single day. the president says it is what it is. his focus is always on himself and his re-election. now with 87 days go until election day, the top official is sounding the alarm once again about foreign election interference. the man who leads the office of director of national intelligence says that russia is once again actively trying to help donald trump by once again working to undermine his opponent. this time, it's joe biden. he also says that china and iran do not want trump re-elected, although their level of interference doesn't compare to russia's efforts. adam schiff was my guest last night on the last word and he addressed the situation. >> these three actors are not the same in terms of their intentions, in terms of their actions, in terms of their capabilities. but if you look carefully at the statement that the odni issued today, it says china has a preference but russia is engaged in actions.

if you simply equate what the russians are doing, what with what china maybe doing or russia maying dore may be doing and you fail to distinguish, then you maybe giving russians the green light because they know they won't be held accountability. >> unfortunately, most americans are not aware of this scenario due to the pandemic and the resulting economic crisis. more than 1 million new americans have filed for unemployment benefits the past week and there's a brewing housing catastrophe. new research refeels that 32% of american households had outstanding mortgage payments. and they estimate that 30 to 40 million americans are at risk of losing their homes in the coming months. up to 43% of renter households could be evicted by the end of the year if there is no action from the white house or congress. white house chief of staff mark meadows said last week that president trump did not issue an

executive order extending the rent and eviction moratorium because trump was, quote, hopeful the democrats will see how many unemployed americans they are hurting by their negotiating tactics. adding that the democrats don't know what a compromise is about. now that's odd, because during the last round of coronavirus relief negotiations between democratic congressional leaders and the white house, the democrats did, indeed, offer a comprocompromise w compromise which had been rejected. >> we had been trying to find common ground with our colleagues. it's hard when your values are different in terms of bubble up from the working class families instead of trickle down from above. yesterday i offered to them we'll take down a trillion if you add a trillion in. they said absolutely not. if we could do that, if we take down a trillion and they add a trillion, we'll be within range. >> and as we said, we are willing to make compromises. we are bill -- the heroes bill

is at 3-4, theirs is at one. so the speak aer made a fair offer. let's narrow it each. and you should have see the vehement no. they said absolutely not. you want it all to go in your direction or you won't negotiate? and they said, yeah. >> joining me now, member of the budget and appropriations committee, senator chris van hollen of-month-old. let's start with those negotiations. the democrats had a number, it's been passed in the house for a long time. the republicans have a much smaller number. they were not willing to budge on this at all and mitch mcconnell has said that there are 20 or so republican senators who say this is enough, we can't keep on giving money to tooep people people to stay home as if they have jobs to go to because it would be damaging to this country's debt and deficit. a strange concern given this was

the republican caucus that passed the tax cuts that no one thought they needed a couple years zblag that's rigago. >> that's right. here you have the republican senate caucus made up of a huge number of multimillionaires of who say, oh, we just can't continue providing additional $600 a week to americans who are out of work because of the pandemic. that would be too much. and it's also important to remember that mcconnell has, himself, checked out of these negotiations because half of his caucus says they don't want to do anything for anybody. he's not even showing up at the notion negotiating tab negotiating table. he contracted his authority to president trump and of course yesterday president trump was at his golf course in new jersey. he sent mnuchin and meadows and we saw what happened there. they're not prepared to enter into any kind of principle

compromise on this. >> senator, i want to ask you about a discussion i had with your colleague richard blumenthal the other day of connecticut and a discussion i had last night with adam schiff, house intel chair about information that you and congress have been hearing for a couple of weeks. that senator blumenthal said was so alarming that he'd like it declassified so that americans can understand the extent to which russians are interfering in this election. >> well, i agree with blumenthal and with adam schiff. i think the public should see a lot more of this. because what you've got is the trump campaign trying to create and paint a picture of false equivalence between what is very active russian interference and claims that, you know, china or others may have a certain preference in this election. the reality is that there's no equivalence. we saw what russia did in the elections in 2016. and russia remains actively

engaged here as they said in opposition to joe biden. this is why i introduced the legislation some time ago. it would say up front if we catch russia or any other country for that matter interfering in our elections, there will be a very stiff price to pay. it's called the deter act. and the trump administration and mitch mcconnell, the republican leader, have opposed it and prevented that very simple bill from coming to a vote. so, republicans really were worried about interference in our elections, they should pass that bill and let people know there would be a big price to pay if we catch people interfering in the elections. >> and, yet, you have a couple of colleagues, ron johnson and chuck grassley who are undertaking hearings about joe biden's involvement in ukraine, even though this report that came out from the office of the director of national

