of resilience and those towers that get blown over, wires snap. we've got so much we can do with this legislation now. last week, we rolled out an historic investment in our nation's bridges like the one i visited in new hampshire, where restrictions could force school buses and fire trucks to go ten miles out of their way just to get across the small river. or the i-10 bridge i visited in louisiana. it's 20 years past its planned life. it doesn't have modern safety features. and it's lasted inspected, the bridge is deemed to be in poor condition. now it has two lanes on the bridge, okay? that a four-lane interstate feeds into, creating and causing major backups. we're going to upgrade thousands of bridges, creating good paying jobs, cutting commute times, ensuring that as we build back, no community gets left behind. folks, that mayors' view of problem solving is exactly what we brought to the american rescue plan. it's designed to you would be able to have the resources and the flexibility to take both the short term and long term challenges created by this pandemic. ten months ago, that law is still carrying the nation forward. on vaccines, on boosters, on keeping schools open. it's still making a difference for communities across the country. and i might add, a lot of money in that to keep those schools open. some states have spent the money well, we got it to you all so you can in fact keep those schools open, change the ventilation systems, change the busing, the whole works. some states haven't distributed the money. everything i've done in my career, when it comes to federal funding, i've tried to make sure that you don't have to go past "go" to get it. it goes directly to the mayors. directly. [ cheers and applause ] not a joke. i mean it. a major part of the rescue plan was a $350 billion allocation to state and local budgets. and again, because of you, over $100 billion of that went directly to cities and counties. [ applause ] it was not easy to get done but it was important to get done, because you know it's needed. you didn't have to go through your state legislature. they're not bad folks, i don't mean that. or your governor, good folks, to get the money. today communities are still putting those funds to work, keeping people on the job, connecting people to better jobs. in seattle, the money is being used to give premium pay to local childcare workers so they can keep childcare centers open and available for folks who need it. i'm not sure that would have happened had it not gone directly through the states -- had it gone directly through the states. in phoenix, community colleges, these funds will help people find jobs in the semiconductor industry, which is a big, big deal. in milwaukee, we're training workers to get rid of lead pipelines. you have 450,000 -- i mean, the idea that we have our kids drinking out of fountains that have lead pipes feeding the fountains, because everybody deserves clean water. everybody. no matter where you're -- city, suburban, or rural areas. here in washington, dc, it's funding the expansion of an infrastructure academy, preparing local workers to take the good paying jobs in manufacturing, constructions, and utilities that are going to be created as a consequence of the infrastructure law. look, i urge every american to take a look at what you all are doing. i urge every mayor in america to follow suit, to use the resources, the rescue plan, the resources that were intended not just to stave off disaster but to build for a future around the people who make communities run. use your funds to cover childcare costs or temporary paid leave to help certain workers dealing with omicron. build pathways to better jobs through union-based apprenticeships, on-the-job training. give people in every zip code a chance to deal for themselves and deal them into this booming economy. that also means building more affordable housing so people can have save places closer to their jobs. fund programs to help fight violent crime. we shouldn't be cutting funding for police departments. i propose increasing funding. look, you know, we ask cops to do everything, including be psychologist and social workers. guess what, they need psychologists and social workers. [ applause ] i mean it. not a joke. so they can hire more social workers. folks trained in mental health, so they can partner with trusted community leaders like the programs the rescue plan is funding in atlanta and louisville and other cities across the country. the truth is we have an incredible opportunity ahead of us this year. we still have a lot of work to do to defeat covid, to bring down costs for families. but just look at what we've accomplished together so far. even in the face of those headwinds. in 2021, more jobs were created in america than ever in a single year in american history. more jobs, over 6 million. unemployment rate dropped more than any year in american history. income. [ applause ] incomes for working front line jobs, in service industries, rose more than any year in history. the folks at the bottom of the economic rung. we lowered child poverty in this country by nearly 40%, more than any time in u.s. history. [ applause ] you all know this. business applications grew by nearly 30% last year, more than any year in history. if the economy is so bad, why are people fighting to open up businesses? more americans gained health insurance than any year in history. these are facts. to confront the climate crisis we had to deploy more solar wind, batteries, and electric vehicles than ever, ever before. we're teaming up