good day to all of you from msnbc headquarters in new york. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." we're getting a new look at how americans are viewing the new challenges talked by the biden administration. according to a new poll, a clear majority approve of president biden's handling of the coronavirus pandemic as well as the economy. when it comes to gun violence and the migrant surge at the border, a slight majority disapprove of how the president is handling with those issues. the border is a contentious issue. lawmakers on both sides of the

aisles speaking out with competing messages. >> he needs to apologize, president biden, to the border patrol agents and their families for putting them through this. we're being overwhelmed at the border. >> the last thing we should be doing is playing politics and games and not expediting the process in reconnecting them with their family and relatives here in the united states. >> meanwhile, the backlash to georgia's new restrictive voting laws is growing fierce today. democratic senator warnock discussing the possibility of eliminating the filibuster in order to take action at the federal level. >> the filibuster at the end of the day is about minority rights in the senate. how are you going to insist on protecting minority rights in the senate while refusing to protect minority rights in the society? >> so is that a yes? >> look, the ball is in their court. they could vote the bill up, but if they don't, we have to pass

voting rights no matter what. and president biden is gearing up for a critical week as he gets set to unveil his massive infrastructure plan. jen psaki giving a preview today of what to expect. >> what the american people will hear from him this week is part of his plan, the first step of his plan toward a recovery, which will include an investment in infrastructure. and he's going to have more to say later in april about the second part of his recovery plan, which will include a number of the pieces you talked about. health care, child care, addressing that. the total package we're still working out but he's going to introduce some ways to pay for that and he's eager to hear from both parties as well. let's check in with monica alba at the white house. monica, you first here, the number of pressing issues on president biden's agenda certainly growing. what does he plan to tackle first? >> well, the white house would say he's working on all of them in tandem, alex, but in terms of an actual legislative strategy,

the next piece they're about to unveil in the next couple of days is going to be on infrastructure. this is something that candidate joe biden campaigned on all of last year. and something that they believe they can potentially find some bipartisan support for. and this comes after a few weeks of selling the american rescue plan and that covid relief bill to the american people on the road. so, the president is going to be taking this to pittsburgh to sort of turn the page on that and now say, here's the next thing in terms of their agenda. they always felt they wanted to get relief to the american people and then turn to recovery. so, that's why you have a focus on infrastructure. but all the while, the president has been incredibly impassioned by what he calls voter suppression. and this georgia law and voter restrictions, in particular, really angered the president. he spoke out against it quite intensely on friday but he also admits there isn't much he can do other than encourage congress to act on bills already passed

the house but currently stalled in the senate. that's in large part due to the question of the filibuster. right now the president also doesn't have enough votes even if he says he wants to get rid of it for democrats to vote to eliminate it. so, white house press secretary jen psaki talked a little more about that, but really said at this point, they're not going to eliminate it since, again, it doesn't have the support. take a listen. >> there's an easy solution here, though, which the president would certainly advocate for, which is democrats and republicans, republicans coming to the table with a willingness and an openness to discussing how we get things done. if they want to come to the table and talk about how to make voting easier, more accessible, let's have that conversation. the president's eager to have it. he's not eager to move with destroying the filibuster. he's eager to get things done for the american people. but he's also not going to stand by and prevent forward moving progress from happening. >> reporter: that's why the white house is working with the justice department now to see if there's something else that can be done. of course, this law in georgia

is not unique. there are dozens of states looking at hundreds of bills that would implement similar voting restrictions. of course, they're tracking that very closely, alex. the president says he's going to be looking at what else can be done. he did already sign one executive order as it relates to expanding voter access, revamping vote.org. that simply doesn't go enough. that's why he's going to urge congress to act. that's why you might see the white house invite republicans in the next couple of days to talk about both infrastructure and voting rights and the path forward. >> trying to work together. thank you very much, monica. let's go from there to the border and a new prediction suggesting the number of clirn crossing the border illegally could be on the rise. the biden administration anticipates upwards of 22,000 in april and then as high as 25,000 in may. antonio hill is joining me from.

