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this hour on msnbc, senators are coming back to work after a rare bipartisan breakthrough. months in the making. clearing a key vote on that trillion dollar infrastructure deal. but that was just the first step. all eyes on what's next to get it written and passed before lawmakers leave town for august recess. not to mention, that's just track one of two in joe biden's infrastructure agenda. the new wrinkle in democrats' go it alone plan, and how it could make or break the bipartisanship. all as the partisanship of the pandemic takes place in washington. house republicans hammering speaker pelosi and president biden over masks. at the white house today, president biden expected to make a big announcement on vaccines. we are live at the white house with details on that new requirement for federal workers.

so a lot going on for a busy, busy morning. chris jansing in for hallie jackson. we start in washington, with nbc's sahil kapur on capitol hill, monica alba at the white house for us, and msnbc contributor anna palmer, founder of punchbowl news. good to see all of you this morning. sahil, more republicans voted for this than expected, including the senate so-called grim reaper, mitch mcconnell. but it does still have a way to go before reaching president biden's desk. what happens next? >> that's right, chris. this infrastructure deal passed a key test vote in the senate yesterday, but it faces a long and treacherous road to president biden's desk. now, it is in good shape in the senate. the fact it got 67 votes including 17 republicans who are bought into this process and who seem to want to get to an outcome here. it could happen as early as this weekend if senator chuck schumer sticks to his threat of making senators work late into the night and through the weekend to finish this up. once it passes the senate,

that's when things get very tricky because this bill is not in as good shape in the house of representatives. many democrats there are skeptical, and moderates are pressuring house democratic leaders to put this on the floor for a vote as soon as possible. they don't want to wait, but progressive democrats are adamant that they will not support this bipartisan infrastructure deal unless it is paired with the separate so-called budget reconciliation bill. multiple trillions of dollars to finance president biden's expansion of the safety net. now, this faced a bit of a wrinkle yesterday when senator kiersten synma said she opposes the price tag. crucially, she's not opposing the bill itself. she's not saying a multiple trillion dollar reconciliation bill is something she would oppose. she's simply resisting the price tag. there are many paths to ultimately get this done, but again, this faces a long and treacherous road filled with land mines to president biden's

desk because both of these bills it seems are going to have to arrive at the house or be voted on at a similar time to pass. >> anna, some words you can't forget from sahil, treacherous, land mines. where are the trip wires? where are they? >> yeah, absolutely. i think the first thing is going to be obviously the amendments. senator rob portman said they are open to amendments. so they have to come to an agreement in terms of how many chuck schumer and mitch mcconnell agree on. there are poison pills, amendments that would really taint the entire passage of the package? so far, he hasn't seen or heard any of those. that's the first issue. then you also have to think about the house. right? we have been so focused for the last several weeks on the negotiations happening right now, but to sahil's point, there are a lot of progressives that

are going to be unwilling to vote in the house for the underlying infrastructure package if they don't have this reconciliation bill. and that has really not even started to be hammered out. and the biggest thing i think is the timing. we're coming up against this august recess which means the house isn't even going to get to these kinds of negotiations until september at the earliest, so to hold all of these members together for that long is going to be a feat for chuck schumer, for sure. >> speaking of chuck schumer, monica, the president says he is confident about the deal. but chuck schumer, for his part, is talking a lot about this, and sort of the road blocks that may be ahead. let me play a little bit of that for you and get you on the other side. >> my goal remains to pass both the bipartisan infrastructure bill and a budget resolution during this work period. both. it might take some long nights. it might eat into our weekends. but we are going to get the job

done, and we are on track. >> that's always a powerful strategy, telling the other members of the senate, monica, this might take some long nights and weekends. having said that, talk about the strategic part of this, as we head to the homestretch, particularly on the part of the white house. >> well, the president, chris, is cautiously optimistic. if this does indeed get done, it would be the first real bipartisan achievement of the biden presidency. one he long campaigned on and promised. so you can absolutely expect him to be touting the fact that this hurdle was cleared. but what we're hearing now from other top officials who have been a part of the negotiations over the last few months is that this is not inked. things could still be derailed, to use an infrastructure term here. and we just got a sense of that from the transportation secretary, pete buttigieg, who was on our air just last hour. take a listen. >> we just saw 17 republican senators stick their necks out

