there is still a lot to learn about omicron, and we will be transparent and share the updated science with you as soon as it becomes available. >> with all the attention on omicron, the more immediate covid health emergency now continues to be the delta variant, as cases and delta-related deaths rise across the country, with winter just weeks off. the november jobs report released this morning fell for a short of expectations, with just 210,000 jobs added. that's well below the estimated nearly 500,000 that economists had expected. and congress cleared one major hurdle with a vote last night to avoid a partial government shutdown today, punting that possibility to at least mid-february. but they still face big hurdles. and for little time before christmas to get it all done in the 50/50 senate. starting with raising the debt ceiling, passing the defense spending bill, despite opposition there from marco rubio, and reshaping the president's massive social spending bill to try to secure joe manchin's vote. but let's begin with the omicron variant, and dr. kavita patel, former policy director in the obama administration. msnbc's lindsey reiser in manhattan and ellison barber outside of abbott labs in illinois. let's start with things where they stand right now. there's still so much we don't know about this variant. we're expecting i guess in about a week, maybe more than a week to have some real data. but what is your message to patients, about this variant, how dangerous it is? exactly. >> yeah, no, no, no. andrea, the message is exactly ma you led with. we've got surges in the northeast and midwest of delta and coronavirus period right now, so getting vaccinated is the highest priority, along with boosters. we're starting to hear even in d.c. where i am, people can't get the booster appoints that they want. be patient, we have plenty of supply. you might not be able to go to the pharmacy right by your house and you might have to wait a day or two, but we have plenty of supply. get boosted. and if you have children or hesitancy or concerns, talk about getting your children vaccinated. and that thing we do know that's becoming a bit more of an interesting data point that we knew also from delta, though, andrea, was that natural infection or natural immunity, which i think has become a bit of a political cudgel, natural immunity, it looks like even with omicron is not enough to protect you. so that's all very preliminary. it reinforces some of the things we know about coronavirus. but at the very most, immunizations and avoiding congested crowds, that's the most important thing. it's here. we've seen community spread, hawaii to new york. we'll learn more about how to interpret those cases. but it's good that the vaccinated ones that we've seen have been mild so far. we'll have to wait to see if they continue to stay that way. >> yet one more state as you were speaking, dr. patel. lindsay, you were at the javits center. that had been a mobile health center at the height of the pandemic. now it's where some positive individuals attended an anime convention with thousands of people and city officials are trying to get those people tested, because that's where the michigan individual apparently had just been in new york. >> reporter: right, andrea. so this anmy convention was here at the javits center from november 19th to 129. about 50,000 people were here, including that minnesota man who traveled and was symptomatic when he returned home. he was fully vaccinated, had a mild case. he has since recovered. but right now the governor says they have a list of everybody who was in attendance. they're working on contact tracing. they're encouraging everybody who was here to get tested. and now we have five confirmed cases of the omicron variant in new york state with more expected to come. we have a 67-year-old female in suffolk county, long island. she traveled to south africa and became symptomatic when she came back. she experienced some mild symptoms, headache and a cough. she has some vaccination history. we don't know if she was fully vaccinated or boosted. we have two cases out of queens and one in brooklyn. their vaccination statuses are unknown. and we have a fifth case in one of the boroughs in which that person is suspected to have traveled as well. so right now, state and city officials say they are working on stepping up sequencing of some of the positive cases that they have. but they also say right now, it's not cause for alarm. there won't be any knee-jerk reactions like of shutting down of schools or the economy, an drea. >> and lindsey, i misspoke a few moments ago, i was thinking about that michigan case that we were going to go to the news conference about. it was minnesota where the man had attended that convention. so this new variant putting a whole new emphasis on the need for covid tests. you're at abbott labs where they say that testing for omicron is possible, not just testing for covid. explain. >> reporter: we've been able to kind of go in and out of a few different labs and see how they are tracking this variant, how they are making sure that their tests, particularly those at-home rapid tests that so many people plan to use heading into the holidays, how they are working with in the omicron variant. this is binax now, which is the kit that abbott produces. you can buy this at a walgreens, cvs, most grocery stores or pharmacies. do it at home. it's a relatively simple kit. it takes 15 minutes to get a result. but when you look at something like the omicron variant and you see its frankenstein mix of mutations, a lot of people are wondering, will something like this still work? it seems like it's the only bit of good news when it comes to the new variant right now, which is that these at-home kits that are so important for so many people, as a safety net, to keep their family and their loved ones comfortable and safe this holiday season, these appear to still be working and detecting that variant, despite all of the mutations. how does abbott know that? they and others ran the sequence of this variant through computers to make sure that its device could still detect it. there are ten companies that have approval from the fda for their at-home over-the-counter covid rapid tests. we reached out to