of thousands of migrants who fled their homes prepare to make the dangerous journey to the u.s. through the darien gap, a stretch of jungle filled with smugglers and thieves. we'll get the latest reporting from nbc's gabe gutierrez who's on the ground for us there. and we begin with the latest in washington, where partisan tensions are growing as the u.s. heads towards default. republicans are now planning to filibuster a vote to suspend the debt limit until december of 2022. here's how senate majority leader chuck schumer responded. >> we could prevent a catastrophic default with a simple majority vote tomorrow, if republicans would just get out of the damned way. >> joining me now, jonathan lemire, white house reporter for the associated press, and also an msnbc political analyst. also with us is nbc news capitol hill correspondent, ali vitali. ali, let me start with you. what's the government defaulting on its debt really mean? >> you can sort of think about this like you can think about paying your credit card bill, only the credit card bill we're talking about is the u.s. governments. the debt ceiling battle here on capitol hill is the congress saying to the government, this is how much money you can borrow to go back and pay your debts. it's important to point out that this is money that the government has already spent. so big ticket items from the trump administration, for example, things like the trump tax cuts that all republicans up here on the hill supported, that's what we're talking about. but the argument up here on the hill has hinged on the money that democrats are tryingto spend in the future, things like $3.5 trillion or lower on reconciliation. the roughly $1-point-something million of bipartisan infrastructure spending. that's the argument that republicans are hinging their argument around, but it's not actually the money we're talking about here. and it's bad when you and i might not be able to make our credit card payments, it's worse in terms of the outcome and the fallout for americans if we were to default on our debt. it's never happened before, but here are some of the things that might happen. you would see millions of people lose their jobs, you would see higher interest rates, paychecks for troops and social security payments could stop coming. $15 trillion in estimated loss in household wealth. people's retirement savings could go lower. more expensive to buy a home. these are the tangible impacts on americans, if the u.s. were to default on the debt. and again, it's never happened before. which is why this crisis is so high intensity up here on the hill. both sides agree it shouldn't happened, but they're completely at odds over whose responsibility it is to make sure it doesn't. >> and yet, we're looking at less than two weeks before this thing gets to a standoff. jonathan, top economic experts have already sent warning signs of what default could mean for u.s. markets. what's the president hoping to change from this meeting with top business leaders today? >> well, first of all, jose, congratulations on the new show. haven't had a chance to say that yet. and the president here is certainly warning about the dire consequences if this were to happen. and it's shaping up in sharply political terms saying, democrats have already gone along with it when there was a republican in office, why won't democrats do the same. painting the gop as obstructionists and pointing the finger squarely at senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, who he said yesterday, he would be talking to in the coming days. the meeting today with the ceos, a lot of them banking leaders, it's about to warn, again, of americans and therefore lawmakers about the dire -- about just how serious it would be if this were to happen. you know, political scare tactics and accurate ones, about just how devastating this could be, not just for the nation, but the globe. and the white house also economic council put outthis, that would be worse than what we saw in 2008, because of the nation -- the world is still grappling with the pandemic, as well. so democrats are left here without many options. i mean, they're trying to push republicans to help them. that seems unlikely to work, unless mcconnell has a sudden change of heart and he's not known for those. i asked the president yesterday, i was on his trip to michigan. i asked him on the tarmac in lansing if they would use reconciliation or perhaps a carveout to the filibuster to get this done. he voiced some support for those options, but it's unclear how real they are. reconciliation would take weeks, it's a complicated process. and it doesn't sound like they have enough votes in the senate to do it by doing the carveout to the filibuster. >> i mean, ali, this is such a situation where it's not that differences of political thoughts can go on forever. this is a situation where really all hell would break lose, you know, in less than two weeks. and yet it seems as though there are no real avenues of bipartisan or agreement possible. >> reporter: i believe all hell breaking lose is the official terminology we would start using up here on capitol hill and over at the treasury department, too. in terms of where things stand on each side, you laid it out really succinctly. republicans aren't asking for anything. they're not negotiating. they're just saying, this is on democrats to do it. and it's long been a conversation not