territorial integrity. >> today's meeting also comes a day after president biden clarified his comments about a minor incursion, insisting that any russian troop movement inside ukraine would be considered an invasion. >> i've been absolutely clear with president putin, he has no misunderstanding. if any -- any assembled russian units move across the ukrainian border that is an invasion and it will be met with severe and coordinated economic response. let there be no doubt at all that if putin makes this choice russia will pay a heavy price. >> let's go right to richard engel in ukraine. good to see you. what more can you tell us about what went on during this meeting between secretary blinken and the russian foreign minister and is there any early reaction there in ukraine? >> reporter: well, this negotiation suddenly became much more complicated for the u.s. side. sergey lavrov, the russian foreign minister is a skilled diplomate, he's been doing this for many years, he is a very intelligent, very seasoned operator in russia. he's probably the second most well-known, second most popular figure after vladimir putin. in russia you see people wearing flags or pins or t-shirts with putin's image on it and the only other person you see with that kind of recognition is sergey lavrov. so these were going to be difficult negotiations for the secretary of state to begin with. then going into the -- going into these negotiations having had the president inject this ambiguity, say that there might be one kind of response if there was a small military action and then having to have the white house issue a written correction just minutes after he said it, and then to have the president himself come out and correct himself and to see an angry response coming from the ukrainian side, it showed divisions, it showed weakness, it showed a lack of clarity from the u.s. side. during the negotiations they were held behind closed doors, but from the public comments we did hear, the secretary of state blinken, he said that these weren't exactly negotiations because he didn't want to give the impression that the united states was negotiating the future of ukraine, he just wanted to make sure that the russian side knew the u.s. concerns, knew the u.s. position, knew it clearly, and sergey lavrov said that's fine, we appreciate that. what they want are written agreements. they want a written formal response from the united states clarifying its position, clarifying what it's willing to do to address russia's concerns about nato. and although that might sound easy, asking for answers in writing about russia's concerns, the united states is reluctant to give answers in writing to russia because it doesn't want to make commitments about the future of ukraine in writing. it sounds like it's a colonial power dictating the future of a sovereign country, saying here is what we're willing to accept, here is what we're willing not to accept. so russia is insisting it wants written answers and the -- and secretary blinken is insisting he's not trying to negotiate the knew tour of ukraine. meanwhile, all those troops are still around the border and more troops have been going into neighboring belarusbelarus. it was a tough day for the secretary of state. >> richard engel, thank you for that. we will have much more on this situation coming up a little later on in the program, but now to the january 6th committee. full speed ahead. it has invited the former president's eldest daughter ivanka trump to voluntarily testify in early february. the goal, to learn more about donald trump's actions and state of mind on january 6th. often it's believed she was the only other person in the room. nbc's ali vitali is on capitol hill, yamiche alcindor moderator of washington week on pbs, carol lennig for the "washington post" and co-author of "i alone can fix it" also here senior fbi official chuck rosenberg and stephanie which will boston coal could have former friend and advior to melania trump. ali, let's start with do we know this morning, has ivanka agreed to speak to the committee? >> reporter: we don't know that at this point, chris. that is the open question after we see subpoenas or requests to come and speak with the committee is whether or not these folks in the former president's orbit are going to be willing to comply. in this instance we've heard from ivanka trump's spokesperson, they said yesterday that they only just learned about this letter being sent from the committee and they point out, as the committee already knows the statement says, ivanka did not speak at the january 6th rally and spoke against the violence using phrases like please be peaceful. of course, that's not what the committee says in their letter they want to get at. they know that thee didn't speak at the rally, what they're focused on are things she may have said behind closed doors. one of the things we start to see in this letter from the committee quite lengthy in its request for ivanka to speak with them, is that they are focused on several different pieces of this, but we're also starting to see the mention that other former top officials in the white house have told the committee, people like general kellogg or kayleigh mcenany. we're now starting to see the fruits of all of those testimonies as the committee starts turning their attention to the people who have always been closest in many ways to the president which is his sons and daughters in this case. >> so, yamiche, let's dig into based on the letter that they sent exactly what the committee wants to talk to ivanka about including trump's pressure on pence to overturn the election, trump's actions and inactions during the capitol riot, orders to deploy national guard and trump's conduct in the days after january 6th. how important from your conversations do members of this committee think ivanka trump is to completing this puzzle? >> she is an incredibly important person because she was in the room next to her father when, of course, this historic, terrible insurrection