all of those. we heard back from six of them that said that they've all run this sequence as well, and their tests still work with the variant. when you're thinking about these mutations, i've been describing the covid virus cell as sort of a chocolate-covered peanut, if you will. the outside part, the spike proteins, the chocolate, theoretically, that's where most of omicron's mutations have taken place. these at-home test kits, whether it's abbott's or a different brand, they primarily rely on the peanut part went they're testing it to detect covid-19. so for now, they say, if you want to get a covid test before you head home for the holidays, they are confident that their kits will still work. andrea? >> that's all fascinating. thanks so very much. and i want to go now to michigan and to shaq brewster, who's out there, because we are expecting an announcement from the prosecutors about action, a possible case -- charges, i should say, against the parents of that 15-year-old boy who is accused of shooting his classmates. shaq whab do we expect? what do we know so far? >> reporter: well, andrea, an announcement for that decision could come any moment now. we're still waiting for the prosecutor to take the stage right there or take the podium and address the possible decision over whether or not those charges would be filed against the parents. this is something that she's been signaling really since the day after the shooting, when she said that it was more than just negligence that led to the shooting. yesterday, we heard during a radio interview, she said that the only people who knew that there was a threat and access to the gun did not work at the school. now, while she said this decision would be coming at some point today, she has not signaled the severity of what charges could come or what those specific charges would be, but one thing that she has been emphasizing since the day after the shooting that responsible gun ownership should be a priority here. we know that the gun that was used by that suspected shooter, the 15-year-old student was purchased a week ago today, just four days before the shooting took place. it was purchased legally by the suspect's shooter's father. we'll wait to see if there's anymore announcements to come. this is being build as an update for the investigation, not necessarily an announcement of charges, but we'll wait to see what she has to announce when she takes the podium any minute now. >> and as we await that, just background us again as to what had had happened at school that morning. hasn't there been a report before this took place? >> there were some red flags in the 48 hours before that shooting. you had two different teachers in that school saying that they witness ordinary saw what they described as troubling behavior. disturbing behavior by that 15-year-old. that led to a meeting between the suspect and school administrators on monday, as some point during the day on monday that resulted in a counseling subject, and tuesday morning, hours before the shooting standarded, the suspect was brought to the office with his parents, and that was the last that we heard before the shooting started. >> incredibly tragic in every regard. well be back with that in just a momentum. thanks so much, shaq. i know you'll be there. still cub in the show, jobs in jep. a disappointing jobs report today, could omicron worsen the trend? plus, crisis averted for now. congress agreeing to keep the government open last night, but that's not the only deadline they're up against. a lot come. this is "andrea mitchell reports," only on msnbc. come this is "andrea 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wellness well done. want to save on your home internet? xfinity is proud to support the emergency broadband benefit program. for a limited time, you may be eligible to qualify for a credit of up to $50 a month toward your internet service through this program. that's right! you could qualify for a credit of up to $50 a month toward your internet service and equipment. for even more value, switch to xfinity mobile, and you could pay as little as $15 a month for wireless. click, call, or visit a store to learn more. es is not going to slow me down, thanks to my dexcom g6. this little wearable sends my glucose numbers right to my phone or receiver. and the arrow tells me which way i'm heading and how fast. so it's easier for me to keep my glucose in range. and the more time i spend in range, the more i can do. if you're on medicare, learn more at dexcom.com. and with breaking news in michigan, let's go to the prosecutor in that oxford county case. >> students and the entire community will last for year. i continue to work with oakland county sheriff to stay close to the facts and evidence of this case as it continues to evolve. my role as the oakland account prosecutor is to seek justice for the victims of this tragedy. the female, friends, and loved ones of hanna st. julianna madison baldwin, tate march, justin schilling and the other victims have had their lives shattered. as i mentioned a few days ago, i did have the opportunity to speak with the parents of the children who are killed. additionally, my office has reached out this morning to all of the victims who were injured. and we continue to be dedicated to offering them services and support during this time. while the shooter was the one who entered the high school and pulled the trigger, there are other individuals who contributed to the events on november 30th, and it's my intention to hold them accountable, as well. it's imperative we prevent this from happening again. no other parent or community should have to live through this nightmare. i have shared previously and i will reiterate today that gun ownership is a right. and with that right comes great responsibility. based on the information and evidence i have received today, i am announcing charges against the shooter's parents, jennifer and james crumbably. the charges are as follows. james crumbly is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter. jennifer crumbly is also charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter. i will now publish the details that led to that decision and have already previously been made public, which allows me to comment on