good day. i'm chris jansing live at msnbc headquarters in new york city. a double whammy from very

different corners of the political universe. nancy pelosi suggests joe biden could re-examine whether he should stay in the race, while arguably the most famous fundraiser in joe biden's camp says it's time to go. george clooney with a sobering assessmentment of his interaction with joe biden at a fundraiser he hosted. what does biden do about the new waves of concern? plus a new push by two senate democrats against clarence thomas. could he really face a special counsel investigation? and right now, a big rally and support of a plan that fundamentally changes the way people can vote in a critical battleground state. donald trump continues to make unproven accusations about the security of your vote. we begin with new warning signs for joe biden's campaign. the cook political report moving its ratings for six critical states toward donald trump.

today speaker ancy pelosi raising more than a few eyebrows with this interview on "morning joe" about his future. >> i want him to do whatever he decides to do. and that's the way it is. whatever he decides, we go. let's just hold off. whatever you're thinking, either tell somebody privately, but you don't have to put that out on the table until we see how we go this week. >> see how we go this week. those comments described in the "new york times" as appearing to be designed to give alarm democrats, who are mostly falling in line behind biden pift in the coming days. and now a second house democrat has called for biden to step aside. even on the senate side, there are reports on both sides that members are feeling powerless

and panicked, clearly worried. >> donald trump is on track to win this lx and maybe win it by a landslide and take with him the senate and the house. the white house in the time since that disastrous debate has done nothing to really demonstrate that they have a plan to win this election. >> joe biden is in his comfort zone on the road meeting with union lead etc., but the major challenge comes tomorrow when he holds his first solo press conference this year. monica alba is covering the white house. ali vitali is on capitol hill. also with us is former congressman from new york joe crowley, who used to chair the house caucus. great to have you here. so how much of a shift is this for nancy pelosi on biden's future and how are her comments being heard on the hill right now?

>> reporter: a spokesperson would argue it's not a shift. i'll show you what they said. speaker pelosi fully supports whatever president biden decides to do. we must turn our attention to why this race is so important. donald trump would be a disaster for our country. implicit in pelosi's comments on mj was the fact that she's saying whatever biden decides to do, at the same time we see the way president biden has said forcefully his decision is made. he's staying in this race. now he's working to shore up the confidence of members of congress on the house, burr also in the senate. and pelosi is no longer text cally in leadership, but she carries a lot of weight within this democratic caucus. some members have talked about the weight they persuade biden to get out of this race.

they think she has a big enough stature to do so. her voice and her opinion carry, especially as i was on the senate side. this is one what senator said to me when we asked about the state of play. watch. >> how much longer can democrats continue going back and forth on this without weakening him? >> i'm going to show up and reporters show up and ask the same questions every single day. >> at some point, doesn't someone have to say it's the nominee. >> come on. >> reporter: you heard me there talking with senator durbin after one of his colleagues said they heard what pelosi said this morning and they think that she and sheldon white house's words nailed in in terms of the dynamics. we have heard from lawmakers

privately airing concerns, in some cases an outright panic about the state of things, and then we have seen the slow trickle of people, and you have had their faces and names up there on the screen, who are now coing out and saying that president biden should no longer be the nominee. it is only nine people on the house side. no senate democrats have come forward and said that biden should drop out. that being said, we did hear senator michael bennett, the most forceful and public of democratic senators, to be out there saying this about the president and airing concerns about electability, not just for the white house, but up and down the ticket for the senate and the house too. >> and every move joe biden makes is being scrutinized. he's at nato right now speaking with other world leaders. >> let me close with this. this new pledge sends an unmistakable message to the world that every nato member is committed to doing their part to keep the alliance strong.

