but the vast majority of patients, what i'm hearing from folks running clinics, is that they're hearing from their patients, that's just not an option for them. they can't put together the money to get out of town. they can't spare the timing of getting out of town. if they have children at home, a job, they've already taken time off to one appointment. traveling is just off the table. so, that's the other thing that we're hearing is absolutely, this is a possibility and what is this going to mean for a large part of the country that is going to lose access without any options? >> i'll tell you, that is the big question that is being reverberated around this country today. jennifer, thank you so much for joining me and i know we'll speak with you again. meantime, everyone, one down, are there others to go? the first big test of the trump nda. the first big test of the trump nda. ur six, limu. they need customized car insurance from liberty mutual so they only pay for what they need. woooooooooooooo... we are not getting you a helicopter. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ well, would ya look at that! it was an accident. i was— speaking of accidents, we accidentally left you off the insurance policy during enrollment, and you're not covered. not even a little bit? mm-mmm. no insurance. no. when employees can't enter and manage their own benefits enrollment information, it can be a real pain. not even— nope! with paycom, employees enter and manage their own hr data in a single, easy-to-use software. visit paycom.com and schedule a demo today. it also says something about donald trump's concerns, like, why would you spend $3.7 million trying to silence me? it just, you know, it makes no sense, so you have to ask the question, what was it he was afraid that i would share about the 17 years that i have worked with him, that i have been in his orbit, and that i've seen him act in ways that are just quite unhinged. >> and that was omarosa reacting to a recent legal win against her former boss, donald trump. a new york arbitrator has rejected donald trump's claim that she violated a nondisclosure agreement, calling it unenforceable. joining me now is joyce vance, former u.s. attorney and professor at the university of alabama school of law. welcome, joyce. are you surprised by the arbitrator's decision, and what do you think it means for other former trump aides who signed similar ndas? >> this is not a particularly surprising decision. the nondisclosure agreement in this case was very broad, and as the arbitrator noted, ultimately it was far too broad and too vague to be enforceable. the interesting question that you flag, alex, is what does this mean for other people who entered into nondisclosure agreements with the former president? this is a decision rendered by an arbitrator. under the terms of the nda, it went to private arbitration as opposed to into the court system for a decision. so, this is an arbitrator who concluded the president could not enforce the nondisclosure agreement in this case. that will not be binding in future cases, but it will be highly persuasive. this is a major loss in trump world. >> and it's something that certainly donald trump's niece, mary trump, and "the new york times" are paying close attention to, given the lawsuit donald trump brought against them recently for $100 million. let's get to the new "vanity fair" article that predicts trump may be hit with multiple criminal charges over his effort to overturn the election in georgia. do you think his january 3rd phone call with then georgia secretary of state brad raffensperger, number one, he asked him to find more than 11,000 votes, is that a smoking gun? >> it is difficult and complicated question, but if you just look at his conduct on his face, calling state officials, asking them to find additional votes that he needs, you know, that's the sort of conduct that clearly rings the bell for criminal interference with an election. it's complicated, because there are difficulties involving the first amendment, involving official power, and frankly, it is a big burden to put on a district attorney in one county in georgia to ask her to shoulder that burden when others haven't. but alex, i still have taped to the wall in my office the exact number of votes he asked for, 11,780. it's been in front of me all these months, because if you simply think about what he did, asked them to find him one more vote than he needed to win georgia, a crucial state, there is no way that we can ignore that conduct. perhaps it's lawful, but awful. but increasingly, as more facts come to light, it looks like it's simply unlawful. >> interesting. prosecutors there in georgia, they have reportedly appeared before a grand jury. they're seeking subpoenas. they've apparently already interviewed at least four of raffensperger's closest advisors, so what does that say to you about how they're handling this case? >> it says that they're doing the right thing and the fact that we don't know more, while it's frustrating, means that this process is proceeding precisely as it should, cloaked in the secrecy of the grand jury. their job now is to get all of the evidence, not just the evidence that favors bringing charges but evidence that would tend to be in the favor of the former president so that they can evaluate all of that evidence and make a decision based solely on the facts and the law as to whether he should be charged. >> what about criminal liability? could it extend to trump allies, those like giuliani who played a major role in perpetuating and spreading the big lie? >> that's precisely the issue that they're likely focused on in this grand jury proceeding. other people made calls to georgia officials. there was other conduct surrounding the big lie. it's possible that there could be conspiracies or that people could be accomplices in this regard. and if you take this conduct seriously, as a prosecutor, and you should, your obligation is to evaluate everyone who was involved to determine who is criminally culpable and who should be charged. >> sage points as always from you, professor. thank you so much. joyce vance, good to see you. vaccinations required. the state that just decided to demand covid shots for all students and how that's being received. that's next. ts and how that's b received that's next. 