help us watch this history unfold. plus inside the pitch, battle for infrastructure. labor secretary marty walsh joins me to talk about it all. the voting rights fight continues this weekend? texas, where the republicans behind the new voter suppression push we are asked for examples of the voter fraud they claim to be addressing by making it harder to vote. the answer is revealing, to say the least. "velshi" starts now. good morning. i'm ali velshi. it's sunday, july 11th, just a couple hours away from the new space race. 70-year-old british billionaire and founder of virgin galactic richard branson is set to take

off for the first time to the edge of space. a space ship called spaceship 2, is about the side of an executive joe and will take off from new hampshire. it's named the "vss unity" compared by a larger plane to an altitude about 50 thousand feet above, from there it will be released. the rocket plane motor will ig nikd carrying it into launch position, about 50 miles from earth. at that point the pilot and crew will be able to exit their seats to enjoy sweeping votes of this big blue marble, experiencing four minutes of weightlessness. the miami-dade courthouse is closed due to safety concerns that were resleeld during the building review that was prompted by the tragic surfside condo collapse.

the engineering firm says during their inspection they found structure discretion? support beams and joists, including steel columns that are in, quote, poor condition and concrete columns that have numerous cracks. the courthouse will undergo repairs immediately. all employees will return to working from home in the meantime. a little further south, fbi and more officials will arrive in haiti to assist in the investigation of the assassination of the standpoint. while it's sense the country into a state of tur mould, the u.s. does not plan to send military assistance despite requests from the interim government. back here, decreases democrats are fighting off a renewed attack, hundreds of texans flooded the state capitol yesterday to testify against the proposed new legislation. we'll be talking about more

about the fight for voting rights in texas, but it's not just texas. it's happening with newly imposed restrictions across the country. in a new "the washington post" op-said, officials say that native voters are -- and that's why some state legislatures want to make the hurdles higher. they're calling on congress to step in, and they write, quote, congress must act to restore the voting rights act in the face of this assault on our democratic principles. a fully functioning section 5 would have prevented arizona's discriminatory laws from going into effect, and a fully functions section 2 would prevent similar abuses in the future. when it comes to the fate of the substantially weak end voting rights act, one of the president biden's top allies, jim clyburn is now pointedly calling on

biden to scrap the filibuster in order to save it. congressman clyburn tells politico that a carve out for the signal should be supported for a amendment that applying to the constitution. the reform could make it possible for the -- and another bill reauthorizing key section of the 1965 voting rights act, with only democratic support. on tuesday, president biden is set to give a speech in philadelphia on defending access to the ballot box, and how his administration will take action to, quote, protect the sacred constitutional right to vote. meanwhile, congressional democrats are gearing up for another push, and chuck schumer says the fight has only just begun. democrats have been -- on the john lewis voting rights advancement act which could come for the house floor vote.

joining me is monica alba. good morning. president biden as we were just saying, is set to give a speed on voting rights this tuesday. i imagine some of his congressional colleagues are hoping for misthat sounds more like an initiative than a statement of support. >> reporter: this is after week of pressure for the president to use thinks bully pulpit more effectively, they argue. they wanted him to go out and speak about this more urgently. really the white house said they were going to perhaps plan a tour for him to go and speak in multiple different cities, but that was put on hold until they were, they say, able to get this big meetings that took place a couple days ago with key civil rights leaders and heads of organizations dots their input on the path forward. the white house saying they wanted that exchange of ideas before planning this speech that's going to take place on tuesday in philadelphia, the

birthplace of our democracy, and a place personally significant to president biden, a play where he held many events. that's a kickoff to a summer of action, at least that's what the civil rights leaders are calling for, saying you can hold all of they events and marching, but they would like to say action when it comes to this legislation, but that's currently stalled in its current form. i did have a chance to speak to some of them with the president and vice president, which, by the way, was slated originally for an hour. it went closer to two hours. i asked them how much of the conversation did focus on this issue of filibuster reform, and a potential carveout. they told me whomp they're discussing any of these issues, that comes up, but the president and the white house don't want to lean into that as intensely quite yet. that's something perhaps he will do later on, but on tut this is more about a broader speed and

