johnson has submitted data from the fda requesting authorization for a booster shot of its covid vaccine. we'll discuss what that could mean for the fight against the virus. >> we begin with what is happening on capitol hill. any moment, members of congress will get their first opportunity to question frances haugen, the facebook whistle-blower who went public on sunday during an interview with "60 minutes." haugen has called steps facebook took after the 2020 election a, quote, betrayal of democracy. haugen's testimony comes less than 24 hours after facebook faced another crisis, when its site along with several of its apps were knocked offline around the world for hours. by monday night, facebook sites returned online, but no explanation as to what happened has been given. joining me now is capitol hill news correspondent leann caldwell and jacob ward in menlo park, california. leann, i want to start with you. we've received an early look at haugen's opening statement. what can we expect about what she is expected to say today? >> reporter: good morning, jose. it is expected to be a bombshell testimony when frances haugen, who was a whistle-blower, who has come out publicly and shown herself. and she's going to deliver this scathing testimony about facebook, in which she says, i came forward because i recognized a frightening truth. almost no one outside of facebook knows what happens inside of facebook. now, her testimony is going to go on to say that facebook has the data that shows that its algorithms and the content that it shows the public is, in fact, damaging and that they know that they can do something about it. but they choose not to. and the reason they choose not to, she says, is because of company profits over the good of the country and the good of society. and she says, that is what is extremely problematic, and she says, that is what people need to know. jose? >> and leann, it's important to say who she is. i mean, she had access when she was in facebook, to issues like the algorithms and the information that facebook gathers. >> that's absolutely right. her job was, in fact, to help this civil component of facebook, and she says, after the election, that they just shut it down. that there was nothing left to do. and so it was shut down in the lead up to the insurrection and she said, it was that point where she just could not go on. now, there's been a lot of comparisons between what facebook is doing to the tobacco industry, back in the '90s, and that's why she's coming to congress and she's coming out publicly to say that congress and the government needs to do something. >> and jacob, as i mentioned, facebook is having to respond to multiple crisis today with haugen's testimony, but also a question over how facebook's nearly 3 billion users were kicked offline for hours monday. what is the latest there? >> well, at this hour, jose, it is still not clear what exactly caused the outage at facebook, but we do foe that people inside that building were essentially standing around. that's what one employee told us, as not only our experience out in the public world was shut off on not just facebook, but also instagram, whatsapp, and the entire family of products, but also people inside the building could not do their jobs. locked out of conference rooms, having trouble with even the most basic functionality. i think the larger thing that that episode brought to light was simply facebook's extraordinary power in our lives. the reach it has across the world. not just as a way of passing time, but also via whatsapp as a way for family members to communicate across borders, via instagram, the way that small businesses make money. i mean, the essence of facebook's place in the world was essentially laid bear for everybody when it went offline. and to have that coupled with what is now going to be, as leann described there, extraordinarily explosive testimony about the role that facebook also has in our minds and in our democracy, it all leads up to a very dramatic day today, jose. >> and jacob, i'm just wondering, it's -- as far as we know, it was like a technical issue. not some kind of cyber attack. we don't really know much about what caused this, do we? >> there's no evidence at this hour that any sort of malicious actor was involved. facebook says there was some sort of dns error, basically. that the system that allows us to find the line basically delisted facebook and its platforms. that seems to be the technical information. but we know that crews had to manually go in and reset some servers to make it happen. so a terrible technical day, so i think it's more of the symbolism than the technical glitch that really has had its standing out for everybody today. >> and leann, is congress today any closer to both parties agreeing on how congress can best take steps to regular utility social media companies like facebook? or even if congress should be doing that? >> well, jose, there's bipartisan outrage at facebook and social media companies, and there has been for a couple of years. but there's no agreement on how to move forward and how to regular utility them. part of the problem is that congress is years and years behind these tech companies. they don't understand it, and it's very hard to regular utility it. also, these social media companies have come before congress and promised to do the right thing. they have testified over and over again