was taking place. what the committee has always been seeking is the sort of black box of the white house. what was happening in those crucial moments when people were breaking into the capitol? what was the president saying? who was he calling? what sorts of actions weigh he taking or not taking? sort of what was his state of mind during this entire insurrection. based on this letter they're saying that the president's daughter was there when he was on the phone with vice president mike pence, herb ring him and telling him allegedly based on keith kellogg's's testimony that he had picked the wrong running mate. she was someone throughout his presidency seen as the calming force, really had the ear of her father, someone who was definitely in his orbit and making every day decisions. she was also an adviser at the white house so she wasn't just sort of the president's kid she was also, of course, an official at the white house, someone who was officially working there. she is incredibly important. i think the interesting thing will be whether or not they can even convince her to give up any sort of details about what was going on there. i think the statement from the spokesperson makes it clear that ivanka trump wants to be clear that she was not supportive of this violence, she had thought it was wrong and should stop immediately, that being said that's not the same thing as saying here is what my father didn't do and here is where i disagree with my father. those are the details that are crucial because bennie thompson has always talked about this 187 minutes or so where the committee is looking to see exactly what the frame of mind was of the former president. >> chuck, to continue on what yamiche just said i want to read some of the testimony referenced in bennie thompson's letter, this is from former national security adviser keith kellogg about a conversation trump had on the morning of january 6. here it is. question, it's been reported that the president said to the vice president, you don't have the courage to make a hard decision, and maybe not those exact words, but something like that. do you remember anything like that? kellogg, i don't remember exactly, either, but something like that, yeah. being like you're not tough enough to make the call. question, another report of this phone call is that trump said, mike, it's not right. you can do this. i'm counting on you to do it. if you don't, i picked the wrong man four years ago. you're going to wimp out. do you remember anything leek that? kellogg, words like that, yes. so i'm interested in the importance, as you see it, of that conversation and any corroboration that ivanka can give but also whether she knows if trump knows that her dad was advised by the white house counsel that if you are going to do this it's illegal. >> yeah, so, chris, to your point, the corroboration is key. if everybody on your panel right now was standing in the lobby of a bank when it got robbed, the fbi should want to talk to all of us. maybe we saw different things, maybe we heard different things, maybe we remember it in different ways. from the excerpts that you just read, even general kellogg only had an inexact recollection, he said in response to one question, words like that, yes. so of course he would want to talk to either people in the room. ivanka trump was central to her father and to his administration, she was there when a lot of this stuff happened so it makes perfect sense for the committee to reach out to her and anyone else who was in the room. by the way, i should add, you know, i was a prosecutor for a long time. you never get everything that you want, memories fade, some witnesses refuse to testify, some documents are unavailable. that's perfectly normal. so it makes sense, too, for the committee to reach out to anyone and everyone who has relevant information in order to sort of build the best picture of what happened before, during and after that awful day. >> carol, i want to play part of what committee member laughren said to nicolle wallace yesterday about the importance of ivanka trump. take a listen. >> we have direct testimony that ms. trump went in multiple times, at least twice, maybe more to her father, i believe she was alone with him to ask him to call off the violence. we'd like to talk to her about that. >> so there's so much that she knows that nobody but donald trump really knows directly necessarily. i wonder as you have covered this so closely and you've read the letter i'm sure multiple times now what's your big take away? >> you know, chris, i think it's so important exactly what chuck said about getting all the corroboration, all the witnesses' views, but i think what the letter reveals in boldface type is just how much the committee already knows and has. essentially they have multiple witnesses, some firsthand, who know what we reported in our book last year, which is that ivanka was pleading with her father to go out, make a statement. and she had to go back multiple times to the oval, at the request of chief of staff mark meadows, who was getting texted we now know multiple times by his own republican colleagues saying, mark, where is the president? is he going to do something? we are helpless here. there are a string of texts now that we know about, thanks to the committee's work, that show how desperate republicans were to have the president basically save their bacon, save his legacy, save their lives. they had people tromping through their halls calling for vice president pence's head. they were worried about their own lives. we know so much more about this event because of the january 6th committee, because they've gotten some of these records, but i'm taken aback by how much they do know. one, ivanka trump we want to put you on alert that you have information about your -- your father's, rather, being warned potentially that this was illegal. that the white house counsel may have concluded or provided information to the president that it would be unconstitutional and illegal for