sounding the alarm. so far at least ten countries have banned travel from south africa and surrounding nations. the w.h.o. announced it's holding an emergency meeting today on this new variant. earlier, dr. fauci said the u.s. is set to meet with south african scientists this morning to learn more about what this means. it all comes as here in the u.s. we're seeing another surge in new cases over this holiday weekend. at least 31 states are seeing a rise in new infections. in places like pennsylvania officials are seeing over 6,000 new cases a day. nbc is in montgomery county, pennsylvania, one of the highest daily covid case rates. and from rome, italy, one of the countries that just banned travel to south africa. gary, what's the latest going on there on the ground? >> reporter: hey there, jose. yeah, it's really a one-stop shop here. we've got a vaccination center back here. we've got a testing center right up here in montgomery county. real one-stop shop on this black friday. there's a lot of conversation early on in the pandemic about the idea of getting the resources out into the community where it is needed. this is a perfect example of that. this is a former petco supply store was turned into a covid testing site. it's a good thing this is here because across pennsylvania, as you mentioned, there are 6,000 new cases of coronavirus every single day. it's a 60% spike from what we saw just two weeks ago. and here in montgomery county specifically, we're seeing about 200 cases every single day mostly from the 40% of the county that has yet to be vaccinated. but people are gathering, they're gathering with their friends, getting out with their family. they're here shopping on this black friday. here's what some folks i talked to had to say -- >> i feel like we haven't really been able to spend a lot of time with family because of covid and people with health conditions. it's so nice to actually comfortably be able to spend time with family because of the vaccine and everything. >> it feels a little bit normal. you know, we've still got the masks, still precautionary especially when it comes to seniors. so that was still like the same. but other than that, it was just nice to be with family. >> reporter: now i should note, jose, any of the gatherings that happened last night, any of the effects from those gatherings won't be seen on covid test until monday or tuesday at the earlier. jose? >> gary, thanks. now to italy. italy was hard hit by coronavirus early on in this pandemic. what is the situation there now? what are you hearing there about this new variant? >> reporter: hey, jose. well, the scientists are still studying the new variant, and it will probably take weeks until they have a full assessment. what they know so far is of great concern. yesterday a scientist from the department of health of south africa said that the spike protein of the new variants in south africa has a constellation, is the word, of mutations. to give you -- more than 30, as a matter of fact. in comparison that's a lot more mutations than the delta variant which until now has been, of course, the most contagion and dangerous. the one that everyone was worrying about. if that is confirmed, then the new variant that's coming to south africa will become the -- certainly the most transmissible, the most dangerous to the point that as you mentioned several countries across the world, talking about italy today and then britain, france, israel, you name it, there are several others have already banned flights from not only south africa but several other countries in africa where the virus, the new variant has spread already. now the w.h.o. today, as you mentioned, was meeting in geneva as a crisis meeting over this new variant, and they warned countries not to take hasty and early decisions on travel restrictions until the variant is studied in full. the problem is that it will take weeks for scientists to get a full assessment of this variant, and countries like italy, as you said, is being really badly hit in the past -- they're not taking any chances. today the health minister here has said that while the scientist are studying the new variant, the country here, italy, is proceeding with maximum caution. so all the flights from there are for now banned while the scientists are studying this new variant. jose? >> thank you very much for being with me. i want to turn now to dr. joseph varon, the chief of critical care at united memorial medical center in texas. dr. varon, it's a pleasure to see you. let's talk about this new variant. how concerned are you? >> as we have discussed before, we've been concerned about 3,900 variants of interest. this one is particularly concerning because as it was already mentioned, you know, that spike protein that this particular virus has has more than 30 mutations. what that means is that it may not be affected by the vaccine, and that's a serious concern. what we don't know is how aggressive it's going to be. south africa had 77 cases, botswana had 4 cases, and hong kong had 1 case of somebody that had traveled from south africa to hong kong. we don't know the extent, how severe is this going to be. we just cannot drop our guard, like we've said before. these variants are going to continue to appear year after year. we're going to have to tweak the vaccine to be able to cover for such variants. >> so doctor, let's talk about the actual repercussions on all of us, right. so this is something that's coming