♪♪ good friday afternoon. i'm chris jansing. today senate democrats are a giant step closer to delivering a massive win for the party and the president after congressional cameras caught kyrsten cinema and joe manchin in a deep and sometimes animated conversation on the senate floor. the arizona senator announced she would sign off on the inflation reduction act, the last vote democrats need to pass that measure. >> the inflation reduction act is a life saving, job-creating, cost-reducing bill. it is what the american people want. it is what the country so

desperately needs, and it is what democrats will deliver on in the coming days. >> so up next, the bill still needs to survive a rare weekend session, a parliamentary review and a senate vote-arama. more on that coming up. assuming it passes, it would send democratic members home on top of another win on top of the kansas abortion vote that fired up the base and great jobs numbers today as well. it also adds fuel to the already frenzied pace of midterm campaigns escalating to levels we rarely see today. nbc news now predicts election denier and trump acolyte kari lake is the winner of the republican primary for governor of arizona. she repeatedly claimed election irregularities but now says her supporters, quote, outvoted the fraud. among those endorsing lake, the conservative group cpac, which is now meeting in texas and

where the keynote speaker was hungarian prime minister victor orban who was welcomed with a standing ovation. "the washington post" described it as, quote, a trump rally with a hungarian accent. >> we have seen what kind of future the globalist ruling class has to offer, but we have a different future in mind. the globalists can all go to hell. i have come to texas. >> we've got lots to discuss. i want to bring in nbc capitol hill correspondent allie vitaly. betsy woodruff swan, an msnbc contributor. matthew dowd is founder of country over party and msnbc political analyst. allie, it will be a busy weekend on the hill. talk about what is in store for this massive reconciliation bill and what is a vote-orama anyway?

>> it is a really good question, chris. when we get to that portion of the weekend, not only is it a fun thing for us to say when we are a little bit sleep deprived and slap happy but it is a sign we are close to the end of the process that the senate has to undertake to actually vote on this reconciliation package. but one of my key questions to senate majority leader chuck schumer a few minutes ago was, okay, you have senator sinema on board, is it smooth sailing from here. this is what he said. >> look, they're going to do lots of amendments. we don't know what else they will do, but i am -- as i said, i believe we will have 50 votes to pass this legislation at the end of the day. >> reporter: and, frankly, chris, that is all that they need. they need all 50 democrats to march in lock step on this and then the vice president, kamala harris, to come in and break the tie or in this case just go by simple majority and they will be able to do it. at this point it looks like they have all 50 democrats. the question is what happens when it comes to amendment votes

that might come up. these are not necessarily clean political votes. republicans may try to not only draw this process out but also try to force democrats to take positions during that amendment vote period that could be a little bit politically difficult for them to defend, especially in some of those tight senate races that we're watching so closely. so not a process that's without its bumps, especially because the senate parliamentarian is still going through the scrub of this bill. we could see some changes in the text to make sure it abides by the rules of reconciliation. but by and large, the fact that all 50 democrats say that they're on board for this is a big relief to democrats like chuck schumer who have been heralding this package now for about a year. >> betsy, you have to look at it in terms of the larger picture, right? so you potentially have this going through, and it certainly looks good for chuck schumer and the democrats. earlier today, better than expected job numbers. tuesday, a big surprise in kansas showing the power of abortion for democrats.

overall, what does this do for the democrats' midterm messaging? >> if this bill becomes law, there's no question that democratic members of congress and candidates are going to tout it as an important breakthrough achievement showing that you can still get things done in washington, you can still get big things passed. prior to this bill -- and, again, until it becomes a law i don't want to put the cart before the horse here, but prior to the movement on this bill, one of the challenge that the democratic base -- that generated frustration in the democratic base were these fractures within the senate democratic conference, particularly when senators manchin and sinema, two powerful moderates, peeled off and would not support a provision that had otherwise broad support both in washington and among democratic voters. the fact it is a 50/50 senate

