mattachine society. >> in 1979 he worried that the radical movement was losing steam and becoming too violent. he discovered the radical faeries movement. >> along with his partner john burnside, he also fought for american gay rights. he died in 2002 at 90 years old. >> ufrif you have a monumental american, e-mail us. now we go to andrea mitchell. they power money into roy moore's campaign, ignoring child molestation accusations in order to keep that senate seat. >> he's upset the people of alabama now. >> it's a numbers game. i want american republicans to maintain control. congress quits. a long-serving member of

congress forced to resign now after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. >> my legacy can't be compromised or diminished in any way by what we're going through now. this, too, shall pass. and the boys on the bus. new reporting on mike pence's reaction to the "access hollywood" tape. billy bush speaks out about the vice president's purported denial of reality. >> you can't say that. i was there, that's your voice on the tape. >> coming up, the latest from team pence right here. and good day, everyone. i'm andrea mitchell in washington where white house special counsel ty cobb has rejected a novel theory from the president's personal lawyer, john dowd, that he cannot commit

obstruction of justice because he's in charge of law enforcement, a claim universally mokd mocked by experts on all side. cobb saying, there is no strategy of which i'm aware to rely boldly on the proclamation that obstruction is always impossible with regard to a president. he was accused of being in contact with someone as soon as last month. this novel, a dispute among president trump's lawyers. we know a president can be indicted. that's not the issue here. but we've had two presidents impeached over obstruction charges. >> reporter: andrea, you're right, there are legal ramifications of obstruction of justice, if that is the ultimate

conclusion. bill clinton and nixon both facing impedement of congress. there has been no indictment of a sitting president for the legal issue related to obstruction of justice. but the bottom line here is you have this feud now spilling out publicly within the president's legal team. ty cobb, who works here at the white house, the counsel on all things related to russia. publicly disbeauputing the plan going forward which makes many in the white house uncomfortable. they, like many people, want the president to be pushing back more firmly against robert mueller and his investigative team. others don't want this discussed publicly in any form. the bottom line is, you have, after this tweet this weekend when the president weighed in on when he found out or the fact that he knew his former national security adviser mike flynn had lied to the vice president and

fbi really deepening suspicions about obstruction of justice right now. and, frankly, at the end of the day, a lot of people at home are asking themselves what exactly is the plan behind the scenes and does the white house have its act together on this issue. >> and paul manafort under house arrest trying to get bail. then the mueller team learns he's dealing with this russian intelligence asset, if you will, on a ukranian issue and trying to ghost-write an op-ed. >> that's right, andrea, and i think that revelation is much more significant rather than whether paul manafort gets bail. this is the first time the forces have tied a former member of the trump team to a person as a member of russian intelligence, essentially. in the last hour, they've quoted a man who is a spokesman for the political party, they used to pay paul manafort, who says he wrote the op-ed and he's disp e

disputing that manafort had a ghost writer. they said he had ties to russians and was a long-time manafort colleague, and i think that's significant. >> then there's k.t. mcfarland. she was the deputy national security adviser, now she's the nominee to be the ambassador to singapore. but what we've learned is she is one of the contacts that flynn was calling -- she was actually at mar-a-lago among other transition officials to discuss whether the kislyak call should be made, and when asked whether her written answers to the committee denying any knowledge of a kislyak call now put her whole credibility and possible line to congress in kbe on this nomination. >> yeah, this has become a real -- >> there is no question that this is going to create a major

pause in our nomination. that's at a minimum. and we got a lot of issues going around here. the ambassador of singapore is not high on the list right now. >> not high on the list for confirmation. she's got problems right now, legally. >> yeah, i think that's corker's way of saying this summation is not going to move, maybe ever. this has become a real theme of the trump team, forgetting about contacts they had with russia that in retrospect seem meaningf meaningful. clearly k.t. mcfarland, we learned in the indictment and through our reporting, was in touch with mike flynn about his outburst over those sanctions when the obama sanctions were imposed. when asked by congress, she said she didn't know anything about it. now she has to sweat those inconsistent answers. >> and they have been contacted by mueller's team looking for kislyak's business records.

