interview this week. >> we risked our lives to give them enough time to get to safety and allegedly some of them were in communication with some of the rioters who knew what would happen. it makes you question their motives and their loyalty to the country. we were battling the mob in a brutal battle where i could have lost my life and my fellow officers as well. >> just before the holiday, the january 6th committee turned its attention to members of congress. it has formally requested jim jordan and scott perry. both appear unlikely to comply and it's a signal that they will be scrutinizing the actions of actual house members much more closely. the january 6th committee is locked in a battle with donald trump from his last days of office that may be relevant to their investigation. the committee is vowing to hold public hearings soon so they can share their findings publicly. the looming midterm elections pose an exist earn threat to the committee itself. if the republicans take back control the house of representatives, if that happens, republicans will be able to continue their campaign to re-write the history of the last insurrection while many of them prepare for the next one. joining me now is hugo lowell and someone who has been following the january 6th committee closely. happy new year. i want to begin with the story of donald trump's recall to the so-called war room on the morning of january 6th. who was that call made to and why is it now being scrutinized by the january 6 committee? >> so this call came at a pivotal moment just hours before the capitol attack. trump picked up the phone in the white house and made separate calls, in fact. he made a separate call to steve bannon, his former strategist who was operating communications out of the willard hotel, and then he made another call to the lawyers and on the second call to our lawyers, he stopped them from taking police after ward on january 6th. i don't know whether he wanted to delay thor is the if i kagsz or because he wanted to fight another day and survive through another week of the presidency. it's not entirely clear, but the end result is he pressed his aides to find a way to stop the certification from taking place and ultimately that's what he got. so i think the committee is going to scrutinize this very closely. bennie thompson told me that they're going to now look closely at those calls. >> as we speak, donald trump and the january 6th committee are battling over hundreds of documents that the committee wants to obtain as part of the investigation. the fate of those documents rests on the supreme court. donald trump doesn't want the committee to obtain them. how much pressure is he feeling? >> a lot of pressure. we reported that trump was having a meltdown at mar-a-lago. he thought mark meadows, his former chief of staff, many of whom included messages of congress. so trump will start feeling the feet and the national archives case are some of the most sensitive in the trump white house, that weil auto the eyes of the, and the deputy white house council. so these are consequential documents which the committee and i guess trump realizes could shed a lot of light in the lead-up to january 6th itself. >> so the committee has also reached out to two congress members to request their cooperation in its investigation. scott perry and jim jordan. will there be more on that when they resume their work in the new year and will that just -- that's really going to drive republicans up the wall because they'll claim this is a witch hunt. >> i think that's absolutely right. they will claim it's a witch hunt, but that comes regardless of what the committee does, right? so even if the committee sends out a number of volunteer requests for conversation and documents. we've seen them lash out to the committee and saying this is annel legitimate committee which is all nonsense, by the way and the legislative purpose has been upheld by both dump c. district court and the federal appellate court in the district of columbia. they came without merit, but they are going kri and make a big deal out of this because they know that looking at meadows, if they can be held in con temp of congress they think oh, no, if there is a subpoena in the offing and maybe that's where my fate will end up. >> the republicans wanted jim jordan to be on the committee. hugo lowell, thank you very much for your reporting this morning. appreciate it. here with me now is pennsylvania congresswoman madeleine dean. she served as an impeachment manager during the second impeachment of donald trump and she's also's member of the house judiciary committee. good morning, happy new year. >> good morning. >> we are approaching the one-year anniversary of the capitol insurrection. what sorts of thoughts and memories are going through your mind. >> i wish all of us a happy new year and all of us and have we have a good and much healthier 2022. i've been thinking about this one-year anniversary. i want to be there on january the 6th this year to mark it because i was in the capitol preparing for the electors and was caught in the gallery at the time of the break-in when the protesters turned into insurrectionists. americans attacking americans. that's what i keep thinking about. this was not a foreign outside attack. this was americans using