good afternoon, the latest on the action on capitol hillment a rare saturday session and vote for the house involving the fight over the post office. also this hour, a developing story. protests expected tonight over another deadly police-involved shooting. this one in louisiana. plus, steve bannon's arrest got all the headlines, but we'll look at one of the other figures charged as part of the build-the-wall fraud case. a look at nbc news reporting on his role long before he was busted. plus, a new study raises even more questions about kids and the transmission of covid as millions more students prepare to return to classrooms. and i'll talk to the

michigan attorney general about that massive settlement for victims of the flint water crisis. i'll ask her who will be getting the bulk of the money. that's coming up. first, let's go to capitol hill where a house vote is nearing over a bill that would provide $25 billion in funding to the postal service and ensure that the postmaster general doesn't implement any changes to the post office until after the end of the year. nbc's leanne caldwell is following it on capitol hill and joins me now. what's latest on the deliberations? >> reporter: well, 73 days before an election, this issue has become deeply partisan and deeply political. house speaker nancy pelosi said earlier today that all this talk by the president about mail-in ballot, mail-in voting, and the postal service is an attempt to suppress the vote. and this vote that's going to happen later today is expected to happen mostly along party lines. white house chief of staff is on capitol hill today, and he spoke with reporters just moments ago.

here's what he had to say about today's vote -- >> this bill on the floor today is more of a partisan bill than it is a real attempt at solving the problem. if we really want to solve this problem since they're here for a saturday vote, i would encourage a targeted bill that may include postal but hopefully some support for small businesses, maybe augmenting some of the enhanced unemployment issues. >> reporter: there's no chance that this vote is also going to include help for small business or the unemployed. this is a postal service vote only, and that's how democrats want to keep it. especially for the time being. and as they move forward, we're going to be keeping a watch on who is actually going to break with their party on either side to see if anyone does. lindsey? >> is there any indication that anyone will, that any republicans will join democrats and vote for the bill?

>> reporter: we are watching that. so far there's been a handful of republicans who have come out in statements or on twitter saying that they are going to vote with the democrats. one is rep from new york, another is rodney davis of illinois. they support $25 billion in funding for the postal service. and they are going to vote for this legislation. it's also interesting to note that both of those members are also in tough re-election races. so that is going to play a big role on if any republicans vote for this legislation. expect most of them to be ones who have tough races in the fall. linds lindsey? >> were you surprised by meadows' comments? i understand the gop was in favor of doing a postal service bill to help with funding and a separate covid relief bill. >> reporter: that is, but i would say meadows is up here trolling democrats and trolling speaker pelosi. he is talking with a bipartisan group of rank-and-file

lawmakers, these bipartisan lawmakers, about these covid relief talks. but he has not met with speaker pelosi. he did say, though, that he stopped by her office just before he came to talk to the press. she was in a meeting so she did not take his impromptu meeting. i think that was an attempt more to -- more of a show before cameras. and there's -- you know, speaker pelosi has said repeatedly that the administration knows where she stands. when they're willing to come up above $1 trillion in these covid talks, then they can talk about the unemployed, they can talk about small businesses, and they can talk about kids going back to school. >> important context. reporting from capitol hill, thank you for that. and following this week's testimony of the postmaster general and amid increasing election concerns, nationwide rallies have broken out in support of the u.s. postal service. postal workers, union officials, and political leaders have urged

citizens to maintain that public pressure, saying it can help reverse significant cuts to an agency under attack. now on the path forward. david, despite what the president said, a majority of americans are fans of the postal service. talk to us about the reality of the strain it's under right now. >> yeah. it remains an incredibly popular institution and a very old one. it's called for in the united states constitution. it's been around since the 18th century. people are still convinced of its utility and popularity, as well, and you certainly saw that in that senate hearing yesterday. there was no senator who suggested during the course of that hearing with the postmaster general that this is an institution that could be privatized. but things have changed in recent years because of the internet, the way that we get information has changed. fewer people are using first-class mail. the biggest weight on the institution is from the congress itself, the requirement that the u.s. postal service has to pay in advance pension benefits. that is a huge weight on its

