( ♪♪ ) welcome to tuesday. it is "meet the press daily." i'm chuck todd. as the floyd family, white house, lawmakers on capitol hill, and communities across the country are honoring george floyd in keeping the focus on the fight for social justice as america marks the one-year anniversary of his murder at the hands of a police officer. right now we are awaiting the start of a white house meeting with the floyd family and the president. that is scheduled for later this hour. at the same time the busy day, we're also monitoring developments in the middle east where the secretary of state antony blinken has been meeting with israeli and palestinian leaders all day, as the tenuous cease-fire agreement is still

holding. and secretary blinken is about to hold a press conference from jerusalem, where we're going to bring you that news conference live. but we'll start the hour with the remembrances of george floyd and latest on the police reform bill that bears he's name. today was supposed to be the day we had a deal for police reform. we don't. in minnesota the governor asked that a 9:29 moment of silence in downtown minneapolis be marked all across the state. that, by the way, is scheduled to come up at 2:00 p.m. eastern time. late this morning the floyd family, along with civil rights attorney benjamin crump arrived on capitol hill where they met with house speaker nancy pelosi, congressman karen bass to discuss those police reforms. all of this while senators say they made progress on the reform bill following the passage of the house's george floyd justice in policing act several weeks ago. president biden set a deadline of today to pass this but it will not meet that deadline.

but they're still talking so perhaps this is just congress running late. two key senators say there were hopeful signs of progress. >> we made a lot of progress over the weekend. we still have a lot of work to do. but the great thing about this bill is everybody wants to get something very meaningful done. >> i think it's good progress over the weekend i thought, be things we can see, the light at the end of the tunnel. >> really? >> i think so. not before this weekend but i think we're starting to see a frame. >> i'm very encouraged. there's hours and hours daily of talks and i'm hopeful we can get something done in the weeks ahead, not months. >> shaquille brewster joins me from minneapolis, where celebrations of george floyd's life are taking place. monica alba joins me from the white house as president biden prepares to meet with the floyd family. shaq, describe the scene.

this is meant to be in some ways a celebration of his life, but also it is a moment to mark for history and, frankly, another he moment to bring the focus to social justice. >> that's exactly right, chuck. you're going to witness a range of emotions here in minneapolis as the city and people here mark a year to the day since george floyd was murdered. this is a celebration of life that's being hosted by the george floyd foundation. you might hear some of the music in the background. that's the soujd stage where they're preparing at. there's a deejay up there. you mentioned the governor issued a proclamation of 9:29.

and you see it's art, there's a festival, there's a mural being painted there and a mural being painted off to the right. we just saw the mother of eric garner here. it's very much trying to reflect on george floyd's memory but also the call to action, what we are seeing the people in washington, d.c. do right now, reflect that tone. they want to see systemic change. they shouldn't have to know george floyd's name. they shouldn't have to have this commemoration here but because they do, they're now using it to put pressure on political leaders here in minnesota and really political leaders all across the country. that's what we will sheer. the mood will shift later today. i mentioned that moment of silence. then this evening there will be a candlelight vigil at george floyd square, that's happening in the exact hour where he encountered derek chauvin a year ago. chuck? >> shaq, you've been on this story and basically in

minneapolis long enough that you have voting rights or could if you wanted ask for it at this point. reflect on a year, a year ago even say beginning of june, did you think at the one-year anniversary mark we would be looking at this as a pivot point to real change? are there some people who say the change isn't fast enough or some that say the change that happened last year hasn't gone in another direction? what's crystal career is this had an impact on our society. >> without a doubt it had an impact on our society. i will tell you something, i went back in our camera roll and looked at the first picture that was done the first day george floyd was killed. it was a lady hugging a person she didn't even know. there was a sign, no justice, no peace. the paint was dripping down because of the rain they were

experiencing. i remember i was trying to find george floyd square, and it was very clear the main many people felt just walking up to that area. that pain is something that's been consistent. it's been consistent throughout my coverage of the trial. throughout even today, the trauma that people felt after watching that video of george floyd under the knee of derek chauvin. i will tell you the difference you have now is that purpose that people feel. people who were protesters back then now running for political office here in the city of minneapolis. people putting that pressure on their political leaders, talking about the changes the police department, that they want to see in the police department. that sense of purpose is something i didn't experience then and i didn't necessarily experience in other police-involved killings i have covered before. that's the difference and that's what the family wants the difference to be. they want his death not to be in vain but something substantive to come in the death and memory of george floyd. chuck? >> shaquille brewster, thank you for sharing that and putting some context to your experience