with mayors, labor, and industry so save families and businesses money. in the battle against a deadly virus we've gone from putting 2 million shots, vaccinations in people's arms, to 210 million americans fully vaccinated. [ cheers and applause ] and you mayors have been critical partners. i'm not trying to be nice to you, it's just a fact. you've been critical partners in that fight from day one, from masking to testing to vaccinations. we partnered with you. [ applause ] which partnered with you on the mayors' challenge last summer, 115 american cities to get americans vaccinations. in michigan, you created vaccinations that doubled as job fairs. get your shot and there's also a job fair encouraging people to come in. in detroit, mayor duggan, are you here, mr. mayor? i worked with him for a long time, there's a man who knows what he's doing. mayor duggan, partnered with sal saloons and barbershops to get shots in people's arms. reaching neighborhoods with low vaccination rates. all these efforts have saved lives. not a joke. you've saved lives. now to keep up that fight against omicron, we've launched dozens of federal testing sites in new york, philadelphia, henderson, nevada, and elsewhere, throughout sites that we're launching every week. we've devoted federal medical teams made up of military, first responders, national guard, to bring relief to the hardest-hit hospitals who need additional personnel just to keep it moving because they're so overrun. we're purchasing and distributing free 1 billion at-home tests so people can test themselves and their communities. and we still face tremendous challenges, though. but together we've proven that we can get big things done in this country. last year, with your help, we laid the groundwork. this year we have to build it. the biggest weapon in our arsenal is the build back better act. nothing is going to do more to ease pressure on families. as my friend jim clyburn says, it's all about making everything more affordable and more accessible to people. every mayor knows if people can't find affordable childcare, they can't work. some of your cities, it's 14, 15,000 bucks a year for childcare. that's why we have nearly 1.2 million extremely qualified women who haven't been able to return to the workforce. we can cut the cost of childcare in half and fix that problem. health insurance. we can reduce the cost for families down to $600 per year. on climate, extreme weather disasters cost communities $145 billion last year, that's how much we spent because of weather-related crises, $145 billion. by investing in resilience and clean energy technology, we can do something about that. to give relief to families, in the american rescue plan we had the childcare tax credit. that reduced child poverty by 40%. there's no reason it shouldn't continue. and on indication. [ applause ] on education, today about half of the 3 and 4-year-olds are enrolled in early childhood education. in germany, france, uk, latvia, the number is more than 90%. where the hell -- heck are we? no, i'm serious. we're falling further and further behind the curve. but we can fix that problem. we can do this and more on health care, nutrition, a host of other issues. and folks, here's the point. we can do it without increasing inflation or the deficit. 17 nobel laureates in economics wrote a letter to me recently, affirming that this bill would reduce inflationary pressures on the economy. not increase, reduce it. [ applause ] and by the way, by the way, it's entirely paid for. every single penny. [ cheers and applause ] and not a single person making less than $400,000 a year will pay a single additional penny in federal taxes. not a single penny. [ applause ] by the way, i'm a capitalist, i'm not a socialist. if you can make a billion dollars or $10 million, good for you. just begin to pay your fair share. pay a little bit. [ applause ] we can pay for all this by just making sure that the wealthy, making sure that the wealthy and the biggest corporations pay their fair share. case in point, last two years, 55 of the fortune 500 companies, and i come from the corporate capital of the world, delaware, not a joke, more corporations incorporated in my state than every other state in the union, okay? i get it. and i represented it for 36 years. but guess what? you got 55 corporations last year that made $40 billion in profits and didn't pay a single penny in taxes. that's not right. that's not right. look, we can tackle all these challenges. just like we did with the rescue plan, the infrastructure law, and the fight against covid. but we can't do it without you. i'm not trying to be nice to you. we can't do it without you. really, it's the god's truth. you understand the challenges people are facing. and you understand the solutions. you know this isn't -- when it gets down to whether the garbage gets collected or someone is safe in the street, this isn't partisan. it's practical. you understand the cost if we fail to act. we need the voice of mayors, telling the stories what have your communities need. and the impact we're making on people's lives or not making. we can get this done. i believe this with every fiber of my being. if we can get this done, there's no limit to what americans can achieve. let's continue to give working families a fighting chance. i wasn't kidding when i said when i announced for president that i am so tired of the working class and middle class carrying the burden. it's about time we grow the economy from the bottom up and the middle out. and by the way, when the middle class does well, the