senate majority leader chuck schumer says he hopes to get the bill passed this week but, that, of course, involves republican senators so we shall see. we'll continue to keep a close eye on this story as it develops because frankly, time is running out. that does it for us tonight. we'll see you again tomorrow. "way too early" is up next. ♪♪ if a hitman is hired and he kills somebody, the hitman goes to jail. but not only does the hitman go to jail, but the person who hired him does. it was an attack carried out on january 6th. and a hitman sent them. i want you to get to the bottom of that. >> an emotional day of testimony as four officers recall the violence they witnessed and endured that day. the question is what do republican lawmakers think of their testimony? republican lawmakers think of their testimony?

. plus, with coronavirus infections on the rise, the cdc is once again recommending that people wear masks indoors in certain areas with high transmission rate. the question is will we see that? and breaking overnight, simone biles pulls out of the overall competition. the question is will she still compete in other events next week? it's "way too early" for this. good morning, and welcome to "way too early" the show that's always pulling for team usa. i'm elise jordan on this wednesday, july 28th. we'll start out with the news. we begin with the capitol riot investigation and the emotional testimony we heard yesterday from officers who responded to the january 6th insurrection, in visceral, unsparing language, they shared their experience

defending the u.s. capitol. he were a witness for history about battling the mob of rioters who stormed the capitol for the certification of joe biden as the elected president. here's some of their heart-wrenching moments of their testimony at yesterday's hearing. >> january 6th, for the first time i was moral parade to work in the capitol than my entire deployment to iraq. a rioter called me a traitor, a disgrace, and shouted that i, i, an army veteran and police officer, should be executed. the rioters who reached the capitol were shouting, we want trump. i do believe i heard officers screaming in agony and pain just

an arm's length from me. i didn't know at that time that was officer hodges. and he's here today to testify. i, too, was being crushed by the rioters. i could see myself losing oxygen and recall thinking to myself this is how i'm going to die defending this entrance. >> i ended up on my hands and knees and blind. the medical mask i was wearing at the time to protect myself from the coronavirus was pulled over my eyes so i couldn't see. i braced myself against the blows and feared the worse. i was effectively helpless from the increasing pressure of the mob. directly in front of me, a man seized my vulnerability, grabbed my gas mask and forced the straps against my skull and neck. he never uttered any words i recognized but opted instead for

guttural screams. i remember him foaming at the mouth. he also put his cell phone in his mouth so he had both hands free to assault me. >> i told them just leave the capitol. the response was, no man, this is our house. president trump invited us here. we're here to stop the steal. one woman in a pink maga shirt yelled, you hear that guys, this [ bleep ] voted for joe biden. then the crowd perhaps around 20 people joined in screaming, boo [ bleep ] -- no one had ever, ever called me a [ bleep ] while wearing the uniform of a capitol police officer. another black officer later told me, he had been confronted with insurrectionists in the capitol who told him put your gun down and we'll show you what kind of a [ bleep ] you really are.

>> i was grabbed, beaten, tased all while being called a traitor to my country. at some point, i was dragged from the line of officers and into the crowd. i heard someone scream, i got one. as i was swarmed by a violent mob, they ripped off my badge. they grabbed and stripped me of my radio. they seized ammunition that was secured to my body. they began to beat me with their fists and what felt like hard metal objects. at one point, i came face-to-face with an attacker who repeatedly lunged at me and attempted to remove my firearm. i heard chanting from some in the crowd. get his gun and kill him with his own gun. i was aware enough to recognize i was at risk of being stripped you have and killed with my own firearm. i was electrocuted again and again and again with a taser.

i feel like i went to hell and back to protect them and the people in this room. but too many are now telling me that hell doesn't exist, or that hell actually wasn't that bad. the indifference shown to my colleagues is disgraceful! >> not only do americans owe these officers a debt for their service protecting democracy on that horrible day, the future generations are going to benefit because they sat in front of the world and they shared these powerful firsthand accounts for history. yesterday's hearing included some never before seen video from january 6th and audio from officers on the ground. a warning, some may find this footage disturbing.

