questions and answers. ms. hilary senders and guatemalan president will give the floor to the media. >> thank you. our first question will come from alex jaffey from the associated press. >> thank you both for taking questions. madam vice president, you just spoke about this. you've spoken about this in the past, the need to combat direction of root causes of migration. but given president jean matea's record on the issue, his corruption to reformers in the nation, has he given you any commitments that he will not try to interfere in anti-corruption

efforts in the nation? and what makes you believe you can trust him as a partner on that issue. and president jea matae, what do you say to critics who don't trust you? what's the answer for the u.s./mexico border? i wonder if you can respond to that as people don't think you're taking that role seriously. what do you respond to that and when will that come? >> the president of the united states recently issued a very clear statement about where we as the united states stand on this issue. it is unambiguous that we will look to root out corruption wherever it exists because we know it is not in the best interest of a democracy. the president speaks -- the united states president, joe

biden, speaks a lot about this, and actually president jean matae and i spoke a lot about that today. if we are truly to have a democracy especially in a world where increasingly they are under attack, one essential ingredient of our priorities must be to fight corruption. it erodes the confidence that people have in their government and its leaders. it compromises the ability of any country to maximize its natural resources to help and support its citizenry. on the issue of any corruption and issue with guatemala, that has been one of our highest priorities in terms of the focus that we have placed here after the president asked me to take on this issue of focusing on this region of the world. and the work we are doing in furtherance of that priority is the work of, again, creating an anti-corruption task force, bringing a renewed effort on

behalf of the united states department of justice, the united states treasury department, the united states state department to work collaboratively to identify, to support investigations and ultimately to support prosecutions and consequences for those who would endeavor to engage in corrupt behaviors. furthermore, in bringing together the ceos that we have been doing in the united states and convening them, they have made very clear that when it comes to the private sector, be it there or, i might venture to say, here or anywhere around the world. they want to know if they're going to put their hard-earned resources into any issue or initiative, that it will go to its intended beneficiary. and that means going to the people who need that support and not corrupt hands. there are many reasons why this is one of our highest

priorities, which i think the people of guatemala know well, and the people of the united states understand well. if we are to be effective, if we are to be true to our principles, we must rule out corruption wherever it exists and that's one of our highest priorities for that reason. on the issue of republicans' political attacks or criticism, or even concerns, the reason i am here in guatemala as my first trip as vice president of the united states is because this is one of our highest priority, to be here on the ground, to speak with the leader of this nation around what we can do in a way that is significant, is tangible, and has real results. and i will continue to be focused on that kind of work as opposed to grand gestures.

>> madam vice president, mr. president. we know that several topics, important topics have been addressed in your bilateral meeting. however, we would like to know, what has been the most important progress obtained as a result of this bilateral meeting? >> translator: thank you. well, for us i think we have approached a number of topics that are of concern to both countries. one is to accomplish the economic development of the country, starting with the things that have normally been neglected -- >> a good afternoon to you. i'm geoff bennett. as we come on the air this hour, the biden white house is going global with the president and the vice president traveling this week on high stakes trips.

as you just saw the vice president is holding a press conference with the president of guatemala. her visit is part of a larger effort led by harris to address the uptick of migrants crossing over the southern border. and the systemic issues in central america that are leaving many migrant families so desperate for a new life, they're willing to make the dangerous journey north. during her remarks, harris said it was a priority for the white house to acknowledge those issues and try to provide some hope for those suffering. >> the president and i share a firm belief that our responsibility and our capacity is to give people a sense of hope. we talked extensively about this through the many conversations we have had, including today. the power of hope, the ability that each of our governments has to give people a sense that help is on the way. >> and back at the white house,

president joe biden is preparing for his first trip as commander in chief. he will host the nato secretary general ahead of his departure on thursday. he will hold a g-7 meeting with other leaders and then have a meeting with vladimir putin. >> the trip at its core will examine the fundamental thrust of joe biden's policy, to challe nge the great topics of our time. we'll talk with national security advisor ben rhodes in a moment. first, kerry sanders is in guatemala, shannon pettypiece at

