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republican governors around the country trying to duplicate or even surpass the law's impact. for those in the lone star state the law has effectively ended abortion in the state as its citizen bounty hunter provision encourage neighbors to inform on neighbors. we are talking about $10,000 as an incentive to sit in a parking lot and write down someone's license, take pictures of people. that's insane. you know, really you know they do it without compunction, knowing they've stripped away access to our constitutional right to make decisions for our own selves. that's, you know, really, really abominable. >> so in a moment i'm going to talk to congresswoman dina titus, co-sponsor of a bill that would enshrine the protections of roe v. wade nationwide. i'm going to ask her if there's a plan to get the bill through the senate.

this hour senator manchin setting off a grenade in the delicate negotiations between moderate and progressive democrats on a reconciliation bill, and the reaction has been fast and furious. >> the deal was that we deliver the entirety of the president's build back better agenda to the president's desk for signing. that means if joe manchin wants to have the infrastructure bill that he negotiated, a much smaller, frankly, bill that doesn't do all of the things that we need to do, then we need to come to a quick agreement on the reconciliation, the build back better reconciliation package. we need to just make sure we actually do what we said we would do for people in this moment of tremendous crises, so many crises that we're facing. and then on the covid front we are still in the thick of the delta variant surge and we are just now starting to hear about yet another variant. it is in most of the u.s. and appears to be immune to vaccines. should you be worried? i'm going to get that answer

from dr. irwin redlener. the impact covid has had on access to preschool, especially for the poorest among us, that is ahead as well. we begin this hour with did white house's response to the controversial texas abortion law. president biden yesterday denouncing the restrictive law that bans abortion as early as six weeks as, quote, almost unamerican and reiterated his support for roe v. wade. his first public remarks on the law following viral exchange this week between press secretary jen psaki and a male reporter who questioned the president's stance on abortion. >> he believes it is up to a woman to make those decisions and up to a woman to make those decisions with her doctor. i know you have never faced those choices nor have you ever been pregnant, but for women out there who have faced those choices this is an incredibly difficult thing. >> all right. let's bring in heidi przybyla

from the white house. i have watched that exchange several times. talk to us about this law and what they can do to limit the state of texas from following through. >> he is vowing to fight it. he says it is a clear violation for roe. to be clear there's no exception for rape or incest, a position only 8% of the public supports. it also incentivizes citizens to report on each other with cash awards up to $10,000. here is what the president said about that. >> the most pernicious thing about the texas law, it sort of creates a vigilante system. i'm not certain. i was told there are possibilities within the existing law to have the justice department look and see whether there are things that can be done, that can limit it.

>> reporter: this would hilt particular women particularly hard. if you are a poor woman or teen raped in texas you will be living in a different world than a poor woman or a rape victim in the state of new york. what the president can do potentially here, not a lot. he can file an am cuss brief. he has called on the justice department. he can use the bully purpose to urge congress to codify roe. there's another aspect about what regulatory agencies could potentially do, including some abortion rights groups saying they're hoping there could be something through telemedicine access, for instance, to the abortion pill. but this is a short-term thing here where the president has called on gender policy council to convene, and they did on friday, to come up with solutions, but nothing immediate. >> and we're going to talk about possibly a path for congress in a second with dina titus. let's talk about the president's

plans on 9/11 which is a week from now. i know we are learning news about where he plans to visit. >> reporter: we are learning news. it looks very similar actually to the path that former president obama took on the tenth anniversary, which is to visit all three sites of impact. first the world trade center in new york, here at the pentagon in washington, and also the shanksville, pennsylvania, site. this comes two weeks after the full withdrawal from afghanistan. the president also answering some critics and families who had wanted him to stay away from those sites until he declassified certain documents related to 9/11. now he has gone ahead and done that, yasmin, on the 20th anniversary here in a gesture to those families of the 9/11 victims. >> all right. heidi przybyla. great to see you, my friends. to talk about what rights