>> they're still taking metal, sharpened object it's, missiles, to include bottles and rocks and hand-thrown chemical fireworks. >> if i give this up, they're going to have direct access. at least the scaffold we can defend.

that's what we have. house republicans, congressman adam kinzinger and liz cheney railed against republicans and they vowed that an attack of that magnitude will never happen again. >> american people deserve the full and open testimony of every person with knowledge of the planning and preparation for january 6th. we must know what happened here at the capitol. we must also know what happened every minute of that day in the white house. every phone call, every conversation, every meeting. leading up to, during and after the attack. >> i never expected today to be quite as emotional for me as it has been. i've talked to a number of you and gotten to know you. i think it's important to tell you right now, though. you guys may like individually

feel a little broken because, you all talked about the effects you have to deal with. you talked about the impact of that day. but you guys won. you guys held. democracies are not defined by power bad days. we're defined how we combat bad days. how we take accountability for that. and for all the overheated rhetoric surrounding this committee, our mission is very simple, it's to find the truth and it's to ensure accountability. >> joining us now nbc news capitol hill correspondent leigh ann caldwell. leigh ann, you were in the room for yesterday's hearing what did you find to be the most surprising or important moment? >> reporter: good morning, elise. i was in the room for most of

that yesterday, and it was really hard to sit there in this very serious, somber sad room. but watching these officers watch their video body cam footage was probably the hardest part for them, having to relive this experience again. what came out for me, out of this hearing is that the point of this hearing was not only to tell these officers' stories to let them tell their firsthand accounts of the front lines of that day, but also to refute all of the january 6th denying that has been going on among the republican party up on capitol hill, and conservative media. and that was an important thing to get on the record for this committee. and also to push back against these january 6th deniers. and so, while for all of us who cover this very closely and

watch every incremental new piece of information that comes out, there was nothing really, quote, new that we learned yesterday. but for those americans who aren't watching this on a daily basis, whose job it is not to follow every incremental step, there was a lot of new information. because this is the first time that congress has heard directly from rank and file police officers. and i will say, elise, i've been talking to capitol police officers for the last months, and they've been wanting this, they've been wanting congress to hear their stories, not just from the top brass who were finger pointing, left, right and center, but for what they went through that day, elise. >> leigh ann, you're so right that it was so powerful to hear the totality of what happened and to hear it first hand from the officers who were on the ground tasked with defending the capitol, how are congressman

kinzinger and congressman cheney's fellow republicans reacting to yesterday's hearing? >> reporter: well, the republican leadership, before the hearing even started held a press conference led by leader mccarthy, his original choices to sit on this committee and other members of leadership and they tried to distract and redirect the conversation and blaming speaker pelosi for what happened on january 6th. now, we're going to hear this argument over and over again. this is the same argument they said throughout the day yesterday when they went on fox news and elsewhere. you know, i want to walk through it because we're going to hear it over and over again. speaker pelosi is not in charge of day-to-day security at the capitol. speaker did not say the election was stolen. speaker pelosi did not call her supporters to the capitol that day, you know. and there are some conversations with the u.s. capitol police

board that does have oversight on the security decisions of that day with leadership offices. but if speaker pelosi was to blame, they need to be asking questions about what leader mcconnell who was majority leader at the time what he did and is he to blame. now, these leaders had very small roles because they would perhaps talk about the security posture in the days and weeks leading up. we don't know what those conversations are. but this is just an attempt from republicans to distract from what the former president did. what members of their party did. and that is not something that we've not heard from them. it's interesting that adam kinzinger and liz cheney were the only people to bring up the members of their party and the former president. >> leeann, thank you for bringing out the facts who is responsible for security and that nancy pelosi is not to blame for what went down on

january 6th. i worked in american politics, and i understand that blaming nancy pelosi can sometimes be an effective political ploy, but right now this is way bigger than that, so thank you. still ahead, breaking news from politico, u.s. gymnastics has said that simone biles has withdrawn from another event. plus, losing its grip. what does that say about the former gop. we'll be right back.

ever notice how stiff clothes can feel rough on your skin? for softer clothes that are gentle on your skin, try downy free & gentle downy will soften your clothes without dyes or perfumes. the towel washed with downy is softer, and gentler on your skin. try downy free & gentle. (customer) hi? (burke) happy anniversary. (customer) for what? (burke) every year you're with us, you get fifty dollars toward your home deductible. it's a policy perk for being a farmers customer. (customer) do i have to do anything? (burke) nothing. (customer) nothing? (burke) nothing. (customer) nothing? (burke) nothing. (customer) hmm, that is really something. (burke) you get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. see ya. (kid) may i have a balloon, too? (burke) sure. your parents have maintained a farmers home policy for twelve consecutive months, right? ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ (burke) start with a quote at 1-800-farmers.

