of the midwest, south and northern perfect states. >> the spread of this highly transmissible variant means demands for a test whether they're done in a lab or at home are skyrocketing. amazon, walgreens and cvs are now all restricting the number of test kits that each customer can buy. tonight, during an interview with abc news, president biden was asked about the testing shortages and he defended the administration's response to the latest surge. >> i don't think it's a failure, i think you could argue that we should have known a year ago, six months ago, two months ago, a month ago, i've ordered half a billion of the pills. 500 million pills, excuse me, 500 million test kits that are going to be available to be sent to every home in america if anybody wants them. nothing has been good enough, but look, look where we are. when last christmas we were in a situation where we had significantly fewer people vaccinated, emergency rooms were filled. you had serious backups in hospitals that were causing great difficulties. or in a situation now where we have 200 million people fully vaccinated. >> now, those 500 million test kits that biden referred to are supposed to go out next month. meanwhile, there's new hope in the form of a bill that's meant to head off the worst effects of the virus. the fda today authorize pfizer's antiviral drug paxlovid, it's the first bill that can be taken at home to fight covid. the federal government has ordered enough to cover 10 million people, the first pills could be available within the next week. also, scientists here in the united states are paying close attention to two important new developments involving omicron, in south africa, the huge wave of cases seems to be subside in. officials in the uk say omicron infections appear to be less severe. we have a doctor standing by to take our questions on the variant, she will be along later in the hour, our elected officials have not escaped coming into contact with covid. tonight we learned a member of the house leadership, jim clyburn of south carolina has tested positive, but is asymptomatic. clyburn is 81 years old, he has received two vaccines and a booster, the white house says the president has again tested negative after his exposure to a staffer who tested positive earlier this week. and today, officials reveal that vice president harris has been in contact with a different staff member who also tested positive. harris has synced tested negative. also tonight the white house is taking steps to extend one covid relief measure, extending the pause on student loan payments until may 1st. that suspension has been set to expire on january 31st. >> a number of people, millions of people across the country are still struggling with the ongoing threat of the pandemic. many of them are student loan borrowers, this is something the president has talked a lot about over the last several days. in coordination, of course in conjunction, in conversations with the vice president and it led to the decision to extend until may. >> on capitol hill, january six committee wants information from yet another house lawmaker, today the panel invited ohio republican and trump supporter jim jordan to voluntarily appear for an interview. he is now the second house member to receive such a letter after trump allies scott perry of pennsylvania who rejected the panels request. the committee's letter to jordan cites a number of topics for discussion including this quote, we understand that you have at least one and possibly multiple communications with the president on january six. we would like to discuss each just communication with you in detail, and quote. back in july congressman jordan was asked about his conversations with trump on the day of the capitol riot. >> on january six, did you speak with him before, during or after the capitol was attacked? >> i would have to go, i spoke with him that day after, i think after. i don't know if i spoke with him in the morning or not, i just don't know. i would have to go back -- i mean, i don't know, i don't know when those conversations happened. but what i know is i spoke with him all the time. >> okay, what jordan says tonight that he will review the committee's letter. meanwhile, a federal judge has denied michael flynn's request for a temporary restraining order to block subpoenas from the january six committee for him. on another note a member of the extremist groups the proud boys pleaded guilty to a felony conspiracy charge stemming from the insurrection, he has agreed to cooperate with the government. with that let's bring in our lead off guest on this wednesday night white house correspondent for the pbs news hour and the moderator of washington week also on pbs, carol leonnig pulitzer prize-winning investigative reporter with the washington post coauthor with philip rucker of the new york times bestseller i alone can fix it. and professor melissa murray of nyu law school, she was a law clerk for sonia centaur my your on the bench before her nomination to the supreme court. good evening to all of, you thank you for being with us. yamiche, let me start with you we saw the presidents reaction to being asked about testing and the availability of test kits, you also asked about that, i think it was yesterday, there is some sense of the white house is pushing back on the idea that they should have been better prepared for this need for more testing, something we have been talking about for close to two years now. >> that's right, we see from president biden this sort of admission in talking to the reporter that he said he would've known two months ago to order 500 million home test. a lot of experts have been saying they will be variants, there will be omicron, maybe