and say self-regulation, self-policing, is effective. we know that that is no longer the case. that's not true. members of congress have been skeptical about that testimony, but there is no clear answer on what to do about it. they haven't figured it out, jose. >> leann caldwell, thank you so much. jake ward, thank. don't go far. we'll be coming back to you later in the hour for an update on the hearing. let's now turn to what else is happening in washington. joining our conversation, politico white house correspondent and playbook co-author, eugene daniels. he's also an msnbc political contributor. leann is still with us. thank you both for being with me. leann, the standoff on the debt limit continues. the u.s. barreling towards defaulting on its debt. what's the plan to stop that from happening? >> there is a plan. i don't know if it will work, though, jose. the plan is for senate democrats to hold another vote tomorrow on lifting the debt limit. but the problem with that plan is it needs the support of ten republicans in order to move that process forward. there's no indication that i'm getting from republicans on capitol hill that they are willing to provide that support. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell insists that he's not going to help democrats do it. now, i will say that there is -- there is precedent in the past that the debt limit has been a partisan issue. it has passed along partisan lines. but what is unprecedented is the minority party, this time the republicans, filibustering or blocking the majority party, the democrats from even being allowed to vote on that measure. and that's where the breakdown is coming. and there is very few indications that leader mcconnell is going to back down. and it is a very serious game of political gamesmanship, really. and the country's credit rating is at stake here. >> yeah, i mean, a gamesmanship over default. eugene, it's good to see you. president biden is expected to tout the benefits of his build back better plan out in michigan this afternoon. kind of a different issue than that. but what's his message today? >> his message is going to be, you know, the things that i'm trying to do in washington, d.c. are going to help your lives. that is what the president has continually tried to do. i was at the press briefing yesterday and we asked jen psaki, you know, why now? and she said, because we have -- you know, we have a country to run, essentially, right? there's a lot of things going on. leann was just talking about the debt limit. that is something that i was sitting in the audience, also, when he talked about that yesterday. so president biden has probably the fullest plate of a president that we've seen in a very, very, very long time. and less time to deal with it. and less people to play around with when it comes to who's able to vote for what in the house and in the senate, that very thin, thin majority that they have. so i think they're hoping to focus on moving forward, but you still have democrats who aren't sure what's going to go into this budget reconciliation deal. they haven't decided. they haven't decided on a top number. they also haven't decided, what are their red lines. and those are the next steps. and i assume that the president is going to talk about some of the things that he wants to make sure stand out, as well. >> eugene daniels and leann caldwell, thank for being with me this morning. coming up, we'll take you to the border between panama and colombia, where thousands of migrants are right now crammed, waiting for their chance to come to the united states. congressman henny cuellar of fx joins us to talk about immigration policy and more. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. e. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. people everywhere living with type 2 diabetes are waking up to what's possible with rybelsus®. ♪ you are my sunshine ♪ ♪ my only sunshine... ♪ rybelsus® is a pill that lowers blood sugar in three ways. increases insulin when you need it... decreases sugar... and slows food. the majority of people taking rybelsus® lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than 7. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. wake up to what's possible with rybelsus®. ♪ please don't take my sunshine away ♪ you may pay as little as $10 per prescription. ask your healthcare provider about rybelsus® today. baaam. internet that doesn't miss a beat. that's cute, but my internet streams to my ride. adorable, but does yours block malware? nope. -it crushes it. pshh, mine's so fast, no one can catch me. big whoop! mine gives me a 4k streaming box. -for free! that's because you all have the same internet. xfinity xfi. so powerful, it keeps one-upping itself. opreza: trabajar en recology es más que un empleo para mí, es una tradición familiar. tomé la ruta de mi padre cuando se retiró despues de 47 años. ahora le muestro a la nueva generación lo que es recology como una compañia que pertenece a los empleados. estamos orgullosos de haber creado el sistema de reciclaje. convirtiendo a san francisco, en la ciudad mas verde de america... sigamos haciendo la diferencia juntos. 