jose diaz ba lard picks up did coverage right now. >> i'm live from las vegas at the national association of black and hispanic journalist convention. we begin this morning with breaking news, a brand new much better than expected jobs report, showing the economy added over half a million jobs in july, 528,000. the u.s. labor secretary marty walsh, will join us to discuss the state of the economy. on capitol hill, a bill that could have major implications across the country as democrats have cleared a path for sweeping legislation now that senator kyrsten sinema has agreed to the deal. california center alex padilla will discuss where this goes next. china sanctions nancy pelosi over her visit to taiwan.

beijing has stopped cooperation with the u.s. on military operations and climate change. meanwhile, russia indicates it is ready to discuss a prisoner swap, one day after a court sentenced brittney griner to nine years in prison. we begin with the increasingly complicated state of the u.s. economy, after a string of not so great data on economic growth, inflation, and consumer sentiment. a sign that things may not be as bad as many think. the government says employers added 528,000 jobs in july, more than double what experts had predicted. the unemployment rate fell slightly to 3.5%, and when you break down that number, the numbers fell for minorities. president biden state more people are working than at any point in american history.

that's millions of families with the dignity and peace of mind that a paycheck provides. he goes on to say there's more work to do, but today's jobs report shows we are, quote, making significant progress for working families. with us now to talk about this is cnbc senior analyst and commentator and senior adviser. it's always a pleasure to see you and on these days break down exactly what this news is. 528,000 is a huge number. >> it is. a good report and prior months were revised upwards. so the economy from a labor market perspective is still quite strong. the unemployment rate, as you pointed out, back to 3.5%. where we were in february of 2020 pre-pandemic, gotten back all the jobs that were lost in the pandemic, some 22 million. and so we can dis spell the notion the economy is currently in recession.

the fear on wall street, the reason markets are moving lower, this gives the fed more ammunition to raise interest rates come september because they are still worried this could lead to increasing inflation. >> and, ron, 3.5% is essentially full employment under any metrics. what do you see in this report as far as the strong gains in employment? where? >> we've seen a lot in the service sector and education and health care are leading the charge. there may be catchup work going on in education given all the dislocations that took place during the pandemic among teachers. obviously if you've been to an airport you know that leisure and hospitality has to be up because people have so much pent-up demand for travel they're moving along. so really all categories, as you can see here, were quite positive. and so the economy -- and there are some questions about how we're getting to this point, having such a strong number so late in the cycle with the labor force participation rate

actually falling. it creates some questions about where we really are in the cycle. we're pretty late cycle here, no doubt, but having said that, this is quite good news. as i said earlier -- and you'll pardon my dogs barking in the background. this -- my poodles are in the background. >> late in the cycle, what does that mean? >> the economy has grown pretty well. the gdp data notwithstanding. there were so many quirks in the numbers in the first and second quarter that the dollar value of gdp has been quite strong. when you adjust for inflation, we got the two negative numbers back to back. but we've got an economy that is running out of workers, actually. we don't have enough to effectively fuel further job gains. and the fed is trying to beat

back inflation, which by the way is already falling. gasoline prices have come down 51 days in a row. other inflation indicators, copper, food prices, all of those are falling as well. so the concern is, does the fed continue to try to dampen demand and actually push the unemployment rate up to ease any further inflation pressures, or at some juncture do they come to the point and decide this is a goldilocks environment. we've got a lot of good things going on, we're rebounding, the economy is stronger than most people realize. the only reason it would go into recession, i believe, is if the fed raised rates too much and slowed the economy too dramatically, barring any other kind of external events that might occur, let's say, between the u.s. and china or some other factor that could exacerbate some of these supply chain disruptions or growth issues that we see else where in the world. >> thank you, my friend.