them and i wear that has just taken place in the district court by detective tumolous. the investigation into the school shooting incident at oxford high school which occurred on november 30th, 2021, has revealed that james crumbly purchased a sig sauer sp model 2021 from acme shooting goods in oxford, michigan, on november 26th, 2021. a store employee confirms that ethan crumbly was present with james at the time of the purchase. first statute, james crumbly completed atf form 3509-a. ethan crumbly's social media post revealed photos of the semiautomatic handgun, with the caption, just got my new beauty today including an emoji heart, sig sauer. subsequent to the purchase of that weapon, one of jennifer crumbly's social media posts on about 11/27/21, mom and son day testing out his new christmas present, end quote. on november 21st, 2021, a teacher observed him researching ammunition in class. jennifer crumbly was contacted via voice mail by school personnel regarding the son's inappropriate internet search. school personnel indicate they followed that voice mail up with an email, but received no response from either parent. therefore, jennifer crumbly exchanged text messages about the incident with her son on that day, stating, quote, lol, i'm not mad at you, you have to learn not to get caught, unquote. on november 30th, 21, the morning of the shooting, the next day, ethan crumbly's teacher came upon a note on ethan's desk, which alarmed her, to the point that she took a picture of it on her cell phone. the note contained the following. a drawing of a semiautomatic handgun pointing at the words, quote, "the thoughts won't stop, help me," end quote. in another section of the note was a drawing of a bullet with the following words above that bullet, "blood everywhere." between the drawing of the gun and the bullet is a drawing of a person who appears to have been shot twice and bleeding. below that figure is a drawing of a laughing emoji. further down the drawing are the words, quote, "my life is useless," and to the right of that are the words, "the world is dead." result, james and jennifer crumbly were immediately summoned to the school. a school counselor came to the classroom and removed the shooter and brought him to the office with his backpack. counselor obtained the drawing, but the shooter had already altered it. the drawings of the gun and the bloody figure were scratched out along with the words "help me" and "my life is useless," "the world is dead," and "blood is everywhere," those were all altered by him. at the meeting, james and jennifer crumbly were shown the drawing and were advised that they were required to get their son into counseling within 48 hours. both james and jennifer crumbly failed to ask their son if he had his gun with him or where his gun was located and failed to inspect his backpack for the presence of the gun, which he had with him. james and jennifer crumbly resisted the idea of then leaving the school at that time -- of their son leaving the school at that time. instead, james and jennifer crumbly left the high school without their son. he was returned to the classroom. when the news of the active shooter at oxford high school had been made public, jennifer crumbly texted to her son at 11:22 -- i'm sorry, at 1:22 p.m., quote, ethan, don't do it, end quote. at 1:37 p.m., james crumbly called 911, reporting that a gun was missing from his house and he believed his son may be the shooter. further investigation revealed that the sig sauer 9 millimeter handgun purchased by james crumbly was stored unlocked in a drawer in james and jennifer's bedroom. the gun recovered from the shooter at the school after the shooting was the same gun that was purchased by his father james crumbly on november 26th, 2021, in the presence of his son. based upon the foregoing, the oakland county prosecutor's office requested and received authorized, we charge four counts of involuntary manslaughter as to james crumbly and four counts of involuntary manslaughter as to jennifer crumbly. >> i want to be really clear that these charges are intended to hold the individuals who contributed to this tragedy accountable and also send a message that gun owners have a responsibility. when they fail to uphold that responsibility, there are serious and criminal consequences. as we work together to honor the lives lost and all of those impacted by the evil acts this week, justice for the victims and their families is at the forefront of today's announcement. we need to do better in this country. we need to say enough is enough. for our kids, our teachers, parents, for all of us in this community, and the communities across this nation. happy to take questions now. >> prosecutor -- >> last night the -- >> one moment. >> go ahead? >> last night, the superintendent posted a vie and he suggested as a result of that meeting they saw no reason to contact law enforcement. that there was no danger. have you seen that video that was posted to youtube last night and is there any thought you couldn't share on that based on what you've said today? >> i've viewed portions of it and was briefed on the contents of the video. >> were there any missteps by the school? should they have reported right away to law enforcement after seeing those images? >> any individual who had the opportunity to stop this tragedy should have done so. the question is, what did they know and when did they know it? i have laid out the facts that were sworn to this afternoon and are the basis for the charges here. did you have a question? >> yes. we said we need to do better, there needs to be change to prevent tragedies like this. it's extremely rare for parents to be charged in school shootings. are you right to set a new standard or is the evidence simply overwhelming in this case? >> i have tremendous compassion and empathy for parents who have children who are struggling and at risk for whatever reason. and i am by no means saying that an active shooter situation should always result in a criminal prosecution against parents. but the facts of this case are so egregious, reading this document, looking at it, reading the words, "help me," with a gun, "blood everywhere," this doesn't just impact me as a prosecutor and a lawyer, it impacts me as a