prosperity gospel and in many ways would seem to be the personifaction of the prosperity gospel. >> it's fascinating, thank you for a sneak preview of your report. msnbc coverage continues with geoff bennett. >> it is great to be with you, i am geoff bennett and we're bracing for a major escalation this afternoon in the congressional investigation into january 6. it's deadline day for steve bannon to cooperate with the subpoena from the committee. and his attorney has already told the panel he won't testify or hand over any documents. now, if he's a no-show for today's deposition, the committee could move quickly to

pursue criminal charges against him. and the chairman of the january 6 panel says they'll do just that. bennie thompson released a statement about 30 minutes ago saying, quote, i've notified the select committee that we will convene for a business meeting tuesday evening to vote on adopting a contempt report. now, bannon says he's refusing because former president trump is trying to assert executive privilege over his conversations and communications with aides. two major problems for bannon on that front. first, he hadn't been a white house employee for years before january 6. and second, president biden has formally rejected trump's claims of executive privilege, with white house lawyers telling the national archives, release the documents, because president biden believes, quote, an assertion of executive privilege is not in the best interests of the united states. this all sets up a legal fight that could end up at the supreme court. the question, can a former president exert executive

privilege. lots of legal experts say no. but it's never been tested. meantime, another major escalation from the committee today, issuing a subpoena to a former justice department lawyer who helped lead trump's efforts to overturn the results of the election he lost. jeffrey clark was an assistant attorney general in the trump administration who has emerged as one of the key players in this saga. at one point trump threatened to fire the acting ag and install clark as attorney general. that culminated in an explosive oval office meeting in which trump backed down only after top justice department and white house officials threatened to resign en masse. joining us as we start the hour, nbc news national political reporter is an sahil kapur, betry woodruff swan, peter baker, and matt miller. big welcome to the four of you.

sahil, the january 6 committee is moving forward with proceedings to refer steve bannon for criminal contempt. the committee chairman says the committee is not going to tolerate defiance of our subpoena. bring us up to speed. >> that's right, geoff, big news from the january 6 committee making their first announcement about their plans to advance a criminal contempt referral to steve bannon who is the first official in these subpoenas they've issued to refuse to comply. he cites a claim of executive privilege by former president trump which the committee does not accept here, the biden administration does not except here. bannon is arguing that the committee should get a court ruling in their favor. the committee chairman, bennie thompson, says that's not going to fly. it goes to a u.s. attorney in washington who decides whether to prosecute.

the prosecution here could include fines, it could include up to 12 months of jail time. this is an important one, because it's going to set the tone going forward for all these hostile witnesses who are either refusing to comply, who are kind of throwing sand in the gears, who want to wait and see how aggressive this committee is going to get in terms of its demands, how aggressive it's going to be in terms of forcing people to comply. lastly, steve bannon is a figure with a national profile of his own. he's been prominent in far right circles for many years before donald trump even appeared on the national scene, worked on his campaign, worked in the trump white house, has been a strong supporter of the trump message and the whole maga theme vision for the country ever since. >> so matt miller, take us through some of the history here of criminal contempt referrals for refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas. in the past, the doj has declined to prosecute. why is this time different? >> there's one very important difference. in the past when these criminal

contempt referrals have come, they have been for officials in the executive branch for whom the sitting president has made an assertion of executive privilege. and doj's long time policy is, if the president, the sitting president, asserts executive privilege and an official declines to testify because of that, which a sitting official almost always will, the department of justice will respect the president's wishes and not try to pursue that individual in court with an indictment. now, the difference here is the sitting president, joe biden, has not asserted executive president for steve bannon or for mark meadows or any of the other witnesses the january 6 committee is attempting to interview. the president has vaguely made these claims apparently to bannon and other witnesses. he and his attorneys have not sent a formal letter to the committee, they've not gone through the processes you would typically except someone to do if they want to make the case for executive privilege. so the committee is free to ignore that and i think the justice department is free to ignore the former president's wishes too and move towards

