i'm alex witt. thanks for watching. i'll hand it over to chanell for all the top news of the day. >> hello everyone. i'm in new york. more support she says she will vote for ray moore despite the allegations facing him. >> it bothers me. at the same time, the united states senate needs to have, in my opinion, a majority of republican votes. >> meanwhile, president trump rips senator al franken over sexual assault but bringing new scrutiny against the president himself. >> and failure to disclose jared kushner had with a putin ally during the campaign. what they mean in the russian investigation. >> that's where we start this hour they white house. and two very different allegations misconduct against two politicians.

one, a sitting u.s. senator, al franken, another hoping to join him in the senate, republican ray moore. president trump taking to twitter to criticize al franken in this picture. she also accused franken of forcible kissing her. but as to ray moore the president hasn't tweeted much. the white house pushing back on the idea that the president has remained silent on the story. >> to suggest that this white house, and specifically this president, hasn't weighed in is in accurate and wroj. he weighed in and said if the allegations are true, he should step a side. also weighed in when he supported rnc to withdraw resources from the state of alabama. >> nbc jeff bennett is live at the white house. a big contract to senator franken and ray moore. >> yes, certainly a huge contrast in the way the president has decided to criticize al franken while

holding his fire as it relates to ray moore. there are a couple of reasons for this according to the trump administration officials i've talked tochlt chief among them is the president sees few positives and lolgts ts of nega getting involved in this race, on mitch mcconnell and washington establishment. the president knows well who his supporters are not just in alabama but across the country. it's the hard core conservatives by and large many still support ray moore in alabama. as to the contrast, white house press secretary sarah huckabee sanders spoke directly to this issue why the president is criticizing al franken but not saying hardly anything about ray moore. take a look. >> i think in one case specifically senator franken has admitted wrongdoing and the president hasn't. i think that's a very clear distinction. >> a clear distinction she says. but also a strategy, a rational

that the whouite house has used before, admit no wrongdoing, and it's as if the wrongdoing never occurred. even as president's critics point out more than a dozen women who have an excused him of sexual assault in some cases all highlighted of course by the 2005 "access hollywood" tape that came out during the campaign. >> thank you. jeff bennett we'll have to see where that goes at the white house. thank you. >> now let's head to alabama where they'll elect new senator in alabama. what are alabama voters telling snu. >> reporter: sort of a divide here and we've been talking about that all day people who support ray moore and against hmm. and today we saw both sides. started early this morning republican men's club had a prayer breakfast explaining why they would be voting for ray moore. they did not mention the sexual allegations against him,

allegations that moore has denied. what they did talk about were the reasons they wanted to vote for moore, basically they support certain platforms these running on debt, deficit, border control, things they can get behind and support moore for. and of course trying to maintain that republican majority in the senate. they say that is another reason why they will be supporting moore. on the other hand a few hours later there ws a gathering of faith leaders here in birmingham. they have course have come out against moore saying, listen, he is using the bible for his own political purposes. they criticized him for that. criticized him over these alleged sexual misconduct allegations. and criticized some of his stances on issues. including minimum wage and also his opposition to expanding medicaid under obamacare. here's what both sides had to say. take a listen. >> doug jones is going to vote wrong and ray moore is going to vote right. we need to make sure that we

keep the big picture in our minds as we vote on december the 12th. and the big picture is who is going to do the right things in washington d.c. for our country. and who is going to do the wrong things. >> we ask that in the ten commandments that he neither reads understands or follows. >> now fox news took a poll regarding the senate race in alabama showed jones is leading by 50 to 42%. but as you know the special election is on december 12th. >> looks like things change by the minute. thank you. with us now, msnbc analyst and cheney senior adviser, and legal analyst, and all in together, an author of crossing the thinnest

line, laura, good afternoon to all of you. >> good afternoon. >> robert, let's start with you and looking at the fox news poll that shows doug jones up 8 points in alabama. also shows president obama up 52 over trump 49. what does this tell you? >> two things, also should take a look at the graphic that says 9% unsure. so technically you could make the argument this is a neck to neck poll. but second little i think what it shows, there it is again, unsure 9%, so within the margin of error when you take a look at that. however, this is big news. if twapt ray moore and some other republican at the top of the ticket, i'm sure it would be 80 to 20 in that favor. what it tells me is a lot of republicans out there in alabama are, a, going to vote for ray

