a very good day to all of you from msnbc news world headquarters here in new york. here's what's happening at 2:00 p.m. eastern, 1:00 a.m. pacific time. we begin with new details on a record number of americans enrolled in the affordable care act. 31 million are now covered under obamacare. today the white house releasing new video of president biden and former president obama reuniting on zoom to mark the milestone. >> the effort was worth it. the families that have been able to care for their loved ones, be

cured, have access to care, that all makes it worthwhile. so i just want to thank your administration and all the folks who have been working on this for now building on it and continuing to expand it. >> if i had a dime for everyone who said to me over the last two years campaigning and as president tell the president, meaning you, i said thank you. >> and now to the infrastructure talks that are getting another try on monday. president biden shot down shelly moore's counter proposal. democratic congressman john garamendi told me last hour they may have to move on without bipartisan support. >> i've been around long enough to be patient but also long enough to be impatient. there will come a moment where it's fish or cut bait and that's not far off. and big news out of london. the g-7 countries reached a deal

on a global minimum tax rate for corporations. the group says this will help address the economy. janet yellin called the agreement unprecedented. and a federal judge in california says that the state's ban on assault weapons is unconstitutional so he said the ban unlawfully deprives law-abiding citizens of weapons allowed in many other states. the state attorney general has already said he's going to appeal that ruling. we've got two reporters covering donald trump's speech. welcome to you both. first to you, ali, in greenville where the north carolina gop convention is under way. so what can we expect from the former president in just a few hours? >> reporter: we've moved now outside as they prepare the room inside for donald trump's speech tonight. i'm told we're going to hear

several themes in this speech including the former president talking about china, as well as talking about the origins of the coronavirus in light of the new release of some of dr. anthony fauci's e-mails from early on in the pandemic. but you can't take away the backdrop here which is facebook released that long awaited decision of banning donald trump from its platform through the mid-term elections, two years of a ban citing a role he played in fomenting that insurrection on january 6. that's clearly going to come up here, the former president releasing several statements last night about them including one in which he said the next time i'm in the white house really spurring some speculation about what he could announce, though i think it's unlikely today we're going to hear him make it official. what that does though is freezes the field going forward. and there is a field including the south dakota governor here.

she was speaking just before trump over the lunch portion of this convention. listen to what she said specifically about her pandemic response which really is what put her on the map nationally. >> i really wanted to understand what authority i had as a governor and what authority i didn't have as a governor because i believe that when leaders overstep their authority especially in a time of crisis, that that's when we break this country. that's when we break this country. and i didn't want to be the governor to do that. i don't know if you've heard this before but dr. fauci is wrong a lot. >> reporter: so a little bit of red meat there, alex, with that dig at dr. anthony fauci. one, saying there was not a regulation at all over this pandemic. while a lot of states were in lock down south dakota was inviting hundreds of thousands of tourists in something health

officials decried at the time. there were moments where south dakota was among the highest per capita deaths from covid. so really that's the record here when she talks about that, but nevertheless that is what has put her on the map as someone we could be talking about over the next months and years as someone who could rup in 2024. mike pence has been out working this circuit, others we talked about making the quiet connections here locally as well. speaking at these kind of state conventions, but chief among them is donald trump who is both diminished in his platforms but also looming largen than ever within the party that still looks to him as its leader. >> you're totally right. there are a utlaf onames out there vying for it but as long as donald trump stays in the room and gets all the oxygen in the room, there you have it. let's go to capitol hill and

president biden set to meet again monday after rejecting the latest bill on infrastructure. so talks are ongoing behind the scenes, amanda, but when will there be a make-or-break point for democrats to say we have to go this alone? >> reporter: that's the question, alex, especially as the white house is not shying away from their won't to keep negotiating and stretching those conversations into next week to work toward that bipartisan agreement to really have both republican and democratic support to push an infrastructure package over the line. but this also comes as the white house is rejecting the latest proposal from shelly moore capito when she offered to increase spending an additional $50 billian for the proposed plan. there was a strong statement that came from the white house press secretary jen psaki and i want to read you part of it that indicates why this is so important. she said, quote, the president