no connection weather they'll actually comply with this, they may be fighting that subpoena, but that is another challenge for the white house. >> reporter: that's for sure. the president effectively said "his red line" when this investigation was going beyond russia and into his family's personal finances. that's why this is significant. it's something that has received a lot of focus and the conversation is centered on for the course of weeks, if not months, but now we're learning about that subpoena of those sort of bank and other financial transaction business dealings as it relates to deutsche bank and the president and his family. remember the president did receive significant millions of dollars, i believe, in loan for ventures of deutsche bank which really hasn't been commenting beyond effectively saying they're going to take this issue very seriously. andrea? >> thanks so much to you, and ken delaney. mike lauder is executive

secretary to pence and joins me now. let me talk to you about what we learned from the flynn documents in court. and clearly from those documents we learned that mike flynn was in touch with the russians, that he had lied, he concedes, and in his guilty plea he lied about those contacts to the fbi. then the president over the weekend tweets, i had to fire general flynn because he lied to the vice president and the fbi. "and the fbi," the clear, important words there. he's pled guilty to those lies, it's a shame, because his actions during the transition were lawful. there was nothing to hide. there is certainly a lot from sally yates two days later after this lie was told, going to don mcgann, the white house counsel. the question is when did the vice president learn? >> the vice president learned about it when the "washington post" reported it in

mid-february time frame, that he had not told the vice president. because the vice president spoke the morning -- or the weekend that he was doing some sunday news talks show in mid-january. >> let me play that for you. >> sure. >> we've got one of those talk shows with, i think, "face the nation" and mike pence. >> it was strictly coincidental that they had a conversation. they did not discuss anything having to do with the united states' decision to expel diplomats or impose a censure against russia. >> did they ever have a discussion about russia on that day or any other day? >> they did not have a discussion contemporaneous with u.s. action. >> so, don, again, the white house counsel never told the vice president in realtime that they had learned -- only two lays later, that mike flynn was lying? >> the vice president or then

vice president-elect reached out to general flynn to ask him specifically about this information, and asked specifically if sanctions came up. when general flynn told them he had not, that's what prompted the answers on the sunday morning shows. >> not the president, not the general counsel, nobody disputes the vice president of that inaccurate information? >> not until it came out in mid-february a few weeks later from the "washington post" reporting that it was not true. >> what about k.t. mcfarland and jared kushner, both of whom, according to our reporting and the documents in court and what we've reported since, were aware of it in realtime? >> and that information was not shared with the vice president at the time. that's why when he answered the question back in mid-january and when the information came out in the "washington post," he reacted by saying, this is the first he had heard of that, and then the president took the steps with general flynn a short time later.

>> now that the president has tweeted this, and yes, his lawyer said, i wrote the tweet but it's not been disavowed, did you go back to the vice president and say, i'm sorry, did you not know at the time? you lied to me. >> not particularly. they're involved in other things in the world and the tax reform and other things that move america forward. >> according to reporting in atlantic magazine today, the vice president was contemplating leaving the ticket, a coup against the ticket, joining up with condoleezza rice. that is the reporting. >> untrue. vice president pence, then

governor pence, days after the "access hollywood" tape was made public -- >> he held a fundraiser. >> -- he held a fundraiser. we're doing fundraisers for the campaign in long island. the next couple days, a governor who was a running mate was on a public show in the morning and calling it absolutely untrue that he was ever committed to leaving a ticket on that. this is just an example of things that do not exist. it's to another part of that story, the questions of the relationship is that mrs. pence, the vice president, have become very close with the first family and are very fond of the president and mrs. trump, and anything that suggests otherwise is just categorically false. >> now, paul ryan at the time was disavowing the president because of the "access

hollywood" tape. other leading republicans were. why wasn't the vice president and mrs. pence, why weren't they offended given their religious backyard and the moral stance they take on so many issues. >> the moment that came out, the then-governor put out a statement. he said he was offended by the words and actions of that 11-year-old tape. he did not condone them and he encouraged the president to show his heart to the american people that saturday night. he did that. the then vice president was campaigning then in november. >> ali velshi was on with

stephanie ruhle and they had brett stevens on. he said he cannot vote for a political party, they now put money into roy moore's campaign. even the senate republican committee is not doing that as of now. the rnc, the party is putting money into roy moore's campaign because the seat is more important than the moral issue given the credibility of his accusers. how do you feel as a republican about the support for roy moore? >> well, many republicans have come out and said if these allegations are true, then mr. moore should step aside. but what we've also seen is this is something that the voters of alabama will decide. >> but if these allegations are true, even some of those who have said that have acknowledged that the allegations are credible. they're not going to be proved in a court of law, there is no word.