and any one or two senators can be game changers, particularly in these budgetary votes is something that created the appearance of almost ineffectuality on the part of democratic senate, razor-thin majority control. if they can get this done, get everybody on board, get it across the finish line which they haven't done yet, there's no question it would be something that would generate a lot of enthusiasm among democratic base voters headed into the midterms. >> matthew, republicans on the other hand already appear to be testing out their midterm message in opposition to this bill. here is part of what mitch mcconnell said yesterday. >> the democrats have decided to spend hundreds of bills of dollars of the people's money on a bill that laughs at the people's priorities. so i would dare any of our democratic colleagues to walk up to a working class american on the street and ask them what the

government ought to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on. well, first off, in a time of inflation they probably would tell them not to spend hundreds of billions of dollars in the first place. >> and given, matthew, that inflation still is really high, that americans are still feeling it in the pocketbook when they go and get their groceries, is that effective messaging for the republicans? >> well, i think it is the only messaging that they possibly have in this environment, but part of the problem they have, it was much more effective a month ago than it is today because, one, gas prices have dropped 51 days straight, that we've seen this great jobs report, there's been a rise in the average wage in the country again in here. so, yes, it is the only message they have, but the problem they have is they don't have competent candidates across the country to carry that message. as your lead-in showed, they've nominated a series of

election-denying, conspiracy-spreading crazy people in the course of this that are going to attack democracy and that's the problem. not only attack democracy, but the freedoms people have including reproductive freedom, which is why, chris, have you seen over the last six weeks democrats make significant gains on the generic ballot. simultaneously while joe biden's job approval number has not changed much, and it may change in the aftermath of the last two weeks a little bit, but the interesting thing about this election cycle is the vote for congress and the senate seems to have nothing to do anymore with the president's job approval. there's a disconnect, and right now the wins are favoring the democrats as of now towards the general election. we will see over the next 90-plus days if that pans out, but as of right now it is the only republican's message, but the democratic's message they have which is don't give the keys to the crazy is a lot more power in motivating people than the republican's message is today. >> it will be interesting,

betsy, to see how that plays. obviously it is not just kari lake in arizona, but let me play for you what "the washington post" wrote about that. arizona republican voters embraced the baseless conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election in tuesday's primary and nominated a secretary of state candidate who wants to decertify the 2020 election results, a u.s. senate candidate who said in an ad "i think trump won" and at least seven u.s. house candidates who have spread falsehoods about the election. then you can go to j.d. vance, you can go to dr. oz, right. a lot of republicans, i wonder, who are saying that, do they also have a forward-looking message? i guess is this going to turn out to be as much or more of a message than -- as the economy, which if you asked anybody, as matthew points out, a month ago that's all people would have been talking about? >> you have to think republicans have maxed out on the benefit that they can get from this election denialism rhetoric.

obviously it is very potent in republican primaries including all the way down to the secretary of state level. we have seen republican election denialist secretary of state candidates take their party's nominations, but going into general election the number of people who vote based on who they think won the 2020 race, proportionate to the electorate as a whole gets a lot less powerful. the challenges are candidates like kari lake, like mark finchem in arizona, like blake masters in arizona able to pivot and to persuade those independent voters, suburban women, moderate voters that they're going to be able to move the needle on issues that affect people at home. remember, in polls, over and over and over again we see americans list inflation and the economy as their top issues. not a lot of polls, probably zero that suggest that any group

of general election voters put election denialism or any aversion of that poll question as the top priority for them. so if you are someone like kari lake and you have risen to prominence very quickly, very dramatically based on this messaging, pivoting and trying to rebill yourself as the kind of person who is a champion of the issues that these moderate and centrist voters say they care about is just an enormous, enormous, enormous challenge. >> matthew, all of this brings us to cpac and victor orban. his speech was so filled with hate even one of his own advisers resigned in protest. yes, as we said, he got a standing ovation from the conservatives there. give us a sense of how significant you think that is, not only because his message was obviously wholeheartedly embraced by the cpac crowd, but it comes two days after he met with donald trump who in many ways was the author of much of this. >> so this to me is a clarifying