there's something coming after that, testing is key. i've heard from a lot of people who say that the u.s. is never ramped up testing to the way that they should have been doing it. that being said as you said, pressed the president on the basic idea that there are lot of americans who are standing in line right before christmas and wondering why is it taking so long, why is it taking so long to ramp up testing? the president told me, two days, ago that the president is not able to see this coming, and that omicron moves faster than the white house. they have said that they were doing everything to ramp up, but there are going to be critics, especially everyday americans who are frustrated and scared of the presidents telling people not to panic, but i think the more people get sick and the more people know people who are getting sick, it just sort of feels like this is a pandemic that is closing in on all americans. >> carol, let me ask you about the january six committee asking for an interview with jim jordan, of course we played that recording of when he didn't seem really sure about wind during the momentous day, january six, he had spoken to the president, various times he said various things. what is the point here with this committee, they're asking people to come voluntarily to talk to them, their own members, believe it or not, and they are saying no. why not skip right to a subpoena? >> i think it is because, as you certainly know, the committee hasn't done this every other take of the clock, congressional committees don't typically call for their own members to give testimonies, it's pretty unusual. and it is also legally, sort of, dubious or questionable grounds, it's not yet been trot very heavily this idea that you could subpoena a member of congress. members of congress have enormous legal protection under the speech debate clause, no doubt, subpoenaing is a fight, a legal fight that might stall getting actual answers. members of congress, maybe some of the hardest people to get before the committee. i do want to stress, however, it's pretty interesting that the committee, you know, in the days walking up to the winter holiday and into christmas when most people are taking it easy and thinking about where they will meet their family and loved ones, what they will cook for christmas dinner, this committee is going hard at members of its own body and asking them pointed questions. jim jordan's questions are, as you rightly point out, communications with donald trump. first, jim jordan said that he had talked to donald trump multiple times on january six. that was in an interview back in the summer, and then later he said that he couldn't really remember if it was multiple times, or what they discussed. and later, he said that he could remember talking to him at least once, but he wasn't sure exactly about the details. >> let me ask you, melissa, in this business of whether congress can compel other members of congress to testify hold them to subpoenas if they can't or they can do, and there's a little confusion about what everybody wants. in one case stephen bannon resulted in an arrest, what do you think the justice department's role should be in all of this? >> it's hard to say, ali, while we have here as carol suggested is an unprecedented situation. this committee is not only trying to get evidence from individuals from outside, it's also trying to find information from within. they have made clear, not only in their conference to get the testimony of scott perry but in the efforts to get the testimony against jim jordan, they are willing to keep going. that means that they probably expect that they will get some cooperation from the biden department of justice because it is very unlikely that either of these two members of congress or going to comply with these requests. they will likely be a subpoena that comes after this and when that subpoena stonewall they will request the department of justice and they expect that they will get some movement from the department there. whether that is the role of the department of justice i think these are unusual times of course we've seen the department of justice taking great steps to distance itself from the trump department of justice, and perhaps restore confidence in the idea of this independent administrative body going forward. >> let me ask you, yamiche, the president came out and talked about the economy and how the economy is doing, it seems like it may be a shift in messaging, the white house obviously has problems around messaging the build back better bill and getting that done because of joe manchin, is there a shift to talk about the economy which a lot of observers are looking and saying, it is actually some good things to trump it. >> the white house would shake, and the white house officials that i talked to said that the president has the open focus on the economy, but you can definitely tell that the president wants to talk about what is going well, especially at the end of the year when the build back better act is in such disarray. the president wants to talk about unemployment below, he wants to talk about the idea that there are people that are able to get jobs in this economy, and that people are able to have economic prosperity that he has been promising when he was running for office. the other thing is that the inflation is still high, people are still paying more for goods. the president is also wanting to make sure, based on my conversation with white house officials that people feel like he understands what is going on, that he understands the sort of struggles that every american is having. i think that this is in some way a strategy, because, democrats are dealing so much with the infighting that