we can and will defend every inch of nato territory and we'll do it together. and that we're investing in our future strength to ensure nato will always be ready for whatever threats we have faced should be a clear message we're making to the world. so i want to thank you, every nato member, for your commitment, for our shared security. and i will now ask the press to depart so we can get started. >> thank you so much, president biden, for those remarks. >> the president is asking the press to leave as always happens at this stage. they are doing what is called a working session, so they will be meeting. but as i pointed out going into that, what joe biden said at the beginning of all this was watch me. if you have questions about my ability to serve as president, watch me. so that is what we're doing. but he has done far fewer press

conferences per year than other presidents previously. certainly in modern times, you can see the numbers there. 24 on average for bill clinton. 26 for george bush. he's done half of that. whether solo or with other world leaders. i know you have new reporting on how he's preparing for tomorrow's big moment. tell us about it. >> you'd expect he's prepare for a news conference even if there wasn't this enormous pressure around him building that is certainly going to put outsized importance potentially on how he performs tomorrow. that's what democrats are saying publicly. it's what they are saying privately. it sort of feels like the eyes of the world are on him, not just as he's on the world stage, but as he is going to wrap it up tomorrow with that news conference, where there aren't tell prompters, where he will not be reading from prepared remarks as we have seen in the last couple days, and we hope he

will answer a variety of questions from a variety of news outlets from the assembled journalist there is. he has been going through it, but they admit and concede it's different than preparing for something like a general election debate because you don't have the time constraints and there's a lot of news and things happening in realtime that could impact the questions when he faces them tomorrow. just to think about it this way. there's an opponent on the stage, but you can think about it as the opponent here for joe biden is the entirety of public opinion and of democrats, of those within his own party trying to make up their minds about their assessment of whether he should still be the nominee and face donald trump. they are aware of that. there's a heaviness to that. there's an act nolkment that's an important test. they are trying to cast this as one of a series of tests. so you're going to see him this week doing these engagements at

nato. you saw the interview last week. he's been saying he's doing more campaign events and trying to travel to more battleground states. so the biden campaign and the reelection effort overall, they are arguing that the news conference tomorrow, while important, they do say that, it's not the only measure for which to make this, but i think as you were just talking about, nancy pelosi's comments, that's a really clear indication that many people are waiting for that news conference to come and go to see how he performs before they go further potentially in their comments to either call him out on stepping aside from the race or to try to talk about a different path forward. there is an awareness within the white house about the stakes of tomorrow's event. >> so let's talk more about the congressman. it's good to see you again. it's been a bit. when i heard monica use the phrase the entirety of public opinion, i thought that was a kind of sobering way to put it, but real. how do you see the stakes? what does joe biden need to do?

what are you watching for? >> i think, first of all, in terms of nancy pelosi's statement this morning, i have deep and profound respect for nancy. there's no one like her. but i think the interpretation, and that's exactly what it was, an interpretation by "the new york times." we know "the new york times." they made it clear where they stand on this issue. but let me say this. joe biden has always throughout his political career done the right thing. that's because he loves his country more than himself. that's not the same for the other guy in this race. that's because he's a person of character. what we see happening now, hakeem jeffries is listening to his caucus. people were out there on the front lines in the difficult districts. and i think this week is an

important week. what's happening at nato and the press conference, but joe biden, he's consistently done what's in the best interest of the country and not himself. he thinks right now he should be the candidate. my captain, my captain, he's still my cap ain't taint. >> when you hear nancy pelosi say let's wait until after. let's have a little break. let's take a breath and wait until after nato, that's tomorrow. after nato is tomorrow. the press conference is tomorrow. what is she suggesting then? is she getting at least some space to democrats to who are in the caucus who have been waiting, watching, to say, okay, wait, watch, and then come forward. >> it was a terrible debate performance. that was two weeks ago tomorrow. and there are other issues that

aren't being addressed because of the attention here. i think what they are looking at is what's happening in the frontline. they wanted to hear from those folks. that's what hakeem jeffries did today, meeting with the front line candidates. the president has met with the governors. he's met with the mayors today and union leaders. chuck shooumer is hearing from vulnerable democrats in the senate. those are the people they want to hear from. and that's who the president needs to be actable to as well. i think he will be. >> so you saw the political report move those six states towards donald trump. three of them are battleground states. is this the kind of metric that is being followed closely in the halls of congress, especially if you're in a swing district or one ofrt battleground states, sort of put into perspective how all of this plays together. >> people are 100% paying attention to changes being made like that.