14 past the hour. and along the border between colombia and panama, thousands of haitian migrants are venturing through the gap, 66 miles of roadless jungle and onward to the united states. they've got to go through central america, mexico to get to the united states. dhs warning that 400,000 migrants could arrive to the u.s. border just this month. joining me now, live from colombia, nbc news correspondent, gabe gutierrez. gabe, good morning. what are you seeing there? >> hey, there, jose. as you can see behind me, as you mentioned, there are thousands of migrants here and there's a good number in this stretch here. we're here at the beach of this tourist town that has now been overrun in some ways by migrants and my colleague can pan around. we're in tight corners here, so we can't move around too much, but these are migrants who have gathered here after buying tickets weeks ago. they are now hoping to get on boats to head over the board into panama. you mentioned the daring gap, that's that very dangerous stretch of jungle and we've been speaking with these migrants and they are desperate enough to try to make that trek. this has been a long journey. some of these migrants have been here for weeks, trying to get to central america en route to the u.s. some of them have told me that, you know, they have paid thousands of dollars to try to get to this point. there was one man we just spoke to in line, who left haiti just a few weeks ago, after the earthquake, made it to the dominican republic and was able to come here by boat and then by bus to reach this spot. again, jose, as you know, this is one of the bottle necks along that journey to the u.s. and there is concern here from local officials that more people will keep coming. right now, it's hard to get an exact estimate, but one estimate is about 20,000 migrants are here just in this one town. some of them coming up from south america, after spending years in chile. others are now making the fresh trek from haiti. they are all gathered here, waiting in line, soon trying to get into the boats that will then take them across the panamanian border to try to cross the daring gap. many of them have been desperate here for weeks, trying to figure out whether to continue their journey or try to find out what's next. but as you mentioned, u.s. officials are watching this very closely, as my colleague, julia ainsley has reported. dhs officials now think that up to 400,000 migrants could eventually make it to the u.s. this month. and jose, most of these migrants are haitian, but there have been, as well as also some cubans, venezuelans here as well. but the ones we have spoken to in the last few minutes, they're haitian. they actually came here after the recent earthquake. jose? >> gabe gutierrez in colombia, thank you very much for that extraordinary report. now to the latest political fallout surrounding the situation at our southern border. a senior state department official has resigned from the biden administration over what he calls the illegal and inhumane use of restrictions first enacted under the trump administration, known as title xlii. that's according to a new report out from politico. joining us now with more on this and what's going on with thousands of migrants were trying to get to the united states, nbc news correspondent, morgan radford. morgan, good morning. what's the latest? >> i'm so excited to be with you -- >> morgan? >> harold chao has some harsh words for the biden administration, specifically its enforcement of what's called title xlii. it's the part of u.s. public health policy that was first enforced under the trump administration, when the pandemic hit. it basically allows the government to block people from entering the country during a health crisis, even if they are seeking asylum. so with his resignation, jose, chao has released a scathing internal memo, first released by politico and not yet independently confirmed by nbc news. in it, he called title xlii an inhumane and illegal policy, especially when it comes to migrants from haiti. he's now the second state department official to resign over the white house's border policy. but the big question, jose, is what does all of this really look like? what does it actually mean for the migrants who are actually trying to cross into the united states? so, we were just reporting from the border city of mexico where you can actually see texas just across the border. and in that city alone, jose, there's a single migrant camp. you're looking at photos from when we were there just a couple of weeks ago. and it has swelled to nearly 2,000 people. nearly all of them, waiting to cross and claim asylum. but what's worse, while they wait, they do not have proper sanitation. they're crammed into these tiny, small spaces together and they're exposed to covid. and mow they're too afraid to return home because of the risk of kidnapping and extortion by the cartels in mexico, or in their home countries, it's just too strong, that risk. so we spoke to one aide worker who points directly to this title xlii as the reason for that encampment, because they simply cannot enter the country, and they are, quite simply, jose, stuck. >> morgan radford, thank you so much, nbc news now, morgan radford, who has an extraordinary program on a daily basis. i thank you for being with me, morgan. joining me now is texas democratic congressman, henry cuellar, who represents a border community. it is always a pleasure to see you, sir. let's talk a little bit about the crisis at border. what is the border situation now? >> we have to keep in mind when people do reporting or talk about this, they always talk about what the