mother. the notion that a parent could read those words and also know that their son had access to a deadly weapon, that they gave him, is unconscionable and i think it's criminal. it is criminal. >> -- for their son who was underaged and not allowed to own a firearm in michigan? >> i believe that the facts probably indicate that that's the result, but that would be a federal charge and if that's appropriate to make that -- i'm confident that they will. question? >> what level of responsibility do you expect from parents in a situation like this? >> well, again, i -- i don't think that this is a unique or unusual interpretation. when you give your child access to a deadly weapon, when you indicate that you're buying a weapon and you sign that it's for yourself, yet clearly, based on the statements of the shooter, the statements of mom, that was his gun. and then we have the searching of ammunition, we have mom saying, "at least you didn't get caught," we have the next morning drawing essentially almost explicitly what he was about to do. i mean, i expect parents and everyone to have humanity and to step in and stop a potential tragedy. >> are they in custody already? >> i'm not going to make a comment on that? >> -- detail on a meeting between the parents and the school. you said they were resistant to having their son pulled out of class that day. you know, hours later he went on to do the shooting. and you know, there was no communication from the parents that he may have access to a handgun or may be in possession of a handgun after they had been publicly on social media -- >> i can confirm what i just stated, which is that they did not indicate to school officials or to their son and enquire about the whereabouts of the gun or the existence of the gun, to my knowledge. >> did the school push to have him removed -- can you give us more detail on that. >> i'm not aware -- i can't comment on that at this time. he was not removed from the school. he was returned back to class with his backpack, where we have reason to believe the gun was stored in the backpack. did you have a question right here? >> did school officials ask questions about the backpack or ask questions about whether the child had a weapon? >> not that we have advised, no. >> do you know if between the first and second episode, the teachers -- are each a ware of what had transpired? had teacher number two, was that teacher aware of what happened on day one -- >> i can't speak to that. i don't know. >> and the other thing i have is for the families. have you briefed them on what your investigation has found, specifically with the school? >> i have spoken to the parents and indicated the nature of the charges that might be coming. i have not spoken about the school. >> what was their reaction in terms of having communications with them about -- >> these people are in incredibly deep, horrific pain and grief. their reaction is as you expect. they will want anyone who had the opportunity to stop this from happening to have done it. >> will the parents be arrested today or be allowed to turn themselves in? >> i can't comment on that. >> -- looking at anything else for charges, any school officials? >> the investigation is ongoing. >> do you have any reason to believe or the teachers have any reason to believe that he had a weapon on him that day? >> i've stated what was known to the individuals, what the search indicated, in ammunition, what the document -- i've stated every single sentence that was on that document, so i suppose you should draw your own conclusion. the conclusion i draw is that there was absolute reason to believe this individual was dangerous and disturbed and i'll leave it at that. >> is the district fully cooperating with the investigation at this point? >> i don't -- i haven't conducted the investigation, so i can't say. >> prior to the shooting, did the district superintendent's office know about the issues that happened in the high school? did they stay at a high school, or did someone in the office go to the school's superintendent office and say, that's what's going on? >> i don't have any information about that at this time. >> hindsight being what it is, how was this young man allowed to go back to class, given the circumstances you've described, the severity you're talking about, you mention it's still under investigation. and they're victims, too, i'm not trying to assess blame, yet they let him back in class with this type of severity. how does that happen? >> i'm not going to give you a political answer, and i'm not going to cover for anybody and say what i think, and that is, of course he shouldn't have gone back that classroom. of course he shouldn't have. and i don't have ill feelings or negative feelings about anyone. and i -- but of course he should have not been allowed to go back to that class. and i believe that that is a universal position. and i'm not going to chastise or attack, but, yeah, i mean -- >> but you have the task of reviewing whether there's criminal negligence there. >> i do. and the investigation is ongoing. >> were these involuntary manslaughter charges the strongest possible charges you were considering for the parents? >> it's the strongest possible charge that we could prove and that there's probable cause to charge. >> so obviously, it's illegal for a minor to own a handgun. what are michigan's laws regarding bringing a child to a firing range and practicing with them? >> good question. michigan's laws are woefully inadequate. we don't have a safe storage law. we're not legally required to store your weapon in a safe manner. children are allowed to attend with their parents, as long as their parent is present. so the answer to that question is, we don't have strong enough laws. >> have you uncovered any evidence from before gun purchase in the days leading up to this that would reveal whaz state of mind was when the parents were there, what his state of mind was up to the day of the shooting? >> there's evidence about state of mind prior to that day. i can't comment on it. and it is not related to the allegations that we're making at this time. >> were any of the teachers injured in the shooting, was one of the teachers who made the complaint? >> i don't believe so, but i can't say that for