there. let me move over to monica alba. we know in roughly 30 minutes expect the president to also be meeting with the floyd family. what is his promise to them? >> this is a private meeting, and that is by design, chuck. you will not see cameras in the office when the president meets with the family and that's because the white house said they want to have a, quote, real conversation without the pressure or media or anyone else in the room. we know when the president was candidate joe biden, he been in close touch with them visiting houston around george floyd's funeral last june and talking on the phone several times since. what will be notable, of course, is the fact they're going to be face to face. i also think it's significant the white house is doing it this way. they want to allow today to be all about the memory of the floyd family and those images coming out of minneapolis, for instance, and all of shaq's terrific reporting indicates, that's also something the

president is keenly aware of. he's not going to come out from in front of the cameras today and make it all about him. and in terms of police reform, the president does not want to get in front of this -- that deadline when he gave it at the joint address to congress surprised a lot of people at the end of april. he was giving them a short runway and negotiators said, hey, we're still working on some of the details. now the white house is saying yes, this date has come and gone, and we want to give them space to work it out. so slightly different approach as well. but this is a president who remember for months had been reflecting on the words of george floyd's daughter gianna, her daddy is going to change the world. and then again trying to say they're doing everything they can to get both sides together and complete negotiations on police reform, even though this deadline was not met as the president set it out

intentionally. >> monica, i'm curious, is there a person in the west point that is dealing with these negotiations or is this something that the white house said, no, let's congress work its will on this one? >> the president has been somebody talking directly with negotiators. we know, for instance, he spoke with senator cory booker just on friday. when he asked for an update, the senator said, we're making very good progress. we think things are going there. we're not going to make it by tuesday. the president simply replied -- well, i look forward to signing it into law once it does hit my desk. we know he's been having, again, these behind-the-scenes conversation but there are people in the west wing, as white house adviser cedric richmond, of course, who is also dealing with a lot of negotiators, not just democrats but republicans as well. and this is something seen as a strategy by the white house. they don't want to come out and publicly pressure anything that would derail this from actually becoming a reality. a lot of activists have said that's a good strategy because they don't want to sacrifice

what they can get in this bill ultimately because some kind of artificial state. chuck? >> monica alba at the white house for us. monica, thank you. for what it's worth, folks, we just got a two-minute warning for secretary blinken's press conference but it is a two-minute warning overseas and sometimes two minutes isn't two minutes. but, look, when it gets under way, we'll take you there live when it happens. but i do have ab important guest with me now. i'm joined by california democrat, former chair of the black caucus, congresswoman barbara lee. congresswoman, we had a lot of talks about in some ways the history about -- i think about the history of the civil rights movement, importance of oakland, california, your home district, of it. george floyd's death has become quite the symbol. what do you think it will mean five years from now, ten years from now? >> chuck, thank you for having me with you. first of all, let me once again

offer my condolences and prayers to the floyd family and community on this very difficult day. i attended mr. floyd's funeral in texas, and i knew then and i met many of his family members who said they're resolve was what it is today and that was we were going to use this moment to say enough is enough in terms of police brutality in this country. i, yes, represent the great 13th congressional district and today we're honoring and remembering mr. floyd, his life, his legacy. and i think what we're doing, like everyone around the country, is recommitting ourselves to getting the george floyd justice in policing act passed. we have to have this urgent, bold reform at this point in history. we've got to transform the culture of policing to help save lives, and we have to hold the police accountable and increase

transparency. that's what this moment is about. and over 100 unarmed -- this is more than 100 unarmed people have been killed and brutalized by police since george floyd was murdered last summer. that's unacceptable. black and brown lives matter in this country. this is about saving lives and this is about holding those who commit murder accountable, regardless of who they are. no one is above the law. >> it looks like, you know the way capitol hill works, if you want to get to yes, you can get to yes. and so the question is, but sometimes there are some bridges that are just too hard to cross. what is a compromise on qualified immunity look like to you? i have to say, chuck, first of all, i know what it's like in these negotiations and i want to just say, our negotiators are doing a magnificent, phenomenal

job. they're moving ahead and negotiating. so they will come up with what they believe would be the most reasonable provisions as it relates to qualified immunity. again, that is such an important part of police reform. again, no one is above the law. i know that whatever they come up with will have to look at and discuss, but i believe they're acting in good faith and i'm not prepared to say what i think it should look like because they certainly know the dynamics of the negotiation, and i don't need to weigh in on what exactly i think they should look like. but i have to defer to what they're doing because they all three are doing this in the best way they can. >> can i get you to at least react to what senator scott proposed? he floated the idea that maybe not individual police officers lose their immunity but police departments.