>> ultimately it will be for the voters of alabama to decide that. >> but now they'll have republican money helping them decide. >> that's something they'll have to weigh. >> is that moral? >> i'm not going to get into judging. it's not my place to judge about what's moral and what's not moral. >> how do you feel about that as a republican? >> we need to focus on the issues at hand -- >> this is a very big issue on hand. we have republicans and democrats. >> they are very troubling allegations, but what i have faith in is the voters will make in the united states senate, and for anyone to tell the voters who they should or should not vote for, that's not our place. that's what the election is about. >> thank you very much. and congressman john conyers, the longest-serving member of the house, announced

today that he's stepping down among multiple sexual allegations and huge pressure from his fellow democrats. >> i am retiring today. and i want everyone to know how much i appreciate the support that -- the incredible, undiminished support i've received across the years from my supporters. not only in my district but across the country as well. >> congressman, as you exit this interview, do you still maintain that the allegations that have been leveled against you are false? >> whatever they are, they are not accurate or they're not true. >> joining me now, nbc's capitol hill correspondent kasie hunt. this really earthquaked this resignation. >> reporter: it is, andrea, and it comes after days of intense pressure from leaders on capitol

hill for skprjohn conyers to ta this kind of a step. i think it's expected that this retirement will take place today. there was speculation that he will simply announce that he is not planning to run for reelection and that we would see him as a member of congress, perhaps, through the end of next year. that clearly not the case. and this has been something of a damaging episode for nancy pelosi, the democratic leader. she, of course, went on with chuck todd. talked about. and she seems to defend him on that basis. she backtracked pretty quickly when asked about the backlash and said conyers should resign outright. conyers no longer here in the congress as of today. andrea? >> kasie hunt, thank you. coming up, dialing up

president trump calling the leader a head of hamas. there are reports he's calling jerusalem the capital. xeljanz xr. a once daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections.

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president trump is calling leaders in israel, jordan and the palestinian today to recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel. this goes back to 1948 when they were created as a state. they have been on the alert for violence, and rex tillerson was admonished for his u.n. counterpart against any such move. >> this is a presumption of any process towards a two-state solution. we believe any action that would undermine these efforts must absolutely be avoided.

a way must be found through negotiations to resolve the status of jerusalem as the future capital of both states so the inspiration of both artists can be fulfilled. >> msnbc political analyst john mclaughlin, former cia director and security analyst. rick, first to you. we go back to 1948 and reaffirm with 1979 in camp david that the united states would keep its embassy in tel aviv and would not recognize israel, jerusalem as the capital. even though it's the capital for all intents and purposes, because they did not want to close relations. what is the fallout later today when the president makes the

announcement? >> as you know, all the issues they've had over the years, they saved jerusalem for last because the rest is child's play compared to figuring out jerusalem. i talked to someone the other day who sides with mr. kushner's thoughts about it, and they do see it as a real estate deal. it is a real estate deal with hundreds of degrees of history, with religion, with politics associated with it, and jerusalem is just a very thorny knot that you save to figure out. >> when we think about the ramifications, in 2000 the prime minister sharone went to the temple mount in a disputed area, and it sent a revolt. there is a real possibility of

igniting a match in a bomb factory. >> absolutely. it would be a foolish mistake to do it in the abstract. the only way you could do it is if it took into account all those things we talked about. sellers in return will have a big problem with the palestinian population. likely the arab street is likely to erupt and you will send the palestinian movement to its most extreme elements, largely hamas. we don't know the details of this. when you put it into a comprehensive package, it may not matter, but they seem to see it as a particular deal. >> talking to some former administrators, nick, is to say u.s. presidents and secretaries of state have gone to the parliament and given speeches. we always go to see the prime