wealthy do very, very, very well. i'm not joking. this isn't about punishing anybody, but getting everybody to gain. raise your hand if you think the present tax structure is fair. and we'll take a picture of you and send it home. [ applause ] seriously, guys. you know, the thing i like about mayors is you're straight, you know what i mean? you shoot from the shoulder. so let's keep investing in the future of every city and town in america. let's face these challenges head-on and keep building. we can build back better. folks, i really believe it. there's not a damn thing we can't do if we set our minds to it. and every single time -- [ applause ] think about this, now. this is not hyperbole. no other country in america has come through every crisis we've faced and ended up stronger than we were before we got into the crisis. think about that. [ applause ] think about that. so don't give up on the american people. you know, i've said many, many times to world leaders, particularly when they ask me about america, it's never been a good bet to bet against the american people. never, never, never been a good bet to bet against the american people. when we stand together, there's not a damn thing we can't do, democrat and republican. thank you all, and god bless you. may god protect our troops. keep it going, folks, we need you badly. we need you badly. [ cheers and applause ] >> president biden there speaking to the conference of mayors, talking about taxes at the end, saying that mayors are straight shooters, they know the tax system is not fair, among other things. good to be with you, i'm katy tur. we're going to move on to some breaking news. the january 6th committee now has access to a trove of donald trump's white house records, among them, according to politico, a draft executive order to seize voting machines and keep him in office. politico exclusively obtained that never-issued order along with another document titled "remarks on national healing." nbc news has not reviewed these documents. politico also reports that the committee has drafts of tweets, a handwritten note on white house stationery which politico says, quote, reflects arguments that john eastman, a lawyer allied with president trump, was making about vice president mike pence, namely that he had the power to refuse to certify the electoral count. in addition to what politico is reporting, the national archives confirms it is compiling documents on fake electoral college certificates from republicans in arizona, nevada, wisconsin, michigan, and georgia, who would have been trump's electors had he won. you are looking at video of some of these electors actually signing those certificates that claims they, the trump electors, were legitimate and qualified to cast their electoral college ballots for donald trump. here is the catch. they were not. all five of those states were won by president biden. and still more evidence that these false claims of fraud weren't just words but for some a call to action. today the fbi arrested a man who made numerous threats to elections officials in georgia. according to an affidavit, chad stark of texas posted on craigslist a year ago, georgia patriots, it is time to kill. one of many comments. this is the first charges brought by the doj's newly formed election threats task force. joining me now is nbc news capitol hill correspondent leigh ann caldwell. nbc news justice correspondent pete williams. politico national correspondent betsy swann. and former u.s. attorney barbara mcquade. betsy, this is your reporting, you're the one who saw a draft of this executive order. what exactly did it say? >> the executive order lays out a plan by which former president trump would have essentially deputized the defense secretary to seize voting machines. the defense secretary would then have 60 days to write an assessment of what happened during the 2020 election. this executive order, in addition, would have established someone to act as a special counsel to investigate what happened during the 2020 election. that 60-day window of time is really important because the executive order's draft date on the document that i reviewed is december 16th. so this order would have had the defense secretary start doing work that it would have taken him two months to conclude, going of course all the way into mid-february, long after president biden would have been inaugurated. one very important piece of context about this executive order is there is not an author name written on the document. we do not know who wrote this document. we do know that the document was in the trump white house because it was produced by the national archives to the january 6th select committee as part of the archives' production documents. we know it was in the white house. we don't know how it got there. we don't know who wrote it. we do know, of course, that trump did not sign this executive order, and that the calls within this order for truly extraordinary activity never came to fruition, it's important to note that. but the order is notable because it lays out a plan that could feasibly -- it's a document that feasibly could have been signed. and had trump signed this document the final weeks of his presidency could have been even more frenetic and chaotic than they actually were. >> can you shed some light on, if it is a draft order, if we don't know the author, if we don't know who was even reading it, i guess, how would the national archives have had it? what would -- how would it need to be placed within the white house in order for the national archives