point of where we are in america today and where the republican party is, and especially the conservative movement. i will put that in quotes, conservative movement, because in my view it is not conservative. this is a guy who represents and is cheered on by that group who full sale believes in white nationalism, who doesn't believe in an independent press and he has abolished it in his country, and who wants to stop any immigration of anybody that doesn't look like what he thinks they should look like. that to me puts exclamation point upon where the republican party is today in america. the fact that they celebrate this guy tells you what kind of country they want america to ultimately be, which is a white country holding the levers of power without a press like we have here on msnbc or any other channel that holds leaders accountable and doesn't allow the voice of the people across the country in all of its diversity and ethnicity to be able to let their voice be heard in this. so his appearance and his

celebration of him by cpac and by many republicans really tells you where -- what direction they want the republican party in america to go. >> matthew dowd, betsy woodruff swan, ali vitali, who has a long weekend ahead, thank you very much. the delicate dance between washington and moscow over negotiations to bring imprisoned wnba star brittney griner home. we will talk next steps from someone who has negotiated face-to-face with vladimir putin. plus, a significant escalation in asia over taiwan. what that means for the u.s. and a public health emergency now declared by the white house. can the biden administration get a grip on the monkeypox outbreak? you are watching "chris jansing reports" only on msnbc. reports"c

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this is joe biden. he has been talking about the new jobs report outside the white house. let's take a listen. >> -- the american people did and i know i never did. that's why i made "make it in america, that phrase, "make it in america" the cornerstone of my economic plan. today's report moves make it in america isn't just a slogan, it is my administration. it is a reality. i have also made it priority to bring down the federal deficit. after watching my predecessor every single year increase the debt, the federal deficit, every year for the four years he was in office, i said no more. the days of exploding federal deficits are over, and i have kept my word. just take a look at the facts. the deficit is down a record of $1.7 trillion this year. that's right. $1.7 trillion with a "t." that's on top of $350 billion reduction to the defer sit my

-- deficit my first year in office. now, i know people will hear today's extraordinary jobs report and say they don't see it, they don't feel it in their own lives. i know how hard it is. i know it is hard to feel good about job creation when you already have a job and you are dealing with rising prices, food and gas and so much more. i get it. i literally can remember sitting in my mom and dad's dining room table and watching them choose which bills they're going to pay that months because there wasn't enough money to pay all of the bills. i get it. that's why i'm doing everything in my power to lower the cost for families. you know, we have seen some progress. gas prices are coming down. they're down almost a dollar a gallon from where they were just a month ago. we're making progress. we now have more than 50 straight days of falling gas prices in this country. the price at the pump is now

less than $3.99 a gallon in more than half of the gas stations in america. in fact, $3.79 a gallon is now the most common price paid at the pump in the country. $3.79. while we're not there yet, we are on the cusp of passing the most important step we can pass to take -- to help congress help us lower inflation, the inflation reduction act. that bill will lower prescription drug costs by giving medicare the power to negotiate for lower drug prices, lower drug prices. that's something the american people have been promised for years, for decades, and we're on the verge of finally getting that done. the bill also keeps down health care insurance costs by keeping health care premiums for those on the affordable care act down $2,400 a year. it will make historic investments in clean energy, clean energy, security -- the security of the country is at

stake. we're going to save american families hundreds of dollars a year on paying their energy bills by allowing them to have money to invest by getting -- allowing them to put in new windows and doors and solar panels and the like and get tax credits for that. also going to restore some fairness to the tax code by imposing corporate minimum tax of 15% on billion dollar companies. that will put an end to what we've seen in the recent years where 55 of the largest companies in america, the fortune 500, pay zero federal taxes on income over $40 billion combined in profit. this bill is going to reduce the deficit by another $300 billion. one more point. this bill will not -- let me repeat this. this bill will not, will not raise taxes on anybody making less than $400,000 a year.

when it comes to the benefits of this bill, you don't have to take my word for it. nearly 130 economists, seven nobel laureates on the economists -- on economics i should say, former secretaries of treasury, federal reserve -- former federal reserve vice chair, former director of the congressional budget office wrote this bill will, quote, combine -- they signed, quote, fight inflation and lower costs for american families while setting the stage for strong, stable and broadly shared long-term economic growth. in short, this bill is a game changer for working families in our economy. i look forward to the senate taking up this legislation and passing it as soon as possible. you know, i know most families are focused on just putting three meals on the table, taking care of their kids and paying their bills. helping you do that is my job.