our flag and using the trump false flag to beat police officers for hours and hours. i've been in communication with sergeant goknell, you saw his tweet of the injuries he suffered protecting our lives. he represents one of thousands of capitol police officers who did their duty and stood in the way of violence so that we and staff members can be protected from a violent, medieval mob while the president sat in the office doing nothing for hours upon hours. i'm worried for all of us that we make sure we remember, we reflect on what happened that day and that we recommit ourselves to the truth and to democracy. that's what i keep thinking of these days. >> yes. we know the man who incited that mob, the man who sat in the white house and let them try and overturn the election result. he plans to give a press conference on january 6th to aid and abet the rewriting of that history and what happened since. we know the 1/6 committee is going after donald trump's records. we know that just before the holiday break the committee signaled that it's turning its attention to congress members and what members of the house gop caucus might have played in this attempted coup. are you concerned about how this might unfold in 2022, especially given it's an electioniary? >> i'm not concerned. i know the team of people working on the 1/6 committee and the extraordinary lawyers and staff who are metec lousily going after the evidence and collecting that evidence. i think it's incredibly important work. all the while they do other work and once the hearings become more public, i think the american people will better understand who is culpable. i see them moving forward meticulously. they're putting together a tremendous number of pieces of a desperate, desperate failed president who is continuing to flail about holding a press conference on january 6th to spew more big lies. i hope his base is schrefrpging, ooze we do our job and reveal the truth of january 6th. the former president sent a violent mob to overthrow the elections results. we will do it twhoshg yr and oversite, thees is yatd press wrote that we are in the middle of a second insur ekdz and the trump movement is getting ready to do it all over again and do it better than last time in term it is of getting people in the right places. your party the democrats in 2021 did not pass a single legislation to protect american democracy. that's a scandal, is it not? will we see any change in 2022 on that front? >> i disagree with you. we did pass hr-1. we have hr-4 prepared and ready to go. >> in the house, congresswoman. not as a law that was signed by the president. >> correct. that's correct. absolutely. we must turn our attention to the senate and say where are you in terms of protecting our voting rights. we were talking about different states that were going to matter. pennsylvania will matter desperately not just at the congressional level and at the state legislative level and we have a u.s. senate seat up. i hope that a democrat wins that seat so that we further protect voting rights and that is actually our number one task. if we don't get voting rights correct, the slow rolling attempt will be revisited at the legislative level and pennsylvania majorities are up to the same kind of mischief in terms of trying to control elections. we have to get these elections right. >> you're right to say that the pressure is on the senate. it will be decided in the senate, but of course, to get rid of the fill buster and you and i have talked many times about the filibuster and you and i agree the filibuster has to go, but for the fill bust tore go the president has to take the lead on this. we've seen him do some interviews with abc just before christmas, with cnn, a couple of months ago and he's willing to have a carveout for the filibuster. certainly the president and the leader of your party should be front and center in the issue of the filibuster because nothing gets done unless the filibuster is changed and surely the white house should be leading with this. >> well, you and i have had this conversation. i agree with you. the filibuster has to go. it is a relic, a vestige, really of jim crow south. the founders of the country set up a very wide system where it is a majority rule and not a minority rule. the use of the filibuster makes it a minority rule. i do urge the president, and we have to do that essentially, but i agree with you, and i hope the president will move in that direction also that we go for a full reversal of the filibuster so that the majority rules as is constitutional. >> we hope. democratic congresswoman mad lip dean, we thank you very much this morning. we appreciate it. >> all the best, thank you. >> as if last year wasn't cruel enough to the world 2021 waited until the last day to take from us a national icon and one of the most trailblazing and beloved women in american television. our tribute to betty white next. if your television screen is feeling somewhat dim this morning it's probably because one of tv's brightest stars is gone. the legendary betty white has died at the age of 99 just weeks before her 100th birthday. the news of her death rocked fans young and old, inscluding me. i loved "the golden girls qwest "growing up. comedian and late-night host seth meyers tweeted. rip, betty white. the