indictment once they get that referral from congress. if the former president wants to go to court and pursue an executive privilege claim and stop the committee from proceeding with this subpoena, he is free to do that and his claim will be tested in court. as you said in the opening to this segment, it's an open question, it's never been tested before the courts, but he has not not done that to date. >> peter baker, we remember the russia investigation and that subpoena fight with former white house counsel don mcgahn that took two years to resolve, if memory serves me correctly. that seems to be the trump game plan here, tell people not to comply, run out the clock by kicking it over to the courts. >> that's right, it did take forever to get don mcgahn in there and by the time they did, it was sort of beside the point. obviously that could be the motivation here as well. as matt pointed out, though, there is a difference. the justice department's involvement, you would think,

creates a greater sense of urgency in terms of getting a court to issue a definitively ruling in a timely way. these are in fact novel claims. no former president, as we just said, has been able to assert executive privilege. in fact the law specifically envisions the idea that a former president has less of an interest in confidential communications than a sitting president because documents and information might have less protection because time diminishes their confidentiality. it's never been litigated successfully before or tried, i don't think. what it means, if it were sufficiently, that a president, every person that person talks to, every person that president talks to could in theory be then shielded by executive privilege when in fact the idea of executive privilege is that you get confidential communications from your advisers, from your

staff, the people working for you in the white house, not if you talk to somebody in a rope line, you know, at a rally, or you talk to a friend or a political ally on the outside, suddenly that's somehow shielded from the claims of a congress that needs information and is using subpoena power to get it. >> so betsy, i want to ask you about the committee's subpoena to jeffrey clark. we should explain for our viewers, this is a former trump doj official who pressed his former colleagues at the justice department to pursue donald trump's false fraud claims. this subpoena to him, i think it shows that this committee is casting a wide net on trump's efforts to overturn the election he lost, not just what happened on january 6 itself. >> the clark subpoena is a big deal for two reasons. first, he hasn't testified to congress, even though other committees have tried to secure his testimony, and even though he has more knowledge than just about anyone in terms of how trump tried to get the doj on

board with his efforts to overturn the election. and in fact clark tried to get doj to send out letters to states around the country, falsely claiming that the fbi found evidence of voter fraud when it hasn't found significant evidence. the second reason that this subpoena of clark is so important is that several months ago, i reviewed a letter that trump sent to multiple former doj officials, saying that they could testify to congressional inquiries and saying that trump would not use executive privilege to block their testimony. my understanding is that that letter still stands. i don't have any information indicating that trump has followed up with clark and changed his mind. and what that means is, first, clark's testimony is really interesting, and second, trump has put it in writing that clark can testify. so the committee is on very firm ground here when it comes to getting him to talk and when or if he does, it should be

extremely interesting to a lot of people. >> absolutely. sahil, i'm told you have some news about kash patel. this is the trump loyalist who was installed at the defense department in the final days of the trump administration. what do you have? >> geoff, just coming to us in the last few moments, a select committee aide telling nbc news that they have agreed to short postponement of kash patel and mark meadows in their deposition testimony. patel was scheduled to testify today. meadows is scheduled to appear before the committee tomorrow. this aide says that because these two have been engaging with the committee, that they're giving them short postponements. they don't set a date for when they ultimately will have to comply but it does indicate they're putting these two men in a different bucket than steve bannon. they say they are engaging and it sounds like they're hopeful if not optimistic about coming to some sort of agreement to get them to testify and provide the information the committee is

asking for. the same aide tells me dan scavino, the former trump white house official, they had trouble serving him at first, and they have agreed to a postponement in his scheduled deposition as well, because of that delay. so one man, steve bannon, now in the crosshairs of a likely criminal contempt referral for that subpoena. the other three, it looks like they're going to give him a little more time and see if they'll meet the same fate at steve bannon. >> one wonders about the level of engagement, when the committee uses that word. matt miller, how fast could the u.s. attorney in dc act on the ban on issue? take us inside merrick garland's head, if you can. he would have to sign off on a prosecution. so what's the likelihood of that? >> so i think they could move very quickly. this is pretty open and shut here. there's not much to investigate. the question is whether steve bannon has defied a lawful subpoena. it is pretty clear they had. there is no lawful assertion of