that's the president's job as well. i have one more job, which is not only to focus on getting america through the economic challenge we're facing but to look to the future, to make sure we're building an economy that -- that meets the needs of american families to be able to succeed and for america to win the future. when you step back, today's jobs report is part of a broader story. for decades the american economy has been struggling even before the pandemic. middle class americans were working harder but they were falling further behind. all the rewards in the economy seemed to be going to those at the very top. when i came to office i was determined to change that. i ran for president, saying i was going to restore the backbone of america, the middle class, and grow the economy from the bottom up and the middle out. not from the top down. because when the middle class does well everybody does well, everybody. the wealthy do very well and the

poor have a way up. my economic plan rests on five pillars, get america back to work at a record pace. all americans, all americans, leaving no one behind, and we're doing just that. in the process for the first time in a long time workers are being empowered. instead of workers begging employers for work, we are seeing employers have to compete for american workers and we're seeing a resurgence of working -- worker organizations and unionization. when i -- where i come from that's a good thing and it is long overdue. two, we're literally rebuilding this nation. our roads, our bridges, our ports, our airports, clean water, high-speed internet for all americans. for too long america has failed to invest in itself. we changed that this year with the biggest investment in america since isenhour's interstate highway system. we are now committing to rebuild

america not just for tomorrow but for the next decade. that includes not only investments in things like roads and bridges but research in development, from artificial intelligence to quantum computing to semiconductors, they're all going to remake the world. as i said earlier we're going to build it here in america. let me be clear. we're going to invest in america. we're going to make it in america. we're going to win the economic competition of the 21st century in america. three, give working people of the middle class a fighting chance, more than just a little breathing room, a real chance to get ahead by making their everyday things more affordable and accessible, like health care, prescription drug costs, energy, child care, education, housing and so much more. because when we lower those costs, all of the necessary things, we improve their

standard of living. four, make our economy more competitive and less concentrated on too few companies dominate a market that reduces competition, drives up the cost for american consumers. that's been going on for too long. we need to give small business and entrepreneurs more opportunities and consumers more choices at the afford -- at affordable prices. the fifth thing, five -- the fifth pillar, we are going to reward work, not just wealth in america so that everyone pays their fair share in taxes. i'm a capitalist. i'm not trying to punish anybody, but i am saying everyone, everyone should pay their fair share, just their fair share. america's a nation that was built on work. we can never lose sight of that. that's why the strength and pace of our job recovery is so important. in the past it has taken years for americans to recover from an

economic crisis that we inherited. when that's happened millions of people suffered for years and years just trying to get back to where they were before, just trying to get back on their feet. well, that didn't happen this time. you know, my dad used to say that a job is about a lot more than a paycheck, it is about your dignity. it is about respect. it is about your place in the community. it is about being able to look your child in the eye and say, honey, it is going to be okay, and mean it. that's the economy i'm determined to build today. that's the economy i'm looking at. now, a part of changing the way things have been done in the past is by restoring the faith in the american people in their government. today i'm going to be signing very shortly two bipartisan bills, bipartisan bills that begin to restore that faith. a key driver of our economic recovery is the resurgence of america's small business.

small business hires as many people as the major corporations. we just learned last week the small businesses with less than 50 employees created nearly 3 million jobs in 2021. 3 million. that's the most ever in a single year. more americans applied to start new businesses than ever before in our history, and part of our plan is making sure that when we commit funds to help america's small business it actuallies to those small businesses it is supposed to go to. we know that the last administration that's not what happened. too much of small business relief funding passed by the congress ended up in the hands of those who either didn't need it or criminal syndicates who outright stole the money. not only did the trump administration let the biggest businesses with the teams of lawyers and accountants skip to the front of the line, my predecessor undermined the watchdogs who were supposed to

be on the job to make sure relief went to mom and pop businesses who were supposed to get it in the first place. in my state of the union address i made it clear the watchdogs are back. that's why the justice department named a chief prosecutor for pandemic fraud who got to work right away -- >> joe biden with a laundry list of what he says the accomplishments of his administration are, but the biggest, biggest news for him, the job growth soared in july, defied predictions that the economic recovery is losing steam. u.s. employers adding 528,000 jobs, that's more than double the number experts had expected. the unemployment rate ticked down just a little bit at 3.5%. all of that means employment numbers are back to the same level they were pre-pandemic and match a 50-year unemployment low. president biden said more americans are working in the private sector today than in any