the white house. shannon, she said most people don't want to leave their families, the country where they have roots. but your reporting speaks to this issue of why so many parents would rather send their kids on that dangerous trek north rather than have them remain. unpack all your reporting for us. >> i think it really kind of struck me, because obviously coming from an american point of view meeting parents here, i asked is it irresponsible to allow your children to go to the united states? they turn that on its head and say it is the responsible thing to do because they don't have the food, they don't have a system, they don't see a future for their children here, and this is not a case of something that they're talking about in recent years. they're talking about decades. their grandparents, their great-grandparents, all have seen this go on for generation after generation. so they believe it is the responsible thing to do. it's very hard to accept allowing a 12-year-old to leave home and continue on to make

their way 2,500 miles through the brush to try and make it as the responsible thing. so this is a very difficult task that the vice president has to undertake here. i think one of the things she did, and i'll be curious to see that this actually reaches the audience, when she was continuing her remarks at the very end, she said, do not come, do not come. the u.s. is hoping a legal issue could occur. most of the people i've met don't even have the education level to understand migration laws, so they couldn't deal with that. i did speak to an immigration attorney here who told me the process to try to migrate to the united states legally is impossible. going to the office, just finding the office where you would file the paperwork is next to impossible. then one other thing that she noted here, and this is going to be interesting especially for

the guatemalan government, because we heard the president suggesting he's in agreement here. she said they're going to enforce the bored erds on the north and the south of guatemala, but to the south of guatemala with hon tour -- honduras/el salvador, there is no checkpoint. you just go in and out. it's a long-time freedom people have to move. it's possible he will face some backlash if he does not secure that border that makes it difficult for people to cross from one country to another. geoff? >> you make some good points. the administration wants people to claim asylum in country, but that process takes years. i've talked to immigration advocates who said they certainly don't have years to apply and wait for a decision

when they're weighing the urgent needs of their kids, for instance. kerry, matae was asked that question and he didn't engage. the reason why that matters is because the corruption in the northwest region contributes widely to the experiences they're having. president obama is embroiled in corruption scandals. what do you make of him not being on board with his corruption scandal? >> reporter: people are making an attempt to hold him to that. we're hearing about this joint task force that's going to address corruption, but it's hard to go into another country with a joint task force and tell

people how to do things. remember, a lot of things happened behind closed doors. you're not exactly sure what's going on and who is aligned with who and the allegiances that shift. i just think it's something that is certainly needed. getting there, that's the challenge. so the president here not responding to that question, he ducked it. we know politicians duck questions, but there's a reason they duck them. >> shannon, we'll come to you next, but first i want to play an interview of a mother and an advocate with her. >> they've seen their neighbors' children die of hunger. they don't want that for their children. that's why they want them to have food, to grow up, to have a chance at life. >> reporter: why the united states? >> that's the dreamland. >> i'm kind of shocked. she just said maybe she would stay behind but she would

definitely send her kids. >> reporter: she would send her kids? >> yeah. she said she would send her kids. >> kerry sanders, you've covered the region for a long time. gabe, you're at the border in texas. looking back, they saw the highest number of border apprehensions in two decades. it's the highest it's ever been. what's the word on the ground? >> i want to touch on a few things kerry reported. yes, we are hearing the same things, but these are migrants that have gone through this grueling journey, seven months long. one woman from guatemala took two months. she said gangs threatened to rape her young daughter, so this is really life or death for some of these migrants. but something that struck me in that news conference from vice president harris, she again

reiterated the administration's plea that migrants do not come. the president, we know, has been saying that for quite some time. whether that message will reach the migrants, partly because of their education limits or they might not hear it, they were peddling that and coming up to me and saying, is that true? that was told to them by a human smuggler, basically somebody who tried to get their hopes up that they would be able to come here in the u.s. as you were mentioning, some of these families are making just an agonizing decision. they're having to decide whether to separate themselves, they feel like they're forced to separate themselves from their young children and send them over the border. we spoke to a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old who were siblings.