misthat democracy is on the line, he said. he's called restrictions in texas, for instance, un-american and wrong. we can expect to hear more of that same message. remember, voting rights has always been the responsibility of vice president harris. that's a part of her portfolio. that's why we saw her give a speech a couple days ago, announcing a major multimillion dollars investment in the i will vote outreach program organized by the dnc. they're trying to stake steps where they can, given the issues on capitol hill, but many democrats are pushing for the president to take more executive action. we're told to think about this as the beginning of a series of speeches, not the end, even though in the words of these civil rights leaders, you can't organize your way out of this problem. they would like to see far more concrease action. ali. >> we'll be watching it closely.

monica alba for us at the white house. joining me is stays plaskett. she is was a house manager in the second impeachment trial. here's my question. the president may be saying something very interesting and very supportive, probably should, but in the end, he can take the executive action, but most voighting rights people tell me this has been to legislative both at the state and federal level. how does this get solved moving forward short of moving that filibuster and voting on these two important bills? >> well, i'm sure that good people like whip clyburn will be continues to have conversations with individuals in the senate. it takes great americans who are moving forward those civil

rights leaders which are going to the senators, but we won't get there until who are willing to come over and do the right thing. we have seen that has not happened in the last several years. so we will need the president, along with a regular americans, to get rid of the filibusters for us to be able to do this. we have our democracy on the line right now with voting right, with so much of the legislate we're trying to get done. i think this carveout is an appropriate one. >> this voting rights issue has existed since the beginning of america, but it exists now with some wind in its sails because of big lie, because of the idea that people are tying the election that donald trump says wasn't won properly to the fact there must be voters fraud

behind the whole thing. where do you think this january 6th committee is going? do you think kevin mccarthy will pull well-intentioned republicans there to try to get to the bottom of what happened? or are you worried he'll put people in who will try to obstruct the process. >> i believe -- he has shown repedestrianedly he's acting at every request of the former president donald trump. he's not acting in the best interests of the congress. we can expect, if he does put individuals on there, these will be the same type of individuals who are not about the truth, who are going to be grandstanding, using performative politics. but thankfully the commission has a quorum. i believe with bennie thompson

in place, they have someone who's been at the homeland security committee since its very inception. with the tremendous number of colleagues there, many of them with great intelligence, investigative backgrounds, all of them come to go pull together to get the subpoenas, question individuals, to not just find out the how, but the why, of january 6th, so it doesn't get repeated again. we also need to ensure we get the money to the capitol police we need. it's being held up right now in the senate, to ensure the capitol police can protect members of congress. >> chairman thompson has said he may subpoena people, including ex-president trump. he said obviously if the subpoena is refused -- let's play it in his words. >> well, obvious lip if the subpoena is refused, then we'll

go to court. in america, even when donald trump is involved, there is a judicial system. we will not hesitate to apply that system. >> so, i guess, this is the question for you. you know that right after the impeachment proceedings, mitch mcdonnell said we have a criminal justice system in this country, we have civil litigation, former presidents are not immune to being accountable to either one. you remember a whole bunch of reps saying this at the time, they are ways to hold whomever is responsible for january 6th accountable, and yet your colleagues won't do that little. >> right, they won't do that. i agree with bennie thompson, if the commission feels subpoenas are necessary for whomever, they'll go down that route. congress has been successful in the subpoena fight with other individuals in the past.