other time in our history. joining me now nbc's stephanie ruhle and farnoush tarani. stephanie, what is behind this huge job number? >> this is a hugely popular number. look around, we know employers around the country from big business to small have been out there trying to hire, and you are seeing it happen in a big way. yes, inflation continues to be a very big issue so while wages may be up inflation is eating into that. it is just an overall positive. so, remember, we have been so concerned and consumed with recession fears, and not to say that we don't have problems in this country, but when you have job growth as strong as it is, unemployment as low as it is, this is a really, really big positive, not to mention when you are talking, when you are thinking inflation take a look at gas prices. they have been going down for the last 51 straight days. >> something the president pointed out.

farnoush, i also here a lot of experts talking about the fact the fed is going to keep moving. that means that the job situation is going to change in the other direction. what are you looking for? >> well, i would love to see wages go up to the point where we can actually afford the expenses that americans have facing them right now. so i think in talking to a lot of economists this week, working on stories for economist about this, they're looking at top line issues like unemployment and added. they're also looking at job creation, they're looking at wages, and it is true many americans are out there getting jobs and if you want one you can probably find one, but will it pay enough. the president talked about a 50% corporate tax on companies that made so much money in the last, you know, year or two. i would love to see some of that trickle down into wages. if there's a policy that could be created or raising the federal minimum wage to begin with, i think things like that

worry me because i think, you know, the thesis is while everyone can get a job, but what's that job actually paying, how competitive is the pay, is something i will be looking at very closely. >> the other things we hear about, stephanie, where is the child care, right? if we need people to get back into the workplace and we know that that number is down as a percentage basis, where's the child care? what about transportation? what kinds of arrangements for -- between work-from-home and back into the office are businesses going to make? i know you talk to these folks all the time. what are these conversations among business leaders right now? >> here is the good nuss. businesses, especially large ones, are getting more and more creative because it is an employee's market right now. a few years ago that wasn't the case, right. employers, it is a fine line. basically they want to offer the least amount of money, the least amount of benefits while they can keep the most amount of employees. they're always looking for that fine line.

as gross as it is that's how this thing works. right now you have employers offering more training, offering more work from home, offering more flex arrangements and, yes, offering different kind of perks and bonuses. guess who can't afford to do that? really small businesses, and that's what the president was talking about. when you have major companies like amazons and walmarts of the world that can offer lots of things we've been hoping for for years, paying for education, paying for health care and other resources, that's great. but if you own a dress shop or a pizzeria in downtown, and we all love our local main streets, what are we going to do to help those small businesses stay afloat. that's a tricky one. one place to look is immigration reform. at this point we have got almost two open jobs for every person out there, and one way you will address this is start to consider a more comprehensive immigration policy, which is not what we have right now. >> besides inflation, i think farnoosh, there's been one other

word we hear a lot. i hear it from people out on the street, family, friends, and that is recession. jim cramer, host of cnbc's "mad money" said, and he is always color, this number is extraordinary! we're a growth country and the rest of the world is not. does this jobs report suggest we are not headed for a recession? >> you asked me this about a couple of months ago, chris, and we still had rosie job numbers. the situation hasn't changed. can we actually have a recession where we have now 3.5% unemployment? i will not disagree with jim cramer. he was my old boss back in pre-recession years. my take is that a recession is whatever the national bureau of economic research says is a recession, right. right at this point i'm not going to wait for the dictionary police to tell us whether or not we are in a recession. 58% of americans recently polled say, yeah, the recession is here. so can you have technically a

recession with the jobs numbers where we're at? probably not. historically recessions, especially the deeper ones, have been predated with, you know, higher unemployment numbers. but the fact of the matter is this is, as you mentioned earlier, going to give the fed permission to continue its aggressive rate-hike campaign. so eventually i think we are going to see more pressure on corporate profits and credit financing. all of that will have a trickle-down effect on the ability for companies to hire at the pace that they are currently. so i think that the prediction is that we're going to be headed for a recession. we are always headed for a recession, right, but in terms of when i think in the next year very likely. >> farnoosh tarobi, thank you so much. what are the chances to release bript any griner from a russian prison following the