certain. >> prosecutor, how long was the -- you've described it as premeditated, how long had it been meditated? >> long enough. long enough. >> go ahead. >> you said at one point the thought of being aware that the gun was missing. is there any indication that he might have known the gun was missing before the shooting or during or before that meeting with the principals? >> upon hearing that there was an active shooter on that day, mr. crumbley drove straight to his home to look for his gun. i think that's all i need to say about that. >> could the gunshots perhaps be liable if they saw that the gun was being purchased for 15-year-old, and not for father. >> based upon what we've reviewed, the gun shop owner is not under investigation. >> do you know if at any point there were any au actions to re out to the on-site sro officer with these concerns? >> whether they did or not? >> there was cause to, why they didn't? or to have these parents in. >> i don't know. i don't think we have at this point full statements that i've reviewed. >> a lot of -- we've been here now for a few days and talked to law enforcement and sheriff's people. and people are really angry at the school. obviously, there are issues with the parents. but there is a lot of anger with this school. i know may not be your responsibility to address it, but since you're the first person in all of these days to talk about this, what is your response to that? >> i would be angry too. and i am. but that doesn't mean that there's a criminal culpability. but, yes, i would be angry. i would be angry. i am angry. i'm angry as a mother, i'm angry as the prosecutor, i'm angry as a person that lives in this county. i'm angry. there were a lot of things that could have been so simple to prevent. and yes, there was a perfectly executed response and he was apprehended immediately and we have great law enforcement and good training but, i said before, four kids were murdered. and then seven more injured. so yes, i think we should all be very angry and we should take a very hard look at what is in place in terms of criminal responsibility, what gun owners are required to do and again, i'll say this every single hour on the hour, and i think that i have, i am not here to say that people shouldn't own guns. i know a lot of people who own guns. but they do so responsibly. and it's your responsibility, it's your duty to make sure that you don't give access to this deadly weapon to somebody that you have reason to believe is going to harm someone. and it is our position that on that morning, particularly that morning, but also the day before, but that morning, looking at that drawing, it's impossible not to conclude that there was a reason to believe that he was going to hurt somebody. >> prosecutor, have you given any explanation as to why the school resource officer was not included in that meeting that morning at the school? >> i don't have any information. one more question. yes. can you confirm date that the suspect was searching for ammo on his phone? >> it was the day before the shooting. >> okay. and can you confirm the name of the gun shop where he bought the gun. >> it was am acme. >> one more question. >> you said two. >> in the days leading up to thanksgiving related to this threat? >> i can't speak to that. i know that there were in-person classes on that day. thank you very much. thank you. >> well, you've been listening to the prosecutor in oxford county. i want to bring in danny cevallos, a criminal defense attorney and an msnbc legal analyst. you heard prosecutor mcdonald saying that it is unconscionable to know that your child has a weapon and know what his state of mind is and according to all of the evidence, the notes, that is why she feels there's a criminal case against these parents. >> this was not a restrained press conference by a united states attorney. this was someone getting very real with reporters and talking as a prosecutor and also as a mother, and expressing some opinions about michigan's gun laws. she probably has a pretty straight line, at least, to a theory of liability. and i only say that because in 2018, the michigan court of appeals held that a parent could be held responsible for recklessly allowing access to a firearm by minor children. the appeals court upheld that conviction, finding that there was sufficient evidence of recklessness. undoubtedly, the prosecutor is aware of this case and knows that they can proceed on this theory. and if they get a conviction, it will be upheld in the court. >> now, we know that there's a lot of gun activists, certainly a lot of hunting and legitimate gun activism, but a lot of strong pro-gun issues in michigan, politically. i know that from covering michigan. but she is taking this veil strong stand. and also saying, in an area that is not a matter of law, but when asked whether she equals a lot of the people in the community were really angry at the school for not taking further action, because they knew about his note, his note which had a picture of a gun and said, you know, with these thougthoughts,p me," clearly a very disturbed young man, a teenager, a 15-year-old, a child, really, but being charged as an adult in this case. and the fact that he was with his father when his father purchased the give up on black friday. there are a lot of issues. but she basically said that there is no law, as you referred to that, that michigan gun laws don't require a safe box or a lock box in the house, and she thinks that that needs to be changed. she expressed her opinion about the current law, but that's one of the other things she mentioned. and she said she was angry at the school, as other people in the community are. >> to give you some context, i am a native michiganer, that is a culture that has a lot of firearms in the home, and they use them to go hunting. in fact, we are smack dab in the middle of hunting season, it's in the fall, and a lot of folks have not just shotguns in the home, but all manner of firearms. for that reason, some of those states in the midwest have some more lax laws. we saw that in wisconsin with the rittenhouse case. they have laws that contemplate minors using firearms under the direction of their parents. it's no surprise that there may not be sufficient firearms