they said they were trying to make it to boston. their parents sent them to the u.s. and they have cousins and were trying to make it there. they were processed and then shuttled off to a holding house before they were shuttled off across the country. we were in this general area not far from here. you saw it live on msnbc where there were a dozen advocates en route to other stations. the president brushed off a question about republican criticism, about why she hasn't visited the u.s./mexican border yet. she said she was focused on her trip to guatemala dealing with the root causes, didn't want to make a grand gesture that

republicans have been saying she should be coming here to the u.s. border. i can tell you, though, geoff, and we'll be reporting more on this, but i was in rianosa, mexico yesterday, and there were many migrants who came up to me and said they were returned to mexico because of covid protocols, and there is actually a new bottleneck that's springing up in rianosa, mexico, hundreds of people there, the shelters are overwhelmed. certainly it is a very difficult situation here at the border, a migration the president has been dealing with for a very long time, for decades, but there are factors whether it be economic, the hurricanes that hit guatemala last year, but all these factors are coming together. as you just heard carrie report.

ly we have seen migrants exhausted, tired, hungry. >> geoff, it's striking to hear you talking about the tent city. a lot of people who were finally looeflg mexico, and now, here we are again with shannon pettypiece. over to you, friend, at the white house. the white house wants to stem the flow of mi graig grags from the lower vibrant kuchblts we heardly vice president harris make some announcements to home. >> she would. we heard her talking about what

approximate. we're talking about decades-old problems here that the administration is trying to confront. nothing they talk about will address their usually need. but the the they would like to stay where they are. here's what she had to say about it a few moments ago. >> most people do not want to leave home. i've lived that, i believe from, the place where they pray, the place where the language is spoken where the culture is familiar. and if they don't, they cannot satisfy their basic needs by staying home. >> reporter: so trying to encourage people to stay in their country, trying to address the issues that is causing

people to migrate, which is what the vice president was saying there. but like you saw from kerry and the families he talked to, in the interim, people still feel the need, the necessity, the desperation to make that dangerous journey, even though you're hearing vice president harris communicate to the local people on tv, do not come. do not make that motionless journey. we'll see if that message breaks through that people have been hearing from. >> kerry, you have some insight you want to share with us? what's up? >> reporter: i just want to give a point of reference when you're talking about corruption. the former president here, alto malena, back in 2016 was charged with corruption. he still has yet to stand trial.

he's in a prison here, but it's unlike a prison you would imagine. behind those walls, he has built a house and lives in a rather comfortable setting behind those walls and a house. it's 2021 and he's still not ready to stand trial. so when you talk about dealing am critics say it's a challenge. we're going to continue this conversation with ben rhodes. he served as deputy national security advisor during the obama administration. he's also author of the new book "after the fall: being american in the world we've made." it's great to see you, as always, especially on a day when president biden is headed to guatemala. it was then-vice president biden who committed u.s. aid to the

region. since then the problems have only persisted. what can the white house do differently this time, especially when it comes to u.s. aid money, to have a different or more useful result? >> geoff, i think you have to recognize this is a long-term solution. you're not going to fix this in one visit or one year in terms of addressing root causes. you have to stick with it for several years. part of what happened is the resurgence in central america in 2018 when we had the wave of una expected children and trump came through and zeroed that out. what it takes is an approach where you're trying to devise a system. one way is to recall that they're trying to make people's lives better. you not only need messages from vice president harris, you need messages from people in their

own language. then you also have to look at our legal immigration system. how is the asylum process working? do people feel like there is at least some process they can plug into? this is the beginning of what i think has to be a multi-year effort that will begin to bend the curve in terms of migration quotes. >> it's a good point. the u.s. also has to make up for military coups, there has been corporate spending, sapping from the region that adds to the instability there. it strikes me there is also a crisis when it comes to solutions. could there be a mini plan like the u.s. program that rebuilt europe after world war ii? >> yes, and i think, again, you have to recognize that the dysfunction in our politics makes that more difficult because if you talk about the marshall plan, this takes five or six years to see results.