intelligence specifically names this one guy in ukraine who is a pro russian legislator who is responsible for the unfounded rumors about joe biden's corrupt involvement in ukraine. they're actually planning to hold congressional hearings about this, and they've been given notice by the department of national intelligence that don't rely on this flawed information, you're going down a bad rabbit hole here. >> well, that's exactly right. and they should know they're part of an effort from russia and russia intelligence and putin to spread this dis information here in the united states. all we have to do is think back to those impeachment hearings and dr. fiona hill essentially laid it out, the effort to say that ukraine interfered in the 2016 elections is part of putin's propaganda strategy to divert attention from the fact

that the russians interfered on behalf of the trump campaign. and we're seeing them run that play all over again, but this time you have some republican senators who apparently are unwitting or i don't know what participants in this russia propaganda. it's outrageous that senators would allow themselves to be used for this purpose. >> we have a guy in charge of the department of national intelligence who is wholly unqualified for the josh. this is a major concern by people when rick grenell was named the job when people said we don't care what political party he's from. dan coats was a republican, democrats didn't mind that. but we do need somebody that understands the job a little bit. it does seem that in these reports from bill that you got in congress and he was really pressured to make some of this information public, that the department of national intelligence is doing exactly what we feared that they would be doing, they're sending out

messages that seem to be closer to what donald trump would want out there than what the country actually needs to stay safe. >> well, that's exactly right, alley. th ali, this is alarming because we see the stockholm syndrome or pressure from grenell here on the intelligence agencies. the idea that they would release information about russia together with china and iran and trying to pretend that what's happening is all kind of the same, that you've got, you know, china and russia are against trump and russia's against biden, there is no equivalence here. and that is why it's important to release even more of the intelligence information. there's -- the difference is sort of active measures being taken to try block joe biden and his path to the presidency. you know, versus what we are

already seeing in public. other countries can have differences with the policies of any administration. but there's a world of difference between that and taking active measures to try to defeat a candidate for president of the united states. and that's what russia did in 2016 and that's what they're doing again. and it is important that all the details of that information be released to the public. >> senator, good to see you as always. thank you for joining us. senator chris van hollen of maryland. turning now to texas which currently ranks in the top three for total number of covid-19 cases in the country. not only that, but the state is dealing way skyrocketing number of infants who have contracted the deadly virus. in july, just in the city of corpus christi, more than 80 infants tested positive for covid-19 and so far this month, one week into august, another 80 have tested positive. joining me live in corpus christi, texas, janelle ross.

good to see you. you have been talking to local health officials about why the infant infection rate is so high in the city. >> reporter: yes. i think that the belief is that these infant infections are, in fact, sort of family infection cases where say an adult or grandparent in the household was first infect and then because of the difficulty of isolating inside of family or quarantining one self inside of a household, that the infants have themselves been infected. unfortunately, while some of these cases have been very mild, one of these children did, in fact, die. and in addition to that, the county's health director has been very clear, as have many medical professionals, that the long-term consequences of infection for children are not known. so, there are a range of possibilities. >> the situation, though, in texas is still surprising. not other the numbers high, but they're wildly disproportionate,

much higher in black and hispanic communities than they are in the population at large. >> that's true. here in oasis county, which say population total of 163, 164,000 people, this community is about 65% latino and certainly the infection rate has really mirrored what we've seen around the country. there's been disproportionate infection among latinos as well as the very small black population here in the county. and in addition to that, the nature of living in what are often sort of closer quarters, a larger number of people living together, which is often necessary for people who have limited incomes, really increases the risk of people being infected. >> janelle, good to see you. thank you for your reporting. janelle ross in corpus christi, texas. as i mentioned at the top of the hour yesterday, the united