what did you make of that idea? >> what i want in terms of qualified immunity, it must be the strongest provision i believe we can negotiate and agree to. i'm not sure about that idea because i'm not sure what the counterproposal is to that idea but i know what i voted for in the house bill actually who times and i know we must in many ways reform and not insist that qualified immunity be in any of our criminal justice laws. so they're working through this right now as we speak and i'm confident we will come on the best qualified path to qualified immunity. >> one thing you have been at the forefront of, and we're about to perhaps have our conversation interrupted by the

secretary of state, who's over in israel now, hoping the cease-fire can hold between israel and hamas, but it's put some questions on the table about how much money we are spending and send israel. we know bernie sanders is thinking about a nonbinding resolution that would send a message on this. where are you on this? >> chuck, first of all, i have been working on committees for many, many years and i address a subcommittee that addresses many of these issues. and i was in touch with the secretary of state regarding the cease-fire. this last war killed many people. we have is to really insist that the humanitarian assistance, reconstruction assistance, all of the issues that will help make sure that all of the issues

that have been surfaced are addressed -- opening the consulate in jerusalem, and i told the secretary of state in my letter, as well as publicly, we need to begin to address the underlying conditions be that has to do with annexation. that has to do with settlement expansion and that has to do with all of the humanitarian assistance that the palestinians, that we need to put on the table, so we can move forward towards a two-state solution. we have to address that and work through this. but we have to understand that israel's security, the state of israel, all of the issues given for us in making sure the israelis and palestinians live side by side in peace and security are still part of what i believe in and i'm going to work towards that end. >> congresswoman, you served as a great review for what we're about to hear right now. here's the secretary of state.

thank you very much. >> those helped shape all of the meetings i held today with elected theaters on both sides, including prime minister netanyahu, defense minister here and prime minister abbas in the west bank. they drive my decisions and tomorrow morning we will meet with president ridley. across the meeting i had so far, i have heard a shared recognition of all sides that steps need to be taken, work needs to be done to address the underlying conditions that help fuel this latest conflict. the cease-fire creates ways to begin to take those steps. attending to the urgent humanitarian needs to the palestinians and helping rebuild is a key starting point. the united states is committed to rallying support for that

international effort and doing our part. that's why we announced additional assistance for the palestinian people today. but we all know that is not enough. as president biden has said, we believe palestinians and israelis deserve to live safely and securely to enjoy the same measures of democracy and freedom, to be treated with dignity. earlier today i had a chance to meet with two of the state department's locally employed staff. an israeli, whose family lives near the gaza separation wall and palestinian who lives in gaza. both recounted how the violence in recent weeks forced their families to take cover. both feared they would be killed. for too many innocent israelis and palestinians, lives lost in the conflict and loved ones suffering immeasurably as a

result. but the stories of those staff members remind us the survivor on both sides also walk away scarred, none as much as children. that's another way we have to break the cycle of violence. leaders on both sides will need to chart a better course starting by making real improvements of the lives of people in israel, gaza and the west bank. i'm convinced that if they do, they will find willing partners in both israeli and palestinian civil society. that's one of the messages i took away earlier today. tomorrow i get a chance to travel to egypt and also to jordan. as you know, egypt played a critical role in helping broker the cease-fire and jordan has long been a voice for peace and stability in the region. we're grateful for their committed engagement and i look forward to the meetings tomorrow. with that, i'm happy to take some questions.