they're dealing with, just today i interviewed jamal on pdfs news hour and he was essentially saying that joe manchin doesn't care about people of color, he doesn't care about the poor because he is not supporting build back better. this is a really hard place to be when you have democrats accusing other democrats of not caring about the very people that the party as a whole says that they really put at the center of their strategy. so the president has a lot on his hands, a lot of challenges going into 2022, and talking about the economy is one way for him to say look, even though we have some challenges here are the things that we are doing well. >> carol, let me ask you back to the january ex committee, they -- this is the justice department, now they got prosecution, they got a guilty plea from a member of the proud boys will apparently is now cooperating with them, that of course is different from the janitors committee, but tell me what we know about this? >> >> this is probably one of the most interesting turns, remember this prosecution or isis say the fbi's investigation has come under a lot of criticism, including from a federal judge on the argument that many of the prosecutions, many of the charges level and people involved in storming the capitol violently, and engaging with police in violent ways, attacking them, bear sprang, them poking them with various items, black poles, fire extinguishers bats a federal judge and others have criticize this prosecution as treating this event like a misdemeanor of interrupting a hearing, and in fact chief judge or the federal court in d.c. said that this is a major violent felony and i would like to see what the world is going on. now we have been long into this case with defendants, we have the guilty plea in cooperation agreement from a member of one of those extremist groups that was planning violence. that was discussing, members were discussing bringing weapons, members of this group were discussing how to hide those weapons. members of this groups and others were discussing out a kill cops to make sure that they could have their political result, the one that they preferred, actually happen on january six. so, this is a huge change and i would urge people to watch these cases closely in the next coming weeks because there are several other major conspiracy cases where individuals who look like they might be cooperating are kind of not being sentenced. there is a delay in their sentencing which is a hint to me that they may be cooperating as well. we will watch that carefully. melissa tonight the supreme court has special -- for challenges to the biden administration so called vaccine mandates. the new york times says that the courts six justices majority will be spectacle of broad assertions of executive. power would you make of the idea that they have agreed to hear all the moral arguments. and then january -- and perhaps tackle this issue? >> well i think one thing it shows ali, is that this board has -- this hurts on the criticism of its prior use of his the mercy management tool that -- like this kind of appeal. in the texas abortion case, and also earlier evolving execution, we've received a lot of criticism. the interest of madrid in this particular case from the shadow dock into the course regular dock. it is a really interesting move that suggest the court really is amenable outcry to the public. whether on the biden administration is facing the -- super majority is entirely different. matter and as you say, this is a court that is going to be skeptical of the overreach. and it's likely that the biden administration is going to be facing challenges because of this. >> i appreciate the time and your analysis from the preview tonight, carol leonnig -- and melissa or. thank you so much for the sickness. we'll talk to -- and when we might see this current case surge in the northeast peak, later on political experts racked invitation that the minority leader, joe manchin. on a bow or just underway, on wednesday night. just underway, o wednesday night. wednesday night. one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. because life starts when heartburn stops. take the challenge at prilosecotc dot com. i've been telling everyone... the secret to great teeth is having healthy gums. crest advanced gum restore. detoxifies below the gumline... and restores by helping heal gums in as little as 7 days. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. where's mom? 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(cheers) xfinity brought us together, after all! power your whole home this holiday with wifi speeds faster than a gig. click, call, or visit a store today. it appears in the context of sing 2 south africa, there's a decrease in severity compared to delta. both in the relationship and -- ratio between hospitalizations and the number of infections. this is good news, however, we must wait to see what happens in our own population, which has its own demographic considerations. >> a note of optimism and a note of caution. to that point hospitals, here in the united states remained straight from the last surge that was fueled by the delta variant. omicron is not rapidly spreading an nbc news analysis finds quote, hospitalizations are rising around the nation have risen 39% from november 1st. today our health care workers prepare for the, worst pfizer -- predicts some states seeing a surge now could fizzle out in a matter of weeks. >> the tri-state region is probably going to be coming out of this epidemic wave of omicron by mid january -- what other parts of the country will still be heating up. >> all right with us for more dr. aileen marty, she's a professor of investor in disease in the -- in miami a veteran