expressed his gratitude for effort and goodwill but also indicated the current offer did not meet his objectives to grow the economy, tackle the climate crisis and create new jobs. they're going to be speaking again on monday. this is hitting a ticking time bomb here as the white house is sliding their time line june 7th into july that meet with where congressional democrats are in wanting it see progress on infrastructure. just to know where biden stands right now, his latest counter proposal detailed a few key features he's looking to include with his infrastructure package. one includes a 15% corporate tax rate down from where he was before with 28%. that's with the commitment of $1 trillion spending for this package. he also wants to see tougher enforcement on some of the highest earners across the country and also included a number of tax increases in his proposal but notably does not touch the 2017 tax cuts implemented by the trump administration, something that republicans are saying is a hard

line for them. but this all comes as there's increased frustration from democrats especially senate democrats as to whether or not they want to keep going with negotiating with republicans from the white house or go it alone and use that reconciliation budget process where they wouldn't need republican support to get this over the finish line. biden still indicates he wants to negotiate with the republicans whether or not that's where capito's group or other republicans remains to be seen. just in the last hour with john garamendi he's indicating they could go along with this. take a listen. >> what do we need to do to repair our bridges, roads and trains and transit systems? that gives us a certain number, and frankly it's a significantly larger number than the republicans are willing to move forward on. we know we have sanitation systems that are woefully inadequate. we know bridges are continuing to collapse. we know that the roads are as

manchin said, there are potholes out there. yes, senators there are potholes out there and if republicaness are not willing to come up to with number to repair the streets, bridges, roads and trains we're going to have to go it alone. >> reporter: house democrats are not shying away from taking their own next steps with a transportation bill that will likely be partisan moving toward markup this week and would include the core contents of what democrats are looking for in a larger infrastructure package. that makes next steps while they're waiting to see if the white house will make any further moves with republicans here. >> thank you for the setup. i'm going to continue the conversation now with massachusetts congressman seth moulton, a democratic member of the house budget arm services and transportation infrastructure committees. welcome back. always good to have you on the show so let's get into this. for review here president biden rejected the latest review offer from republicans which proposed

adding about $50 billion or so in spending to the gop's framework. that comes after the president made some new concessions including keeping all of the 2017 tax cuts. so as negotiations are set to pick back up on monday where do you see these talks going? is there a point that you see where it'll be past the point of no return and democrats will have to go this alone? >> absolutely. there's two issues here. there's the money and the substance. it's amazing republicans who make themselves out to be fiscal conservatives are the ones who don't want to pay for infrastructure. what democrats are saying, what the white house is saying is we want to actually pay for this with our generation not just send the bill to our kids and our grandkids. that's why we have to talk about what tax raises go along with this proposal. but the second thing is that this cannot just be about filling potholes in 1950s roads. what you'll hear especially from

the younger members of congress is that we want investments in next generation infrastructure. you know, alex, the most popular high-speed rail line in the world right now is between beijing and shanghai. it should be in america. and when republicans talk about just building more highways or fixing old bridges, they are cedeing leadership to china. we need to be inest having in the infrastructure of the future not just fixing the old roads of the past. >> yeah, listen, i know in terms of high-speed rails something he's very passionate about with certain bills he's proposed. let me get to this, though. i want your thoughts on new ideas floated to trump by steve bannon. trump called the idea of him running for a house seat so interesting. he commented on that during an interview broadcast by a far

right radio hoist. what do you think the chances are you're going to be negotiating with speaker donald trump? >> i mean, one of the questions i get these days is about that crazy woman marjorie taylor greene who's now a member of congress, and hay say is she the worst member of congress in history? and i guess donald trump is interested in beating her at that record. i mean, this is lit rel the worst president wave ever had. i guess that's not enough for him. he wants to be the worst member of congress, too. this is ridiculous to talk about this. steve bannon and donald trump want to keep themselves in the news, so here we go again. >> what about this? former general michael flynn made headlines this week after he appeared to endorse a myanmar style coup occurring here in the u.s. for anybody who hasn't heard this, it's sobering. watch. >> i want to know what happened in myanmar can't happen here?