alongside democrats, saying we have to do this. you're right, this is not a done deal. it still has to actually turn into a finalized package in the senate. obviously would have to succeed in the house and then get to the president's desk to be signed, but this was a major, major hurdle that was cleared last night. >> what was striking, chris, is how quickly things did turn around in the course of the week. remember, it took months for them to actually come to the bipartisan framework agreement. and then it was just a span of about six or seven days between a failed motion and then one, of course, that passed last night with those 17 republicans joining democrats. when we talk about the timeline here, the white house and the president has said the door to the oval office is open if lawmakers want to come and talk to me about their concerns. i'm happy to host them. that's not something we saw that much of, though, just in the course of these latest negotiations. with the exception of arizona's senator sinema, who was here

earlier this week, which was notable given the role she may play in the next path and the reconciliation that would not require republican votes. i'm watching for what that means and whether she's back at the white house or meeting with the president soon to continue to express what she says is too large of a price tag, and she wants to spend less, which as sahil mentioned, progressives are already balking at. >> we're going to watch that play out. there is something important, anna. about this, to use a phrase of pete buttigieg, republicans sticking their neck out. the numbers do matter. this is not looking like it's going to be potentially one of those bills where you get one or two of what folks call the usual suspects on the republican side, but to get that kind of number is important. and maybe that's what donald trump was watching last night when he put out a statement, essentially threatening members of his own party. where do you see all this going? >> donald trump is not where the senate republican caucus clearly is. with 17 republicans, including as you noted at the top, senate

minority leader mitch mcconnell backing this, and actually, i think there is some opportunity for democrats to find other republicans who voted against this first vote to actually get onto the final package, one of those that we're watching closely is what does senator john thune of south dakota do? this is one example of, i think, where the president really is out of step with where the republican conference is. the senators want to make a deal. they have been working on this in a way that a lot of people that have covered congress as lung as i have been skeptical they were going to be able to get this far, but the fact they did, it's going to be a long road, but it is on track. they're moving forward. right now, we already saw when the president backs somebody, in that texas run-off, it doesn't always work out in his favor. though how aggressively he's going to campaign against this, it sounds as if it's one or two of his favorite republicans he doesn't like. it's a huge number of

republicans in lockstep. >> thanks. also at the white house today, by the way, president biden's expected to take a new more aggressive approach to get as many americans vaccinated at possible. set to announce that all federal workers will be required to be vaccinated. otherwise, they'll be subjected to regular testing and other strict rules. nbc's kelly o'donnell is also at the white house for us this morning. hey there, kelly. look, the president tried pleading. he tried persuading. today, he's upping the ante, leading by example, essentially, as he's expected to start requiring some folks to get the shot. what are you hearing from your sources? >> part of the pressure point now is they feel they have done all the things, the pleading and the giving people information, the incentives we have seen from cash and goodies, and all of that. and still there is this pocket of resistance in many places around the country, and they believe that there are still persuadable individuals within

that group, because they look to some of the more recent data on vaccines going up. by linking vaccination to employment, the federal government as the largest employer in the country, could be very powerful in making people look at this a new way. if you want your paycheck, getting a vaccine is an easier way to have that happen, unless you want to go through this protocol of testing. and we don't know the details on that yet, who pays for that, how often would it roll out, those kinds of details. we're seeing the private sector has already led the way on this, with different kinds of employers encouraging or requiring their workforce, especially in a return to work posture, to prove vaccination or at least expressing the intent to do so. so for the president, this is politically at imperative because of the way the virus has changed. it's also a new kind of chal because in the first six months of being in office, most of the time the president has been with the wind to his back, dealing with various issues of