to get it? >> yeah, that's a great question. procedurally, all the documents in the white house at the end of a president's term go over to the national archives. there's a lot of sort of arcane regulatory and statutory rules that govern these government records. so if somebody -- to borrow some of the former president's language, if some 400-pound guy had written this on his computer in his basement and sent it to the president, it wouldn't have gotten to the national archives. the fact that the national archives has the document means that at some point this document was in the white house. now, we have no -- we don't know who made it, we don't know if it was made by somebody who worked in the administration or it was brought to the administration by other people. another important piece of context here is that the proposals that this executive order laid out, the person who we best associate with those proposals is sidney powell, a lawyer who worked on some of trump's legal projects in the window of time after election day. sidney powell of course was not a member of the trump administration. now, to re-re-reiterate, we do not know if sidney powell wrote this executive order. but it was making an argument that she and people outside of the white house were trying to persuade president trump to buy into. ultimately those efforts, both presented verbally in a meeting in the oval office on december 18th, two days after this executive order is dated, and presented by someone in writing in this executive order, those efforts did not come to fruition. but they got close enough, the document made it into the white house, into the possession of at least one government employee, and then when trump left, it made it to the national archives. >> very important context. and again, very important to reiterate it was not signed and it's unclear who authored it or who even saw it. and nbc news has not independently reviewed those documents, we should note that as well. leigh ann, the january 6th committee has a whole trove of documents that they got from the national archives. betsy's reporting on some of them. what else are we learning? >> they got 700 pages, a little more than that, less than two days after the supreme court said these pages could be turned over. we have some hints into what the committee was interested in, as far as these 700 pages were concerned, because they detailed some of them in one of their filings in the court of appeals as this case was going through the courts when the former president tried to block it. some of those things include pages from multiple binders containing proposed talking points for the press secretary around voter fraud, election security, and other topics concerning the 2020 election, including presidential activity, calendars, related handwritten notes regarding january 6th, a handwritten note from mark meadows, chief of staff, listing briefings and telephone calls concerning january 6th and other election official issues. these are some things that the committee had heard about through their other testimony. remember, they have done interviews with nearly 400 witnesses, people, at this point. they have a lot of insight into what could have been in some of these documents. these are things they knew about, that they wanted. that's just a very small sampling. there's a lot more here, katy. >> they have so much, leigh ann, how will they present all of this to the american public and do we have any idea of when? >> that's an excellent question. they don't know yet. we know this will come out in whatever form or report or testimony they do decide to present their case to the american public. these documents that aren't classified will also be released. we know that the committee is working furiously, they want to wrap this up, especially before the end of the year when this committee could be dissolved if republicans take control, katy. >> all right, pete, so we're looking at all of the claims about the 2020 election, these false claims, that it was fraudulent, that these voting machines were hacked into, or they had fraudulent data on them from a foreign government. there is also news from the fbi and doj today about an arrest of a man who took all of these assertions in, and was making threats against georgia election officials. what can you tell us? >> georgia election officials and other state officials in georgia. the man's name is chad christopher stark. he's from the suburb of austin called leander, texas. and they say that on january 5th of last year, that's the day on which people in georgia were going to the polls in the runoff election for the u.s. senate, he posted an ad on craigslist offering $10,000 for anybody who would shoot at least three or four officials that he mentioned by name. he said, it's our duty as american patriots to put an end to the lies of these traitors, according to court documents. he used the word "exterminate" in this ad. and he said that one good loyal patriot deer hunter in camo and a rifle can send a very clear message. he'll appear shortly in court in texas to face these charges and i assume ultimately at some point he'll be moved to georgia to face the charges in court. but this is one of the many cases that are now being investigated by a specific task force that was set up by the justice department last year to look specifically into these threats against election officials that just exploded after the presidential election of last year. government officials said today that they've got at least 850 similar threats that they're looking into. >> and