only snl host i ever saw get a standing ovation at the after party. a party in which she ordered a vodka and hot dog and stayed until the bitter end. obama tweeted this photo of president obama in the oval office in tweeted. she was criticized after having arthur duncan a black tap dancer on her show. she said i'm sorry. live with it. the show was canceled soon after. rest well, betty. here's miguel almaguer with the life and legacy of the one and only betty white. >> ladies and gentlemen, betty ♪♪ ♪♪ >> when i first heard about the campaign to get me to host "saturday night live" i didn't know what facebook was. and now that i do know what it is i have to say it sounds like a huge waste of time. [ cheers and applause ] >> betty white, born in the chicago suburb of oak park, illinois, certainly never wasted her time. in the 1940s she began working on radio appearing on "the great gildersleeve". >> i didn't go to college. i just went into show business. >> she was on television from the very beginnings of tv. in 1952, co-producing her own comedy show, "life with elizabeth". >> what is so terrible about spiders? they go doing. >> to the betty white show in 1958. ♪♪ >> she is best known for two signature tv roles, sue an neve ins, the happy homemaker on "the mary tyler moore show." >> surely, that is not how a strawberry swirl is supposed to look. ♪♪ thank you for being a friend ♪ ♪ >> and rose nylund on the golden girls. when i was in minnesota the doctor would make house calls all of the time. for us and the livestock. >> you and the animal had the same dollar? >> until he tried to neuter the swenson brothers. >> there's an awful lot of betty in rose. it scares me to death. >> twice divorced she finally found the love of her life in game show host allen ludden. >> the password tonight is -- home. will you take me home? >> i certainly will. >> betty white was a tireless advocate for the humane treatment of animals. >> we are such a throwaway society. we treat our animals like paper towels. take one, if it doesn't work out, you throw it away. >> she had a new generation of fans loved her in films like "the proposal." >> let's see if we can find your boobs. >> they're in there somewhere. >> it's look an easter egg hunt. >> she had no sign of slowing down with an appearance on late-night comedy shows. >> you're playing like betty white. >> that's not what your girlfriend said. >> the screen actors guild award presented her with the life time achievement award in 2010. >> this is the highest point of my entire professional life. thank you from the bottom of my heart. >> a life in which betty white garnered countless honors, fans and friends. ♪♪ ♪ >> miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. ♪♪ ♪♪ ork. over time, i've come to add a fourth: be curious. be curious about the world around us, and then go. go with an open heart, and you will find inspiration anew. viking. exploring the world in comfort. people everywhere living with type 2 diabetes are waking up to what's possible... with rybelsus®. the majority of people taking rybelsus® lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than 7. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. wake up to the possibility of lower a1c with rybelsus®. you may pay as little as $10 for up to a 3-month prescription. ask your healthcare provider about rybelsus® today. age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein. earn about covid-19, boost® high protein also has key nutrients the more questions we have. the biggest question now, what's next? what will covid bring in six months, a year? if you're feeling anxious about the future, you're not alone. calhope offers free covid-19 emotional support. call 833-317-4673, or live chat at calhope.org today. one of the worst things about a cold sore is how it can make you feel. but, when used at the first sign, abreva can get you back to being you in just 2 and a half days. be kinder to yourself and tougher on your cold sores. with downy infusions, let the scent set the mood. ♪ feel the difference with downy. spurred by the omicron variant, a surge in new covid infects is taking a greater toll on young people. it is landing children in u.s. hospitals in record numbers. in new york city alone, pediatric hospital zags are up 400%. unvaccinated children made up the bulk of those admitted. none have been vaccinated. keep in mind, children under 5 are not yet approved for covid vaccines in the u.s. joining us now is dr. peter hotez, co-director of texas children's hospital and dean at baylor college of medicine. dr. hotez, welcome to the show. happy new year. there is some debate over the role that covid is playing in the kids' hospital admission. cdc director rochelle walensky somewhat downplayed the situation saying many children are hospitalized with covid, as opposed because of covid and can you explain why that's a meaningful distinction. >> we got a hint of this from south africa where we saw lots of pediatric hospitalizations and some were being admitted with signs and symptoms of covid, shortness of breath or coughing, respiratory symptoms, et cetera, but others were picked up just when they were hospitalized for other reasons because they were testing all kids who came into the hospital so i think we're seeing a mixture of both. what happened is omicron