finances year after year after year. and that's what's gotten us to the position where lawmakers are voting on the $25 billion pa package to help the polls. and there are sea changes that have led to where the post office is today. another is what's happening during the tenure of this postmaster general. we got information from the chair of the oversight committee, the postmaster general will testify on monday. a look at what the postmaster energy characauthorized as a dip -- characterized as a dip in the tenure. it reinforces what we've heard from a lot of people that mail has been slowed down as a result of things the postmaster general has tried to do. and that is one component part of the bill lawmakers are voting on today, halting, reversing what the postmaster general put into place. >> and you've been speaking with some experts about the future of the postal service. where do they see the path going

forward? >> you mentioned sort of the groundswell of support that we're seeing, the protests that we're seeing across this country. there's been kind of an unexpected side effect to the poest master general and the scrutiny, it's a service that the u.s. government provides. i think that's what's important here talking to experts, they say many postmasters general have tried to get more americans to look at this as a vital service, to look at its financing issues more carefully, and they haven't in recent years. that is happening now. i talked to one, richard john, a professor who specializes in the history of the post office at columbia university. we talked about what is this unique american model for the postal service. it's a hybrid model. it is not wholly governmental. it's part business. here's what he had to say about the importance of that in this current moment. >> the american way is the mixed system we've had, government business acknowledging the civic mandate. what could be more important to the civic mandate of the post

office than ensuring that every single ballot that is cast in the 2020 presidential election is delivered on time? that's what the founders would have understood. there's genuine concern about service among ordinary americans. and they're beginning to wake up to it. >> richard john, optimistic that we're going to carry that going forward here. more people are going to appreciate it as a service and even after the election, more people will be eager to see smart modernization efforts put in place by the u.s. postal service and more care taken with that organization going forward. lindsey? >> nbc's david gura, thank you so much. as americans continue to be ravished by the devastating toll of covid-19, researchers have release police department is sobering -- released some sobering numbers. a study says nearly 310,000 americans will be dead by december 1st. that's if state leaders continue to lift social distancing guidelines. what could slow that -- nearly 70,000 of those lives could be

saved if 95% of americans just simply covered their face. a fatal shooting caught on a cell phone in lafayette, louisiana, last night, is drawing the attention of state police and protesters. we want to warn you, the video is disturbing. we do not know what happened before the recording starts, but it appears to show travord pellerine at a gas station. police say he was armed with a knife. the 31-year-old is seen walking away from officers. we don't see the actual shooting but hear multiple gunshots. officers used a taser on him before the shooting, but they say it was ineffective and he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. i am joined now by katy gagliano reporter for "the advocate" and on the phone is devin norman, an naacp young adult committee chairman in louisiana. good afternoon to both of you, katy, let's start with you. what have you found out about what led up to the shooting? >> yeah, like you mentioned,

details are still very sparse. louisiana state police have taken over the investigation as they do, it's standard when there's an officer-involved shooting in lafayette. we know not too much beyond what you've already said. that essentially police were called to a disturbance at a gas station, they found mr. pelerin with a knife, and he evaded police. he walked across essentially a split highway and down about a little less than a half mile to a different gas station/convenience store. that is where the video picks up. we see him walking toward the door of the gas station. they said that, you know, they deployed tasers, but they were ineffective. then you hear gunshots ring out. at least ten. and that to date is as much as we know so far. community members are really looking for more information. and they really want to know if enough was done to de-escalate the situation in that roughly half-mile walk. >> devin, i understand that you knew traford. can you tell us about him?

and also, what do you want to know about how police tried to de-escalate and what led up to the shooting? >> yes, i knew of him. i didn't know him personally. but i would be around him often in my neighborhood. and he was someone who i knew as quiet, kind of to himself, reserved. when i saw the video on last night, i was very disturbed because i saw someone who probably was scared. with everything that we've been experiencing not only in this country but right her in our own city as we've been fighting racial injustice and everything else. i'm sure that the climate that we are in now in the city could have contributed to the reason why someone would not want to submit to the police in that way. >> devon, what can you tell me about protests going on in the area this evening? >> today we haven't been calling it a protest. we're deliberately calling this a call to action. and today at 5:00, the community