i also want to read one other thing that he said. "we will find you oath breakers, we'll pay your family a visit, your mom, your dad, your brothers, your sisters, your wife, your children, death to you and all your communist friends." certainly scary stuff. >> he faces a charge of using the interstate facilities to communicate a threatening message. that's punishable by up to five years in prison. >> barbara, what do you make of all these different threats? >> i think it's a very dangerous time. for one thing, i think it is going to discourage people from seeking public office. you may be inclined to even be a poll worker, an election official, a school board member. many of these jobs are unpaid or receive very modest pay. people do it out of civic duty. but if you know that your life is going to be endangered or, as we just heard, your family members are going to be in danger, then good people are going to sit on the sidelines. that's not the way we want it to be. democracy is not a spectator sport. but people aren't going to risk their lives to serve these otherwise thankless jobs. so i think the effort by the justice department to make it a priority to prosecute these kinds of cases is incredibly important. when merrick garland went before the senate committee, he got a lot of flack from members of congress about this, suggesting this somehow violates the first amendment rights of people to speak their mind to school board members and the like. but as his memo clearly makes out, it is not about suppressing speech, it is about suppressing violence and deterring violence. so i hope that program is as robust as merrick garland promises it to be. >> barbara, can i ask you a question about these certificates, the ones that trump electors sent, that they said they were qualified to send, that trump won in those five contested states that joe biden won? what laws might have been broken by signing these certificates and sending them off? are there any? >> there's two possibilities, one would be conspiracy to defraud the united states. that would require proof that there was intent. the other would be false statements, that is submitting a false document to the federal government can be a crime. i think it's important to do further investigation to find out what their intent and what their purpose was. i suppose one defense might be this was just a provisional ballot, we believed trump had won and didn't want to miss the deadline and thought it was necessary to file our certificate. on the other hand there is a multistate coordination that appears to be going on. in michigan there is some evidence that it was the trump campaign that directed the michigan electors to file that certificate. and so if there is a coordinated effort there, i think there could very well be a conspiracy even if the signers were themselves sort of unwitting do you spell dupes and doing what they were told. i think there could absolutely be criminal charges potentially filed here. >> barbara mcquade, pete williams, betsy woodruff swan with your great reporting, and leigh ann caldwell, guys, thank you very much for starting us off today. the secretary of state met with his russian counterpart today as concerns mount over an invasion of ukraine. plan b on election reform. what a bipartisan group hopes to accomplish after a democratic push for voting rights failed. p. mm, smooth. uh, they are a little tight. like, too tight? might jueed to break 'em in a little bit. 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. are you one of the millions of americans who experience occasional bloating, gas, with 24/7 roadside assistance. -okay. or abdominal discomfort? taking align can help. align contains a quality probiotic to naturally help soothe digestive upsets 24/7. try align, the pros in digestive health. as a business owner, your bottom line is always top of mind. so start saving by switching to the mobile service designed for small business: comcast business mobile. flexible data plans mean you can get unlimited data or pay by the gig. all on the most reliable nationwide network. with no line activation fees or term contracts... saving you up to $500 a year. and it's only available to comcast business internet customers. so boost your bottom line by switching today. comcast business: powering possibilities. welcome to silversneakers. are you ready to get moving? (throws punch) our new virtual classes were designed for you and millions of seniors like you. you can now choose from thousands of live virtual classes every week. get moving wherever you have an internet connection. and when you're ready, enjoy access to thousands of locations nationwide. with silversneakers, you're free to move. enroll today at no additional cost by visiting getsilversneakers dot com. secretary of state anthony blinken described negotiations with russia as a critical moment in the attempt to avert invasion of ukraine. blinken was in geneva today to meet with his russian counterpart, foreign mystery sergey lavrov. both sides entered these talks saying they did not expect a breakthrough, and they did not find one. >> reporter: in the bigger picture, what do you think the kremlin wants in this current situation? >> well, that last question is probably best addressed to president putin, because in a sense, only he really knows. >> as of now, talks will continue. still, with over 100,000 russian troops positioned at the ukrainian border, it is unclear what diplomacy will yield. joining me now is former deputy assistant secretary of defense for russia and ukraine, evelyn farkas. she's