one of the things we had in the obama years was columbia. columbia was ravaged by civil war, ravaged by drug trafficking, and a decade of u.s. assistance really did turn things around there, significantly improved standards of living in columbia. obviously they had an effect on migration, too. but there is a patient stick-to-it-iveness, so the biden team is doing the right thing in dealing with these countries. they have to sustain it, they have to make sure these are not things that last bun or two years but are multiple commitments by the u.s. as you said, geoff, we had to be candid about that as well, but we're trying to learn from the lessons of history by doing it this time. >> let's talk about president biden. he will try to convince u.s. allies and our adversaries that america is back after four years under donald trump.

i was there in 2018 when trump heaped abuse on america's allies at nato, he tried to befriend vladimir putin. how will the world be convinced that donald trump was an outlier? >> i think there will be great relief in the summit meetings that america is coming to get business done and not disrupt them, as donald trump did. at the same time, there is a lot of trepidation, and part of what these leaders will be watching are not just what are american policies, how to deal with russia or china, but also what is the health of american democracy? what is in the back of their heads is we went through eight years in the obama administration, we negotiated all manner of agreements in the obama administration and then trump came in and tore almost all those agreements up. they're worried that could happen again in four years. president biden has a big challenge in trying to convince them that he's succeeding at

home with democracy. we're trying to show that democracy can deliver at a time when democracy is kind of under siege in this country and other places. i think part of what he needs to convince those leader of is, look, we have a stake here. we as a democracy need to forge common approaches to push back on people like vladimir putin or to deal with the competition emerging from china. >> ben rhodes, appreciate your time as always. i read your book this weekend and thought it was fantastic. congratulations on that front. >> thank you. new reporting from the "new york times" of how far donald trump's organization went to make claims of election fraud. plus the senate's big summer agenda, including voting rights. but there is still pushback by

the democratic senator from west virginia. and a new alzheimer's treatment for the cruel disease. stay with us. treatment for the cruel disease. stay with us with no surprise fees, legit unlimited data, powered by verizon for as little as $25 a month. but when you bring a friend every month, you get every month for $5. so i'm bringing everyone within 12 degrees of me. bam, 12 months of $5 wireless. visible. as little as $25 a month. or $5 a month when you bring a friend. powered by verizon. wireless that gets better with friends.

today is a memorial day recess, and even though the democrats are in control, you may not know it. as the associated press puts it, bracing for considerable trouble, chuck schumer warned democratic colleagues that june will test our resolve. talks over an infrastructure package are teetering, and an ambitious elections overhaul bill is essentially dead now that senator joe manchin announced his opposition. joining us to talk about this is nbc news correspondent leigh ann caldwell and co-author eugene daniels. big hello to both of you. leigh ann, let's start with this. senator manchin says he's not going to change the filibuster and he doesn't want the we the

people act. we could talk six ways to sunday about manchin's motivations here, but let's talk about, if you're a democrat, how do you even go about dealing with this now? what does this now mean for the democratic agenda at large? >> reporter: geoff, it's an excellent question and it's obviously a question that senate majority leader chuck schumer is having to grapple with. but the reality is this was always going to be an uphill battle for leader schumer to get any of these democratic priorities passed. while joe manchin has made a lot of news in the past couple days, he just reiterated his position that he doesn't support eliminating the filibuster and that he does not support the for the people act, sb-1, in its current form. so this timing is really interesting and important, as schumer says, that these are pieces of legislation that he's going to get to in this month of june. so schumer has a couple of options. he can find ten republicans to

support the democratic agenda, something that is highly unlikely, as we know in these very partisan senate. he can put it on the floor for a vote and see where it falls, and then he can use that to message in the midterm elections, message against republicans which is the most likely scenario. then what he could do is possibly change the mind of senator joe manchin after republicans blocked the january 6 commission a couple weeks ago. there was some deliberation and thought that perhaps joe manchin was going to change his mind on the filibuster because he was furious that republicans would block that. but joe manchin compartmentalizes a lot of things up here, and one issue does not bleed into the next, so joe manchin is still blocking not only the filibuster reform but also the democratic agenda as a result, geoff. >> and, eugene, based on your reporting over at the white house, what's the administration's view of all