is going to convene here. i'm actually on location where he was killed. so the community will be here today. they will hear from community leaders, also national leaders, as well. we believe we'll be out speaking against what has happened. we are demanding justice. we are demanding transparency from the lafayette police department and the state police who have taken over the investigation. they have promised us that they will be transparent to the community. and while this is personal, you know, this is something that as a community leader we always fear could happen in our community. a lot of people say not in latvia. th -- in lafayette. and it did. >> it's typical for departments to place officers on leave after fatal shootings. is that what happened here? >> yes. the interim chief, scott morgan, said the officers involved -- he couldn't say how many at the time -- but they have been placed on leave with pay. >> katie and devon, thank you

both for being with us today. we'll continue to follow this story. up next, a big settlement reached in the flint water crisis that began more than six years ago. the state of michigan will pay out more than half a billion dollars to those affected. michigan attorney general dana nessel will talk about the settlement and what it means for residents. i'll also talk about mail-in voting in her state. ate.

i got this mountain bike for only $11. dealdash.com, the fair and honest bidding site. an ipad worth $505, was sold for less than $24; a playstation 4 for less than $16; and a schultz 4k television for less than $2. i won these bluetooth headphones for $20. i got these three suitcases for less than $40. and shipping is always free. go to dealdash.com right now and see how much you can save.

it has been six years since the nation first learned of the flint, michigan, water crisis. and for many of the city's residents, fear and trauma still linger. a major settlement hopes to finally provide relief to victims and close this chapter of the city's history. on thursday, the state of michigan announced a historic $600 million settlement to support the victims of the flint water crisis. tens of thousands of residents are expected to be eligible to receive money under the settlement. but it will be distributed primarily among children who were impacted by the crisis.

many of whom experienced skin rashes, illnesses, and elevated levels of lead in their blood. joining us now to stay with us the details, michigan's state attorney general dana nessel. and let's first talk about the settlement. it's a huge sum of money. how does the state expect to distribute that money to victims -- how will it go to each different family? >> well, it's basically based on the harms that were suffered by each individual. and we know that some people were harmed more than others. and particularly, again, it's the children that we are primarily concerned about because they're the ones that are most likely to have been impacted by drinking water that was tainted with lead. so you know, it will be a structured settlement in place. each person in the city has the ability to opt in to this settlement. again, with the majority of the money going toward things like not just, you know, funds directly, but programming for

children. whether we're talking about medical resources, school aid, early start programs, and a number of other programs that we're going to put in place to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to, you know, maybe not be made whole, that we'll ever be able to accomplish that. but some sort of indemocratification. >> yeah. and the settlement is part of that. there's also remedying the situation, replacing the water lines. that's still under way. do you think that that's right even though we're six years removed for americans to get proper water lines so they don't get lead poisoning? >> well, of course it would have been nice to have this done earlier. we had expected to have it be completed by now. and virtually all of it has been. so almost every home in a city of flint now has had their lead water service lines replaced. that's going to happen shortly. but i think it speaks to really a larger issue of not replacing

old infrastructure. not just in flint but, of course, all around the country. that being the case, everyone in flint will have new service lines very shortly. >> that's very good to hear. and last year, your office dropped all pending charges against officials accused of ruining the community's drinking water and ignoring signs of crisis. and you pledged to continue investigating -- no more charges have been filed, so i want to ask the settlement provides some financial relief. what about justice for the victims? >> well, certainly we're very concerned about that, as well. and i will say when i took office in january of 2019, we felt as though that investigation and prosecution had not been handled correctly at all. and so really i had to bring a new team of lifelong prosecutors, career public servants in to restart the investigation. and they started off with some 800,000 documents, and just a handful of devices that had been

confiscated when we were brought into office. they now have over 20 million documents and dozens and dozens of devices and other types of evidence. i know that they have been working very hard on this, and i do expect that we will see charges brought again. i don't know exactly against what particular defendants or what those charges will be because i'm on the other side of a conflict wall in the office having handled the civil cases. but i will just say this, you know, justice is coming for those who have waited a very long time for it and that anyone who is criminally accountable will be held responsible. >> before i let you go, i want to talk about mail-in voting. this is happening across the nation and also, of course, in your state. what is your office doing, what can your office do to make sure that every vote is counted and that there is a fair election this november? >> well, firstly, we're one of several states that have filed suit.