there might be for congress, congresswoman dina titus is joining us. thank you for joining us. i appreciate it. >> thank you. >> you heard us talking about the fact this needs to be made into a law, roe v. wade needs to be made into a law. speaker pelosi saying a vote will be held in the house. what is the likelihood though that you could actually get the women's health protection act through senate? >> well, i'm an optimist or i wouldn't be in this business, but we will pass it very quickly out of the house. speaker said she is going to bring it up the first week that we go back and it will pass. on the senate side, of course, it is going to be more difficult. you have some of the women republican senators who i think would vote for it, but this may not be enough to break the stalling that makes us have to take 60 votes to get out of a

filibuster. maybe it is time to look at ending the filibuster. you know, we've got the abortion issue that the majority of the people in this country are in favor of and you've got the voting rights issue. >> yeah. >> again, the majority of the people. the senate won't act. get rid of this arcane internal rule that's nowhere in the constitution and let's move these policies forward. >> sounds easy when you say it, congresswoman, but obviously there's a reason why the filibuster is still there because you have folks like senator joe manchin who are in favor of the filibuster, as you said. publicly he has said it, especially when it comes to voting rights. what else can be done? is there a likelihood that folks in congress could be more emboldened to getting rid of the filibuster when it comes especially to abortion rights? >> well, public sentiment is certainly on that side. you see it across the country. they're already talking about another big women's march that would be on this issue. you are going to have a number of lawsuits filed.

you are going to see as the attention shifts to state legislatures more and more grassroots opposition to this. so that's how you get people who are in office, is have their voters say we're not going to put up with it. with an election coming up, things very much up in the air, that public push may be what it takes. >> what else can be done, congresswoman, at this point? because it seems like time is of the essence at this point. an nbc news article reporting the legislature in texas now this week now advancing a bill called senate bill 4, which would limit ago sets to medication abortions for many. for now though patients can obtain the medication up to ten weeks. you have multiple things advancing here. what else can be done. >> we have a lawsuit that put a stay on suing the clinics. that will only last for a short time. more lawsuits i'm sure will be filed, but texas is just

egregious actions by the state legislature. they've just undone 50 years of precedent. this was a bench-made law. it came out of a court decision. we need to make it a statutory law and congress needs to act. you will see a lot of things taking place at the state level, kind of like in nevada. our question seven locked in the provisions of roe v. wade so they couldn't be overturned without a public vote. i think you will see grassroots groups trying do that sort of thing at the state level while we grapple with the senate at the federal level. >> have you heard from any of your republican colleagues on this, that oppose the texas law? >> i haven't, unfortunately. we're reaching out to them. we want their votes. we would like for it to be bipartisan coming out of the house, but there's not a lot of people willing to step up as we have seen from these republicans on every issue. >> congresswoman dina titus, thanks so much. we appreciate it. have great rest of your day. joining me now to talk more about this and the politics

surrounding rights, juanita toliver and susan del percio, both are msnbc political analysts. juanita, i will start with you on this one. we are seeing a political ripple effect when it comes to the texas law. "the washington post" reporting and i want to read this for you, gop officials in at least seven states including arkansas, florida, south carolina and south dakota have suggested they may review or amend their state's laws to mirror texas's legislation which effectively bans abortions after six weeks. kentucky, louisiana, oklahoma, ohio and more are expected to follow. so it seems as if at this point, juanita, this is just the beginning for this type of restrictive law we are seeing in texas, these republican states getting on board and saying texas has found the loophole and we're going to follow suit. >> that's exactly right, yasmin. we can expect more of this across the country, and it is honestly following the same copy and paste, the same coordinated playbook we saw with voting

rights. so this is when you are going to see these republican-controlled state legislatures pushing through as many bills as possible while we have the supreme court doing nothing to stop them and also while we have this question in congress whether or not senate dems are going to step up to the plate and take action into codifying roe. absolutely that's what congress needs to do. congress needs to act like they have public support. congress needs to act like they have tools available to them to act. what is at stake right now is any person who can become pregnant, especially if you are black or brown or if you are low income or if you are young, you are going to be finding yourself in an uncomfortable tragic situation, especially if you live in texas, because the assumption that this is going to stop is wrong. what we need to do is what congress woman titus just said, continue to apply pressure to congress to act because democrats especially need to recognize, no, there are not ten good republicans in the senate who are going to step up and