states reported more than 2,000 covid-19 fatalities. it's the first time since may that the number's been that high. 162,158 americans have died from covid-19 and nearly 5 million have been diagnosed with the disease. and now new projections from the university of washington's institute for health metrics and evaluation, which is one of the most prominent teams modeling the pandemic shows that the country's currently on track for 300,000 deaths by december 1st. now, by the way, this was the gold standard model that the white house used to use until the model started projecting more deaths than the president was interested in. 300,000 deaths by december 1st would make covid the third leading cause of death in the country this year behind only heart disease and cancer. the response from our president, whatever. >> they want to get their advice from you. and so when they hear you say everything's under control,

don't worry about wearing masks, i mean, these are people many of them are older people. >> what's the definition of control? under the -- >> it's giving them a faels false sense of security. >> it's under control. >> how? a thousand americans are dying a play. >> they are dying, it is true. and it is what it is. >> it is what it is. join meg now the chair of the african american studies department of princeton university, eddie glaude junior. with each passing week i'm really grateful for the interview that jonathan swan did and the interview that chris wallace did with the president because finally 3 1/2 years into this thing we're getting the types of interviews we should be having with donald trump, which expose him for the fraud and the sharlt charlton that he is. but it's fascinating, it is what it is. after all those estimates of how low coronavirus deaths would be, now the president's just transitioned to it is what it is. >> yeah, i think it's a -- well,

ali, i think it's a reflection of who and what he values. we could say it's an indication of his callous heart that he lacks empathy. but at the end of the day what he values behind his own self-interest is just simply a kind of greed and selfishness, i think. he values opening the economy, he values people who are making money and the like, and he's willing to put americans at risk in light of those values. in your earlier segments you talked about how republicans refuse to budge given the heartache and hardship that has been experienced by everyday ordinary americans. that's a reflection of who and what they value. so what we are seeing here, ali, this is important to say, is not only the incompetence and mean spiritedness of donald trump who may very well be a bulgarian, but we're seeing the bankruptcy of an ideology that really poses

an existential threat to the majority of everyday ordinary americans in this country. >> eddy, we talked to you, people, our viewers know you as a commentator on a lot of things but you have a specialty on african american studies. i think you have every important book written by an african-american author in history and you've just written one on james baldwin. i know what i think intellectually when i hear the president continually say that he has done more for black people than anybody in american history or any president, more than lyndon johnson, martin luther king,e than lincoln, what does it do to you? >> it annoys me to no end. it is an echo of an old rhetorical stance. you could almost call it, as i've said before, it's the paternalism of plantation owners that african-americans ought to

be thank. for what donald trump has done for us. that we should express gratitude. and in that expressed gratitude should take the form of support. and often, ali, i think this idea of what people have done for african americans emanates from this idea that black people are wards of the state. and when we think of wards of the state, typically we think of the complicate and problematic evil relationship between the u.s. and native peoples. we think about orphans, right? so the idea of black folk transitioning from being enslaved to becoming wards of the state makes, you know, how policy address ours condition, right, this act of charity, this act of philanthropy and the like. so it bothers me to no end because it's an echo of, in some ways, our second -- our second-class status in this country in the eyes of some people. plus, he's lying through his teeth, as we could say back home, right? it's just not true.

and we just need to be clear about that. >> i want to ask you about something. joe biden said something that seemed inelegant at best and somewhat cringe worthy in which he was trying to describe the diversity of the hispanic population in america and he said unlike the african-american community. now, what i hear on this show lots and lots and lots when i interview experts on african-american matters, they say we're not a model, not everybody shares this view, everybody doesn't say this. what do you make of that? >> well, first of all, he didn't need to make the comparison to make the point. it is very clear that these pan ethnic categories collapse all sorts of differences. when we think of latino communities, we know doocubans, puerto ri puerto ricans. but the same thing could be said about black folk. when we talk about ethnic

differences within our communities, we're not talking about region, we're talking i didolog didologyetiolog didology etiology and where you're from. i understand the point he was trying to make, but he also revealed in making the point a troublesome set of assumptions about black folk. that in some ways inform and shape, at least if my view, how the democratic party in the past has approached black voters. as if we're just this month mow lith, as monolith to be cut into the polls every two and four years. >> thanks for joining me. he's the professor and chair of the african-american studies at princeton university and an msnbc contributor. if you're interesting learning more about black writing and black writers, send him a tweet because he's got all the books on that bookshelf behind him. thank you, my friend, as always.