moore or not going to vote as well. that's the side of the story has to be told. probably not going to vote for democrat. i've not from alabama but been down there they will not vote for a democrat. but they will stay home. you have to remember ray moore has been removed twice now. very known quantity being the chief justice. also won for governor and lost in the primary. so it's in the like they don't know who he is. and take the sexual harassment stuff out of it, which is a big, big deal a lot of alabama know him as someone self righteous. one could make the argument always always controversial. so what it always tells me, is ray moore does a very god job the rallying the base but does not good a good job historically winning a statewide race. >> we are up to nine accusers.

? >> for the most part the allegations we've heard so far, most of hem hover in the 1977 to 1979 range. as to those allegations if committed today they could constitute crimes. and some of them could constitute crimes against children. however, at the time alabama had a three year felony statute of limitations. which has long since expired. surprisingly though, in 1985, alabama amended that statute of limitations to infiniti. to remove it completely for certain sex crimes against children. so theoretically if these allegations were true and committed just a few years later, there it would have been potential criminal liability. but virtually any uncontested to touching that is sexual in nature is a crime in almost every state in the union. >> there is another piece to this here, lauren. doug jones is cashing in on ray

moore scandal literally. look at this, he's collecting about $250,000 a day. can we expect democrats nationwide to relationship the benefits of what's happening in alabama? >> well, i don't know if democrats nationwide will relationship treap the benefits of the but part of what we saw in the election is opposition is motivating force. and i think the question, first of all i do think this has become a national race of extraordinary proportions which always brings attention from folks across the country and one that is mobilizing women and democrats to want to do everything they can to defeat this guy. and i was on capitol hill and talked to a number of senior republican staffers as well as democrat staffers and i'll tell you among democrrepublican staf doomsday scenario if ray moore gets elected nightmare on the hill in terms of the deleader mitch mcconnell will have to

face. but i think it's going to be extremely close. it's a lifetime. but the real question is going to be will the women in alabama who are incensed by this and democrats who are incensed by this actually mobilize and turn out. and if anything else all this news is going to remind people when the election is. and i happen to think it's going to be very mobilizing for the opposition. >> interesting you talk about turnout. looking at live pictures of doug jones. he's obviouslily capitalizing on this and staying very busy. >> let me bring you in here. let's listen to what ray moore said on thursday and get your thoughts. >> this is effort by mitch mcconnell and his cronies to steal this election from the people of alabama and they will not stand for it. i want to tell you who needs to step down. that's mitch mcconnell. >> how concerned should mitch mcconnell be not just about the results in alabama about his

ability to exert over senate republicans? >> i think mitch mcconnell should be concerned if he wins, he may very well may win. and he has two people in the caucus, that are not afraid to go up to the beehive and challenge authority who feed off that. but i want to go become to something very important. alabama they are very proud full people. so the more the nationalize this race, the better off it is for ray moore. they can't stand people from the beltway telling them how to think. that's the main reason you see the democrat in this race be very quiet. very grateful to get the national money. but i don't think you'll see nancy pelosi or bill clinton or anyone from washington to campaign for the democrat. but your question i think mitch mcconnell is watching the race very quietly but he knows very

well to be quiet. >> interesting point. let's turn to senator al franken and here's part of the apology he issued. he says, kboet, coming from the world of comedy i wrote a lot of jokes, but the intentions behind my actions aren't the point at all. he says it's the impact its had on others and i'm sorry. >> first of all, how would you grade that a popology? tan second of all should he get a break? >> no i don't think he should. one of the reasons is he's in a roll of extraordinarily visibility in the country. and i think the behavior is outrageous and his apology is sincere. and a cueser has accepted the apology and felt herself it was both sincere and whole hearted. and i think it is the right kind of apology. >> so not enough? >> it is still not enough. and i'll tell you why.