vaccination and pandemic. with the facts on his side. this is a case where the virus has taken a different turn, things the president had hoped could happen like the summer of freedom, as he described it, removing of masks and so forth, and now we're in a different posture, and the president says the federal government has to do more to try to set the example. and he'll outline his views on that later today. >> we're looking for that, kelly o'donnell, you'll be there. thank you so much for that. >> we've got a lot to get to still, including those texas state democrats testifying at a hearing on voting rights that's just getting started on capitol hill. they're sitting down right now. we're going to take you there live. >> plus, senate democrats cobbling together something new on that very issue. next. the reverend al sharpton on his meetings with top dems about what's on the table for voting rights. and these three democratic power brokers share something in common over the next 24 hours. brand-new exclusive nbc reporting coming up. but we also bundle outdoor vehicles

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democrats are getting ready to go public with a new version of a voting rights bill. nbc news confirming senate democrats plan to unveil that new plan within the coming days. among those working on it, majority leader chuck schumer, senator raphael warnock, and senator joe manchin, with some of manchin's proposals expected to be in the bill, as civil rights leaders keep the pressure for action on, including in more behind the scenes talks with manchin, who holds that critically important vote. and over in the house, texas democrats are testifying at a hearing about what's happening on the state level. as we learn they'll also be meeting with bill and hillary clinton and stacey abrams. garrett haake is on capitol hill. also with us, the reverend al sharpton, president of national action network and host of msnbc's "politics nation." good to see you guys. so garrett, what have you learned so far about what's expected to be in that bill? >> we expect it to be narrower

than the for the people act that was only voted on in the senate and blocked by republicans. it will focus more narrowly on voting rights provisions and likely drop some of the other material about how campaigns are financed, perhaps some of the redistricting elements could go away as well. the only new additions we're hearing about are something that wasn't in the for the people act originally, that is how to deal with what might be considered election interference on the back end, how votes are counted and by whom. concerns that have been raised by some of these new state-level bills that have been brought forward in some of these other states. so a narrower package, an updated sort of 2021 version of what's in this package, but no specific details released yet. it's our understanding that the bill is still very much under construction. >> so reverend al, as that construction happens, is narrower better than nothing? where do you think this is going? you had a lot of conversations with a lot of the key people. what are you hearing? >> well, i think narrower could

be better or could not be better. it's according to what's in the narrow. yesterday, martin luther king iii and andrea king and i met with senator manchin and lindsey graham and the speaker, a whole host of people. and we met with senator schumer after the eight members of the democratic party leadership met with him to come out with what they're going to reveal today. one of the concerns is nullification. you know, martin luther king in his speech august 28th, 1963, talked about interposition and nullification, the big march on voting rights the same date this year, his son and i and others. and nullification is exactly what he was referring to, is who counts at the end of the proceeding. if you now empower states to have local boards or local groups decide on what votes are counted, then you are nullifying

votes. and that is part of what i understand has been put on the table now with the meeting that schumer and some of them had before they met with us yesterday. so we are waiting to see about nullification and waiting to see what is in and what is out. i sense from our meeting with manchin that he is willing to do some things if it is in fact something that he can live with. >> what does that mean in terms of joe manchin, that he can live with? and particular, as you point out, in that very critical area of voter nullification, did you feel like there's still room there, you're making progress, you're being heard? >> i think we're being heard. the question is, what will be done. i think the meeting with manchin was somewhat positive in the sense that he said he is for the john lewis bill. voting bill. the question is, what will be in

that bill? people keep forgetting, the john lewis bill has not been completely written. and that's what we want to see. lindsey graham did not commit at all to either. but manchin did. the question is, what is in the john lewis bill? and then, will they break the filibuster to pass the bill or work a carve-out. even if you have a perfect bill, even if whatever comes out today from the eight that met with majority leader schumer yesterday, you still have to deal with how do you pass it. which is going to bring you right back to filibuster reform or carve-out for voting. >> there you go. the devil is in those very tricky details. we have also been watching, rev, this hearing with texas lawmakers. they have had some luck, i think, focusing attention on the challenges at the state level, as an example of why federal action is needed. add to that our nbc reporting that they're going to be meeting