thanks, ron. we're going to keep this conversation going and we're joined by labor secretary marty walsh for the white house's reaction later in the hour. turning to capitol hill where senator kyrsten sinema is signing off on major legislation addressing climate, taxes and health care. sinema said she will support the bill after she removed an element closing a loophole on taxes. now democrats are awaiting a decision from the senate parliamentarian who is reviewing the bill before democrats can move forward. joining us, our capitol hill correspondent, ali vitali and an nbc news political contributor. and an nbc news analyst. ali, how did this deal come

together, finally? >> reporter: in the 11th hour with a lot of conversations between senator sinema and the key men who were negotiating this deal, senate majority leader chuck schumer, as well as senator joe manchin. if you look at the changes you just outlined that sinema was able to make to this bill, they're not entirely surprising, especially if you've been listening to sinema over the course of the last few months. she has never been on board with closing the carried interest loophole which benefits the richest among us and in this instance we're seeing her be able to take that out and replacing it with excise tax that generates more revenue. democrats are able to say they're shaving $300 billion off the deficit while being able to maintain the larger, wider focus of being able to say this is tax reform, making the wealthy pay more, while going at key climate provisions and energy and things like that. key pieces of the democratic

agenda. >> jake, talk to us about what the bill actually is. how will it impact americans? >> in a lot of ways. corporations are going to have to -- corporations that have more than $1 billion in profit are going to have to pay a 15% tax. that's a big change to corporations that do not pay enough taxes in their estimation. this includes medicare is going to be able to negotiate drug prices, another big win for the biden administration that they say will lower drug prices. there's additional drought relief, there's a whole host of things that democrats have wanted to do, including important climate change provisions. but just the irony is quite rich in that democrats, democratic congress, democratic house, democratic senate and democratic white house, is not closing this loophole, the carried interest loophole which allows hedge fund managers and other wealthy private equity managers, mutual fund managers, allows them to pay a lower rate, a 20% rate as

opposed to a top rate of 36% on that income. but altogether, you put this together, you put the jobs numbers together, and it's a pretty good picture for this administration, despite the fact that president biden's approval ratings are in the 30s. >> i mean, victoria, this bill is clearly not a bipartisan bill, it has zero republican support. so this is something that if it turns out to be visually impacting people in a very real way, very beneficial to the president and to democrats coming up on midterms and going forward. >> this is huge, jose, in terms of what jake said, the jobs numbers and if this gets through, we are going to see the democrats be able to put evidence on the table come november of saying, look, we have made a difference in your life. you voted us into office, keep

us in office. and obviously there have been some very rocky moments in the past year and a half, the past two years in the biden administration. but this is really a moment of respite for democrats to do this. and then you put that in the split screen with what's going on in arizona where we saw the very extreme candidates win the primary elections on the republican side, where we see cpac going on, so i think all of this helps the moderate democratic agenda of saying we're keeping our nose to the grindstone and getting things done for everyday americans. >> in arizona, kari lake has won the republican primary. there are a number of trump-backed election denying candidates. is this something that could hurt republicans in the general election? >> i think it is. i think that obviously there's a difference between someone who can win a primary and someone

who can win a general election and i think that's what we're seeing right now. >> i think we just lost jake. victoria, let me ask you that same question. you touched upon it. is kari lake and others' victory going to be a victory in the short term, but difficult for the general election? >> arizona is so fascinating, jose. it's a purplish state that goes sometimes a reddish hue or bluish hue. but we saw them go to the conservative election denying extreme and i think that will help pull some of the chamber of commerce republicans, country club republicans to say, wait a minute, this is not the republican party i know. i think that can help the moderate democrats, hold their

ground in arizona. >> we're waiting for congresswoman liz cheney face ago trump-backed challenger. she released a new ad featuring her father where he will call, quote, trump a coward. how pivotal is this race within the gop? >> jose, that ad getting a lot of attention because of the way that the former vice president is not just speaking on behalf of his daughter, which of course is not surprising, but talking about the role that she is playing within the republican party that looks so different than the one that cheney was a leader of when he was here in the early 2000s and even prior to that. look, the cheney race is happening on the same night as the lisa murkowski primary in alaska, as well as the primary where sarah palin is up for a house seat. it's a night that's going to end up being a referendum on where trump is in the party. when you look at someone like liz cheney, this is one of the key people that he's hoping to