privilege from the president. i would expect the u.s. attorney in dc, a long time career doj official named channing phillips, very well-respected by both parties. i expect it would have to be approved by the attorney general himself. the only complicating factor is if the president has gone to court somehow and tried to assert executive privilege to try to either quash the subpoena or in some other way pursue a civil action to block the committee. that might delay the department of justice if it wanted to see how that played out. but i don't think it would have to. if they wanted to move quickly and indict bannon and force the president to try to block that or force bannon to try to block that, they would be well within their rights to do so and there really is no reason for them to delay. >> i would add, the reason you see kash patel and mark meadows negotiating with the committee is because they see the committee moving forward with

potential criminal referrals and they don't want to be in that same bucket. >> that was going to be my last question for you, i appreciate that. matt miller, betsy woodruff swan, peter baker, and sahil, thank you very much. one of the doctors behind the research into mixing and matching vaccines will join us. and people are quitting their jobs in droves. and court-martial. the marine who publicly demanded accountability for the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan is now facing charges. we'll tell you why. ♪ there are beautiful ideas that remain in the dark. but with our new multi-cloud experience, you have the flexibility you need

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an fda advisory committee is now hours into a meeting on the future of covid vaccine boosters. today that panel is parsing through data on moderna's booster. and tomorrow, they'll take a look at johnson & johnson's third shot. pfizer's booster has already been approved for high risk adults. more good news, two-thirds of eligible americans are now fully vaccinated. nationwide, covid cases are dropping. in remarks this afternoon, president biden again urged everyone to get the vaccine. >> we have critical work to do. but we can't let up now. my team and i are doing everything we can. but i'm calling on more businesses to step up. i'm calling on more parents to get their children vaccinated when they are eligible.

and i'm asking everyone, everyone who hasn't got vaccinated, please get vaccinated. that's how we put this pandemic behind us. >> and yet there is still resistance. in cities like chicago, where the police union there is urging officers not to comply with the city's proof of vaccination deadline. joining us from chicago is nbc's maura barrett. maura, that's quite a story in chicago where city officials are preparing for boosters and getting pushback over their mandate. tell us about it. >> reporter: well, geoff, the reality here in chicago is that less than 65% of adults are fully vaccinated. that's below that national level. it's also way behind other big cities like new york which is about to hit 85% of adults fully vaccinated. so when you have the police union pushback and the expectation that up to half of chicago's police officers could be walking off-duty this weekend, and combined with the fact that we've seen pushback from the teachers union as well,

the city has had to adjust its vaccine requirements with testing in order for teachers who have not gotten vaccinated. the push in chicago is to get people fully vaccinated with even their first two doses. this all comes as the fda meeting goes on today, i've been monitoring that. they're expected to vote on the issue around the moderna booster shot in this next hour, geoff. the difference, though, that we're going to see with moderna versus the pfizer authorization that went through for boosters is that moderna will be recommended to be just half of a dose. so this means that the dose might be more tolerable. the fda is looking at some of that data. they're also saying this will free up supply for further doses so people can come to a cvs like the one i'm standing in front of, get their boosters once it's approved. that vote happening this afternoon. there will be discussion and a vote around johnson & johnson as well before it moves over to the cdc to issue that official recommendation, which means we could be seeing even more

booster demand in cities like chicago for that initial 65% of adults that need to get vaccinated. the white house did say yesterday that once that approval does occur, they're working with their partners to make sure that all types of the boosters will be readily available, geoff. >> nbc's maura barrett, thanks so much. a highly anticipated new study on mixing and matching covid vaccinations shows it's both safe and effective. mixing and matching means giving a booster dose of a vaccine different from the initial vaccine dose. for example, if you get the johnson & johnson shot the first time around but then the pfizer booster. so the nih study found it's both safe and effective. the findings will be presented friday to the fda's advisory panel. joining us now is the national co-principal investigator of that study, dr. robert atmar, professor of infectious diseases at baylor college of medicine in texas. good to have you with us. the study found that mixing these vaccines is safe.