we need examples set at the highest levels of leadership in this country to demonstrate to men and women there are consequences for offensive behavior towards women. we have not seen that. we don't see it. and in fact the general over all we have seen men pay very little price. and i think ultimately any man in a position of leadership, whether that's incorporate america or in the united states senate, has no business serving as a role model for the nation if their own behavior is not appropriate. and in this case it was deeply offensive. i don't believe it was criminal. but it doesn't matter. he's meant to be a role model as are all of our public officials. and i would like to see him resign. even though i like the way he votes and extraordinary member of the senate. and yes accepted his poll guy. but at some point we have to ask ourselves tas a nation is it acceptable for people who enga i

go in offensive behavior towards women to be in authority. and i don't think there is any reason they should be. >> let me get your take. should franken resign. danny, i'll start with you. >> that's really more of a political question. i think. >> i don't think it is. >> he can refuse to resign. you think it's a legal question? >> no, i don't think it's either of those. it's a moral question and question of having some moral authority. and it's a leadership question. i'm a democrat. kills me to see a democrat seat go up especially in a seat like that but question of principal and men to be held accountable for their behavior and not about politics. it's about morality. >> what were you going to say, danny? >> but it is ultimately a political and i guess we can add moral decision. not a legal one. >> no. >> unless you talk about the internal senate bylaws to remove him. but ultimately this is a

political and a moral decision. >> robert let me have you get the last word. what do you think? >> sure. he seems to be contrite. i think a very tough censore is in line for something like this. but for resignation not my call. i think that's for the people of the state and his wife to make that decision. but i think a very tough censore is very much in line. >> thank you for your time. thank you, guys. >> thank you. >> still ahead, religious leaders weigh in on both sides of the ray moore controversy with a little more than three weeks to go until alabama special senate election. >> alabama will not kiss the ring of political hacks who have sold their souls to the devil to maintain their political power. causing a lack of sharpness, or even trouble with recall. thankfully, the breakthrough in prevagen helps your brain

and actually improves memory. the secret is an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. the name to remember. to to me he's, well, dad.son pro golfer. so when his joint pain from psoriatic arthritis got really bad, it scared me. and what could that pain mean? joint pain could mean joint damage. enbrel helps relieve joint pain, and helps stop further damage enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders and allergic reactions have occurred. tell your doctor if you've been someplace where fungal infections are common. or if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure or if you have persistent fever, bruising, bleeding or paleness.

don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. since enbrel, dad's back to being dad. visit enbrel.com... and use the joint damage simulator to see how your joint damage could be progressing. ask about enbrel. enbrel. fda approved for over 14 years. (♪) (♪) it all starts with a wish. the lincoln wish list event is here. sign and drive off in a new lincoln with zero down and a complementary first months payment.

this morning in birmingham rel religious leaders speaking out against the nominee. >> it is not the gospel of cries. it is the gospel of greed. it is not the religion of redemption and love. >> those views in direct contrast who have continued to show their support. >> let me set the record

straight. even after all the attacks against me, against my family, against the foundation, and now against my husband, he will not step down. >> that's right. >> you simply cannot fake being a godly, a true, a trustworthy, a valiant leader on the principles of the bible. >> this media and you people are sick and desperately needs the jesus that he knows. >> you heard all of them there, including a group of women and including moore's wife coming to defense on the alabama state capital. >> now joining me is bob vans who ran against him and loss in the alabama supreme court. thank you for your time this afternoon. >> happy to be here. >> are you surprised at the divide that ray moore has caused in your state particularly from religious leaders? >> no, i'm not. ray moore has spent many years

developing a following in alabama, a cult like following, if i could say that. so that he's got his supporters who will support him come hell or high water. so he also does a good job, as he has in the past, of portraying himself as martyr figure. so what's happening now is something that's very regretable but not sr pricing at all. >> with the number of accusers up to nine. recently composed the year book. what's your thought? >> i have before said the people in my croom, the accusers and then ray moore, and of course this is not a legal proceeding, but if it were, the case against ray moore at this point would be

clear and convincing. we have so many women who have come out and who have recounted their stories of horrible encounters with ray moore. and we have other folks who have corroborated those stories. and we have evidence such as ray moore signing this one accuser's year book page, in my mind there there is no doubt these women are speaking the truth. >> i want to ask you about the republican establishment. but first it seems to me that even if some of his supporters are convinced he's guilty allegations they would still vote for him anyway. >> right. and that's the most disappointing aspect of this, i guess. there will always be the kool-aid drinkers who will buy moore's side of the story regardless. but i'm very disheartened there are others who have basically

said, yes, we believe these women, nevertheless we are going to vote for ray moore, including the governor of the state of alabama who has said that in so many words. and it's become so obvious in recent weeks that sexual harassment, sessixual assault i pervasive and under reported and it is a big problem in our society. and yet in alabama there are people who shrug their shoulders and say so what. and that's disappointing. >> we have to leave it there. judge bob vance, thank you for your head. >> still ahead, the attorney for donald trump junior responds that he met with a russian banker during the 2016 campaign. next what his attorney says they talked about. what started as a passion...