take out of office, we've seen him try to throw everything at her. one of his favorite targets. she lost her leadership position here in the house because of the role she played in helping to lead the second impeachment proceedings and voting against him. clearly this is someone trump is interested in toppling, but also someone who here in washington has been able to hone a bipartisan persona, in that democrats are looking at the work she's doing on the january 6th committee and in many ways seeing her put a love of democracy over a love of party, which is something that, frankly, she has said repeatedly over the course of these hearings. now as we look at it as a referendum on january 6th, former president trump, and what the role of the republican party will be going forward, that ethos is very much on display in the upcoming primary. >> earlier this week we saw kansas voters reject the constitutional amendment on abortion restrictions.

is abortion something that is creating a new environment as far as politics going forward? >> it is. and we thought it was in theory, but this was our first empirical test where we saw if the referendum could be rejected. in kansas, a more conservative state, it will push other states to really hold on to abortion as a mobilizing issue. we've seen it, but just one case is not going to convince me. i do want to see how it plays out throughout the rest of the election. >> i thank you very much for being with us this morning. up next, senator alex padilla is with us to talk about the real world effects the new inflation reduction act would have on everyday americans. senator, it's always a pleasure to see you. plus, china unleashing new

fury in the wake of nancy pelosi's visits to taiwan. you're watching jose diaz reports from las vegas. ing jose reports from las vegas that's right, jamie. but it's not just about savings. it's about the friends we make along the way. you said it, flo. and don't forget to floss before you brush. your gums will thank you. -that's right, dr. gary. -jamie? sorry, i had another thought so i got back in line. what was it? [ sighs ] i can't remember.

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18 past the hour and now back to capitol hill, where senate democrats will push forward this weekend with their huge tax, health care and climate bill, after arizona senator kyrsten sinema announced she was on board with the plan. they're still waiting for the senate parliamentarian to read the bill. with us now, california senator alex padilla who sits on the budget committee. always a pleasure to see you. how do you see, senator, this bill being a benefit to your constituents, to your state? >> look, this is a big deal, it's a historic measure that we're going to pass at some point this week. and just to give a couple

examples of what it means for the people of california, number one, lowering the cost of prescription drugs. how many people do you know that need either insulin to manage diabetes or something else for another condition? capping out of pocket costs for medicare recipients. in california along 6.5 million medicare recipients, 1.8 million californians rely for health coverage and we're showing that in the measure, and tacked on to that the historic investment in battling climate change. california, i'm not proud of this, but it is exhibit a on climate change here and now with wildfire season just beginning. to historic investments in health care, deficit reduction, climate change. it's an ultimate win-win-win, if you ask me. >> senator, i hear you talking

about lowering the cost of prescription drugs. it seems as though almost every administration and every politician talks about this is going to lower the cost of prescription drugs, it's going to do this and that. it just seems like it never gets done, even when they say, oh, this is included in this bill. why is it so difficult to deal with that specific issue? >> i think a lot of people have tried, a lot of people campaigned on it, obviously. but the best tool to actually make that happen is giving the federal government, in this case medicare, the ability to negotiate for better prices, using market power. how many people get their prescriptions through medicare coverage and utilizing the strength and the purchasing power of the federal government to drive down costs. it's been talked about for years and years, probably decades, and it's finally happening. one of the many examples in this

bill that, frankly, i'm shocked that republicans aren't supporting the fact that it's going to be passed through democratic-only votes. that sends a big signal because this bill overall, i heard the previous panel talking about why this is a partisan bill. my colleague, angus king said earlier, this is a bipartisan bill, it's bipartisan everywhere but the united states capitol. it has public supports from democrats, republicans, independents and everybody in between. it's just the right thing to do. >> senator, talking about bipartisanship, i spoke this week with senator bob menendez. he told me he would not vote for this bill if republicans are able to add what he called poison pill amendments to immigration, border security, which could attract support from some of your more vulnerable colleagues on your side of the aisle. how do you make sure democrats stick together and reject these amendments, senator? >> i stand with senator menendez on that point. the best thing is to move this