legislation. but at the same time, michigan is a state that wants its minors, at least, has chosen to allow its minors to use firearms in order to go hunting with their parents. at least when i was in high school, boys got a week off to go hunting from school. i was the only kid left in school because i don't hunt. but this is a culture and a legislature that is elected to allow its minors to press firearms under certain situations. it's no surprise that the prosecutor here charged around theory of manslaughter for which the path has already been trod by the appeals courts and she knows that if she has the evidence, a conviction is possible for these four counts. which with a 15-year maximum sentence, you aggregate those, these parents, it seems, are looking at 60 years each if consecutive sentencing applies. >> but danny, before i let you go. i want to bring in shaq brewster, but remind me of the kind of gun this was? this was not hunting weapon, though. >> exactly right. you're exactly right. this was not a long gun, this is not a traditional hunting firearm. however, again, you know, you have a state in which there are more lax gun laws than say, of course, new york city or a major northeastern city, like philadelphia. so you're right, the hunting -- the idea behind the hunting laws is not present here, and of course, the prosecutor, she doesn't need to concern herself too much with that, because she's charged involuntary manslaughter, a theory of straight up recklessness. these parents, she's alleging, were just grossly negligent in allowing access to the firearm. >> and thanks for that clarification, shaq brewster, who's on the ground in pontiac, michigan. shaq, this is a tragedy in every form. the prosecutor was asked about the parents of the victims here. >> she was. and you know, she mentioned each victim by name and said that this is part of her getting justice for those victims. and you know, one thing that we learned in this press conference is really, we got the most complete sense of the timeline of what happened from a week ago today, when that gun was purchased by the father with the suspect there at the time to the social media posts in between, when the father described, according to the prosecutor, that gun as a christmas present. and it got a little bit more information on the red flags that were raised by the teachers in those schools. who different teachers saw what they considered disturbing behavior and despite that, hours before the shooting started, this suspect was sent back to the classroom. and you heard a very honest and candid prosecutor there saying that that student should not have been sent to the classroom, should not have been sent back into that classroom. and that contradicts what we heard from the suspect just idea, when he said in a video message that was posted on youtube that no discipline was warranted. that no discipline was warranted, despite those meetings that happened in the office. there are a lot of questions that are here. there will be that continued frustration. but what we heard from the prosecutor just now was the most complete sense of what happened and went wrong before this shooting, andrea. >> well, thanks so much to shaq brewster. thank you to danny cevallos as we continue to follow this just dreadful case out in michigan. and to the economy. new numbers out this morning show the u.s. economy added only 210,000 jobs in november, far fewer than expected. the unemployment rate did drop, though, to 4.2%. that's its lowest point during the pandemic. as president biden pointed out earlier today, there is, of course, the growing threat of omicron. >> our economy is markedly stronger than it was a year ago. and today, the incredible news that our unemployment rate has fallen to 4.2%. at this point in the year, we're looking at the sharpest one-year decline in unemployment ever. >> joining us now is nbc news senior capitol hill correspondent, garrett haake, kristen welker with, and austan goolsbee, former top economic adviser to president obama. austan, first to you. what do you make of this number? could this be an outlier or be revised upward as the last two months, or what do you think is going on here in the economy? >> look, it's kind of a tale of two numbers. because when the jobs numbers come out, there is an unemployment number which comes from a survey of people and there's a jobs total, which comes from a survey of businesses. the unemployment survey showed a blockbuster month, one of best in a very long time, and the establishment survey showed modest, at a slowdown. i think there's a decent chance that you get a revision to this number, because we're seeing a record amount of people starting new businesses, and if you start a new business, you don't show up in the survey of businesses yet, you just show up in the unemployment rate. so i still think the job market is pretty strong. >> and i didn't have a chance to go through the numbers myself, so apologies, but was there a participation rate factor here? >> the participation rate actually went up dramatically. so we added almost 600,000 people to the labor force. one of the biggest increases in a long time. and that survey of people showed a massive, almost a million jobs added, whereas the survey of businesses showed only 200,000 and well below expected. so everybody is kind of scratching their head and thinking that there's going to be some major revisions in the months to come. >> so it's not just me, since i'm not an economist and barely play one on tv. kristen, i'm not the only person confused here, maybe the president is confused as well, but you were in the room with him. and despite clearly having a little bit of a cold today, his reactions? >> well, i think it's interesting to hear austan talking about the tale of two numbers, because the president is certainly focused on the one number that i think that he felt underscored his broader point, which is that the economy is in a state of recovery. that 4.2%. the fact that that is the lowest unemployment rate since the pandemic began. and he talked about the fact that there are still hurdles and headwinds. of course, the supply chain crisis and now this new variant, omicron, and the fight against covid certainly not over yet. so he did acknowledge the