cook is widely respected here. it's usually used as a nice metric for us on the hill to gauge where things are at. polling all polling and other metrics together to get a sense of what things could be like electorally. and members were already nervous about this it's not just what it means for joe biden. this is the man at the top of the ticket. what's informing a lot of the panic and frankly a lot of the people who have come out recently, specifically pat ryan in new york who just in the last few minutes tweeted he wants joe biden to no longer be the nominee, being in a swing district in a frontline democrat right now, that means that you are one of the most vulnerable people on a map to lose your seat. that's so central to the entire conversation around should biden stay or should biden go. it's also important when we talk to the senators, the fact that we're looking at michael bennett as wasn't of the earliest to come out is and say he has kshs

about not just losing the white house, but about losing the senate and the house, that idea of losing a trifecta to republicans shaz democrats freaked out. it's certainly something we're hearing about. when you look at states like arizona, which democrats are so hungry to pick up with the candidacy there when you look at a state that they felt so good about being able to notch into the column in 2020, those are states that they are watching really closely. and it says nothing of placess not on this screen like pennsylvania, for example. they already knew they had a tough slug. that speck tort of eligibility or drag on the ticket down ballot is so central to this conversation for democratic elected. >> thank you all so much. right now, president biden is not only fighting for his political future, but for nato as he's leading with those key

allies and talks with lawmakers. why these meetings are so critical for both men when we're back in 60 seconds. critical for both men when we're back in 60 seconds damage it caused. but even after all these years, restoration is still possible. learn how at tedhelp.com. (aaron) i own a lot of businesses... so my tech and my network need to keep up. thank you, verizon business. (kevin) now our businesses get fast and reliable internet from the same network that powers our phones. (aaron) so whatever's next... we're cooking with fire. (vo) switch to the partner businesses rely on. even if you're not on summer vacation. join millions of families who've trusted us and find care in your area for kids, seniors, pets, and homes. all from background-checked caregivers, rated and reviewed by people like you. that's hours and hours of goofing around. hundreds of 'lovely afternoons'. mile after mile of w-a-l-ks.

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moments ago in washington, all the leaders gathering for that important photo. biden's meetings today follow his forceful speech last night turning a page away from those questions about his political future and addressing some of the most critical questions on the world stage. >> make no mistake, russia is failing in this war. russia will not prevail. ukraine will prevail. >> for ukraine's president, biden's political future maybe an existential question. vladimir putin on capitol hill right now appealing directly to lawmakers for perhaps the last time before the november election. ryan nobles is on capitol hill. also with us is andrea mitchell. and jeff mason, reuters white house correspondent. jeff, how are president biden's domestic challenges impacting the stakes, the conversations that we're hearing for u.s. allies?

>> forgive the noise in the background. there's some law mowing going on here at the white house. but to your question, it's absolutely hanging over this nato summit, which is a really important summit for president biden. not least because of the fact that he's pushing for additional support for ukraine and this is a huge part of his legacy during his first term as president and in general his legacy as a leader. so it is it is an argument that the biden campaign would say for his reelection, what he's doing here at the nato summit. and it is no doubt unwelcome to him that questions about his ability to do the job now let alone questions about his ability to stay in the right as the democratic standard barer are hanging over him. but they are, and those questions will no doubt come up in the press conference tomorrow. and there are questions that we're asking of the foreign leaders who are meting with him.

because as has been said on your air already today, every speech, every press conference, every meeting that president biden does is being closely scrutinized because of that poor debate performance. >> generally, the reviews of the speech were that he was very forceful talking about russia. ukraine is in the spotlight right now. and president zelenskyy is trying to make the most of it. so what can you tell us about his visit to capitol hill? >> just a few minutes ago, president zelenskyy left a room after a meeting with a group of bipartisan senators, both republican and democrat, including the highest ranking members of the united states senate. and this was designed as a way to show zelenskyy that the congress has his back. there's been a lot of dissension among republicans in particular

about whether or not the united states should continue to fund the war effort in ukraine. whiles there was some division around that, ultimately, republicans and democrats did come together to push through this latest funding package to make sure that ukraine was taken care of. but there's a great deal of uncertainty as to what would happen if the election results go in a different direction. donald trump enters the white house and republicans take control of either both the senate and the house or one or the other. so part of the conversation had to have been between zelenskyy and the leaders of what if, what could happen if power changes hands. many of the leaders i have talked to said that there's enough funding at least in the short-term to provide ukraine the funding and the effort and the equipment they need. the question is the long-term issue as to how long this could be with russia. and those are some of the questions zelenskyy is likely asking his congressional leaders during this meeting today. >> whatever happens in november,