are you one of the millions of americans who experience occasional bloating, gas, or abdominal discomfort? taking align can help. align contains a quality probiotic to naturally help soothe digestive upsets 24/7. try align, the pros in digestive health.

u.s. gymnast simone biles won't defend her title to me. u.s. gymnastics announced earlier this morning that biles has withdrawn from the event, quote, in order to focus on her mental health.

and she will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether or not she will participate in individual finals. the four-time olympic gold medallist shocked the world yesterday when she pulled out of the team gymnastics final saying emotional toll of the games, not a physical injury prompted her withdrawal. biles told nbc, quote, physically, i'm feeling good, i'm in shape but she added, quote, emotionally, it varies on time and moment. coming to the olympics and being a head star is not an easy feat. we have to focus on ourselves because at the end of the day we're human, too, biles said, to the ap. we have to protect our mind and body. biles withdrew from the competition yesterday following one rotation on a vault in which she bailed out of a twist and stumbled on the landing before existing the floor with the team doctor. she later returned in a

sweatshirt to cheer on her team in the remaining rotations from the sideline. but her exit opened the door for the team of russian athletes to win the gold for the first time in nearly three decades. still, biles expressed her pride in her olympic teammates in instagram, writing in part, quote, they stepped up when i couldn't. thanks for being there for me and having my back. biles is the first woman since 1992 to advance to all six possible gymnastics finals at the olympics. so, she could still possibly still compete in our more events. there was a second showdown between u.s. swimmer katie ledecky and australia's ayarnny titmus. ledecky was left off the podium

finishing fifth as titmus to win the gold. an hour later, ledecky returned to claim gold in the debut of the women's 1500 freestyle race. and it was her sixth career gold and 15th gold medal for the u.s. team. and teammate erica sullivan picked up the silver. and another performance last night from alex walsh and katie douglass in the 200-meter medley. meanwhile, the fastest swimmer in the world, caeleb dressel is expected to bring home another medal with the fastest time recorded in the world this year. and from the diving platform this morning, andrew capobianco and michael hixon earned silver in the synchronized final.

the u.s. men's basketball team returned to its ways this morning, bouncing back. a streak of 25 straight olympic wins come to an end with the 120-66 victory over iran. meanwhile, the women's 3x3 team. the u.s. currently leads the world with 30 total medals. straight ahead, lawmakers say infracture deal within reach with the deal. but will they get the job done before the recess? we're back in a moment. innovating, sourcing organic ingredients, testing them and fermenting. fermenting? yeah like kombucha or yogurt. and we formulate everything so your body can really truly absorb the natural goodness.

that's what we do, so you can do you. new chapter wellness, well done. ♪ ♪ experience, hyper performance that takes you further. at the lexus golden opportunity sales event. get 0.9% apr financing on the all 2021 lexus hybrid models. experience amazing.

the sleep number 360 smart bed is on sale now. it's the most comfortable, dually-adjustable, get 0.9% apr financing on the all 2021 lexus hybrid models. foot-warming, temperature-balancing... proven quality night sleep we've ever made. save up to $1,000 on select sleep number 360 smart beds and adjustable bases. plus, 0% interest for 24 months. only for a limited time. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy, even a term policy, for an immediate cash payment. call coventry direct to learn more. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized that we needed a way to supplement our income. our friends sold their policy to help pay for their medical bills and that got me thinking. maybe selling our policy could help with our retirement. i'm skeptical, so i did some research and called coventry direct. they explained life insurance is a valuable asset that can be sold. we learned that we can sell all of our policy or keep part of it with no future payments, who knew? we

sold our policy. now we can relax and enjoy our retirement as we had planned. if you have one hundred thousand dollars or more of life insurance you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit conventrydirect.com to find out if you policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance. this is a gamechanger, who dares to be fearless even when her bladder leaks. our softest, smoothest fabric keeping her comfortable, protected, and undeniably sleek. depend. the only thing stronger than us, is you. lawmakers working on the bipartisan infrastructure bill are optimistic that they are close to reaching a deal. a final agreement was uncertain earlier in the week after both sides spent the weekend arguing