...has grown into an enterprise. that's why i switched to the spark cash card from capital one. now, i'm earning unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase i make. everything. what's in your wallet?

trust #1 doctor recommended dulcolax. use dulcolax tablets for gentle dependable relief. suppositories for relief in minutes.

and dulcoease for comfortable relief of hard stools. dulcolax. designed for dependable relief.

welcome back. i'm sheinelle jones at msnbc. his wife saying he will not drop

out of the race. a collision between u.s. navy destroyer and tug boat caused minor damage, but this comes after they were involved in deadly collusioisions earlie this year. and mug by decades in power. and keystone pipeline says 210,000 leak. thursday spill comes days before a state vote for a controversy extension of the pipeline. >> news in the russian investigation. saying that the president's son did attend a banker with a russian bank era cuesed of links to organized crime. allegations he denies. this as jared kushner failed to disclose communication he had

with him. joining me now nbc intelligence reporter ken. and mika former staffer with the house intelligence committee and vice president for national security. good afternoon to both of you. >> hello. >> what more can you tell us about this meeting between donald trump junior and this banker. >> and this came after torsion had sent an email requesting a high level meeting with members of the trump campaign. and jared kushner essentially turned him down. instructed the trump campaign not to meet with him. but somehow he ended up at a private dinner with donald trump junior. now torsion had previously told him he dined with him. trump's lawyer today said they didn't dine together. they were in the same room. separate tables. they met and exchanged please and tries and went back to their

meal. but this is still going to be seen as significant the fact that donald trump junior's lawyers confirming thissen 0 the record yet another meeting with a high level russian with connections to vladimir putin. >> mika, a letter from kushner's attorney accuses them of turning the investigation into a media circus. how do you think they'll take this characterization, if you will? >> i don't think they'll take this very well. when you look at senators grassley and feinstein, they are working hard to do this on a bipartisan basis. we have seen this in a lot of the senate investigations where democrats and republicans are working arm in arm as they sign out their document requests. and frankly when people start holding back information from the committees, the committees get upset as a body, not as partisans, to say, hey, no, you are flouting the authority. you need to come forward. so the more they dig in. >> another piece of news,

attorney general jeff sessionss amending his testimony saying that he did remember a meeting. let's take a listen, then we'll talk. >> i do now recall that the march 2016 meeting at the trump hotel that mr. papadopoulos attended, but i have no clear requisiti recollection of the details what he said at that meeting. >> so your testimony is donald trump nor anyone else in the meeting expressed interest about meeting with them? >> i don't recall. >> ken, what should we make of this? another shift by sessions and what he told congress about russia? >> it is. and here's why it's important. he flatly denied he was aware of any contacts between trump campaign surrogates and russians he did that in october under oath. now he's saying, oh, yes i was at the meeting where we know papadopoulos proposed a meeting

between donald trump and vladimir putin. but he is saying he doesn't remember. >> what's your take on all this? again shift by sessions here. >> well, what you are seeing is every time we get additional evidence that sessions was aware then sessions changing his story. what was interesting about this hearing is congressman accusing sessions of saying, look, you are being selective in your memory here tan years ago during the clinton impeachment you said this kind of failure to remember is actually an israel offen rea. noup we say sessions engaging in this exactly same behavior saying i don't know. when faced with the evidence now i remember. that's really troubling. >> so many people are talking about this. i've heard. what are the implications of this? either one can jump in there. >> i think one of the things you see is lying to congress can be

