good day, everyone. from msnbc world headquarters here, in new york, welcome to "weekends with alex witt." here is what's happening as we approach 2:00 p.m. eastern, 11:00 a.m. pacific time for ya. no time to waste, that is president biden's message to congress today as his $1.9 trillion covid relief package moves from the house to the senate. and is even likely to face more hurdles, in the upper chamber, as democratic hopes for a minimum-wage hike hangs in the balance. i will speak with congressman about what is next for the $15 an hour provision in just a moment. but first, fbi investigators closing in reportedly on what they are calling an assailant in the death of police officer, brian sicknick. "the new york times" and "washington post," both, report investigators pinpointed a person on video who attacked officers, including sicknick, with a chemical spray. and major developments on the covid front. any moment, now, the fda is

expected to green light a new-coronavirus vaccine. a panel, strongly, endorsed the johnson & johnson version, last night. paving the way for final approval, this weekend. the j&j shot will be the first to require just one dose. meantime, in orlando, giving you a live look right now at cpac. oh, there we see mike pompeo. in just about 24 hours, you will be seeing donald trump who is set to make his first-public appearance since leaving the white house. we are going to expand on those headlines now with nbc reporters in the nation's capitol, wilmington, delaware, as well as orlando, florida. shannon pettypiece, in delaware. shannon, welcome to you. so what's the message president biden is sending to capitol hill, as the covid-relief bill moves there you the senate? >> well, he is looking to keep the pressure on congress to get the bill over the finish line. there is definitely no spiking of the football, yet. they have still got to get this passed in the senate. there is a lot of indications it will be passed by the senate,

especially if that $15 minimum-wage provision is taken out. which according to senate rules, it appears, that will be stripped out in the senate version. that was a big, sticking point for senator joe manchin. so, it appears they've got the votes they need from democrats alone to get this through the senate. but here's what president biden had toe say about it earlier today. >> we are one step closer to vaccinating the nation. we are one step closer to putting $1,400 in the pockets of americans. we're one step closer to extending unemployment benefits, for millions of americans who are, shortly, going to lose them. we're one step closer to helping millions of americans feed their families. and keep a roof over their head. we're one step closer to getting our kids, safely, back in school. and we're one step closer to getting state and local governments the money they need. >> now, alex, one thing the white house did not get, so far, is republican support. there was an expectation, at the

start of this, that they would be able to get one or two republicans onboard. maybe, that can happen, in the senate, still. though, it's looking increasingly unlikely. and i asked an administration official, today, has that changed their strategy or their thinking at all? and they said they are going to continue keeping pressure on republicans. trying to work with republicans. but at the same time, they are spinning this back on republicans accusing them of voting against a bill that would send or hopefully will send $1,400 checks to many americans. >> yeah. that is going to be a sticking point, for sure. shannon pettypiece. let's go from there now to capitol hill, where president biden is shifting focus to the senate. and nbc's amanda goldman joining me once again. so, are senators going to move quickly on this? do we know a timeline? >> democrats are feeling that sense of urgency. wanting to get this through both chambers by march 14th. that's the deadline by which

unemployment benefits are set to expire. and the white house is backing that messaging wanting things to move forward. putting pressure on the senate as they now receive the bill that just passed through the house last night. and the details of that bill that we have seen give extensive spending, across the board. including $1,400 stimulus check payments to individuals making less than $75,400, a week, in extra-jobless payments. as well as billions toward covid vaccine distribution. and now, we are trying to get a sense just how quickly this can move along and what stood out to me from your conversation last hour with ted lieu was hearing why that pressure ramped up to get this passed so late into the night and early-hours of the morning, just today. >> one reason the house of representatives waited, till basically 2:00 a.m. in the morning, is the urgency to finish this bill and send it to the senate. we didn't want to wait even one more night to be able to send this to senate. and it's a great bill. it has direct-stimulus checks to the american people.

it has funding for small-business loans. it has funding to help schools reopen. it gives money for vaccinations, for vaccine distribution, rollout. for contact tracing, renters assistance. this is a bill that we need right now and we expect to get it to the president's desk before march 14th. >> but that same sense of urgency that ted lieu was alluding to is not necessarily felt by republicans. we saw it in a very narrow party line vote which took place last night which actually two democratic defections for exactly that reason. saying there was excess spending that didn't necessarily relate to the urgency and emergency of covid relief, itself. so now, heading over to the senate, where there are bigger fights to be had. even though that $15 minimum-wage increase is no longer going to be a part of the senate version of this bill. that was a hedge for a couple democratic senators, sinema and manchin, who were not going to support that. and democrats really need all 50 senators to use reconciliation to move this through without gop votes. but just keep in mind, alex,

