are governments in latin america going to speak up about repression in november? >> well, they vntd done much after the 11th of july when hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets asking for only one thing, freedom. thank you for being with me this morning. thank you for the privilege of your time. craig melvin picks up with more news right now. good wednesday morning to you. craig melvin here from world head quarters in new york city. right now the fate of two major democratic priorities hang in the balance. democrats seem to be making some big progress with president bide en's build back better agenda. the quote, closer and chief joined moderates and progressives closer, but how far are they still from a deal?

plus the senate will act on a voting rights bill today that senator manchin backs. standing in the way of democrat's efforts, a promise from republicans to block the bill using the tool that senator manchin also backs, the filibuster. what options are left at this point? we're going to dig into all of that just moments with cedric richmond, senior adviser to president biden. also stick with us for some other big stories this hour. in the last hour the man accused of killing 17 people at marjorie zoneman douglas high school formally admitted he did it. we'll take you inside the courtroom. plus the vaccinating of children. we'll have a first look at how the white house is preparing to vaccinate kids between 5 and 11 before the holiday rush. also at this hour, concussion protocol. a major change is set in a historic nfl concussion settlement. today the deadline for the league and players after the first set of protocols came under fire for some by being

racist. we'll get to all of that in a few moments. we start the with the action at the nation's capitol. sahil looking ahead to the senate vote on democrats' voting rights legislation. sahil, take us through the mechanics of today's votes. senator manchin supports this bill. republicans promising to filibuster this bill. what lies ahead? >> craig, an important vote today in the united states senate on the freedom to vote act. it's expected to happen a little after 2:00 p.m. and this is a procedural vote to begin debate. it needs 60 senators to break a filibuster and move forward. it has the support of the 50 democrats in the caucus, but it does not appear to have a single republican. lisa murkowski, the alaska senator, the most willing to engage with democrats on the issue of voting rights has said she is a no on this bill and will vote to filibuster. now the question becomes what happens if it gets to that 50 vote hump but does not get to 60? activists and voting rights

advocates have said for a while that democrats should pierce the filibuster with a carveout that would require using the so-called nuclear option to change the rules at least for the issue of voting rights so this bill can move forward to debate and to a vote. that appears highly unlikely to happen, because two key democratic holdouts who by the way support this bill, senator kyrsten sinema and manchin. there's no daylight or really no movement, i should say, on their part in terms of changing the filibuster rule to allow this to move forward. senator schumer, the democratic leader spoke about this on the floor, connected the need for this election bill to former president donald trump's so-called big lie about the 2020 election. let's play what he had to say. >> across the country the big lie, the big lie has spread like a cancer. if there's anything worthy of the senate's attention, if there's any issue that merits debate on this floor, it's

protecting our democracy from the forces that are trying to unravel it from the inside out. >> now his republican counterpart mitch mcconnell has blasted this bill as an election takeover scheme. his argument is that the federal government should stay out of this entirely and let states run their elections as they see fit. no apparent compromise between the democrats and the republicans. it's worth remembering what exactly this bill does. it allows automatic and same-day voter registration in all 50 states and allows no excuse mail-in-voting. it makes election day a federal holiday. it would give states flexibility to implement key provisions like early voting. all of that is up in the air at this moment as this bill lacks a away forward. lastly, it would tackle election subversion. one thing the previous democratic bill did not do by protecting nonpartisan election

officials from interference that we have seen evidence of in the 2020 election after joe biden won that. >> sahil, starting us out from the hill. thanks as always. i want to bring in former congressman cedric richmond. he is a special adviser to president biden. he's the director of the office of public engagement. always good to have you, sir. thank you for your time on this wednesday. >> thanks for having me, craig. >> sir, again, the vote more than two hours from now. it does not look like it's going to pass. no republicans have publicly supported. president biden said pack in july, quote, the 21st century jim crow assault is real, unrelenting and we're going to challenge it rigorously. could you characterize the efforts to far to pass the bill as rigorous? >> absolutely. and what we're also not doing is waiting around and watching republicans an instruct the process in terms of bringing