over last-minute disagreements. senators also said they needed to find more sources of funding after the congressional budget office estimate came up short of what they were expecting. senator kevin kramer of north dakota defending the slow pace of negotiations. >> it's been five weeks of negotiating. now, before we think that five weeks is a long time, remember, that the senate is a very deliberative body. it's a transactional body. it's a 50/50 share of power structure here. it takes big time to do big time and our opponents want it that way. we're talking about spending $20 billion. it should take a while. >> as the so-called audit into arizona's election result continues, it could cost the state $9 million. the analysis comes from "the washington post" which reports arizona is already on the hook to pay roughly $3 billion to replace the voting machines in

maricopa county. that's because the partisan firm conducting the audit, cyberninjas cannot ensure that the machines haven't been infected with malicious content during the process. and the united states senate apparently issued a new subpoena for the county to hand over the routers used during the election. that came after a rambling speech from former president donald trump over the weekend, demanding that the routers be turned over. replacing those could cost arizona an additional $6 million. still ahead, as the delta variant rages on, the cdc issues new mask guidance for the fully vaccinated. and oh, is that lady gaga being spotted at the olympics? we'll tell you why folks are doing a double take in tokyo. but before we get a break, we want to know why are you awake? email your reasons to "way too

early" @msnbc.com. or use the #waytooearly. we'll read the answers later on in the show. the show. full prescription-strength? reduces inflammation? thank the gods. don't thank them too soon. kick pain in the aspercreme. rush hour will never feel the same. experience, thrilling performance from our entire line of vehicles at the lexus golden opportunity sales event. lease the 2021 is 300 for $379 a month for 36 months. experience amazing. are you one of the millions of americans who experience occasional bloating, gas, for $379 a month for 36 months. or abdominal discomfort? taking align can help. align contains a quality probiotic to naturally help soothe digestive upsets 24/7. try align, the pros in digestive health. if you're 55 and up, t-mobile has plans built just for you. switch now and get 2 unlimited lines and 2 free smartphones. and now get netflix on us.

it's all included with 2 lines for only $70 bucks! only at t-mobile. i've lost count of how many asthma attacks i've had. but my nunormal with nucala? fewer asthma attacks. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection-site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your doctor about nucala. find your nunormal with nucala.

two out of three guys experience hair loss by the age 35. kind of scary. that's why i use keeps. keeps offers clinically proven treatment, and the sooner you

start the more hair you can keep. get started for $1 a day at keeps.com. ♪♪ welcome back to "way too early." it's 5:30 on the east coast and 2:30 out west. i am elise jordan. the cdc is issuing a major reversal of mask guidelines, now recommends fully vaccinated people wear masks in low vaccination areas. this comes amid unsettling new

science revealing that fully vaccinated people can still spread the delta variant. nbc's gabe gutierrez has the latest. >> reporter: another about face. the cdc once again recommending indoor mask wearing even among vaccinated people, in areas of high transmission rates. saying while vaccinated people rarely get covid, new data shows they do get infected with the delta variant that can be carrying higher levels of the virus than previously not increasing the risk of infecting areas. >> the new guide underscores how serious the situation is for not only unvaccinated people but vaccinated people as well. >> reporter: president biden weighing in. >> under consideration now if you're not vaccinated you're not as smart as i thought you were. >> reporter: >> it's a great day for america. >> reporter: when vaccinated americans were told they no longer needed to mask up indoors. in washington, vice president

harris seen wearing a mask indoors because of high cases there. nearly two-thirds of the country have higher cases including georgia where some are skeptical on how effective the new mask will be. >> i just feel like i can breathe air. >> reporter: from imposing mask orders many states have high transmit rates so in effect, new guidance will be more of a recommendation than a mandate. in another swift reversal, the cdc is advising everyone in k through 12 schools to wear masks indoors, even teens who are vaccinate. >> to hear that means we're executing in the right direction. >> reporter: dr. lisa harrington is the superintendent of atlanta schools who just days ago announced her district would adopt an indoor mask mandate. what do you say with parents who say, look, the government is not going to tell us what to do. >> we heard the voices.

and we honor and recognize that. we have a responsibility for all students. a household has a responsibility for those within it. >> reporter: across the country, a patchwork of three biggest districts new york and chicago and florida will require masks. andrea is so confused she's decided to home school her daughter. >> it's so different. one school district up the highway is different. >> reporter: the cdc director says the new mask guidance is unwelcome news that weighing heavily on her but not a decision that officials took lightly. >> joining us now, clinical director of infectious diseases at brigham and women's hospital dr. paul saks. dr. saks, thanks for joining us. there's a lot of news around unvaccinated americans to mask-up indoors.

can you explain what the cdc is recommending and why? >> sure, comes down to the delta variant is so transmissible than the previous virus that was circulating, that even among our vaccinated people they can still get the infection and can potentially spread it to others. and that's rising case loads around the country. that's something that we do not want to see, but since we started to see it, i'm glad the cdc responded the way they did. i would recommend that people wear masks indoors if they cannot guarantee being surrounded by other vaccinated individuals and i do support the recommendation for schools. >> dr. sax, is it reasonable for the cdc to require that students mask under 12, is that what the recommendations say? please tell me if i misinterpreted because this would mean masking up in your own home and i think people are recoiling at that.