nine-year sentence yesterday? earlier today sergey lavrov said the kremlin is ready to discuss the matter. before last night's wnba game there was a stirring tribute to griner by her teammates, a 42-second long moment of silence in honor of her jersey number. joining me now michael mcfaul, former u.s. ambassador to russia and nbc news international affairs analyst. always great to have you here in situations like this. look, now that the verdict and the sentence have been handed down, is there an opening you see for griner's release and what are the complicating factors? >> well, there's definitely an opening and i think what foreign minister lavrov said suggests they are ready for negotiating. as we know, secretary blinken has been talking about a deal now for several weeks. that's very unusual and i don't think he would have done that if he wasn't optimistic that there was a deal to be done. so now they have to sit down and

do the deal. i think, you know, that to get brittney griner and paul whelan and i would add mark fogle, someone else wrongly convicted, 14 years for a similar alleged crime as brittney griner, to get those three innocent americans out for a real criminal, this guy viktor bout, a really bad guy, i think it would be a great trade. >> what does do-the-deal look like? you have negotiated with the kremlin. what is going on behind the scenes? who are the key players or is there any key player really besides vladimir putin? >> there's only one decisionmaker, that's a great point. no deal is done of this magnitude unless putin says yes. obviously lavrov has a lot of -- he has been working for putin for a long, long time. he, i'm sure, has the green light to negotiate with his counterpart, secretary blinken, and then there are other officials. we have a special neglector in the state department who deals with cases like this. we have a special negotiator in

the state department who deals with cases like this. when i worked in the government ridkoff was the go-to guy to get things like this done. >> how many pressure do you think is on the biden administration right now, ambassador? >> i think a lot. i applaud those who have been providing it. what you just showed now with the wnba, that pressure helped to bring attention to the brittney griner case, to try to think about this deal. to those that have done it, i applaud you. we are a democratic society, that's the way it works. now i hope we can all get the deal done. i just want to keep emphasizing i hope it includes mark fogle. i know mark. mark was a high school teacher at the anglo american school when i was a u.s. ambassador. he was a teacher to one of my sons. he's taught in many of our

diplomats, many of our military officers who served in moscow. i hope if a deal is done mark can be included in it as well. let me ask you about the other international news out there, these escalating tensions with china following speaker of the house pelosi's visit with taiwan. china fired missiles into the economic zone which antony blinken called a significant escalation. is there a risk of this widening into a serious conflict or was china sort of flexing its muscles? >> well, i do feel like they're overreacting. overreacting in ways that are not in their own national security interests, i would say. all of the things, those conversations that they cut off with us serve their interests. they wouldn't be talking to us if they didn't. so that's the first thing. i think this is a gross overreaction. the u.s. policy has not changed. i want to emphasize that. i think there's some confusion about that.

there's been no policy change going back decades in terms of u.s. policy towards china, towards taiwan, and, therefore, i don't think this overreaction is warranted. that said, i'm not predicting a military confrontation right now, and i hope diplomats on both sides are talking to each other to calm things down. >> former ambassador michael mcfaul, always good to see you. thank you. >> thank you. urgent pleas for more monkeypox vaccine amid long lines at vaccination sites. what more can be done to contain the virus. i will speak to an expert on infectious diseases and a politician who has been sounding the alarm for months. that's next. e alarm for months that's next. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (vo) red lobster's seafood summerfest is fire! turn up for our new! bbq bacon grilled shrimp