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joe biden is expected to announce his selection for a vice-presidential running mateny day now. one person who reportedly remains right at the top of his short list is senator kamala harris of california, former presidential candidate. makes sense, she's got a following, a successful congressional resume, influential background, enormous name recognition. senator harris should appeal to liberal and centrists alike. really one of the only major criticisms about biden picking harris is due to their past relationship which, of course, irn concluded debate attacks which have left some open wounds for some people in the biden camp. however, both biden and harris say that's water under the bridge. and a recent snapshot of biden's talking points had an entire

section devoted to harris with the first line being, quote, do not hold grudges. joining me now is the founder and the president of she the people, amy alison. amy, in a pluralistic society in which we're supposed to respect different people's opinions think there it's a waste of air time on cable news or anyone else to talk about that being a grudge, the fact that she took a swipe at him on a debate stage, which is what we expect people to be doing on debate stages. i think if you can't take that, then you are thin skinned. >> i fully agreed. i mean, that was a special moment for a lot of us, especially women of color to here kamala harris talk personally about her experience. i mean, i don't look at that moment in the debate stage as anything but evidence that as vice president she could navigate complicated politics, take a stand for policies and tell her story. those are going to be attributes should biden include her on the

ticket. >> and, by the way, joe biden did have some things to add support. he was able to subsequently provide explanations and i think most people found satisfactory. particularly african americans as demonstrated by their support for him. but that's what we do. we hold people to account. we're supposed to do it in the media and people who compete for the presidency are supposed to do it with each other. >> what we see a lot of higher standards for the women, the women of color being considered, you know, i've heard whisperings of people diminishing a strong track record that senator harris brings and the potential that she'd bring to strengthen the ticket. i think about things like the fact that she's been a champion for the cash payments, $2,000 a month cash payments to deal with the fact that a lot of americans are unemployed. i think about her advocating for increased medical research money for -- to deal with uterine phi

broi fibroids which is a health issue that affects a lot of black women. i think about her advocacy of folks on the border and the treatment of folks. i mean, she's already demonstrated beyond this kind of personal evaluation not her record, she's demonstrated that she can speak to the issues, speak to the pain that americans are in, and she can motivate a multiracial coalition. that's what the democrats need. so enough with the petty talk and let's focus on the issues, let's focus on turnout and how to win. >> i've had several conversations with her. she is a highly impassioned person about the things in which she believes. but what was interesting is she dropped out of the race pretty early. and she didn't have a big following to take with her. her numbers weren't always there. in fact, a lot of african-american women and women's organizations chose to endorse elizabeth warren as

opposed to kamala harris. including a number of african-american women i talked to. what was that about? >> i think that we -- when we understand more deeply as we appreciate black women voters as a powerhouse democratic party vote block that they are, it's not a monolith. one thing we can say about black women is that we vote overwhelmingly for the democrats and we're the margin of victory. but you can't say that we all have the same view about how and who will carry the issues most impactfully when it comes to racial or economic or gender justice. so there might not be, especially in the primary agreement about who was going to be the champion. i think things are changed in the general election. there's agreement and we want trump out of the white house. there's agreement that we want someone who can speak to the issues that have been raised to deal with america's racism, and especially in the wake of george floyd's murder and the subsequent protests. that's what people want.

that's what a black woman can agree on. and i think that as we come down to the wire when the, you know, the now is just going to come in a few days, the black women who are being considered, all of them are able to speak to these issues. kamala harris, i think, rightfully so being the one that's had the nod, is being acknowledged as the person who can navigate these complex racial politics and have a set of policies that enhance what joe biden has on the table, his ability to speak to people of color and to women of color. >> that chart that goes up on the screen every now and then when i'm talking to somebody about the vice presidents is kind of amazing, right? it's kind of amazing. a long list of remarkably capable women, one of whom, maybe there's somebody else, but one of whom is going to be chosen to be the vice-presidential candidate who might become the next vice president of the united states who then gets set up to be the first woman president of the united states. amy, it's a remarkable

conversation that we're having right now. thank you for helping me through this for so many months. amy alison is founder and president of she the people. well, depressed, despondent, fore lor forlorn. even michelle obama. >> i've gone through those emotional highs and lows that i think everybody feels where you just don't feel yourself. and spiritually these are not -- they are not fulfilling times spiritually. you know, so i -- i know that i am dealing with some form of low-grade depression. not just because of the quarantine, but because of the racial strife and just seeing this administration, watching the hypocrisy of it day and adae day out is dispiriting.