>> no reason. it should happen. no reason. >> okay, so we're talking about myanmar and the cheers there from the crowd. that notwithstanding general flynn walked those comments back saying, quote, let me be very clear there's no reason whatsoever for any coup in america and i do not and have not called for any action of that sort. however, the video challenges that statement. and then your democratic colleagues wrote in an op-ed in time magazine saying if you're shocked by michael flynn's call for a coup you haven't been paying attention. how shocked are you when a former general makes those comments? you're a former marine.

how does it hit you? >> i'm shocked until i hear it's michael flin. this is man who's twice pled guilty to crimes against america. the only reason he's even at this conference right now is because he was pardoned by donald trump so he's not in prison. i mean, this is a conspiracy of criminals who nonetheless still infest our politics and our national discussion. i mean, christy and jason have it right, this isn't surprising at all coming from him. but it is shocking when you think that a general is able to get away with this. >> yeah. let's turn to an issue close to you. politico obtained a letter. how much risk do they face with every day that passes? is there any indication from the biden administration they could evacuate our afghan allies to guam? >> alex, we live in a contentious political environment in america. but imagine if every single day

you woke up knowing that what might be the dominant political party in our country is trying to kill you. that's what it's like for afghan allies who face the threat of the taliban every single day. every single day. they worry about walking to school with their kids, driving to the grocery store, literally sleeping in their houses where they might be bombed. the taliban wants to kill our friends and allies. and the very least we can do for them is just keep them safe. that's the problem that we made to them. that's the promise that guys like me made on the ground when i said please trust us, trust us americans to work with us, to partner with us, to improve your country. put your life on the line because it's worth it, and we will have your backs. that's the promise that we made as americans, asthma renes, as soldiers. and listen, the world is watching. someday in the near future other young marines and soldiers will

be out there trying to recruit allies in some other nation which ware in a conflict and we don't want them to look to afghanistan and say we saw what you did to them. you turned around and let them get stabbed in the back. this has major implications for our national security and that's why we were so strident in the administration sending this letter. >> i can definitely hear the anguish in your voice as you contemplate all this because there's so much at stake. speaker pelosi listing four possibilities after senators blocked the creation of an independent commission. she said one they could hold a second vote. two, democrats in the house could create a select committee. three, the existing congressional committees could continue their separate investigations. or four, they could empower one existing committee to take charge. which option do you support most? >> well, look i think this has to be investigated no matter what it takes.

and i'd much prefer it be bipartisan. look, i'm sure a lot of republicans were uneasy investigating watergate, but they agreed to do it because it was the right to do for the country. this is far worse than watergate. there wasn't an insurrection at the capitol during watergate. mccarthy put some really tough positions on the table and we met every single one of them that a couple dozen republicans in the house voted for because it is the right thing to do for the country. and then republicans in the senate threw it out. so we've done what we need to do to make this bipartisan. it should be voted through the senate. it's the right thing to do for our country. >> congressman seth moulton, all true what you said there.

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a jobs report as the sign the u.s. economy is bouncing back even though the numbers were lower than expected. so monica, welcome. so how is the white house interpreting these numbers? >> reporter: well, they're optimistic, alex, because they believe this is all trending in the right direction. though of course there are still some areas of concern, some more sluggish numbers with economists there predicting there would be something like 671,000 jobs added. in reality it was that lower number you just showed of the 559,000. but something the president was really touting this week is the fact those unemployment rates

you look there under 6% for the first time since the pandemic started. so the president arguing that his plan is working, that covid relief is really making an impact. and because vaccinations are also on the rise he believes that means more americans are able to get back to work even though we know again there are 7.6 approximately million fewer jobs compared to pre-pandemic levels and where we were last february and march. but the president also used that as an opportunity to try to make the case for taking advantage of this economic momentum even if it is slow and steady. and he made a pitch yesterday iphis remarks for his infrastructure plan. the reality is right now that right now is quite stalled given that negotiations with republicans have continued, but the latest offer from the gop and from the lead negotiator, senator shelly moore capito was rejected from the white house. that would have been about $50