then, have to get repassed by the house before it can make its way to president biden's desk. >> right. okay. americans are like, can we get this done done now? thank you very much, amanda goldman. joining me now, democratic member of the house arm services and oversight and reform committees. welcome back to the broadcast. good to see you. let's start this one by corona -- talking about coronavirus relief. this bill that was passed in the house includes the provision for the $15 minimum wage. of course, it's expected the senate is going to strip that provision and that's because the senate parliamentarian ruled against including it. you tweeted this. the vp can disregard the parliamentarian, and rule that the minimum wage obviously has a budget impact. so, is that a realistic expectation of being done? >> actually, i think it is. vice presidents have done that, in the past. vice president rockefeller, vice president humphrey didn't listen to the parliamentarians, they disagreed with them. and anyone in my view, it's common sense, if you raise people's wages, they are going

to pay more taxes. that has a budgetary impact. this should be part of reconciliation. so the progressives are organizing to ask that the white house that they make that decision. >> well, i should say that ted lieu suggested the senate parliamentarian issue is archaic, at best. so if this covid relief bill ultimately ends up passing, what do you view as the best avenue for getting that increased $15 an hour passed through congress? >> it's going to be difficult. because we don't have 60 votes for it, it has to be through reconciliation. if it's not in this reconciliation, we need to figure out how to have it in the next reconciliation. but if we are going to defer to the parliamentarian interpretation that it can't be done through reconciliation, then it becomes very, very difficult to get it done and that's why there's been such a push to be able to deliver on this. >> okay. let's move onto the issue of the newly-declassified u.s.-intelligence report that's condemning or concluding and

condemning saudi-crown prince, mohammed bin salman. in fact, approved the 2018 murder of journalist jamal khashoggi. the mere release of the report seems a very strong statement to the saudis but why are some critical the biden administration isn't doing more on this? >> they need to do more -- alex, here is the -- what is so outrageous about this. it's not just that mbs ordered, basically, the assassination -- brutal assassination of a journalist. we have to dig deeper into why he ordered that assassination. it's because khashoggi was exposing the humanitarian crisis in yemen. where thousands are dying. women and children are dying. and the saudis continue to be involved. president biden has taken a strong measure to at least say we're not going to be aiding the offensive campaign there. for five years, we were, unfortunately, complicit in that campaign. and the president has taken a good direction. but i think there has to be higher accountability.

i don't think they should be allowed in the united states and we need to be stopping our weapon sales to the saudis. >> so those things can still come, right? i mean, there is nothing preventing that from happening in the future. and i spoke with former u.s. ambassador to russia, michael mcfaul, earlier. and he said diplomacy has to be taken into account. how difficult these kinds of top-level negotiations are. particularly, saudi arabia, with whom we have a very interesting, to put it mildly, history. and their role as a player on the global stage. is there a chance that progressives, and those who are pushing for more to be done to hold saudi arabia, if not, mbs personally accountable. is there a chance that -- that you can say, look, we understand it's very complicated. we're going to give you some time to get this done. and we expect more in the future. >> i have tremendous admiration for ambassador mcfaul. the challenge here is what's going on in yemen. so if for five years, there's been a war where there may be the largest famine in yemen and

some of us have been trying to stop the united states' involvement. i want to say president biden has done the right thing there but we need to, at the very least, get the -- the blockade lifted. we need to tell the saudis to stop pouring money into yemen. i understand this is complex, diplomatically. but i guess, what progressives believe is that we lead with human rights, we don't lead with a calculation of balance-of-power politics. and if we take that approach, then i think that we're going to get to a resolution. so, there is good faith with the administration. we are going to give them and have given them a runway. we have applauded their -- the decisions. but we understand, every day, we don't act, more people are dying in yemen. >> yeah. yeah. you're right. and you can't turn back the hands of time on that. let's switch gears, and talk about the air strikes targeting iran-backed militants in syria you released a statement saying in part, there is absolutely no justification for a president to authorize a military strike that is not in self-defense against an imminent threat without congressional authorization.

i was speaking with ted lieu about that, this last hour, as well. how critical is it for congress to have a role in these decisions? >> it's absolutely critical. it's every person who runs for president promises the american people that they're going to get us out of the middle east. they're going to get us out of these wars. then, i don't know what happens. once they're president, they -- people come to them and say you have to strike. that's not how the constitution works. you have to come to congress. the president has a limited ability to take that action, if there is an imminent threat on america or on our troops. everything i have read about this situation suggests there was not an imminent attack. this was a -- it may have been in response to something that was done to our troops. but to do that type of faction, you have to come to congress and i said that when president trump was there. and i have the same principles when president biden is there. >> uh-huh. the biden administration, as you know, plans to provide some sort of a full-classified briefing. is there any way the information

that gets provided in that might change your stance on this incident? >> alex, that's what they always do. they take these unauthorized actions and then they cut and say we are going to give you a classified briefing to the congress. i -- it's unlikely. i mean, i am -- maybe, there will be something. but what i think would be far better is for this president to now commit that he is going to come to congress before he takes actions that are not in our imminent-self-defense. that's what the constitution calls for. that's what he ran on, ending these endless wars. and that he looked at these escalations in the middle east. what good have they done america? it's cost us $6 trillion. we have been in these wars for decade. we have to have a foreign policy that gets us out of these wars that focuses on building our infrastructure, providing our people with better healthcare and better wages. >> yeah. what kind of an impact do you