vice president pence to take the action that trump was recommending. why is that important? the reason it's important is if the president at the time was warned by his own lawyer, the white house counsel, not his personal lawyer but his presidential executive lawyer that this was illegal, why was he pushing something illegal? and perhaps ivanka trump can reveal and shed some light on the conversations she had with her father as well, as she pleaded with him to do something, as mark meadows begged her to help him stop the violence on capitol hill. >> so, stephanie, obviously this comes as ivanka has already been subpoenaed as part of the new york attorney's investigation into her father's company and that leads us to the question, look, what are the chances that she actually voluntarily goes and talks to the committee? do you think there's a sense within the family that the walls are closing in? does she just assume everything is going to be okay because largely it has been? as somebody who knows this family very well, what's your thought? >> well, i believe we all know there's significant wide-ranging nefarious details that have been shared in black and white. the trumps do not care, unfortunately, what is true and what is not because they do believe they are above the law. ivanka, same thing as what happened during the presidential inauguration, she was deeply involved. she knew the details. she was someone who was, you know, on the phone making sure that her father was happy and that everything was taken care of. so for she to not show up when asked to appear before this committee is just disgraceful. and i doubt she will even -- even if she does show up, she's not going to tell the truth because i have seen her depositions, i have been a part of testimonies and i have reread them, thousands of pages, and there is, as i've been trying to explain, a lot of details that just are not right. >> so let me ask you really quickly here, chuck, so it is a voluntary request. if she says no, then what? >> well, it's voluntary now, that can change. the committee is trying to take a, i think, thoughtful approach. i think stephanie has a point that ivanka trump may not show up voluntarily but you can always escalate, go to a subpoena and a subpoena would compel her attendance. by the way, chris, ivanka trump has no special status, she was just an employee of the executive branch of the united states government. there is no real privilege that would preclude her testimony. there is no reason why she can't tell the committee what she saw and heard. she is not special in any way when it comes to doing her duty to the congress and to the country to tell the truth. whether or not she tells the truth, we shall see. >> we shall see. ali vitali, yamiche, carol, stephanie, thanks to all of you. chuck, you're going to stick around because this isn't the only investigation we are talking about this morning. in georgia the fulton county district attorney is requesting a special grand jury. she wants help with her office's investigation into former president trump's attempts to influence the vote count in her state. now, one key piece of that, the phone call from then president trump to the georgia secretary of state just days before the vote was certified. >> so, look, all i want to do is this. i just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. >> i want to bring in the political reporter for the atlanta journal constitution. greg, this investigation has been going on for nearly a year now. where do things stand? where does this grand jury potentially fit in? >> this was a significant development because the district attorney wants a special grand jury to help bolster her investigation. she said the move was needed because there is a significant number of witnesses and prospective witnesses who have refused to cooperate. this gives her more tools to compel them to submit their testimony. >> chuck, what's the difference between a special grand jury and a regular grand jury? why would she have to ask for this? >> so you have to look at georgia law for this. each state has its own set of rules that pertain to its grand jury. the federal door system a different set of rules. in georgia, and great news as well, a regular grand jury can indict, but it doesn't have the ability to compel evidence and testimony. a special grand jury can't indict, it can make recommendations about criminal charges, but the key thing here, and geg greg touched on it, this is an investigative tool that will now allow the district attorney to issue subpoenas to compel documents and to compel the attendance of witnesses and that's why a special grand jury in georgia is important to this investigation. >> so what would she have to show for them to say, okay, yeah, we see why this is necessary? >> right. so we saw a letter that the district attorney wrote to the chief judge in fulton county, which covers her jurisdiction, and said, look, we need this. we are unable to advance our investigation without these special additional powers. we have heard from witnesses who we think would be helpful and credible, but they don't want to talk to us without a subpoena. so, judge, please convene a special grand jury and give us this additional investigative tool. >> greg, one of the people we have heard from is brad raffensperger who was on fox. here is what he had to say. >> will you cooperate if asked to testify? >> well, we already have cooperated. any information that they've requested we've sent it to them and if they're compelled to come before a grand jury obviously we will follow the law and come before a grand jury and testify. obviously she has been slow-walking this. she has been in office for a year now, over a year, and now she's finally getting to this point. i think she's just trying to score some cheap political points for her democratic friends. >> for people who have not been focused on this investigation day in and day out, what should we make of that? >> brad raffensperger is up for reelection so he is also