also served as senior adviser to the supreme allied commander in europe. all right. so evelyn, you've been in these talks. you've heard what the demands are on both sides. on the issue of ukraine, can you explain to us what is happening right now? >> right. well, first of all, katy, thanks for having me on again. the issue is pretty perilous for ukraine. they have over 100,000 troops massed over the border. in addition to that, russia has moved troops and military equipment into belarus. that is a significant escalation, not just vis-à-vis ukraine. there's a border between belarus and ukraine. but also towards poland and lithuania. those are nato countries. so i am curious to see what nato will do in response, frankly. russia also announced that they're conducting a maritime operation involving several ships, and they quite likely will end up in the black sea. so all of these forces are converging, and, you know, ready to pounce on ukraine at any moment. and this is, i think, getting to what secretary blinken was saying there in the clip you showed. vladimir putin lines everything up so that he has all the options open. he's got his foreign minister doing some diplomacy, but frankly speaking, he can take any military move he wants, almost around three-quarters of ukraine, if you look at it on the map. >> so they're doing more exercises around ukraine, in georgia in 2008, in crimea, 2014, the same things were happening, and then there was an incursion, there was an in vasion. >> right, because exercises are not illegal. we want to avoid miscalculation by another nation, those are called conventional arms agreements and russia pulled out of them. so they've alarmed their neighbors. as you said, they should be alarmed, because almost every time russia has one of these massive exercises, not almost every time but many times throughout recent history, there's used them as a mask for the commencement of a new military operation. i am very pessimistic right now that vladimir putin is going to back down from any military action. i'm not sure what we can give him at the negotiating table in the next couple of weeks. so this may be a stalling tactic, the diplomatic discussions. >> what did vladimir putin hear when joe biden the other day said that i know a minor incursion -- i'm paraphrasing -- might not be that big of a deal? i know the white house has cleaned that up, anthony blinken has tried to clean up that, our allies and europe have tried to clean that up, but he still said it. so what did vladimir putin here? >> well, he might have taken it as an opening to consider taking a bite of the ukrainian apple rather than swallowing the whole apple in one fell gulp. but i think that the clarifications are the most important thing. the clarifications came quick. they came, as you said, in a trans-atlantic fashion. i hope that we also would go to the united nations and line up other countries around the world. vladimir putin knows what the consequences are. i mean, they are stronger sanctions than he's ever seen before including probably on some major banks and maybe interbank transfers. oligarchs, we already saw today or last night the state department issued new sanctions for ukrainians who are in ukraine acting basically as russian operatives. and then we'll see the military assistance to ukraine bump up. that has been ongoing, and much more public than it has been in the past. we'll see of course also i think nato troops moving, maybe even now in response to what's happening in belarus. >> evelyn farkas, evelyn, thank you so much, we'll have you on to talk about this again because this story isn't going away. thank you for joining us today. up next, a new bid for election reform, this time from a bipartisan group, including senators joe manchin and kyrsten sinema. manchin and kyrsten sinema real cowboys get customized car insurance with liberty mutual, so we only pay for what we need. -hey tex, -wooo. can someone else get a turn? 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>> so, you know, my exit was on november 17th. so just a couple of weeks after the election. as i understand it, things only kind of went downhill from there, from a craziness perspective. you know, perhaps even so dramatically that the attorney general kind of said, i'm out, i'm done. and in talking to other folks, there were crazy requests. in fact some of the president's attorneys, perhaps rudy giuliani even, called some of the dhs leadership and said, hey, you need to go seize these machines. dhs of course doesn't have those authorities unless it crosses an international boundary. so they went seeking other paths. and perhaps that's what this memo is. now, one additional thing is that this -- again, it's such an incredible read, it truly reads to me almost like an op-ed in newsmax or the gateway pundit or something like that. it refers back to a number of reports that had been thoroughly discredited by any relevant expert by the time of the date stamp of november 16th. in fact, the day before the date on this document, i was testifying in front of senate homeland security committee and ron johnson, and specifically, you know, tore down a number of the claims that were in this memo. so, you know, this is just one of the many things they threw against the wall. but it is absolutely chilling, that there were folks in the immediate circle of the president that were, you know, egging him on and advising him to take these dramatic, unconstitutional actions. >> is it any wonder that your exit followed soon after that? >> katy, there's one part, though, i've