>> yeah, within your own home, it's a different situation, within your home, you're in your own bubble, there might be situations where you would do that in your own home, particularly if you're immunocompromised. but for most people, masking indoors is not recommended. but there is a risk, right now, this is a lot of covid-19 being transmitted. we're seeing rising numbers in all parts of the united states, in particular, regions with vaccinated have a high proportion of the population. i'm cautioning people, as much as we're tired of it, this is a good recommendation. >> president biden has confirmed that a vaccine mandate among federal employees is under consideration. do you think that a vaccine mandate for federal employees will help slow the delta variant? >> well, you might not be surprised to hear this, but i'm very much in favor of vaccine

mandates in any situation where other people are being put at risk. we know that the best way to prevent this infection is to get vaccinated. so that means businesses, schools and other groups, such as the federal government, can make this move. we've already done it lots of others. i'd like to cite the united states for schools. and we can get a higher portion of the population vaccinated. once that happens, i think that will turn the tide and make this another virus that will circulate in the community and not one that's so life-threatening. >> oh, that day, turning the tide and just another virus. dr. paul sax, thanks for coming on and educating us. still ahead, the totally different thread to watch out for while walking new york city sidewalks. "way too early" is back in a moment.

when you really need to sleep you reach for the really good stuff. new zzzquil ultra helps you sleep better and longer when you need it most. it's non habit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil. new zzzquil ultra. when you really really need to sleep. why choose proven quality sleep from sleep number? because a quality night's sleep is scientifically proven to help increase energy. the new sleep number 360 smart bed helps keep you asleep by sensing your movement and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. proven quality sleep is life-changing sleep. only from sleep number. centrum multigummies aren't just great tasting... they're power-packed vitamins...

that help unleash your energy. loaded with b vitamins... ...and other key essential nutrients... ...it's a tasty way to conquer your day. try centrum multi gummies. now with a new look. did you know diarrhea is often caused by bad bacteria in food? try pepto® diarrhea. its concentrated formula coats and kills bacteria to relieve diarrhea. see, pepto® diarrhea gets to the source, killing the bad bacteria. so, make sure to have pepto® diarrhea on hand. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy, even a term policy, for an immediate cash payment. call coventry direct to learn more. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized that we needed a way to supplement our income. our friends sold their policy to help pay for their medical bills and that got me thinking. maybe selling our policy could help with our retirement. i'm skeptical, so i did some research and called coventry direct. they explained life insurance is a valuable asset that can be sold. we learned that we can sell all of our policy or keep part of it with

no future payments, who knew? we sold our policy. now we can relax and enjoy our retirement as we had planned. if you have one hundred thousand dollars or more of life insurance you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit conventrydirect.com to find out if you policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance.

time now for something totally different, new york city mayor bill de blasio and producer clive days are reviewing the city's mega concert. head lining the comeback concert of paul simon, jennifer hudson and the boss bruce springsteen. also, ll cool j, jon batiste. and the homecoming concert will take place august 21st, 5:00 p.m. in central oncertgoers the prove proof of vaccination. and 80% of proceeds will be free. and a surprise infection of a disgraced executive. the government's martin shreli's

wu-tang clan album to pay off the fraud. he had previously purchased the album for over $2 million. it was momented as an unique work of or the with no physical or digital duplicate in existence. he's vilified for hiking the prize that treated an infection by 4,000%. he's currently serving a seven-year sentence of cheating investors of hedge funds and trying to prop up another company. and a new yorker is recovering after surviving an underground explosion in queens. it shows it billowing smoke

minutes before a new yorker steps over it. knocking him to the ground. he then appears to get up and walk away from the blaze. west suffered second degree burps and is recovering at the hospital. get well soon, mr. west. utility company con edison tells nbc news it's investigating the vogs. lady gaga is a decorated performer, grammy performer and now eagle eyed little watchers watching the olympics noticed that jordan's julyana al-sadeq is lady gaga's doppelganger. still ahead what the gop election signals about the republican politics. carlos curbelo will weigh in.