migrant activists want to talk about, which is fine. but you have to look at what's happening down near the border. our border communities have not been listened to, when we have -- and we take migrants and we want to treat everybody with respect and dignity, that pressure and that burden is put on the local government. and also, quite honestly, what about the men and women in green and blue. somebody needs to pay attention to the work that they're doing. so you have to make sure that we also listen to the border communities, and the numbers, just as an example. last week, there was 12,200 people, in one week that came through the rio grande valley, and now we're seeing some of those folks going in. you have the rio, now you have yuma, yuma, arizona, also. so those the things that people need to look at. i believe in legal migration. i believe in doing it the right way. but i think that our system, the way we're handling this, has been overwhelmed, simply because there's no repercussions. there is no repercussion. >> so what does that mean? what does that mean, there are no repercussions. let's just say that the system is overwhelmed. what are the repercussions you say you're looking for? >> well, you know, let's look at what president obama and secretary jeh johnson did. they treated the immigrants, the migrants with respect, but they followed the law. that is, if they're not supposed to be here, then they sent them back. i mean, you've got to have some sort of repercussions. i know the focus is on title xlii, and i'll say this, i support title xlii. because, look, we're in the middle of the pandemic. we can't even let legal visa holders from mexico or canada come in, but they're letting all of these undocumented people come in during the middle of a pandemic. so where's the logic, where you don't let the legal visa holders from mexico and canada that spend billions of dollars on our local communities, but then people without documentation. my father was born and became a legal resident and a naturalized citizen. it took him years and years, and to see people just come in and jump the line. can i tell you that in my community, which is made up of 86 plus percent hispanic community, people don't like what they're seeing. the latinos in south texas, the latinos on the border do not, do not like what they're seeing right now. >> so, congressman, what is the solution there? because i think that the basic elemental right of people to request asylum -- i mean, it's pretty well recognized in international law, right? so there are those who want to come to this country and legally request asylum. that's not even possible right now. 42 and other things that have been put in place don't even really allow for a thorough investigation of people's asylum requests. so if you don't have that option, what do people have as an option in order to look for a new life away from dangers of violence or death? >> and dangerous and violence is not an excuse or it's not allowed under the asylum law. if you look at the asylum law, you will see that earthquakes, political assassinations, or even, you know, unfortunately, but violence is not even covered in that, unless it's done by the state. that's what the law says. so, to answer your question, jose, go back to the book that secretary jeh johnson and president obama had. you treat the people with respect and then look at how we can provide somebody a fair opportunity to see they -- you know, they qualify under asylum. but, you know, if you put a hundred people before an immigration judge, 88 to 90% are going to be rejected. they're going to be rejected. so why are we allowing or trying to allow 100% when they are only -- we should be only allowing 10 or 12%? they, you know, we ought to have a system where we can do this at a border, quickly give them their fair process and due process to see if they qualify for asylum, but again, you mentioned violence. you mentioned those things. they do not -- that doesn't qualify them under asylum law, unless it's a state persecution, like, for example, cuba, as you know, that's a different thing. or maybe nicaragua or maybe venezuela, where you have those type of dictators. that could be something that could be considered. but everybody else, because you want to make a better way of life and all of this, and things like that, it doesn't -- that's what the law is, and so we change the law, you've got to apply the law. otherwise, just let everybody in. if you don't want to apply the law, let everybody in and the whole world in and let billions of people in, so you can go ahead and use that logic. and i'm not talking about you, jose. i'm just saying, the general logic that's used out there. >> congressman henry cuellar, your voice is an important one. i'm glad you are able to share it with us today. thank you for your time. >> for example, congratulations on your new show and it's always a pleasure. >> thank you, sir. i appreciate you. coming up, the tragic situation in alaska. hospitals there so overwhelmed, doctors are having to make life and death decisions. we're live there next. you're watching"jose diaz-balart reports" live on msnbc. az-balart reports" live on msnbc. otezla. it's a choice you can make. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines, and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you. ♪ ♪ there are beautiful ideas that remain in the dark. but with our new multi-cloud experience, you have the flexibility you need to unveil them to the world. ♪ ♪ (vo) subaru presents... to unthe underdogs.he world. they may have lost an eye, or their hearing, or their youthful good looks. but there's a lot of things these remarkable dogs haven't lost... like their ability to lick, wag, and love with the best of them. join subaru in helping underdogs find a loving home and celebrate all dogs during our third annual national make a dog's day. as i observe investors balance risk and reward, i see one element securing portfolios, time after time. gold. your strategic advantage. ♪ i see trees of green ♪ ♪ red roses too ♪ ♪ i see them bloom for me and you ♪ (music) ♪ so i think to myself ♪ ♪ oh what a wonderful world ♪ in alaska right now, health care workers are trying to gain control of one of the fastest growing covid outbreaks in the country, with one doctor telling nbc news that rural hospitals there are rationing oxygen and need to transfer covid patients to anchorage, but some of those hospitals in anchorage simply don't have room for them. joining me now from anchorage, nbc news correspondent, allison barber. >> reporter: hey, jose. we've heard so many states talk about the idea of implementing crisis of care standards, but alaska, post-vaccine, is a rare example of a state actually having to do it. here's more. in the massive expanse that is alaska, some of the state's biggest hospitals are reaching a breaking point. emergency rooms are overwhelmed, oxygen is being rationed, and the governor is asking for hundreds of medical workers to fly here and help. at alaska native medical center, some patients have been forced to wait for days for hospital beds. >> we're the referral center for many of these areas that are geographically isolated and have limited resources, but we've run into situations where there aren't any beds in anchorage. >> reporter: at this hospital, they can't let any visitors inside right now, except for very few exceptions. so we're going to go inside the covid ward, outside of the hospital. they're going to take us in through this video system. the same system that families use when they are talking to covid patients, who they are unable to visit. as we virtually walked around the covid unit, we spoke to those on the front line. health care workers spending nearly every minute of their shifts caring for covid patients. 90% of those patients unvaccinated. >> i have seen more body bags in here that i would like to see in my life. >> reporter: are you having to make life-and-death decisions? >> yes. we're having conversations with the patients and telling them, this is your percentage of getting off a vent if you go to the icu, and having to have those conversations with somebody -- >> we walk to them, until they go home or they die. and that's very hard emotionally on us. >> reporter: it's pain she is all too familiar with. she lost her best friend to covid-19 over a year ago and her cousin just last week. >> i'm just so sick of people dying, you know? we've lost five family members last year, altogether, and i'm just tired. >> reporter: in the last two weeks, alaska has seen the highest rise in covid cases in the country. so what is driving the spike, especially when so many other states seem to be leveling off. well, health officials that we've spoken to here say, it's really a combination of factors. they say vaccination rates have become stagnant. it's a really political issue here right now. they also say, when you have that and this highly contagious delta variant, add in the fact that high population areas like anchorage are not doing any sort of mission efforts like mask mandates, and they say all of it has just made for this recipe, a disaster recipe, if you will, that now hospitals are now just trying to get by, day by day. jose? >> allison barber in anchorage, thank you. joining me now is dr. eileen marty, professor of infectious diseases at florida national university. great to see you. i want your take first on what we're seeing right now in alaska? >> well, that's absolutely heartbreaking. it's something that did not need to happen if the political movement in alaska had permitted more levels of vaccination and also the use of appropriate, non-pharmaceutical tools. and the adoption of the monoclonal antibody, just in time use as had been done in some of our states. >> why would that be different? what would that be different? >> that -- because we've known now for over a year that these non-pharmaceutical interventions reduce transmission dramatically. and add to that the use of the vaccine, then that's your first, most important preventative measure. ventilation is equally, almost equally important. make sure that you have really adequate ventilation, especially when you're indoors. make sure there's good air exchange, using the masks, hygiene, all of that works in reducing transmission, which is crucial. in addition to that, when you add the -- if someone does get infected, you give them post-exposure monoclonal antibiotics, that's very helpful. and now we have a new medication by merck, which is a nucleicide antibody. anything that reduces transmission will reduce the number of people. you reduce the number of people in the hospital, you are going to make things easier for each patient that does get hospitalized, for whatever reason they're getting hospitalized. >> so dr. marty, want the booster shots. j&j