the technology in the vaccines is different. explain to us how this works. >> so the -- both the pfizer and moderna vaccines are made of a substance called mrna, whereas the johnson vaccine modifies another virus called the adenovirus which helps keep people from getting infected in the virus. that's what we measured in the laboratory. studies so far have suggested that the higher the levels of antibodies, the higher the level of protection against getting sick with coronavirus. >> and you found that the phase

and her moderna boosters spark a stronger response than johnson & johnson. what can we read from that for people who got the j&j shot and boosters? >> that result wasn't particularly surprising. we knew going in that the immune response seen after the j&j when we measured by antibody is not as high as it is for the pfizer or moderna. and so giving a second dose, that we didn't see as high an antibody response was almost expected. this is only one way of looking at how well the vaccine boosters might work. and what's really much more important, which i understand will be presented by the company tomorrow, is how well two doses of the j&j vaccine work to keep people from getting sick. we'll hear tomorrow, i think, that the level of protection is similar to what has been seen

after two doses of either pfizer or moderna. there are other parts of the body's immune system that help fight the virus besides antibodies. and we haven't reported those yet, although we are measuring some of these other types of immune response and expect to have those results in the next month or two. >> let me ask you a question somewhat connected to this. it's flu season, people are getting their flu shots. as people get boosters and their flu shot, should they try to space those out or is there anything wrong with having them together? >> there's nothing wrong with having them together. and in fact in many ways it's more convenient. if they do get them together, they should get one shot in one arm and the other shot in the other arm. but early on, we recommended trying to space it two weeks apart or more. that was really because we didn't have information about

giving them together. we feel much more comfortable now based on data that's available that giving them at the same time, in different arms, it's safe. and again, for many people it's going to be much more convenient to get them both at the same time. >> if i were an unvaccinated person right now, would i be better off trying to get a pfizer or moderna shot and topping it off with something else down the line? >> so with the primary regimen for pfizer and moderna, two shots, and that two-shot regimen worked at preventing symptomatic infection to a greater degree than the johnson vaccine. however, young men are at some very small risk of developing this complication called

myocarditis, which is an inflammation around the heart, usually very short-lived, and people recover without any consequence. but young men might want to get an adenovirus, the johnson or j&j vaccine instead of an mrna vaccine. some people just want to come in for one dose. some people for whatever reason don't want to take an mrna vaccine. and so i think for these kinds of considerations, if a person is worried, they should talk to their primary care provider about what vaccine works best for them. >> all right, thanks so much, we appreciate your time, dr. robert atmar. next, this year it's not the grinch but a shipping crisis that could steal christmas, leading major retailers to start the holiday shopping season early. and strike-tober. given a nationwide labor shortage, thousands of workers are hitting the picket line.

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some are calling it striketobar. 10,000 john deere workers went on strike this morning after they overwhelmingly rejected a contract proposal.

it's the first strike for the company in more than three decades and they may get company and soon. one of hollywood's most powerful unions has set a strike date for next monday. they're threatening to stop tv and movie production in a dispute over pay and working conditions. and we're not only seeing strikes but also a wave of people leaving their jobs. 4.3 million people in august alone, according to the department of labor. it's a phenomenon that has been dubbed the great resignation. for more on this, cnbc's ron insana. great to have you with us. labor groups, as you well know, that have steadily lost ground in recent years, given antiunion legislation and corporate crackdowns on organizing. with companies struggling to find employees now, unions are finding new leverage. >> yes, employees of all stripes, whether unionized or not, are demanding more of the companies they work for, because

we have pandemic-influenced situations that have created short supplies that you he mentioned before thecommercial break. also working conditions have become a very important area of concern with respect to what does the workplace of the future look like. a harris poll out earlier this week said 50% of americans are thinking of quitting their jobs, partly due to pay, the rest is flexibility, and also in the case of john deere, pension benefits, old-style pension benefits for new employees as well. all that have is coming into the mix again. >> as we talk about john deere, this is a company that saw record profits and now employees are asking for more pay and better benefits. are john deere and other companies like them in any position to say no in this economy? >> it's hard, with inflation rising currently faster than 5%.