just on democrats to do it, but from republicans' perspective and senator mitch mcconnell's perspective, it's the mechanism through which he wants them to do it. over on the other side, one of the few things that has remain trud throughout this entire process has been that democrats and chuck schumer leading them saying, they're not going to do it through reconciliation. john lemeyer is right when he says, that's a lengthy process. if that's something they were going to do, they would have to do it as soon as possible to start that process. there's a lot of different procedural hurdles they would have to get through before they could ultimately successfully doing it that way. but there's a discussion about a nuclear option on this, a very narrow one, which would allow democrats to amend the filibuster, so they could vote on a simple majority on the debt ceiling. lemire is right that they would need all 50 democrats and they don't know if they have that. i'm going to go see if we can get senator joe manchin talk about where he stands on this. but we've heard a noncommitment on this idea, although the president did lend some credence so the possibility of them doing this, but i would note that this would be an opening of pandora's box here in terms of filibuster reform. activists and advocates on the democratic side have long said that democrats need to use filibuster reform and instead just look at a 51-vote simple majority to do a whole slew of things that they want passed, including gun violence prevention. all of the things that we know are on the democratic agenda. if they are to crack the door open on this, it really is opening pandora's box and you'll start to hear from other democratic senators who are in favor of this kind of thing, as well as activists saying, well, if you can do this on the debt ceiling, why can't we do it on everything else? we don't know that's where they're going yet, but it's certainly a possibility on the table. >> ali vitali, thank you very much. senator manchin, if you're watching, ali will be knocking on your door shortly. let her in. i want to bring in florida democratic congresswoman, debbie wasserman schultz, who serves on the appropriations committee. congresswoman, it's a pleasure to see you. how you? >> i'm doing well. great to be with you, jose. >> thank you. what do you think should be the next step for democrats on the debt ceiling. we know republicans are filibustering today. what happens next? >> well, let me just say at the outset that i can't think of anything more grossly irresponsible than what mitch mcconnell, kevin mccarthy, and the entire republican conference in both houses are doing and that is jeopardizing the full faith and credit of the united states of america. they're basically saying, kiss off. you need to do this by yourselves. paying our debt is not our responsibility. and by the way, it was debt that was incurred by a republican administration. but that shouldn't matter, because we should always and have always come together in a bipartisan way to make sure that we could pay our nation's debt. and they are potentially throwing our economy and a lot of the world economy into potential chaos and jeopardizing the lives of our seniors, of our families, of businesses, all in the name of brass knuckles power politics. and in about a year from now, if they force this, then they should pay the price at the polls and i think they will. >> why do you think this is happening now? as you said, this has never happened in the past, and there have been fast differences, right, on this issue. why is it happening now? >> see, there haven't been vast differences on paying our bills, making sure that we don't default on our nation's debt is absolutely essential and should be partnership. this bill should pass procedurally in the easiest way possible. where we put up a bill and it passes with two-thirds vote in both houses and we send it to the president. we could do that without even being in town, because we could do that on unanimous consent. but mitch mcconnell and kevin mccarthy have made it very clear that they're going to make things difficult for democrats. but this will ultimately backfire on them. i think it's very clear whose fault and responsibility it would be if they do allow us to default on our nation's debt. at the end of the day, fault doesn't matter. we have to be thinking about the impact on the lives of frankly hundreds of millions of people and the republicans could care less. >> congresswoman, we're seeing some back and forth on reconciliation with everything in downsiing mode. where do you stand? >> this is the thing, the doomsday scenario that, oh, my god, democrats are in chaos and they're disagreeing on so many different things. you can see us now beginning to build consensus and that's what i've said we need to do all along and so many of us have and i would confident that we would. come to a top line number, but build the programs to reach that topline number. making sure that we can pay for child care, for millions of americans who are right now having to choose between working and being able to care for their kids. making sure in states like yours and mine, being from florida, that we can close the medicaid gap, so that another million people can get access to health care. making sure that seniors can get dental care, vision care, and auditology care, so they can take care of their eyes, ears, and teeth. those