it was a year later, however, that we were able to win in court on the subpoena for mcgahn. i'm sure we'll be successful again. if they said to drag this out into the next election, we will do that. we're not afraid of doing that. we attempted to work in a bipartisan manner to work with them to ensure the commission and the report were done way ahead of time, but they didn't want us to play in a collegiate manner, but we'll do whatever is necessary for fight to democracy, to be good stewards, and we'll do whatever is necessary to make sure that happened. >> we talked for month before the election about the big lie, about the fact that donald trump was setting the stage for the idea that the election, if it did not favor him, was going to be illegitimate. this august energy -- i don't like to give the nonsensical

rumors any fuel, but it's working the way around with the same people who started talking about the big lie. they're talking about the fact that somehow someway donald trump will be president again in august. no one can explain to me exactly how this is going to happen. i am worried about the speed and velocity these lies get and the danger that that can have. we're seeing the fencing coming down around the capitol, we're pleased about that, but i'm worried about whether this thing has more life to it. i think we should all by legitimately worried. we did see, however, there was a theory by qanon and others he would be reinstated in march, which was the inauguration date of abe lincoln. that did not take place, thankfully. i think we're seeing the fbi, intelligence agencies, as well as committees within congress

doing what's necessary to protect the constitution, protect the capitol, even to bring many of these people in for questions, to detain them, to do what's necessary to thwart their efforts to, let's just say it, overthrow or government. so we're going to continue to be vigilant. august is a slow time. members of conquer not typically in the capitol during that time, but we want to protect the building, protect those that are there, and protect the other federal agencies that will have workers there, will have our president in place, and make sure that we can continue the people's work, that being for us to come out of the covid pandemic, to rebuild our government, to rectify those things that we have seen that have been problematic over the last multitude of years, and to move forward. >> let me ask another question that's close to your home, the situation going on in haiti.

what is your sense was what goods on in haiti? and what is your -- >> i'm grateful we've had briefings. members of conquer very concerned. myself, i happen to be the only member sitting in the english-speaking caribbean. i talked with many ex-officials, ex-prime ministers, ex-presidents, other individuals who are very concerned. i'm happy the state department is trying to get buy-in and support from the civil society there on the ground in haiti, along with trying to work behind the scenes to get all parties to sit down to create -- and i believe what's needed to be done is create a transition government to take them through the election cycle into an appropriate constitution, while at the same time keeping peace, keeping the covid pandemic down. we recognize even with the assassination of the prime

minister, you know, this is a flash point, but this is not the beginning nor the end of the problems of haiti. the issues with haiti have been so long-standing and go back to the time of their revolution when they were made to give enormous reparations to france that put them, up into the 1960s, in a precarious financial state. we as american citizens, being the power in this hemisphere need to stay vigilant. i understand the fbi and other law enforcement will advise, but i'm hoping the state department, the good members there, secretary blinken, the ambassador to haiti, will be able to negotiate a peace until they can get to a new government. >> thank you for joining us this

morning, representative stacey plaskett. hundreds of texas residents show up at the state capitol to have their voices heard. i'll take to a lawmaker about what they are prepared to do this time to stop attacks on voting rights. the space flight has been delayed about 90 minutes, but we are still expecting that launch within the next couple hours. you're watching "velshi" on msnbc. g "velshi" on msnbc. new parodontax active gum repair toothpaste. tired of clean clothes that just don't smell clean? what if your clothes could stay fresh for weeks? now they can! this towel has already been used and it still smells fresh. pour a cap of downy unstopables into your washing machine before each load

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virgin galactic's space launch has been delayed about 90 minutes due to weather. about 10:15 eastern, they're expected to launch. this is video from a successful test flight that was completed in may, when the space plane

reaching about 55 miles above the new mexico desert, brandon and his crew will experience a few minutes of complete weightlessness. is sadly they'll return to earth just as they left it, an earth languishes in a climate cries. death valley his over 130 degrees, millions of people are under an excessive heat warning or advisory. the region is burning through its third heat wave this summer. nearly 200 people have died in the pacific northwest because of the heat. the weight of climate change is crushing us. in 1961, when russia became the first country to orbit the earth, america raised to put a man on the moon. when one billionaire said he would launch himself into space, we need to treat this climate crisis like the space to race,