think this particular air strike is going to have on efforts to reopen or rework the iran nuclear deal? >> that's my concern. i hope, i have a lot of confidence in president biden's special envoy to iran. i know he is committed to the jcpoa. i know, jake sullivan, the national security adviser, helped negotiate the jcpoa. so i know the administration wants to get back in. and the -- the challenge is that these types of escalatory actions make it harder. so, my view is let's get back in. sooner, rather than later. one quick point, alex. when president trump took over, iran had 102 kilograms of enriched uranium. when he left, they had 2.5 tons of enriched uranium. 25-times more. so, obviously, his strategy didn't work. it's time for a new approach. okay. i always love our conversations. not just because you are a fellow californian. good to see you. thank you so much. >> i love that you had me on. >> good. we will see you again, soon, then. >> so who is he mad at now? a preview of what we could hear

at donald trump's cpac speech tomorrow. tomorrow s that breaks the internet? that means working night and day... ...and delegating to an experienced live bookkeeper for peace of mind. your books are all set. so you can finally give john some attention. trusted experts. guaranteed accurate books. intuit quickbooks live. (noise of fridge opening) guy fieri! ya know, if you wanna make that sandwich the real deal, ya gotta focus on the bread layers. king's hawaiian sliced bread makes everything better! ♪ (angelic choir) ♪ umm, honey...why is guy fieri in our kitchen?

i don't know. i'm booking you a one-way ticket to flavortown with a king's hawaiian meatball sub. ♪ ♪ i gotta go. your neighbor needs king's hawaiian bread. hey, i got you. guy fieri? ing gain flings, their laundry smells more amazing than ever. ah, honey! isn't that the dog's towel? hey, me towel su towel. there's more gain scent plus oxi boost and febreze odor remover in every fling. gain. seriously good scent. love the scent of gain flings? then you'll swoon for long lasting gain scent beads. i'm draymond green with my subway sub with tender steak and melty cheese. my sub is gonna dunk all over your sub. excuse me? my sub has bacon. choose better be better and now save when you order in the app. subway eat fresh.

but not jayson's sub. it's moving day. and while her friends subway eat fresh. are doing the heavy lifting, jess is busy moving her xfinity internet and tv services. it only takes about a minute. wait, a minute? but what have you been doing for the last two hours? delegating? oh, good one. move your xfinity services without breaking a sweat. now that's simple, easy, awesome. xfinity makes moving easy. go online to transfer your services in about a minute. get started today.

breaking news happening right now. the annual conservative political action conference is under way with several republicans taking part and it's all leading up to donald trump's address, tomorrow. his first public appearance since leaving office. nbc's ali vitali is joining us once again from cpac in orlando, florida. so, what have been the big takeaways for you so far, ali? >> you know, alex, this is a con depress that feels a little bit like it could be held in iowa or new hampshire. that is a joke ted cruz also made yesterday because this is a group of people who are showing up, really, with two intentions, by and large. a lot of folks showing up here, lawmakers who may want to run in 2024. so they are positioning themselves as trump allies but also people who could take on his very loyal, conservative base, if he decides not to run in 2024. yesterday, we heard from some of those folks.

florida governor ron desantis. florida senator, rick scott. senator tom cotton among those. but then, also, today, we are hearing from some former-trump administration officials who could, also, have interest in running for president, themselves. former secretary of state mike pompeo among them. hear how he is positioning himself here in front of this conservative crowd. >> this time's different. in the last few months, we ever been called clowns and deplorables and ignorant and rednecks. we have been called -- "the new york times" think i am the worst secretary of state of all time. but i'm -- i'm proud of our fight and i am proud of our accomplishments and that we have truly upended the status quo. >> now, alex, one of the big questions here, too, is there are the people who are with trump. and then, there are the people who are against him. it's entirely possible, once the former president gets on stage here, tomorrow, that we start hearing some of those people who were against him, called out by name. we already heard it from his

son, donald trump jr., yesterday. he had liz cheney in his sights. the number-three house republican who voted to impeach former-president trump, several weeks ago. she is someone who still has been very vocal about the role that she thinks trump should, or rather, should not play in this party, going forward. of course, there are many other republicans who see his grip on the party. they may not like him but people, like senate-minority leader, mitch mcconnell, they still say that they would support the former president if he were the nominee in 2024. a lot of time, though, between now and then to see if that is actually a decision these folks have to make. >> i got to tell you. i find it curious that mike pompeo would be telling the audience, reminding them that "the new york times" called him the worst secretary of state of all time. but i don't know. >> a conference like this, alex. >> okay. well, i guess, if you interpret it that way. wonder if our viewers think that as we played that for them. but thank you very much, ali. joining me now, white house reporter for "politico." and political correspondent for business insider.