so i've kind had to give myself those days, those moments. >> kind of gives you permission to think that you're going through that yourself. i know a lot of people, myself included some days, wonder about how this is going to turn out. but the renewed exposure of systemic and even overt racism in our society has awakened many who were previously oblivious. there were some of us who knew a lot about it but we didn't know enough. and that might help our country better address issues of race. na this national awake ebbing is what prompted governor gretchen whitmer to declare reiacism a crisis. >> as public servants we have a duty to understand how those tendencies impact our actions on the lives of others. this is not alleging that people are racist, it's recognizing that everyone has biases from where where we grew up or how we

were raised. it's just a fact. >> everybody has biases. even those of us who think we're the victim of bias sometimes have biases about someone else. by the way, gretchen whitmer has moved up the list of short list of vice-presidential candidates. she met with vice president biden a week ago. now, moreover, in michigan, implicit bias training will be required for those working in government and the state is creating a task force designed specifically to fight the scourge, implicit bias is actually a scourge. this new group is going to bring into the fold all government employ tease, eliminate the root causes that cause disparities in health outcomes for our residents. they're finally answering the calls over the last few months acknowledging that specific communities in this country are constantly battling inequality. joining know discuss this now, michigan's lieutenant-governor garland gilchrist. good to see you again. thank you so much for being with

me. it's just not a big stretch to understand that racism is a health emergency. because of racism, some people don't get the health care they need, they don't get the housing that they need, they get exposed to things like obesity, buy ddis and cancer at greater rates because they don't get access to health care and they're not covered. and society pays for it in productivity, increased hospital costs, pays for it in emergency rooms that are occupied by people who could have been getting care elsewhere. so it disqualify as an emergency. >> absolutely, ali. so first of all, thank you for having me on the program. this is an incredibly important topic, and this always is the right time to confront reality. and the truth is, as you have so eloquently described, racism has seeped into almost every aspect and every structure that exists in our nation.

and so with this declaration we are saying, our administration here in the state of michigan, that we're going to try to root it out. we're going to look at the data and information and evidence, and we're going to use all the tools in our toolbox in state government, every department and every agency to understand what we can do to eradicate the barriers that racism has constructed. this is our spons responsibilre the responsibility of everyone in elected leadership across the country. >> you used some interesting words there. eliminate the barriers that racism has conducted and it is our responsibility. which is a great way to have this conversation, because a whole lot of people say i'm not racist. i didn't have slaves. my people didn't have slaves. i'm not to blame for this. and what you're talking about is not that people have to be blamed for it, it's that the structures exist, we live within them, and it's responsibility to fix them, regardless of whether you hold any blame for it. >> that's right. this is not about individual blame, this is about frankly a

culture and systems that have been constructed over time. one of things that's a universal truth is that the systems that we work within or work under, they weren't designed to work the way that they work. and so it's our responsibility when we have the opportunity, to use the power that we have to redesign and reimagine systems and be responsive to people. we've been thinking about that in the context of covid-19. i'm chairing the michigan coronavirus task force on racial disparity and we are looking at things like people of color and black people in particular are overrepresented in those life sustaining jobs and therefore we're at higher risk of exposure. we're looking at why people have so many preexisting conditions because there are not doctors located in neighborhoods or communities of color and therefore they don't have access to primary care. so we're solving those problems in michigan. and part of that also is representation, the fact that, you know, i'm here in this position, the fact that our chief medical executive for black women is stepping up and serving our states so well,

that's why our response to covid-19 is what it is and as good as it can be given we're one of the hardest hit states. >> you also have a record number of african-american women and african-americans running for congress this season. so representation is a huge part of it. but one of the things your governor mentioned was implicit bias. implicit bias is the bias we don't believe we have. the judgments that we just make based on someone's name or looking them up on linkedin and realizing that gar listened glat is an african-american and we make assumptioned like that. that is hard to unteach. >> the first thing is recognizing that it's real and true and that we all have it. that's why one of the early actions of our coronavirus council was to let everyone know

that implicit bias may have been present in the decisions that they made for treatment. we didn't have enough testing capacity in michigan or frankly the whole country because of president trump's lack of a national strategy. so you had these providers who had to choose who got test and who didn't. and when there's a choice point, there's a potential for bias to present itself in a destructive way. we asked medical providers to be aware of that. we then took further action to make it a requirement of medical licensure for medical professionals in the state of michigan to have this training. because the research shows that the first step to dealing with implicit bias is naming it and knowing that it is present and knowing that it is real. >> lieutenant governor, your own political aspiration's side, give any your view of the fact that your governor is on the short list to become the vice-presidential candidate for the united states. >> well, it is absolutely unsurprising that vice president joe biden would consider a leader like gretchen whitmer.