of global medicine. and with the world health organization, doctor marty thank you for being with us. it's good to see. so we have dr. fauci talking about some positive things happening in south africa that -- fast ramp up of omicron there. now seized coming down at a similar pace. and there are two starters in the united kingdom that are finding fewer possible-ization from omicron compared to delta, suggesting that it might be a mild or in illness that is caused. particularly if you are vaccinated. what's your take on what you've heard today. ? >> so there's a lot going on here. first of all, molecular lee, there is nothing about this virus that would indicate that it is actually milder. i think we have to look at what's actually happening, boots on the ground in each country to understand why we are getting these results. and they are good results, that we are seeing, more milder cases. we also are looking at -- for example south africa, the mean ages about 27 that's getting this infection. so they are young. and you are expecting milder disease in that age range. when you look at what's going on in the uk, they are highly vaccinated. so again, you expect the better outcome in that -- in those populations. and the studies that came out from the uk note these facts, as something to take into consideration. and based on evolutionarily pressure of this virus to changing variants at all -- it may or may not. but not from any evolutionary pressure because there are so many different hosts that it can infect. so there is all that. now you've heard that doctor -- gauntlet talking about this probably peaking sometime in january. and i do think the data indicates -- and especially if we look at what's going on right now in south africa. but i think everyone should be aware of how very fast this thing is spreading. we just a matter of weeks, it is now reached 106 different countries that are showing cases of omicron. and here in the united states, you noted the increase in hospitalizations. also the total numbers of cases there we are seeing over 160,000 cases a day. so when you have those kinds of numbers, even if it's milder, it's going to still be a significant portion -- especially among the unvaccinated that are gonna end up needing a lot of medical care, including hospitalizations. and our workforce is currently depleted. and that's part of the complication. we have exhausted our medical staff. we have exhausted our empties. our firefighters, our emts. all this has been going on for two years. >> yeah. it's constant, let me ask you, in this moment. how you should think about behaving? how do you tell people what they could do? it seems like this is highly contagious but people are still traveling. do they pull back? do they isolate? and how quickly to get tested because it's hard to get tested the state? how are you changing your behavior? >> so, number one, do it all. when you are in congregate settings. indoors, or poorly vanity lead it with all kinds of people that you don't know their vaccine status, or their exposure status? then, even if you are vaccinated, even if you are boosted, wear your mask, keep your distance, keep your hygiene. it is a study from ireland that just came out yesterday, talking about increased risk from fomite's from the omicron variant. so the hygiene remains -- important even though -- an exhalation from those who have. it test if you possibly can, i understand how challenging it is to get tested right now. yes we have some good things in the horizon. for example, the approval today of the protease inhibitor by pfizer, it's great news. it's a shame that we don't have the amounts in supply, that we need in order to make a difference. but in the meantime, make sure that where you are going to the people are safe. and if you are going to be traveling that you yourself are negative before you travel. >> every night, and every day on this network i'm talking to doctors like you. and every one of them is bringing up staffing shortages. we know that one of the government's actions this week was to send 1000 medical middle terry personnel to places that need place help -- across the country. in the united kingdom they have reduced the covid isolation period from ten days to seven days, in part to ease the staffing concerns and the staffing shortages in the health care system. i know the airlines have told cbc that they need to consider this -- because they're gonna end up with staffing shortages. to how many people are getting this. is that something to be considered shortly after the application -- period who were infected with omicron. >> assuming that the individual does not have notable symptoms, that continue. because it's gonna be variable. you still have to have an appropriate medical evaluation of the individual. but one of the good things, if you will, about the people who are vaccinated and boosted, who get infected and may even become ill from omicron, is that even though they are final loads are high initially, they control the virus much -- so viral load go down much quickly as well. they have a shorter period into their contagious to others, which would indicate that in that setting, you can reduce the amount of time that they are isolated. and that's what we are looking at. but that is for people who are vaccinated and boosted. that is not necessarily the case for individuals who are unvaccinated. who could still pose a risk to others, for longer periods of time. >> you did mention the pill that's been approved by the fda, the pfizer pill. is that a game-changer to? you is that significant? >> very significant, it's a very safe pill with very few side effects for very few people. it works exceptionally well as 89% as efficacy, for select