side with you on this. yes, you have public support and need to take action to end the filibuster, to not only responsible to this attack on people's right to choose as well as to terminate pregnancies but also on voting rights, also on any other legislation where republicans are holding up a block because, as you mentioned, yasmin, the clock is ticking towards midterms and there's no guarantee democrats will hold the house and the senate. so have the power, use the power. this is no time for hemming and hawing over the filibuster. the other question you asked that was interesting is what she wants to see from the white house. i feel like it is a moment president biden needs to be full force, not just supporting the law associated with women's health protection, but on ending the filibuster. he needs to do that publicly and privately to put the marker finally in the sand this is what needs to happen so that senator

schumer feels empowered to whip up the caucus. >> playing devil's advocate, who is to say they will end the filibuster over this if they didn't do it over voting rights? >> this is where the compounded interest is converging on congress at once. at the same time you will see the pressure coming from advocates about preproductive justice you are still getting the same pressure around voting rights from a different sub set of the population. so that compounded pressure should prompt change because these are the same people that democrats are going to look to and say, hey, turn out to vote for me, hey, mobilize your communities for me, hey, make sure we get reelected in the mid terms and they will have nothing to show for it. they won't have any good will faith acts they put forward to show they are behind them and they're doing everything in their power to deliver. >> i'm wondering what some of this was about in advancing the anti-abortion laws forward. i speak of north dakota governor

kristi noem who said we're going to have the most strict laws in the country. is this about anti-abortion rights or politics? >> this is about politics. this is about 2024. you see these governors who all have an eye towards running for president, and this is going to get them actually into a very precarious situation i believe, yasmin. a lot of republicans are not happy with the texas law. it used to be republicans would be able to say, i'm against abortion but i believe the health of the mother, incest, rape, and that roe v. wade is the law of the land. so they kind of got a little bit of cover because that was the law and they knew they couldn't overturn it. now with this type of legislation, this is draconian. this is drastic. not only is the whole concept of putting bounties out on drivers or family members that assist

women to get an abortion crazy, they only -- they do not allow for an exemption for rape or insist. if a 13-year-old girl is raped by her father, uncle or grandfather, she is forced to have that child in texas. i believe the way, you know, to kind of put pressure on moderate republicans is to say this is the litmus test. do you support a 13-year-old girl who has gotten raped by a family member, forcing her to carry her pregnancy to term? it is so egregious and i think it runs against so many moderate republicans. >> if it is so egregious, why aren't the moderate republicans speaking up? who are they? >> i'm talking about moderate republican voters, swing voters. >> got it. any republicans of note, any people that could make legislative changes to make waves in washington to stop the texas law? >> you're not going to get ten

republicans. you could probably get up to four or five. >> so it is politics. >> because it is politics, yes. here is the other thing. you know, i think what juanita is saying is very important about having the convergence of different interests come together and force the filibuster issue, but i also worry that too many issues make it a very loud noise where they may have had a chance to get a carve-out, for example, for voting rights. you know, now you are going to look for a carve-out for everything. i'm not opposed to it. i have been on the air for months saying i think they should blow up the filibuster because republicans will do it the day they get power back. there's no question in my mind, to get through their agenda. so when it comes to the texas law i actually think that a lot of republican legislators, you know, locally, state, even in swing districts, this is going to be a problem for them come either their primary or general

election. >> well, considering where joe manchin is on reconciliation over the last day or so, and we will see more reporting on it later on in the show, i'm going to bet he is exactly the same place when it comes to the filibuster at this moment. juanita tolliver, susan del percio, thank you both. i appreciate it. the world has had its hands full dealing with the delta variant. there's a new variant raising concerns and it is almost in every state. what it means for the vaccine's efficacy and what doctors know about the new variant. that's coming up next.