is not targeting kids selectively. it is so highly transmissible that it is creating a blizzard of violence and this was anticipated and we saw it a little bit with delta in the south and here in texas over the summer and now it's even amplified because omicron is more transmissible than this. >> if you're a parent whose kids are about to go back to school on monday, how concerned should you be about your kids picking up the virus especially if they're not fully vaccinated yet and not boosted. we're hearing there are boosters for 12 to 15-year-olds next week and how worried should you be about bringing it home to you? >> it very much depends on where you are. no question new york city and washington, d.c., this is -- this epidemic is raging and there's a lot of transmission. i advised to hold off for a week or two until we get on the down side of this, but the best thing you can do right now is to max out your vaccinationses. right now, nationally with 5 and up we're underperforming terribly and 15% to 20% of the kids that age are vaccinated and as you point out, now we have the opportunity to boost the teenagers with the pfizer biontech vaccine and that's great. again, in the south the vaccination rates of the 12 to 17-year-olds are only half of where they are in the north. that's where you have to push hard in addition to keep our schools safe. >> just on the young effort age group under 5-year-old kids who can't get vaccinated yet. i believe that's been an obstacle so far. >> yeah. i think there's been some issues showing that the vaccines and the youj young age group can produce a protective i mupity, but they might find ways to improve on it, as well, but it can get sorted out, but it won't happen right away in 2022 at least here in the u.s. >> dr. hotez, your vaccine was approved in india, the vaccine that you worked on. congratulations on that achievement and accomplishment. talk to me about what it means and why it matters on the global scale. >> what we've seen other than the humanitarian urgency to vaccinate the world is the simple fact that delta rose out of an unvaccinated population in india and omicron rose out of the unvaccinated population in southern africa. until we vaccinate the global south, africa, latin america and southeast asia, no one seems to be stepping up to try to make that happen at a meaningful level. hopefully our vaccine which is easy to scale, simple to administer, great safety profile now has been released for emergency use authorization in india. they have a biological ear and industrial partner and extraordinary group and have 150 million ready doses now and they'll start vaccinating with up to 1.2 billion and we licensed the patent in indonesia and bangladesh, to an organization in botswana and hopefully this will start filling the gap. >> that is fantastic news. a special thanks to you for coming on this morning and giving us some very good news as we start 2022. appreciate it. happy new year. >> happy new year, mehdi. thanks so much. >> the rep take of the supreme court rightly took a major hit in 2021. the nation is so seemingly fond of the conservative chief justice john roberts. we'll get into that and i'll also speak to tiffany cross. don't go away. automotive donor to make-a-wish and meals on wheels. and the largest corporate donor to the aspca and national park foundation. get a new subaru during the share the love event and subaru will donate two hundred and fifty dollars to charity. new jerseys are here! there you go. all-american club™? 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[music: sung by craig robinson] yeah. ♪ i'm a ganiac, ganiac, check my drawers ♪ [sfx: sniffs] ♪ and my clothes smell so much fresher than before ♪ try gain flings and you'll be a gainiac too! the only detergent with oxiboost and febreze. welcome back and once again business happy new year to you all. i suggest earn start off their new year morning by checking in with friends. i'm checking in with tiffany cross, host of "the cross connection." welcome to 2022. what are you focused on this morning? >> thank you very much, mehdi and a happy new year to you all. i'll be joined by dr. johnson to sift through news this morning. we'll obviously have to discuss the devastating death of the legend betty white just days shy of her 100th birthday. i'll have two members of congress to talk about build back better and the separate pieces of legislation and to find out what exactly the plan is to pass a voting rights bill in the next few weeks now that it's officially the year of the midterm and a lifeline for any of you folks just rolling over with a pounding headache or a porcelain face shield. i've been there, to be honest. don't worry, health is on the way. we have the best cures for a hangover. "the cross connection" will be jam-packed, mehdi, for a full show. >> tiffany, i don't drink, but i did struggle to get up this morning at 5:30 a.m. to do this show. i don't know how ali velshi does it every weekend. props to him. quick question before i let you go. 2022, is it going to be better than 2021 and 2020 or no? >> i'm going to say it has to be better. you have to speak things into existence. i have a quick question for you. it's not about what time you got up this morning. what time did you go to sleep last night? did you sleep through the