population. it's not a post exposure pill, it's not a pill to take once you are in the hospital. it's a pill if you have symptoms, and you take it soon after those symptoms start and have a positive test. in that setting, it is outstanding. it is something much easier to do than for example model climb an eyes -- especially now that mana line alum -- are not working very well against omicron with the exception of course of the omicron. -- it still has to be through >> i'll take outstanding for any development against covid these days, good to see you, doctor aileen marti is a professor for infectious disease at florida international university. coming up eugene robinson and bill crystal are here to discuss a new effort by mitch mcconnell to lure joe manchin across the aisle. when the 11th hour continues. rmula. it shortens colds! zicam. zinc that cold! >> i admire what joe manchin did, i don't expect him to give up, i think they will keep coming back to him. i've suggested a good solution to his problem, it would be to come across the aisle and join us, where he would be treated with respect. >> the democratic party is not happy with it senator from west virginia, but republicans are making it known that they welcome him to the gop with open arms. in addition to those comments from the majority leader, senator john cornyn of texas says he personally texted mansion in an effort to get him to defect. this is all manchin responded when he was asked about the possibility two weeks ago. >> are you waiting just for the world to come back your way or would you ever leave the party or be an independent? because you are caught between the two, there is no doubt about that. >> the bottom line is you have to be somewhere, if they would ask me to leave, i would just have to say, i guess, i would have to abide by your wishes. i don't know, i don't think that will happen. i don't intend to leave. >> it's in porn he says that. eugene robinson, pulitzer prize-winning columnist for the washington post and bill crystal he's a veteran of the reagan and bush administrations and editor at large at the bulwark, i hear what's manchin just said eugene, and i take some words from your column earlier this week where you said i doubt he will switch parties and become a republican since he wouldn't instantly refer to becoming a bit player with mitch mcconnell running the party. he could be an independent and continue to caucus with the democrats, but that wouldn't materially change the situation. probably more about that. >> well, i just don't see him leaving. it's very difficult to predict anything, number one, joe manchin for his entire political career he has been a democrat. and he believes most of the democrats when it comes to the build back better act. i don't see him just becoming one of mitch mcconnell's legions, i'm sure they would roll out a red carpet for him, but all though there are republicans who have waited in line for those committee positions and that is not an easy thing for mcconnell to finance, so i personally don't see it, why would he give up being the star of the joe manchin show, he seems to enjoy that. >> bill, to that point that joe manchin has got more common with democrats in the house with republicans, you made the point that he said that there are things about build back better he can support, why not at this point start to break it up, get what you can get done, and run on that? >> i think that's with the biden administration and chuck schumer should do. he wants the parts of the bill to go through the committee, and [inaudible] this has been presented as a take all package in the senate. let's have hearings on the tax, let's have hearings on pre-k, four, support for family leave and so forth. there are some good things about the bill, there are things that are problematic about the bill. the way we do legislation, till pretty recently in the united states, we have hearings, we have testimonies we have amendments debated. the bill comes to the floor which could be amended, and debated. i think they may end up in something like this, some of it could pass the 60 vote, some of it might end up in reconciliation next year anyway. i think actually might end up as a better bill, more focused on the key things that have to happen soon then would've been the case if this thing just rolled through. >> so, eugene, the bill has the view of get which you can, and you have the view from the column the other day that democrats need to talk more about the things that they succeeded, you say democrats across the spectrum are going to have to stop talking so much about what they can't or can't do and talk about what they have already done. and galling, as it may be, they may have to settle for pared down build back better package that phones fewer programs for a longer span. democrats are doing much, republicans are doing nothing. that's the message to take into the midterms. your views are duck tailing here, you are agreeing with bill, get done with you can get done and then make k about it. >> well, reality has an impolite way of proposing itself on all kinds of situations. the reality is that it is a 50/50 senate and the democrats need joe manchin's vote, there are no republicans that are going to cross over and vote for build back better, there just aren't, they have no interest in that. either they get manchin's vote on this bill, or they take a different approach. it might not be all that, perhaps legislatively, certainly politically, to have republicans -- to have democrats go on record in the committee, the child tax credit, universal pre-k, all these very popular provisions of build back better. there are some republicans who will find it uncomfortable to vote for them if they come up one