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we are continuing to track those massive wildfires out west and all of the damage they have caused including the destruction of at least 1,500 homes across california. however, there is a glimmer of hope amidst all of this as good weather slows the huge caldor fire near lake tahoe. nbc's steve patterson is on the ground there in south lake tahoe. steve. >> reporter: yeah, yasmin. firefighters have been fighting this battle for more than 20 days, and obviously so many now are exhausted out there on the front lines, but there is some good news. obviously the forecast is a lot better. the weather has improved a lot less wind, more humidity, and temperatures, you can see, have dropped significantly allowing firefighters to finally take posturing of going on the

offensive. meanwhile, i mean i should not be able to talk to you like this in south lake tahoe, especially this weekend. this has to be one of the biggest weekends all year for this region. they usually expect around an influx of about 100,000 people. but right now, i mean, look at it. this is a ghost town. it has been like this all week long, completely evacuated, this area, as firefighters continue to do their work. obviously businesses here are suffering. take a look here. i mean you see the resorts and casinos. this is lake tahoe resort. i spoke to the manager of this place as well. they -- the majority of them tell me, again, they're hurting so much because of obviously coming off of covid where we had the shutdown over and over again, and now shutting down because of this fire. it is a devastating blow to the local economy which, by the way, they see more visitors a year nathaniel owe stone and yosemite combined. this has to hurt. meanwhile, firefighters do all they can. the fire now more than 200,000 acres. it is more than 30% contained

finally, but many officials estimate it may not take until mid-september for full containment as they continue this battle with hundreds -- or tens of thousands, excuse me, of homes still at risk. yasmin. >> thank you to steve patterson for that. as the delta variant is sweeping through america's unvaccinated communities, the w.h.o. is warning of yet another variant of interest. 2,000 cases of the mu variant have been identified in the united states. while officials say it is not an immediate threat it remains unclear how effective the vaccines are against it. with me is dr. irwin redlener, founding director for the national center for disaster preparedness at columbia university. thank you for joining us on this saturday. as always we appreciate it. >> sure. >> dr. fauci said the new variant is not an immediate threat, but the variant's, quote, constellation of mutations suggests that it could actually evade vaccines. how worried are you?

>> right. so let me just kind of back up a minute and, you know, unpack this a little bit so as a quick reminder to everybody who is listening to us. so every virus mutates. some viruses mutate but some faster than others. it is always around the corner that we could have a mutation or a variant develop that could cause more problems, that could be more transmissible, more infectious. it could have -- it could make people sicker than the previous variants. that's why we have to really keep a close eye on this. don't forget, a virus is not really a living thing although it has, you know, the dna and rna inside of it. the virus's purpose is to replicate, to find a host where it can grow, where sometimes it can cause very severe

consequences as we know the sars-cov-2 has been doing. by the way, some people say mu, some people say new, but i'm leaning towards mu. this started in south america and is spreading slowly around the world including a number of cases here in the u.s. the challenge or the problem with this particular virus is that it may have the characteristics that could make it, could make it somewhat resistant to the vaccines that are out there. much of this information, yasmin, comes from laboratory studies. we're still waiting on actual population studies to see if the vaccine is still going to be as effective as it is with the other variants. i think it will be. that's why the world health organization, w.h.o., has said this is a variant of interest, not yet a variant of concern. but whatever it is, we are going to have to watch it closely, like we do with other variants.

in the meantime, not to worry and people should still get the vaccines that they need to get. >> wasn't delta at one point a variant of interest? >> i'm sorry, yasmin, what did you -- >> i said wasn't delta at one point a variant of interest? >> yes. yes, the delta and other variants start, if they have any -- if people are kind of listening or watching what is going on, they'll say, it is a variant of interest. it could become more than that, and the next step up from a variant of interest is a variant of concern, and that doesn't measure -- it has not yet been given to the mu variant. >> got it. dr. scott gottlieb warned this week the northeast has yet to have a true delta surge. is there a likelihood the northeast could see another surge when it comes to the elta variant, or is there a silver

lining to this or good news to this in that after september 20th folks can start getting the booster shot and it could possibly allow people to evade the surge? >> right. that is good news, but i do agree with dr. gottlieb that i don't think we've seen the worst of this unfortunately for two reasons. number one, we're having the labor day holiday an almost always after holidays that have a lot of people gathering together there's a lot more spread even if the event is outside. we still have crowding and other conditions and lack of mask wearing that could make it possible. but the other big factor, yasmin, is that we have 55 million children who are going back to school. they've already startled. that will be probably completed by mid-september. that could potentially be just an absolute pandemic tinderbox, schools where ventilation may not be so good, where we're not mandating teachers to be vaccinated, which we absolutely should be. no exceptions. every teacher and adult employee

in a school needs to be vaccinated because a lot of the children may be eligible for vaccine but, you know, choosing not to get vaccinated. but the bigger problem, of course, is between 45 to 48 million kids not yet eligible for the vaccination. >> let's hope it is not a tinderbox, that is for darn sure. dr. irwin redlener, we appreciate it. great information there. senator joe manchin is angering democratic colleagues by saying they should put a pause on his $3.5 million deal. >> does he want a pause on health care right at the moment when the delta variant is spiking? >> the question is what price tag will he accept and what does this mean for the biden agenda? that's next. hange? we can make emergency medicine possible at 40,000 feet.