joe biden is president for the next six or seven months. how important is this summit for zelenskyy. i should add that the members of congress are member of congress until the change next january. >> it's all important. and you have never heard zelenskyy. and last night's speech was so interesting. first of all, he chose the reagan institute to do it. he's reaching out to republicans. he chose our colleague from fox to do the q&a afterwards, which was very important. he answered political questions about donald trump. importantly about ronald reagan's speeches and having mitch mcconnell introduce him. it was very targeted. and he complained about the administration's policies. he complained about the policies restricting his ability to go 150 kilometers, 500 kilometers to attack the bases where those

jets are taking off and bombing his cities. and he said that they can't compete with that. now waiting for those f-16s announced today, but stuff has not been delivered. the five new patriots are not going to protect a city like kharkiv, where 3500 missiles have hit them. and they simply cannot compete with the russian air attacks. and made it very clear in just talking to officials here, it's clear that is a u.s. decision. the administration's fear that it will escalate if he goes deep into russia. republicans, mike turner was just here on our program saying that's a bad decision. that stoltenberg is against that decision and the other nato countries, including the brits now are against that decision. and that's one big conflict

between the u.s. and zelenskyy that could be resolved this week. >> it's decision making. if they are going to satisfy zelenskyy's concerns and to be totally balanced here, it was a republican's will. we saw in february the world inclulding zelenskyy gathered. that's when they lost so much ground. they lost when he warned they were going to have to retreat. that's when they began to lose those villages in the north. and then it was kharkiv coming under fire. now the worst battering of kyiv, he said in that interview, how did you as a father feel when the children's hospital was bombed. he said as a father, as the president, we hate to see that kind of loss.

he said, we wanted to kill putin at that moment. >> dramatic stuff, andrea mitchell, ryan nobles, jeff mason, thank you. coming up, two democratic senators escalating their concerns about the independence of the supreme court. where those lawmakers have set their sights. plus a wisconsin rally to support a decision that drastically reshaped how elections are run. could it be a game changer heading into november? you're watching "chris jansing reports" only on msnbc. ansing reports" only on msnbc w our bust fast and reliable internet from the same network that powers our phones. (aaron) so whatever's next... we're cooking with fire. (vo) switch to the partner businesses rely on. (vo) you've had thyroid eye disease for a long time. and you've lived with the damage it caused. but even after all these years, restoration is still possible. learn how at tedhelp.com.

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two new moves that dramatically kaes late the fight over the nation's highest court. just minutes ago, we got breaking news that alexandria ocasio-cortez has officially filed articles of impeachment against jlgts justices alito and thomas. that comes just after senator whitehouse made a formal request to doj. they want a special counsel appointed to criminally investigate supreme court justice thomas for accepting travel and the luxury car from wealthy donor friends. ryan nobles is still with us on capitol hill. lisa rubin is here with me. ryan, what do we know about these impeachment articles? i know the story just broke. what happens next? >> reporter: this comes from

congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez from new york city. she's filed two articles of impeachment against justice alito and justice thomas. these articles of impeachment are not based in any of the decisions that either of these two justices have made, but instead, specifically about their conduct around the office. for instance, in both thomas and alito's case, she's accusing them of not properly disclosing financial benefits and gifts they were given by donors and others. in some cases, people who had business before the court or had a political interest in some of the issues before the court. she's also doing that in the case of clarence thomas, saying that he refused to recuse himself from certain cases that his spouse had a vested interest in as well. his wife ginni was very much involved in the stop the steal effort, the effort to overturn the 2020 election and things along those lines. she's also accusing justice alito as well of refusing to

recuse himself from certain cases of which he may have a con nikt of interest. so these are specific accusations that alexandria ocasio-cortez is leveling against these two supreme court justices. it comes a the a time when democrats are getting inkrooesingly frustrated about the direction of the court. the decisions that this court has rendered over the past couple months, but also the conduct of these justices and the lack of oversight that they apparently seem to have without any kind of specific code of ethics that they must follow. now in terms of whether or not this impeachment will ever become a reality, that seems very unlikely. republicans still control the house of representatives. there's a very slim to almost the no chance that the actual articles of impeachment ever even come up for a vote. alexandria ocasio-cortez does have the ability to offer what's called a privilege resolution, which would mean it would force a vote, but the republicans could immediately just vote to table or move to table the resolution. that would bring it to an end.