bill forward as cleanly as possible. we know because of the uniqueness of the reconciliation process, republicans are going to try to add poison pill amendments and unravel the whole deal. democrats have to stick together and take this huge win-win-win and move forward. so voting down amendments. making sure on immigration specifically, because that's what senator menendez is talking about, we've worked hard to try to make progress on immigration reform. if we're not going to make significant progress in immigration reform, we're not taking steps back because of hostile amendments that republicans are no doubt going to offer this weekend. >> and senator, as far as immigration and the border crisis, you're always so clear on separating those two issues, we're in full employment, essentially in our country. there are so many jobs out there available that there aren't enough people to take them. there are 11 million, 12 million

people in this country who have been participating in our economy for years now who are fully vetted and could immediately come in and help our economy, and yet there is no movement on that. mpp is still in place a month plus after the supreme court said it could be taken out. title 42 is still in effect. two different things, but related to something that could help our economy, senator. >> exactly. and the studies are out there, the data is out there, if we were to advance pathways to citizenship, not automatic but pathways to citizenship for so many immigrants that have earned it that are here today, it would be a benefit to the economy for everybody. but, sadly, immigration is just one example. we expect hostile amendments this weekend possibly on the right to choice or the right to an abortion. marriage equality, civil rights protections, voting rights

issues. it will be exploited by republicans with political grandstanding and hostile amendments. we've got to stand together as democrats to defeat any of these hostile amendments and take these huge win to say the american people who have a lot to be proud of given what we accomplished last year with the american rescue plan, the infrastructure bill, investments in semiconductors and chips. a whole lot of federal judges that have been confirmed. now this, i think democrats are on the roll. >> i thank you, sir, for your time. a frightening moment in d.c. last night. two people are now dead, two others still in critical condition after they were struck by lightning right across the street from the white house. emergency officials say two women and who men were hit in lafayette square last night. a witness told our affiliate in d.c. he heard a horrific boom and then realized several people next to a tree weren't moving. while rare, hundreds are

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29 past the hour. turning to our top story this morning, the labor department says employers added 528,000 new jobs last month, more than double what had been expected. the general unemployment rate fell slightly to 3.5%. with us now to take a closer look is u.s. labor secretary, marty walsh. always a pleasure to see you. give us your perspective of what these numbers mean for the u.s. job market. >> well, certainly it's a good, strong month. when you look at the overall picture from the day president biden took office until today, all the jobs that were lost at the beginning days of the pandemic and throughout the pandemic have been gained. we're seeing areas like manufacturing, which is a really surprising and happy -- good number, i should say. not only did we recover from manufacturing but we've gone

beyond manufacturing. a lot of what we're dealing with right now when it comes to supply chain and inflation is because we're so reliant on foreign imports and creation of products in other countries and we're starting to see more of that happening in the united states. the president is going to sign into law next week the chips bill which is going to allow us the opportunity to do more manufacturing of semiconductors and microchips here in the united states of america and that will help us with inflationary pressures and be less reliant on foreign imports. we're seeing gains in education, particularly around elementary and public schooling, education as far as people hiring. this time last year we didn't see the numbers as high. this time last year we were in a very different place. we were dealing with the delta variant. this year the schools are able to open fully in person. they have the supports they need. overall, this jobs report is strong and it shows that there are some signs in the economy that are still very strong. >> earlier this week, secretary, we learned a number of job openings in the u.s. fell in june, even though there are

still nearly two jobs for every unemployed worker, and the number of first-time unemployment claims continues to inch up. how does this square with the extraordinary numbers we're seeing today? >> i think at some point we're going to have to think about where do we find workers to fill the jobs that companies are going to need to have workers in in the long term. and quite honestly, i've been a proponent, along with the president, of looking at the immigration system and fixing the immigration system. there's a bill that's up in the senate right now, immigration reform act, that this should not be a partisan bill, this should be a bipartisan bill. we could do so much by creating more pathways to employment so companies in america can have employees and we can also deal with immigration at the borders by fixing the challenges that we have as a country. and quite honestly, we've had under past administrations -- this is not just under the biden administration, this also happened under the last administration as well.