ladies, good to see you both. gabby, we will go to you first, here. your colleague at "politico" playbook is reporting, today, three people close to trump say he is stewing anew over kevin mccarthy. it's become so frequent that his advisers think the house minority leader may be in for a public reprimand. that's even after the powwow at mar-a-lago where he tried to patch things up after he denounced violence on january 6th. is this a preview of what we might hear tomorrow? >> we are definitely going to be looking to see if the president brings up mccarthy's name in his speech at cpac tomorrow. there is a long list of other republicans with whom he has beef, at the moment. who he might go after from the cpac stage. of course, mitch mcconnell is one of them. liz cheney is a big one. and she is really the reason right now that president trump is so privately aggravated by kevin mccarthy's actions. every single time congresswoman

cheney speaks out about former-president trump, criticizes him. has something negative to say about him. he is reminded that kevin mccarthy was one of the top republicans pushing -- in her position of conference chair of house republicans. and so, it is something he's been griping about privately and to his advisers and aides. but whether it actually makes it on to his -- his cpac speech tomorrow, which is really going to be the first time we hear from him publicly since -- since shortly before joe biden's inauguration. that's an outstanding question. >> yeah. for sure. this conference is our first and, certainly, preliminary preview of what the 2024 campaign and field could look like. but what is the message coming from republicans? or is it just, who can be the most like trump? >> yeah, that's really the million-dollar question, right now. i mean, i think we saw multiple people who appeared at cpac yesterday saying it was really tpac, right? to sort of underscore really

it's not the republican party, anymore. it's the party of trump. and so, what we saw yesterday, what we have seen today, and what we will certainly see tomorrow, is all of these potential-2024 hopefuls jockeying to see who can make themselves the most like trump. now, the million-dollar question, obviously, is what this means for 2024. because, if trump decides to run again, that's going to pose a conundrum for people -- for people, like ted cruz and senator josh hawley, who have really thrown all of their weight behind him and may find themselves in the unenviable position of trying to separate themselves from him in 2024. and so, if he decides to run again, it could be a rude awakening, you know, for the cruzs and the hawleys and the tom cottons of the party, as well. >> yeah. but, gabby, to that point, donald trump running again in 2024. how much speculation is there, that he's actually not going to do that but he is going to use it as an excuse, right now, for campaign fundraising and do a very good job of doing so, given the millions he's raised even

thus far. burr then, at the end, he's probably going to say, i'm not going to do it, and pave the way for somebody else. i mean, is that a realistic expectation? >> well, it's definitely two different camps of thinking sort of in his orbit right now. there is those advisers and aides, who think that he is going to spend the next couple of years at least teasing out a 2024 run. kind of, dangling that out there in front of supporters just to keep interest in him and his -- his, you know, make-america-great-again movement. but certainly, others, like you said, think that he -- he is keen on being this republican king maker and interfering to sp some extent in primary challenges and recruiting candidates to go after republicans whom he views as disloyal between now and the midterm elections. but then, step aside and wait to see who he thinks might be his natural successor in the republican party. whether that is endorsing somebody, like senator hawley

or -- or governor desantis or somebody else who's been a rumored contender. >> look, there's another thing to factor in here, and it is this. because this week, the new york prosecutor's finally got their hands on trump's tax returns. what kind of political consequences could this have for trump, currently, or any, potential run for re-election? >> well, that remains to be seen, right? because they have a -- they have obtained his tax returns but it's still a long way from investigating him and investigating his tax returns and his finances. to him, you know, potentially being indicted or to facing criminal charges over this case or potentially other cases that we know the new york attorney general is pursuing. investigations that the house committees are pursuing and potentially even the manhattan u.s. attorney's office. right now, we really don't know enough about what these investigations may yield. but certainly, if -- you know, if these -- if these yielded criminal charges, the first thing is we all know they are immune to the pardon power because they would be state-level charges and not federal charges.

but certainly, you know, if trump faced criminal liability over his businesses and his financial dealings. it might make him a lot less palatable to the republican base and to, more importantly, moderate voters who could determine who wins the white house in 2024. >> okay. gabby ore. ladies, thank you so much. and to that last point and so it begins. donald trump's financial records now in the hands of a new york da. the expectations for what comes next, ahead. s next, ahead. (woman) what should we do with it first? (man) road trip. (woman) yes. (woman) off-road trip. (man) how hot is the diablo chili? (waitress) well, you've got to sign a waiver. [loud laughter] (woman) is this even a road? (man) yeah. (woman) so what should we do second? (vo) the subaru forester. the most adventurous forester ever. (vo) get 0% for 63 months on select new 2021 models. now through march 1st. tired of clean clothes that just don't smell clean? what if your clothes could stay fresh for weeks?

now they can! this towel has already been used and it still smells fresh. pour a cap of downy unstopables into your washing machine before each load and enjoy fresher smelling laundry for up to 12-weeks. if you're 55 and up, t-mobile has plans built just for you. get 2 unlimited lines for a fixed rate of $70 bucks. and now get netflix on us. plus, switch and get a free smartphone for each line. tonight i'll be eating a calzone from doughballs in aurora. (doorbell) rock on. tonight i'll be eating lobster thermidor au gratin. really? sh-yeah, and monkeys might fly out of my butt. make it two calzones!