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today confirmation that monkeypox poses a serious health risk in the u.s. after the biden administration made the rare declaration of a public health emergency. but how could that help? here's white house covid

response coordinator dr. ashish jha. >> a public health emergency declared by the secretary of health and human services unlocks a set of tools. allows us to speed up vaccines and make treatments more easily available. allows us to gather more data efficiently. >> the decision comes as cases top 7,000 nationwide with a quarter of those cases in new york state alone, and as headlines across the country continue to warn of vaccine shortages. joining me now, ammish hadala new york council member eamon vecher. doctor, this comes two weeks after the w.h.o. declared a public health emergency, new york, california, illinois followed soon after. did the biden administration wait too long? is it no longer possible to contain monkeypox in the u.s.? >> i still think it is possible to contain monkeypox if we are able to see competent delivery of vaccine to high-risk individuals. i think what ended up happening is the public health emergency

became the only means to cut through all of the bureaucrat red tape and find a path to take the actions necessary for people on the ground to contain this outbreak. i think it is sad we have to go to a public health emergency for something like this when this is something that could have been met with proactive action, but what we found is bureaucracy and red tape stymied the response like it stymied the covid-19 response. >> i'm sure you know that cdc director rochelle walensky yesterday said the highest risk population in the u.s. amounts to about 1.6 million people. we only have enough vaccine for about 550,000 people. so when are we going to be able to get and distribute more vaccine and what about this idea that they should cut vaccines to a fifth? is that a good idea? >> i do think that being innovative with the vaccine supply we have makes sense, and there is data to say that we can dilute vaccine and give it intra dermally instead of intra

muscularly. the other thing is to think about bringing the first smallpox vaccine out and use it in the small population without risk factors. that's something we have on the table and it should be used along with jynneos. it makes sense based on where we are in the outbreak. >> eric, i want to thank you for coming back. you were on the program last week talking about the growing concern in the community in new york city. as you look at the moves by the white house, are they enough? >> i don't think they're enough. it is a welcomed development, but we also learned yesterday that the u.s. government months ago declined to order viles of the vaccine from the plants that -- in which we had vaccine that we own. by the time we went to order those vaccines, other countries had gotten ahead of us in line. another blunder. so it is a good thing that they declared the public health emergency.

they've also appointed a coordinator at the white house level, and the deputy coordinator is a former new york city public health official, a member of the community. i'm very optimistic about what they will be able to do, but the anger has not subsided here in new york city. they posted 22,000 appointments online yesterday at 6:00 p.m. they were gone within minutes. >> wow. >> again, tremendous anger. >> the growing number of cases, as you know, eric, is presenting something of a conundrum for health officials where cases are surging like new york, like san francisco. the question is whether to officially recommend that gay men limit their sex partners as the w.h.o. has done, and the concern about it is that it could lead to more stigmatizing of the gay community. what are the conversations you are hearing about that? >> well, i personally don't

think that admonishing people and telling them not to have sex is effective. we found that over the years. i do think however that we have to be very straightforward and clear about what puts you at risk. so we do have to be clear with members of our community that if you have multiple sexual partners and you have sexual partners who you don't know their sexual history, you are at risk. so i think we are to be very clear with people about what their risks are. >> well, speaking of risks, doctor, how concerned should we be in the general population about developing monkeypox? there are now five children that have been diagnosed and there are a lot of health officials who say it is not just an lgbtq concern. >> the bigger the outbreak gets the more likely you will see it spill outside the risk group of men who have sex with men. it is true looking at the epidemiology those are the predominant individuals who are infected but they have household

contact, they have close contact with other individuals. this will be something we have to increasingly deal with. i don't think, however, we will see sustained spread outside of the msm population but we have to be prepared to deal with household contacts that may become infected and get them vaccine as we get vaccine to the at-risk group. >> we will stay on top of the story. i want to thank you both for coming back on and talking about it. we'll see you soon i'm sure. appreciate it. have a good weekend. if you are beaten down by the news, by hot weather, by divisive politics, let us offer you distraction. meet the cincinnati zoos newest star and celebrity. a baby hippo born yesterday to 23-year-old bibi. twitter telling us bibi and baby spent the night bonding in the cool waters of their indoor pool. in keeping with celebrity status showing off a little. the 60-pound newborn is already walking. look at that. moving his or her ears, because there's no gender reveal yet and the zoo is now taking

suggestions for names. the whole thing, by the way, quite the shocker for zoo keepers because bibi was on birth control. she had other ideas. alex jones forced to pay up and his trial not only means he has to give millions to sandy hook parents but now a trophy of his text messages and e-mails could soon be in the hands of the january 6th committee. we're going to dig into that next. prescription. astepro is the first and only 24-hour steroid free spray. while other allergy sprays take hours astepro starts working in 30 minutes. so you can... astepro and go. (dad) we have to tell everyone that we just switched to verizon's new welcome unlimited plan, for just $30. (daughter) i've already told everyone!