after the other, one five one and that is the question. do you want universal pre-k or not, and it will be interesting to see. i'm not convinced you will get ten republicans, but you make some uncomfortable. >> guys, stay with me i want to take a break and continue this conversation on the other side, eugene robinson and bill crystal, coming up we will talk about what happens when democrats lay out the high stakes involved in the battle to pass voting rights legislation, as the senate now makes it a top priority for the new year. when the 11th hour continues. ontinues [♪♪] powerful skincare ingredients come dermatologist-recommended, and there's a brand that offers them at an affordable price. try olay skincare. olay regenerist, with 99% pure niacinamide provides 5 times the hydrating power of a prestige cream; while olay collagen peptide visibly firms and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles; and olay retinol 24 brightens and smooths the skin while you sleep. for dermatologist-recommended ingredients at an affordable price, try olay skincare. if you don't have 60 votes, then you have to change the rules in the senate. there is not support for that at this point in. time now, what's the presidents view is, getting voting rights done is absolutely essential if the republicans can have to -- continue to obstruct we're gonna have to look at what's necessary to get that down. we would love to do that as quickly as possible. the president would love to sign a voting rights law, -- as voting rights bill into law. >> stop me if you've heard this before. democratic leaders from the president down agree that voting rights are a top priority. but they haven't been able to get all 50 democratic summiteer's to agree to a rule to change and -- to bring any electroplating to the floor. majority leader chuck schumer isn't giving. up during a virtual democratic caucus meeting last night, he reiterated plans for vote saying quote, we are now called upon to act. we alone can protect our democracy from these attacks. schumer also said that if republicans blocked voting rights legislation again in january, the senate would consider and vote on rules. reforms still with us, eugene robinson and bill crystal. eugene this whole concept of the senate taking up and voting rules reform, still requires 50 senators to be on board. and at the moment, kristen maya and joe manchin are not supportive of changing the rules of the senate. >> at the moment they are not. there has been a group of moderate senators -- and others who have been working to see if there are some formulation to carve out -- around the filibuster. this kind of legislation -- voting rights legislation. the piece of legislation, we are talking after all, for example in the john lewis act, of provisions that are basically the same provisions that was in 2004 -- 2005. all republican senators agreed to a nurse extent. in 1982, even strong thurman, the famous segregationist from iowa state -- we will have to see if they are able to convince franklin sinema, who is hard not to crack on. this she has made the more sherman-like statements about the filibuster, even more than manchin. she is even more difficult to read. >> bill you talk about there being a path forward for voting legislation. there is some way to do this to get to congress. what is it that can get through the senate, and how? >> i think that's the key question ultimately, about voting legislation. there are many elements to these bills, some are again much more purging. than others. election officials intimidation preventing state legislators overturn -- the actions of the state. prevented the house doing so, the january that happened. november 3rd that they try to. do just a year ago. that i think could be must harder for the republicans simply to open debate on. why? will i was talking to a democratic staffer about that just last week, and be world in that one back, we don't want to people get get people in awe front. we don't have the pressure of the first to. bill they're not feeling any pressure. we're up suddenly, they get 50 votes, didn't get a 60 lay lead. they go away, the administration talking about the next day. literally -- that's not the same campaign not interviews. most of those provisions, they're very strong arguments for those. they had back-to-back hearings for people testifying in georgia and south carolina about what is happening there, and the need for the provisions. these particular provisions -- not general -- they force votes on particular provisions. i think it's been a lack of political strategy here on the heart of the democrats. i'm not saying it's easy in any way, with the senate -- radicalized from the publican party. they need to really rethink the politics of this strategy i think. >> well let's talk about this eugene, schumer has said a colleague -- a dear colleague letter, which he says, i would ask you to consider this question. if the right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, then how can we in good conscious allow for situation which the republican party can -- at the state level of only simple majority vote but not allow the united states senate to do the same? >> i'm not sure he's asking the question of, but that is the call to make this a majority vote issue if you can get sinema and manchin on board, or two other republicans perhaps? >> exactly. but that the big if. i think bill make some valid points in that. when we talk about, quote voting rights legislation, and quote. it is unclear, what's specific measure we are talking about. i do think there is value in putting republicans on the spot, about specific provisions. certainly, for example, how the votes get counted. who count the votes? how is -- that