we have a case that is pending right now along with washington and many other states. and we've sought expedited discovery in this matter against the united states postal service. we want to make certain that the postal service is working correctly so that everyone can vote absentee. and that is the law in the state of michigan. we have no reason absentee voting. and that the secretary of state and myself are committed to ensuring that there is not voter suppression or voter intimidation in our state. i'm obviously very concerned about some of the statements the president has made recently. and i can tell you this -- if the president believes that he's going to bring in the army or other federal law enforcement officials to the polls, we intend to bring an army of lawyers into the courts and to fight back vigorously to ensure that we don't essentially turn into a banana republic or some -- this authoritarian regime and that our elections are free and fair here in the state of michigan. and i would say across the

united states of america. >> michigan attorney general dana nessel. thank you very much for your time this afternoon. we appreciate it. up next, how colleges and universities around the country are dealing with covid-19 outbreaks on campus. plus, a medical expert will join me to talk about the challenges facing these schools and how a new study shows younger kids are more likely to spread coronavirus than previously thought. us than previously thought my bladder leak pad? i thought it had to be thick to protect. but new always discreet is made differently.

with ultra-thin layers that turn liquid to gel and lock it inside. for protection i barely feel. new always discreet. i've been involved in. communications in the media for 45 years. i've been taking prevagen on a regular basis for at least eight years. for me, the greatest benefit over the years has been that prevagen seems to help me recall things and also think more clearly. and i enthusiastically recommend prevagen. it has helped me an awful lot. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

with more coronavirus clusters being linked to fraternities, sororities and off-campus parties, colleges are retreating to online classes and doubling down on students defying health guidelines. this week purdue university suspended 36 students for violating its policy on social distancing and wearing masks after they were caught attending an off-campus gathering. ucla is the latest university to scale back reopening plans, announcing a strict limit to on-campus housing and in-person

classes this fall. it's in compliance with tough los angeles county public health rules on controlling the coronavirus spread. and as an increasing number of colleges underscore the difficulty of get something students to comply with new safety precautions, could new contact tracing technology utilizing campus wi-fi be the answer? nbc's morgan chesky put it to the test at oklahoma state university. >> reporter: this morning, colleges and universities changing course nationwide, halting in-person classes after covid outbreaks and scenes of packed parties like this at villanova. university of north georgia -- and this scene near oklahoma state university just before school started. over the weekend, an off-campus sorority house quarantined with 23 members testing positive. the school's hoping to keep more than 23,000 students safe with a high-tech solution to contact tracing. something that uses everything from course attendance to card swaps to campus purchase to most importantly wi-fi on the students' phones when they set

foot on campus. to see how this technology works, we followed jared moore for a day in the life of a college freshman. leaving his fraternity house, jared heads toward campus. first stop, the student union to buy a snack. >> got some milk. no better way to start the day. thank you. >> reporter: then it's off to class. >> starting class. we're all social distancing. >> reporter: afterwards, a quick stop at the library. a short break at a pet therapy event. >> otis, shake. >> good boy. >> reporter: finally, lunchtime where jared goes off campus. then an after gym sesh before redding back to his fraternity house. >> got some guys hanging out in here. >> what's up? >> reporter: the next day, a look behind a high-tech curtain. >> he had class in that building, you can see student union, there was a food purchase, that's a card swipe. >> reporter: dr. kristi hawkins

oversees the contacts tracing technology. >> what we can see, of course, is the buildings that he was in, the ones highlighted in orange. you can see the possible contact locations. >> reporter: with more than 5,000 wi-fi hot spots around campus, hawkins says they can know exactly where a stick stude students -- where student must have been. if i go into the lie ranger, you're not only going to be able to say i was on the first floor but this side of the building in the first floor, here's where i could have come into contact with. >> yes. >> reporter: when it comes to off campus -- >> we would not be able to track that. this is limited to on-campus activity. >> reporter: as for having their activity tracked, students have mixed feelings. >> it feels like, you know, we're kind of like being spied on but not really. >> if it helps us with covid and keeps everybody safe from the harmful effects of it, then i'm all for it. >> reporter: the university's