trying to energize his party's base, probably by fighting this. it's important to note that brad raffensperger's phone call was only one part of the investigation. she's also confirmed she's looking at other elements including lindsey graham, the senator from south carolina, his phone call with brad raffensperger. the abrupt res lags of the u.s. attorney in atlanta hours before the january 5th runoff elections in georgia, and testimony from rudy giuliani and other key trump attorneys in georgia legislative hearings in december 2020. so this is a broader scope than just that phone call. >> more to come. greg and chuck, thanks to both of you. coming up, we will go back to our top story, that high stakes meeting between secretary of state antony blinken and russia's foreign minister. but after months of russian troops building up at ukraine's border what exactly is vladimir putin's end game? i will ask the former u.s. ambassador to ukraine next. the. ambassador to ukrain but first we have sad news to report today. rock and roll legend meatloaf has died at the age of 74. ♪♪ ♪ when the day is done and the sun goes down ♪♪ >> that, of course, was the title track to the 1977 album "bat out of hell" which went on to become one of the best-selling albums in history. more than 40 million copies worldwide. meatloaf was a grammy winner, appear on broadway, stole the show with his role in "rocky horror picture show." in all his career spanned for than six decades. meatloaf died last night surrounded by his family and friends and leaves behind among so many other things an iconic version of the national anthem. ♪ gave proof through the night ♪ ♪ that our flag was still there ♪ ♪ ore the land of the free ♪ ♪ and the home of the brave ♪♪ e♪ ♪ and the home of the brave ♪♪ ♪ ♪ and the home of the brave ♪♪ e♪ ♪ and the home of the brave ♪ i don't know. i think they look good, man. mm, smooth. uh, they are a little tight. like, too tight? ♪ and the home of the brave ♪ . you don't want 'em too loose. for those who were born to ride there's progressive. with 24/7 roadside assistance. -okay. think i'm gonna wear these home. -excellent choice. with 24/7 roadside assistance. nurse mariyam sabo knows a moment this pure... ...demands a lotion this pure. new gold bond pure moisture lotion. 24-hour hydration. no parabens, dyes, or fragrances. gold bond. champion your skin. we were alone when my husband had the heart attack. he's the most important thing in my life. i'm so lucky to get him back. your heart isn't just yours. protect it with bayer aspirin. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. my plaque psoriasis... ...the itching... the burning. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. my psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is the only medication of its kind also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge tremfyant® with tremfya®... ask you doctor about tremfya® today. the pandemic made teaching and learning really hard. but instead of working to help students safely return to the classroom, the san francisco school board focused on renaming schools and playing politics. and they've even saddled our district with a $125 million deficit. our children can't wait for new leadership. here's our chance for a fresh start. on february 15th, please recall school board members collins, lópez and moliga before our kids fall san francisco was a beacon of even furhope behind. for my family to reach the middle class, and i've been helping others ever since. when the pandemic hit bilal was right there, helping restaurant workers make ends meet. in the obama administration, bilal worked tirelessly on innovative policies. the status quo isn't working. bilal is the best shot we have for meaningful change. i'm bilal mahmood, and i know our city can become a beacon of hope once again. we're back with our breaking news. the much anticipated high stakes meeting this morning in geneva between u.s. secretary of state antony blinken and russian foreign minister sergey lavrov over rising tensions in ukraine. >> we've been clear. if any russian military forces move across ukraine's border that's a renewed invasion. it will be met with swift, severe and a united response from the united states and our partners and allies. >> joining us now former u.s. ambassador to ukraine bill taylor. good to see you, bill. he said it's clear, over the last 24 hours there seemed to have been a lack of clarity in some people's -- many people's minds, including the president of ukraine about what exactly the plan was, but let me get your reaction to what you just heard from secretary blinken. >> chris, my reaction is that secretary blinken continues not to blink. his demeanor there, i'm glad you showed exactly that clip, foreign minister lavrov seemed to be happy, secretary blinken was clearly focused, which i seem is entirely appropriate. i think secretary blinken is holding firm, i think the united states is holding firm, i think nato and the allies are holding firm and i think that's the right approach. >> before this meeting there had already been several rounds of inconclusive discussions and nobody went into today thinking suddenly there was going to be a huge breakthrough, so what was the goal today? >> chris, is sounds like the goal today was to further explore the possibility of diplomacy and as the united states has pointed out over and over, there are two approaches, one is conflict and the other is diplomacy and sitting down and having negotiations on issues that russians are concerned about, that nato is concerned about, diplomacy is the way to avoid a conflict that would be devastating, a conflict where russia sends military troops across ukraine's border, killing a lot of ukrainians, killing a lot of ukrainian civilians, killing a lot of russian soldiers would be -- would be horrible, unpredictable and just highly risky for the russians to undertake. so these discussions today were designed to see if there is a role for diplomacy and it sounds like there is. it sounds