up -- the delta variant clearly had a huge impact on the united states and really throughout the world. there have been other variants that have not had that same, you know, mortality and even how people were getting it across the united states and the world. what is it that we could or should be doing to prepare to in inoculate, to protect ourselves from this or any other variant that may be coming down the pike in the future? >> the same thing that we've been talking about for months. so, one, don't drop your guard, continue to have social distancing, use your masks. i mean, simple little things. vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate. i mean, that's extremely important. the more people that are vaccinated, the better off you are. you know that, for example, south africa has only 24% of vaccinated people. so they are going to get in trouble. >> talk to me about what you're seeing at your hospital and your clinic. >> well, you know, every time i say this, you know, we just keep on getting worse. it's like last night i admitted a 95-year-old woman unvaccinated, refused to get vaccinated, with bad covid. 95 years of age. but a couple of days ago, i admitted an 18-year-old and a 19-year-old. so we still are seeing patients -- it had dropped for a few weeks, but the last two to three weeks have been going up. and unfortunately i suspect that the next few weeks we're going to have another small spike in cases. >> doctor, you serve the underserved, and our community sometimes just doesn't have access to health care. what are the biggest challenges you see for our communities as this variant and this disease continues to ravage our communities? >> the most important one is misinformation. and we've talked about this. you know, there is no more -- everybody is an expert on covid, and our communities, our minorities, they are getting information that is completely erroneous. so they're taking their own decisions to save like that. those are the things that need to be addressed. i mean, educational programs that tell you why you should do a, b, or c including vaccination, things that are extremely important. and yet, we're not doing that. >> so doctor, final question -- and just a statement -- talk to our communities. what do you need -- what do you need to tell us all? >> well, number one, covid is still here. it's not going anywhere. we're going to have it for a longer period of time. however, it's in our hands to be able to control this pandemic. the only way to do it is to not drop your guard. it's time to continue to use your mask, keep your social distancing, and vaccinate. vaccination seems to be the one way by which we can actually control this pandemic at this point in time. and make no mistake, there will be many more variants that are going to come in the months to follow. so this is not over. >> dr. varon, i tell you this and i tell you once if i tell you 1,000 times, i know how hard you work for our communities and many times at your own expense in many ways. so on this day after thanksgiving, i just want to say gracias, thank you for what you do for all of us. >> thank you so much. up next, what you need to know this black friday as supply chain issues spark new concerns over what might or might not be on the shelves today. and how much inflation could have an impact on your wallet. plus, the laundry list of deadlines and to-do items looming over president biden and congress. we're live in nantucket where the president is spending his holidays. you're watching "msnbc reports." 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dealdash.com today and see how much you can save. there are auctions going on right now. so, what are you waiting for? 15 past the hour. and we're following the markets ahead of an early close on wall street today as the tumble continues there. there's a new survey from the accounting firm kpmg finding nearly one in every three consumers will do some form of black friday shopping, putting the pressure on retailers and manufacturers to make sure the goods are on the shelves. nbc's allison barber is in atlanta. good morning. there's been a much bigger focus on prices this year, so people really want to take advantage of deals where they can. what are you seeing? >> reporter: yeah, you know, a lot of people have told us that they didn't always shop in person on black friday, but they were worried, nervous about possible shipping delays because of supply chain issues, so they opted to shop in person this year instead of doing most of their shopping on line. other people who say they always shop in person say they're glad to finally be back doing it in person after taking last year off. they're looking for deals. some people say they are having trouble finding them or they're not as big as they normally expected. they said they do feel like things are more expensive this year, but they feel like shopping in person is a way to sort of avoid hopefully some of the issues they keep hearing about as it relates to supply chain issues and delay or at least have choices to consider other options by shopping in person. speaking with the general manager of this mall, they are expected to have a really big holiday season and think the supply chain issues are actually going to benefit brick-and-mortar stores. listen. >> if you shop in the mall, you've got the product right there. you can touch it. you can feel it. you can make sure it's the correct size. you don't have to worry about