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welcome back. there is a new rift inside the democratic party and it comes from a familiar source, senator joe manchin, the west virginia senator, calling on democrats to put a, quote, strategic pause on advancing the budget reconciliation bill, and progressives in the party are hitting back hard against that. the democrat writes in the "wall street journal" this, he doesn't think congress should spent $3.5 trillion during tough economic times. ali vitali is in washington following this. i can't think anybody was actually surprised by manchin's stance. >> reporter: yeah, because it is not new and not first time we have seen him do this. he made no secret when senators just left washington on recess, he made no secret about the fact he was uncomfortable with the $3.5 trillion price tag. when you say there's a new rift among democrats, it really does depend which democrats you are talking to. moderates in the house and

senate who shared those concerns about the price tag, they're feeling like this gives them some cover and it also gives them the time and ability to better negotiate what they think the price tag should be. on the other side of this though, progressives, unsurprisingly, very unhappy. take, for example, congresswoman jayapal, you played a little bit of what she said but she is head of the progressive caucus. gives us a goods sense of where they're at. take a listen. >> the deal was that we deliver the entirety of the president's build back better agenda to the president's desk for signing. that means if joe manchin wants to have the infrastructure bill he negotiated, a much smaller, frankly, bill that doesn't do all of the things that we need to do, then we need to come to a quick agreement on the reconciliation, the build back better reconciliation package. we need to just make sure that we actually do what we said we would do for people in this moment of tremendous crises, so many crises that we're facing. >> reporter: so this has been the argument of progressives the

entire time. they have had people like speaker nancy pelosi amplifying the message, also chuck schumer on the senate side saying that this is the time to move forward on the biden agenda because you will remember the traditional infrastructure piece of this was a key point for the biden administration. at the same time though there's a whole laundry list of progressive priorities that are packed into this larger reconciliation bill. in terms of where this goes next though, yasmin, recess is still continuing. for the senate they have another week. for the house they have another two weeks. in the meantime this bill, the reconciliation piece of it is being crafted at the committee level. they just complicates that even more for when lawmakers get back to d.c.. >> i don't know if you have any information but we were talking about it at the top of the show so i wanted to throw it at you. forgive me now. filibuster, especially when it comes to abortion rights, a lot of democrats saying it is time to get rid of the filibuster and get this thing through and turn roe v. wade into law.

is there any sense that manchin will budge at this point when it cups to the filibuster? we know how he previously stood on it. >> reporter: he's been so steadfast when it comes to things like voting rights. abortion rights, similarly, a very key democratic issue. these two issues have been such energizing forces not just for lawmakers here on the hill, but when you talk to operatives and even below that when you get into the grassroots organizations across the country, these are the issues that an mate the base. i have not heard from manchin on this. he has not released anything on this in relation to the filibuster and the right to choose. at the same time though when you see that these issues have really been hand in hand in terms of the way that they energize the base, you can sort of extrapolate out. i'm not if of in the predicting business but you can extrapolate out it might be one of the things where he continues to say he doesn't want to see the end of the filibuster because, again, he has pushed for bipartisanship. on this, of course, you would

need to get rid of the filibuster if you wanted to do anything to codify abortion rights at the federal level. >> i knew you could handle it. good to see you. thank you. former weatherman and "today" show personality willard scott has died. scott, who was 87 years old, retired from nbc back in 2015 after 65 years with the company, 35 of those with the "today" show. he was perhaps best known for wishing happy birthday to fans turning 100 years of age, a feature that soared in popularity over the decades. here is nbc's al roker on how willard's effortless reporting style and caring nature inspired him throughout his career. >> it is a tough job. >> while standing in the rain. >> but somebody had to do it. >> tiptoe through the tew lips. >> when i would watch him you would see how effortless he would do the weather. he was just being willard. i remember thinking if i could get, you know, a quarter of that, i could maybe do