president stressing the information gathered is private. >> we've got lots of information on everybody on campus. we don't share it with everybody. >> reporter: to have 20 members of an osu sorority testing positive, were you prepared? >> it worked the way it was supposed to work. everybody was tested and they were negative. somebody came in that was positive. >> reporter: for students, educators, and university leaders, navigating this pandemic might just be the toughest class yet. >> that was morgan chesky reporting. i want to bring in infectious diseases physician and associate professor at bu school of medicine dr. nahed bedelia. it's hard to control students' behaviors, particularly if they're going off campus, if they're having these parties. so do you think it's safe to open on-campus learning this fall knowing how difficult those situations are to control? >> well, i don't think any

college campus anywhere in the world is going to be the same as it was last year. i not the balance has to be what is off campus, off campus or communities, and are disease transmissions in the communities going to decide the risk that the students are putting themselves into when there are off-campus. and hence, it's really the community transmission and then decide how, you know, how safe it will be to be on college campuses. the strategies that campuses are using is limiting class sizes, using personal protective equipment, broad spreads or tetes testin testings. in boston university, we're doing 5,000 to 6,000 tests daily to give you an idea. the state does 10,000 to 15,000 daily. that level of testing, the contact tracing, it's important. the thing that colleges have to balance, though, is that you need to have a compassionate approach to this. if you're with students, they're less likely to be forthcoming with their activity, less likely to share information that you need to make contact tracing

important. that's why it needs to be a collaborative experience with both the students and with the universities. and for universities to then be ready to pull the trigger if they see cases rising and to have on-campus parameters on which they would switch to completely remote learning which be we've seen already. >> let's talk about the younger kids, too. there's a study by researchers at massachusetts general hospital. and they're warning that children may be even bigger silent spreaders than we thought previously. they say the infected children regardless of their age had a significantly higher level of the virus in their airways. more than adults hospitalized in intensive care for covid-19. so we've known that kids can spread the virus, but how is this research different? and should it change our minds about reopening schools? >> well, i think this adds to an increasing body of evidence that children do carry enough of this virus to be able to transmit it. this was a study of about 200 pediatric patients who were coming in with symptoms consistent with covid-19.

and what they found is early in their disease, they seemed to have about the same amount of virus, as you said, as sicker patie patients. over time the virus goes down, and the body itself is doing the damage. regardless, for me what i take away from this is kids, despite not having the same amount of the receptor that's on cells that allows the virus to enter, are still able to hoard the amount of virus which means they could be realistically and we know from natural experiment are potential sources of contagion. the thing about this study that i think hasn't been mentioned a lot is 50% of the cases that we saw, you know, from low-income families. only 1% came from families from upper middle class. so that -- the idea that where you are, your families, your communities that are at risk, then determine the child's risk of being sick or symptomatic, as well. >> that is an important point to note. doctor, thank you so much. up next, lots of activity on capitol hill today as lawmakers debate the proposed $25 billion funding bill for the u.s. postal

service. next, i'm joined by congressman harley rouda of california to talk about what he wants ton from postmaster general louis dejoy when he goes before the house oversight committee monday. the house ovet committee monday

hey, can i... hold on one second... sure. okay... okay! safe drivers save 40%!!! guys! guys! check it out. safe drivers save 40%!!! safe drivers save 40%! safe drivers save 40%!!! that's safe drivers save 40%. it is, that's safe drivers save 40%. - he's right there. - it's him! he's here. he's right here. - hi! - hi. hey! - that's totally him. - it's him! that's totally the guy. safe drivers do save 40%. click or call for a quote today. safe drivers do save 40%. find your get-up-and-go. find pants that aren't sweats. find your friends. find your sense of wander. find the world is new, again. at chevy we'd like to take you there. now during the chevy open road sales event, get up to 15% of msrp cash back on select 2020 models. that's over fifty-seven hundred dollars cash back on this equinox. it's time to find new roads, again.

whether we see them or not, we need to know that they're always there. for the past 25 years, masimo has been monitoring patients in hospitals around the world so that doctors and nurses can make sure you feel safe. as new challenges have arisen, we've grown to bring that same safety and support to the place that you want to be most. if we've learned nothing else, it's that when challenges arise, there's only one way to rise above. together. masimo. together in hospital, together at home.