>> and, secretary, the immigration system in our country is -- to say it's broken is to give it some kind of credit. it is disastrous. if you are trying to legally immigrate to the united states, get ready to not ever get the opportunity to do so. you may die waiting to get your chance at the line. why is it so difficult to fix the legal immigration problem? >> because i think it's become a partisan issue and it shouldn't be a partisan issue. i talk to businesses all the time that maybe lean republican and i say to them, where are you on immigration, they're like we need to fix the system. then talk to your constituents, talk to the elected officials that work for you on your behalf. i'll give you one other example that i find baffling, is in our american university system in this country, we have immigrants that come to this country to get

educated, they pay the full boat, don't get any breaks, they don't get scholarships or grants, they pay the full amount of money to go to college in america. then when they graduate, only a small portion can stay because of the immigration system, the way it is. so any other country in the world, if they educated americans, they would want to keep them in their country because of the brainpower. here in america we tell them to leave. i think people confuse what's happening at the border with what the immigration issue is. it will potentially be and might be right now an economic crisis if we don't deal with immigration. that's something that is going to impact our economy both short term and long term. it's become more than a border issue. it's an economic issue. and i think that maybe we all have to do a better job explaining that to people, what's at stake right now in front of us. >> senator padilla often talks about the difference between immigration and the humanitarian crisis at the border. secretary, i always appreciate

you coming on and talking about these issues with us. i appreciate your time. >> thank you very much. still ahead, what russia is now saying about the biden administration's prisoner swap proposal. you're watching jose diaz-balart. oh, i can tell business is going through the “woof”. but seriously we need a reliable way to help keep everyone connected from wherever we go. well at at&t we'll help you find the right wireless plan for you. so, you can stay connected to all your drivers and stores on america's most reliable 5g network. that sounds just paw-fect. terrier-iffic i labra-dore you round of a-paws at&t 5g is fast, reliable and secure for your business. for too long, big pharma has been squeezing americans for every penny, and inflation has only added to the pain. but congress has a historic opportunity to deliver relief, by passing a bill to let medicare negotiate lower

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moment of silence before the game last night. finance started chanting "bring her home". with us now, nbc's chief white house correspondent, peter alexander, and gordon chang, "newsweek" columnist. peter, let me start with you. what's the reaction in washington to these latest moves by china? >> reporter: first specifically as it relates to china, we can tell you that we have been hearing from the white house on this overnight. nbc news has confirmed that the white house did summon china's ambassador to the u.s. here where they condemned what they described as provacative actions by the chinese in the taiwan strait, in the waters that surround china right now. also to try to basically communicate their message, reiterating to china right now that the u.s. does not want a crisis. the statement says that the chinese actions in recent days, these live fire tests that have been taking place have been

irresponsible. there's some other detail, the white house publicly communicating its priorities in that region, how it has maintained the right in the international waters to conduct what it consistently has done and that includes having a naval aircraft airier strike group, the uss ronald reagan. that carrier strike group will stay there for an extended period of time, but they've also postponed an icbm, an intercontinental ballistic missile test that was scheduled to take place. the bottom line being the white house wants to try to de-escalate this situation. in the statement from the national security council just released to nbc news this morning, they reiterate that the one china policy, the policy that the u.s. has toward china, has not changed. it's viewed that china is one entity and there are not independent enclaves. the u.s. says it reserves the

right to patrol those international waters and that it will certainly defend taiwan as necessary. the president making those comments public during his recent trip to japan. i was there with them and that ratcheted up tensions. the bottom line being the one china policy, the u.s. insists, remains the same. >> and, gordon, china is clearly escalating the situation and the pressure, as the biden administration would like to see things de-escalate. what is china getting -- what is their end game here, gordon? >> well, their end game, i think, is to intimidate the biden administration into giving it more of what china wants. clearly they want to take taiwan. these military exercises are extremely provacative. but they're not only going after taiwan right now. 5 of the 11 missiles that were fired yesterday ended up in japan's exclusive economic zone, the band of water that starts