she's a fantastic public servant, responsive public servant and committed subservant. she's decisive and she has all the qualities you would want in a leader. i think that it certainly is an honor for her to be in the conversation and to be considered. and what i'm really so impressed by every single day is how she continues no matter what's going non politics, she continues to do her job and do it well. >> lieutenant-governor garland gilchrist, it's a pleasure to talk to you again. thank you for joining me. i think we have a lot of shared interest in these issues and i'd love to continue the conversation. thank you for being with us. >> thank you for using your platform, ali, take care. >> my pleasure. president trump has a lot to say about mail-in voting and most of it's not true. out maild most of it's not true. >> so we have a new phenomena. it's called mail-in voting. i don't believe the post office can be set up. they were given no notice. you won't know the election result for weeks, months, maybe years after. maybe you'll never know the

election result. >> we have a term in canada, i don't know if you tuesday so much in the united states, it's called bs. after the break, we'll set the record straight with the mail-in voting and we'll do it with the head of the federal election committee. more "velshi" in a moment. committee. more "velshi" in a moment. you pay for your data, you keep really? yeah, you just swap your sim card you can also keep your phone, keep your number, keep your network, $20 a month, no contract. oh, but that case- temporary- it's my daughter's old case- well, ok, you know. you do you. available 24/7 at tracfone.com tracfone wireless. now you're in control.

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discredit the system so he can claim he didn't lose in the what's looking more likely like a biden win. since a win appears more likely as you look at polling predictions with biden up more than double the amount of electoral votes according to a new battleground map, biden is showing 324, trump went 145, 79 are tossups including the state of texas. but with 87 days go, the numbers could change drastically. trump's attacks on mail-in voting is making nervous not just democrats, but many republicans. former governor massachusetts bill weld saying that, quote, it's going to hurt republicans down the ballot if the president continues to talk about vote-in fraud. there's some proof that this is taking hold in florida were 302,000 more democrats have registered to vote by mail than republicans, according to the state's division of elections. but let us set the record straight. what is the reaffiliate voting by mail and why is it the safest option to use in voting during a global pandemic?

joining me now is the federal election commissioner ellen weintraub with whom i've spoken about this before but it seems like this becomes a perennial topic because the president every day comes up with some new reason to explain why voting by mail is a problem. in fact, commissioner, what he said yesterday when he was confronted with intelligence information that russia's interfering in the 2016 -- 2020 election is that, really, the biggest threat we face from foreign actors is mail-in ballots. it's just not true. >> no. there's no basis for concern that farn governments are goior going continue to filtrate our mail-in ballot system. by the way, paper can't be hacked, so that's one advantage. so once you mail in your ballot or drop it off at a safe dropbox at your local election board, that paper is there, it's countable, it's recountable, and the ballots themselves, they are

on specific paper, they have a lot of information on them that would be almost impossible for a foreign government to assemble. there are tracking mechanisms for the election boards when they send them out. they can figure out whether it's the same thing that they sent out had they get it back. so the issue of foreign governments interfering with our mail-in balloting system, that really is not a concern. and people shouldn't have to worry about that. disinformation from foreign governments, that actually is a big concern. and i would advise people to be really, really careful about the information that they are consuming online and are sharing online. make sure it is coming from a reputable source. we have had new information just this week from the state department and the intelligence community that foreign governments, particularly russia, are seeking to interfere in our election. but that's the way they're going to do it. they're going to use propaganda, they're going to use disinformation, they are going to try to undermine our faith in