a crime. and so if sessions is doing the same thing to mueller, as he's doing to congress, he has two places where he's in legal jeopardy. one is for lying to congress. the other is lying to federal investigation which we saw with george papadopoulos. you can be sentence today jail for that. >> you just mentioned mueller. sessions will be back on capitol hill for questioning later this month. and politico reports will investigate ho pick ns the coming weeks. what will you each be watching as this investigation unfolds? mika you first. >> so i think you are going to watch for sessions changing his story yet again as more information comes out. then with the hope hicks investigation really tough because mueller's team is very tight lipped about this. we'll see if her lawyers or anyone else comes forward with that investigation after it occurs. >> and ken looking forward what would you say? >> well, look, we don't know a lot about where mueller is going on the obstruction of justice aspect of his investigation. but we any that it's closing in on the white house. hope picks is a 28-year-old

white house staffer who has had to hire a lawyer, so great pressure. >> thank you. good conversation this afternoon. thank you both. still ahead what about bill, from hollywood hills to capitol hill how landed bill clinton back into the headlines. insidel chronic, widespread pain. fibromyalgia may be invisible to others, but my pain is real. fibromyalgia is thought to be caused by overactive nerves. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i'm glad my doctor prescribed lyrica. for some, lyrica delivers effective relief for moderate to even severe fibromyalgia pain. and improves function. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions, suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worse depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior, swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives,

blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. common side effects: dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who've had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. with less pain, i can do more with my family. talk to your doctor today. see if lyrica can help. do you have the coverage you need? open enrollment ends december 7th. don't put it off 'til later. now's the time to get on a path that could be right for you... with unitedhealthcare medicare solutions. call today to learn about the kinds of coverage we offer, including aarp medicarecomplete plans insured through unitedhealthcare. these medicare advantage plans can combine parts a and b, your hospital and doctor coverage... with part d prescription drug coverage, and extra benefits... all in one complete plan...

for a low monthly premium, or in some areas no plan premium at all. unitedhealthcare doesn't stop there. you'll have $0 co-pays for preventive services... like an annual physical and most immunizations. you can also get routine vision and hearing coverage... and a fitness membership. for prescriptions, you'll pay the plan's lowest price, whether it's your co-pay or the pharmacy price. or pay as low as zero dollars for a 90-day supply of your tier 1 and tier 2 drugs, delivered right to your door. in fact, our medicare advantage plan members... saved an average of over $5,000 last year. so call or go online today to enroll, and enjoy these benefits and more, like renew by unitedhealthcare, our health and wellness experience, where you can earn rewards for making healthy choices. your healthcare needs are unique. that's why, with 40 years of medicare experience, we'll be there for you

we can even help schedule your appointments. open enrollment ends december 7th. if you're medicare eligible, call now and talk to unitedhealthcare about our plans, like aarp medicarecomplete. let's get you on the right path. call unitedhealthcare or go online to enroll. sfx: mnemonic new york senator christen

g gillibrand making waves on capitol hill saying this. >> is it your view that the president clinton should have stepped down at that time given the allegations? >> yes, i think that is the appropriate response. >> gillibrand remarks sparked outrage former top adviser to hillary clinton who called her a hypocrite after years of receiving endorsements and money from the clintons. in an exclusive money with casey hunt, gillibrand reacted to his comments. >> ridiculous. and he's wrong. bill clinton did very important things for this country. but my point is about this conversation we are having today and that we need to have the highest standards for elected leaders. >> joining me now is msnbc political analyst and peter baker. good morning to both you.

>> good morning. >> or good afternoon i should say. peter, you wrote a piece for the new york sometimtimes called wht clinton? >> they have been telling their stories for nearly two decades now. do you believe it's time for democrats to rethink their defense of clinton? it's been fascinating to listen and here some democrats and liberals bring that up themselves. craze hayes on this network but a number of others have said that they are rethinking what they thought back at the time. democrats and liberals ought to have a reckoning about their decision to defend him given the movement today which we are seeing and supposed to believe victims or people come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct. and you are hearing from a variety of people sort of striking, heard it in today's "washington post" head of the organization for women. you heard it from matthew glaser

who used to be pillar of political world for clinton. and gillibrand saying it the other day to my colleague, i think this is fascinating how it is wrestle with these difficult issues. always hard one for democrats because they did want to keep him in office. >> does this open the door for wider discussion for bill clinton? and what do you think? >> yeah, i this i politically what gillibrand did you could call brave or she was the first one to come out and say this as being a democrat senator and ally of the clintons. but ultimately there is an argument that democrats would be smart to follow her example here. you know, every time you have an allegation of sexual misconduct or assault or worse against a republican, they bring out these accusers against bill clinton and also bring up the monica lewandowski scandal. and given this current moment, given that democrats are