>> we'll start with lauren jakes from "the new york times." >> good evening, secretary blinken. >> where are you? there you are. >> i know some of my colleagues will ask you the nitty-gritty questions of the day. i want to step back if i could. preserving america's role in the world has been statement of your administration. can you describe how that took shape this week where the united states had a active role in promoting israeli interests during the trump administration and shutting out palestinian officials. what struck you today as you heard from both sides? >> a few things. first, i think that the the violence we've seen in recent

weeks is a reminder of the need to try to make genuine progress towards peacefully resolving the conflict that continues to divide israelis and palestinians. in terms of u.s. reengagement, u.s. leadership, i think what you saw was president biden leading a very determined, very intense, but also behind-the-scenes diplomacy to do the first thing that needed to be done, which was to end the violence, get the cease-fire. and with a lot of hard work, with the efforts of others, including egyptians, we were able to do that. but that was just the starting point for something that i just described. it's now i think incumbent on us to work with our partners here and work with others, as i said, to address the urgent needs of

gaza itself and people of gaza to try to build something more positive on that and also to address some of the underlying causes that could, if not addressed, spark another cycle of violence. so i think we found in working on this intensely, quietly but resolutely, that america words matter, america's actions matter, america's engagement matters. i'm glad we were able to help make a difference in getting to the cease-fire, and i hope and expect that we can continue to make a difference in moving beyond it and trying to build something more positive. that's what i take away from at least the last couple of weeks.

>> mr. secretary, thank you for that. prime minister netanyahu has been pretty vocal in his objections. do those remarks encourage or suggest that they turn away? and is it a matter of weeks before they return to the land agreement? >> thank you. let's start with this, the fact is the united states and israel are absolutely united in the proposition that iran must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon. we share exactly the same goal. it's no secret we sometimes have our differences with regard to the best way to achieve that goal. and that's what allies and partners do. we work together to try to find the best way to achieve a common objective. what we have done very, very

resolutely as we try to see whether a return to mutual appliance to the jcoca is possible is we have regularly before, during and after all of our engagements, indirect engagements with the iranians in vienna, kept our partners here in israel informed, as well as others were concerned. be that's not going to stop. let me add this, the jcpoa i think accomplished something very important, and that is it cut off all of iran's pathways to produce the material for nuclear weapons on short order. and it pushed the breakout time, the amount of time it would take iran to develop material for nuclear weapons, to beyond a year.

it was the most heavily monitored and verified agreement in the history of arms control. our experts said iran was abiding by its commitments under the agreement, so did international experts and as a result the challenge that both the united states and israel were focused on the prospect of iran getting to the point where it could have a fissile material for nuclear weapons or produce it on very short order. we took that off of the field, and i think that was an important development. what have we seen since we pulled out of the agreement? well, iran has stopped abiding by some of the critical constraints in the union and so far it's further away from material to produce a nuclear weapon before the short order

than it was during the deal being reached and during the pensy of the deal itself. so i think that underscores the importance and indeed urgency to see if we can get iran back into the compliance with the agreement. to put iran back into the nuclear box the deal constructed. the alternative is an iran getting closer and closer, if it continues to do what it's doing, and spinning more and more sophisticated centrifuges and building up stockpiles of enriched uranium, getting closer and closer to having a very, very short breakout time. which is not in our interest or israel's interest or anyone's interest. that's why we're working to see if we can get back into additional compliance. we have said all along that would be a first step, that we also would seek to try to make the agreement longer and stronger and other issues and

challenges for iran, including the support for terrorism and support for destabilizing proxy groups, proliferation, all of these things we're determined to engage. but the first thing we're trying to achieve is as i said, put the nuclear problem back into the box that we constructed and that was strong, solid and doing what we needed to do. now, if we were engaged or about to engage in i think the fifth round of discussions in vienna and we still don't know the answer to the most important question, which is whether iran is actually willing and able to make the decisions it needs to make to come back into full compliance. the jury is still out and we will see whether or not iran makes that decision. >> nick watthams. >> thanks, mr. secretary. a few of those many great

questions for you, did president abbas say anything to you about reopening palestinian authorities representatives in office? can you give us a time frame when you would reopen the consulate and bring michael ratney here? and if i can press you a little bit on the iran issue, understanding everything you laid out to us, did you offer any assurances to prime minister netanyahu, his comments to us essentially showed that he disagreed with everything you said. he thinks the deal essentially legitimizes iran getting a nuclear weapon. was there anything you asked of him or offered him on the jcpoa to try to reassure him? thanks. >> thank you. on the question of an office in washington, that did not come up today. with regard to our consulate, we're just beginning the

process. i can't give you a timeline on how long that will take, but i can tell you that it is important to have that platform to be able to effectively engage not just the palestinian authority but palestinians from different walks of life, the ngo community, business community, and others so we look forward to doing that but i can't put a timeline on it. and coming back to iran, i think the knost important thing when it comes to this is what we committed to do from day one of this administration. we said all along if there was an opportunity, we would seek to return to mutual compliance with the jcpoa but from day one i

said we would keep our allies and partners fully informed what we're doing. that's what we have dobb and done and what we will continue to do. that is how you keep faith with your partners and allies, with something of course, that's a great consequence to israel. we understand that. we have the same objective. let's see where things go in the next few weeks, but i can again tell you that we are fully, fully engaged with our partners here in at least making sure they're fully informed with what we're doing. please go ahead. >> good afternoon.