minister in jerusalem. so for all intents and purposes, america has been identifying jerusalem as the capital and perhaps say we're only, which will always be a part of i see real and not east jerusalem. all right erdogan. all the rest of the arab leaders have complained, especially king abdullah as my friend john here as just referenced. >> it's a little like shooting yourself in the foot. by the way, secretaries of state, including john kerry in basically his last speech, he outlined how jerusalem could be the capital of the palestinians, the capital of jerusalem. there is a protective way to do that where you would have u.s.

forces protecting the temple mount, et cetera. but as john says, you have to do it as part of a comprehensive agreement. it's very hard to do something like this just to say you're moving the capital. and andrea, what this also does is increase the level of degree that president trump calls this a deal because it alienates our sunni allies. israel needs them to fix any kind of deal with the palestinians. >> there's been secret back channel intelligence organizations that the president is trying to get to supplement the cia, as well as he's not yet named a foreign intelligence advisory board. >> right, i just saw these reports this morning. as they are cast, this is the idea of somehow secret intelligence support organization outside the

structure of the cia and intelligence community. this would be many areas of discipline and chain of command that is strict, and that, importantly, is subject by law to congressional oversight. trying to do this outside of that realm will lead to nothing but trouble, i can guarantee you of that. i'm traging, but that's what's cast at this point. >> and the report is oliver north is one of the advisers, so that would just really concern -- zmz. the case of a colorado baker who refused to bake a wedding cake for same-sex couples. the mother of one of the responders joins me next, as well as pete williams. join me next.

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what did you draw from the argument and where the sides are lining up? >> reporter: what i drew from the argument is, as expected, the key will be anthony kennedy. we saw both anthony kennedys today. we saw the justice who has written all the gay rights movements, but we also saw the ardent supporter of free speech rights. jack fill lims claims his cakes are a work of art, and that by requiring him to make a cake for a gay couple, that would violate his right of free expression. so is a lot of what the court said is what-ifs. if the cake is a form of expression, what about the wedding invitation, what about the menu, what about the makeup artists, what about the person who does the hairdos for the couples. so there were a lot of what-ifs on that side. on the other side, the conservatives said if colorado gets its view here, if they win the case, could, for example, catholic legal services be told

to provide the service or could they turn them around? both sides of anthony kennedy were on display because on the one hand, he said, what if a sign went up in the bakery that said, we don't bake cakes for same-sex couples, wouldn't that be an affron torques t to the g community? and he also said, what if bakers across the country said we don't want to bake for same-sex marriages. would you feel vindicated, he said, to the lawyer for the baker. but then later in the argument, he told a lawyer for the state of colorado, tolerance is essential in a free society and colorado wasn't very tolerant of jack phillips' belief. he's the baker here. if all eyes are on justice kennedy as we think -- we don't know where justice kennedy is going to come down on this. he seems, on the one hand, very sympathetic to the couple's

argument, but he doesn't think the state of colorado treated the baker very well when the human rights commission said he violated the state's public accommodation law. >> it's fascinating. his opinion in that texas case that decided on same-sex marriage for the nation was so eloquent to the point that i know of couples, gay and hetero, who use that as part of their wedding vows. it's such a beautifully written statement of belief. pete? >> his commission frequently used the word dignity, so that was the ruling in the gay marriage decision. so how does that play into this is a complicated question here. i must say, andrea, there are many nuances about this case that make it hard to figure out. on the one hand, what happened here is the couple walked into the bakery, and you're about to hear from the woman who was with them and can tell you more about that, but they never got down to

discussing what the cake should say, and i must say most wedding cakes don't say anything or even what it should look like. so there is a question of what was the speech, was it the mere creation of the cake when there was no message on it. >> thank you, pete. as pete was just referencing, charlie craig and dave mullins said they only wanted to be treated equally as dictated by colorado law. >> we're two regular guys that just were wronged and we decided to stand up for ourselves. most importantly, we want everyone to be treated equally. this isn't about a cake. this has never been about a cake. and this isn't about weddings. it has never been about weddings. no. this is about freedom. >> joining me now is debbie munn, the mother of charlie craig, a respondent in the case. mrs. munn, thank you very much. tell me your reaction after hearing the arguments today.