and typically contractual agreements have not called for wage increases of that magnitude for four decades, since the '70s and early '80s. we don't know how long this inflation will last but we know worker mindsets have changed. for 40 years, capital has gotten the better of labor. so this demand, when you see the gap between the rank and file worker and the ceo being over 300 times their pay, they have a case to make. again, you mention record profitability. there is this concept of stakeholder capitalism where it's not just stakeholders who should be rewarded, but many feel the employees should get a bigger piece of the pie. >> resignations in august alone amount to 3% of the workforce.

how does this affect their relationships with their employers post-pandemic? >> they're reimagining their relationship with life. the pandemic has had a profound impact not just on worker psychology but on individuals across the board who are looking for more meaning in their jobs. they're looking for -- and reprioritizing what's important in their lives. and so that's why we're seeing so much worker resistance to going back to the office on a full-time basis and instead focusing on either a hybrid work/life, changing careers, changing industries altogether, and really rethinking what it is they're doing and for how much they are doing it. and so in a certain sense it's almost like a post-war environment. you know, or a post-plague environment. people are reassessing their lives, making demands of their employers and also making demands of themselves, maybe to get reeducated and shift careers altogether. >> is this a temporary thing or do you detect a permanent shift here? >> it's hard to tell. because, unlike prior generations, we have now the

technology to be more flexible, as we're doing right now. i'm sitting in my home office, normally i would be at 30 rock, sitting across from you, i would take an hour to get there and an hour to get home. there's some permanence to this because we haven't lost much in the way of productivity if you work from home. we haven't lost much in the way of interactions, although there are some settings in which you obviously have to be face-to-face with your customers and colleagues. i think this is permanent in the sense that the hybridization of work and maybe a change of priorities for not just -- i would say not just my generation, which is tail end baby boom, we're past the point where we care, but for those coming up who are younger, maybe envisioning an entire different way of living, in different areas, that allows them more freedom, less cost, and more time to focus on things other than work. in europe, it's work to live. in the u.s. it's always been

considered live to work. we might be going through that change in psychology. >> ron insana, thanks for your insights, great to see you as always. an update on a story we told you about yesterday. major ports on both coasts are now working overtime to clear a massive shipping traffic jam. but those ports are packed. and some experts estimate it could take until next summer to fully clear the backlog. in the meantime, store shelves sit empty and big retailers are racing to save christmas. both amazon and walmart kicking off their holiday shopping sales as soon as this month. instead of waiting for the typical black friday frenzy. so we may not have trick or treated yet, but the holiday season, the shopping season, is here, folks. nbc's kristen dahlgren has more. >> reporter: this year it's not the grinch but shipping that could steal christmas. >> i'm scared about what's going to happen this holiday season. >> reporter: a big snag in the supply chain, already causing huge delays, now threatening holiday shopping. this morning, the white house is

stepping in, with railways, trucking rules, and warehouses understaffed and cargo ships stuck at sea. major retailers are even chartering their own ships to bypass that delays. the administration met with port operators, truckers associations, and executives to tackle the logistical bottleneck. >> this is the first key step for moving our entire freight, transportation, and logistical supply chain nationwide to a 24/7 system. >> reporter: to help clear out cargo, the port of l.a. is shifting to around the clock service. ups is too. while utilizing enhanced data sharing with ports that could move up to 20% more containers. meanwhile, fedex and walmart are extending their nighttime hours, as samsung and target set 90-day deadlines to significantly increase their cargo movement and free up space. >> things are trickling in slowly. we're just here waiting.