the biden administration says they're more humane than the prior administration. can you drill down on the details? >> reporter: hi, alex. the white house has tapped vice president harris to lead diplomatic conversations between the u.s., mexico, guatemala, el salvador and honduras. these are the main countries fueling much of the migratory patterns up to our border. and vice president harris' conversations with with them will be at flowing the stem of migration and collaborating enforcement not just at our border but at international borders along the way up to the u.s./mexico border. the next focus for u.s. officials is scaling up the beds and the space for the children that you mentioned are inevitably going to be arriving here in the coming days and coming months. when you're here locally on the border, the focus remains on the humanitarian aspect of all of this. our team has been covering the story of a 9-year-old girl from guatemala who just days ago was overtaken by the current in the

river and found dead by customs and border protection. just last night i was on a waterfront community in mission, texas, where i met residents there, u.s. citizens who told me they watched as an adult male migrant essentially washed up drowned in their own backyards. i share those heartbreaking stories because at a national level people talk about the border story as a political back and forth, but for people here, what you hear is it's very real for them and they see firsthand the kind of desperation and pain people have as they try to come here to the united states. take a listen to what representative veronica escobar shared earlier today on msnbc. >> unfortunately, it feels like we're seeing the same things over and over again. we see, you know, a number of vulnerable people. this year it's children who are in conditions that are unacceptable because they are in border patrol processing centers, which are not intended to hold people for long periods of time. especially not intended to hold

children for long periods of time. i see stressed out border patrol agents and a concerned community. >> reporter: alex, when i talked to lawyers and experts, i hear them echo much of the same. they tell me that much of the debate over enforcement within the u.s. right now is futile as long as the conditions in many of their home countries remain so perilous that people don't feel they have any other choice but to come here. >> imagine the risks they are taking. absolutely tragic for the stories you talked about. the people that lost their lives, the loved ones, and the americans who see this happening in their own backyard. heart-felt difficulties. thank you. let's go back to the georgia voting law. we're still awaiting reaction from the justice department on president biden's comment that the doj may be considering some type of action against georgia's new election law. >> is there anything the white house can do to protect voting

rights in georgia? >> well, we're working on that right now. we don't know quite exactly what we can do at this point. the justice department is taking a look as well. >> joining me now, katie phang, but welcome to you. can the federal government do anything? i mean, do you see an opening for the doj? >> yeah, absolutely, alex. thanks for having me. yes, the new attorney general, merrick garland, this will be a great test on how quickly he can mobilize and sue on behalf of the department of justice and people disenfranchised by this new law in georgia. i anticipate we will see a lawsuit brought by the doj against georgian officials for this new law on the books. consider the following, alex. the claim that's being made by these georgian gopers that justify this type of change in the law is election integrity and the idea there has to be protection of election integrity. the reality is there were six different lawsuits brought in

georgia contesting the validity of those elections and none of them survived. they were either voluntarily dismissed or kicked out by the court. brad raffensperger has been on the record saying there's zero election fraud. georgia used to be under strict federal, basically, monitoring before under section 5 of the voting rights act before georgia could make any changes to its voting procedures, it had to get preclearance from the federal government. in 2013 the supreme court of the united states in shelby county versus holder got rid of that preclearance for states like georgia. that's why you're seeing this type of activity legislatively on the books in georgia. i reasonably anticipate merrick garland's doj to file suit to rectify the wrongs we see in this law. >> what do you think about the secretary of state being removed from overseeing elections like that? what do you think that move is all about? is it in retaliation to

raffensperger's stance on whether to overturn the election? >> look, i could probably impute a lot of motivations for these lawsuits. none of which are positive or flattering to the people making these moves. should t could be retaliatory. ultimately, the focus has to be on what are the negative impacts of this? you're seeing disproportionate impacts against specific people, including and more acutely voters of color. and the 1st and 14th amendments of the constitution, section 2 of the voting rights act are there to protect voters. the lawsuit brought recently by black voters matter, rise, the new georgia project, it's a great lawsuit that's being brought. it was just filed on march 25th. we'll see some serious legal movement on that lawsuit pretty soon. >> okay. i want to take a look at another election-related case, that being the stop the steal against fox news, dominion voting