something. >> who inspires you? there's only one willard. >> guacamole dip. >> it was 1973 and i remember turning on the shoechlt i was still in college. there was willard scott with tom snyder. it was literally like a bolt from the blue, that's who i want to be. when i was in washington we did the 10:00 news so i could watch willard at 5:00 and 6:00, then we would go out to dinner and then i would do my show, and then i would watch him. it literally was a master class in watching how you should be on tv. i think what makes him so inspiring is that he gives of himself. you know, a lot of people in this business when there's a young person coming up, they see them as competition and willard is not that way. >> you know what today is. >> what's today? >> bring your daughter to work. >> that's right. >> and i brought my daughter. isn't she cute? >> he makes sure that somebody else gets a fair shake. >> i'm thrilled. >> that was terrific.

>> for an impressionable 22 year old to have problem the most famous weatherman in the country take an interest in me and my career was really mind boggling. >> i want to show you -- >> much better. >> when i first heard al chose me as his inspiration, i thought he was nuts ♪ everybody loves my willie ♪ >> i was very surprised, very honored, very flattered. >> here he is, willard scott! >> we had a relationship that was just made in heaven, absolutely. from the first time we spoke or met. >> best advice almost anybody has given me, the two big things he told me. never give up your day job. >> never give up your day job. he said no matter how many offers come your way, don't give up the weather because everybody likes somebody to beat up on. >> more importantly, he said be yourself. they can do whatever they want but they can't take the weather from you. >> time for the weather, time for willard scott.

>> i'll be seeing you. >> his philosophy is you just keep moving. it has been a good life. it is a great life. we get to do things and see places and meet people. >> can you believe this! >> that a lot of folks only dream of. >> i really did feel like we were kindred spirits. there was some connection there. >> our original weather stud. >> i can honestly say i wouldn't be here doing the "today" show if it wasn't for willard. >> all of this time, do you have any regrets, willard? >> no, i really don't. >> i had had a wonderful run. i really love what i do. i never worried about the money. i just was very happy with what i had, always. it was such a wonderful, wonderful career. wonderful career nfidence 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. [grunts] ♪ ♪

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welcome back. my head scratcher and high five of the week are both covid related. first, a shocking story out of arizona that is an unfortunate sign of the times we are living in. a principal in tucson confronted by three men, one carrying zip ties who threatened to make a citizen's arrest, diana vargas's crime? following county guidelines by having the son of one of the men quarantined because of possible covid exposure. she says the father of the student had a video recorder in her face and the two other men who the father was clearly in contact with barged into her office as well. she says she tried to de-escalate the situation but eventually police had to step in. our high-five of the week goes

to a man who has gotten a high five or two in his time, nba legend charles barkley. characteristically not holding back when discussing current basketball stars refusing to get vaccinated. in a radio interview he slammed nba stars as refusing to get the shot as, quote, selfish. they should count themselves lucky because unlike a lot of other people they remained well paid during the pandemic. here is the best quote from the hall of famer or at least safest for tv. i have heard these idiots talk about chips in it and i heard people talking about the government wants to follow us around. they can follow us around anyway. everybody has a cellphone. first of all, what are you doing that you're worried about people following you. charles barkley can add my high five of the week to his list of career honors. we'll be right back. and one we explore one that's been paved and one that's forever wild but freedom

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welcome back. one of the sports world's biggest stars may be hitting pause on her career. >> i'm kind of at this point where i'm trying to figure out what i want to do, and honestly don't know when i'm going to play my next tennis match. i think i'm going to take a break from playing for a while. >> so that is naomi osaka after suffering a shocking defeat at the u.s. open at the hands of an unseeded 18-year-old canadian