voting rights protections to reality. you saw us double the size of the civil rights decision of the department of justice so they can attack these provisions in court. we are talking to legislators regularly. i think yesterday the president talked to senator warnock, senator padilla. they talked to senators king, klobuchar and ossoff. we want to make sure we have a united democratic party voting for it, and we're calling out the republican obstruction. voting rights, voter subversion, and voter suppression j is, in fact, the new jim crow. and the president has been clear about that. >> here's the thing. the senators you just mentioned that the presidents talked to and the vice president talked to, presumably, they're all on board. those are democratic senators. senator king caucuses with the democrats. has president biden spoken with any republican senators to get them on board? >> well, i don't generally get

involved in the president's conversations with other senators, but i am sure he has. >> okay. so he's talked to republicans. what are you hearing from those who are opposed to this bill? what specifically are they telling the white house they are against in this bill? >> the unfortunate part, that this is a continuation of the big lie. president biden won the election with more votes than anyone in the history of the united states. it was the most scrutinized election in the history of the united states. and it was one of the safest and most transparent elections. we have a republican party that refuses to acknowledge that, but also they know that their policies, their thoughts and the leader of their party is not popular with the american people. so if they can't win an election, they have to choose who can vote and who can't vote. that's what they're doing. voting should be a contest of ideas. and so far the ideas are not

accepted by the american people. former president trump is still out creating chaos. and so they're just falling in line, unfortunately. they have deferred their will, their judgment, their intelligence to president trump and his big lie. and so we're going to continue to fight. we still have the john lewis voting rights bill out which we are hopeful it will be a bipartisan bill. we're going to keep pushing that one and keep working with the department of justice. we issued an executive order. we're doing everything we can that we can go at it on our own, and we're still pushing in the united states senate so that they can get a bill that they can debate and that they can pass. >> we're going to dig a little bit deeper into the build back better agenda later this hour. i want to ask about the negotiations there. we're hearing from hill sources that as of now things are fluid. tuition free community college may not make it in the bill.

so what are the red line must haves for president biden in these negotiations? >> well, the red line for the president is that we will not raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000. that is why we scuttled any attempt at a gasoline tax or anything of that nature. all of the ideas from paid family leave to child tax credit, all of those things are president biden's ideas. so we're fighting for all of them. the system will bare where what the system can bare. in the meantime, we're going to continue to fight for all of them and make sure we have meaningful impact on families. we have 10 million families drinking contaminated water out of led pipes. we have people without access to broad band. we're going to fix it. we're going to put working families and the american people first and not big corporations and the wealthy. >> price tag? has there been any movement on

that? >> i'm sorry. i couldn't hear you. >> any movement on the price tag, or is the president still looking at something around 1 $2 trillion? >> i think we're still in that neighborhood, which, again, the price is not what we're focussed on. we're focussed on making sure we can deliver the programs and services and investments in families and whatever that adds up to, it adds up to. it will empower families and put more people in the work force and continue to grow the economy which is growing faster now than any time in our history. so all of this is about the biden economic plan that is absolutely working. if you see the work force, if you see wages, all of those things are going in a positive direction. >> after meeting with your boss, the president, the progressive caucus chair, a congresswoman named president biden the inspirer, the closer, the convincer, the mediator in

chief. when will the negotiations will done? when are we going to see a vote on the human infrastructure bill, and the traditional infrastructure bill? when is it going to happen? >> well, we want to vote as soon as possible. and i think that that could be in the next couple weeks. it could be sooner. so the timeline is not as important as actually getting it done. because it really is transformation mall to america's working families. the priority is to get it doin done, but we don't it done asap. >> there were talks the human infrastructure bill was going to be $6 trillion. it was going to be broad, sweeping. once in a generation. now it sounds like it's down to less than 2 trillion. what happened? >> well, i will tell you if you look at the investment, it is still transformationl. it's one of the biggest in history in terms of investing in families. it's going to be a phenomenal impact in terms of what we're