systems claiming fox knowingly lied in order to keep increase and win back viewers, including its most important viewer, then president trump. fox, as you know, is calling that lawsuit baseless, but does dominion have a good case? if the answer is yes, what are the implications for fox? >> so, that es are the kinds of lawsuits that we call accountability lawsuits because there is the potential for crippling cumulative damages if you consider there is $1.6 billion being brought by dominion and smartatic, a voting technology company brought suit in february earlier this year for $2.7 billion. so, again, the cumulative damage effect could be crippling for a huge business like fox news. but the reality is, there's a very high burden for dominion to have to meet when you're alleging defamation, but there's a lot of strong evidence and factual evidence that's going to be in dominion's favor when it deals with fox having a reckless

disregard for the truth. one of the most damning things is when fox had to do a point by point correction of prior claims that have been asserted by certain of fox news' hosts and anchors concerning these falsehoods about the stolen election. quote, the big lie. so, we reasonably anticipate to see a lot of fox's own anchors' words to be used against the entity fox during this type of litigation. >> okay. i can't let you go without asking you about your new article. it's titled on msnbc.com, i might add, how jennifer weisselberg could cause donald trump's downfall. she seems far reed moved from donald trump. why do you think she could be the woman to bring him down? >> i want you to consider what your conversations are like when you're sitting at thanks difg table? what are your conversation like at a family dinner, perhaps over the holidays?

allen weisselberg who knows where the proverbial bodies are buried in the trump organization and donald trump, he was her father-in-law for several years. lord knows what type of conversations were had, the things allen weisselberg talked about. jennifer and her ex-husband made these tax returns and they made certain financial filings that may be at odds with the financial filings done by trump's organization, his company. and so what you have is vance's office in the manhattan da's office combing through millions of pages of these documents provided by the accounting firm for trump and the trump organization. and it only takes one small thing for wire fraud, tax fraud, bank fraud to take someone down. and so i wouldn't be so casual for people to dismiss jennifer weisselberg and the potential for her to actually help the prosecutors figure out what these numbers mean and what these documents have in terms of import. >> that's what you focus on, tax returns as being the biggest

vulnerability for donald trump? >> tax returns, financial fraud, misrepresentations made regarding assets. jennifer weisselberg and her ex-husband lived in a trump organization central park-facing apartment for years. she thought it was a wedding gift. turns out, no rent, paid utilities for seven years. that apartment sold for $2.6 million. how was that accounted for by the trump organization? it certainly was not accounted for by the weisselbergs. >> can i just say it's raining here as i look at your backdrop. you're trying to rub it in, my friend. >> you guys are always welcome down here. a federal lawmakers says hammers are just as dangerous as guns. that's why there's no need for gun reform. we'll get the reaction ahead. ged if you have... ...moderate to severe psoriasis, ... ...little things... ...can become your big moment. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable.

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the scene is set in the city of minneapolis where opening statements get under way in less than 24 hours in the trial of the former police officer derek

chauvin. he is facing manslaughter and murder charges in the killing of george floyd. security is certainly beefed up and the jury has been selected. nbc shaquille brewster is keeping an eye on everything there. shaq, welcome again. so, what are we expecting tomorrow? >> well, alex, we'll hear prosecutors begin to lay out their case against the ex-officer, derek chauvin, accused of killing george floyd. court will resume at 9:00 a.m. local time here. we'll see the judge come and make some comments. we'll see him bring in that 14-member jury who will hear the rest of the case. then he'll swear them in and we'll hear the prosecutors begin to make their opening statement. you know, talking to some attorneys here, they're warning, that opening statement is not going to be that dramatic, emotional "law & order" moment. it's more of an outline so the jury can preview what is to come in this case. i had a conversation with the defense attorney not connected to this case in any way but has

argued before the same judge and has argued in the courtroom behind me. take a listen to what he said to expect. >> it will be a summary of the evidence will show this, the evidence will show that. you will hear from the defendant this or you will hear from this witness that. i can tell you a lot of prosecutors will tell you, try to prove of your case on day one. give a good opening statement and try to put some evidence in that makes the jury go, whoa. that seems pretty compelling. >> reporter: now, that, of course, will be taking place inside the courtroom. what to expect outside the courtroom. we see those security preparations. you see the fencing behind me. that's been in place for at least three weeks since before the first day of this trial. we can expect those security measures to continue to ramp up. according to the mayor and police chief of minneapolis, those security measures will ramp up. the national guard presence here, which is about 100 guard members. that will slowly ramp up as the trial continues. you can expect to see a bigger