sending it back. when you're ordering on line, now you have that risk of will it get to me in time. you've also got the risk of is it going to come to my doorstep or someone else's. so you don't have those issues here. >> reporter: this santa visit, santa photos is a barometer for how many people are headed into the mall and shopping during the season. santa has been here a little over a week, and they tell us the first week the santa photo sales are higher than they were the first week santa was here back in 2019. so jose, people are coming, and they are shopping in person this year. this mall, it is packed. we got here before 7:00 a.m., there were lines outside, people waiting in the dark, in the cold to get inside and try and shop. jose? >> so were you able to get your photo with santa early, or was the line too big all day? >> reporter: that is happening -- that is happening right after this hit. >> i need that picture. thank you so much. good to see you from atlanta. let's talk more about the economy and the white house with nbc's josh letterman and npr correspondent david gura, dear and admired friends both to me. david, the markets are getting crushed today on covid fears, but for consumers right now they're trying to find a way to get through their shopping list with a factor of inflation that your latest poll shows is a top concern. >> yeah, absolutely, jose. it's great to speak with you, as well, a belated happy thanksgiving to you and your viewers, as well. >> likewise. >> this is a concern for a lot of people. we heard ellison saying the reason people are giving for going to malls, the expectation that the goods they want are going to be there. indeed, over last week or two, we've gotten earnings reports from the retailers, walmart and target and the like, and they're very confident, they've had a very good quarter. there have been a lot of sales, and they're putting a rosy sheen on how things will be going into the holidays. they're saying they expect that demand to continue. there is an eagerness among americans to get out and shop ahead of the holidays, and they say that they've put preparations in place to make sure that goods are on the shelves, whether in the retail outlets where ellison is or in the warehouses so if you order on line you can get them. i was struck by something she said that's crucial here. the deals aren't as good as they have been in the past. i think that that is the companies' reckoning, that all of us are reckoning with, things are more expensive, harder to get. companies are trying to make sure they're on the shelves, they're having trouble, as well. they're doing all they can, but they're having difficulties, too. >> i mean, there's so many reasons. it's not like it's just one reason that is causing the difficulty in getting, you know, these shelves stocked. i mean, there's so many. but josh, the white house knows that the priorities are always and will always be the economy and also, of course, defeating covid. it seems as though both of these issues will be a challenge in the next couple of weeks. >> absolutely. and they know that those two issues, the economy and covid, are completely intertwined which is why there has been some optimism from the white house that as they get these vaccines out to more and more folks, as they get the boosters approved for a larger segment of the population that people would be more comfortable going out and spending their money. and that that would help to address some of the economic concerns. one of the challenges that the white house has seen so far is that by and large folks are spending their money on products but not necessarily on services, as much. they're still being a little more hesitant when it comes to going out, for example, and booking plane tickets and booking travel. there have been effects on the economy from that, as well. they also know that while there are very good points in the economy that they can point to, they aren't the things that affect everyone universally. so while unemployment is down really dramatically, you know, if you're not someone who's been dealing with unemployment, that's not necessarily something that affects you. gas prices, for example, affects a large segment of the population, but if you use the train or the subway to get to work, maybe that's not something that's hitting your pocketbook. whereas inflation, this is something that pretty much all americans who go out and buy things are experiencing. that's why it's so critical for the white house to try to address this head on to make sure that people feel confident heading into the holidays that as much action as possible is being taken. now we've heard from the white house that they have been staying in very close touch with the major retailers, with walmart, with amazon, the other folks that people are going to be relying on as they go about their holiday shopping in places like where ellison, we saw a moment ago. and they feel confident at this point given the work that they've done on the supply chain issues that while it's not going to be without hiccups, they don't think the store shelves are going to be empty, this isn't going to be a situation like we had at the beginning of covid where folks were scrambling to find basic necessity like toilet paper. there's confidence that things are in shape for people to have a successful holiday season economically. but so far the public sentiment has not caught up with that. that's one of the