this? has president biden reached out to his old friend joe manchin to have a come to jesus moment on where he needs to be to help, you know, not only the biden agenda get across the finish line but so get right, as democrats see it on this fundamental issue of voting rights? >> i think what's really interesting is that president biden, his aides, they still think they can get a bipartisan deal here, so that's where a lot of their energy is right now, right? they are focused on, when it comes to infrastructure, making sure that they can get these to republicans, even though they have these other priorities that are coming down the pike that they know cannot go through the reconciliation process. so they're going to hit an impasse at some point because this is a white house that likes to stay focused on one huge thing at a time, but you have voting rights which the president has put vice president kamala harris in charge of, leading from the white house

perspective, and that hits another impasse. we have manchin saying he's not going to support hr-1, but we have to remember that manchin is also a proxy for other moderate democrats who are a lot quieter and don't have to take the ire of everyone else who is upset that he's kind of blocking all of these things, because when we have the $15 minimum wage vote, i don't know if you remember that months ago -- >> it feels like years ago. >> exactly -- we had a surprise of some republicans. so we have the majority with manchin mucking it up so they don't have to say where they stand. what the white house is saying now is didn't you guys learn the lessons of the obama years, that we wasted time in bipartisan deals over and over, and they're ready to move on because they don't want to lose some of the progressive things that are in the infrastructure bill with a

plan that joe biden put out at the beginning. you also have manchin saying he's working on blocking this administration, then you get back to the filibuster. he kind of goes around and around in circles in washington, d.c., and at some point president biden is going to have to put his thumb on the skull even more of joe manchin and some of these moderate democrats. >> there might be limits to the personal touch of biden at this point. we don't really know. let's talk, leigh ann, in the minute we have left about what might get done. you have the senator saying it's june or bust. the implication is this has to be done this month. it's june 7th, i think, only a couple months away. where does that stand? >> reporter: piecing together all this legislation that democrats want to pass seem the most likely to actually pass. that's because there seems to be

very good faith negotiations between tim scott, cory booker on the democratic side and karen bass in the house, as far as democrats are concerned as well. and talks haven't broken down yet. i'm told by my sources that of course qualified immunity is the remaining issue, the most difficult issue that they're trying to come to an agreement on, but everyone is in agreement that these talks are not going to drag on forever. there is a really good sign there could be some big bipartisan deal that is reached. the question, though, is tim scott going to bring along nine other senate republicans in order to pass this? and all indications point to that they are mostly going to follow his lead, but, of course, we have to see a deal first. as eugene was mentioning, infrastructure that's still in the ether, that's going to be a months-long process, but there could be something there, geoff. >> it is definitely infrastructure week. thank you both for the reality

check. making up for lost time in the classroom. we'll go to one school where summers are seeing a record rise in enrollment. donald trump in the political fray and he's still -- still -- pushing the big lie. il- still -- pushing the big lie you'll find better laughs at family barbecues. you'll find a better life is in store at miracle-ear, when you experience the exclusive miracle-ear advantage. including innovative technology, like the new miracle-earmini. so powerful, yet it's nearly invisible. we're so confident we can improve your life, we're offering a 30-day risk-free trial. call 1-800-miracle today and experience the miracle-ear advantage. there's no other snack like a planters cashew. what else can go from your car's cup holder to a crystal bowl and seem equally at home? i guess the most well-rounded snack isn't round at all. it's more cashew-shaped. planters. a nut above. new dove men deodorant is different.

it has 48 hour protection. and a plant-based moisturizer... that cares for your skin. odor protection that works new dove men plant-based care.