police and law enforcement presence here in minneapolis as the trial goes on. alex? >> shaq, thanks for that preview. it's a big day coming. for all of you, be sure to watch a special edition of "politics nation" with reverend al, and ari melber breaks down the strategy of the prosecution and defense, and watch msnbc's live coverage of the opening statements with analysis from our team of legal experts. two key senators expressing optimism that congress could potentially strike a bipartisan deal on gun reform. of course, in the wake of the two mass shootings that killed 18 americans in the past two weeks. >> a lot of calls from republicans in the senate who don't want to fight this fight any longer because the nra's authority is fading, the anti-gun violence movement's impact is increasing. i think we have a chance. >> the place to get that done is requiring background checks on commercial sales.

i know that's where senator manchin is. there are republican senators who are interested. >> and joining me now, linda beagle shulman, mother of scott shulman who was killed at the shooting on stillman high school. i was thinking of you on valentine's day. i know it was the third anniversary of you losing your wonderful son. i was thinking of you on that day. here is my question to you this sunday, do you have hope we can see something happen? we have seen this time and time again. every time that there's a shooting, we talk about potential change, we talk about gun reform but nothing significant ever happens. at least on the federal level. do you think it could be different this time? >> first, thank you so much for having me. thank you for making this issue up front for everybody because it is so important. i always have hope. i will never give up hope. i always think something is going to -- something is going to happen, something positive. it's really very important because, let's face it, inaction

by congress condones the past and foretells the future. mass shootings are going to continue until we put a stop to it. you know, right now, the country needs leaders who are going to step up and have action taken so that we can stem the scourge of gun violence. up until now, the leadership has been left up to the individual states. and i'm going to tell you, it's so amazing to me right now that it's easier to buy a gun than to vote in an election. look at what's going on. this is totally backwards. you know, i mean, i think that too many of congress are worried about being re-elected rather than doing the job they were elected for. i've said it over and over, but it seems to be true. they're so worried about what's going to be and if they're going

to keep their jobs instead of worrying about keeping everyone safe, including their constituents. >> it's really hard to reconcile all of that. i'm curious. we do keep this particular issue front and center. you were on with us, six, seven, eight weeks ago or so. did anything come from our conversation? did you see any tangible action of how we highlighted the issue? >> i have not seen -- i really -- what happens is something new comes into the news, and it seems like gun safety gets put a step back or two steps back. if i may, i think words are so very important. and any time that i speak with someone face-to-face or speak to a group of people, with he need to it look at words. we don't want gun control. it's not control. we want gun safety.

you know, we have this problem with defunding the police or reforming the police. and we're in the same -- rear really in in the same place with control. that word control is a buzz word. that's a hot topic. we don't want to control. we want gun safety, not gun control. >> linda, when you speak to people one-on-one, how much pushback do you get? i mean, when you speak as someone who has a personal vested interest for all the wrong reasons in finding some sort of gun safety laws, how do people react to you? do you think you help change minds? >> i think i do. i try. i'll never give up. when i speak, i say to someone, i know it sounds silly, but i say, erase your mind and listen to what i have to say. listen to my words and let's have a conversation. we really have to erase your mind and beliefs. let's just talk and talk about common sense.

and i do think -- i do think i make a difference. i think it -- you can't have a reasonable conversation with somebody who doesn't want to be reasonable. so if somebody digs their heels in and says, these are my beliefs, it doesn't matter what you say, you're kind of hitting your head against the wall. you know what. it doesn't matter. we have to keep hitting our heads against the what ul. and the public needs to stand up and say, we have a right to be safe. we really, really have a right to be safe. >> so, what do you think might be different now? i was listening to the sound byte we played coming into you. we had senator murphy and senator toomey there. i recall very distinctly in the wake of the tragedy at sandy hook we had the manchin/toomey bill, a bipartisan bill that was trying to restrict the kinds of assault weapons and the ammunition for those, try to bring that down, try to get universal background checks. do you think we're at a point