reasons you're still seeing that half the country is blaming president biden for that, and that's a real concern for the white house politically as well as they head into next year. >> josh and david, it's great to see you both. thank you for being with me. coming up, a look at the first thanksgiving for many afghan refugees who fled their war-torn country over the summer. and how they're adjusting to their new life here in the united states. you're watching "msnbc reports." align. fast acting biotic gummies helps soothes occasional abdominal discomfort, gas, and 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of afghanistan, outside of the dangers of afghanistan. that's the sweet part. the bitter part is the fact that they've lost their home. they've lost everything they've known. they've left family behind. they worry about the family. they want to bring them here, as well. and they have to adjust to a new life, it's not easy. i speak of experience. my parents were refugees. they came here when i was a baby. and i will tell you that thanksgiving is going to be a very important holiday for them because it's the one holiday that they can connect to with most americans. many of these afghans will connect to their own religious groups, their own cultural groups. this is a way to connect with all americans. and it's going to be an important holiday for many years to come, and this was their first taste of it. it's a good day to remember to be grateful throughout the sadness of loss. >> yeah. i mean, thousands are still in military bases. what challenges do they face in resettlement? >> the big challenge that they face is where to go. many afghans really want to go to california. there's a big, large afghan american community already in the bay area, in virginia the d.c. area, in texas. but they're going to have a hard time finding work there. so they're being convinced that they should try other states, as well, where housing is better, where they can find work, and there's a lot of labor that's needed across the country. but they're also scared of being welcomed. where are they going to be welcomed. they feel like they'll be better welcomed in communities that are more diverse. the afghans know that there are people who are not happy about their arrival in america, and they're afraid of the backlash that might come. but luckily there are communities that have organizations that are trying to welcome them. know that there's a community in blacksburg, virginia, a small college town in southwest virginia, who have already welcomed some afghan women, and they're trying to blend them into the community there, to help them feel america, know what it's like, get them jobs, help get them an education. but it's a hard step to take when you know that you're going to be faced with some people who are not going to be happy that you're there. >> and even through the injury of losing one's country, they have the opportunity in the future to live a better life. i'm just thinking of the millions that are in afghanistan, women, children who have very little to look forward to in their future. >> you know, i talked to some of these women, these families, and these men continuously, still stuck in afghanistan, and they're terrified. they're terrified of the dangers, yes, but they're also terrified of the looming humanitarian crisis. some of the people that i talked to were lucky enough to have some money left to buy food, but a lot of their money's still frozen in the banks. there are those afghans who were living, you know, not even pay paycheck, just cash to cash, hoping people would give money for small labor work. they're not even getting that anymore. the majority of afghanistan is, you know, rural villages, and once the snow starts falling some districts and villages people won't be able to reach for another six to seven months, meaning if the food doesn't get there now, unfortunately we're going to see a lot of people dying in these villages and districts. >> i mean, if people could be dying of starvation shortly -- is there something that we could or should be doing to help and to mitigate that from happening? >> we need to talk to the administration, we need to talk to our government officials. we need to talk about working with humanitarian groups to get that aid and to unfreeze some of these assets, to get food to these afghans. they are literally emaciated. we saw this package from richard engle just a couple of weeks ago of children dying of starvation, just couldn't even get milk, formula, in a city. if this is happening in a city, what's happening in the villages? and afghanistan's already been a poor country, despite 20 years of war and international involvement, yes, that was the primary gdp for 20 years, and now all of that is frozen. there are aid organizations who say they can help but they need america and the international community to help them be able to bring those finances, bring that food in to aid these dying people. >> atia, i thank you so much for being on with me. and i think it's -- we must continue to shed light on this. it's a reality that we really need to focus on. thank you for being with me. >> thank you, jose, for keeping the story alive. up next, it could be a long december, but the biden white house says there's reason to believe they can get the president's agenda through congress. we'll ask democrat congressmen if they're right. y're right want your clothes to smell freshly washed all day