doing. so just to be specific, it will reduce child poverty in this country by 50% in a year. it will reduce poverty in african american community by 34%. asian american community by 22%. hispanic community by 39 %. this is a transformational bill. that's why the president is gung ho and working so hard to get it passed. >> cedric richmond, we'll let you get back to work there. thank you, sir. thanks as always for your time. as we mentioned, president biden is going to be hitting the road in a few hours to try to sell the infrastructure plan, and the so-called human infrastructure plan as well. a big safety net bill. we have a preview of his visit to his hometown of scranton, pennsylvania. also we could be just weeks away from the fda getting approval for children between 5 and 11 to finally get the covid vaccine. but are we ready? or will there be delays in giving out the shots?

we'll take you inside for a look at the preparations. and just a few moments ago, parkland shooter nikolas cruz pled guilty to 19 counts of murder for a shooting. emotional details from inside the courtroom next. inside the courtroom next without frequent heartburn waking her up. now, that dream... . ...is her reality. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts, for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? ♪ ♪ did you know that you don't have to be for all-day, all-night protection. 65 years old to qualify for medicare? that's right. in fact, many people who are already on medicaid also qualify for a medicare advantage plan. so, if that applies to you,

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really? yep! so while you handle that, you can keep your internet and all those shows you love, and save money while you're at it with special offers just for movers at xfinity.com/moving. we are following breaking news in florida this morning. the suspected gunman in the 2018 mass shooting in marjory stoneman douglas high school

says he did it. he's pled guilty. nikolas cruz entered guilty pleas on 17 counts of first degree murder and 17 counts of attempted first degree murder. that case enters the penalty phase where he faces the death penalty. keir simmons has been following the case in the newest development. walk us through what happened in the hearing today and what comes next? >> well, craig, a horrible day for the families in the courtroom. they are wiping tears from their eyes, hugging each other as, indeed, nikolas cruz, 23 years old, admitting the guilt in 17 murders and 17 attempted murders of students at marjory stoneman douglas high school on valentine's day in 2018. for the families, this was something they knew was coming, but then they heard nikolas cruz

lower his mask, lean down into the microphone, and made what sounded like a rambling apology. listen in. >> i just want you to know i'm really sorry, and i hope you give me a chance to try to help others, if i believe it's your decision to decide where i go, and whether i live or die. not the jury's. i believe it's your decision. i'm sorry. >> reporter: and so as he was speaking, he spoke for about a full minute. didn't have a script. again, portions of it were rambling. he talked about drugs. in the courtroom family members were shaking their heads. i think to read their body language, unaccepting of anything he would say after stealing the lives of their children, some who would be in college right now. others who would just be finishing high school.

the youngest of those who were murdered that day, 14 years old. the victims included one young man by the name of antonio. he actually survived five gunshots. he came out of the courtroom and came and spoke to the microphones there. first speaking in spanish and then english. i asked him whether he accepted that apology. he said that's not for me. sort of yes, sort of no, and then i asked him about what he felt about the need for punishment here. he said that's for other people to decide, and indeed, it will be for other people to decide. it works in florida, even though he has admitted guilt in all these murders and attempted murders, the system will still have to impanel a jury, a jury will then be presented with all of the facts, and then the jury will decide whether the punishment should be life in prison or whether it should be the death penalty.

we have some folks coming back here right now. in fact, this is anthony. anthony, do you want to talk to us for a moment? anthony -- you'd rather not? okay. i understand. all right. that's his attorneys walking by there. as i said, i've spoken to anthony a little bit earlier. clearly a difficult day for all of those involved in this. craig, there is no end to this. you know, a lot of people would sense that, like, okay, this is closure, but for the families who i've gotten to know, there will never be closure. this does not bring an end, but it does do one thing. it spares them an ordeal of a trial where they would have to listen to every moment recounted about what happened and the horrible deaths of their children and loved ones, because it wasn't just students killed that day. there were members of the marjory stoneman douglas staff also who died. >> it was quite striking to hear that killer ask, perhaps those