>> after a very long journey, i was with my son when they were turned away from the bakery five and a half years ago. i witnessed a lot of sadness that day. and to know that after hearing the arguments that we know that this step is over, it's a huge relief. i witnessed, as a mother, my son being turned away because of who he was and because of who he loved. and as a parent, it's extremely hard to watch rejection from a complete stranger. to have somebody as a complete stranger say you're not good enough or to make you feel like you're a second-class citizen. i'm glad that this has now been heard in the oral argument and

that it's past. i just hope that the justiced will understand that to use someone else's right and trump your right, and when it comes to discrimination, i'm hoping that the justices understand what is fair. >> and what do you say to the baker and his argument about either religious freedom or his first amendment rights? >> you know, freedom is protected under our constitution, and i have religious feelings as well, and i have religious rights as well. and i think that if i was a business owner, i would be -- if i was open to the public, i'm open to the public. my teachings have taught me that we're not supposed to judge one another and that we're simply supposed to love one another.

so if i did not want to serve the general public, i believe i would probably have a different occupation. >> debbie munn, thank you very much. thank you for taking the time today. we appreciate it. i'm sure this has been a very emotional day in many ways for you as part of this journey. >> it has. thank you for your time as well. >> we really appreciate it. >> thank you. and coming up, more money, more problems. the republican party standing behind roy moore as a woman shares more evidence of her relationship with the embattled candidate when she was only 17. more here on "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. when you have type 2 diabetes, you manage your a1c, but you also have a higher risk of heart attack or stroke. non-insulin victoza® lowers a1c, and now reduces cardiovascular risk.

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and welcome back. we are waiting momentarily for the president's comments from the roosevelt room, just moments ago meeting with republican leaders. joining me is the washington bureau chief. and sabrina sadiki, bureau chief for the political garden. i believe he was asking about the rnc putting money into the campaign. we're going to hear about that in 30 seconds. so much today.

conyers steps down, and roy moore gets republican party money despite the fact that there is even more documentary evidence of his past relationships with one of the women who had spoken to the "washington post" previously showing a college yearbook entry, a note from roy moore, and i believe the tape is ready. there we are with the president. >> thank you very much, everybody, for coming in. we had some very late nights getting the tax cut bill to conference, and last night was very smooth, and i think we're going to make it so that it comes out very beautifully. i call it the mixer. it's a conference where everyone gets together and they pick all the good things and get rid of things they don't like. but it's a fan tatastic bill fo the middle class, it's a fantastic bill for jobs and for companies wanting to bring back massive amounts of money into our country. it's really -- i view it more than anything else, it's a tremendous bill for jobs and for the middle class.

i think people are seeing that more and more, and the more they learn about it, the more popular it becomes. i think the end result will be even better. we had a choice. we could have gone directly to a vote and we decided let's put it into the conference and come out with something where everything is perfecto. and that's what we're going to do. this group of wonderful republican senators is here to discuss the tax bill, very importantly. we'll also talk about trade and nafta, what's going on with the nafta negotiations. we have tremendous losses with mexico and losses with kamia. we lost approximately $71 billion in trade deficit. we had a trade deficit with mexico, $71 billion. with canada, it was about $17 billion. we have trade deficits with everybody. virtually every country in the world we have trade deficits with ask thatnd that's going to changing.