is talking about, obviously, pfizer has been talking about it. do you think that's something that we should be seeing as needed? >> well, let's start be the jansing vaccine, the j&j. it would have had much higher efficacy in the first place if you'd given two shots. we knew that from the very beginning. however, there was a need for having a one-shot vaccine, but so it now has plenty of data demonstrating that two doses of j&j is the way you have to go. and they've applied for that ability to do that. and i'm pretty sure that's going to be granted fairly soon. in terms of the pfizer vaccine, as you already know, both pfizer and moderna can be given as a third dose for individuals with certain underlying conditions. the pfizer vaccine, in addition, just the pfizer now, can be given to individuals without underlying conditions that have other criteria, such as age and types of occupational exposure. so, now you're actually asking me, are you going to extend that to the general population? well, if you do, the net effect is, you're going to have a reduction in overall transmission. the reason you're having an overall reduction in transmission is because it requires much higher level of antibodies to prevent transmission and upper airway infection, than it does to prevent severe disease. that's why we still see efficacy for severe disease, even though antibody levels have dropped. but you don't see the needed efficacy to prevent transmission. >> dr. eileen marty, always a pleasure to have you. still ahead, the haggling in the democratic party over infrastructure as they try to raise a debt limit. we'll talk to california senator alexpadilla about what it will take to get to "yes." and we're monitoring the testimony on capitol hill right now where a former facebook employee is testifying. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. instantly ready to start working. so you can bounce back fast with alka-seltzer plus. now available for fast sinus relief. ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ got a couple of bogeys on your six, limu. they need customized car insurance from liberty mutual so they only pay for what they need. what do you say we see what this bird can do? 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- it's on verizon 5g - i can't believe you got me this! - yes, verizon is giving one to everyone when they trade in their old or damaged phone. - oh! so like every sister can get this? - yeah. - every aluminum siding installer? - why not? - every doula? - they would have to! every customer, new and old, can get iphone 13 pro on us. because everyone deserves better. - everyone! - horse trainers! - manicurists! - you get the new iphone! - we're alone. - i know. - what're we doing? - i don't know. let's turn now to the top issue on capitol hill. on the one hand, the pressure is on for democratic leaders to craft their reconciliation bill that will strengthen the u.s. safety net and garner the support of nearly every democrat in washington, but they face another big hurdle in the meantime, staving off a debt default that could send shock waves through an economy still recovering from the pandemic. joining me now, democratic senator, alex padilla from california. senator, it is great seeing you this morning. let's talk about -- >> congratulations on the show, by the way. >> thank you, sir, very much, sir. let's talk about this infrastructure bill, the human one. new reporting out just this morning indicates progressives in the caucus willing to support whatever price tag the white house can get to. now that seems like $3.5 trillion. it seems unlikely, but what are your top priorities? >> look, i think appreciate the focus on what's in the measure and not just the dollar figure, the number that everybody seems to be chasing. because that can make a strong argument for all the elements of what's in the reconciliation bill. you know, people wonder why child care is all of a sudden a part of infrastructure. really hard for people to get back to work if you don't have a safe place to leave your kids when they're not in school. of course, housing, as i've traveled up and down the state of california, and in cities across the country, dealing with housing affordability, homelessness, challenges. yes, investment in housing is critical and urgent and if we've learned nothing else from the pandemic, it's the need to invest in the health care infrastructure. modernize our health care infrastructure, expand capacity. so it's also important, and i think it should all be there at the end of the day. >> yeah, when we're focused on numbers, sometimes we lose focus on that this is all really about people in the final analysis. senator, right now, your home state of california, crews are racing to clean up leaked crude oil, to prevent it from happening and harming the environment anymore. what do you see as the role of the federal government in responding to this? >> yeah, well, i think, first and foremost, it's the most recent reminder as to why we need to end offshore oil drilling. both because of the ecological disaster and economic impacts that disasters like this have. and it's also a reminder of why we need to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels. we're doing it to attack clrng. not just far off into the future, we're seeing it now and disasters like this are preventable, so it should call for quicker action. >> senator, i have