fair how do we ensure that that's fair? how do we ensure that provisions, of the 1965 voting rights act, meant so much to so many including my family in south carolina. they are not effectively reversed? those specific kinds of questions might put some republicans on the spot in a way that they are not feeling the pressure. >> guys thank you very much it's been a great session, i hope some wisdom comes out on. this eugene robinson and bill crystal, we appreciate. you >> coming up the moving store volunteers to make a big difference in afghan different genes in the united states for the 11th hour continues. e 11th hour continues. don't just put on a light show—be the light show. make your nights anything but silent. and ride in a sleigh that really slays. because in a cadillac, tradition is yours to define. so visit a cadillac showroom, and start celebrating today. ♪ ♪ my hygienist cleans so visit a cadillac showroom, and start celebrating today. with a round head. so does my oral-b my hygienist personalizes my cleaning. so does my oral-b oral-b delivers the wow of a professional clean feel every day. four months ago the world saw chaotic images of afghans crammed on military planes after the u.s. withdrawal from ghana. stand with thousands of those refugees beginning a new life, a group of volunteers were inspired to. help a report tonight from nbc news correspondent vicky lynn. >> lentils? more? rice >> with the new way is the cofounder of yet for afghans. a volunteer group helping afghans resettle in seattle. >> we want them to feel welcome. there is a group of people that are they can rely. on >> they say that these images escaping after the u.s. withdrawal in august, reminder of the vietnamese experience in 1975. she lost four family members, including her mother and two siblings during their escape as boat people. >> how did that experience, at ten years old, shape who you are now? >> it made me realize that how someone's life can just turn upside down. really really quickly. in four months, vets for afghans has resettled to families, with help from sponsors circles for program. can have a? kiss. >> today phone tears visit his family of eight -- . >> the help of all the people that are close to him spend overwhelming. >> some 25,000 afghan refugees are currently living under u.s. military bases. but next month, so he'd family moved to the seattle apartment. ten win, offering it rent free. >> it's a friend, and generous to provide you a house. >> now three bedrooms, -- . >> the kindness continues, they'll pay for the net for the utility. bills >> how do you help if you don't know? how >> we don't know either, we just get started. >> it requires volunteers to commit the three months, we have says the bombs forming now last a lifetime. >> vicky nguyen, nbc news. >> coming up a look at a new very expensive telescope that set the launch later this week, when the 11th hour continues. when the 11th hour continues >> last thing before we go tonight, on christmas day, nasa expects to launch what some are calling a ten billion dollar time machine. let me explain, the james webb's space telescope has been decades in the making, it seen as the successor to the hubble. the telescope has instrument sensitive enough that it will be able to look back at 13 billion years of cosmic history. how is that possible? nbc news explains, telescopes essentially function as time machines because it takes time for light to travel through space. the web observatory will be able to see farther into the universe than ever before, and therefore farther back in time. this means that astronomers will have the chance to study primitive stars and galaxies from the earliest days of the universe. unlike hubble which sees primarily visible light, the webb telescope will gaze at infrared light, which can pierce too thick fails of cost make gas and gas that could obscure some celestial objects review. a lot of things need to go right for this telescope to be a success. one, 1 million miles into space, the mirror which is nearly 21 feet across at the heart of the telescope needs to be kept very, very cold which isn't always possible when you are orbiting around the sun. so a five layer sun shield will need to unfold around the mirror to keep it protected at an spf of over 1 million. scientists and astronomers are understandably nervous, but excited. >> it's kind of a cliché to say that it is going to change the course of astronomy, but it might very well do that because it is such a leap in capabilities. >> we're gonna learn some things about how galaxies were formed and how earth came into being, it is going to shape our textbooks going forward. >> web is about the same skill project in terms of dollars and peoples as building the great pyramids in egypt. that gives you a sense that web is on a scale that is a cultural undertaking and not just something for astronomers. >> so on christmas day once you're satisfied that santa has made it down your chimney, look again, here's hoping for a successful launch on christmas day. that is our broadcast for this wednesday night, with our thanks for being with us, on behalf of all my colleagues at the networks of nbc news, goodnight. e networks of nbc news goodnight. >> tonight on all in. the january six committee wants to know what jim jordan knows. >> i just don't know, i would have to go back -- i mean, i don't know when those conversations happened. >> tonight, the former request to speak to jim jordan, and while the inquiry goes beyond conversations with trump on january six. plus, new reporting on why the pentagon held back the national guard during the insurrection. then, good news whether you take the pandemic seriously or not. >> we're therapeutics of the monoclonal -- >>