our democracy. so we just have to be resilient and on guard against that. >> i want to talk about the postal service. i saw an article in vox that said what's wrong with the mail? and it says the facts leave us with a very curious situation. postal service seriously struggling but it's never been more important. it's critical to get prescriptions to the hoxs people during a pandemic and to deliver ballots to state election boards. it's even prized by huge corporations like amazon who could easily give their money to a competing private company but would rather work with the postal service. at the same time, president trump seems to destain the agency and the new post master general seems to be doing more harm than good. article goes on to talk about the fact that there's unsorted mail sitting in postal stations, there's a delay sometimes of a couple of days you may have noticed this if you're using the mail, they've decided to stop paying overtime. a lot of postal workers are off because of coronavirus, and it might read like a bit of a

deliberate effort by the trump appointed post master general to slow the whole system down enough. because a couple days on the sending side and a couple days on the receiving side and a couple days when you send your ballot back and a couple days extra to receive that could actually throw an election. >> well, we have seen difficulties with this in the primaries. we saw this in wisconsin, we saw this in georgia where people requested the ballots and did not get them in time. and that was in part because the local election boards were overwhelmed by the huge increase in requests for mail-in ballots. but it was also a mail problem. things got delayed in the mail. so my biggest recommendation to everyone is however you are planning on voting, whether you're planning on voting in person, whether you're planning on voting by mail, dro o it ear it you're going to do it by mail, request it at the first opportunity and fill out your ballot. make sure you're reading the instructions properly, sign in all the right places and either mail it in at the earliest

opportunity or drop it off in one of the secure drop boxes that some election boards have. if you're worried about the mail, the drop boxes are a great alternative if they have them in your jurisdiction. but do it early, because i think we can -- we have to plan for mail getting delayed. >> i have to tell you, i don't know where i'll be on election day. i'll probably be out reporting some where. so i went to get an absentee ballot in new york. it's an important form, you don't want to be dishonest on it. and there was no place -- i was traveling. so i was able to put it on there. but there's no place if you're worried about voting because of coronavirus, it's not a -- in the state of new york certainly it's not a stated excuse that you can use and there are eight states that have said that that wouldn't be a valid excuse. what do you do about that? >> well, that is a state by state matter. and fortunately i think most states, including most of the swing states have said that it

is an excuse. i think the governor in new york has also said that it's an excuse. i think you're okay, ali. but most of the states are accepting that as an excuse, including states with republican governors like new hampshire and democratic governors, this is really not a partisan issue. every citizen ought to be able to vote, just that simple. >> you tweeted i think less than 18 hours ago, i can't be more blunt about this. mr. president, members of congress, should you fail to provide the funds america needs for its election yours will be darryl licht in your duty to the country. it would be a devastating failure to protect our democracy in a moment of historic needs. you and i talked about this the other day. there are logistical hinges that some states need to get up to speed for this. we talked about colorado the other day, oregon, who do a fantastic job. they've got this all automated. i think i said it's like ordering a pizza from domino's in the you can see p where yowh

ballot is in the system. not everybody's got that and it's going to take resources to get to that level proficiency. >> absolutely. and i'm very concerned about this. the most logical vehicle for funding, getting more funding t be this big next coronavirus relief bill which seems to be not in great shape right now. i don't know whether it's going to go forward or not. they're arguing about trillions of dollars. these are really important issues. i understand everybody is focused on health and the economy but our democracy is also at risk. if these states and localities do not get the funding they need which is about 3.6 billion extra dollars, sounds like a lot, it's a drop in the bucket compared to the trillions of dollars that's already been allocated. this is part of our crisis. we have to be able to have a safe and accessible election and the states and localities need

these resources to do it. if they don't get it and they have to get it really within the next week or two, in order for it to do any good, i really worry about the chaos that could ensue as a result of that. i'm deeply concerned about this. >> we have a story on nbc news about some stuff that didn't work very well in the new york primary. the state legislature took up the issue this summer and passed a bill to create a cure process that would give voters a week to fix small errors on their ballots like a missing signature. we're not used to this scystem. we may be looking add upwards of 80% of ballots this time around. people are not familiar with it and that's something that can be solved largely without resources. states understanding what the little problems are that can be fixed. >> this is going to be a state by state decision. this is going to be a question of how each state decides to go

about it. some states are going to be more flexible than other states and i think we're going to see this issue play out throughout the country and particularly in the swing states we could well see this sorted out by the courts. >> good to see you again. thank you for joining me. i suspect we will have many opportunities to talk in the next 87 days. also on the 2020 front tune in tomorrow morning i'll have an important conversation with a woman trying to break new ground. cori bush will likely become the first congresswoman elected to represent the state of missouri in its entire history. she was my guest on thursday night and explained why this election was so important to her. >> there was still this fight. when do we stop struggling? i don't want other people to go through what i've gone through.