player. it has been a challenging year to say the least for the 24 yield phenom who pulled out of both wimbledon and the french open and failed to medal at the tokyo olympics amidst very public mental health battles. tennis is a mental game. naomi osaka is one of the best no matter what, whatever she needs to do she should do it, we support you, naomi. just so you know that. so as this pandemic goes on, it continues to expose the inequities in our society in new and troubling ways. and childcare is proving to be no exception. "usa today" writes about how covid has made an already confusing and frustrating maze for low-income parents even worse. at adding to this crisis, a whopping 80% of childcare centers are experiencing staffing shortages. joining me to dive deeper into her reporting on this is "usa today's" aliyah wong. this is so incredibly important to highlight the discrepancies

what were excerbated by covid-19. explain how big an impact covid has had. >> right. so when we talk about the childcare crisis, we often think of the cost. the lack of supply and the staffing challenges. the pandemic has compounded all of those things, and all of it's making it harder for parents to find childcare. we think of cost as being a lager hurdle. but it's really at the finish line that you encounter the cost. before you have to go through so many hoops just to land a spot. you have to do tons of research, and that may mean going on yelp, calling your local childcare referral agency it may mean asking around. word of mouth is still one of the main ways people find childcare. then the process of calling each of these centers, finding out what their application process is, if they have vacancies. then you have to apply, and it's cutthroat. sometimes you have to apply over a year in advance to land a spot, and then you have to wait

to get that spot. of course, as you mentioned, there are equity implications. not only does it require savvy and time go after those things, but oftentimes lower income people and middle-income people have to fill out a bunch of other forms to get that financial aid. and notably only one in seven families who's eligible for that aid for the aid to pay for childcare gets it. >> there was another great quote from your piece that really stuck to me. and it was "the patchwork system exists because there seems to be this fundamental belief that women should be at home with their children." you talked to a lot of women for this piece, and much of the burden of the children, figuring out childcare and dealing with all of this kind of red tape especially during covid, has fallen on women.

>> right. women continue to shoulder the majority of the childcare burdens. and that's even if they're working full time. i think it's noteworthy that all of the parents i interviewed for this piece were mothers. there's still the people who are charged with figuring all this stuff out. if you think about the education system, that's seen as a public good. you know, you may take 15 minutes to sign up and boom, you have a spot in the public school system. that's an oversimplification, but really it's a lot easier. childcare's not like that at all. it's really a marketplace of a bunch of small businesses operating and in competition with each other, and because it's not seen as a public good it hasn't really gotten that infusion of public dollars. and therefore, women end up having to contend with all these barriers and figure out the childcare. >> and that's obviously one thing that joe biden's trying to get through when it comes to reconciliation bill is help when it comes to childcare. just quickly here, i do know some cities are trying to make

headway. chicago and d.c. making changes. in talking to these women and the research that you've done for this piece, what changes need to happen? >> right, so i think first of all just outreach. making it easier for parents, particularly parents without a lot of means, to sign up. it language inclusive, advertising what the options are on public transportation, on the radio. then i think, you know, it's just making it easier to pay for it, making easier to fill out all these forms by offering parents childcare when they're actually going through the process of figuring out childcare. there are a bunch of small fixes, but as you mentioned, there are federal policies being proposed that would ameliorate a lot of these hassles for parents. >> a great piece. thank you. and it is so incredibly important. for more back-to-school coverage from aaliyah and her colleagues, visit usatoday.com. positive news, everybody, because we do have positive news before we end the show,

transportation secretary pete buttigieg has welcomed babies to their family. the couple thanking those who offered kind wishes on the new additions to their family. our congratulations to the buttigieg family and those, i'm sure, adorable twins, though we can't necessarily see them -- babies, through the blankets. that wraps up the hour for me. the reverend al sharpton is up next with "politics nation." out of convenience, or necessity. we can explore uncharted waters, and not only make new discoveries, but get there faster, with better outcomes. with app, cloud and anywhere workspace solutions, vmware helps companies navigate change-- meeting them where they are, and getting them where they want to be. faster. vmware. welcome change.

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good evening, and welcome to "politics nation." tonight's lead our rights under attack. millions of women in texas woke up this week to the news that the supreme court inaction it allowed their -- inaction had allowed their constitutional right to have an abortion eroded essentially out of existence. and in the following days, millions of other people in other republican-controlled states watched as their own legislaures rushed to follow texas' lead. in a blistering dissent, justice sonia sotomayor called the court's order stunning. but while the texas law and court's decision might have

st