>> if we have lost the connection, we can turn to our al jazeera colleagues. [ speaking foreign language ] >> his question was the u.s. said they would do the construction through the united nations. is this implicit of gaza or hamas that has taken over in gaza, or is there a plan for washington to deal with hamas directly? and he's asking also will the negotiation be resumed between

them after the cease-fire? >> thank you for the question. if we do this right, reconstruction and relief for the people of gaza, far from empowering hamas, i think has the potential to undermine it. i say that because hamas thrives unfortunately on despair and misery, on a lack of opportunity. in fact, it's a movement that's thrived on a vacuum of opportunity. and what reconstruction and relief need to do is not just answer the immediate needs and those needs are significant and they're urgent, whether it's water, sanitation, electricity but they need to offer a genuine process for opportunity, progress, for material improvement in people's lives.

our goal is give the palestinian people, including those in gaza, a renewed sense of confidence of confidence, optimism and a real opportunity. be if we succeed, and by the way, it's not just us. it's not just the u.n. it's the palestinian authority that needs to be fully engaged. israel needs to be fully engaged. other partners need to fully engage. in my judgment at least, if we're able to do that all together, hamas' foothold in gaza will slip. we know that and i think hamas knows that. >> one final question from andrea mitchell. >> thank you very much, mr. secretary. did you get any commitments from prime minister netanyahu to not evict palestinians from east jerusalem neighborhoods, and to work with the money authority and other palestinians in order

to avoid any force that will break the cease-fire? and did you get any assurances from the palestinian authority today they could have any insolence? >> thank you, andrea. first, let me take a step back for a minute, because we're focused right now on responding to as i said the urgent needs that exist in gaza on the humanitarian basis, urgent needs for rebuilding and reconstruction. and then looking to see actions on the part of both rieshllies and palestinians is that will take down tension try to remove or minimize some of the

potential cat catalysts for a renewed cycle of violence. and building on that, try to in a dramatic way improve people's lives and add a real sense of dignity and hope. if that happens -- and that will take some time, that may i think produce a better environment in which ultimately there's a possibility of resuming the effort to achieve a two-state solution, which we continue to believe is the only way to truly ensure israel's future as a democratic state and give the palestinians a state their entitled to. i say all of that because any steps either side takes that

either risk sparking violence or over time, ultimately undermine the prospect for returning to the pursuit of two states, we oppose. and that includes settlement activity. it includes demolitions. it includes evictions. it includes incitement of violence. it includes payment to terrorists. all of those things would, i think, on the one hand potentially be catalysts for renewed tension and certainly undermine the prospects of achieving two states. and that's something that we've been very clear about in our conversations with israelis and palestinians alike. i'll let our partners speak for themselves. >> thank you very much,

everybody. >> thank you. >> a short news conference there by the secretary of state. i'm joined by ian bremer, political scientist and president of the eurasia group as well as g-zero media. i can't help but focus open the one topic that wasn't asked about at this press conference because i think it colors any of the potential actions that may take place, whether it's negotiations with the iranians or the issue in gaza, and that is the current political situation in israel. and that if there was not an impending election and not have a prime minister who's constantly worrying about whether he's going to stay in power, would this be an easier time to get back into the iran agreement for the united states and, frankly, an easier time to

programs get israel to back down on some of its aggressive instances when it comes to settlements and things like that? >> on the latter, yes. certainly would make it easier in terms of the negotiations with the israelis and palestinians. a lot of problems there were nowhere close to have israeli-palestinian negotiations restart, even though it's something the biden administration and tony blinken would love to see happen, but it would matter. if netanyahu were out, you would probably know secretary blinken in a few hours will be meeting with the head of the opposition in israel, who's been tapped to create a government to get netanyahu out. and we will see where that goes. it's uh-uh likely we're heading -- unlikely we're headed to a