without heavy perfumes? now they can! with downy light in-wash freshness boosters. just pour a capful of 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bill across the finish line. "politico" congressal reporter olivia beavers joins me now. great seeing you. let's start with the government funding. do you expect a comprehensive solution, or are they going to punt on this again? >> jose, it looks like it's going to be messy from what we can see right now. but it's hard to tell just at this minute when they're about to come back and start figuring it out. we had the december 3rd deadline, we know democrats are looking at a stopgap funding bill to potentially push it closer to the holidays which would allow them to basically kind of twist the arms of some republican senators to see if they can get them on board. we know that some democrats are hoping that republican senators who are retiring after the end of their term might come over and help them. it's really hard to tell right now. and there is another school of thought which is some democrats want to push this temporary funding extension into february or march. so if they do that, then this punts again the push to have a large social -- sorry -- a sweeping government funding bill going forward. >> yeah, and let's talk about that. on the social spending bill, it finally cleared the house, but senator manchin isn't 100% on board right now, right? how does chuck schumer get him to go along with this? >> well, there's two sides that we want to be watching. you named manchin, sinema, they are the moderates who tend to hold out. they're not as thrilled that the framework we're seeing that passed the house doesn't match with what the white house put out. then you have bernie sanders saying that he wants to strengthen secretary of areas like expand -- several areas like expanding taxes and climate change provisions. how do the sides come together, that is going to be taking a lot of work from chuck schumer. with all these other deadlines on the table, he's going to have a really heavy load. it's going to be getting concessions from both sides, and we're going to see if that is going to also work when they change the bill in the house. for the house members. >> yeah. let's see and how quickly that is done. olivia beavers, great seeing you. thank you for being with me this morning. joining me is democratic california congressman lou correa. it's a pleasure to see you. how are you? >> same you to, jose. good morning. happy thanksgiving. >> good morning. likewise to you and yours. congressman, your caucus pushed the "build back better" bill to the senate. how concerned are you that programs you and many of your colleagues see as critical might be stripped out? >> well, let me say first of all, senator manchin, senator sinema, you're not going to get them to go along in doing what they don't want to do. the goal here is to make sure that they understand what we have in this "build back better" package is good for them, it's good for their states, and it's good for america. that's the way you come up with the win-win situation. >> right. and i mean, but they have looked at it, they've already been kind of more clear i think on, you know, some have been more clear, manchin's been more clear as far as telling the public through the press what he agrees and disagrees with. you know, senator sinema is more i guess behind the scenes telling people what she is willing or not willing to agree to. so is there you think a way that this big bill could actually get the approval of sinema and manchin? >> my opinion, absolutely there's a way to get there. i've seen some sunshine there, some indicators that they're willing to go along, maybe the level that we're at right now in terms of this investment in human capital, isn't something that we're happy with. i think we can get there. remember, we passed the infrastructure bill, $1.1 trillion, about building bridges and highways. this is about human capital. it's about making sure that when we go up against china, against europe, this economic battle that we have in front of us, it's about having the best trained human beings, best trained americans. we provide college scholarships, so people in senator manchin's area, in arizona for senator sinema, those people can afford to go to school. and of course universal pre-k. so those folks in every state of the union have the ability to send their children to a pre-k. get them started in the right track. this is not a sprint. this is a long-term economic competition. we will have with the rest of the world. i think if you look at it from that perspective, these senators should be able to get on board and come up with a win-win solution. >> and congressman, let's talk a little about immigration. i know that you've been very insistent and consistent on this issue. it's being sent to the senate with some provisions for people to have access to temporary work permit to be able to regularize their immigration status, not comprehensive immigration reform. is there any chance that this will be affected by the senate? >> jose, remember, this is not about immigrants. this is about america, keeping america strong. we need immigration. we need that immigrant work force. and remember, back in 2013, it was senator mccain from arizona that led the charge to come up with comprehensive immigration reform with a supermajority of senators, democrats and republicans, voting for immigration reform. so in many ways