headwinds that the administration, that the economy continues to face, but he did really focus on that 4.2% figure. and andrea, the broader argument that we are hearing from this president and from this white house is that they are using these types of figures to make the case that that is why they believe that the build back better, that $1.7 trillion social and climate pan will pass through congress. it is any indication that it will be really tough sledding to try to get it passed. garrett knows all of the details and the back and forth in more detail than i do, but the bottom line is they averted a government shutdown just narrowly, and that frankly was supposed to be the easier thing to get done. there is still a lot of pieces on the agenda for congress, and among them, that $1.7 trillion spending plan. so the president pushing for that to get passed against these new numbers, and trying to use them to make the case for his agenda, andrea, but it's a really tough climate to do so. >> and as you've set this up, garrett, the shutdown averted, but, but the debt ceiling not yet. we're going to have a vote next week on marco rubio demanding a freestanding vote with joe manchin's support, importantly, to get rid of the vaccine mandate for private businesses that the president is trying to impose. and of course, you know, that ban could be vetoed by the president if it gets through the house, which it likely would, if it were to survive the house, the president would veto it. but we haven't done the defense bill. since when is the defense authorization act controversial? in the 50/50 congress with them putting all kinds of things on? >> the bottom line is, in a 50/50 congress, in a 50/50 senate, nothing is easy. and the longer you wait and the closer you get to a deadline, the more you empower one or two senators who don't have the power to stop anything, but do have the power to slow the process down, to reach for things that they want. that's what we saw in this fight yesterday over a vote that some conservative senators wanted on defunding the president's vaccine or testing mandate. that's what we've seen with marco rubio. he wants a vote on an amendment that he is pushing for, that deals with forced labor in china. that's related to the defense bill. who knows what the ryder or the issue of the week will be by the time the senate gets around to lifting the deal, which is arguably even more of an urgent priority than is averting a government shutdown. the effect of defaulting on the debt could be much more catastrophic. so congress will be dancing with these deadlines almost every week with the goal of right to pass that spending bill by christmas. this is going to be a very, very difficult month for senate democratic leadership. but they remain confident that they can pull it off. we shall see, andrea. >> can they still have not approved all of those ambassadors. let me just put in a plug, having just come back from europe overnight. we don't have ambassadors in all of these countries, because they haven't even held hearings for most of them because of two or three senators holding that up on unrelated issues. thanks to you, garrett. thanks for filling in for me while i was await. thanks to kristen for filling in for me while i was away and thanks to austan goolsbee for explaining the economy to us. coming up, the inside scoop, a top trump doj official due before the january 6th committee tomorrow. what members want to hear from him, next. ow what members want to hear from him, next. once upon a time, at the magical everly estate, landscaper larry and his trusty crew... were delayed when the new kid totaled his truck. timber... fortunately, they were covered by progressive, so it was a happy ending... for almost everyone. emergency planning for kids. we can't predict when an emergency will happen. so that's why it's important to make a plan with your parents. here are a few tips to stay safe. know how to get in touch with your family. write down phone numbers for your parents, siblings and neighbors. pick a place to meet your family if you are not together and can't go home. remind your parents to pack an emergency supply kit. making a plan might feel like homework, but it will help you and your family stay safe during an emergency. the january 6th investigating committee agreed to postpone depositions for trump ally and disgraced former nypd commissioner, and the former white house press secretary. the question facing the committee is what, if anything, they expect to hear from former donald trump doj official jeffrey clark on saturday. joining us now for the inside scoop, washington post white house bureau chief ashley parker and jonathan capehart. ashley, jeffrey clark is trying to avoid a contempt of court. he was being pushed by former president trump to become acting ag because he was the only one of higher ranking people who were willing to go along with the stop the steal, the election was a fraud bit. and the only reason he didn't become agenting ag is because everybody else was going to quit on account of a repeat of the friday -- saturday night massacre, rather. what are they expecting from clark. is he coming in? is he going to take the fifth on every question? is he going to give them anything? >> well, the understanding we have from the committee is exactly that. that they were getting ready to hold him in contempt. he has now asked to come into to assert his right to take the 5th amendment against self-incrimination. of course, you gave that. i can think of any number of things the committee would love to ask him. he is a very team player in this pivotal time. but we have no indication he's going to be particularly forthcoming in terms of what they would like to hear from him. >> and jonathan, what do you think the criminal prosecution against steve bannon means in terms of what the individuals, the committee expects to hear as they approach him? >> right. i think what the committee hopes is that the criminal prosecution bannon will serve as act of smelling salt for all the others who have been served with depositions who are due to appear before the committee pretty much every day through about december 17th, december 18th. the fact that caric and mcanyoneny are supposed to appear today and are