"way too early" is coming right back. arly" is coming right back we gave new zzzquil pure zzzs restorative herbal sleep. to people who were tired of being tired. i've never slept like this before. i've never woken up like this before i feel like doing things... and then doing other things after those things. it's hard to explain, i'm just back what even is this? clinically studied plant-based ingredients passionflower, valerian root, and hobs. i feel really good. new zzzquil pure zzzs restorative herbal sleep. not all 5g networks are created equal. when it comes to 5g coverage, t-mobile is the best thing on the menu. t-mobile. america's largest, fastest, most reliable 5g network. experience our advance standards safety technology on a full line of vehicles. at the lexus golden opportunity sales event. get 1.9% apr financing on the 2021 rx 350.

experience amazing.

in a surprise blow to the former president, republican jake ellzey has defeated susan wright in a secretary election to represent texas' sixth congress am district. the house seat became available after the death of congressman ron wright who had lung cancer and contracted covid-19. susan wright is his widow. ellzey barely made it. trump endorsed susan wright early in the race, recorded a robocall and even on the eve of last night's election. in his victory speech, ellzey emphasized that voters wanted, quote, a positive outlook, a reagan republican outlook for the future. new polling shows that a

majority of americans are pessimistic about the state of country. in the latest ap north center poll, just 19% of adults said they were optimistic about how things were going, compared to 63% who said they were pessimistic. optimistic, 10% had the feeling about the current state of politics. joining us former florida congressman carlos curbelo of florida. he's an msnbc contributor. congressman, thanks for joining "way too early." >> good morning, elise. pleasure to be with you. >> what does this influence tell you about the trump influence among voters? >> yes, it's a big lesson for republicans, elise. it's a wake-up call. donald trump does not own american politics, and he doesn't necessarily own the republican party. for sure, he's still the dominant force, but here's a candidate, who as you said in

your statement, he's declared he's a reagan republican which is kind of the distinction or opposite these days of a trump republican. and he wanted to put his full backing behind susan wright. this is a big deal and get the attention of republicans and hopefully, they will get the message that they don't have to follow donald trump everywhere he goes and every time he says something, that they can be independent-minded and start breaking the party away from a force that's toxic and that's going to hold the party and the country back. >> well, at noon yesterday, we had the incredibly powerful testimony of four officers who defended the capitol on january 6th. i just wanted to know what you thought of the testimony, as someone who once served in those halls. and how you think that your former republican colleagues are going to react to what they heard yesterday in realtime from

the officers who took a vow to protect their security? >> well, elise, it was moving, it was sobering, it was hard to watch sometimes when those videos played, just having to relive those moments for us as americans. it's very difficult. i can only imagine for those officers who were on the front line, making sure that all of those members of congress, republicans and democrats, were protected and were safe. now, something that did come to mind is that republicans, over the last couple of years, have talked a lot about the thin blue line, defending law enforcement, defending police, when they're attacked unfairly. and this is a big opportunity for them. to show that they're serious about that. i wish there would have been an independent commission. i wish that there could be more republicans on that committee. but i think liz cheney and adam

kinzinger have done a good job of showing that there are republicans with integrity. there are republicans who are willing to face-to-face with the darkness and the ugliness of january 6th. and who are willing to work with democrats to make sure this never happens again in our country. because everything happens agai everything was at risk that day, our constitution, our freedoms, the law and order, the lives of those police officers, one of them did lose their lives, so it was just a very difficult day but an important day in our country's history yesterday. >> you know, and certainly congressman kinzinger and congressman cheney deserve credit for being willing to step outside of partisanship and address the reality and the tragedy of what happened on that day, and you tweeted that day around noon on january 6th, this is why i never supported nor voted for donald trump. and it was clear that day that

something horrible had been wrought and stirred and there was hope for a brief fleeting second that perhaps republicans would take some accountability and denounce donald trump, but, you know, plenty -- most of the other goppers in congress, they gave in to donald trump before and after, and so why is he still so successful at keeping his hold on these elected republicans. >> at least because regrettably a lot of republicans are trying to lead from a position of fear. they are afraid of donald trump, they don't want him campaigning in their districts against him. they're worried if he recruits a primary candidate against them they might lose. but look what happened in texas yesterday. mr. ellzey showed you can stand on your own 2 feet, you can