let's start with all the dads who aren't exactly “sports guys.” narrow it to all the non-sports dads who love watching sports... in the rain. with kids who can catch “almost” everything. especially a cold. that brings us to you. you're the one we made mywalgreens for. an easier way to save, shop, and perhaps catch a break. introducing mywalgreens. join and get 30 minute pickup at walgreens.com what do we want for dinner? join and geburger...te pickup i want a sugar cookie... wait... i want a bucket of chicken... i want... ♪♪ it's the easiest because it's the cheesiest. kraft. for the win win.

here is some very despite exciting news. starting tomorrow, join mehdi hasan, as he unpacks the news of the day, riveting one-on-one conversations. then, at 9:00 p.m. eastern, joshua johnson breaks down the week, that was, and looks to the week ahead. # the mehdi hasan show premieres followed by the week with joshua johnson at 9:00 p.m. eastern. a great night here on msnbc. breaking news today on the

capitol hill riots. new reports the fbi is closing in on what they are calling an assailant involved in the death of capitol police officer brian sicknick. "new york times" and "washington post" reporting that investigators have images of a person on video attacking officers including sicknick with a chemical spray. they are working right now to identify that individual. also, shocking new body cam video. federal prosecutors say it shows a former officer, that man in red there, charging a d.c. police officer during the riot and a whole lot more we saw of that guy. and new conspiracy charges are filed against six members of the proud boys white-nationalist group. the second group to be charged with conspiracy in the insurrection. this week, the supreme court struck down any hope donald trump had at keeping his taxes hidden. the drawn-out battle ended when millions of documents were, indeed, handed over to new york investigators looking into trump's business dealings. manhattan district attorney, cy vance, and a team are pursuing

an investigation that includes falsifying records as well as insurance and tax fraud. joining me now, nyu legal professor, melissa murray. good to see you, melissa. let's get into this right away here. trump has been accused of inflating his assets. he did it to get loans and devalue the assets in order to avoid taxes, right? so, how tough will it be for prosecutors to prove trump's culpability and the intent to defraud the tax system? >> so, this is not going to be an easy case, alex. i mean, there's, first, the whole legal question of proving and establishing intent to defraud and that can be a very difficult threshold to clear. but then, there is just the practical matter that now, the da has been given troves and troves of documents relating to not only his taxes but the underlying-business dealings. and they'll have to be able to go through all of that. it seems that the da's office has already begun making plans to begin to make quick work of this. they've brought in an outside-consulting firm, as well as former prosecutor to get

through some of these and to identify places where the president's liability may be more clear. but again, this was never going to be an easy case. it is, perhaps, made more easy -- it's easier because of the access to these records. but again, the records, themselves, are also a hurdle to get through. >> so, cy vance has all these documents. many of which, predate trump's time in the white house, if not the vast majority, right? can you walk us through how prosecutors are potentially building this criminal case to show a money trail? >> so, again, we saw a little bit of this in the last couple of years with that "new york times" investigation of trump's tax returns and tax records. but again, what they want to be able to show, and i think this is part of the crucial issue here. is that the question of whether there were certain property values that -- whose values were inflated for purposes of securing loans. but then, deflated for purposes of securing more-favorable tax treatment. so, those kinds of changes are the kinds of things i think they are looking for in this cache of

documents that they are going through. but just generally, they are looking for anything that seems abnormal. anything that would, possibly, be in violation of state-tax laws. maybe, there is federal stuff in here, too, that could be redirected to the federal government. there may be broader issues if the president has issued pocket pardons to himself or members of his family. but again, they are looking for places where there are violations of state-business law, state-tax laws, or any other kinds of claims that they might be able to make. and be able to prove with the evidence that they have. >> you know, melissa, you mentioned his family. in fact, manhattan da office is expanding the probe to the three-eldest children. eric trump, we know, has been deposed. ivanka trump's name has come up in disclosures about trump's tax returns after receiving consulting fees even though she gets a salary. you have got don jr. being investigated for his role, as well. what's the likelihood that they, too, could be held criminally liable if discrepancies are found in trump's documents? >> this is a really interesting, kind of, development. earlier, i think, around 2012,

maybe 2013, there was -- there was a criminal investigation of the -- the -- the -- involving the trump soho hotels and apartment -- apartment complexes within it. and there were concerns that the members of the trump family, including the oldest children, were perhaps overexaggerating the nature of their success, in leasing and selling those units. and there was an open investigation from the new york -- manhattan district attorney's office about that. that was all cleared up after some intervention by some of the trump-legal team. and there were claims that contributions were made to cy vance's campaign and -- and that was sort of a quid pro quo. that was all very embarrassing for manhattan district attorney vance, later on, when this all came out. and it could play a role in whether or not manhattan district attorney's office is perhaps more aggressive in investigating the older trump children going forward. so there is a broader context here that would have to, certainly, be something we considered as we looked forward