billion in spend [the new president said thanks but no thanks, that doesn't meet my objective. so they've continued the discussion going on monday but then as you know the president is going to be leaving for his overseas trip so the focus is going to shift a little bit. so the white house now shifting the time line on when they may get something done on infrastructure. white house press secretary jen psaki arguing there's still a lot of time left. >> he's going to have these discussions. there are democrats and republicans who are talking with each other. we're going to engage with them as well and continue to have a discussion with a range of interested leaders in congress about how we can come together to make a historic investment in infrastructure. we're going to see how those conversations go. we're going to keep a range of pathways open to move these bold ideas forward. >> reporter: i can the operative word, though, and what we should be watching for in the coming

weeks and days aed the president might meet with a different group of republican senators altogether. we know there's been a sort of side attempt so if these talks with the current group fail he may go in that direction to try and keep the bipartisan hope alive. we heard there from a critical vote democratic senator joe manchin of west virginia telling our colleague garret haake in just the last couple days democrats aren't ready to go it alone quite yet. there's still hope something can get done, but the timing is going to be critical here. when he gets back med june stretching into july, so that runway the press secretary mentioned getting even shorter and shorter as we head to the fourth of july when the president wanted to see something done, but it's unclear in which form that's going to happen. >> looks like the president and democrats keeping all options on the table for now. joining me now is sarah,

congressional reporter for politico. so is there a growing sense of impatience building amongst democrats as the white house is entering yet another week of bipartisan negotiations? i described it earlier as feeling kind of like ground-hog day. >> yes, there absolutely is a sense of impatience. it's only june. he was just sworn in january. but this is actually a slow moving time line compared to what democrats had in mind. you have to remember that house democrats are really convinced they're going to be losing their majority next year. there's a lot of democrats who say we need to get this done as soon as possible. they want to have this done by the august recess. and as you know things tend to slow down as soon as there's an election around the corner. a lot of folks see the deadline as a time to move. they have to avert a shutdown. so a lot of democrats say why are we wasting time with these

republicans, we need to do as much as we can, get biden as many wins as we can, and hopefully that will not only help them in the mid-term but help cement biden's legacy here. >> you mention the august deadline. is that the point democrats say we're going to alone or might they hit that button earlier? >> reporter: there's a lot of democrats who want the whole thing done by the august recess which is really important to see that happening. speaker pelosi has been telling democrats still she wants to get this on the floor some time in july. obviously that's going to be really tough. the house only has two weeks in june and not as much time in july, either. as i mentioned they have a lot of other things on the to-do list. so democrats really feel next week is the time they be to make a decision on whether they'll be pulling the trigger on this budget process known as reconciliation. it's a pretty complex and long process. so it's not just a flip of a

switch. they need to go through all the motions on the floor setting this process up. but as you've been talking about, senator manchin from west virginia, he alone can decide whether he wants to proceed on this. he has a lot of power. it's just one senator that can say i don't want to proceed to this budget reconciliation process and that's the hold up right now. >> you recently wrote a really good article. this after democrat melanie stanzbering beat out her republican challenger by 24 points in a special congressional election. some democrats are saying the win represents a reverse trump turnout effect. what does that mean? >> yeah, so this race was really interesting to watch. obviously this is extremely early. it's june of an off-year. what we were looking at here is the republican turnout numbers. this is a democratic plus nine

district. biden won it by about 22 points. but the fact melanie was able to outperform the president and her very popular predecessor deb holland who's now the interior secretary the numbers she was able to produce has given democrats a lot of hope. and what we've been looking at is the republican turnout. so the share of the vote that the republican candidate received was equal to 2018 and far below 2020. so what that might mean is that if the trump voters are not coming out in the same way they did in 2020 when she was on the ballot, if what we see in the 2022 mid-term does indeed look more like 2018, a lot of democrats say this could be their ticket to fighting back these really tough historical trends of having the house flip as soon as their party comes to power in the white house. so democrats are looking at this race saying, well, we know things are extremely tough but maybe this is a sign of good things ahead. they're already using for

fund-raising and recruitment. >> thank you for the explanation and the article and the chat. a trump ally who happens to be in charge of your mail is under fbi investigation. the reason why next. i investiga. the reason why next. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ you don't always set out to be a rock star. but when the spotlight finds you. you become one anyway. ♪ ♪ with relapsing forms of ms... there's a lot to deal with.