we will deploy processes and procedures that advance any election mail, in some cases ahead of first-class mail. >> will you be bringing back any sorting machines that have been removed since you've become postmaster general? any of those come back? >> there's no intention to do that. they're not needed, sir. >> that was postmaster general louis dejoy telling a senate hearing yesterday that he is committed to delivering election ballots on time but will not be returning the hundreds of mail-sorting machines that have already been removed from post offices. dejoy is set to testify against monday. this time before the house committee on oversight and reform. joining me is one of the members

of that committee, california congressman harley rouda. congressman, good to see you today. as today's debate over the postal service bill continues, what do you expect to see happen today where you stand? >> we're going to see the passage of that bill in a bipartisan fashion. my big concern is that it's not going to get the attention it deserves in the senate. and we're not going to be able to fund the postal service like we need to. >> what do you want to hear from dejoy on monday? and are there things that you learned yesterday from his testimony that you would like expanded on? >> certainly. there's a lot of things we want to learn. i think you probably know, it was just released it, reports show a significant reduction in the delivery of all levels of types of mail, just released. and contrary to what you're hearing republicans say that there has been no delay in the service of mail being delivered, when in fact that's not true. we're seeing approximately a 10% drop in delivery time. and so we know that the removal

of these machines, we know that the reduction in overtime and we know that the mandatory requirement that trucks leave at a specific time even if they don't have mail in them is having a dramatic and direct impact on the delivery of mail. we should all be very concerned about mail-in ballots being delivered to voters and returned by voters in time. >> i spoke with michigan representative brenda lawrence in the last hour. she said that the postmaster general is a position that's appointed by the board of governors of the postal service. those board of governor members are appointed by the president. if you are not satisfied with what you hear on monday, what is your recourse? >> well, that's the interesting thing here. when you look at this bill for $25 billion, we have to keep in mind that the board of governors, all five of them, all appointed by donald trump, actually asked for $75 billion. so the $25 billion which has been already supported in the past should pass both the house

and the senate and be supported by the president. and i want to understand why postmaster dejoy is not pushing for greater support among republicans for this legislation, and we're certainly going to be asking him those questions and many more on monday. >> i want to ask you about your re-election bid in california. the "san francisco chronicle" is reporting that republicans are zeroing in on three california congressional races. one of which is yours. why do you think somewhere zeroing in on your district, and are you concerned at all? >> yeah, it's a tough district. it's a swing district, and it has a republican registration advantage. but i'm really proud of my record. i've been the most productive freshman in congress. i've had three measures already passed when my predecessor, who was here for 30 years, passed only three bills. and you don't pass three measures in your first year unless you're willing to work across the aisle. and that was my commitment to our constituents. and i have delivered on it, and i'll continue to deliver on it. >> congressman harley rouda, on a saturday, thank you so much

for your time. >> thank you. take care. >> you, too. new this weekend, a court is ordering president donald trump to pay legal fees to adult film star stormy daniels. the total amounts to nearly $44,000. danielsl brokered to keep her quiet about their sexual relationship a decade ago. she signed a $130,000 nda with former trump fixer michael cohen. the judge ruled that daniels is entitled to legal fees under california law. steve bannon became the latest member of president trump's inner circle to face indictment or be charged with a crime. bannon and three others are accused of stealing money from a crowd-funded campaign to support the cost of the president's famous border wall. one day after those indictments came down, this viral video surfaced of bannon and one of his alleged co-conspirators joking about that money. >> welcome back. this is steven k. bannon. we're off the coast of san

tropez in southern france, in the mediterranean. we're on the million-dollar update of brian cofage. >> that alleged co-conspirator has operated fake news websites and was the subject of my next guest investigative reporting. joining me investigative reporter brandi desrone. your piece "behind the wall: a reid rising star and shady email harvesting operation," quite the headline. quite the investigation. this was published a year and a half before the indictments. what were your key take aways, and did you see any comparisons between your reporting and what was in the indictment? >> sure. so we -- we're looking at brian colfage because he was sorts of a known internet figure. i basically do internet reporting. so he was known for operating, as you said, a group of fake