to see what is coming down the pike for other, possible lines of liability. >> okay. let me ask you about this. the investigation, the timing, indeed, was launched after, you know, michael cohen, trump's former-personal lawyer paid stormy daniels that $130,000 to keep quiet after the alleged affair. what do you make of the supreme court declining to hear her defamation suit? >> i mean, there's not much to make of it. defamation is incredibly difficult to establish, especially when one or more of the parties is a public figure of this magnitude. so it's a very high threshold, a very high bar. she was unable to prevail, at both lower courts. and she filed this appeal to the supreme court. the supreme court's docket, as you know, is not compulsory. it's discretionary. they don't have to take every case that's appealed to them. and in this case, there were not sufficient number of votes needed to grant -- meaning that the lower-court opinion would stand. so, again, she did not prevail

on her defamation claims. but there are, perhaps, other places where her testimony and this experience would be relevant. certainly, for some of the other investigations that are ongoing. >> okay. melissa murray, i look forward to speaking with you again, soon. thank you so much for today. it's a dramatic disparity. the rate of vaccination among african-americans, much lower than for white americans but it's not necessarily because blacks are refusing it. they just have less access to the vaccine. an effort to change that, next. the vaccine. an effort to change that, next , it's for men. but i like the smell of it. [music playing] (man) i'm a verizon engineer,

part of the team that built 5g right, the only one from america's most reliable network. we designed our 5g to make the things you do every day better. with 5g nationwide, millions of people can now work, listen, and stream in verizon 5g quality. and in parts of many cities where people can use massive capacity, we have ultra wideband, the fastest 5g in the world. this is the 5g that's built for you. this is 5g built right. only from verizon. life doesn't stop for a cold.

[man] honey... [woman] honey that's why there's new dayquil severe honey. it's maximum strength cold and flu medicine with soothing honey-licious taste. dayquil honey. the daytime coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever, power through your day medicine. ♪ ♪ (kids talking) pnc bank believes that if an app can help you track your pizza... come on cody, where are you buddy? ...then your bank should have the technology to help you track your spending. virtual wallet® for digital banking. one way we're helping to make a difference at pnc bank. introducing fidelity income planning. we look at what you've saved, what you'll need, and help you build a flexible plan for cash flow that lasts, even when you're not working, so you can go from saving... to living. ♪ let's go ♪

breaking news now on the coronavirus pandemic. the fda is expected to approve the johnson & johnson vaccine for emergency use. in fact, any time, as soon as today. an advisory panel signed off on that one-dose vaccine last night. and once approved, j&j plans to start shipping millions of vabsness as soon as next week. by the end of march, the company says it will have 20 million doses available for americans. beginning next week, new york city officials are easing more restrictions. movie theaters are going to reopen, with 25% capacity. after going dark, nearly a year ago. but there is a rift between city leaders and health experts over the spread of new variants. let's go to msnbc's cori coffin, who is outside a movie theater in times square with more on all of this. okay, cori. welcome. so, what are some of the health experts recommending? where is the beef here between mayor de blasio and these health experts? >> yeah. some scientists are saying they -- they don't want to take the mayor's wait-and-see

approach. they think that right now, they need to be cautious. the city needs to pause their reopening plans until they know more about this so-called new york variant. and here's why. this variant was found in november, and it now accounts for one in four viral sequences. they say the number of occasions that they've seen it on, has grown significantly. and because of that, they just don't know enough about it. they, also, say that it contains a mutation, which could actually make it less susceptible to the vaccines. problem is, the city's health department is pushing back on that. listen to what he had to say. >> there is a gap, unfortunately, in scientific reporting that's going on, publicly. people are translating findings that people find in the laboratory. like, there was this mutation in this virus. into an outcome of the human. we really don't know enough about human immunity to draw those direct conclusions. that's why we do clinical trials. >> all right. so, the doctor went on to say all three vaccines, the

two-current ones on the market and, of course, the johnson & johnson one that you were talking about, alex, have proven effective against this and other strains. so it has led city leaders and even state leaders to say we are going to continue with our reopening plans. as you mentioned, theaters reopening, by 25% capacity, next week. indoor dining is open by 35%. middle schools are going back to school here, in the city. and statewide, some larger events, like weddings, can resume soon. but these scientists who are presenting some of this other data on that variant say it's just in the city that was hit so hard in 2020. it just doesn't make sense to take that risk. that wait-and-see approach that the mayor wants to take. they think that the reopening should be shuddered, for now, especially as we start to see that drop in cases level off. alex. >> well, let's face it. we are a pretty packed bunch there, into a very small piece of land on manhattan island. thank so much, cori coffin. joining me now, dr. uche blackstock.