even if for some reason they got through the house of representatives, let's say the election goes in the direction of the democrats in the fall and she brings these up next year, it would require just like it would in a presidential situation, a two-thirds conviction in the senate in order to remove either of them from their post as a supreme court justice. so it is a long shot in any way, shape, or form. this is very much a public relations effort by alexandria ocasio-cortez to voice the frustrations that democrats have about the direction of the court, and these two justices in particular, and perhaps have that be something that are in the back of the minds of voters as they head to the polls in november. >> ryan, thank you for running back to the camera to give us the insight into this latest move that really just broke. so that's the politics of it. let's go to the criminal questions that are being raised. what could doj investigate?

>> they are saying that there are grounds to investigate whether, for example, there have been lack of taxes paid. justice thomas borrowed $267,000 from a friend of his to pay for his rv. we know that that debt has been, quote, unquote, satisfied, but we don't know how. if it was forgiven, there would be tax consequences of that. but the real complaint is that justice thomas willfully omitted various gifts from his disclosures, and those omissions constitute a violation of the statute that covers falsifying statements or they can be false statements in service of required disclosures like these. they say based on disclosures that he has made over the years, he knew he had to disclose things like private jet travel or tuition payments on behalf of his adopted grandchild. those are things that raise from an ethical problem to a criminal

one. >> i actually spoke to senator whitehouse, here's what he said generally about the justices. >> i think it's important for people to be sending signals that this court is out of control. this is not a normal court. this is not the way courts ought to behave. >> a special counsel investigating the supreme court would be unprecedented. you heard him say this is not a normal court. could this really happen? what are sort of the mechanisms? is there their best option? >> i think it is their best option given the politics of the moment. something in the letter that has been overlooked, the united states judicial conference, which is the official body of federal judges that's overseen by chief justice roberts, we know that a similar referral to appoint a special counsel, may colt your way through the judicial conference. we have reason to believe they are presently investigating his disclosures as well.

that's a big deal. that statement that the judicial conference itself could make a similar referral. the judicial conference is also a body that passes on recommendations of impeachment with respect to federal judges. but the fact that it could come back to the justice department through another mechanism through an assembly of judges is itself a big deal. >> so federal judges can and have been impeached? >> federal judges can and have been impeached. the one case that i think about all the time is a member of congress from florida who was impeached as a judge before coming back to public service as a member of congress. >> lisa rubin, i know you'llen continue to follow this for us. you always find something that nobody else notes. thank you. moments ago in the critical swing state of wisconsin, a rally celebrated a new state supreme court decision that allows ballot drop boxes. that could reshape voting there. but some republicans, including three conservative justices, the

call the ruling politically motivated activism with one writing it will only fuel the fires of suspicion in our election system. the same suspicion that former president trump echoed just last night. >> follow your vote. make sure it gets counted. you can do that. these people cheat like nobody has ever cheated before. they are good at cheating. >> shaquille brewster is reporting from milwaukee. trump's statements are unproven, untrue, but here's a fact. joe biden only won wisconsin in 2020 by less than 1%. just over 20,000 votes. break down exactly what this decision is and what happens in november. >> reporter: it means that voters will have more options here in this battleground state. i'm glad you mentioned 2020, but it was not just about the decision voters made between candidates, but it was how they chose to return that ballot. here in milwaukee, officials say

that more than half the people that voted by mail used an drop box to return that ballot. but then there were legal challenges. the previously conservative supreme court here said the ballot boxes were no longer allowed. it was not an option for voters in the midterm elections. now there's a new court. and last week they ruled that those ballot boxes are now back in play. so what that means here is you have celebrations that this is now an option for voters, but you also have a political party making arrangements and adjustments ahead of this election. listen to my conversation with the chair of the republican party who fought against these rules and the clerk about what this means. >> it was the wrong decision, but we're going to watch it closely. and in areas where maybe we feel there's an edge to us, we'll look at how we use that. >> wisconsin is a state where if your ballot arrives late, it's not counted.