are things that democrats are having to do by themselves and we're going to do that. and we're voting to put the most comprehensive package, and pass express legislation that will take care of our roads and bridges and reauthorize important transportation programs so we can make sure that we can keep our economy humming. alone, by the way. >> congresswoman, you have been such a staunch advocate for the haitian community in the united states. we now have nbc news reporting that tens of thousands more are on their way from panama. what should we do congresswoman? >> first of all, we should have a governor in my state that isn't suing the federal government and making it as difficult as possible to be able to settle these haitian migrants in the state of florida, and just like they do around the country, to be able to make sure that they can pursue asylum cases and humanitarian parole. that's something that governor desantis has been doing everything they could to block. but we need to pursue the unacceptable, outrageous treatment that the border patrol engaged in under the bridge in mexico. and we need to make sure that we take a hard look. i think the biden administration needs to change their policy when it comes to sending haitians back to the island. that's not a place that can sustain them right now. we need to make sure we're settling many more haitians here, while we adjudicate their cases and while haiti is in turmoil, it's not appropriate to be sending them back. >> congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz, always a pleasure to see you. thank you for being with me this morning. >> you too, jose. thank you so much. coming up, a humanitarian crisis we're speaking with the congresswoman about, hundreds of migrants crammed into a colombian beach town heading to the u.s. we'll have a report about what the journey is like for the most vulnerable, the children. plus, damaging testimony from a former facebook employee. the man who wrote the book on facebook and that congress needs to do something about the social media giant. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. y diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. ♪ ♪ 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. ♪ bipolar depression. it made me feel like i was trapped in a fog. this is art inspired by real stories of people living with bipolar depression. i just couldn't find my way out of it. the lows of bipolar depression can take you to a dark place... ...and be hard to manage. latuda could make a real difference in your symptoms. latuda was proven to significantly reduce bipolar depression symptoms and in clinical studies, had no substantial impact on weight. this is where i want to be. latuda is not for everyone. call your doctor about unusual mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. elderly dementia patients on latuda have an increased risk of death or stroke. call your doctor about fever, stiff muscles, and confusion, as these may be life threatening... ...or uncontrollable muscle movements, as these may be permanent. these are not all the serious side effects. now i'm back where i belong. ask your doctor about latuda and pay as little as $0 for your first prescription. 17 past the hour. for the first time since facebook whistle-blower frances haugen went public, facebook founder and ceo mark zuckerberg is speaking out, issuing a statement on her allegations against the social media giant. zuckerberg argues that the company is being mischaracterized, denies that facebook prioritizes profits over the safety of its users, saying in part, quote, the argument that we deliberately push content that makes people angry for profit is deeply illogical. joining me now is roger mcnamee, the co-founder of evaluation partners and an early investor in facebook. roger was once an adviser to mark zuckerberg. it's good to see you, sir. he's also the author of the book, "zucked: waking up to the facebook catastrophe." good to see you. one of the most startling moments from yesterday's testimony is haugen saying that facebook knows about the impact that their platform is having on kids, but don't do anything about it. listen to it. >> and so that facebook's own research is aware that children express feelings of loneliness and struggling with these things, because they can't even get support from their own parents. i don't no understand how facebook can know all of these things and not escalate it to someone like congress for help and support navigating these problems. >> all the parents wondering if facebook has knowingly targeted our children. what do you say? >> of course they have. jose, the original design of instagram, which was the first photo-sharing app on the iphone, was to put filters in it to make people look better. the camera wasn't that great, so the filters made people look fantastic. and the culture that developed on instagram from the very first day was a culture of envy and that created a great economic cycle, because if you're envious of someone, that creates influencers, influencers then sells you products. that made the whole thing work. that has been there from the opening day. the notion that they did not know that, the notion that any of this is a surprise is laughable. and keep in mind, jose, one of the biggest problems we have here is that in america, we tell ceos of public corporations, your only job is to maximize shareholder value. and the problem