right-wing websites. what he did is operated these websites that would make people really mad. they would have fake news that would get people upset, and he would, along with that, say "sign this petition," and you'd sign this petition if you that were kind of person. then he would often have gofundmes separate from that activity. the gofundmes would be for situations like i'm going to visit walter reed medical center because he was a decorated war veteran. i'm going to mentor other wounded warriors. that's a great cause. then when we called the walter reed medical center, they had never -- they had no recollection of him ever coming. so that was the kind of thing that brian kolfage was known for. stuff that just sort of skirted the lines. but again, he was a decorated war veteran, and that really got him a lot of gravitas. it gave him a lot of leeway. in terms of what that means for this current indictment, i mean, i don't mind telling you i

screamed because during this time a year and a half ago when we did this investigation, a lot of people were looking to him, were looking for what he was going to do with gofundme's most successful campaign ever. that's $25 million. so all eyes were on him, including it seems the feds. and if the allegations prove true it seems like what he did was start this gofundme, he sent -- got four million or something emails, which would have been lucrative anyway. then he also took apparently, allegedly, $350,000 which is just -- it's crazy to me because we had such an eye on him, the whole world did. it's just brazen if the allegations are true. >> so according to your reporting, he would put up these polls, these petitions on his websites, and would he use that email harvesting to send out campaigns like "build the wall"? >> yes.

so he used those to first get people to come to his fake sites, sell ads. he had a facebook -- he was banned from facebook for inauthentic activity. he had a small-time operation. and then this operation, he harvested millions of emails. now, i'm shuure you know millio of emails of people who are angry, they wanted a border wall, we know that they're -- they're trump fans. on the far right, they're willing to part with their money. like that would be worth a lot of money anyway. so those go for millions of dollars. almost like the $350,000 that he allegedly stole from the charity would really be small potatoes in comparison. >> nbc's brandi zedrozny. thank you so much for your time. next, ahead of the gop convention in charlotte, how do female republican voters in north carolina feel about the economy during this pandemic? a live report next. xt how about no

no uh uh, no way come on, no no n-n-n-no-no only discover has no annual fee on any card.

n-n-n-no-no verizon knows how to build unlimited right. start with america's most awarded network. i'm on my phone 24/7. then, for the first time ever, give families more entertainment with disney+, hulu, and espn+ now all included, we're a big soccer family. handmaid's tale. i love "frozen." then, give families plans to mix and match, so you only pay for what you need. you get so much more than just a great network. with plans starting at just $35. the network more people rely on gives you more. this is unlimited built right. only on verizon.

another bundle in the books. got to hand it to you, jamie.

your knowledge of victorian architecture really paid off this time. nah, just got lucky. so did the thompsons. that faulty wiring could've cost them a lot more than the mudroom. thankfully they bundled their motorcycle with their home and auto. they're protected 24/7. mm. what do you say? one more game of backgammon? [ chuckles ] not on your life. [ laughs ] ♪ when the lights go down with just 73 days to go until the presidential election and two days until the republican national convention, our nbc news road warriors are zeroing in on five key counties in five battleground states to see where voters stand. this week it was all about the democratic national convention. here's how voters in miami-dade, the most populous state in the critical state of florida,

thought biden and harris fared. >> you've got a mix of old and new, so that's great to see. it felt like he was running a little bit more on emotion than this is what i, quote/unquote, plan to do. >> i feel like i'm a little bit more progressive, also being on the younger side. but i do feel like biden and harris are the people i'm going to vote for. >> i wish we had younger candidates, but we got what we got. and between biden and trump, for me, it's not a difficult decision. biden's somebody who's largely a moderate, a centrist. >> many of the keynote speakers as well as biden himself pleaded with americans who sat 2016 out to make their voices heard this year. in beaver county, pennsylvania, a democratic strong hold, one resident shared his regret over not casting his ballot

previously. >> didn't vote in 2016. do you regret that? >> in a way, yes. even though, like i said, i just could not bring myself to vote for hillary, if i had known that things were going to be like this, i would have. i do regret it. i would have voted for her. >> then we head to the site of this year's democratic national convention, milwaukee, where democrats' calls to get out and use your vote seems to have resonated with some folks there. >> yeah, because it's, like, everybody's woke now. everybody gets to see what we've endured or we've been going through for so many years. so, now, it also shows by the last election that our vote does count. our voice does need to be heard. without it, it's like you also, probably part of the problem instead of being part of the solution. and being part of the solution is getting out and voicing your opinion and getting your vote out there. >> the republican convention is slated to kick off this monday,