racing to save the only habitable planet within our reach. right now we are dead last, but let today be a bit of history to inspire you. if we can do what we're doing in the next hour, race to put civilians in space, we can do what needs to be done in the race against climate change. the science exists. it's just a matter of making the right choices. right choices. to gelato made from scratch. raise the jar to all five layers. raise the jar to the best gelato... you've ever tasted. talenti. raise the jar. you're clearly someone who takes care of yourself. so why wait to screen for colon cancer? because when caught in early stages, it's more treatable. i'm cologuard. i'm noninvasive and detect altered dna in your stool to find 92% of colon cancers even in early stages. tell me more. it's for people 45 plus at average risk for colon cancer, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your prescriber or an online prescriber

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despite the u.s. making significant economic strides in recent months, there are any indicator that is job growth could slow down. initial jobless claims for the week ending july 3rd total 373,000, exceeding expectations by about 20,000. the previous week's level was revised up by 7 thousands. it had been 364,000, it is in and out 371,000. these adjustments happen, but this comes after a very strong jobs report for the month of june in which 850,000 jobs were

added and the unemployment rate stood at 5.9%. i want to bring in marty walsh, the former mayor of boston, massachusetts. thank you for being with us. can you draw us a picture? you, the bureau of labor statistics study these trends all the time. we look at them week to week, but what do the trends tell you about when we get back to normal -- and i all that where we were after before the pandemic. >> i think it's still too early to say this is where where the number is going to be, you know, we're living in a word of covid-19, we're living in a world now of concern about variants, many people are. living in a world that some businesses completely shut down at the beginning of the pandemic. some are not going to reopen. so it's not a full forecast, but i do feel good. the president's economic plan that he put in front of us and put in front of this country in

the beginning of his presidency here, we saw 3.1 million jobs come back into the economy. we're continues to make investment in the american rescue plan. we're continuing to see great strides across the country. this fall, many businesses that have gone remote are talking about bringing people back into the office, so i think we have a good, strong outlook here. >> some demand seems to be coming back to small businesses, retailers, small businesses that need to hire people. those people have told us they're having trouble finding staff. almost every place i go to has a sign that says we're hiring right now. on the other hand we have seen competition for wages increase. wages are going up, and a number of governors are treating this as a bad thing. they're saying because of the extended unemployment benefits that are soon coming to an end, employers would have to pay up

to get employees. how do we reconcile this? racing wages for the lowers-earning people is not a bad thing, but it's hard for our small employer, hard for our small, you know, restaurant owners and shopkeepers. >> yeah, certainly nothing wrong with people making more money, and i certainly support that. the president supports that. i think as far as unemployment keep people out of we're, there's a lot of factors there, lack of child care, people concerned about their personal health, people worried about people not vaccinated. as we get into august, september, as the unemployment goes away, the $300, we'll still have concerns about people going back to work. as far as the wages go, i think that this is something that for a long time this country, employees have been paid less than they deserve. the fact is if employers have to pay more for their employees, i think that's a good thing.

i think that will help people pull into the middle class, and certainly we need to consider the ecosystem around those businesses as well, so those businesses kin to do well. we could have businesses going out of business because they have to pay their employees only. we have to support the complete ecosystem. >> you're right, if the ecosystem earns more morning, hence they spend more money, that's what success look like, but that could take years of adjustment to get there. you were a mayor, you want to deal with small businesses all the time. how do you move the whole ecosystem forward, where we become a higher-earning, higher-paying society. i think one way is the president's infrastructure plan, moving those forward. there's investments there in physical infrastructure in this country. that money will go into economies across this country,