new year like many of us? >> i'm not telling. that's my secret. happy new year, tiffany. "the cross connection" is coming up at the top of the hour. >> happy new year, mehdi. >> as we begin 2022 our very right-wing supreme court still has unresolved business from 2021. we'll get into what's on the docket and why it matters so much next. onger when you need it most. it's non habit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil. new zzzquil ultra. when you really really need to sleep. >> the supreme court garnered plenty of attention over the past year with a bench now crudded with three reactionary justices appointed by donald j. trump. fears about the ultra conservative majority seemed to come true as they took up two high-profile abortions to roe v. wade in nearly half a century. those cases and a handful of other issues remain unresolved as we head into the new year. nbc justice correspondent pete williams shows us what's in store for the supreme court in 2022. >> abortion began dominating the supreme court term even before it officially started. it aloud texas to continue enforcing sb-8 while the battle for its constitutionality raged on. the law bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and allows anybody anywhere to sue anyone who violates it. a supreme court ended up ruling that abortion providers can continue fighting the law in court, but made it nearly impossible for a successful court challenge to shut the dou lawn. >> the supreme court said we can't sue judges. we can't sue clerks and we can't sue the attorney general and we can't get the lawsuits blocked and the lawsuits are what are making it impossible for the clinics to open because this law allows anybody to sue anywhere in the world against the clinics in texas. >> a ruling is coming on late june on mississippi's law that would ban abortion after 15 weeks, a victory for mississippi would undercut nearly five decades of ruling starting with roe v. wade that say states cannot ban abortion before a fetus is viable around 24 weeks. when that case was argued a majority of the court seemed willing to uphold the law and undercut roe, if not overturn it. the court's liberals ruled that such an outcome would seem like a decision based on politics. will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the constitution and its reading are just political acts. >> it would ban a new york law that bans carrying a handgun in public. people can get a permit to carry a conceal permit. that violates the constitutional trite keep and bear arms. >> it's contrary to the second amendment. i mean, does your right to self protection stop when you leave your home? >> a majority on the supreme court seemed to agree that the new york law is unconstitutional, such a decision would be a boost to second amendment rights. the court this term will decide whether to loosen restrictions on using public money to pay for religious education, whether boston marathon bomber dzhokhar tsarnaev is entitled to a new sentencing hearing and whether to use affirmative action in college admissions. president biden commission on the supreme court ended its work with no recommendations. it was divided on adding more justices to the current nine-member court, though more receptive to the idea of term limits. we may learn whether justice stephen breyer intends to retire at the end of the term while democrats still control the white house and the senate. he is now the court's senior liberal. justice breyer will turn 84 in august and says the timing of his retirement will depend on his health. pete williams, nbc news at the supreme court. our thanks to pete williams for that. after the break, we'll talk more about the reputation of the supreme court and who is responsible for its decline with law professor melissa murray and activist murray hatcher. stay with us. - [announcer] the american dream. for children in rural communities, it's slipping away. the gap between that dream and their reality is shocking. the gap between nutritious food and aching hunger, a good education and falling behind in school. but together, we can change that. with your help, local communities can get the food and resources they need to keep children well fed and ready for school, and if there were ever a time for you to help, it's now. sponsor a child with save the children and help give that child and so many others a chance for a better future. - you're doing more. you're giving them the opportunity, the hope, the ability to succeed. - [announcer] please call this number or go online to savesponsor.org and sponsor a child right here in america. for only $19 a month, you'll help give your sponsored child and other kids in their community access to: nutritious food, educational opportunities, safety and protection. when you call or go online and sponsor a child now, we'll send you this exclusive t-shirt to show you're changing lives as a child sponsor, and if you act now, your first month's gift will be matched thanks to a generous donor. - [woman] we try to make a safe haven with our programs and give them a chance to be kids. - [announcer] you can give them that chance when you call or go online to become a save the children child sponsor. when you do, you'll receive a photo and information about your sponsored child, and you'll get special progress