stand on principle. you don't have to be afraid of donald trump. you can take a message of truth and integrity to the voters and make it. even if you don't, at least you lost with your integrity in tact. a big lesson yesterday. hopefully it's the beginning of something new for the republican party, which means something new for the country. >> let's hope. we can hope. former congressman, thank you. why are you awake, earlier in the show, this was our question. melissa is up too early, housebreaking her new puppy. that is a certainly a lovely got. newt loves an early morning tug of war with my sock. francesca is up too early with a baby. i feel you there. and diane e-mails, i'm up this morning because my only child left to serve the country in the navy yesterday. i'm super proud of him. we're proud, too, diane. and mike tweets today i'm awake

way too early because the corgi i adopted just yesterday wants to see if elise jordan's corgi gets mentioned in the show today. congratulations on adopting a corgi, it's going to be an interesting ride. up next, a look at the axios one big thing, and coming up on "morning joe," a check in with dr. anthony fauci on the heels of new masking guidance from the cdc. plus, the chairman of the january 6th committee, congressman bennie thompson joins the conversation to discuss yesterday's emotional hearing. "morning joe" is just moments away. hearing. "morning joe" is just moments ay age before beauty? why not both? visibly diminish wrinkled skin in... crepe corrector lotion... only from gold bond. darrell's family uses gain flings now so their laundry smells more amazing than ever. isn't that the dog's towel?

hey, me towel su towel. more gain scent plus oxi boost and febreze in every gain fling.

before nexium 24hr, anna could only imagine a comfortable night's sleep without frequent heartburn waking her up. now, that dream... . ...is her reality.

nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts, for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? joining us now with a look at axios a.m., cofounder of axios mike allen. what is the one big thing this morning? >> the axios one big thing is the new mask logic. it's obvious we're going to be doing a lot more of this inside

now overnight, guidance for the house and senate that they're going to have increased mask requirements once again. axios warning white house staff now going to be required to wear a mask inside, and of course we're seeing that cross the country, across the world. and the axios health care experts stepped back to say why are we doing this, and here's the simplest way to say it. we're trying to save the unvaccinated from themselves, that the effort to reduce the chance that someone who is vaccinated will transmit to somebody who isn't, who's at big risk of deaths or illness is what's behind new rules, and a new data point for you, the cdc is now saying there's some evidence that these breakthrough cases, vaccinated people like myself getting the covid, that this is more transmissible that we thought before. so that's another reason to save

the unvaccinated from themselves. >> so it is still really a question of the unvaccinated and axios recently examined data from national vaccine surveys. what were the biggest take aways among the unvaccinated responders? >> so this is eye opening. we went back through three months of data from the axios ipsos coronavirus index, 5,000 people, and looked at the 30% of people who aren't vaccinated. roughly 70% of u.s. adults have gotten at least one shot, and that was exactly the level in our sample. so what about those 30%? so half of them say never, i ain't going to do it. not going to do it. the other half, the persuadable, who are the people that might, so the dug in, hard core, not going to do it, more likely to be older, more likely to be white. more likely to be republican. more persuadable include black americans and hispanic

americans. dig deeper on those who might and might not. the people who are really dug in are less likely to believe authority figures and institutions and are less likely to get their news from traditional sources. and here's one more interesting one. very resistant, more likely to be resistant. parents with a child at home. >> interesting. that's fascinating. mike, thanks for coming today, and thanks for use of the prop. thanks again for coming to way too early with us on this wednesday morning. "morning joe" starts right now. if a hitman is hired and he kills somebody, the hitman goes to jail but not only does the hitman go to jail but the person who hired them does. there was an attack carried out on january 6th. and a hitman sent them. i want you to get to the bottom of that. >> one of the many moments yesterday that shows the reality

of the january 6th insurrection. the rioters weren't tourists, they weren't truth seekers. they weren't defenders of anything other than lies. we have selected the most powerful testimony from yesterday's hearing to play for you straight ahead. and we will speak live with the chairman of that committee in our next hour. plus, dr. anthony fauci is our guest as the cdc reverses course on mask wearing. what it means for the start of schools this fall, and your next trip to the grocery store. and we'll go live to tokyo where america's top gymnast is on the sidelines. the latest on simone biles and team usa's quest for gold. we begin this morning with the capitol riot investigation and the emotional testimony we heard yesterday from the officers who responded to the january 6th insurrection.