defeated but defiant. >> that election will go down as the crime of the century. >> reporter: former president donald trump clinging to the lie that the election he lost was somehow stolen. >> i am not the one trying to

undermine american democracy. i'm the one that's trying to save it. >> reporter: none of it is true with growing concerns about the potentially dangerous impact of his rhetoric. >> and that was my colleague nbc's hallie jackson summing up donald trump's return to the political stage this weekend where he continued to push lies about the election he lost. that's how new reporting from the "new york times" shows how far some in those final days of the white house were willing to go to back that claim. quote, mark meadows, chief of staff, asked jeffrey rosen, then acting attorney general, to debunk claims of fraud in mexico and a range of conspiracies that held that mr. trump had been the actual victor. it included a fantastic theory that people in italy had used military technology and satellites to remotely tamper

with voting machines in the united states and switch votes for mr. trump to votes for joseph r. biden jr. we have no word of any such investigations. joining us now, peter baker, and university of alabama law professor, joyce vance. she is also an msnbc contributor. peter, your colleague said this, that the newly unearthed messages show how mr. meadows' private efforts veered into the recommend many of the outlandish. how significant is that reporting? >> from the beginning, they saw no line it wasn't willing to cross when you tried to influence the justice department. remember, this is a president who repeatedly tried to badger his attorney general, first jeff

sessions and then bill barr, into prosecuting his rivals. he tried to badger them into clearing his friends publicly as well as privately, tried to, you know, basically use the justice department as his own personal lawyer in a variety of fights that he had with critics and adversaries that he perceived. mark meadows' e-mails in these final weeks are basically of a piece of administration that did not see a line there to begin with. i think it also tells you just how desperate and how intense this effort to find a way to overturn the election -- remember, these e-mails come at the end of december, and on new year's eve after the electoral college has already met and certified the election. this is, i think, really interesting information here. >> a desperate and intense effort. that's a great way to describe it. joyce, when i was reading this, i remembered that meadows was also in the call where trump pressured georgia's secretary of state to find votes for him. it struck me just the importance of having officials in positions at the doj and at state election

boards who can resist political pressure like this. what's your takeaway? >> i think that's exactly the right takeaway. it's how important it is to have an apolitical architecture for governing our elections, because the right to vote, of course, is not political. who you vote for is a political choice. but we need to have free and fair elections, and even more importantly, we need to make sure that the american people perceive them as free and fair. so when you have a president or a chief of staff who is willing to reach out either to their own acting attorney general or to election officials in other states and pressure them to alter the outcome of a lawful election, you create not only a problem in that election but a crisis of confidence in the american electorate about voting which doesn't do our processes any favors. >> joyce, while we have you, i also want to ask you about the news that trump's money man,

alan weisselberg, the washington times reports he already has appeared before the grand jury. if you're alan weisselberg, what are you thinking right now, and what are you thinking if you're donald trump? >> so it's very interesting to watch this new york grand jury process. it's different than a federal grand jury process. witnesses who are targets typically aren't brought in front of the grand jury because they obtain a form of immunity known as transactional immunity from prosecution. so what we've recently seen is that the controller of the trump organization has gone in and testified, someone who worked every day with alan weisselberg and who would have had information about his interactions with the former president. this is a high pressure situation with pressure being brought to bear on the top echelons of the trump organization. >> thank you for that

clarification. it's the trump organization who went before the grand jury. peter baker, joyce vance, thanks to the both of you. we have breaking news on the hack of the colonial pipeline up and down the seaboard. we heard it was people demanding a ransom. they were able to recover some of the money colonial paid to the ransom to get its systems unlocked. it's a huge development in the department of justice led by lisa monaco and is prepared to make that announcement and reveal more details in a news conference at 3:00 p.m. eastern time, so keep it right here on msnbc for that live news conference and any additional information we have until then. coming up next, breaking news from the fda. the first medication approved for treatment of alzheimer's disease in 18 years. but before we head to break,

some news on the sports front. over the weekend, gymnastics star simone biles made history. look at that. she won her seventh national all-around title at the u.s. gymnastics championship, securing the highest combined scores on the balance beam, vault and floor exercise where she performed this never-before-done tumbling pass. >> never been done before, and it's called the biles. wow. >> incredible. the 24-year-old has won every senior nationals she's entered since 2013 eight years straight. next month in tokyo, she'll attempt to be the first woman to win back-to-back olympic all-around gold. incredible. incredible like a classic italian b.m.t.® stacked with fresh veggies. there's a subway® three blocks from here! choose better, be better. and now save when you order in the app. subway®. eat fresh. some say this is my greatest challenge ever.