got to read from this memo, can i please? >> sure. >> so this is my favorite part. everybody is asking, i wonder who wrote this thing. so provision 7, it's the appointment of a special counsel to oversee this operation and institute all criminal and civil proceedings as appropriate based on the evidence collected and provided, all resources necessary to carry out her duties. who is seeking to be special counsel at the time? sidney powell. so i have a pretty good idea who was behind this. >> betsy woodruff swan also noted there was a meeting at the white house around that time, on december 18th, with sidney powell, with former trump national security adviser michael flynn, former trump administration lawyer emily newman, and former overstock.com ceo patrick byrne. andburn. and that is a meeting where powell was urging trump to seize voting machines and to appoint her as special counsel to investigate the election. that is according to axios. chris krebs, thanks for sticking around with us, we appreciate your time and expertise on this. there's no one better who knows the systems. coming up next, the new wave of media censorship is sweeping across eastern europe, what does it mean for democracy abroad and here at home. it mean fo ♪ i see them bloom ♪ ♪ for me and you ♪ ♪ and i think to myself ♪ here at home a rich life is about more than just money. that's why at vanguard, you're more than just an investor, you're an owner so you can build a future for those you love. vanguard. become an owner. i'm jonathan lawson here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? 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just look at what's happening in serbia. gone are the days of jailing or killing journalists who are critical of the ruling party. instead, serbia's ruling party is deploying a more subtle form of censorship. joining me is the founder and chairman of the united group, a telecom and media company in eastern europe, it runs the only cable news channels in serbia that give air time to opposition voices. thank you so much for being with us. i read the story in the "new york times" the other day about what is happening in serbia and it sent a chill down my spine. what exactly, if you can explain it to us, is happening to the free press right now in serbia? >> well, i think the situation with the freedom of speech and freedom of news in serbia is very grave and unfortunately is actually getting worse every day. we have -- run by the president of serbia, used to be the propaganda minister of milosevic and obviously he has trained for years to be ready for this kind of subtle actions against the freedom of the press. just to understand what's happening i would like to tell you that we have about 2,000 media news outlets in serbia, out of which maybe 12 can be called as a kind of independent editorial news outfit. so obviously the situation is getting very tight and the most prominent and the highest reach of all this is only a cable channel, which is basically allowed -- available to 40% of serbian population. >> let me just read a three-month survey on serbian television coverage and we're going to put it up on the screen. coverage of the president received 44 -- more than 44 hours of coverage, 87% of it was positive. the opposition party received three hours of coverage, 83% of it is negative. is it effectively meaning that the public in serbia is getting a very different picture of what is happening in government and around them than is actually happening? is reality being skewed? >> i think the closest we can kind of explain this is to refer to -- we all saw the movie and 60% of serbian population unfortunately is practically living in the matrix where every information that's coming to them is very controlled and coming from one source and they believe the bait that they receive and the feelings they get after practically getting educated by television or by radio or by digital news or newspapers is completely false. in this situation obviously it's very difficult to get through with a voice of what's really going on. >> and the big question is when there is the next election, how is all of this information or lack of information going to play at the polls? >> well, it's obvious, i mean, we have now a government and the parliament that is one party power which is -- in europe unless -- i mean, only belarus has that similar type of parliament. i was listening to the news while waiting and it's really -- it's really -- it's a bit scary what can happen when we have countries in the regimes that completely control the mind and the thoughts of their people. so if we don't get some help i would say from international community, if there is no push to open up the news environment and to allow the professional journalists to do their jobs, i think we are facing another kind of, you know, full selections with results that will be completely based on false -- >> anyone who wants more information on what is happening in serbia, go to "the new york times," the story is titled "eastern europe tests new forms of media censorship." dragan, thank you for joining us. i do appreciate your time. >> thank you. and that is going to do it for me today. what a wild day. hallie jackson picks up our coverage next. wil ♪ ♪d day. hallie jackson picks up our coverage next. ♪ "how bizarre" by omc ♪ no annual fee on any discover card. ♪ ♪ 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. ♪♪ three times the electorlytes and half the sugar. ♪♪ pedialyte powder packs. feel better fast. 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