fifth unprecedented election. i will say that in terms of the iran nuclear deal, jcpoa, the fact netanyahu is strongly opposed and tony blinken did his best to security around those questions and andrea mitchell at the end, it doesn't really matter. this is a deal the iranians all want and iranian hardliners want. despite the elections coming up in iran, despite the fact the israelis engaged in strikes, against iran's capability in the past weeks to try to derail the guilt and entice iranian escalations, no one is buying it. i think it's clear the biden administration, everyone you talk to including tony blinken, are quite confident america will get back into the jcpoa by the

end of the year. i personally share that confidence and i don't think israeli domestic politics really play into that. >> let me ask you the question this way, ian. isn't netanyahu's threats against iran make it easier for the united states to get back into the agreement? it's almost like it doesn't matter what you guys do and in some ways even skeptics in the united states can say, well, that's your safety net? >> i think it does and the fact that the biden administration has been so strongly pro israel in how long they waited in calling for a cease-fire, certainly focusing on hamas, terrorist organization, beating back many of the progressives in the democratic party who are much more sympathetic to the palestinian cause than president

biden is, i think that makes it much easier for the biden administration to get back into the deal and rebuff some of the charges from republicans, for example, that are saying, how can we do anything with iran? these are the guys who fund hamas. these are the guys who are helping ensure there are threats to israeli-palestinians and our top ally? i don't think there's anybody out there that questions that sees the united states as israel's top ally in the middle east. it was true under trump. it's true under biden. hasn't changed one bit. no one can really criticize that. >> ian, before i let you go, i'm about to get a report out of china, as there are more questions surrounding origins of covid. your reputation of the chinese government, they tried to enhance their reputation through

vaccine diplomacy and things like that throughout the last year. are the consequences of being able to prove whether this is true, how high would it be there for china, and could this be something that could shake xi down? >> no, no, it can't take xi down. in fact xi got rid of term limits and next year he will as a consequence have another term to be president if he wants. but china is significantly damaged by the cover-up of human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus, by the unwillingness to allow the world health organization to do an investigation, to come conclusively to responses about where coronavirus initial claim from and this is, of course, giving a lot more credibility to theories about evidence,

theories nonetheless are plausible that it could have come from that. by the way, just in the last few days, chuck, the united airplane emirates, as we start in the middle east, they approved a second booster shot for anyone who wants to get them. the reason for that, they're using sign afarm vaccines, the chinese vaccine, that works far worse than the chinese officially said it did. they had not been clear about their data. and this is a serious problem for the chinese vaccine diplomacy as the united states is about to take the global leap. >> ian bremmer, as always sir, i really appreciate your expertise. thank you. up next, as i just said, we have new questions surrounding the origins of covid. we have a live report next. d in. our bargain detergent couldn't keep up. turns out it's mostly water. so, we switched back to tide. one wash, stains are gone. daughter: slurping

don't pay for water. pay for clean. it's got to be tide.

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allows for access to records and people, we may never get to the bottom of it. let's bring in nbc news correspondent keir simmons, who's been reporting on the source of the virus for months. what kind of pressure can be exerted on china to force transparency here if we're ever to get to the bottom of this? >> chuck, that's a great question because it goes to the heart of the issue because i don't think any pressure can force china to be transparent. your previous guests were talking about a cover-up. china would say it's worked with the world health organization as for a study that recently published. that study was criticized even by the leader of the w.h.o. himself quite soon after because it ruled out the possibility of a lab leak. now, look, there's so many confusing details and it's mired in domestic politics and

geopolitics. what this latest news that you were talking about there, nbc news confirming three researchers -- evidence of three researchers in wuhan's lab were sick, that appears to add more detail to the fact sheet that was published by secretary of state mike pompeo in the dyeing days of the trump administration. that fact sheet talked about people getting sick at this lab. the issue, of course, is because of the politics surrounding this, it was controversial, and there isn't substantial confirmation, evidence that there were researchers who got sick and china is now denying it. people say the virus that leaks from animals would say the pool of virus is greater in nature, so it's more likely. others say it's suspicious, chuck. >> keir simmons on a story that

is just very difficult to report when you're dealing with an opaque nation like china. so thank you. up next -- we're going to head to texas, where the governor is getting ready to sign a bill that allows residents to carry a handgun without a permit. try one a day 50+ multivitamin gummies. with vitamins c, d & zinc for immunity support. plus 8 b-vitamins for brain support. one a day and done. with visible, you get unlimited data for as little as $25 a month. but when you bring a friend, you get a month for $5. so i'm bringing everyone within 12 degrees of me. bam, 12 months of $5 wireless. visible. wireless that gets better with friends. i'm so glad you're ok, sgt. houston.