rallying around this idea that we need to believe women, that is a real problem for them. and i think confronting this and saying, yeah, we shouldn't have protected him at that point, i think that will free them up in order to, you know, pursue basically making work police and politics safer place for all women. >> before i bring peter in here, it seems like some are willing to do that but others are worried about the implications of doing that. what would the implications be? why would they be afraid to make that step? >> yeah, i mean, i think that it's hard. because you have to go back on what you've been saying for 20 years or something. but at this point, you know, clinton is not running for office and will not do so again. we are talking about a new democratic party reshaping itself. younger generation coming up. a lot of people that voted for bernie sanders. so when you make a big charge it's hard but i think the risks are lower than they think.

>> interesting perspective. let's listen to fox news last night calling gillibrand interview strange. listen to this. >> her point was strange to me because she probably didn't come to this feeling a thought in position yesterday. why she wouldn't have in the last 20 years vocalized it is strange to me. nothing was stopping her. >> do you agree with that? how big of a deal is it that gillibrand is speaking out against clinton? granted the conversation has shifted. but what would you say? >> well, look, it is a significant change. she has benefited from the mentorship, let's say, of the clintons of the she's sitting in the senate seat that hillary clinton wants occupied. she did campaign with bill clinton. and did praise them just a year ago in an essay she wrote online for the medium website. she said that no one had done more to help inspire her to get

off the sidelines than hillary clinton. so for her to say this, obviously, represented a break and represented a big change. you listen to that tape you played. how long was the pause before she finally answered the question, right. it wasn't something she wanted to say. obviously something she has avoided saying for years. but she chose this moment to do it because in part as we just said the clintons are now out of the candidate business it looks like. and because the cultural moment seems to have shifted in which things that were said in the past maybe don't feel as defensible anymore to some l liberals and democrats. >> do you see any fallout? could her stance potentially alienate donors supports she has in common with the clintons? >> i think there is always potential for that. but i think gillibrand has been very conscious of her brand recently and very smart as a politic political actor. her big cause on capitol hill is sexual assaults against women.

and if she's seen as hedging for that big issue, i think that is damaging down the road. she has staked out applies for herself as advocate for women. she has opposed a lot of the nominees for trump's cabinet for example. really staked out applies on her seventh on the left potentially because she's gearing up to run for president. and you have to take risks in those place but don't want to be seen walking become on your big position zbls party, gillibrand and congressman speier introduce me too act growing concerns. i know you don't have a crystal ball. where is this going? can sexual harassment be purged from politics? clearly they believe this is a step in the right direction. >> well, obviously the conversation is so intense. and list of people that are being accused is growing by the day. the number of women who are willing to come forward and tell their stories is growing by the day. it's hard to imagine that this

doesn't have a pretty substantial and enduring on the political system like the entertainment and media and arts. now does that mean all sexual harassment is going to go away in the workforce? no of course not. but i do think it feels like pivot points where society thinks about something that it had every reason to think about in the past but somehow didn't. >> good discussion. thank you for your time this afternoon. >> thank you. >> we'll be right back. >> thank you.

before i had the shooting, burning of diabetic nerve pain these feet... liked to style my dog as a kid... and were pumped to open my own salon. but i couldn't bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. so i talked to my doctor and she prescribed lyrica. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions, suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worse depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior, swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling or blurry vision. common side effects: dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, swelling of hands, legs, and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. now i have less diabetic nerve pain. ask your doctor about lyrica.