where maybe if lawmakers take the linda beagle schulman approach and say, let's just talk, do you think something can get done? >> i know something can get done. i don't just think it, i know it. people can stand their ground. you know, senator ted cruz or congresswoman boburt, they say the pro be is people with mental illness or we should enforce the laws we have on the books. well, if the case is mental illness, why are you, i say you to both those people, allowing people with mental illness to obtain or own or possess guns? and if it's a matter of should we enforce the laws on the books, well, let's face it, the laws on the books are not helping us right now save people. you know, i assume the leaders like the governor abbott are doing just that. he is enforcing the laws on the books, so why was there a mass shooting in el paso?

so, i think that when these people just take a breath, open their minds and listen, and you know what, listen -- listen to the people. not just the politicians. the people. >> since you mentioned lauren baubert, she said big gun grabs aren't the problem. take a listen. >> in america, we see more deaths by hands, fists, feet, even hammers. you know, are we going to start legislating that away? are we going to be like these other countries who even ban knives? if hammers are the cause can of more deaths than firearms, then maybe we need to start having background checks on hammers. look out, black & decker. >> i want to get your reaction to that. >> it's really ridiculous. it really is. and like i said before, if people don't want to stop and

see what's really going on with guns, i mean, the ar-556 pistol, you know, i mean, it was just used to kill ten innocent people in boulder, colorado. and if somebody couldn't get ahold of something like that, that wouldn't happen. those ten people would be alive. that pistol is a shortened version of the ar-15 assault weapon, the weapon that killed mys on son and 15 other people in the massacre at parkland, florida. yes, people have knives, people have hammers, but we are giving giving these weapons of war to people that shouldn't have them. people shouldn't have a weapon of war to begin with. that's a very hot-button topic myself. but she's really playing with

the ridiculous. >> you talk about that ar-15 assault weapon. that is responsible for 26% of the mass murder killings in this country, that particular item. linda, good to see you. thoughts are with you always. thank you so much. new this hour, new poll numbers show positive numbers for president biden on issues that seem to be top of the mind with public. of the mind with public. ♪ pepto bismol coats and soothes your stomach for fast relief and get the same fast relief in a delightful chew with pepto bismol chews. if you smell gas, you're too close. leave the structure, call 911, keep people away,

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freeze that cargo ship stuck in the suez canal. authorities say they are up for all options, including taking the 18,000 containers off that ship. they removed 27,000 tons of sand but the ship moved just 100 feet yesterday. and the economic losses there mounting. some new video of some of the 300 other ships packed with

goods, waiting to get through the canal. back in the u.s., new concerns over the trajectory of covid as cases are spiking in over half of this country. hospitalizations and cases are increasing across 34 states. meanwhile, the number of flyers is on the increase, largely because of spring break. we'll go to msnbc's cory kaufman joining me from miami, florida, spring break central, i say. is this to blame for a possible fourth surge, at least in that area? >> reporter: yes, this is at least one factor epidemiologists are saying could be part of a dangerous cocktail. really three factors mixing together. we have folks coming in, these partiers, tightly packed crowds, few of them wearing masks. states like florida that are either loosening restrictions when it comes to covid or don't have specific restrictions in place like a mask mandate. of course, there's the travel factor. let's take a look at these

travel numbers hitting record numbers since the start of the pandemic. if you look at last year's tsa numbers, you can see a 400% increase over the past two weeks. the tsa clocking some 1.5 million travelers on one record travel date this past week. experts do believe we'll surpass those numbers this next weekend. this will be a record breaker as well. what we're seeing, alex, is a direct correlation between these factors rising, the travel rising, and the case loads rising nationwide. cdc director saying overall a 7% rise in cases. dr. fauci spoke with cbs news today about how all these factors work together for this dangerous mix. >> it is not completely the variants. what we're likely seeing is because of things like spring break and pulling back on the mitigation efforts you've seen now. several states have done that. i believe it's premature, margaret. i've said many times to you that when you're coming down from a