this fight doesn't have to be this way. >> in america, the land of opportunity, owning a home has always been a goal for many but for black americans it has become nearly impossible. they're finding if they do every single thing right their american dream can become a nightmare. now a preview of the latest installment of a digital series called "the american dream while black." you are studying something that economically i have understood for a long time but you're watching it play out. what does your reporting bear out? >> thank you. what we found and our reporting was based in chicago. what we found is that there is a generation of young black professionals who want to buy homes and are bumping up against two major forces, the first being historical information and red lining and housing and the second being the fact that black americans take out a

disproportionate high level of student loan debt and that's disqualifying them from acquiring a home loan. >> she and her youngest of two sons, timothy, living to in a rented apartment in chicago. >> why don't you put a trash bag in. >> reporter: but they're looking for a permanent home. >> i usually look at some houses and see if anything new is on the market. >> reporter: they'd love to have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, some pace for their puppy bruce to run around. but as fun as it is to search for their first house online, reality hasn't been pretty. >> the second bathroom is also important to me -- she runs ore hen private business but has $130,000 in student loans and lenders keep rejecting her. >> worst case scenario i'll start again in january.

>> how was school today? >> school? we're off! >> reporter: every week they go see potential homes. >> i think it's over here. >> reporter: she's been turned down for mortgages which cost substantially less than her current rent. lenders steer her away with the best resources and schools but she doesn't want to live in an area with heavy policing or violence. >> the best part is the neighborhood. right? >> uh-huh. >> reporter: there's a 34.6% homeowner ship gap between black and white chicagoians. it's coming to a head with the contemporary student debt crisis. black americans inherit less wealth to finance their futures and they take on 85% more debt than their white peers in order to get good degrees and good

jobs. they come to find that their debt makes them less eligible for a mortgage and the cycle continues. back in january she put a bid on a condo. she was preapproved and thought she would accept the current repayment feel. >> how do you feel? >> some degree of annoyed because when we did it the first time and we tried to like get the condo and it looked really nice, they said like, they were going to tell us on friday. it was friday. they said they were going to tell us on monday and then they said no after all that stuff that happened for no apparent reason. we didn't get it. >> stressed out for three months to ultimately be told no. i have some white counter parts that they go out and they pick a house and we're at the house warming party. it's just -- why can't all of those things exist at the same time for me and my son? and i did everything right. i went to college. i got a job.

and now i'm self-employed. where's my american dream? you know, it's a nightmare. >> what i find so amazing about her story is that you know, on the one hand you can look at it as though this is an individual struggle to buy a home but i think on a national level we should be concerned if professionals like her are struggling with homeowner ship. >> what a great rereport. thank you for doing this for us. i'd like more of that on this show. that's the kind of stuff our viewers need to know about. you can watch her full story on the weekend report which streams on the mobile app. that is it for me. thank you for watching velshi on msnbc. catch me back here tomorrow. same space. a.m. joy is up next.

the story of black america is the story of america. it's the story of a people who have pushed this country to live up to its stated ideals. but black people have always believed in the promise of a better america. so, at this moment we're in now- we must choose to fight for that better america. and just like our ancestors who stood up to the violent racists of a generation ago, we will stand up to this president - and say 'no more'. because america is better than him.

so we choose to be bigger, we choose to be bolder, we choose to bring back justice, respect and dignity to this country. we choose joe biden... to lead us towards that american promise, together. i'm joe biden and i approve this message. ♪ and here we have another burst pipe in denmark. if you look close... jamie, are there any interesting photos from your trip? ouch, okay. huh, boring, boring, you don't need to see that. oh, here we go. can you believe my client steig had never heard of a home and auto bundle or that renters could bundle? wait, you're a lawyer? only licensed in stockholm.

what is happening? jamie: anyway, game show, kumite, cinderella story. you know karate? no, alan, i practice muay thai, completely different skillset.