but i've seen centuries of this. with a companion that powers a digital world, traded with a touch. the gold standard, so to speak ;) (vo) ideas exist inside you, electrify you. they grow from our imagination, but they can't be held back. they want to be set free. to make the world more responsible, and even more incredible. ideas start the future, just like that. hi, i'm debra. i'm from colorado. i've been married to my high school sweetheart for 35 years. i'm a mother of four-- always busy. i was starting to feel a little foggy. just didn't feel like things were as sharp as i knew they once were. i heard about prevagen

and then i started taking it about two years now. started noticing things a little sharper, a little clearer. i feel like it's kept me on my game. i'm able to remember things. i'd say give it a try. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. so, you have diabetes, here are some easy rules to follow. no. you know what you want? no fettuccine. no fries with that. no foods you love. no added salt. no added sugar. in a can? you can-not. no pizza. have that salad. unless there's dressing. then, no. remember, no skipping meals. but no late-night snacking. and no sleepless nights! is this stressing you out?! no stress! stress...is bad! exercise. but no overdoing it! and no days off! easy, no? no. no. no. no. no. or... you can 'know.'

with freestyle libre 14 day, know your glucose levels and take the mystery out of your diabetes. now you know. sir, do you know what you want to order? yes. freestyle libre 14 day. try it for free. trelegy for copd. ♪ birds flyin' high, you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ breeze drifting on by you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ it's a new dawn... ♪ if you've been taking copd sitting down, it's time to make a stand. start a new day with trelegy. no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy helps people breathe easier and improves lung function. it also helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis.

call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. take a stand and start a new day with trelegy. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy. and save at trelegy.com. and we're following breaking news from the fda which has approved the first new medication in 18 years for the treatment of alzheimer's disease. biogen claims the drug slows cognitive decline in people with alzheimer's. there is a controversy, though. the agency's independent advisory committee actually opposed it and there are real questions about whether the

medication works. joining us now is msnbc medical contributor dr. natalie azar. great to see you, as always. dr. azar, this isn't a cure but it does help some alzheimer's patients. how does it work exactly? in patients who have early disease to slow cognitive decline, as opposed to patients who have advanced disease and treat symptoms. at the heart of this is what this approval really is today or what this actually means. it's what is known as an accelerated approval. what that means is that the fda is granting approval of a drug for a very serious or life-threatening illness which may provide benefit over existing therapeutics. and in this case, what this medication has been found to do is decrease the amount of these amyloid plaques which are these collections that accumulate in the brains of alzheimer's folks.

the studies, actually, the pivotal studies and the primary end point is the slowing of cognitive decline and there we had two findings. one trial was negative and one trial showed some benefit and what the fda is saying is that they're using this finding that it can reduce these plaques into a surrogate marker, but it's not actually what the studies showed. there in lies the controversy, jeff. >> the fda approved it anyway because their determination is the benefits of the treatment outweigh any potential risk? >> well, certainly, the benefit risk equation is always on the table for the fda, but they're basically again, using this concept that the reduction in the plaque is a surrogate marker for a good outcome or for a benefit, and what's important here and i reached out to some of my neurology colleagues and

how do i feel about this and the concern and it is a controversial thing because we don't know whether reducing those plaques does translate into slowing, cognitive decline, and the whole point is that it might, and so what the fda is also requiring is that biogen has to complete clinical trials to see, if, in fact, their drug does translate into a meaningful cognitive decline and that can take, of course, a number of years, and if at the end of the day, jeff, they find it hasn't had a benefit in slowing cognitive decline they will be able to and would pull the drug from market. >> well there's a glimmer of hope here for anyone who has had to care for a loved one with alzheimer's. let's talk about the pandemic because you're got an fda advisory committee because they'll talk about whether kids under 12 will be eligible for covid vaccines. what debate are we likely to hear come thursday?