every city and care, and the economy where we're make investment to have high-quality care for our older people, our children, those are the things that continue to push or economy forward and continue to keep the economy going forward. >> let me ask you quickly, secretary, is there a way to take advantage of the fact we have been short of a number of skilled workers in this country for years? and now we have people reconsidering going back to their jobs? is this an opportunity for the retraining that we've been talking for years? >> it's a big opportunity for retraining. it's incumbent upon us at the department of labor to make sure we get the training dollars that congress appropriated and the senate appropriated, and the president, and we get those on the street. i think there's a big opportunity to retrain and help people find new careers that could advance themselves. we are at a moment -- the thing about this moment in time, we've never lived thus anything like

this. we've never gone through -- i don't know if you can call it a recession, about a ko individual period of time, where so many people were laid off, unemployed. now we're coming out of a covid time, people are certainly concerned about what the future looks like. lots of people during this period of the last 16, 18 months, have been thinking about am i in the right career? should i change nair career? so now is time to put investments in job training, and working with businesses to help prepared workers for the future. >> what a great thing to encourage. good to see you, thank you for being here. the pandemic is exacerbating homelessness, but the city of denver has implemented a new approach. plus this is a live look at truth and consequences, new mexico looks like a beautiful morning, but weather conditions

have delayed the launch of the virgin galactic. this thing is planning on launching sometime in the next couple hours. we'll have a quick look at the runway. stick around. much more "velshi" coming up. mp where we're driving down the cost of insurance. ♪ ♪ are you down, down♪ ♪d-down, down? are you♪ drivers who switched saved over $700. ♪ allstate. here, better protection costs a whole lot less. you're in good hands. click or call for a lower rate today. 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,

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even decades and the pandemic made things much worse. the problem surged leaving cities scrambling to find new ways to provide shell foreits set zen. we took a trip to denver, colorado. >> reporter: tucked into a church parking loss is alan bose's new neighborhood. >> i was living in an apartment to 15 years, i came home to a note, order to quit. >> reporter: in the middle of the pandemic you were left without a home? >> yes. >> reporter: you'll i'm similar stories, with the crisis came an unlikely solution -- city-sanctioned camp sites, launched in december 2020. clean, colorful rows of tents provide people a bed to call their own, complete with 24/7 security and daily meals. >> we have housing navigation,

employment navigation. we have an outreach doctor, an outreach nurse who comes in, mental health professionals. >> reporter: had newest side can county 40 people. the other side with house 60, but with thousands still unsheltered, the goal is to expand into many more parts. you were skeptical at first. >> i didn't find anything humane, but it was, one, the pandemic, but looking at the model, that showed me, and we had to give it a try. >> reporter: the trial run away proving successful, but the ultimate goal is to get people out of the tents, into homes. >> what the space does is provides the break from having to claw your way to a rest room or to a shower to watch your clothes, and once your basic needs are met, what you see is this natural progression into, okay, what now?

>> reporter: that break meant everything to alan. why is it important to have a place like this in between homes? >> you always have a hub to come home to. >> reporter: you know where you're going to sleep every night? >> you no know where you're going toe sleep. up next, we'll take you lift to where the "vss unity" will launch. we're looking at the runway. the sun is rising. this is near truth or consequences, new mexico. the "unity" will launch a little under two hours. it was delayed because of some weather overnight, some winds that prevented the aircraft getting into position. more "velshi" after a quick break. "velshi" after a quick break. limu, you're an animal! only pay for what you need.

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morning mountain highly anticipated launch of "unity 22" mission to space. joining us is nbc news correspondent tom costello. tom, i wish i were there, where you are, as you know. this is just one of those things, in your long career, that you're going to look back as a piece of aviation history, space history. been delayed for a little while, but not that big of a deal, really? >> reporter: really not a big deal. 90 minutes. it's a beautiful day. it's 80 degrees, sunny, no rain, but there were some high winds or higher winds than they would like last night on the ground. that delayed them pushing the aircraft out so they could fuel it. that's why we have a delay. everything is pushed back by 90 minutes. it's still supposed to take off 10:30 eastern time. can i show you spaceport