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we're invested in making our apps easy... ...to give you personalized assistance around the clock. and we're committed to keeping our team and customers safe by working from home... ...and using precautions in store. see what we're up to at xfinity.com/commitment the state of texas became now the largest state in the union to pass a law that means you can carry a handgun without a permit. i believe some 21 other states have done the same but texas and its large population now puts a bit of an exclamation point on a movement that while the washington debate is about things like background checks, what has happened across the country is a massive movement to essentially get rid of whatever little barriers there were to purchasing a gun like registering to carry a handgun

and things like that, and texas is one of 20 states that have a law on the books that let's you carry a handgun without a permit, and it sort of comes in line to this idea that these on the right have been trying to sell that the second somehow an cannot at all be mitigated at all or somehow put any sort of check on it. patrick joins me now. in some ways, it's surprising that texas republicans are not the leaders on this and this has happened in a bunch of other states first and the texas is the latest now. explain what it would mean in reality? would we just see more and more people carrying guns? >> yeah, this bill that the governor is expected to sign would get rid of the current requirement that to openly or concealed carry a handgun in

texas you would have to get a license to carry, and to get a license in texas you have to complete a process that includes a background check and paying a fee, a fee they reduced over the years and taking a training course in a proficiency exam. it wipes out that process whether it will lead to a proliferation of people carrying i can't exactly say yet, but it will be a change to the gun laws in texas. >> you have to get a background check to purchase a handgun but you no longer have to get a permit to carry that handgun on you, correct? >> yeah, this is kind of an interesting wrinkle here. in texas, like in other states, if you buy a handgun at a federally licensed gun dealer in texas you still have to get a background check at the point of purchase, and as we know not everybody obtains a gun or

firearm by going to a federally licensed gun dealer and buying it, so this was viewed as some as those that obtained a handgun in another way and wanted to carry. for folks that are buying guns in texas from a licensed gun dealer still have to go through the background check, but the additional layer of protection of trying to catch folks that might be buying guns in another setting, whether it's a private sale or otherwise, that's now gone with this license to carry process being eliminated in the bill that is expected to be signed. >> was there any sort of moment or event that triggered the so call need to pass this law, or is this just a bunch of activist that said, hey, let's pass it? >> yeah, i don't think there was

any particular moment as far as current events in texas. if there is one, you know, political development that allowed this to get to where it's currently at, it may be the election of a new state house speaker here, the new state house speaker, a republican had previously supported this kind of proposal as a state representative. he put one of his republican allies in a key committee that would hear this bill and so where this carry permitless proposal here, i think having a new state house speaker that previously supported it in some fashion and then having a committee chairman installed by him who also was a big supporter of it paved the way for the house to pass this bill in april, which was really a break through moment for this movement that has been calling for this through multiple sessions and has not seen the legislation make it that far in previous sessions. >> who was on the other side trying to prevent this

legislation? i assume, it's my understanding, some law enforcement leaders were against this change in law. do they just have no traction with texas lawmakers? >> they did. law enforcement groups have historically opposed this proposal for a variety of reasons, and once this picked up momentum after the house passed it in april, and the ball fell in the senate and the lieutenant governor who presides over the senate said he would try and find a compromise bill that reflected the concerns of the law enforcement and he did bring law enforcement to the table and try to figure out a bill that would be palatable to some of them, and i think there are some law enforcement groups that are clearly uneasy with this proposal as it's heading to the governor's desk, but some of the things in the bill includes

making harsher penalties for felons caught carry, and it did according to the senate address some of the concerns of the law enforcement groups. >> perhaps the loss of the handgun permit background checks could cause the senate to look at the loopholes. thank you, patrick. thank you all for being with us for this house. msnbc news continues with jeff bennett right after this break. k this academic year has been, um, challenging. but i think there's so much success to celebrate. woman: it's been a year like no other. man: yet, for educators across california, the care, compassion, and teaching has never stopped.

woman: addressing their unique needs... man: ...and providing a safe learning environment students could count on. woman: join us in honoring the work of educators. together, we will build a better california for all of us. it's great to see you. i am jeff bennett i