family members to give something that he was not willing to give that day which was mercy. kerri sanders in florida. thank you. more bad news for facebook. more bad news for the founder according to the new york times. washington d.c.'s attorney general is planning to add mark zuckerberg to a consumer protection lawsuit filed in 2018. the d.c. attorney general points to interviews and internal documents for his reasoning. as respondent in the case zuckerberg would be exposed to potential financial penalties. the initial lawsuit alleged facebook misled consumers about privacy by allowing cambridge analytica to obtain sensitive data from users in d.c. and elsewhere. facebook has been fighting this suit. the company will have to -- will have the option to file a motion to dismiss this move by the d.c. ag. quote the closer. that's how one top democrat's

negotiating the spending deal described president biden's role in the back and forth between progressives and moderates. but can the president close the deal? we'll get the latest own how the president will make the case today in his hometown of scranton, next. ranton, next from liberty mutual so they only pay for what they need. woooooooooooooo... we are not getting you a helicopter. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

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find out your online reputation today and let the experts help you repair it. woman: they were able to restore my good name. vo: visit reputationdefender.com or call 1-877-866-8555. on the road again. this afternoon president biden heading to his hometown,

scranton, pennsylvania to talk up his build back better plan and a bipartisan infrastructure bill. and the president's trip could not come at a more crucial point in the time to get the agenda over the finish line. there was a meeting on tuesday between moderates and progressives. mike memoli is in scranton ahead of the president's visit. i also want to bring in donna et wards of montana. miss edwards is an nbc news analyst. always good to have you. mike, let's start with you in a city you've come to know well, scranton. the president deep in the trerchls on the negotiations with democrats, it would seem. take us through where the talks stand and what the president is hoping to accomplish with this president today. >> well, you'd better believe when i saw the white house announce that president biden would be returning here to scranton for the first time as president, my antenna went up. i've covered the president a long time, as you know.

i know well enough whether it was as a candidate or as the president, when biden came to scranton, it was a signal from his team to take notice that this was an event of a bit more importance with a message he wants to deliver. and what's interesting, though, is as i've talked to white house officials about the plans today, they've been down playing the event in that they don't want it to be seen necessarily as a closing argument type speech. i think the answer to why that is, you can tell from the interview you just did with cedric richmond, the senior adviser at the white house, saying this could be weeks for a deal to come together in a final vote, or it could come sooner. the timeline is in flux. we see that from the urgency of the meetings happening at the white house. i have to tell you as well, to hear what our colleagues are reporting that the idea of free community college being taken off the college potentially as they try to find final compromise here to get under the price tag that we know is so important for some of those key

moderate senators is a significant deal. free community college has been an idea this president has been advocating for a long time. some of the other ideas are progressive prioriies he has em priced as part of the negotiations. for him to give up on the idea of free community college is a potential signal that they want to get to a deal. he's willing to sacrifice a priority, and as biden has said, potentially fight over this agenda, continuing going forward, but to get what they can at this stage. >> mike memoli in scranton. mike, stand by. congresswoman, at a crucial junction like this where every democratic vote matters, trips like these, how are effective are they in getting bills passed? >> well, i think it's important that the president will have another opportunity publicly to speak about the agenda, about the progress going forward, and i think it is a way not just to say to the american people, but

also to signal to members of congress that we're coming near an end that's an important and necessary end so that we can -- members can fulfill the goal to the american people, and i think it comes at a really important moment where the president who has been deeply and actively engaged in these negotiations, and as mike said, willing to give up on one of his priorities, saying to members of congress, you should be willing to give up on some of your priorities so that we can come to a closure for the american people, and i think this trip to scranton will provide another opportunity for the president to speak to the priorities and to the american people. >> let's talk specifics for a moment, congresswoman. the build back better bill, it seems to get smaller every time the democrats meet. to mike's point, it seems like to a lot of folks community college likely out. paid leave, child tax credit being scaled back.