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while other allergy sprays take hours astepro starts working in 30 minutes. so you can... astepro and go. right now a jury is that same jury has already ordered jones to pay $4 million in commencetory damages for telling lies about the shooting, including that it was all a hoax. >> it's really, really nice to be able to turn and look at my clients and say he can't get off scott free for this. he can't. >> the prosecution says the years worth of jones' text messages and emails that were accidentally sent to that lawyer will now be handed over to the january 6th committee. joining me, nbc news senior

reporter ben collins and university of michigan law professor barbara mcquade. barbara, what does the committee think they might find on jones' phones? >> well, it could be all kinds of things. there was some indication he was text messaging with roger stone, for example, who was part of that willard hotel war room. alex jones we know was involved in organizing the rallies on january 6th. so if you can find a link between the forcible attack at the capitol and donald trump's inner circle, there is some potential for charging him with seditious conspiracy. i think they want to find out what the facts are and take it where they lead him. he invoked his right against self-incrimination more than a hundred times. it could be the text messages will answer questions he refused to answer himself. >> interesting. the judge said very clearly that jones lied on the stand,

especially when he said the text messages couldn't be found and then you have other sandy hook families out there. it sounds like his legal troubles are far from over, barbara. >> yeah, i think in addition to what's going on with the january 6th committee, there are all these defamation claims. he really des pickably kicked these families to the curb. he monetizes on his info web site and makes something like $800,000 a day churning through these lies. as the lawyers for the parents said, in america speech is free but lies will cost you. >> in fact, during the trial, as you well know, ben, because you watched it all, alex jones says he actually believes the shooting happened, that it wasn't a bunch of actors.

yesterday he said he knows what he did to the families was wrong but he didn't do it on purpose. as barbara just pointed out, he made millions and millions of dollars off of those devastated families. >> yeah, and he continues to. alex jones spoke to an employees who was talking about a specific article. and alex jones responded it was basically okay. and he -- the employee said this is sandy hook all over again. and he said, no, it's okay, i get it. it's the play book of taking the opposite of reality each and every time, using that to sell supplements based on fear. it's like apocalyptic.

it's the literature of the coming end of the world. it hasn't come in the ten years since sandy hook but he's richer than ever. with the closer statement, i'll read the very last thing to you the lawyer said today, alex jones is worth almost $270 million that we know of. please take an amount that punishes him, an amount that ensures he'll never do this again. i'm not sure there's an amount that will ensure he stop tells lies. >> what's the amount for terrorizing grieves parents? is there any chance at all that jones' trial becomes any kind of cautionary tale for other people who spread conspiracy theories, who spread hate, whose very actions hit people when they're down the most? >> i will say there has never been a more successful, overt

propagandist than jones. his goal is to say the opposite of the truth at all times. he will say that there is -- the catch phrase of info wars is there's a war on for your mind. he is trying to create a battle inside of everybody's brains to deny the reality in front of everyone's very eyes. i don't think again there will be another propaganda this successful at lying over and over again. however, a trial like this showing that it has consequences to just revictimize families over and over again, 4 million might be something but there might be more. >> thank you very much. that's going to do it this hour. join us for "chris jansing reports" every weekday at 1:00

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lindsey reiser if for katy tur. we have a lot to get you caught up, including major developments overseas on two front. in russia officials now say they're willing to talk prisoner exchange following the nine-year

sentencing of brittney griner on drug charges. here at home a stunning jobs report and the lowest unemployment numbers in almost 50 years. we're going to get more into the numbers and what they mean for the economy later on in the hour. we're going to begin in washington where senate democrats are prepared to work through the weekend to advance their key spending bill after finally clearing a major hurdle last night. senator kyrsten sinema is in, but a plan to close one major tax loophole is out. chuck schumer says all 50 members of the caucus are now on board and the final senate vote on the package could come as soon as next week. joining me is ali vitali. senator sinema has officially signed on. walk us through how the deal came together and some of the changes she got. >> reporter: lindsey, what it means to have sinema on board,