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new reaction to reports of an fbi investigation of post master general and trump ally luis dejoy. the investigation centers on trump campaign fund-raising. my next guest says louis dejoy had a lot of red flags. a spokesman for dejoy says he's aware of the investigation but always been scrupulous in his adherence of campaign contribution laws and has never knowingly violated them. joining me now is frank figliuzzi, msnbc's national security analyst and contributor and also host of the new podcast, the bureau with frank figliuzzi, which is pretty

great. frank, thanks for joining me. first of all, what can you tell us about this fbi investigation and talk about the red flags. >> look, the fbi is very closed mouth what they're looking at, but we do know it involves allegations of illegal campaign contributions. the big question is how far this goes back and whether it's current. essentially there's a fraud donor scheme being alleged. dejoy's former employees at the private firm have come forward to journalists and said we were pressured to give money to this gop, this candidate and the public records of contributions show employee after employee giving about the same amount of money even on the same days showing kind of an orchestrated, coordinated effort. what's wrong with that? it evades transparency about who's really behind big money donations, who's really calling the shots and influencing the

outcome of elections. personally we know dejoy personally was responsible for giving over $1.1 million for trump re-election, gop re-election efforts. so this guy didn't need a job, by the way, as post master general. he was doing really well with his logistics firm. they needed him in the job. the gop needed him as post master general. so now we have a post master general, alex, whose employees are open records indicate was likely circumventing election law but now we have a post master general hand picked by trump still there who's done what? mip the mail just before a crucial presidential election with a record number of mail-in votes, and we know through public records that the mail was significantly delayed by dejoy in key swing states. >> so if dejoy's employees were being encouraged to give money, did they get the money back in some way like a bonus or some form? is there any record of that,

too? >> yeah, great question because it's not illegal to have an obnoxious boss to say hey i'd like to everyone to give money to the election this year. what is illegal if you then reimburse them for it because again that money is coming from you for that election and yes indeed the employees have told the journalists and likely are telling the fbi the same thing. we got bonuses and incentive awards equivalent to the money we were told to donate. that's a donor scheme. that's illegal. >> so dejoy had to answer a question during the congressional hearing about this, about the campaign fund-raising claims here. here's what he said about just this. >> did you pay back several of your top executives for contributing to trump's campaign by bonusing or rewarding them? >> that's an outrageous claim, sir, and i resent it. >> i'm just asking a question. >> the answer is no. >> so that's a pretty direct

answer there. what do you make of it? >> i make he may have exposed himself to lying to congress charges, perjury charges because his employees are saying something very different. essentially he was an operative for the gop party. when they needed money he figured out how to do it, how to evade the laws. his own lawyer recently with revelation of the fbi investigation has not denied what he did but rather said something like, well, mr. dejoy tried his best to stay within the law, blah, blah, blah. that's not going to work when the records come out. >> are there any implications for anybody who received these particular donations? >> if it's found they were done illegally, there are going to be likely be some candidates going to face a dilemma about having to give this money back.

more importantly the gop as a party particularly in north carolina is going to have to figure out whether they accepted money unlawfully. that's going to rely a lot on state law. what i'm far more focused on is whether he's essentially paid to get his job as post master general and they rewarded him for more recent contributions to the trump campaign, the last re-election campaign. >> it really what dejoy is probably best known for really out there in the general citizenry for implementing that slow down in mail delivery ahead of the 2020 presidential election. that to you was a red flag i'm guessing, yeah? >> there's no question. look, if you look at key swing precincts within swing states, ohio, michigan, the detroit area, specifically in michigan you see over 60% delay in first class mail delivery. you see mail disappearing. you really can't make sense of that outside of the scope of

helping trump reduce the number of mail-in ballots which historically are cashed by democrats. and don't listen to me. listen to a federal judge who ordered dejoy to stop the delays because it was messing with the election, and the judge said point-blank on the record this looks like you are delaying mail-in ballots, stop now. and he had to stop. >> i mean, the judge and you, frank figliuzzi. i love to listen to you, too. so we'll do it again on the broadcast very soon. >> the big race in belmont is happening today, but there's another race happening even more important. we'll explain that. ning even moe important. we'll explain that