with the clintons and stacey abrams. they're going to make this big push. all hands on deck, essentially, but you know the reality of congress and what democrats and activists are up against. what's it going to take, what's going to have to happen for some real movement, do you think? >> i think that it's going to have to have sustained indignation. martin iii and andrea king and i met with them yesterday, took them to the king memorial. the picture you showed is them standing at the king memorial with dr. king's son. because this is what dr. king stood for, and we stood with them. they told us they have to keep doing that. today, women -- black women's roundtable, congresswoman sheila jackson lee are doing things, people are doing things around the country. the national march will be august 28th. how did we get here in the first place, chris? by continued marching, sncc did some, dr. king did some, naacp

did some. if everyone continues to agitate, agitate, agitate, as frederick douglass said, that will turn the public sentiment, public sentiment turns the congress. congress never volunteered voting rights. it came from the bottom up. and it came from various strains and various traditions of movement. >> and those folks from texas are on the hill today continuing to remind us the challenges that are out there in so many different states. reverend al sharpton, always good to see you. thank you so much. and despite rising covid numbers, about 100,000 people expected today for the kick-off of the much anticipated lollapalooza music festival. we're live in chicago where covid protocols will be center stage as much as the musical acts. >> and the top u.s. tourist attraction that's now required masks indoors even for the vaccinated.

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are reimposing their indoor mask policy for all guests, regardless of their vaccination status. it's the latest move, we have been seeing them around the country, due to concerns about the surging delta variant, which has prompted the mayor of orange county, florida, where disney world is located, to issue a state of emergency.

in chicago, the lollapalooa music festival starts today. fans will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negtsk test in the last three days. let's bring in kerry sanders in orlando, shaquille brewster in chicago, we're also joined by dr. megan ranney, assistant dean of brown university school of public health. good to see all of you. so kerry, talktuse about what's going on in the orlando area. i think there's been a huge jump in both cases and the positivity rate there. >> a huge jump. i'm at advent health, the major health system here in this part of the state. 20 hospitals, and they have 1,000 actual covid cases right now in their hospitals. which is a new record. let's take a look at the actual numbers that sort of tell you how dramatic things are. on tuesday, orange county had a record number of new covid cases. 1371. and when you take a look at the

positivity rate, we're more that 15%. just six weeks ago, it was slightly -- just about 3.7%. in other words, they have seen this incredible spike. joining us here is dr. rebecca gomez, and she is just coming out of the ward with those who have covid. still have your mask on. just sort of curious, first of all, tell me, as you see the numbers increasing, what does it tell you and what's your worry? >> it's been such a dramatic increase. we have had to open up units that have been closed for months, seeing numbers we haven't seen previously in this pandemic. we have got staff that are having to pull extra shifts to make sure we have coverage, and we have had to start canceling some elective procedures to make sure we have enough room and staff for the patients. >> this is sort of an explosion of patients? >> absolutely. this is one of the highest numbers we have seen this entire pandemic. just six weeks ago, it looked like things were pretty calmed down, like this was going to be a lot more sustainable, and we

had a dramatic turn in the last few weeks. >> those who are showing up, how many -- are they vaccinated or not vaccinated and what are they saying about, can i get a vaccine now if they're not? >> we vene a few breakthrough cases. the majority are either asymptomatic or mild cases. right now, 97% of patients in the hospital with covid are unvaccinated. >> 97%? >> 97%. there's a lot of expression of regret. thinking they just didn't need the vaccine or they weren't too worried about it. now wishing they had it. >> okay. dr. gomez, thank you very much for joining us. and you know, that is the health side. those are the numbers. there's also a political side to this. republican governor ron desantis giving a speech in salt lake city, responding to the cdc and dr. fauci's suggestion that people mask up inside buildings. here's what the governor had to say. >> all americans should be free to choose how they govern their affairs, how they take care of