and the trump re-election campaign is focusing in on a key demographic it will need to win in 2020, women. recent poll numbers suggest this november could mark the biggest gender gap in modern electoral history, with biden beating trump among women by nearly double digits. so, the president has his work cut out for him ahead of the convention. joining me is jordan jackson. jordan, what are republican female voters tell you specifically about why they think trump is still the best choice for them on the issue of the economy? >> reporter: yeah, lindsey, they point to how their individual businesses were performing before this pandemic hit. now, there's been a lot of talk lately about how this downturn is hurting the president. but here in north carolina, that's actually the reason that some voters are voicing support for president trump. you know, i want to talk about females in particular. as you said, many have been hit

especially hard because of covid. i spent all this morning talking to several female business owners here in this small town who told me they are concerned about the economy. they tell me a big reason why they have decided to vote for president trump come november is that reason. take a listen to what many of them told me. >> through some of the things he's put in place, i think it's been probably the best of years we have had. when the pandemic hit, of course it made such a big difference for our whole country. and i think that we are beginning to see improvements, and i hope we'll see that going forward. >> i'm now of a supporter now than i was before. i think he's done an excellent job. without that strong economic foundation, there's going to be a lot of other problems that come along with that. so, i'm just hoping for a strong recovery from the shutdowns. >> reporter: now, that last woman you heard told me she's actually an independent voter. that is a group that the

president continues to really go after. it's important to note, as you said, that biden still leads in the polls among women both nationally and here in north carolina. as the rnc kicks off on monday, many will be watching to see just how trump really tries to win over some of these key swing voters, lindsey. >> nbc's jordan jackson in mount airy, north carolina. thank you for that reporting. before you go, we would like to leave you with happy news from the capital. the giant panda at the national news gave birth to a bear cub. she's caring for her baby attentively. we don't yet know the sex of the cub. a dna test will term whether it's male or female. but at 22 years old, she is the oldest panda ever to give birth in the u.s. that wraps up this hour here on msnbc. thank you for watching. i will be back here tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. and the news continues

right after the break with richard louie. but today... we brought a little enticement. devour buffalo chicken mac and cheese. there he is... what a magnificent beast. once he locks onto his prey, it's all but over. oh wow. it's a female! ryan! looks like she's the alpha. typical! eat like an animal. devour. sti♪l fresh... typical! unstopables in-wash scent booster ♪ downy unstopables did you know liberty mutual customizes your car insurance ta-da! so you only pay for what you need? i should get a quote. do it. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

whether we see them or not, we need to know that they're always there. for the past 25 years, masimo has been monitoring patients in hospitals around the world so that doctors and nurses can make sure you feel safe. as new challenges have arisen, we've grown to bring that same safety and support to the place that you want to be most. if we've learned nothing else, it's that when challenges arise, there's only one way to rise above. together. masimo. together in hospital, together at home.

simon pagenaud takes the lead at the indy 500! coming to the green flag, racing at daytona. they're off... in the kentucky derby. rory mcllroy is a two time champion at east lake. he scores! stanley cup champions! touchdown! only mahomes. the big events are back and xfinity is your home for the return of live sports.

good saturday to you. i'm richard lui in new york city. thanks for being with us. america is in the eye of the 2020 political hurricane today with the democratic convention wrapping up and the republican convention set to begin on monday. president trump getting in a little golf today as his party gears up for that big event which will be held partily in

north carolina and partly in the white house as the gop comes up with a way to hold a convention during a pandemic. it will be compare and contrasted to the democrats. house democrats have already moved on to the political controversy surrounding the post office. any minute we're going to be set to see here a vote on capitol hill as democrats look to pass legislation to give $25 billion of funding to the u.s. postal service. you're looking at live shots right now from the capitol. this amount of money is to ensure its readiness for mail-in voting in the fall, an effort speaker nancy pelosi says lawmakers on both sides of the aisle will support. >> we will pass the bill, and it will be in a bipartisan way today. and then we will send it to the senate. let me just say that i've always said public sentiment is everything. they'll be hearing from their constituents because this hits home. >> now, the president,

meanwhile, is continuing his