. republicans taking big steps this week toward overhauling the nation's tax code. the house passing a plan on thursday while the senate is expected to vote on their version after thanksgiving. now the two plans have critical differences make for some heated debate on capitol hill. >> i really resent anybody saying i'm doing this for the rich. give me a break. i think you guys over play that all the time and it gets old. and frankly you ought to quit it. >> with all due respect i get sick and tired of the richer getting richer. >> order. >> also raising issues. and reporting that president trump and his family could save more than $1 billion under the

new tax bill. joining me now is the business insider promised to make this clear. >> i'll do my best. >> so we don't feel like we are in ha math class or something like that. so let's start with this, how far apart are these two versions? and how likely is the senate bill going get passed? >> pretty far apart. they both have large tax cuts especially on the business side, big tax cut for the corporate, trump businesses, that's why he gets the big tax cut. but also differences, senate would get rid of deduction for taxes, big issue in new york, california. the house gets much of that, but let's you keep part of that for property taxes that was something fought for by represents tifs in new york. what is it would repeal the individual mandate for obamacare which penalizes you if you don't carry health care.

so that adds a huge health care to that vote. if that does disruption in health care markets and brings up a lot of the stuff that we thought was past out. some differences between the two bills, one hold out senator ron johnston from wisconsin holding up on changes for that. they can only lose two votes and pass the bill. so you may need changes on that. so there are many provisions that matter a lot to some lobby groups and states and interest area. so all of those things can be fought over and likely the senate bill have to change a lot before it passes then you'll have two different bills out of the houses who will have to fight to reconcile. >> people have a hard time understanding. you read one article and contradicts what the other article said. biggest sticking points what would you say? >> part of why it's hard to

follow, they keep changing what they say. and changes from year to year. one thing that's both house and senate bills pretty good stuff for a lot of middle income families in the boat years for both of these bills. but a problem a lot of those tax breaks he can pier, don't run for ten years, they run for five years or eight years. so what you have republican leaders saying is well we'll come back in the future and extend those and get to keep those. but the business tax cuts are permanent and because they had only tax cuts to hand out, business got permanent and sort of pinky swear they'll come back and do those again. so that's part of why people say this is big tax increase on middle income families and republicans saying no it's a tax kuchlt part of what you are looking next down and what you are shum whag congress will do in the future. democrats reasonably point out it's a political question whether those tax cuts will get extended we don't know what the budget will be in the future.

times they come through. >> i have about a minute left. another part people get upset. trump and his family. truly alone could save up to $20 million tax returns. his heirs up to a billion dollars. >> that's up to him. that's really not true. there is a big provision that gives a tax preference to people who own tax through businesses. where you pay tax on individual tax returns. we know he owns those businesses. and if they repeal the estate tax they'll get a tax cut on that. >> thanks. turning now to white house, barring big game hunters bringing animals killed in africa back in our country. president is now reexamining that decision.

tom costello has the latest. >> reporter: the tweet overnight president trump weighed in on the department of interior controversial decision to allow elephants fan lions to be out of africa as trophies. putting it on hold until such time i review all the facts. a temporary win for activists. >> having elephants and lions is a huge driver to the economy. millions of people go to africa to see these animals alive. >> now if the administration ends up easing restrictions, conservations say it's a huge step backwards. >> we are essentially rolling out the red carpet for the next walter palmer. >> in 2015, minnesota dentist walter palmer killed see sol the lion in zimbabwe being studied by researchers at oxford.

heart broken. if i had known this lion had a name or study, obviously i would not have taken it. but dr. forced to shut his practice. in 2016 obama administration listed the lion as threatened and barred them as bringing back from trophies after africa lost 43% of lions in previous two decades. but u.s. fish and wildlife disagreed on friday saying the killing of throwy animals in zimbabwe will enhance the survival of the african elephant because they use it to step up conservation efforts. this morning the big debate will tt dollar really help save the species, or is it an excuse to put a trophy on the wall? tom costello nbc news washington. >> we'll be right back.

you nervous? ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

that wraps up this hour for me. i'm sheinelle jones. news continues with richard lui. >> thanks. i'll try to follow your energy. hello, i'm richard lui right here in new york city. we have new development ns the russian investigation. confirming jared kushner met

with russian during the campaign. meanwhile, misconduct scandals facing politicians. taking to twitter to attack al franken while remaining silent when it comes to ray moore. the president's response now by new scrutiny over allegations that he himself faces. we'll start though this hour with those new developments in the russia investigation. the attorney for donald trump junior confirming to nbc news just a short time ago the president's son did attend a dinner last year with russian banker and putin ally alexander torsion who has been accused of links to organized crimes, allegations that he denies. torsion is the same russian banker outreach to the trump campaign was not disclosed by jared kushner to senate