is just like the old excuse, i was just following orders. shareholder value is something that essentially absolving you of responsibility for anything you do, no matter how bad. and so you get into the situation, which facebook got into, where in pursuit of profits, they were pursuing things that harmed the public. and that is the business model. and it's not just true of instagram. it's true in the mother product of facebook, and you see this in a lot of other products out there in the marketplace that are not owned by facebook. >> so roger, following these revelations, a bipartisan group of senators say they support issuing subpoenas to get full access that haugen referenced in her testimony. could this lead to more testimony to change or clean up -- if that's the lite motif of these apps, right, to influence and get people kind of hooked into them, is there anything that facebook could do to change. >> to be clear, there are lots of things they could do to change. but all of those things would make the company much less profitable. i'm disappointed that the senate is asking for more research data. they already have more than enough. they already understand that there are three basic categories of regulation that are required here. we need to have safety, privacy, and trust. think about things like artificial intelligence, smart devices, and facial recognition. we need to have something that looks like an fda that approves technology companies every year, to make sure that their products are safe, and have huge liability if they're not. secondly, on safety, the issue that's going on with kidse, that's going on with adults is companies like facebook and like google and companies throughout the economy are tracking us and surveying us relentlessly, and they create recommendation engines that allow them to manipulate our behavior. that is such an un-american thing. the professor at harvard likens this to child labor. she said, we ban child labor because it was immoral. and lastly, antitrust. millions of small businesses lost access to their customers. that is a regulatory failure because of monopoly. and all of these things need to be fixed by the senate. we know more than enough. there's no excuse for delay. and frances haugen really did us a favor by eliminating the last excuse. >> interesting. and some of these companies like google are willing to do whatever the chinese government tells it it has to do. in cuba, they are completely complicit with the regime there on what they can and cannot offer. it seems as though depending where they are, these companies are willing to sacrifice some principles. >> it's a great honor to be on your show. i am so excited that you have your own show. i've always been a fan of your work and thanks for letting me be part of it. >> it's my honor. thank you, roger, to be with us. still ahead, thousands of migrants in colombia hoping to make it to the u.s. we're on the ground with their stories. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" live on msnbc. watching "jose diaz-balart reports" live on msnbc. limu, you're an animal! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ i am robert strickler. i've been involved in communications in the media for 45 years. i've been taking prevagen on a regular basis for at least eight years. for me, the greatest benefit over the years has been that prevagen seems to help me recall things and also think more clearly. and i enthusiastically recommend prevagen. it has helped me an awful lot. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. fine, no one leaves the table until your finished. fine, we'll sleep here. ♪♪ it's the easiest because it's the cheesiest. kraft. for the win win. you booked a cozy vrbo mountain cabin. with a kitchen where everyone can chef. 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>> gabe gutierrez in colombia, thank you very much for that report. appreciate it. it's now 7:30 on the west coast where that massive oil spill, 126,000 gallons spanning 13 square miles has spurred renewed calls to stop offshore drilling entirely. the department of transportation was saying that the spill was likely caused by an anchor that hooked the pipeline, causing a partial terror. nbc news correspondent steve patterson has details on that and more. what's the latest? good morning. >> good morning to you, sir. there are now questions about the timeline. reports that the operators of that pipeline did not shut it down for more than three hours after an alarm alerted them to a possible breach. the timeline shows that the company was alerted to a low pressure alarm dhated a possible failure at 2:30 saturday morning. three hours later, the pipeline was shut down, according to that report. and three hours following fall, the leak was reported to the national response center. orange county, of course, remains in a state of emergency after tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil were dumped into the ocean. authorities think they've identified a 13-inch split as the source, but not the cause. cleanup, of course, continues. but there are signs that the spill's catastrophic consequences are now washing up onshore. all of this, of course, leading experts and lawmakers to question our reliance on fossil fuels and offshore drilling. jose? >> steve, in other news, there was a shoot-out on a freeway there yesterday. what happened? >> yeah, hoe say, details on the shooting are