after the territorial water and that's an indication they're taking on everybody. and this makes no sense strategically for china, so when a country does something that strategically does not make sense, we need to worry the regime is going off the rails. we don't know exactly what's happening, but we know something terribly wrong is occurring in beijing. >> and meanwhile, peter, what's the latest on brittney griner, the negotiations for a prisoner swap? >> reporter: well, it sounds like there is the potential for communication between these two sides through the traditional channels. we now heard from antony blinken, who has been traveling overseas, saying about the conviction, a nine year sentence announced yesterday by the judge for griner, that it further compounds the injustice that's been taking place there. it's evidence of how rapidly they felt it necessary to respond, the acknowledgment to the pressure they've been facing on this issue, saying it's another reminder that russia is wrongfully detaining griner,

calling for her to be released immediately. we know the u.s. has said that it wants brittney griner and paul whelan, a former u.s. marine, also in the eyes of the u.s. wrongfully detained in russia, to be returned to the united states and that it would do that in exchange for a convicted arms trafficker, a man by the name of viktor bout. now, russia has said that it wants to have a former spy or a convicted spy, a man convicted of murder, who is now being held in germany released as well. according to the national security council, according to the white house, that is not a serious counteroffer. john kirby telling me that it is done in bad faith and it's an effort to cloud the waters. we think with the resolution of this court case, even though there's a potential ten days for an appeal, that it may allow for some engagement to the foreign minister of russia, saying that

russia was now willing to engage with the u.s. on this issue. >> peter alexander at the white house and gordon chang, thank you both for being with us this morning. up next, a jury in texas is nowhere done with conspiracy theorist alex jones after it ruled he must pay a sandy hook family millions for his lies. why they're all back in court today. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." high school sweetheart for 35 years. i'm a mother of four-- always busy. i was starting to feel a little foggy. just didn't feel like things were as sharp as i knew they once were. i heard about prevagen and then i started taking it about two years now. started noticing things a little sharper, a little clearer. i feel like it's kept me on my game. i'm able to remember things. i'd say give it a try. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

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better care begins with listening. humana. a more human way to healthcare. sadie? 49 past the hour. today a jury in austin is deliberating on whether conspiracy theorist alex jones has to pay punitive damage. on thursday the jury ruled that jones must pay $4.1 million for the damage he committed by spreading lies about what took place in the 2012 sandy hook mass shooting. joining us is ben collins. how did the jury get to that verdict? >> well, the first part of the trial is a bifurcated trial, and compensatory damages, so basically how much they had to pay for therapy or to move around because truthers were following these people around the country, taking pictures of them outside of their house and

threatening them. that was the first part. now we're into the punishment parts of this and they're trying to figure out how much money alex jones makes, which is really hard. they're outlining all the shell companies and things that he has set up over the last few years. it looks like he makes hundreds with infowars. and at the end of the day, he's the guy who runs that place. they're trying to figure it out. they have a guy on the stand right now, who is a forensic economist, who likened alex jones a few minutes ago to gangas khan to all people. it's been a wild trial. up next, the white house says it's ramping up its effort to deal with the monkeypox virus, but why did it take weeks to declare a public health emergency? we'll talk about that, next. ublh emergency? we'll talk about that, next. open. it's a beautiful word. neighborhoods "open". businesses "open". fields "open".