also, her twin sister, dr. oni blackstock. the founder and executive director of health justice. i am just going to say your parents must be proud. that's for sure. but anyway, doctors, thank you so much for being here, both of you. first, let's talk about the j&j vaccine news because i know we are expecting the emergency-use approval to come, really, at any point right now. so, dr. oni. how much of a game changer is this vaccine going to be? this one-dose vaccine? >> well, i think it is a tremendous advance and definitely a game changer, in terms of now having a third tool in the toolkit to fight this virus. the fact that it is just one dose. its storage requirements just involve refrigeration. this will help, really, increase access, i think, to many people who have not, yet, had the vaccine. >> yeah, absolutely. dr. uche, though, can you clear up the confusion that exists out there? some people have this confusion about how the j&j efficacy compares to those of both pfizer

and moderna, at this point. why are they so different? and what should people know about this particular one? >> hi, alex. yeah. this is such a great question. and one that i have been really focusing on, recently, in terms of messaging. and so, the johnson & johnson vaccine has a lower efficacy because the clinical trials were done, worldwide, in countries where there were variants present, like south africa and brazil. however, the pfizer and moderna vaccines were studied much earlierinate pandemic, when we didn't have these variants. and that's why the efficacy is much -- is much -- appears to be much higher. but all three of these vaccines are incredibly effective. they all prevent hospitalization and death. and those are the endpoints that we care about. >> yeah, 100%. okay. doctors, let's turn to some troubling, vaccination numbers. you have more than 47 million americans who have gotten at least the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. the cdc only knows the ethnicity of about half of those

vaccinations. but here are the numbers. white people have been given almost 65% of the first doses. black-americans have gotten just 6.5%. dr. oni, what is your reaction to those numbers? both, the low rate of vaccinations among black-americans and the lack of race data that's being reported? >> yes. it's very disturbing. but not surprising. we know that the cdc does require states to report this data. however, not all states have been doing so. some states have some, sort of, internal, sort of, differences that make sharing this data challenging. but we need to make sure that, you know, the cdc can ensure that there's an enforceable mandate to provide this data so that we can have a more-complete picture. we don't know where the inequities are happening if we don't have complete data. and so, we need to be able to have that information to target

interventions. >> yeah, i mean, it makes common sense perfectly well. what about vice president kamala harris, as you, doctors, have heard, i'm sure. there is an exclusive interview coming up with nbc's reverend al sharpton. she spoke with him this week and where she talked about how the pandemic is affecting black americans, overall. let's listen to this. >> let's not let covid get us. let's get the vaccine, instead, right? let's not let this thing get us. we know black people are disproportionately likely to contract the virus, and die from it. we know, when you look at who the frontline workers are, who have been most at risk. disproportionately, we are talking about people of color. >> dr. uche, it is so important to hear this message from the vice president. urging black americans to just go get the shot. but the numbers show vaccinations are not happening, at the rate that they should. so, what is causing this? and what more can the federal government do to address this disproportionate impact that covid has had on communities of color?

>> so, i think, that there are two main strategies. you know, definitely, it's important that vice president harris is out there talking about the vaccine. but we really need organized outreach, in communities, at a local level. using community-based organizations that know these communities and their members well. and already have the connections, on the ground, to do this work. so there needs to be public messaging. there needs to be virtual-town halls. people need to have their answer -- their question -- their questions answered, fully, about the vaccine. and then, the other part is the accessibility issue. we know that there have been problems, across the country, in terms of people in their own neighborhoods having difficulty accessing the vaccine. and people who are nonresidents, coming from outside, to those neighborhoods, and taking the vaccine. and so, we really need an intentional effort for outreach and accessibility. and i think that's how we're going to end up getting more and more black americans vaccinated.

>> yeah. here's something that's pretty cool. the both of you wrote a joint op-ed for "the washington post," where you say that black americans should face lower age cutoffs to qualify for a vaccine. i'm going to start with you, dr. uche. give me the idea behind that. and then, dr. oni, you can follow. >> right. so, what we noticed was that, you know, in -- for example, in states like alabama, the life expectancy for many black americans doesn't even reach the cutoff needed for the vaccine. meaning, that they have shorter-life expectancies. so, for applying these fixed age cutoffs to all americans and not taking into consideration the effects of systemic racism. on shortening black lives, then we think that those -- those prioritization schemes that are just looking at fixed-age cutoffs are not fair. and we're asking that states reconsider this approach, and either remove these age cutoffs or reduce them to lower levels for black americans so that

black americans are included, and can access the vaccine. >> and dr. oni, you mentioned, in this piece, other countries and we're talking about both australia and canada have taken a vaccine-distribution concept, along the lines that you are proposing. what are the chances you think they'll do it here in the u.s.? >> right. australia lowered the age cutoff for indigenous australians to 55 compared to 07 for nonindigenous australians and canada outright prioritized indigenous communities for this vaccine. and they have seen increase in the vaccination rate for indigenous canadians compared to the general population. and so i think having this similar strategy for disproportionately groups in the united states would be really important and address these inequities we see in vaccine up take. >> dr. uche blackstock, dr. oni blackstock, this was fun. i would love to have you come on

again both as individuals or together. thank you, doctors. >> the mom and pop business owners who say the covid relief bill can't get passed in the senate soon enough. you're going to hear from them soon enough. you're going to hear from them soon enough. eteran made of doing what's right, not what's easy. so when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. that's how you do it right. usaa insurance is made just the way martin's family needs it with hassle-free claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. because doing right by our members, that's what's right. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. ♪ usaa ♪ tired of clean clothes that just don't smell clean? we're made for. what if your clothes could stay fresh for weeks? now they can! this towel has already been used and it still smells fresh. pour a cap of downy unstopables into your washing machine before each load and enjoy fresher smelling laundry for up to 12-weeks. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

deposit, plan and pay with easy tools from chase. simplicity feels good. chase. make more of what's yours. want to brain better? unlike ordinary memory supplements— neuriva has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. try our new gummies for 30 days and see the difference.