>> for children, the calculous is always a little bit different. there's always the concern in terms of safety. whenever we inoculate our kids. you know, was there also a recent report, i think at the end of last week about the rise in hospitalizations amongst adolescents. we know that covid-19 is not benign for children. we had this narrative from last year and this is, by the way, how science works. the initial data we had was that children did fairly well and unalso you were older and had underlying medical conditions it would be a mild flu-like illness. that is not actually the case. we had over 300 deaths from covid-19 in the pediatric population and they suffer from long covid and inflammatory system, and what we will hear is whether or not the benefit outweighs the potential risk for which there isn't much with these vaccines in order to enable our kids to be back in school full time as well as to

be able to engage in all of their sports activities and social activities and give them a sense of normalcy that they long for and the herd immunity that we are always talking about, the elusive herd immunity does require children to be vehiclesated. >> we'll be watching that meeting like a hawk, and dr. natalie azar, we appreciate it. as summer rolls out more schools are offering students to catch up in person. for example, schools in montgomery, alabama, are seeing record enrollment for summer school. already they have 13,000 kids and nearly 600 teachers planning to return to the classroom. teachers and administrators alike hope students who missed out on education during the pandemic will have a chance to close the gap during these in-person lessons. joining us now from montgomery, alabama. you spoke to children who are

looking forward to summer school and bless them for wanting to go to school this summer. >> reporter: right? this was day one of what they're calling the launch to learn summer program, and i have to tell you, if you've been with us at blunt elementary school, you can almost mistake to get inside for some amusement park ride. the parents and the kids were happy and they were excited to be going back into school. the principal was dressed in a space suit eagerly greeting and welcoming these students back. teacher after teacher felt like this felt like a normal school year day, not a summer school program at all, but that's what it was. listen to some of what we heard from both parents as well as students. >> you learn more just from being around people, just being in a social, you are able to participate in group activities and things like that, and i think that was the part that was missing for her. >> what are you most excited about for this?

>> seeing my friends. >> sometimes we used to beg mom toe take us back to the regular school. [ laughter ] >> so today's a good day all around. >> yes. yes, for everybody. for everybody. >> so the school district normally enrolls about 2500 students in their summer school program. this year they have enrolled 13,000 students in this program. that is close half of the entire student body for montgomery public schools. the superintendent here told us that the pause e the chaos and the virtual, the back end person and the fears parents and students had in school if they were doing some sort of hybrid model that all of that chaos could cause and did cause learning gaps for every student. they say it just varies kind of how they were impacted. she said for some students a program like this will get them right back on track. for others, she says it could take a year or two. jeff? >> allison barber, i tell you

what, you manage to find the greatest stories. this one's no different. thanks so much for bringing that us to. >> thanks for bringing the hour to us. my friend mohyeldin makes up the coverage next. they release medicine fast for fast pain relief. tylenol rapid release gels. introducing aleve x. the it's fast, powerfulast f long-lasting relief with a revolutionary, rollerball design. because with the right pain reliever... life opens up. aleve it, and see what's possible. - oh. - what's going on? - oh, darn! - let me help. here we go. lift and push and push! there... it's up there. oh, boy. hey joshie... wrinkles send the wrong message. help prevent them before they start with downy wrinkleguard. hey! bud.

hey, pop pop! so you won't get caught with wrinkles again. [woman laughs] alright, guys, no insurance talk on beach day. -i'm down. -yes, please. [ chuckles ] don't get me wrong, i love my rv, but insuring it is such a hassle. same with my boat. the insurance bills are through the roof. -[ sighs ] -be cool. i wish i could group my insurance stuff. -[ coughs ] bundle. -the house, the car, the rv. like a cluster. an insurance cluster. -woosah. -[ chuckles ]

-i doubt that exists. -it's a bundle! it's a bundle, and it saves you money! hi. i'm flo from progressive, and i couldn't help but overhear... super fun beach day, everybody.

good afternoon, everyone. i'm ayman mohyeldin in new york. the biden administration facing big tests at home and abroad. vice president kamala harris is starting her first trip outside of the united states in guatemala, the first stop of a two-nation tour to reduce the migrants coming from central america. a short time ago she held a news conference with guatemala's president in which she had this message for people thinking of making the dangerous journey. >> do not come. do not come. the united states will continue to enforce our laws and secure our border. >> later this week, president biden will visit europe on his first foreign trip since taking