themselves and our families, and they should not be consigned to live, regardless of which state in the union, consigned to live in a faucian dystopia by which we're governed by the whims of bureaucratic authorities who care little for our freedom, little for our aspirations, and little for our happiness. no more. we can't let it happen going forward. >> orange county mayor jerry demings, who established the state of emergency, saying that the governor is not leading. and says that he has been stripped of his ability to make decisions for this community because the governor and the legislature said that if there is going to be a decision made anywhere in the state, it must be made at the state level, not at the local level. and clearly, across the state, 16,000 new cases on tuesday of coronavirus, there are local officials who wish they had that authority to mandate mask

wearing rather than simply try to cheerlead people into putting on masks. chris. >> and those doctors who have to tell those folks who say i wish i had gotten the vaccine, that it's too late. i mean, shaq, let's go to chicago, because you know, lollapalooza is one of those things when you're going to see the visuals, 100,000 people. it's kind of symbolically, oh, we're back, but the fact of the matter is this is going to be a test, right? are we back? do we know how to deal with this, or is this a superspreader event? what are they doing there? >> that's right. it's going to be a test of covid protocols because the city and event organizers have come together and created some pretty strictly enforced covid requirements. any attendee, whether it's a vendor, attendee, or a worker, a volunteer, needs to come with proof of vaccination or a negative covid test within the past 72 hours. this is a four-day event. some attendees will have to get tested twice just for this event. if you don't have that

vaccination, then you have to wear a mask once you're inside. and despite those covid precautions and the protocols in place, there's a divide in chicago over whether or not this event should be taken place. whether they should have gone forward with this event while you have all the aldermen who said it should have been moved, the governor and mayor saying it's a good thing this is happening and it can be done safely. that divide over whether or not you should be concerned over coming here you hear even among some of the attendees and groups of attendees. listen to a bit of my conversation with a group who came here from ohio. >> i was fine because i'm vaccinated. >> i think it's a smart idea. >> why do you think it's a smart idea? >> to keep people safe. >> i think with the new delta variant, too, it's definitely a smart idea to keep everyone safe. >> was there any concern, any hesitation coming here with that delta variant? >> no, not really. >> a little bit. >> explain that. >> i mean, you go back and think about the first quarantine we

had. and then even just the first strain, and now it's mutated, and you know, it gets a little nerve-racking. >> now, chicago has not seen that similar surge that you have seen in other parts of the country. the concern and the hope is that this event does not lead to that. chris. >> certainly. so dr. ranney, you are looking at the safety protocols they're putting in place in places like disneyland, disney world, in chicago. would you say it's generally safe for people to attend these mass gathering with those protocols in place? >> if you're fully vaccinated, attending large gatherings is going to be tremendously low risk. the one caveat that i'll put is if you're someone who is immuno suppressed, someone getting treatment for cancer, who is on immuno suppressant drugs. i would probably stay away from mass gatherings even if i were fully vaccinated. although we are hearing about a few breakthrough infections with

delta variant, which is part of the reason for the new masking guidelines, if you are fully vaccinated and going to a place where they're making sure other people are vaccinated or testing negative or masking, you're probably going to be okay. >> and yet, nbc's gabe gutierrez on the "today" show this morning mentioned a stat that made me sit up and pay attention. health officials in los angeles county say fully vaccinated people made up 26% of new infections in the first two weeks of july. now, i know we have all heard it. if you get one of these breakthrough infections, it's going to be mild or moderate. i don't know about you, doctor, but i don't want a mild or moderate case either. i don't want any case of coronavirus. so i guess, when you look at a number like that, what does it tell us, where does it leave us? >> as an e.r. doc, i can tell you even mild and moderate cases can lead to long-term symptoms. we don't yet know if a breakthrough infection with delta variant leads to those long-term symptoms like long