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54 past the hour. the monkeypox outbreak is spreading. the white house has now declared a public health emergency. it comes almost two weeks after the world health organization made a similar declaration and after three states issued their own emergency declarations. joining us now is joseph ofsmussen, a professor of biology at nyu and author of the book "virology: the living, the dead, and the small things in

between." thank you for joining us. if this virus affects one of us, it affects all of us, but the lgbtq plus community is being affected a lot more. what are you hearing from people about what they need right now surrounding this virus? >> look, this was a good week for the federal monkeypox response. we had robert fenton and dmitry appointed as the co-chair of the federal health response and the public funding we so desperately need. this is a disease when people are infected, we're asking them to isolate for two to six weeks. and many people in my community are being asked to do this. they're reaching out to me every day, and they have no support. there is no financial support for people who have to miss work, no hotel rooms if you have roommates or a partner or chirp in which to isolate. and there's no income replacement so that people who have work, that they can't miss, actually can properly isolate. so the need on the patient side

is really, really dramatic and must be dealt with immediately. >> and then, joe, add to it the fact that getting a test is not an easy thing. a vaccine, it seems like, you know, there are less vaccines than, i don't know. it just seems like, what needs to be done now? >> yeah, that's a great question. you know, we are behind. and we are behind at first because we didn't test early. we didn't scale testing in this epidemic until mid-july. that has improved somewhat. we see people who need tests are getting them now. but, you know, the failure on the vaccine side and the ongoing failure on the treatment side is really angering a lot in my community. you know, the government announced that they had moved 10,000 doses of t-pox, the antiviral for this, but only, what they say, it's great that almost 300 patients have gotten it. to me, there have been thousands of cases and only 300 patients have been able to access this

treatment. and what they have had to go through to access it, as they're sitting at home, in pain, being asked to isolate, we need urgency to get care to people who are suffering. >> and you know, joseph, i'm no expert, but it just seems like this is not something that came up five minutes ago. there are people who have been studying this and talking about this for 20 years. and yet, there's like a big question mark in how a lot of officials are reacting? >> well, it's really shocking to me. and it combines, you know, what i would say is global racism with worldwide homophobia, right? this is a fires that was identified in humans in 1970s. although it's been identified so long ago, basic questions about its virology remain unknown. how long does it live on surfaces? is it present in saliva or semen or vaginal fluids? all unknowns. and why? because it was largely until recently affecting people in regions in africa where we don't

study their infectious diseases as though infectious diseases are not a global problem. you know, one priority that has to be dealt with is that the people who have had the worst burden of disease, the people in nigeria and congo still, today, have no access to treatment and have no access to vaccination. and if we don't care for people everywhere, this will be an ongoing global problem. >> unbelievable. joseph osmundson, thank you so much. it seems as if it doesn't affect me directly, there'll be a pause in how things are. thank you so much. >> and it will affect everyone eventually. >> it will affect everyone, indeed. thank you, joe. and a quick programming note for you. sunday, "the culture is" includes a dinner party with latina trailblazers and an exclusive interview with actress rosie perez.

here's actress gena torres on the challenge of being afro-latina in hollywood. >> jena, you were forced to embrace one identity in hollywood? >> i felt like i was living in three worlds. there was my world i grew up in, spanish-speaking home, cuban parents, and you go out into the world and i'm speaking english and i'm in the bronx, south bronx. that's right! and then going into this industry, as an actress, then nobody recognizes you as either one. there was no place for me as a latina, and then as a black woman, i didn't identify as a black woman, because for me, it was -- it was cultural. >> right. >> because, of course, i present black, i am a black woman. i am also cuban. when you're here in the united states and they ask you to be in a box and you don't fit into the box, culturally, it was

different. it was not one that i identified with. but to work, to survive, it was something that i had to learn, to then learn to be whatever black was. >> yes, jena. watch "the culture is latina" sunday 10:00 p.m. eastern, 7:00 p.m. pacific on msnbc and streaming on peacock. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. i'll see you tomorrow night on "nbc nightly news" saturday. thank you for the privilege of your time. andrea mitchell picks up with more news right now. >> good friday morning. i'm andrea mitchell in washington, kicking off a special two-hour edition of "andrea mitchell reports." we start with big economic news, with even bigger implications for this white house. more than half a million jobs added in july outpacing expectations and defying signs that the economic recovery from the pandemic is losing st