cooperating, it might be an indicator they're working something out where they'll be able to get the committee what they want. we won't know until the committee announces what it might be. >> and ashley, what about mark meadows? he seems to be trying to have it both ways. not completely alienate donald trump but putting enough in his book to certainly provoke a lot of criticism from the former president. >> well, on the book, it's fascinating. obviously the big controversy to come out of that book was the news, the new news that president trump tested positive for coronavirus three days before his debate with president biden, and seven days before he ended up going to the hospital with coronavirus. now, that's huge potentially very controversial news, and once that came out and former president trump was so mad at mark meadows, mark meadows tried to claim it was misunderstood. that what mark meadows was trying to say was it was merely a false positive. based on the accounts of the book we've seen, that's not really what mark meadows said. although, after the fact he has tried to go back and claim that there was one positive test and multiple negative tests. but again, we have no way of knowing that's true, because both mark meadows and former president trump have repeatedly misled the public when it came to coronavirus. >> thank you so much to you. we'll catch you every sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. eastern on msnbc. thanks to you. we'll be watching. tensions between russia and ukraine are reaching a fever pitch. the announcement putin wants guarantees from president biden to stop nato from expanding any further west and certainly not from admitting ukraine is a new member. in fact, lavrov said yesterday that -- when i was in sweden for those interviews and for the meetings with tony blinken, that russia views ukraine as the national security threat. with tens of thousands of russian combat troops masked on ukraine's border. the defense minister is warning russia could invade in a month. today the president was asked about what he's doing to deter a russia invasion. >> what i am doing is putting together what i believe to be -- will be the most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make it very, very difficult for mr. putin to go ahead and do what people are worried he may do. but that's in play right now. >> joining us now, former u.s. ambassador to russia michael mcfall. your reaction to the president's comments. the prospect that tony blinken told us about yesterday in sweden which is that vladimir putin and the president, president biden may be having a virtual meeting in the coming days to try to get things back on track. >> first, welcome back. sounds like it was really cold in the places you were. >> it's true. it was really cold. >> it looked like it. compared to sunny california. i'm pleased that the president is saying what he's saying. if i were advising him, i would say be more specific about what the measures are. be credible in the commitments to saying if you do this, we will do this. so that we don't have to have a government deliberation about what to do if action is taken. and second, i do think it's important to talk. talking, there's nothing wrong with talking. i'm glad they're going to be talking next -- early next week. >> well, when we asked secretary blinken what kind of measures are these, he said moscow knows what to expect. he knows what we're talking about. we have been ie to the sizing could it be kicking him out of the international banking system. that's the tough action they took against iran. could they possibly try to do that with russia. what i ib cysted all 30 members of nato, not just the u.s. but u.s. and 29 nato members were in accord. i asked a senior official, but in accord on -- they would be potential retaliation on gas and other exports others need. and it's a tough time with inflation and the energy sector. the answer was they all know what's at stake, and this is so important. we can't have russia invading ukraine again. we have to take this action. i don't know if you think that's a credible deterrent. >> well, it's good. it's good. but i don't think it's enough. right? we don't debate after that somebody has committed, we don't debate what should be the punishment for that later. we say if you do a criminal act, here is what you will be punished with. i think that kind of logic needs to come back into this sanctions debate. every time putin does something, then they debate it and it's always less than what allegedly credibly is being threatened behind closed doors. that's number one. number two, i think they have to take on this narrative. ukraine is not threatening russia. and the fact that he's asking for security guarantees and we're reacting to that, i think just on the public relations piece, we need to be much more definitive and say this is completely concocted by putin. this crisis is invented by him. and we need to underscore that this narrative is not acceptable. so i think both of these things in tandem need to happen next week. >> yeah. i looked at the satellite photos of the troops. this is not just a made up provocation by the u.s. or ukraine. those troops are there. the 94,000 combat troops. there's no question. >> scary. >> there you go. michael mcfall, i could talk to you all day and night about this, but i'll read your books and read your good washington post editorial this week. i'll put it out there. thank you very much, ambassador. >> thank you. good to see you. >> chuck todd and mtp daily starts right now. it's been a busy show. have a great, safe weekend. if it's friday, now is the winter of our discontent. omicron spreads. the jobs report mixed. congress kicking the can down the road again. and young americans are sounding the alarm about the state of our democracy. plus moments ago, prosecutors announced that the parents of the 15-year-old gunman who killed four people at that school shooting in suburban detroit have been charged themselves in connection to the tragedy. we'll have the latest on that coming up. and president biden says he's putting together a plan to combat russian aggression in ukraine as concerns grow that putin is on the verge of an invasion. foreigner ambassador to ukraine joins me ahead.