it's already changing but it's changing fast. we brought back over $1 billion of contracts from asia. it was a very successful trip. now we're looking at nafta very seriously. we have bob lighthouse here, gary cohn. it's not easy with an election taking place, but we're going to be successful. we'll be talking about trade, tax reform that's so popular. i think something will be coming out of conference pretty quickly as opposed to long term. i think it will go pretty quickly. there is a great spirit in the republican party like i've never seen before, like a lot of people say they've never seen before. they've never seen anything like this, the unity. so i think a lot of good things will happen and it will happen very fast. i want to thank you all for being here, and let's have a great lunch, and let's talk about trade and make great trade deals instead of the horrible

trade deals we all got stuck with. thank you, everybody. thank you. >> has mulleller crossed the li? >> thank you. thank you. i think he's going to do very well. we don't want to have a liberal democrat in alabama, believe me. we want strong borders, we want stopping crime. we want to have the people we represent, and we certainly don't want to have a liberal democrat that's controlled by nancy pelosi and controlled by chuck schumer. we don't want to have that for alabama. thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much. >> that was a comment about roy moore, clearly. first to you, jean cummings. the president is again misstating the record of doug jones, who is the prosecutor who convicted the kkk perpetrators who had killed the little girls back in 1964. >> he's basically a moderate to conservative democrat, but where

they're trying to attack him is he does support abortion rights. >> soft on crime, soft on borders is not his issue. >> he's a long-time prosecutor. he has been tough on crime. >> you know, it's interesting we see the president now endorsing roy moore by name. he didn't do that for a while. for a while he stayed out of it. in fact, at one point the white house said if the allegations were true, he should step down. then he endorsed him implicitly and now he has endorsed him explicitly, and the republicans are putting money back into the race. that is detrimental for the republican party. the republican party is now essentially embracing roy moore as their nominee, trying to elect him, and that is a decision that will be complicated down the road if he is elected for them with women voters, with voters not just in alabama but elsewhere. . >> i want to read a.

>> the goal is ultimately set from the top. what the president has done in endorsing roy moore is paved the way for the party infrastructure for, as susan mentioned, to throw money back into the race, although the rnc said they will stay out of it. you've seen the effect it has on republicans from the senate, mitch mcconnell and lindsey graham both on sunday, effectively saying it has an effect on alabama. that's a stunning effect from where they were a few weeks ago where they said this man does not belong in the senate and if he does get elected, we will move to expel them. the prevailing question is now if roy moore does emerge

victorious, what do senators do about it? are they going to heed the president's call and embrace him or take matters into their own hands? >> let's ask gator haake on cap toll hill. gator, ethics examinations take years. we know that from bob packwood, they're done in secret. what is going to happen if he gets elected? >> reporter: well, they'll have no choice but to seat him. i talked to one republican senator yesterday who said it's almost a certainty that someone will file an ethics complaint against him. it could be a democrat or could be a republican, then that process starts. andrea, watching that video, seeing jeff flake next to the president is so striking. jeff flake is retiring from the senate. he has said publicly in large part because of what donald trump has done to his party. he told me yesterday how disappointed he was that the president had endorsed roy moore, that roy moore is part of this sort of face of republican party. for jeff flake to be sitting there next to this president, listening to him talk about roy

moore in those terms is striking. and i'm sure it is not a coincidence that he was seated next to the president for this today. >> and the fact is that the president was not flanked by ryan and mitch mcconnell. when have you evermeeting? because they know where the cameras are placed. >> well, this is a different group here. interestingly enough, largely pro-trade, pro free-trade republican senators in that room. cory gardner, other folks who are probably lobbying the president to go the other way than how he's apparently been leaning on issues like nafta. these are folks who want to see that kind of free trade continue. so, you know, seating arrangement there, a little bit different, obviously. cory gardner, i spoke to this morning, in his role of the head of the nrse, saying not only has their position not backing roy moore not changed, he said flatly it will not change. so there's some real tension probably in that room on this very issue, particularly on roy moore. >> all right, appreciate that correction, because i didn't have the list of who was in the

room so the leaders were not there. let me play elaine chao, who is in the cabinet, and was questioned this morning about sexual harassment. >> i just wanted to know if you've had a me too moment. >> of course. i think that's the dirty little secret that a lot of women have held for a long time. many of us, especially i think the -- in the years past have experienced it. but the environment was very different. >> would you tell us a story? >> the person is still here, still around. i mean -- >> all the more reason. >> things change, times change. and it's not worth my while to go back and revisit those negative moments. i will fight for other women. and i will stand up for other women. but, you know, of your own, you got to let it go. >> now, that raises a really interesting question to all of