other states are different. wisconsin will not count it. so had in that last few days, the drop boxes are handy to make sure your vote gets counted. >> reporter: there's also a person personal impact here for the disabled community. i spoke to a woman who relies on a wheelchair. she used ballot boxes in the past, but for this past spring election when it wasn't an option, it ♪ on election day. it was too dangerous for her to go out and cast that ballot. so she didn't end up voting. she says now she feels heard with this ruling. you can tell it's going to have an impact on a lot of people. >> shaq brewster, always good to see you. thank you. coming up, shocking new details in a decades only scandal that involves one of texas' largest mega churches and a 12-year-old. those details, coming up. 12-yea. those details, coming up

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the fate of bob menendez will soon be in the hands of 12 jurors in new york. prosecutors alged that menendez's explanations for the money defy logic. the defense argues there's a story, but no proof. prosecutors portrayal of the senator as scrooge mcduck swimming in gold coins is misleading. tom winter has been following this trial for us.

what's the latest that we're hearing? >> a couple different things. the defense attorney for senator menendez pointed out a couple things. if you can't trace, and i'm paraphrasing f you can't trace the cash and gold, you must acquit. the argument they are trying to make is the same during opening statements, can you actually definitively trace the gold and cash from the individuals who allege to be part of this scheme from them directly to the senator. and so that's the type of thing they are trying to raise doubt. currently with the jury, they are trying to say this case dies here today. the government has failed to prove bob's actions were anything other than what you want your elected official to do. what they are really leaning on over the past two days is basically this idea of, look, he's working on behalf of his swabts. to the extent that benefits were received, look to nadine.

we talked about this over the past couple weeks. it's nadine that received the gifts in the eyes of the defense and not something that necessarily involved the senator. the prosecution addressed that earlier in the week. you and i have spoken about that. that's where the closing arguments stand now. there's two other individual who is have been charged in the case. their defense attorneys will be giving their closing arguments. then the judge will need to instruct the jury. even before that happens v to remember that the government has an opportunity for the prosecutors to give a rebuttal. at this point, it doesn't look like the jury will actually get this to begin their deliberations probably until some time tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. that's based on what the attorneys have told the court. that's where it looks like this is going. we can expect the new jersey developer as well as the person who ran the company involved in this to take a couple hours in their closing arguments as well. >> always good to see you. thank you. we have some shocking new details now about the alleged

sexual abuse of a 12-year-old by a pastor at one of the nation's lrgeest mega churches. documents show a lawyer for robert morris in a 2007 letter actually blamed the victim, who still liked playing with barbie dolls, claiming she initiated the inappropriate sexual conduct. antonia hylton has more in this nbc news exclexclusive. >> reporter: for decades, cindy carried anger and are shame as she watched the rise of pastor robert morris. >> thank you, jesus. >> watching him has been harder and harder. >> reporter: morris founded gateway church in 2000. >> if you don't tell the whole truth, you're not being honest. >> reporter: one of the largest congregations in the nation with nine campuses in north texas and tens of thousands of worshippers. he became a member of president

trump's spiritualed a voiz ri council. but to cindy, morris began to sexually abuse her in 1982. >> he said come in my room before you go to bed tonight. >> reporter: he was 21. cindy was 12. >> he started by touching my breast and putting his hands in my pants. he wanted me to stand and close my eyes so he could lift my shirt and pull himy pants down and look at me as a 12-year-old. >> do you remember what he would say to you? >> the very first time he told me you can't tell anyone because it will ruin everything. >> reporter: she said the abuse lasted four years until she told her family what was happening. in 2005 after years of struggling, cindy reached out to morris and suggested that it he pay her restitution. >> no one can can give me back my teenage years. >> reporter: just last month for the fist time she shared her story publicly online. morris had been sharing his version for years.