term loss of smell or long term changes in lung function. to me, that's a reason why i still mask up in public spaces. if i'm not 100% sure that everyone around me is vaccinated. i don't want to catch a case, even if it's mild or moderate. and that's really a big part of the reason for the cdc's change in recommendations. because this delta variant is worse. and we want folks to have the information and the science to help protect themselves and those around them. >> so some people are taking matters into their own hands. we're going to hear from the president later today about what he's going to require from federal workers, and danny meyer, very well known and respected in the restaurant world, has decided if you want to come into one of my restaurants and sit down and have a nice dinner, you're going to have to be vaccinated. here's what he said. quote, i'm not a scientist, but i know how to read data, and what i see is that this is a crisis of people who have not been vaccinated. and i feel strong responsibility on our part as business leaders to take care of our team and our

guests. and that's what we're doing. it's very politically fraught, having said that, doctor, would you like to see more of this? >> i sure would. i'll tell you, i'll be a heck of a lot more likely to go to a restaurant, to go on a cruise, to go to a concert if i know everyone else there is vaccinated. this is what most of the other high income countries across the world are doing. folks in europe are required to show a pass that they're fully vaccinated before they can go into activities. it helps to keep us all safe. it also helps drive people to get vaccinated. >> dr. megan ranney, shaq brewster, thanks to both of you. plus a special shout out to kerry sanders, 30 years today with nbc news. not only a great reporter but a generous colleague. love you, my friend. congratulations. >> thank you. >> 30th anniversary. wow. you don't look a day over 30. >> when we return, democratic senator bob casey on whether this new bipartisan

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big day on capitol hill, and senators could be working through the weekend to begin a series of votes on that roughly trillion dollar bill to fix up the nation's roads, rails, and waterways. i'm joined now by senator bob casey, democrat from pennsylvania. good to see you. i have been following you. i have done a lot of reporting on some excitement about the infrastructure bill in your state. you have said it's time to chart a new course with this infrastructure bill. with the ink not dry, are you satisfied about where you know it stands now, and do you plan to offer any amendments? >> chris, first of all, i think it's important to note that rarely can you get this kind of a consensus around something as substantial as this initiative is, to begin to rebuild the country. i live in a state and represent a state where we got more than

3300 bridges that are in poor condition. and for sometimes a small town, that one bridge connects them with the whole world. it's the bridge the school bus goes over, the bridge the emergency vehicle goes over. so these investments, especially in small towns and our urban areas are absolutely essential. i think it's noteworthy that you have not just a 60-vote number but it got up to 67, and i guess we had one republican who wasn't there who would have voted for it, so it's really a 68-vote mandate to move forward. but this has to be followed, as you know, by a budget resolution to make investments in other priorities like families and children and child care and helping seniors and people with disabilities. so we have a long way to go. but i think it's a very good start. >> let's start at where you are right now, which is you have to get the ink dry on what this actually is going to read like. how does it read to you? and again, are you at all

concerned about whether or not there's going to be some amendments that could kind of put a poison pill in it? do you have things you absolutely want to prioritize? >> well, i think the general categories of investment, to me, are very sound. as we go forward, there will be debates about amendments. i may have some, others will as well. but this is a process that will play out over the next couple days. but it's essential that we get this part done, because this part is the predicate to get to the budget resolution which is an area of policy that i have been working on for many, many years. >> what's your confidence level right now? >> oh, my confidence level is very high that we're going to get this part done and then we're going to get the resolution done. then we have to come back and do the hard work of getting a budget reconciliation bill done that will invest in these critical priorities. seniors, people with disabilities, families with

children, pre-k and childhood, early childhood education, child care, all of those investments, including family and medical leave, those issues. but this process is really three steps. it's this bipartisan physical infrastructure bill, then you have a budget resolution, and then the third part really is the reconciliation bill, which is just ahead of us. >> that's going to be tough. and already you have former president trump weighing in on the infrastructure deal. he calls it, quote, a loser for the usa, a terrible deal. and makes republicans look weak, foolish, and dumb. don't do it, republicans, he writes, patriots will never forget. if this deal happens, lots of primaries will be coming your way. so a little threat there for fellow republicans. look, are you in the camp of maybe 17 isn't even as many as you could get? or when you hear from folks like donald trump, do you think you could lose some republicans? and how much do those numbers