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right now thousands of fans are getting ready for the last run of the triple crown. the belmont stakes begins just hours and closes out a dramatic racehorsing season. so first question to you, how many people have gotten shots there today? >> reporter: yeah, great question, alex. we were wondering the same thing. so about two dozen so far. and they had opened up yesterday as well with some promising numbers they said. and my whole curiosity was how many people were getting vaccinated today because they still have to sit in the unvax vaccinated section if they get the vaccine today. the positive is you get a ticket to the 2022 belmont stakes, so

there's still a lot of incentive to do that, and they have the separation in place. there are different sections behind me. there's the nonvaccinated section. you have to wear the mask, you have to socially distance and there's the vaccinated section. you can walk around as close as you like with other people that are comfortable and you do not have to wear a mask. there's actually a race that just started so hopefully you'll see them come through here as well. but i spoke with some folks in line about these covid protocols, they they felt. listen to what one father and son had to tell me. >> we're very excited because last year he was supposed to go to the kentucky derby with me, and we couldn't do that and this is his first time coming to belmont. i think it's great the fact i have to show proof of vaccination because while i'm vaccinated he's not, so i got to take care of him, you know? >> reporter: all right, so attendance is limited to 11,000

this year. that's certainly a far way off, alex, from the 120,000 record from 2004. but that's also due in part not just to the covid protocols but because we don't have a triple crown contender this year, alex. essential quality is still the current favorite with the race coming up here in just a couple hours. >> by the sounds of it i'm wondering if you made a bet on that one, we'll see. totally off-line, got it. thank you. our next story is going to make you feel really happy for 166 americans. i mean, really, really happy. next the act of generosity that left a lot of people stunned. it's coming your way next. ot ofd it's coming your way next.

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start, so therefore the wilberforce university board of trusties has authorized me to forgive any debt. >> wow. it was the moment when 166 dprajwits learned any debt they have with the school is wiped clean. the 2020 and 2021 graduates cheered and hugged, got to their feet as they got that fresh start. what a gift. and joining me now is the man who made all this happen, dr. alfred anthony, the president of the ohio wilberforce university. you wiped out -- that university wiped out more than $375,000 of debt for those students. how did this happen from a financial standpoint? >> well, we were able to do that as a result of some funding that we got from a donor that was

very specific in terms of helping us in that direction and scholarships that we'd gotten from another organization with which we are affiliated and then instuseal funding. and, you know, these last 15 months have have been difficult everyone. we've all had our lives up ended. and these young people who were not used to what they experienced during covid, what was so overwhelming was the fact that they did not allow this pandemic to steal their dream. they persisted. they pushed through, they were resilient. and we were very excited as i looked out and we considered the class of 2020 and 2021, and so after some thinking about it, looking at our finances and realizing that we were able to this, we were very excited. and the moment that you've just shown was an exquisite moment of

unbridled joy for us and for them who just basked in that excitement and that gratitude. so happy to it. >> it is just happy looking at this video. really. but that was the immediate reaction. it has been over a week now. as it all sinks in, what are you hearing from the students? >> well, they are very and of course what a student will do with this is just as individual as they are students that got this gift. so we do focus on financial literacy during the course of their time with us at the university. and so we hope that they will use this as an opportunity to get the fresh start that they will experience that, but students are very excited because to have a debt, a fairly substantial debt, cleared for them and now what does that mean for them. and so we'll work with student as we help them to sort of