they're scrambling for climate options that senator manchin ao poses the clean energy program. what does that say to you, congresswoman edwards? do you think democrats have hit a point where they just have to pass something? >> i don't think it's so much that. and i have always hated talking about the number. i'd rather focus on the priorities. the fact, for example, that the child tax credit is still in there means that it will be renewable. it's incredibly popular with the american people. i have no doubt that at the end of a year of the expiration that it is going to be continued, because it brings children and families out of poverty. including making sure that there is a baseline of provisions for climate which i think is the sticking point now. it's really important. because we only have now to get our action done on reversing the impacts of climate change and showing the rest of the world we're serious about this, and so

i'll be curious to see where they come out on the end. and i think the important thing is having each of the priorities in there so that they can build on them in future years. >> congresswoman donna edwards, thank you. mike memoli traveling with president biden. a big thanks to you as well. >> right now we're watching a house rules committee on the upcoming vote to hold steve bannon in contempt of congress for not answering their questions about january 6th. but will that contempt vote actually help them get any answers? next. next ♪ ♪ there are beautiful ideas that remain in the dark. but with our new multi-cloud experience, you have the flexibility you need to unveil them to the world.

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[suitcase closing] [gusts of wind] [gusts of wind] [ding] a live look right now at a house rules committee hearing happening on the hill. we're talking about the upcoming full house vote on whether to refer steve bannon to the justice department for contempt of congress. it comes after the committee

investigating the insurrection voted to recommend the full house vote. bannon as you probably know, still refusing to comply with the subpoena to appear and turn over documents. this is what liz cheney told the rules committee a few moments ago. she tied the whole investigation back to former president trump. >> we all saw what happened. the people who attacked this building told us, continue to tell us, on video, on social media, and now before the federal courts, exactly what motivated them. they believed what donald trump said. that the election was stolen and that they needed to take action. >> nbc's capitol hill correspondent ali has been following the hearing. take us through what's happening right now. >> last night we saw the committee vote last night to

refer the contempt of congress request over to the full house. before it can get there, as all things do, it makes a stop in the rules committee. congresswoman liz cheney reiterating much of what she said last night, speaking directly to her fellow republicans who she says know what happened on this day on january 6th even though many of them are not speaking about it in the way that she and fellow republican adam kinzinger on the committee have been. we know that donald trump has certainly been angry at them for the way they have spoken about this at other lawmakers who voted to impeach him after the insurrection. but certainly, that is the minority of republicans. cheney, again, trying to speak to the better angels of the conservative movement in trying to bring them along with the january 6th committee's work. at the same time, though, what we're seeing is in this same rules committee, we expect other republicans, people like congressman jim jordan and matt gaetz to speak in favor of the

former president. defending him on january 6th and the lawsuits he's filed in terms of executive privilege, which is what he's trying to use to both keep the national archives from releasing the records the committee wants but also it's what steve bannon says is preventing him from complying with the subpoena. he says he's leaning on what the former president has said is executive privilege in this matter. as many other legal experts and frankly the committee themselves have pointed out, they don't believe that executive privilege is warranted in this scenario. in part, because the biden white house has waved it. but also because steve bannon was not an employee of the white house at that point. he was just a private citizen. that's a point they made last night. i imagine it's one the committee members are going to continue to make as we move forward. but the important thing to keep in mind here is once this lands at the feet of the department of justice which you expect it will tomorrow after the full house votes to refer it over, then the doj gets to decide whether or not they're going to prosecute.

two things that will stem from that. first, the gears of justice sometimes move slowly. this is on a timeline. the committee wants this to happen as soon as possible so they can get the information they need, and also have the time to do something with it. to actually investigate what happened on january 6th. the other piece of this, though, is setting the precedent in the post trump era. you and i covered over the last four years the ways that trump allies and administration officials had a tendency to trample all over requests from congress, ignoring subpoenas, and bringing all these things into the courts. we saw people like don mcgahn successfully do that over years. this is about setting the precedent the congress has the power to subpoena and can enforce that. this contempt referral is one of the tools in the tool box, but this is more than just this committee's work. it's about the ways congress has oversight over a myriad of things, including former presidents.