like they're going to get together next week. >> the thousands of troops, the tanks remain on the border and ukraine's president pushed back on president biden's comments on a minor incursion, he wrote we want to remind the great powers that there are no minor incursions and small nations. but give us a sense of how much putin wants to be in ukraine and why. >> mr. putin has an obsession with ukraine. he has made it clear that he doesn't think ukraine is even a country. he has made it clear, mr. putin thinks that ukraine is really just part of russia. everything he has done over the past eight years, but in particular the things over the last six months, has reinforced for ukrainians how wrong he is. ukrainians are very proud that they are a sovereign nation with a history that goes back, chris, much farther than russian history goes back. the ukrainians are a proud country. they will fight. and mr. putin's desire to absorb ukraine will be thwarted in the long term. >> ambassador bill taylor, so good to have you on the program. thank you. up next, covid hospitalizations hitting levels not seen since january last year. so when are hospitals going to catch a break? i will talk to a doctor in a state that's warning that its health care system is at a breaking point. t its t its health when you switch and bring your own device, we'll pay off your phone up to $800. you can keep your phone. and keep your number. visit your local t-mobile store today. breaking point with hepatitis c i felt i couldn't be at my best for my family. in only 8 weeks with mavyret i was cured. i faced reminders of my hep c every day. i worried about my hep c. but in only 8 weeks with mavyret i was cured. mavyret is the only 8-week cure for all types of hep c. before starting mavyret your doctor will test if you've had hepatitis b which may flare up and cause serious liver problems during and after treatment. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b, a liver or kidney transplant, other liver problems, hiv-1,or other medical conditions, and all medicines you take. don't take mavyret with atazanavir or rifampin, or if you've had certain liver problems. if you've had or have serious liver problems other than hep c, there's a rare chance they may worsen. signs of serious liver problems may include yellowing of the skin, abdominal pain or swelling, confusion, and unexplained bleeding or bruising. tell your doctor if you develop symptoms of liver disease. common side effects include headache and tiredness. with hep c behind me, i feel free fearless because i am cured. talk to your doctor about mavyret. learn how abbvie could help you save. want your clothes to smell freshly washed talk to your doctor about mavyret. all day without heavy perfumes? now they can! with downy light in-wash freshness boosters. just pour a capful of beads into your washing machine before each load. to give your laundry a light scent that lasts longer than detergent alone, with no heavy perfumes or dyes. finally, a light scent that lasts all day! new downy light, available in four naturally-inspired scents. your record label is taking off. but so is your sound engineer. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire another million covid case toss report, surpassing 69 million total since the start of the pandemic, although the rolling seven-day average actually is finally ticking down. as americans race to get tested, the biden administration is announcing a new nationwide hotline, an alternative to internet access for ordering those free at-home covid tests so if you want to call the number is 1-800-232-0233. so more testing, good news, not such good news is hospitalizations. surging to higher levels than the previous peak which was this time last year. in oklahoma alone where omicron's peak could still be weeks away, nearly a quarter of the hospitals have already reported critical staffing shortages. one of the doctors sounding the alarm in that state, dr. dale bratzler. thank you so much for being with us, doctor. we know omicron is less likely to make patients severely ill, but icus are having trouble keeping up. what's going on in oklahoma? is it a crush of patients? is it staff becoming infected and so you have staffing issues? both? what's happening? >> yeah, so it is the combination of both. so hospitalizations are way up now, we've exceeded the surge that we saw with delta in the summer and we're approaching the peak that we saw last year with the original virus. secondly, the big difference between now and last year is a lot of health care workers left the workforce or went to contract labor and so they are not immediately available, and at the same time we have health care workers who are getting infected or being exposed to covid and so they're taken out of the workforce for five days of isolation or quarantine. >> let me add a couple other factors to all of this, doctor. oklahoma's vaccination rate is about, i think, ten points behind the national average, it's under 55%. you add to that something everybody is seeing around the country, pandemic fatigue. take me into your hospital. explain to someone at home what you're seeing and why we can't let our guard down. >> so right now in our hospital just over a third of the patients that are actually in the hospital have covid-19. now, some of them came into the hospital for trauma or other reasons and we incidentally found that they have covid-19, but we're still seeing a lot of covid admissions. regardless, both of those groups of patients must be cared for with isolation to protect the health care workers and other patients. if you go to our emergency room, it's full. there are people in the hallways, there are people in all of the emergency department rooms waiting to find beds upstairs in the hospital primarily because some of the staffing issues that we have with both infections, quarantine and then just a reduced workforce. >> other than joe scarborough -- just waiting it out because in new york the numbers are going down, california, is there