big peak and you reach a point and start to plateau, once you stay at that plateau, you're really in danger of a surge coming up. unfortunately, that's what we're starting to see. >> reporter: it's certainly not only florida, alex, but florida, according to those tracking these cases, is the main state that spring breakers are flocking to. of course, you have all of these spring breakers then going to their respective states possibly with infections. we now know that more than half of the states, in fact, most states in this country right now are on the rise. and more and more are becoming that -- we're seeing that sharp uptick rather than just that steady incline. more than 30% of a rise in cases in the past week alone. so, the question is, will this translate to that fourth wave? epidemiologists say, unfortunately, we're already going to be in this by the time we're able to identify it. >> oh, boy. not good news. cori, thank you so much. let's go from there to

politics. new polling out today shows president biden receiving high marks for his handling of both the pandemic and the economic recovery. and joining me now, msnbc political contributor and white house reporter for politico eugene daniels and the white house correspondent for "usa today," welcome to you both. i'd like to ask both of you, eugene, you can answer first, the good news for president biden, 72% approval on coronavirus. 3 of 4 approval of biden vaccine handling. 60% approval of biden's economic handling. these two things, are they the number one issues on americans' minds? if so, is that a good sign for the president? >> they are. the economy is always high on americans' list when they go, we don't have that for a while. but how people can pay their bills, how they can -- what kind of food they can buy for their families, what kind of jobs they have available. also in a pandemic, that's even more important. we know millions of people lost their jobs. millions still are underemployed

or unemployed. if people are feeling like president biden has a good handle on the economy and the pandemic, those are good for him. those are the top two things people are thinking about all the time. they have more access to vaccines happening. they doubled, in fact, their actual goal for vaccines by his first 100 days. people are starting to feel like things are changing. the fact they went on that two-tweak help is here tour kind of explaining to people, all of that allowed them to own the message over the last two weeks, which was -- >> yeah. so, courtney, as republicans and democrats alike are hearing from their constituents saying, hey, this works for us, i'm curious your take how much the biden administration can leverage goodwill on these topics, translate into legislative successes. do you think the will of the public moves anyone in washington these days? >> that's pretty much been their

strategy. they passed this $1.9 trillion covid relief plan with no republican support but constantly pointed to the broad support across the country for this relief plan. and i think that's a strategy they're taking into this next big legislative push. it's where you want to be. if you have overwhelming majority approing of his covid response and vaccine distribution. even 53% of republicans expressed approval for the vaccine rollout. they're constantly setting new records for daily vaccine shots. i think they're up to 3.5 million now. so, this is momentum they're taking into the next push. of course, he has an uphill battle on his economic agenda. the pandemic relief, as eugene said, these are issues still affecting american people. there was a bit of more urgency there whereas these nextgislati about his priorities, his

legislative priorities. >> 100% i want to pick up on that with you, eugene. the president is expected to unveil the second phase of his economic agenda. expected to address a number of issues. infrastructure, education, but the cost, it could be anywhere from $3 to $4 trillion. according to "the new york times," the plan is to raise taxes on the rich, help pay for all of this plan. so, how do you think they plan on selling this? and is it likely to pass the same way that the covid-19 relief bill passed? >> well, i think first they're trying to split up this idea of infrastructure. something that we're seeing with this white house is that no bill, no plan is just about one thing. the infrastructure bill is also about an economic and jobs plan. it's not just about roads and bridges and hasn't been, right? they're framing it in that way. on wednesday we'll hear more details from president biden on what he's planning, how they're planning it. but what we do know is it seems to be kind of split into two.

first, it's kind of the roads, the bridges, the potholes in your streets, things that republicans and democrats have agreed on for years that need to be taken care of. but then what's going to be harder is the second kind of idea, which i think they're kind of billing as social infrastructure. that's where you talk about health care, child care, those kinds of things. the problem is, if they are going to, and it seems like they are planning on raising taxes on the wealthiest americans, i think during the campaign they talked about people making over $400,000 to pay for some of these things. is that is something republicans are not interested in. i don't see how they get republicans on board with that. mitch mcconnell said that this week, there's this kind of no movement on that aspect of it. so are they going to be able to get ten republicans on this first roads and bridges? it's hard to say. they only have two reconciliation bills they can use for the calendar year left. and i think they want to be