matter? >> i think the number is significant, and it does matter for the level of republican support. but i don't think in history, we have ever heard a losing presidential candidate denigrate an area of public policy. i mean, i hope he would understand that in my home state, we have got a lot of those bridges that need to be repaired in those small towns. we need water systems to be upgraded. we need broadband. there are priorities in here that blue counties and red counties will benefit from. so i don't really understand what he's talking about. >> senator bob casey, appreciate you taking the time. i know you have a busy several days ahead of you. >> japan sounding the alarm on skyrocketing covid woman wins t all-around without simone biles. we're live in tokyo with who took home the gold, next. ome tht

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see, pepto® diarrhea gets to the source, killing the bad bacteria. so, make sure to have pepto® diarrhea on hand. it's dry. there's no dry time. makes us wonder why we booked fifteen second ad slots. big breaking news from tokyo this morning. suni lee winning a gold meddle in an incredible clutch performance in the women's individual all around. continues, by the way, the women's record in taking the gold in that event in every record event. so that's the gold news from

tokyo. not so great is the coronavirus continues to area it's head. a state of emergency will be declared in more areas and extended in tokyo. those latest numbers double what tokyo was seeing just one week ago. nbc stephanie gosk is in tokyo with all of the news for us. let's start with the good stuff. gymnastics gold from suni lee. they have a watch party, look at this reaction. i can tell you here while i was watching my phone on peacock, when you look up clutch in the

dictionary, let's have a picture of suni lee. i thought that for a moment was the nbc news room here. totally clutch. and on so many levels, chris. if this had been a completely normal week and she pulled out the gold she is clutch. it has not been normal. simone biles pulling out for the team event. the fact that she had to go on and perform flawlessly with simone biles in the stands. the amount of pressure on her shoulders and she pulled it off. the mood was overwhelming joy and a bit of relief. you could see her exhale. i think a lot of people felt the same way if is also worth pointing out that the headlines

were all about simone biles going into the games and understandably so but we didn't realize there was another super star on the team, and it was suni lee. one of the silver linings, or gold lining in this case is that she got her moment in the sun. >> also quickly. covid. >> yes, a u.s. pole vaulter had to pull out because he tested positive. that is happening to some athletes. even more difficult is the case numbers in tokyo. over 3800 right now in tokyo. health officials in the city urging the public to take it as seriously as they're taking it.

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every day asking you for something or telling you it is time to update your car insurance, now imagine those calls were from the president of the united states asking for help over turning the results of a national election. president trump was calling jeffrey rosen almost every day at the end of last year. all part of his furious pressure campaign to get the d.o.j. to look into false claims of voter fraud. joining me now is one of the reporters that broke this story, josh dossey. you're also reporting the contents of the calls could be shared with congress in the near future that represent details of the firsthand accounts of trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election. talk about how it could unfold.

>> the president appoints jeffrey rosen as his acting attorney general and he is calling every day to get info. they are asking about what the doj is going to do. they are daily calls. they are, for the most part, rosen tries to avoid the topic with trump. he says they will look into things but he grows increasingly frustrated. one of his top aides was taking notes on some of these calls. and the notes can be passed over to congress as congress investigates january 6th and what happened at the capital that day. >> such a fascinating story. great reporting. people should read it. josh, thank you for being on. thank you for watching this hour, i'm chris jansing.

more news with my friend, jose diaz bilart. good thursday morning. i'm in for craig melvin. we have big movement in the voting rights fight. right now texas state democrats are on the hill talking about people like stacey abrams and the clintons. but they're dealing with a separate challenge. that bipartisan infrastructure deal just cleared a key test vote. there is new push back for another bill that democrats want to pass that is from within their own ranks. and cubans calling for treatment and bob me nen dez just deliver