something that you could get right now, something that you need right now to prevent an even worse crisis in your state's hospitals. >> the big thing we have been promoting is asking the public to avoid using the emergency room if you don't have a you true emergency. don't come in for tests, do things like that. help us unclog the emergency departments. we are really promoting vaccination, we want people to get vaccinated, which will help us get through perhaps the end of the surge. it won't help immediately. and those mitigation strategies that we all know work, wearing masks in public places, particularly when you are indoors, it just hasn't been happening enough and the virus is spreading very rapidly. >> one of the things we keep hearing especially since, you know, the vaccine became widely available is that some of the most effective things are one-on-one conversations with people who aren't vaccinated, a trusted person in their life telling them. what is it that you have found, if anything, that works when you're having those conversations? >> yeah, so i actually do think that's really important. when i'm in clinic and seeing patients, there are many times people come in with -- that are skeptical about getting the vaccine and it's because of the misperceptions and other things that are out there, but when i talk to them about the real risk, i highlight their underlying medical conditions that may put them at risk for the complications of the disease, i find that many people -- i take that time to explain it -- will take the vaccine. one thing i don't try to do is confront somebody who just says i'm not going to get it. it's not worth the time. >> attacking the misinformation one person by one person. doctor, thank you for what you do and thank you for hanging in there. we appreciate your time today. >> it's my pleasure. and coming up, democrats hit the pause button on their voting rights bills, but there may be one specific reform both sides could actually agree on, and it was key in the effort to overturn the 2020 election. everything we know about this latest bipartisan push next. everything we know about so more businesses can do more. mike's bike shop! downloading up to 10 times faster. whoa! is that already... (mike) yeah. (vo) hello business on the go. bye-bye public wi-fi. latest bipartisan push next. 5g ultra wideband is faster and safer. would you look at rhea's real estate game? closing in low lag, crystal clear hd. it's a new day for more businesses! 5g ultra wideband is now in more and more places. verizon is going ultra, so your business can too. ♪ ♪ ♪ 5g ultra wideband is now in more and more places. aloha! isn't this a cozy little room? sorry your vacation request took so long to get approved, so you missed out on the suite special. but lucky for you, they had this. when employees are forced to wait for vacation request approvals,it can really cramp their style. i'm gonna leave you to it. um, just— with paycom, employees enter and manage their own hr data in a single, easy-to-use software. visit paycom.com and schedule a demo today. if you have advanced non-small cell lung cancer, your first treatment could be a chemo-free combination of two immunotherapies that works differently. it could mean a chance to live longer. opdivo plus yervoy is for adults newly diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer that has spread, tests positive for pd-l1, and does not have an abnormal egfr or alk gene. together, opdivo plus yervoy helps your immune system launch a response that fights cancer in two different ways. opdivo plus yervoy equals a chance for more time together. more family time. more time to remember. opdivo and yervoy can cause your immune system to harm healthy parts of your body during and after treatment. these problems can be severe and lead to death. see your doctor right away if you have a cough; chest pain; shortness of breath; irregular heartbeat; diarrhea; constipation; severe stomach pain, nausea or vomiting; dizziness; fainting; eye problems; extreme tiredness; changes in appetite, thirst or urine; rash; itching; confusion; memory problems; muscle pain or weakness; joint pain; flushing; or fever. these are not all the possible side effects. problems can occur together and more often when opdivo is used with yervoy. tell your doctor about all medical conditions including immune or nervous system problems, if you've had or plan to have an organ or stem cell transplant, or received chest radiation. here's to a chance to live longer. ask your doctor about the combination of two immunotherapies, opdivo plus yervoy. thank you to all those in our clinical trials. ♪♪ ♪♪ some of my best memories growing up, were cooking with mom. she always said, “food is love.” so when she moved in with us, a new kitchen became part of our financial plan. ♪ i want to make the most of every meal we have together. ♪ at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com [copy machine printing] ♪ ♪ who would've thought printing... could lead to growing trees. ♪ new this morning, now that democrats voting rights bills are shelved for the time being, there appears to be actual bipartisan momentum on one specific piece of reform. both republican leaders mccarthy and mcconnell indicating they are open to changing the electoral count act, that's a 135-year-old law that allies of former president trump used to fight against certifying the 2020 election results. joining us now sahil kapur on capitol hill and nbc chief white house correspondent kristen welker. sahil, let's talk about this electoral count act. what are you hearing on the hill about any potential bipartisan support and what would reform look like? >> reporter: chris, there does seem to be a real effort and this bipartisan group is hitting the gas after democrats' two major voting rights bills went down, this is a more narrow effort that deals less with voting rights and more with election subversion. they are looking at a few things based on conversations we had with senators. they are looking