>> sexual temptation is an appetite of the flesh. i developed an ppetite before i was saved. >> reporter: as he rose an influence in power, morris alludesed to past transgressions. >> i was very immoral and i was immoral a lot. >> reporter: he told the christian post he had inappropriate actual behavior with a young lady and resigned from gateway. gateway told nbc news it's committed to protecting people first and foremost, children. and has retained a law firm to conduct an investigation. gateway saves before last month, the current elders did not have all the facts. former pastor steven leblanc says parts of the past were known for years. he just didn't know cindy's exact age. >> it was a common knowledge. in a way, somehow celebrated that god had disciplined a man and restored him. >> reporter: even now, he worries former colleagues aren't being honest about what they

knew. >> can't think of any accountability they have taken other than to plead ignorant. >> and you don't buy it? >> no. >> reporter: the culture of the church was brought into question. ment documents show gateway church settle theed a lawsuit brought in 2020 by a mother who was alleged she was actually assaulted and had leaders diskretd evidence. the church did not admit to any liability. >> they don't look at a child as someone to protect. let's use the child in any way to protect ourselves. >> reporter: in letters from 2007 reviewed by nbc news, robert morris' attorneys blamed cindy claiming she initiated inappropriate behavior. cindy and her attorneys say that same year robert morris asked her to sign an nda in exchange for $25,000. she refused. while the review is underway, four officials have taken a

leave of absence from the board of elders. >> do you think even now gateway is protecting him? >> i do. >> reporter: cindy says what she wants now is to help other survivors feel less alone. antonio hilton, nbc news, texas. coming up, the potential signals from the powerful federal reserve chairman that could have major implications for your budget. and in our next hour, an emotional moment the today at the alec baldwin trial as the jury hears audio of the 911 call made following the "rust" movie set shooting. more, ahead. vie set shooting more, ahead. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need... ...without the stuff you don't. so, here's to now. boost. liberty mutual customized my car insurance and i saved hundreds. with all the money i saved i thought i'd buy stilts. hi honey. ahhh...ooh. look, no line at the hot dog stand. yes! only pay for what you need. ♪liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty.♪

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this is day two of fed chairman jerome powell in the congressional hot seat with interest rates, your mortgages, credit cards -- credit card rates, and car loans all hanging in the plans. as powell testified on capitol hill, he may have signaled there could be changes coming, big change. i want to bring in msnbc's brian cheung. okay, what we all care about, interest rates. what have we heard from powell and what are the signals he's sending? >> he said there are two-sided risks to the economy right now. one we already know which is inflation pinching our wallets. interestingly, he said he's a little bit more paying attention to the other risk, which is the jobs market. as we saw from the jobs report just last friday, it's basically in line with what estimates were. and this is kind of breaking the chain of multiple estimate-beating jobs numbers. this jobs market is cooling and

the unemployment rate is rising from 3.5 this time last year to about 4.1% now. that's not alarming. it's still historically low, but the fed is saying, if that could have a trajectory that could go higher, maybe we have to cut interest rates to make sure we don't put an unnecessary amount of people out of work. so for people looking at high mortgage rates, maybe that could come down a little bit if the fed does cut interest rates, which could come in september. that interestingly would be right before the election, and fed chair powell and the hill saying this is entirely independent of the political process. we're going to make our moves entirely based off of what the economy looks like, not because of the election. >> brian cheung, we're keeping a close watch on that for sure. thank you so much. well, today, virginia is the center of a national controversy over cell phones and students. governor glenn youngkin just issuing an executive action that would cancel cell phone usage in

classrooms across the state. he's citing a teen mental health crisis and arguing that the crackdown would protect student safety and put a limit on the amount of time they access, in his words, addictive social media. but whether or not students will experience any sort of withdrawal is a problem for next year. decisions on some of the specifics of the implementation are still up in the air. but virginia is the third state across the country to ban or restrict cell phones from classrooms. still ahead, more than a million texans in the state's largest city are facing yet another day of dangerous heat and no air-conditioning. we're live in houston with the latest, next. stay close. more "chris jansing reports" right after this. s" right after this

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it is good to be back with you on this second hour of "chris jansing reports." at this hour, t