america? right behind me this is a $250 million facility that the state of new mexico built in the middle of a desolate piece of new mexico real estate. i used to live just down the road. my first job was in el paso, texas. this place is desolate. the new mexico residents would tell you that. that's why they chose it. it's a perfect place to take off, land and build a commercial space operation. right now virgin galactic is pretty much the prime, the only serious player right now on this piece of real estate, but they believe this is the future, that we're going to see many, many more civilian passenger commercial operation here. if you've ever driven up other down i-25, you usually go past truth or consequences. this is richard branson, his

three other passengers who work for virgin galactic, and then the two pilots. they've already had several test flights with just the pilots. this is the first time they have branson and the passengers on board. as you know, it's all about getting to the edge of space, which nasa and the pentagon say is 15 miles up. there's been back-and-forth. the bezos teams that is space is up 62 miles, so the bezos team is suggesting that branson and his passengers won't be real astronauts, they'll have an asterisk by their name, and last night bezos tried to clean it up, wishing branson luck. there's clearly bragging rights, but in the end, every billionaire in this space race needs everybody to succeed,

because if god forbid something bad happens, you are going to see essentially the public interested in this, in terms of flying, dry up. so everybody benefits from having a successful operation for everyone involved. >> you and i have covered a lot of launches of sorts. in the look different. it's not a rocket ship going straight up. >> reporter: let's be very clear, the virgin blackive operation, the spaceship "unity" is locked underneath a big sportship with two fuj handles, and it's named by brandon's movie named eve. and then it rereleas "unity." contrast that to what's happening with the bezos blue origin operation.

that is a rocket in the sense you and i are aware of. it's all fully autonomous, driven by the ground, if you will, six passengers on that one as well. two different versions of passenger flight. >> tom, we will be checking in with you frequently what an exciting, exciting day. you're guide us through it. tom costello is on the ground at spaceport america obviously we'll be paying attention if you have anything to report. up next i'll talk to one of the texas democrats fighting to block restrictive voting laws from being proposed by the are pleases in the state house. there is talk of another potential walkout. i'll ask about it, next. impore in the nutritional drink you choose. try boost glucose control. it's clinically shown to help manage blood sugar levels and contains high quality protein to help manage hunger and support muscle health. try boost today. we made usaa insurance for members like martin. an air force veteran made of doing what's right,

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we'll keep you ready for what's next. get started with a great offer and ask how you can add comcast business securityedge. plus, for a limited time, ask how to get a $500 prepaid card when you upgrade. call today. nearly 300 texas residents showed up to the state capitol yesterday to voice their opinion on the state fight over voting rights. for more than 12 hours citizens on both sides of the aisle expressed thoughts on the proposed gop voter restriction bill some opposing it some supporting it. one of the testimonies came from kyle wong, a 17-year-old, who is wise beyond his years. >> there is literally no time to waste. i am watching voting rights being taken away in front of my eyes and the urgency is more than ever. it is imperative that president biden and all of the senators

pass the john lewis voting act and the for the people act. these things need to be done now. otherwise the damage inflicted in these state houses will take years to decades to undo. >> it would add i.d. requirements, ban drive through and early overnight voting and add criminal penalties to the election process and empower partisan poll watchers. those are only a few of the proposed restrictions. whet the author of the voter suppression bill was pressed to provide evidence of voter fraud related to things like 24-hour voting or ballot drop boxes or drive through voting, all of the things this bill is trying to ban or restrict, he actually admitted he had no example. joining me now is the democratic state representative from texas. good to see you again. this is what i'm trying to get from people. everywhere, in arizona, texas, michigan, georgia, pennsylvania. what is it that your bill would solve exactly?