at changes of the 1887 electoral count act to clarify the role of the vice president and congress. they are looking at reforms at the federal level to protection local election officials from the threats and intimidation we have seen more and more of lately. they are looking at changes that would clarify how votes are counted and certified even at the state level. this is a significant effort to try to prevent election subversion. joe manchin, one of the democrats in the group, told me yesterday that they will be on zooms all week to try to figure this out. another democrat involved is jeanne shaheen of new hampshire, the republicans involved include mitt romney of utah and susan collins of maine. now that the previous effort is out of the way they believe that there is an opening here for them to try to get this done. a couple of pitfalls to know, this is not -- this is far from home yet, this is far from a done deal. progressive democrats are not quite ready to embrace this because they don't want to be seen as quick to giving up on the voting rights push and republicans. we will see how former president donald trump reacts to this. if he lashes out at the group all bets could be off. >> there are a lot of dis appointed voters especially in the black community about that voting rights legislation that hit a brick wall. i know you got fresh reaction from black voters in south carolina, this is a state that saved joe biden's presidential campaign. what did they tell you? >> reporter: chris, you're absolutely right, if president biden has a base you could argue that it is african american voters, particularly in south carolina for that very reason that you mentioned because they really helped him turn around his primary campaign. when i went there to talk to them, specifically about voting rights, they said, look, that was their top issue. so they still want to see action on that and a range of other key priorities. here are my conversations from south carolina. it was the state that saved joe biden's presidential campaign. >> thank you. thank you, south carolina. >> reporter: south carolina's black democratic voters turning out in force to help him win the primary and ultimately the white house. one year later we went back to see what those voters are thinking now. helen bradley one of president biden's most fervent supporters telling us she is disappointed. >> do you think that president biden has fought hard enough for the priorities of black voters? >> i do not. >> reporter: bradley, a trusty at her church, just outside of columbia, says her top priority is democrats voting rights legislation which was defeat this had week. she blames president biden for not pushing for it earlier. >> our ancestors fought long and hard to get these rights for us and for them to be taken away would be detrimental. >> reporter: bradley praises the president's handling of covid, but not the economy. >> when you go to the grocery stores you find things three and four times higher than it used to be, but our paychecks are not three and four times higher. >> reporter: langston brooks is also worried about soaring prices. >> what grade would you give president biden? >> i'm going to say a b minus as of right now. >> reporter: okay. so he has some room for improvement? >> he does. >> reporter: fletcher smith commended the president for passing a covid relief bill. his advice now, more direct outreach. >> we will continue to be with him, but he needs to be with us walking side-by-side, not behind us, not necessarily in front of us, but side-by-side as martin luther king did. >> reporter: it's not just in south carolina. our nbc news poll shows black support for president biden has dropped 19 points since april. now it's down to 64%. >> what do you say to these black voters who say that you do not have their backs as you promised on the campaign trail? >> i have had their back my entire career. i have never not had their back. >> reporter: south carolina congressman james clyburn urges patience. >> he was elected to a four-year term and he has been in office for one year. i think it's a little bit, let's say, disrespectful to expect that everything that he laid out is going to be completed in the first year of your term. >> reporter: so will these voters give the president more time? >> i will never turn my back on joe biden. >> but he has to show me a little more. so i don't really want to commit to that at this point. >> reporter: the president needing to reenergize key supporters in a critical election year. so, chris, what do these voters say they want to see specifically? they do want to see action on voting rights, and it's notable that congressman clyburn pointed to exactly what sahil has been reporting on this morning, the fact that he believes there may be some bipartisan support to get the electoral count act passed in some capacity. and then i thought it was really interesting, fletcher smith said he wants to see the president start to hold the equivalent of fireside chats, essentially talking to americans at night in their living rooms from a tv, obviously, but really trying to have more direct contact about his messaging, his priorities and what he's working on, chris. >> which is exactly what he said he intends to do. i don't know if he said fireside chats, but he's going to get out and talk to voters directly. kristen welker, sahil at that pure, thank you both. coming up, peloton facing an uphill climb this morning, fewer subscribers, lower sales. what does that mean mean for de tees of the workouts? what you need to know if you already own one next. ourselves constantly; it's important. we walk three to five times a week, a couple miles at a time. - we've both been taking prevagen for a little more than 11 years now. after about 30 days of taking it, we noticed clarity that we didn't notice before. - it's still helping me. i still notice a difference. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. hey lily, i need a new wireless plan for my business, but all my employees need something different. oh, we can help with that. okay, imagine this. your mover, rob, he's on the scene and needs a plan with a mobile hotspot. we cut to downtown, your sales rep lisa has to send some files, like asap! so basically i can pick the right plan for each employee. yeah i should've just led with that. with at&t business. you can pick the best plan for each employee and get the best deals on every smart phone. they say durable is the new black. you can pick the best plan for each employee okay, no one says that. but, it's true. just ask sharon. after three years these barstools still look brand new. even with these crazy lovebirds. [ squak ] alright i'll take the barstools! you can keep the birds. okay. y'all gotta hear this next one. kevin holds all my shirts and shorts. he even stuck with me through a cross country move. yeah, i named my dresser kevin. wow! i need a kevin that holds all my clothes. alright. i am sold. hello, how can i? sore throat pain? ♪honey lemon♪ try vicks vapocool drops in honey lemon chill for fast acting sore throat relief ♪ahhh!♪ wooo! khosrowshahi pain with khosrowshahi this is the new world of work. each day looks different than the last. but whatever work becomes, the servicenow platform will make it just, flow. whether it's finding new ways to help you serve your customers, orchestrating a safe return to the office... wait. an office? what's an office? ...or solving a workplace challenge that's yet to come. wherever the new world of work takes your business, the world works with servicenow. this morning major pushback from fitness finite peloton after cnbc obtained internal documents that outlined a plan at the company to temporarily halt production of some of its fitness products as demand decreases. peloton says rumors it is stopping all production are false. instead, their ceo says they're, quote, resetting production levels for sustainable growth. and he described what is in the leaked documents as incomplete, out of context, and not reflective of peloton's strategy. cnbc's lauren thomas broke this story, so, lauren, what's the latest? >> thank you for having me. peloton ceo john foley did issue a memo to employees late yesterday evening that was after we broke news that peloton is planning, like you said, to temporarily halt production of its products. essentially john foley is not denying the claims. he's saying peloton does not plan to halt all production, that that is more accurate description of what's going on here. according to the documents we obtained at cnbc, we can see that peloton is coming out of the pandemic. i know the facing that same demand that it was in 2020 and 2021, and it does have to go through somewhat of a reset to really get back to normal levels of both production and the demand that it will be seeing from consumers from here on out. >> they're not the only ones on this pandemic roller coaster, netflix, not as many subscribers. but what i did hear from my friends yesterday who are peloton addicts, what does this mean for me? are my favorite people suddenly going to go away? what can you tell them about that? >> sure. if you're a current peloton customer, subscriber, you shouldn't expect many changes, really. peloton arguably has such a loyal base of users, of riders, and those folks should not anticipate, you know, that any of this -- this is more about future demand, right, that we're talking about here with future production of its exercise equipment. and so, you know, i think that peloton has maintained that loyal subscriber base. it's proven that. churn rates have held low throughout the pandemic, you know. so i wouldn't fear if you're a current peloton user that any of this is going to hurt you. but i do think that the company is going through a bit of a shakeout now. you know, really invested in supply, it hired many employees just to meet that demand during the pandemic. and again, as john foley said in this memo, peloton now medes to reset. >> lauren thomas, congrats on the story and thank you so much for that. that's going to wrap up another very busy hour. it's been a crazy week. i'm chris jansing in for stephanie ruhle. jose diaz-balart picks up the news on the other side. have a great weekend, everybody. e have a great weekend, everybody. i've got moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. now, there's skyrizi. 3 out of 4 people achieved rer skin at 4 months, after just 2 doses. skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms such as fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches, or coughs or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. ♪nothing is everything♪ talk to your dermatologist about skyrizi. learn how abbvie could help you save. ♪ limu emu and doug.♪ and it's easy to customize your insurance at libertymutual.com so you only pay for what you need. isn't that right limu? limu? limu? sorry, one sec. doug blows several different whistles. doug blows several different whistles. [a vulture squawks.] there he is. only pay for what you need. ♪liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty♪ and there you have it. only pay for what you need. woah. wireless on the most reliable network nationwide. wow. big deal. we get unlimited for just 30 bucks. sweet, but mine has 5g included. relax people. my wireless is crushing it. that's because you all have xfinity mobile with your internet. it's wireless so good, it keeps one-upping itself. take the savings challenge at xfinitymobile.com/mysavings or visit an xfinity store to learn how our switch squad makes it easy to switch and save hundreds. ♪ ♪making your way in the world today♪ ♪takes everything you've got♪ ♪ ♪taking a break from all your worries ♪ ♪sure would help a lot ♪ ♪wouldn't you like to get away? ♪ ♪ ♪ sometimes you want to go ♪ ♪where everybody knows your name ♪ ♪ ♪and they're always glad you came ♪ . good morning, 10:00 a.m. eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart. no breakthrough after american and russian diplomats sat down for another round of talks