careful how they use that. they think they can get some republicans on the first stab at infrastructure, sxroedz bridges, and i think they'll try to do that but it's going to be difficult. >> for sure. what about hr-1, courtney n light of the georgia voting law, how much appetite do you think the white house has to fight for voting rights if it means eliminating the filibuster, if they could even do that? >> yeah. i mean, well, i think we saw a lot of emotion from the president on this issue at the press conference last week. it is something that, you know, clearly moved him. he spoke with -- you know, he raised his voice at times when asked about voting rights, but like much on -- much of the priorities on hiss agenda, i think the question of the filibuster hangs over, you know, the president. you know, he stopped short of saying that he supports ending it. he did say that if there's complete lockdown and chaos, they would have to move forward with possibly rethink about --

think about, you know, end, the filibuster. i think that's a framing we're going to see more increasingly from the democrats that putting the ultimatum on republicans, saying that you need to prove to us that we no longer -- that we should keep this 60-vote threshold in place. so, you know, with some of these issues, like voting rights, like gun safety measures, these are issues where, you know, they could end the filibuster but it's just a matter of what is the breaking point for democrats and the biden administration? what is the piece of legislation that they would, you know, be willing to move forward with blowing it up and do they have senator joe manchin's support, who is definitely a key to unlocking that. >> courtney and eugene daniels, thank you both so much. meantime, is arizona the new georgia when it comes to suppressing rights? i will ask arizona's secretary

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it prohibits, it makes it a crime to give food or drink to voters waiting in line. senator, why on earth if americans are willing to wait hours to vote would you make it a crime for people to come and give them a bottle of water? >> well, we -- all i can say is that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. i agree with you there. >> senator lindsey graham from south carolina sounding a little like a democrat for a moment this morning, this in response to one part of a sweeping new voter suppression law in georgia. the law requires identification for absentee ballots, limits absentee ballot drop-off locations, and as you heard, bans handing out food or drink as in water to voters who are waiting in line. it is also under the guise of fixing widespread voting law.

critics call it exhibit a in the gop's war on voting rights and jim crow in the 21st century. it's not just georgia. republicans in 43 states are pushing at least 250 laws that could create hurdles for tens of millions of voters. and in arizona, there is a push to restrict mail voting in particular. joining me now, katie hobbs, arizona secretary of state. katie, welcome. before we get specifically to arizona, i want to show you the list of the new restrictions in georgia and, as a secretary of state, katie, which one of these concerns you the most? i'm curious what your reaction is, overall, of this new law. >> yeah, what's clear about all of these lines being proposed and signed into law, they are simply a reaction by gop majority legislators that don't like the outcome of this last election. none of these laws or bills

actually fix real issues in elections. and in arizona, i can say that none of the bills that are moving forward right now that would restrict voting were crafted in consultation with election officials, the folks on the ground actually doing the work, and none of them solve problems that actually exist. >> do you have any worries that arizona could become the next georgia? >> well, certainly i'm concerned about a number of bills that are moving through that would take us far backwards in terms of mail-in voting. a system that was passed in arizona by a republican majority legislature and has been enjoyed by voters here for decades. without problems. we have a great system in place to ensure the security of vote by mail. there's absolutely no reason to take us backwards in that regard, except if you are trying to make it harder for people to vote. >> so, let's focus on the mail-in voting.

that is a huge thing in your state. i believe 80% of voters -- i'm looking just to make sure -- they choose to vote by mail. that went up to 88% in the last presidential election. so, what would the impact be of targeting that? >> well, i mean, just like i said, it's really -- it would make it harder to vote. and the areas that would be the most hard hit are the areas that already have a number of barriers to voting, which we worked hard to address in this last election. so, it makes our jobs even harder in terms of working to continue to increase voter engagement in the process. >> what about the threat to purge infrequent voters from an early voter list, what kind of effect could that have? >> well, i want to clarify. it's not even infrequent voters. it's if a voter is on the permanent early voter list and they get their ballot in the mail but they choose to vote in person instead, which a number

of people did in this last election because they didn't want to wait to get their ballot in the mail, so they went on the first day of early voting. that would be a criteria they could be removed from the list as well. >> so, tell me what -- so, if someone said, send me a ballot, choose to go? >> right. >> that would knock them off the list? >> yes, it could. >> i imagine a lot of people said send me a ballot in case i want to do it that way. i want to go on the first day of early voting. >> absolutely, absolutely. 75% of voters are signed up that way. it means they get their ballot in the mail for every single election they're eligible to vote in.