tell me the time when somebody went through 24-hour voting and it wasn't them or they voted three times, they drove through and came back. nobody seems to have examples of what this problem is they are trying to solve. >> this really is a solution in search of a problem. over and over again we've asked republicans including the governor to go ahead and give us examples. they've never been able to provide any. the reality is our republican secretary of state called this election safe, secure, and successful. no examples of voter fraud. now they're trying to prosecute a guy in houston who waited in line forever, turns out he is an american citizen, was eligible to vote, but for the fact that he was still on some sort of parole. so they're coming hard at him. other than that one single case which is really a technicality and mistake not with the intention of committing any type of irregularity, there is no example of what is going on,

what my great colleagues in the house who have been sitting there overnight on the committee hearing that ended moments ago for 24 hours they sat and listened to overwhelming testimony by texans that say, don't take away my freedom to vote. >> what we have lots of examples of because we have lots of pictures is people standing in really long lines to vote. we have some texas counties where people had to drive or be taken from one side of the county to the other. i live in manhattan where i vote one and a half blocks from my house, so these things don't resonate with me. i think that might be part of the problem. for many millions of americans, trouble voting does not resonate with them so they don't understand the crisis we're facing. >> this is about chipping away at the right to vote for some of our most vulnerable texans. the disability community had a big press conference reese ebbettly saying, hey -- recently saying, hey, this bill is going to make it harder for us to vote. people of color. people who may not have the

right i.d., may not have a concealed handgun license but may have their college i.d., would still not be able to vote in the state of texas. it is stuff like that that these bureaucrat steps republicans are trying to put in place to make it slightly harder for people to vote. let me tell you, it is not just going to impact democrats but republicans, independents, and everybody else. this is really about the freedom to vote for texans. that's why we're fighting so hard. >> if you could do away with the myth that there is widespread -- i don't even like the expression widespread voter fraud because it makes it sound like there is lots of but not widespread. there isn't even lots of voter fraud, not even a significant amount of voter fraud. there is virtually no voter fraud in america. do you believe if you could do away with that myth then right-minded republicans would say, this is unnecessary, we should probably put all of this effort into all of the things that make people vote, that will encourage them to volt, that

will allow more time for voting and more places for voting? >> you know, the big fraud is the big lie that suggests that somehow people stole this election from donald trump. the reality is that voter fraud, if it exists at all, is a rounding error of a rounding error especially in a place like texas which is one of the hardest states to vote in the entire union. this really isn't about what republicans say it's about. this is about political power. this is about maintaining control in a state like texas that continues to close and partisan margin and this is about, really, not only state elections but national elections. fraud is a pretext. this is really about reducing access to the franchise, making it harder for people to exercise their right to vote, their freedom to vote. that way they can hold on to power. that is really the most cynical and un-democratic pretext and motivation that anybody can have republicans are exercising to

the maximum. >> democratic state representative, anchio, thank you for joining us. stick around. even though the virgin galactic launch has been delayed by a little bit don't worry. we'll bring you all the space coverage you can dream of plus i'll talk with my guest about the select committee to investigate the january 6th insurrection and the latest push of the big lie. go nowhere. another hour of "velshi" begins right now. good morning. i'm ali velshi and it is sunday, july 11th. we are about 90 minutes away from virgin galactic's space launch. the #please 0-year-old founder rich -- the 70-year-old founder is scheduled to blast off to the edge of space accompanied by five others. the launch was scheduled for right about now but there has been a delay due to weather. the vss unity, virgin spaceship unity, will take off from

spaceport america in new mexico. the spacecraft will be carried by a larger mother plane to an altitude of about 50,000 feet above sea level. that's higher than you typically fly in a commercial aircraft. from there unity will be released. its rocket plane motor will ignite, carrying the craft to about 50 miles above the earth. at that point the pilot and crew will be able to exit their seats and enjoy sweeping views of earth while experiencing about four minutes of apparent weightlessness, lack of gravity. the special coverage starts a little later in the hour. first, to what's happening here on earth. the fbi and department of homeland security officials are arriving in haiti to assist with the investigation into the assassination of the country's president. just last week a group of assailants stormed the president's home, shooting and killing him and wounding his wife. while the assassination has sent the country into a state of shock and literal state of siege, as of now the u.s. does not have plans t