>> reporter: experts say their best advice is to start holiday shopping now. today, best buy is announcing they're rolling out black friday deals next week. amazon also getting a jump on offering early deals. while target's new price match guarantee starts this week and runs through christmas eve. but with product demand skyrocketing, businesses have workers on the top of their wish list. according to staffing agency, people ready, retail and delivery driver division are among the most in-demand jobs including at nordstrom which plans to hire 28,000 new employees in the u.s. and canada, part of an all-out sprint as stores and shoppers try to stock up before it's too late. for "today," kristen dahlgren, nbc news. >> the holiday shopping sprint is upon us. our thanks to kristen dahlgren for that. coming up, dereliction of duty. a marine who publicly criticized the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan is now facing a

court-martial. and we're keeping an eye on the white house where in moments president biden will host the president of kenya. we'll talk about it, coming up. if you're 55 and up, t- mobile has plans built just for you. whether you need a single line or lines for family members, you'll get great value on america's most reliable 5g network. like 2 lines of unlimited for just $27.50 a line. only at t-mobile.

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false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider if cologuard is right for you. (all) to screening! the marine officer who criticized the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan in a video that went viral is entering the sentencing phase of his court-martial this afternoon. lieutenant colonel stu sheller was relieved from leadership at camp lejeune and thrown into the brig after he posted the video and demanded accountability for the 13 american service members who died in an attack at the kabul airport. sheller pleaded guilty to all six charges including conduct unbecoming an officer and dereliction of duty. joining us now is nbc news pentagon correspondent courtney kube. so courtney, sheller said he expected to be punished but that he felt it was worth the risk. what do we know about today's court-martial so far, how it's

unfolding? >> that's right, both he and his attorneys have been saying he was there today to accept responsibility and to show accountability for his actions. so what he did wrong here is not just expressing these sentiments on video, but posting them on social media. that is against the rules, frankly, for a marine and for members of the military, to go and criticize their command, their military leaders, in this way, and post it on social media. as you mentioned, geoff, he was fired, but he continued to post more videos and write things on social media. and because of that, he was thrown in the brig, in the military jail, for about a week. at this court-martial today, as you mentioned, he has pled guilty to six charges. they're in the sentencing or punishment phase right now to determine exactly what he may face, because of what -- the charges against him. but not just the videos have been brought up at today's court-martial. in addition to that, the judge has asked lieutenant colonel

sheller about a number of statements he's made in the past that may have been in several cases praising or at least complementary to the protesters on january 6 at the capitol. colonel sheller said these things were taken out of context, that these were offhand conversations. but when asked specifically about some of the comments he made both in private conversations and on social media in calling for a revolution, he did concede that some things that he said could be seen as potentially calling for the overthrow of the government, as more than just talk. so right now, as i said, they're in the sentencing phase. he faces the potential for loss of pay of about two-thirds of his pay for the next year, a potential letter of reprimand. he has offered to resign his commission already. but he asked that if in fact the court and the military accepts that, he asks that he still receive a favorable or an honorable discharge. that's one of the things we expect to hear today or tomorrow, geoff. >> courtney kube, thanks for that live update from the

pentagon. meantime this afternoon president biden is expected to meet with the president of kenya, marking his first one on one in-person talks with an african leader in the white house. the backdrop to their meeting is an ongoing we're and humanitarian crisis in ethiopa. fighting has been going on since november of last year between the government and political leaders in tigray, a regional state in ethiopa. biden signed an executive order threatening sanctions on the prime minister of ethiopa and other leaders if steps are not taken to end that conflict. joining us now is a former special envoy for the great lakes region of africa. it's good to have you with us, ambassador. i understand you spoke yesterday evening with the kenyan president. what did he tell you he wants out of this meeting with president biden? >> i had the privilege of