back in 2013, they did the best job, even better than the house when it came to immigration reform. and that's why myself and 91 other members of the house wrote a letter to the senate leadership saying come up with good, common sense immigration reform in the senate, the way you've done it before. the senate's good -- they can do this. >> but in that -- yeah, i mean, but congressman, and you know this, in 2013 it was a gang of eight, four republicans, four democrats. they put forth a very comprehensive plan which included, yes, regularization for up to 11 million or 12 million people who have been in this country contributing to the economy for decades, many of them. but also strong provisions on the border, et cetera. why is it that we can't see that kind of thing, a bipartisan effort by legislators to legislate issues of critical importance for, as you say, all americans? >> jose, we need that kind of senate leadership. we don't have a senator john mccain, a republican that's stepping up saying this is what makes sense for america. when it comes to border security, my belief is border security starts with economic security in the americas, and nobody's really looking at that issue right now. what we see on television is what, refugees, economic refugees, covid-19 refugees. instead of sitting down and figuring out a marshall plan, something that works for our own back yard, we're not looking at it that way. we are looking at pictures on tv and thinking immigration can be another political issue in 2022. we have to pull back and do what's right for america. and that, jose, takes real leaders in the senate as well as the house. >> lou correa, i'm always grateful to have you on. i'm appreciative of your voice. i thank you for your time. >> thank you very much, jose. coming up, an update from mexico as thousands march protesting the growing violence against women there. plus, a new route for cubans trying to reach the u.s. southern border via a very troubled country. from troubled country and regime in cuba to another country with a troubled regime. you're watching "msnbc reports." when our daughter and her kids moved in with us... our bargain detergent couldn't keep up. turns out it's mostly water. so, we switched back to tide. one wash, stains are gone. 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>> it's the best way, i think, to define it. the cuban government is currently at its worst point of political legitimacy in the country, and they traditionally, when they have found themselves in similar circumstances, they have released tens of thousands of cubansen out of the island, most of them to the united states, with the purpose of exporting discontent. exporting disdense. and this has all the signals, all the signs there is another one of those pressure valve releases. >> so it's important to kind of sit back and think. so they are using people as pawns, as ways of dealing and maybe buying more time for their own regime. now, it's important that nicaragua is saying they're going to be allowing cubans to come in without a visa, but in cuba, if you're a cuban, you're not allowed out of your country without permission in yur own government. is the regime there going to facilitate people leaving caw baa? >> no question about it. since 2013 the cuban government reformed its own laws and allows most, not all, most cubans who have a known, let's say problems with the authorities, to leave the country without any complications. actually, thousands of cubans continue to leave the country to the most distant countries in the world. for example, they go to russia. from russia they go to greece, and then once in greece, they move through the european union in order to reach spain and to fly to the united states. or they go and walk all the way to the border with mexico. this will clog the track significantly, and the cuban government will without any questions, will allow many cubans to get those pass ports. because they need to release the valve. >> so there's a tragic joke in cuba. they ask a young kid, what do you want to be when you grow up. they say a tourist so i can get out of here. the fact is that there's a possibility that we could see tens of thousands, who knows how many, people leave their island, go to nicaragua and come to the united states border. are we as the united states, aware of this possibility? i mean, this is something that could be happening 22nd of november is when this opens up. >> i hope the administration is very much aware of the potential crisis that this could develop at the border which is already in turmoil. and even more important than that is to allow the cuban government to once again escape the pressure that is coming from the cuban society for change within the island which is the most important development that we have seen in the last two or three years in cuba. if we allow this to take place, not only will we have a growing problem in the southern border, but we will have, again, a cuban regime firmly in control of the situation in cuba, and it will only kick the can down the road for another crisis in cuba. and with cuban immigrants. >> yeah. and, again, the people that suffer are the cubans. you know? the government dictaing when and how its citizens can leave. thank you for being with me. it's a pleasure to see you. >> thank you very much. like so many employers, santa is struggling to hire helpers this year. really? 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