after the house voted to pas the stimulus bill, small business one step closer now to receiving much needed support and for many small shops the additional funds will, in fact, help to keep the doors open. joining me now nbc scott cone spoke with business owners in palo alto, california. scott, welcome to you from the golden state. what are they telling you? >> reporter: well, alex, you know, $1.9 trillion in this bill that's now pending in the senate, there's plenty of money to go around. including for small businesses, which, of course, have received aid under the previous relief packages since the pandemic began. but, this package is a little more targeted in a couple of areas. number one, restaurants who will get about $25 billion in targeted assistance.

they have been hit so hard in the pandemic, but also some of the mom and pops, like the cobblery, the shoe store behind me been in business for 80 years. this is a business where they don't have employees, per se, but the owners are taking a draw. so they receive paycheck protection money before but because it's not paychecks that they're paying out, they've had to pay it back. so that's been a big burden for them on top of so many other burdens. this aid would be forgivable, and that they say would be a lifeline. >> before the pandemic, it's hard to be a small business owner. and we work really hard and we put in a lot of hours. and we love our businesses and we love what we do, that's why we are small business owners. but if we didn't get help, we wouldn't be around much -- in a few months. >> reporter: now, if they do get this money, if this bill is

passed, the plan, jessica roth says, is to pay back some of their rent. she says they are many, many months behind in their rent here on california street in palo alto. so that's a key. they will also invest some money into online advertising because fewer of their customers are walk-up customers. people are doing more in terms of shoe repair and buying shoes, shopping online. so they hope to expand that as well. but they say without this, alex, they would have been maybe a month or two away from going out of business after 80 years. >> yeah. that's brutal. but really quickly, scott. it seems like things are picking up. i recall interviews with you, live shots, where there's just nobody behind you. there are empty streets. things are picking up and getting better for the most part, yeah? >> reporter: yeah. and you know, the case rates have come down so much in california from that awful surge that we had that people are starting to get out and starting

to get into the community. of course, the worry is that things are opening up too fast and that's the thing we're dealing with across the country. >> we have to get those vaccinations out aplenty in california. scott cohn, thank you very much. i'm alex whit, thank you for watching. i'll see you at noon tomorrow. yasmin vossoughian into the violent robbery including lady gaga's dog and dog-walker. gaga's dog and dog-walker. how great is it that we get to tell everybody how liberty mutual customizes your car insurance

so you only pay for what you need? i mean it... uh-oh, sorry... oh... what? i'm an emu! no, buddy! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. ♪ ♪ hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play ♪ ♪ hey now, you're a rock star, get the show on, get paid ♪ ♪ and all that glitters is gold ♪ get 5 boneless wings for $1 with any handcrafted burger. only at applebee's. ♪ with any handcrafted burger. freshness and softness you never forget, with downy. mornings were made for better things than rheumatoid arthritis. when considering another treatment, ask about xeljanz... a pill for adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis when methotrexate has not helped enough. xeljanz can help relieve joint pain and swelling, stiffness, and helps stop

further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections, like tb and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c, have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra may increase risk of death. tears in the stomach or intestines and serious allergic reactions have happened. don't let another morning go by without asking your doctor about the pill first prescribed for ra more than seven years ago. xeljanz. what do we want for dinner? burger... i want a sugar cookie... wait... i want a bucket of chicken... i want... ♪♪ it's the easiest because it's the cheesiest. kraft. for the win win. oh, you think this is just a community center? no. it's way more than that.

cause when you hook our community up with the internet... boom! look at ariana, crushing virtual class. jamol, chasing that college dream. michael, doing something crazy. this is the place where we can show the world what we can do. comcast is partnering with 1000 community centers to create wifi-enabled lift zones, so students from low-income families can get the tools they need to be ready for anything. oh we're ready. ♪ ♪

good afternoon, everybody. i'm yasmin vossoughian. we have a lot going on right now. a team of correspondents and experts on the ready to break it all down for you. the president set to leave the white house at any moment after a brief, but full throated push for senate passage of his nearly $2 trillion covid relief bill over republican opposition. more covid relief about to hit the market as we await federal approval of a new vaccine. plus, new reporting indicating authorities may have a suspect in the killing of police officer brian sicknick in the capitol hill riot. all of that and a new twist in what may be the strangest story of the week. a woman turning in lady gaga's dogs, stolen in an assault in which her dog walker was shot but the mystery remains over who did it and why. we'll get to more on that story later on in the hour, but we do want to begin with that breaking news. we are waiting official fda authorization of a new vaccine