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"the addams family 2" now playing everywhere. now to the latest in the coronavirus pandemic, in a first for the u.s., vaccinations will be required for all students in california once the vaccines receive full fda approval. nbc's scott cohn is in san jose, california. scott, what's the timeline for the governor's plan? >> reporter: it's a little bit fluid right now, alex, because it all depends on fda full approval for these vaccines. remember the only one that's now approved for kids over 12 is the pfizer vaccine and that's under emergency use authorization. so, the first school term after full fda approval, this will go into effect, and so we're thinking, based on the current timeline and the expectations, that this could be in effect for every student beginning this fall. and what will happen at that point is that the covid-19 vaccine will be added to the list of all the vaccinations that are required for school kids now, like measles, mumps, and rubella and the like. again, effective following fda approval. this applies to public and private schools under california law because it's a regulation and not legislation. there will be religious and medical exemptions allowed, and interestingly, it also means that the requirement will change for school staff. there is a testing alternative now. they instead will be required to be fully vaccinated as well. governor gavin newsom said this whole thing is a no-brainer to add this to the list of vaccines that are currently required, but of course, these requirements, whether it's for teachers or students, have not been universally popular. protests across the country, and it will likely also be controversial here in california. alex? >> i'm betting you're right. thank you so much for that report. well, this year marks 60 years since the freedom rides when a group of interracial civil rights activists rode buses to protest segregation across the south. one man was the youngest freedom rider and is now looking back at the historic movement. here's nbc's simone boyce. >> reporter: not all heroes wear capes. some fight in uniform. otherwise carry signs of protest. >> this is where we were. >> reporter: charles has done it all. in 1961, charles became the youngest member of the freedom riders, an interracial group of civil rights activists who bravely rode buses through the jim crow south to demand desegregation. just 18 years old, it was a trip that nearly cost him his life. his journey from civil rights icon to vietnam veteran begins in atlanta, georgia, a starkly different atlanta than the one we know today. >> atlanta in the '50s and '60s was unique in the sense that we had parallel communities and the black community, you had everything you had in the larger community, except on a smaller scale. >> reporter: what did that teach you about what it meant to be a young black man in this society? >> everywhere you went, there were signs that told you what you could do and what you could not do, and it was frustrating because if you had to potty and you're on the second floor and your restroom was on the first floor, you had to make sure you got to the right area but those were the rules and you learned to play by the rules most of the time. >> reporter: would you say that charles person as a young man was a rule follower or a rule breaker? >> i was a good kid. i didn't get into trouble too much. but there were things that bothered me but i complied mostly until i got to be a senior in high school, then i got to be somewhat of a rebel. >> reporter: the rebel for a cause. motivated by rejection from georgia tech, simply because he was black, charles enrolled at morehouse, where he tapped into the power of nonviolent activism. his first protest started as a sit-in against segregated lunch counters and ended in a jail cell. what did you learn during that jail sentence? >> i learned to live with myself under those circumstances and i developed a certain strength to go along with it. and also, doing some of the things that we did, some of the actions we took, when we probably didn't have to do it, and we did so because we were not afraid. >> and that was nbc's simone boyce there. to see the rest of the that conversation, go to nbcnews.com. that's going to do it for me. i will see you again tomorrow at noon eastern. meantime, my friend yasmin vossoughian continues our coverage. continues our coverage michael: more than 100 years ago. simi: two branches of our family split apart. david: but now, ancestry helped connect us to our ancestors and each other. michael: find their stories. gigi: at ancestry. 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. it's innovative. my go to toothpaste is going to be pronamel repair. every day in business brings something new. so get the flexibility of the new mobile service designed for your small business. introducing comcast business mobile. you get the most reliable network with nationwide 5g included. and you can get unlimited data for just $30 per line per month when you get four lines or mix and match data options. available now for comcast business internet customers with no line-activation fees or term contract required. see if you can save by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities. working at recology is more than a job for jesus. it's a family tradition. jesus took over his dad's roue when he retired after 47 year. now he's showing a new generation what recology is all about. as an employee-owned company, recology provides good-paying local jobs for san franciscans. we're proud to have built the city's recycling system from the ground up, helping to make san francisco the greenest big city in america. let's keep making a differene together. good afternoon, everybody, i'm yasmin vossoughian. we got a lot happening this hour. rallying on streets across this country right now, thousands of women from washington, d.c., all the way to california, they're marching to protect abortion rights. and then on capitol hill, happening as we speak, congress continuing its search for the right balance on the president's infrastructure and social agenda. now, he's telling them to take more