reports on how your gifts combined with those of other caring sponsors are changing children's lives. - we've had probably the toughest year we've ever had, and save the children has been there every step of the way. - [announcer] in these difficult times, america's children are facing more hunger than ever before. they urgently need someone like you to care, so please call or go online to savesponsor.org right now. thank you. when you have xfinity, you have entertainment built in. which is kind of nice. ah, what is happening. binge-watching is in the bag, when you find all your apps, all in one place. find live sports faster just by using your voice... sports on now. touchdown irish! [cheering] that was awesome. and, the hits won't quit, with peacock premium included at no additional cost. all that entertainment built in. xfinity. a way better way to watch. these days there are few things that democrats and republicans can agree on, but apparently and maybe bizarrely, they're on the same page about chief justice john roberts according to a new gallop survey. he is also the only one to receive a majority approval rating from republicans, democrats and independents. it's a surprising result considering that the supreme court's overall reputation has taken a major hit in this past year, a separate gallup poll found the supreme court rating overall had sunk to a record low, 40%. that's down 20 points from july of 2020. gallup says it is a survey to how it is at tune to the political private and is trying to preserve the legitimacy of the supreme court even though voting rights is roberts is a staunch conservative but the court has switched so far to the right he's become a swing vote with the trump appointees having remade that court in that image, a court that looks to be willing to throw you precedence for parties and politics. and john roberts' little dance is working. his attempts to separate his own reputation from that of his right wing court is working. weirdly people like him even as they disapprove of the court. joining me is melissa murray, a legal analysts, also with us a megan hatcher mays, director of the group indivisible. thank you both for joining me this morning. happy new year. megan let me start with you, most politicians today can only dream of a bipartisan approval rating like the one john roberts just got in this any survey. what is his appeal to democrats and republicans alike and tell us why you think he doesn't deserve it. >> i'm excited to tell you why i think he doesn't deserve it. it has a lot of shades of joe biden and nancy pelosi saying we need a strong republican party that's what makes the country great. there are probably a lot of liberals who believe that and john roberts represents that type of person, he's respectable, went to harvard, seems nice enough. so even though he's doing bad stuff he's figured out a way to do it without getting any bad p.r. right. so even though he gutted the voting rights act and gutted obamacare and made it more difficult and worse, and gutted the va again last june, for some reason none of this is sticking to him. he's not a good guy and he's not our friend. john roberts has been dedicated to gutting the voting rights act since the 1980s, he's a dyed in the wool ronald reagan conservative. he's wanted to do it since law school and he got the chance to do it in 2013. so everyone upset at the state levels where they're trying to make it more difficult for people of color to vote, john roberts is the chief architect that allowed it to happen. in the past those states would have had to get approval before putting approval before putting voter suppression laws in place, john roberts says you don't need to do that anymore. making it illegal to hand out water bottles in line, it's because of him. >> when you say that i remember liberals gushing over george w. bush. it's as if amy coney barrett, and neil gore such make john roberts look good. is that a good or bad thing? it might prompt democrats to reform the court, expand the court, on the other hand it's an important institution in our american system of government and if people don't have faith in it, it's more of the democracy in cry superintendent talk. >> that's right. this is a moment, i think, the court faces an existential crisis. it's facing a number of high profile cases. the fact that some of these cases are on the court's document is a testament to the fact that the composition of the court is changed. now they have the votes to put what they like on the dockets and decide it and decide it in ways they would like. and they are definitely moving in a more conservative direction. as you noted, as megan noted, john roberts seems to be the swing department of justice. that's a testament to how far the court has tilted to the right, because he is, of course, quite conservative. >> yes, he is. this reminds us of how the right wing drift in politics affects all of our institutions. >> the supreme court, you and i talked about it before, let's talk about it again, if the popularity continues to plummet, if it goes after abortion rights, will that prompt the democrats, institutionalist joe biden to finally get behind supreme court reform and, dare i say, expansion? >> i mean, i obviously don't hope for a bad outcome in the abortion cases but if anyone