slim, but what we do know is a man suspected of killing a family member in and wounding two others over the weekend in a triple shooting was shot and killed by police on the side of a california freeway yesterday morning. it happened on the busiest westbound 105, the california highway patrol did issue a brief statement, saying that there was a 35-year-old man wanted for homicide and he had a gun in his hand, as officers approached. they wouldn't elaborate on how many officers opened fire or what led to the incident, but obviously, that incident still under investigation. jose? >> steve patterson, this morning, in los angeles. appreciate your time, steve. thanks. >> thanks. still ahead, we'll go back to two cities that were overwhelmed with covid cases just weeks ago. have they turned the corner yet? you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. or psoriatic arthritis, are rethinking the choices they make like the splash they create the way they exaggerate the surprises they initiate. otezla. it's a choice you can make. otezla is not an injection or a cream it's a pill that treats differently. for psoriasis, 75% clearer skin is achievable, with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. for psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. 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. tonight, i'll be eating lobster ravioli with shaved truffles. yes! you look amazing! no, you look amazing! thank you! thank you! thank you! thank you! thank you! thank you! haha, you're welcome. 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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>> that's still the case. i know we're applauding going down on the number of cases. but the same thing happened last year, and we feel several beaks of cases. people tend to drop their guard. people say, thirnsd control. no big deal. i'm going to go to big pass gatherings, not wear masks. i'm not even going to get the vaccine. why do i need it if things are getting better? >> what is your life like now at the hospital? >> i mean, we continue to have daily admissions. the number of admissions is much less. last 24 hours, i only admitted three patients to my intensive care unit, which, you know, two, three weeks ago, i was getting 10 to 15 patients a day admitted to our intensive care unit. at the present time, i have an occupancy of 50 to 60%, which is nothing compared to the 110% chi had in august. >> doctor, when i was with you just this last week, it's pretty extraordinary, you also in your private practice treat people who don't have access to health care, who don't have the money to go to health care or who fear going into a hospital for a number of reasons. you do that for free. what is it that we can do to reach out to the people who don't have the privilege of health care? how do we help them? >> well, i mean, education. i think that that's the most important part. if you can educate people that have no access to health care and explain to them that, you know, the basic principles of getting vaccinated, avoiding large mass gatherings, the proper use of masks in such places, i think that that would help us decrease the number of instances where these individuals need to come to the hospital with one foot on the grave. >> and i know that your theory and your plan of attack against covid is throw everything at covid. boosters, for example. is that something that you think that we should all be looking to get, not just the people that are over 65 and that have some health issues? >> there is no question that over the years, we have learned that vaccines require boosters. you get a booster for your tetanus shot, you get a booster for your diphtheria shot, it so makes sense in this vaccine, that we're going to require boosters. and we know that as time progresses, the number of antibodies that you have in your system, i am a strong believer that we will be requiring boosters. and what's going to happen within the next year or two, we're going to have a vaccine that every year you'll be getting, just like you get the flu vaccine, depending on the virus that is more prevalent at this time. >> can this war be won throughout covid? >> throughout the history of mankind, we have been able to win every pest, every plague,ing over. how fast we do it depends on us. we are the determinants of what's going to happen. it's not the virus. people think it's the virus and the mutations, that's not true. it's us. it's how we approach this problem. just like you and me discussed the other day, you know, we need to have a homogenius message, it's the same among everybody. >> dr. varon, thank you for your time. new sexual abuse allegations rocking the catholic church. the ew revelations, next. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." ions, next you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports. our past for power, we can harness the energy of the tiny electron. we can create new ways to connect. rethinking how we communicate to be more inclusive than ever. with app, cloud and anywhere workspace solutions, vmware helps companies navigate change. faster. vmware. welcome change. bipolar depression. it made me feel like i was trapped in a fog. this is art inspired by real stories of people living with bipolar depression. i just couldn't find my way out of it. the lows of bipolar depression can take you to a dark place... ...and be hard to manage. latuda could make a real difference in your symptoms. latuda was proven to significantly reduce bipolar depression symptoms and in clinical studies, had no substantial impact on weight. this is where i want to be. latuda is not for everyone. call your doctor about unusual mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. elderly dementia patients on latuda have an increased risk of death or stroke. call your doctor about fever, stiff muscles, and confusion, as these may be life threatening... ...or uncontrollable muscle movements, as these may be permanent. these are not all the serious side effects. now i'm back where i belong. ask your doctor about latuda and pay as little as $0 for your first prescription. ♪upbeat music♪ transitions™ light under control. ♪upbeat music♪ transitions™ signature gen 8™ available now, in 4 vibrant style colors. transitions™ ♪ available now, in 4 vibrant style colors. ♪ ♪ downy's been taking you back, since way back. with freshness and softness you never forget. feel the difference with downy. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ just two pills for all day pain relief. aleve it, and see what's possible. shocking report out of france estimates that members of the country's catholic clergy sexually abused more than 200,000 children over the past 70 years. the church showed, quote, deep, total, and even cruel indifference for years, reporting to the head of the commission that compiled the report. also, the children were young boys between the ages of 10 and 13. joining me now with more is nbc news's ali arouzi. ali, this is just horrendous. >> reporter: good morning, jose. it is absolutely horrendous. and this is just the latest scandal to rock the roman catholic church. it's a shocking and devastating of impending inquiry that's found that members of the french catholic clergy have sexually abused some 16,000 children since 1960. that number of rising to a staggering 330,000 children when abuse by lay members of the church is included. the inquiry found that an astonishing number of children were subject to sexual violence by priests and clergy while crimes were covered up in a systemic way by a deliberate veil of silence in the church. the french church has expressed shame and horror over the findings and has asked for forgiveness. >> oof. ali, we're also monitoring news out of france on that rift with the u.s. over arms deals. what's the anyone-old alliance under a lot of strain as the french president is still clearly livid after an australia scrap. a multibillion dollar deal for french saying we'll pursue u.s. nuclear versions instead. president macron called the secret talks between the u.s. and australia a stab in the back. he says he's still not sure that joe biden gets it or that america and france's long-standing friendship is back on track. look, macron was so annoyed that he recalled the french ambassador from washington and refused to take biden's calls for days after that surprise announcement. and he said he would judge the state of u.s./french relations based on biden's actions and not his words. >> expanding more globally, there are international calls for a fast-track vaccine for malaria. where do we stand on that? >> reporter: that's right. well, malaria is one of the planet's oldest diseases, and a professor at oxford university who is on a team that have developed a vaccine with a very high efficacy rate against ma lara is saying that the disease should be treated with the same urgency as covid and is calling for a fast-track vaccination. a professor points out the death from covid is as bad as death from malaria and, therefore, should be treated equally by regulators. i mean, roughly 400,000 people die of malaria every year in sub-saharan africa. to put that in context, last year four times as many people died of malaria in sub-saharan africa than of covid. >> thank you very much. i appreciate it. >> there's been a mass defection of players on cuba's national baseball team after a wave of protests for freedom that landed hundreds in jail. we'll talk to a human rights activist in the high land next. t cough cough sneeze sneeze... 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[ inaudible ] >> we're having coincidentally, a problem being able to hear you very well because you're using the internet there. i just want to ask you, what is it that -- how can people ask for change, ask for freedom, as you say, when you have a government that controls everything from the media to the economy, to the internet? >> well, i think the -- it's a complex situation. cuba is a difficult country to leave because our regime, as you said, has a control on everything -- [ indiscernible ] >> yeah, well -- i want to thank you. thank you for the strength of being on with me this morning. we're having difficulty accessing your words via the internet there. it is what it is. i thank you for being with us this morning. that wraps up the hour for me. you can reach me on twitter and instagram. be sure to follow the show. thank you for the privilege of your team. craig melvin picks up with more news right now. >> and a good wednesday morning to you. craig melvin live from msnbc world head quarters in new york city. as we come on the air, congress is locked in a race against team to prevent economic ruin. today the senate is set to hold yet another vote to raise the debt ceiling, but all signs point to that vote failing. senate republicans have