to say that for years before you were a senator, you and i have been involved in so many efforts to help and support the latino community in california. a recent study from the latino corporate director's association found that as of june 30th, latinos held just 2.5% of board seats in your state of california. that's despite making up nearly 40% of the population. this is a disconnect of olympic proportions, senator. >> right. look, representation matters. and as we're making progress in terms of elected preparation at all levels of government, we cannot ignore the private sector, we can't ignore acade academia, we can't ignore the entertainment industry. so many other sectors. california has led the way. we know there's a pioneering law that requires gender diversity on corporate boards that has led to significant progress being made. just last year, the california legislature passed and governor signed into law requirements that corporate boards also have representation from underrepresented communities, especially latinos. to your point in california and so many other states. so look forward to the positive impact legislation like that will be having. not just for corporations based in california, over time, but having this trend spread across the country. >> and a name like padilla, a senator from the state of california, something that has never happened before, i thank you, sir, for being with me this morning. appreciate it. [ speaking spanish ] it's been a rough few days for facebook. the company now containing the fallout from a major outage while the whistle-blower who says that the company put profits ahead of safety testifies on capitol hill. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. like many people with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis or crohn's disease, i was there. be right back. but my symptoms were keeping me from where i needed to be. so i talked to my doctor and learned humira is the #1 prescribed biologic for people with uc or crohn's disease. and humira helps people achieve remission that can last, so you can experience few or no symptoms. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. be there for you and them. ask your gastroenterologist about humira. with humira, remission is possible. learn how abbvie could help you save on humira. i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! 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( abbot sonic ) and nutrients to support immune health! you need an ecolab scientific clean here. and here. which is why the scientific expertise that helps operating rooms stay clean now helps the places you go too. look for the ecolab science certified seal. my retirement plan with voya keeps me moving forward. they guide me with achievable steps that give me confidence. this is my granddaughter...she's cute like her grandpa. voya doesn't just help me get to retirement... ...they're with me all the way through it. voya. be confident to and through retirement. 47 past the hour. right now on capitol hill, facebook whistle-blower frances haugen is testifying before a senate subcommittee. back with me is nbc news correspondent jacob ward. what are some of the key things we're hearing so far? >> reporter: it's been extraordinary testimony and we're only a few minutes into it, jose. at this hour, miss haugen is describing to senators what she says is basically a fight inside the company between safety efforts that the people within the company have tried to take and the units involved in growth. let's have a listen to a little bit of what she said so far. >> they want you to believe in false choices. they want you to believe that you must choose between a facebook full of divisive and extreme content or losing one of the most important values our country was founded upon. free speech. that you must choose between public oversight of facebook's choices and your personal privacy. that to be able to share fun photos of your kids with old friends, you must also be inundated with anger-driven viralty. they want you to believe that this is just part of the deal. i am here today to tell you that's not true. >> reporter: her big point so far, jose, has been the need for transparency. that inside facebook, the data exists to show us exactly the effect it is having on democracy, on our minds. she says that all of that needs to be put out into the open, in front of researchers who do not work for facebook. >> and jacob, the fact that you're speaking with me at 7:49 in the morning pacific time shows me that you did not win the lottery that someone in the golden state did win. >> reporter: that's right. i'm close, you know, we're within about a hundred miles of where that ticket sold, but that's right. a nearly $700 million ticket is floating out there somewhere right now. it was bought in the town of morro bay, california. think about it this way. whoever has that ticket has the option of a lump sum cash payment of over $400 million. you figure, even if the federal government takes its, what, half of that, third federal governme takes its half of that, third of that, that still leaves you with about $200 million. that doesn't just put you into the top 1% of the wealthiest people in the united states. someone has a life changing ticket somewhere in their possession. we'll be right back. possession. we'll be rightac bk. when you really need to sleep you reach for the really good stuff. new zzzquil ultra helps you sleep better and longer when you need it most. it's non habit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil. new zzzquil ultra. when you really really need to sleep. i felt awful because of my psoriasis. i was covered from head to toe with it. it really hurt. then i started cosentyx. that was four years ago. how are you? 