was listening to oral arguments last december, it doesn't look good for roe v. wade, seems clear there's six votes to overturn it or gut it beyond recognition. so unfortunately as human beings it's hard for us to try to imagine what the bad thing will be, like a bad thing has to 457 and we react to the bad thing. but i need people to understand the bad thing has already happened many, many times. they already gutted public sector unions, var twice. the fact they took this abortion case at all tells you everything you need to know. the mississippi case is unconstitutional on its face under current law and they took it because they are way outside the main stream of legal thinking and of the american public. it's very, very scary. i do think that something like that -- and the gun cases mentioned in the previous segment those might be the catalysts to get democrats to kind of get on board with changing the -- how the court works and court expansion among all the reforms is the most important that the congress can consider. but people do need to understand that the bad thing has already occurred and we need those reforms now. we don't need to wait for more bad stuff to happen before we change the composition of the court. >> a lot of liberals will be worried more bad stuff is happening this year. melissa, megan says roe v wade is in trouble. if they do overturn it, do you think they'll bother putting up any convincing legal argument or is it just native ideology. >> i think roe v. wade is in the cross hairs we saw it in oral arguments on december 1st and is it fact that the court decided to take up the question of sb-8 and left that law intact and in force in the state of texas where millions of women have been without their rights for over three months now. so all of this suggests this is a court that has deep antipathy for reproductive rights. it chips away at the edges of roe v. wade leaving that open for a full-scale assault at a later time. and there are more abortion cases in the lower courts. so this is a matter of time with the conservative 6 to 3 super majority. >> megan, all i want for 2022 is steven briar to retire, am i wrong? >> no. that's what we all want. i want that very much. i'll send up good vibes to the retirement gods. i think he's served the court very well and now it is time to go. this might be the democrats' last chance to replace him. if things go poorly in the midterms we've seen that mitch mcconnell will not confirm a supreme court justice under a democratic president if he has control of the senate. so steven briar thank you for your service and i hope you enjoy your summer and retirement. >> we're all going to be watching what happens there. melissa last word to you, i don't want to end the show or 1st of january on a bad note. let's end on a positive note. joe biden confirmed more federal judges to the bench than anyone, including ronald reagan, is that true? >> yes. we're seeing judges that look like america and whose experience reflects the diversity of the legal profession. so public defenders, those that worked in unions, not seeing the former prosecutor, state court judges on the bench. but voters who worked on voting rights. we've seen nominations that run the gamut so running a play that the federalist society has been doing for years putting young judges on the bench and now democrats are playing the same kind of long game. >> they are indeed. let's see if it pays off, as megan pointed out, this may be the last year they can do anything at the supreme court level. appreciate you both taking time out of your new year's day morning to join us on the show. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> and that's all the time we have for today. thank you for watching on this new year's morning. i'll be back in the seat for ali velshi tomorrow morning, i'll get up early to be in the seat at 8:00 a.m. don't go anywhere, "the cross connection" with tiffany cross starts right now. good morning, everyone. happy new year. welcome to the first "cross connection" of 2022. as always we have lots to get to, from politics to covid to culture. so as you can see, i'm joined this morning by my friend and colleague and sometimes nemesis, msnbc contributor dr. jason johnson. a politics and journalist professor at morgan state university. jason, good morning. happy to have you on set. >> happy new year. >> cheers, my friend. happy new year. i did not get to toast last night. so i brought our little bubbly here on the set. >> this works for me. >> so we can welcome in the new year together. >> so the world knows this is orange juice for me, i'm lame. it's just orange juice. >> this is not just orange juice for me. but happy you're enjoying your orange juice. what did you do last night? >> i did a lot. but all safe. all covid safe. no photos of me on ig or anywhere else running around -- >> if folks have photos of you, please tag me. >> please don't. i don't need that. so i had been on planes for like a day and a half to get here, we'll have a conversation about covid and travel. i got together with two friends, masked indoors and we did a manifestation ceremony, we talked about things we wanted to manifest in 2022, what we wanted to let go, we wrote them down, burned them, put them in a buet

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