you, because chuck todd on "meet the press" had new nbc polling which showed a generational divide among women, 50-plus and younger women, among women feeling differently about how serious this issue is and what they would do about it. women age 18 to 49 believes in happens in the workplace, 78%. women 50-plus 64%. they also had different tupds s attitudes as to how to treat it. why do you think millennial women may be more outspoken and more willing to acknowledge what's going on? >> i think we've grown up at a time where you have a lot of anti-sexual harassment training and where it's very clear what is unacceptable in the workplace in terms of unwanted advances. there's not an attitude where this is just what happens when you're women this is just how you'll be spoken to. i think there's also maybe a distinction in how younger women define sexual harassment compared with older women

because you've seen that it's not just about unwanted advance, it's about being condescended to, it's about being called a gendered name like "sweetheart" so it extends far beyond inappropriate touching or physical contact and that may explain some of the generational attitudes. >> susan, is it possible when women such as some of us first broke in, we were the only person on the bus or the only person in the newsroom who's a woman and we put up with more? >> oh, yeah, because you know what i don't think is true, that sexual har hassment is more comn now than it was then. i think it's less common but it's more unacceptable. there are some alternatives. some options when they're sexually harassed. look at elaine chao, no woman is too powerful or too prominent to have avoided this issue. >> only have about 30 seconds, jean. >> well, and i also think young people talk about it and when we were all coming up, you know, we

were breaking all kinds of barriers. and you needed to be really careful about what you said and that sort of thing whereas today there's safety in numbers, it's a different generation, and we've broken a lot of those boundaries already so they can talk about it. >> it's only the beginning of a conversation. i welcome it. thank you, all. coming up, california burning out of control fires torching thousands of acres across southern california. the latest on the fast-moving blaze in december no less right here on andrea mitchell reports. the real gift isn't what's inside the box. it's what's inside the person who opens it. ♪ give ancestrydna, the only dna test that can trace your origins to over 150 ethnic regions- and open up a world of possibilities. ♪ save 30% for the holidays at ancestrydna.com

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rheumatiod arthritis. before you and your rheumatologist move to another treatment, ask if xeljanz xr is right for you. xeljanz xr is a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. it can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. xeljanz xr can reduce the symptoms of ra, even without methotrexate. ask your rheumatologist about xeljanz xr.

one of the worst december wildfires in history raging out of control in southern california. firefighters say the fast-moving fire is consuming roughly a football field a second. as santa ana wind gusts blow embers across the region. in ventura where the fire spread overnight, jolene, what's latest? >> andrea, i want to show you what's behind me right now. there's lots of smoldering debris and rubble and lots of smoke coming up between the palm trees. what once stood there was a huge apartment building known as the hawaiien village. 1 of 150 structures that have been completely destroyed in this fire, credited to the santa ana winds moving very quickly through this part of ventura where we are now. the issue here is that it is contained and it is zero -- it is not contained, it is 0%

contain rate right now. thankfully, no fatalities that we know of so far. officials say there was one injury to a firefighter, nonlife threatening, but the issue here is really a lot of dry debris. has built up over time. here in december, we do expect some rains but they haven't quite arived yet. this fire continues to burn in this community. 27,000 people, andrea, have already evacuated, both under voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders. >> jo ling kent. i know there's a lot of ranches in that area. i know it well. so they've got animal life as well to worry about indeed. thank you very much, thanks for your report. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." remember, follow the show online on facebook and on twitter @mitchellreports. craig melvin is up next. >> good afternoon to you, craig melvin here at msnbc news headquarters in new york. born again, when president trump offered his official endorsement

of ray moore, that paved the way for the rnc to get back on track and reallocate resources for the alabama senate candidate with just a week to go before the election. a look at the changing dynamics in that race. also, retiring or saving face? after weeking of battling sexual misconduct allegations, congressman john conyers announces his retirement. who he's endorsing to replace him. and the case involving religious freedom and same sex marriage. can a business turn away a customer for services it finds objectionable. we start with dueling messages on sexual harassment. first the republicans. previously, they said it would be either voters in alabama who decided whether to elect roy moore. now, with just one week until the election it will also be