>> ali on capitol hill for us. thank you, ali. >> thanks. the fda could approve covid vaccines for children as young as five within weeks, but how fast could those kids get the shot? nbc news got a firsthand look at the white house's plan to get kids vaccinated before the holiday rush as soon as that approval happens. first, though, the nba just kicked off the new season and charles barkley had some tough words for vaccine skeptics, especially kyrie irving who has been suspended from his team for refusing to get the shot. >> first of all, you don't get the vaccine for yourself. you get it for other people. >> i'm not -- >> you said -- >> let me -- >> i got vaccinated. i can't wait to get the booster. i don't -- you don't get vaccinated just for yourself. like adam said, you get vaccinated for your family first. you get vaccinated for your teammates second, things like

that. that's what bothers me about this whole thing. i think everybody just should get vaccinated. erybody just sho get vaccinated cloud would give s more flexibility, but we lose control. ♪ ♪ ♪ should i stay or should i go? ♪ and we need insights across our data silos, but how? ♪ if i go there will be trouble ♪ ♪ ♪ wait, we can stay and go. hpe greenlake is the platform that brings the cloud to us. ♪ should i stay or should i go now? ♪ ♪ ♪

this morning the white house is rolling out the plan to vaccinate children between the ages of 5 and 11. nationwide before the holidays, the federal government is teaming up with a children's hospital association to prepare at least 100 children's hospitals with vaccine clinics. and it's days before the fda is

set to meet on approving the vaccine for young children. savannah guthrie talked to the u.s. attorney general about all of us earlier on today. >> we have to be prepared to ensure that we can get vaccines to families as soon as the fda and the cdc issue their decision. that preparation takes planning and time. and that's why we've been working hard to do a few things over the last several weeks and months. number one, make sure we have enough supply for every child in the 5 to 11 range. make sure we have tens of thousands of locations where people can get vaccines from doctor's offices to pharmacies to schools to community health centers. >> nbc's heidi przybyla is at the children's hospital in washington d.c. and we also have a pediatric ent

and surgeon. doctor, thank you for your time. heidi, let me start with you. walk us through the administration's plan to get children vaccinated. >> craig, the white house in a briefing, i have a senior advisers yesterday making clear we're at a critical juncture. if we cannot get enough kids vax nated, we can't get back to until. but we can't vaccinate them the same. they've decided the best way to do it is to team up between the human health and services and hundreds of childrens hospitals across the country. and that way you can reach the most at risk children, but also reach into some of the rural communities where there's more work that needs to be done in terms of reaching the kids with the messaging. the white house told me that that's going to look different based on region, based on the different communities as well.

they've already got psas running across arkansas. listen to one of the most foremost pediatric experts on vaccine messaging. >> we haven't had that national training in vaccine communication off our health care providers. that has to be a part of vaccine communications interventions. we have to work with pediatric providers to make sure that the safety and efficacy message is communicated, but also they're there to answer questions. >> so, craig, the white house estimates they can bring in about 25,000 pediatricians through this program for that type of messaging, training. and here's the concern. the good news is two-thirds of parents say they do want to ultimately get their kids vaccinated. however, only one-third say they want to do that immediately. now, we've got a timeline issue here, because we've already seen a major surge in the devastating impacts of that of children

being hospitalized in the month of september. we get this eua, authorization for the pfizer vaccine most likely coming out in early november. then you're bumping up on the holiday season. they don't want to see another surge and the vaccine is key to that. >> heidi, quickly for folks listening or watching on sirius satellite radio. does the plan call for direct distribution to pediatricians? will i be able to take my child into the pediatrician and get the shot in the doctor's office? >> they do say they will have that access either at pediatrician offices, pharmacies or in clinics set up inside children's hospitals within days of the authorization. they say they have enough supply secured already for all 28 million children between the ages of 5 and 11. >> all right. great news. doctor hills, your initial reaction to the administration's plan? what do you think? >> i think it's really smart to