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-perfect! because we're building a better network every single day. ♪ ♪ there are beautiful ideas that remain in the dark. but with our new multi-cloud experience, you have the flexibility you need to unveil them to the world. ♪ on capitol hill right now a senate subcommittee is holding a hearing about keeping kids safe online. let's listen in. >> based on what i saw on allocation of integrity spending, i believe the "wall street journal" said about 85% of it is spent on english, it seems like facebook invests more on those who make more money. >> does it make sense that having a younger person get hooked on social media at a young age makes them more profitable at a young age? >> facebook's internal documents talk about the importance of getting younger users like tweens onto instagram because they know that children bring their parents online and things like that. they understand the value of younger users for the long-term success of facebook. >> facebook reported advertising revenue to be $51 per user last quarter in the u.s. and canada. when i asked ms. davis how much of that came from instagram users under 18, she wouldn't say. do you think teens are profitable for their company? >> i would assume so based on advertising for things like television. you get substantially higher advertising rates for customers who don't yet have preferences or habits. i'm sure they're one of the more profitable on facebook. but i didn't work directly with that. >> eating disorders have the highest mortality rates in women. i'm concerned the algorithms have outrageous content promoting anorexia and the like. do you think their algorithms push some of this content to young girls? >> facebook knows the way they pick the content in instagram amplifies preferences. they have done something called a proactive incident response where they take things they've heard, for example, like can you be led by the algorithms to anorexia content and they have literally recreated that experience themselves and confirmed, yes, this happens to people. >> do you think they are deliberately designing their product to be addictive beyond even that content? >> facebook has a long history of having a very successful and effective growth division where they constantly are trying to optimize it to grow. those kinds of stickiness could be construed as things that facilitate addiction >> you brought up other countries and what's been happening there. on 60 minutes you said that facebook implemented safeguards to reduce misinformation ahead of the 2020 election but turned off those safeguards right after the election. you know the insurrection occurred january 6th. do you think facebook turned off the safeguards because it cost the company money? >> facebook says the safeguards in place before the election implicated free speech. the choices happening on the platform were really about how reactive and viral was the platform. facebook changed those safety defaults in the runup to the election because they knew they were dangerous. because they wanted that growth back after the election, they returned to their original defaults. the fact that they had to break the glass on january 6th and turn them back on, i think that's deeply problematic. >> agree. thank you very much for your bravery in coming forward. >> thank you. i've been arguing for some time that it is time for congress to act. i think the question is always what is the correct way to do it consistent with our first amendment right to free speech? >> totally. >> this committee doesn't have jurisdiction over the anti-trust issue. that's the judiciary committee. i'm not averse to looking at the mononop i'm not averse to looking at the monoolistic nature of facebook. i think there are a couple of things i think we can do. i have a piece of legislation called the filter bubble transparency act. what it would do is give users the options to engage with social media platforms without being manipulated by these secret formulas that dictate the content you see when you open up an app or log onto a website. we also i think need to hold big tech accountable by reforming section 230. one of the best opportunities to do that in a bipartisan way is the platform accountability act, which in addition to stripping section 230 protections for content that a court determines to be illegal the pact act would also increase transparency and due process for users. >> you've been watching facebook whistleblower frances haugen testify on capitol hill. be sure to follow the show online. thank you for the privilege of your time. craig melvin picks up with more news right now. ♪♪ good tuesday morning to you. craig melvin here for a busy hour. coast to coast as we speak the former facebook employee who blew the whistle on the company's own damaging internal research testifying before that senate subcommittee and the focus keeping our children safe online. she says research shows instagram is a toxic place for teenagers and facebook knows it. the chair of that committ