speaking with president kenyatta last night, and the president and i have known each other for a number of years. and he wanted to emphasize that he comes not only to speak about kenya but really about africa and the role that africa can play in the world and in the agenda that the biden administration has. certainly on climate change and working toward a greener economy, kenya is really a leader. under president kenyatta they've more than doubled their renewables. the country's energy needs are met by geothermal and hydroelectric. it's an interesting conversation. it comes, as you say, when there are challenges in africa. i think kenyatta wants to emphasize the opportunities in africa. >> the white house says they believe kenya can play an

important role in countering al shabaab in somalia. is kenya prepared to deliver? >> i think kenya has been delivering for some time. kenyan forces have suffered casualties. kenyan civilians have been attacked by al shabaab terrorists within their own country. because of the role that kenya has tried to play in helping stabilize somalia right next door, kenya has hosted the world's largest refugee camps for going on more than two decades, for somalis in kenya. this is a country that's borne its share of the burden and it would like recognition for it. i think that's only fair that they're asking for it. >> the u.s. has so many domestic and international issues it has to cope with, strategic policy with african countries is so often an afterthought if not completely ignored. but you point out that there are

opportunities given a young demographic in kenya and really across the continent, and in the vital role that african countries play in the climate agenda. unpack what you mentioned earlier. >> well, certainly. as you mentioned, geoff, the youth of africa are its strength. by 2050, one quarter, one in every four working age men and women in the world, it's going to be in africa. it's the youngest continent in the world. if we're ever to achieve decarbonization, a greener economy, we're going to need africa. to cite some quick data points, 70 percent of the world's cobalt is currently produced in the democratic republic of the congo. africa not only provides us with the materials to make the energy transition, it also captures carbon. the sylvain mountains of africa

in the democratic republic of congo, places in kenya, capture more carbon per acre than the amazon rainforest. and then africa is pioneering the way. the average african, by the way, emits probably one metric ton of carbon a year. the average american over 16. so the footprint is very, very light there. >> we don't often have a chance to talk about africa policy but i'm glad this white house meeting gave us the opportunity and i'm glad you were able to join us. ambassador pham, thank you so much. next, the outsize impact remote learning has had on students for whom english is a second language. stay with us. ♪ there are beautiful ideas that remain in the dark.

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during the pandemic. >> it was with covid, i can't learn nothing because at my house, there is nobody to help me. >> reporter: an estimated 5 million k through 12 students are enrolled as english learners across the country. and recent research found these students among those most impacted by the pandemic with lower scores and more likely to receive failing grades. >> i have like almost all fs. >> what about your grades? >> it was bad. f, cs. >> at the beginning, i have only f. >> reporter: it has been a tough learning loss for this teacher to watch. of all of your english learners, what percentage actually lost some of their english language skills? >> 100%. particularly in regards to speaking. many students were also juggling household responsibilities and making sure that the family continued to run. >> it was hard because i was

destructed a lot because i had to share room with my sister. i forgot a lot. >> reporter: only students were falling behind so much that she lobbied to restart classes seven months before schools reopened, sometimes teaching outdoors in 100 degree heat. why was it so important to bring the students back? >> it gave them access. they had opportunities to practice english, to communicate, to ask questions. >> you feel more good because the teacher is -- it is you and her. but what is in computer is more harder. >> reporter: but for some students who have high risk health issues, it is not safe to go back to school yet. >> he got con niced. so i think that we're going back with him instead of going forward. >> reporter: as a student with down syndrome, his parents say that he needs extra help and having to learn remotely is

hurting his future. >> in the school he can have whatever he needs. we try to do the best we can, but it is hard for us. >> reporter: those back in school are seeing their grades rise again as they begin to catch up. >> this is going to be years and generational. so i think to recoup some of that lost time, that lost learning, that it will be very important that there is coordination between elementaries, middle schools and high schools. >> reporter: a combined effort to recover the forgotten words that covid took away. quad have a neglect gas, nbc news, california. >> and our thanks for that report. that wraps up this hour. hallie jackson picks up our coverage next. hallie jackson picks up our coverage next. nsurance, so i only pay for what i need. how about a throwback? ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪

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