i'm talking to voters every day who are not necessarily engaged in the legislative process and they're inintensed to what they're hearing about. they're getting way with it because there's not as much access to the process this year. >> which one are you worried about the most in arizona? >> i'm worried about the one that you have to include identification with your mail-in ballot. that's never been a process before. it will make it more ballots that are more likely to be discounted in the process. >> for what it's worth, a lot of georgians are concerned about that as well. thank you so much, katie hobs. why andrew cuom is likely to sign off on legalizing recreational marijuana. recreational marijuana

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breaking news from myanmar. protesters have returned to the streets one day after the military is accuse aed of killing more than 100 people. the associated press reports that the military again today fired on demonstrators but there are no reports of fatalities. this coming week, the state of new york will get closer to legalizing recreational marijuana. new york is playing catch up to 15 other states as well as washington, d.c., where recreational weed is already legal. let's go to nbc scott cohen, joining me now from the mile-high city. one of the first states, in fact, there in colorado where recreational users were legally allowed to buy pot. the lessons you think that new york can learn from colorado's early mi mistakes. >> reporter: there are quite a few lessons on both sides of it. voters in colorado and washington state were the first to approve. they started sales here on 2018.

it's been in business that whole time. first the positive. new yorkers are definitely looking forward to, probably incentive behind this legislative deal. that's the tax revenue, $370 million in colorado, five times that the first year and $1.7 billion since this all began. new york is about double the size of the market of colorado. so, that's something on the positive to look forward to. new york has also not come up with the various regulations that they'll need to do. and people here say the devil really is in the details. first of all, making it a business that is viable and competitive with illegal marijuana, it is not necessarily the cash cow that you might think it is, according to people who have been in this business. flip side, there's also the issues of the consumer. people who are getting involved in this for the first time.

things like labeling. things like education. here in colorado at the beginning, it was both literally and figuratively, they say, the wild west. in the beginning you had people overusing cannabis, having accidents and things like that. in a way, colorado did pave the way to show how to plan and prepare for these things. so that is something i would be looking out for. >> reporter: they are thrilled in colorado that new york is looking at this. they say the more states get involved the more federal laws can get in line with the state laws. marijuana is stead still a schedule one controlled substance. it's a cash business. they can't write off expenses on their taxes. that's one of the reasons it's so difficult to make money in what you would think is a cash cow of a business. if new york goes through with

this, it may be, they hope, a tipping point. alex? >> interesting. thank you, scott cohen, for that. big story of the week, potentially the year, is developing right now in minnesota. the trial of derek chauvin. we'll take you there live and talk to george floyd's family attorney, benjamin crump. his hopes and fears for that trial, next. his hopes and fears for that trial, next. where ore-ida golden crinkles are your crispy currency to pay for bites of this... ...with this. when kids won't eat dinner, potato pay them to. ore-ida. win at mealtime. did you know that your clothes can actually attract pet hair? with bounce pet hair & lint guard, potato pay them to. your clothes can repel pet hair. look how the shirt on the left attracts pet hair like a magnet! pet hair is no match for bounce. with bounce, you can love your pets, and lint roll less. ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. thank you! hey, hey, no, no limu, no limu!

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so why not hook community centers up with wifi? for kids like us, and all the amazing things we're gonna learn. over the next 10 years, comcast is committing $1 billion to reach 50 million low-income americans with the tools and resources they need to be ready for anything. i hope you're ready. 'cause we are. very good day to all of you. i'm alex witt. we begin with heightened security at this hour around the courthouse in minneapolis where, in a matter of hours, opening statement also begin in the trial of former police officer derek chauvin. the hearing will be broadcast live. the trial is already making headlines here and around the world, but also new today, a debate in the