develop a financial foundation for themselves. >> and i want to ask you about that big picture here. because tuition for a full-time student there at your university is about 13 grand a year. how much of a hurdle is student debt overall especially for places like wilberforce and other historically black colleges and yifrt universities their futures? >> i don't want to speak on behalf of all historically black colleges and universities. so i will speak about wilberforce and some certainly does apply to the sector. we will typically -- our students are first generation students by and large. 95% of my students for example are pell grant eligible. and what that means, they don't reach a family income -- they are at a family income level that requires additional support. and these students are also first generation students. which means that they don't have

the generational knowledge of what it takes to be successful at the university. if you have a parent who has been to college or grandparent, there is family generational knowledge of what it takes to negotiate that, including the finances. and so we are institutions that have dealt with and have welcomed and supported students that have been historically marginalized in many instances. and so now they have an opportunity to get a collegiate education. and so debt, and they come from -- many of them, not all, but many of them will come from circumstances where there is just not enough family resources to support college. and so college is not inexpensive. and so when they finish four or five years, there is debt to university. and so to be able to relieve that relieves considerable pressure on the family. >> across the country how

important would it be if the president, president biden, could pass some level of debt forgiveness? >> i knew that i would step into this conversation. i'm not naive, i'm not unaware that there is a broader discussion about the relief of debt. and clearly this is what i would say to that, clearly any kind of policy or legislation that relieves debt for students would be a good thing. i'm also not naive enough to recognize that this is a very nuanced problem and that it is multilayered. and will involve or need to involve lots of discussions from various constituent groups adding to the solution. but the outcome clearly would be a good outcome. and i think most students, and not only students that go to historically black colleges, but

most students looking at student debt when they finish an undergraduate experience would welcome some debt relief. >> absolutely. absolutely understood. thank you, sir. and congratulations. well done. after 15 months of dealing with covid, a new emergency affecting millions in california. emergency affecting millions in california ♪ it's grilled cheese time. ♪ ♪ yeah, it's time for grilled cheese. ♪ ♪ after we make grilled cheese, ♪ ♪ then we're eating grilled cheese. ♪ ♪ because it's time. ♪ ♪ yeah. ♪ ♪ time for grilled cheese. ♪

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new warnings for much of the west as severe drought conditions with expected to last through this summer. this new map was released this week. in california governor newson declared a drought emergency in most counties. scott cohn is there for us. >> reporter: and they are using terms like historic, dire, worse case scenario. and let me show you just one

example, one reason that they are so concerned. this is the lexington reservoir, it serves santa clara county which home to about 2 million people and silicon valley. it is only about 25% full. the water should be up to the trees that you see behind me. and this is their water supply as they head into the dry season here in california. it won't rain again until the fall, there was very little rain over the winter, and that does not leave the local officials with a whole lot of options. >> we'll try to buy emergency water but number one, it is ten times as much as it was two years ago. and folks are hard pressed to pay their water bill right now. two, even if wecan buy it, it is tough to get to the county. so we're in a real world of

hurt. >> reporter: for now they are implementing voluntary restrictions, that could very well become mandatory as this goes on. and i want to show you again the man that you are looking at as we began the segment, that drought monitor, all of california, all nevada are in at least moderate drought. and in california, three quarters of the state is in that dark brown category, that is exceptional drought, whichis defined as exceptional and widespread pasture losses, shortages of wells and streams and water creating emergencies. and the farmers are cutting back on certain crops, farm workers are not getting work this year. so there is a big concern. and it is not just this year. these water deficits don't go away overnight. so we're talking about looking ahead to next year and that is why the conservation here in california is dire as they say. >> i got to tell you, showing dramatic pictures of lake

oroville there. it is brutal. thank you so much, scott cohn. and that is a wrap for me. i'll see you again tomorrow at noon. and yasmin vossoughian is continuing our coverage right now. good afternoon, we have a lot to cover right now. a major ruling in california shaking up gun debate, a 0 year 30 year ban struck down. the former president set to speak in a couple hours emerging to spread his big lie even as he deals with a new twist in the criminal investigation-his company. and new action to keep him off facebook. and an alarming rise in covid hospitalizations of adolescents even as schools are being told that they can ditch the masks. and next hour, a special report, the gop war on transgende