have a plan to set things up in advance to be able to give these families access to this vaccine. it's one of the major gaps we have in our coverage right now. this pediatric population, and that's 22% of the u.s. population. that's showing up in our infection rates. right now 25% of our cases are in people under the age of 18 in the pediatric population. so getting this group vaccinated is so key, and right now exactly what was just said, there's been an increased rate of infection among kids. we're approaching the holiday season, and now is the time to set things up. i think also it's great news that we have that efficacy data from pfizer that came out yesterday showing the older group 12 to 18 is around 93% efficacy in keeping kids out of the hospital. so hopefully that will also encourage families to go ahead and take advantage of this and get their younger kids vaccinated when it's available. >> i want to put the numbers on

the screen that heidi referenced here. this is the kaiser family foundation poll. it found that just a third of all parents, about 34 % of parents say they will vaccinate their 5 to 11-year-old child right away. 32 will wait away. 34% say definitely not. are you concerned about those numbers? is this a situation where as more kids start to get vaccinated more parents will come around? >> yeah, i think the questions are valid, craig, and i understand that people really want to be safe, they want all of the information that they can gather to feel confident. so this is not unexpected. of course parents will be concerned, and maybe a handful or a majority will see and they will want to wait until a certain number of younger kids in that anyone group are vaccinated. i think based on what is happening in the older group, right now nationally, the

numbers of vaccinations have been quite good in the adolescent population. as high as 30%. so we'll see. i have good confidence that parents will get kids vaccinated. i hope it will convince some families to get vaccinated earlier. >> heidi prezbola, thanks to both of you. a major change today on how the nfl will pay out concussion settlements. in july we experienced the hottest month ever recorded on earth. now up with city is getting people to pay more attention to heat waves. coming up they're going to name heat waves and categorize their

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players, so submit a new agreement on how claims will be evaluated. it comes after a controversial practice done by the league was brought to light. the practice known as race norming was being used to evaluate whether or not players had dementia and qualified for dementia on that basis. it had been used since the 90s to measure cognitive decline. now it is being thrown out. stephanie gosk has more. >> do you have any ens of how many concussions you may have gotten? >> i have no idea. >> in 2015 a neurologist diagnosed him with dementia at age 33. >> i wake up in the morning and

it's like imagine your brain being frozen until about noon. >> he has never received any of the nearly billion dollar settlement for concussion related injuries. >> you think it's because he is black? >> i absolutely think it is because he is black. >> last summer they learned the protocols for the settlement had race norming. the test cores were based on age, education, and race. what it meant is that black players had to score lower than white players to qualify to be paid. even though the process for distributing the settlement was originally agreed on, many players say they didn't realize. >> they were first developed because blacks in this country on average experienced more social disadvantages than whites. >> some experts say they're over

simplified and perpetuate racism. >> i'm lucky now, but who know what's is coming down the road for me. >> last year he and his wife took action when they heard about race norming. >> i asked my friends to pass it along. >> it got other 50,000 signatures. >> in june the players and the attorneys said they would come up with new protocols. >> now lewis and jenkins are investigating possible civil rights violations. the league denies there was discrimination but agreed that the race based norms should be replaced. roxy gordon sees it as an opportunity for the nfl. >> i'm hoping the nfl will look at the look at the families and

see what they're doing and do what is right. >> the proposal for the challenges due today goes through a comment period. they be retroacted. netflix employees a staging a walk out after the company has supported dave chapelle's new stand up. the group is going to present the co-ceo with a list of "firm asks." they will be featured in a psa supported in the walk out including jop thank van ness and colten hanes.

that will do it for me this hour. i will see you back here on msnbc at 11:00. >> good day, former president trump's steve ban non is one step closer to being in congress. they voted napgsly. >> our witnesses to understand something they're playing at. if you're thinking of following the path that mr. bannon has gone down, you will notice this is what you'll face. >> also today, it really it due or die. a do or die