♪♪ welcome back to "the weekend," you'll. nierly four years after the january 6th insurrection, a new inspector general's report sheds light on the fbi's intelligence collection efforts ahead and during the riot. the report says the fbi missed the, quote, basic step of canvassing its field offices for intelligence in the lead-up to the storming of the capitol. it also found, quote, no evidence that the fbi had

undercover employees in the various protest crowds or at the capitol on january 6th. now that hasn't stopped donald trump, jd vance and their supporters in congress from suggesting the conspiracy theory because, of course, that's what they do. the 26 unpaid fbi informants who was at the capitol orchestrated the riot. at least one republican congressman, thomas massey of kentucky, says the report is all trump needs to justify widespread pardons to january 6th rioters. something trump says he'll do his first hours in office. joining us now is founder of democracy docket and partner at elias law group. good morning, mark. >> thank you for having me. >> can i just say before we jump into the nitty-gritty of this is that online and in conservative media circles this report has actually been translated quite differently. saying that it was the fbi who

they had people -- they themselves orchestrated what happened on january 6th. they were naming the number of informants. they were cherry picking pieces of this report and putting it into, you know, their news basically saying that, see, it was d deep state that fueled this. the fbi had people on the ground. the fbi had folks that went into the capitol. it wasn't donald trump and his supporters. and i'm wondering what you think about that assertion? >> yeah, there has always been a fundamental incore heerns to the right wing's explanations of january 6th because it is simultaneously the fact that they say it was a peaceful protest of love and that it was an orchestrated effort by the -- by antifa or the fbi or whoever to incite a riot. right? like they kind of can't figure out which way they want to go with this. whether there was, in fact, no riot and now all the images you see are exaggerated or made up

or ai or whatever. or, that they're all real, but that these are all secretly instigated by the deep state and the like. and i think the reason why you have that incoherence is because at the end of the y th're just trying to discredit the fbi. they want to allow the fbi to be taken over by the likes of kash patel to become a politicization tool of donald trump and what better way to do it than to cast broad, dark conspiracies about the fbi. and at the same time, they want to pardon these january 6th defendants. so they need to cast them in a light of having done nothing wrong. right? so there is that fundamental incoherence that i think plays through much of what the right wing media echo chamber says. >> i'm sure you saw, marc, trump was talking to "time" magazine about these pardons. i'm going to do case by case and if they're nonviolent they will be greatly punished. i'm doing that. i'm going to look -- i can't

read this. you get the idea, marc. the thing we talked about is the fact that this is about a future permission structure. it's not just about punishment. it's about sending a message to people who would consider doing this again about what the consequences would be. >> yeah. first of all, i have to give "time" credit for one thing is not cleaning up his syntax. you're right. you read the words uncleaned up, it's incoherent. i do think that's right. pardoning the january 6th defendants is about three thing. number one, exonerating donald trump. because if, in fact, they did nothing wrong, he did nothing wrong. it's about a permission structure moving forward how they use the power of government. how they use the pardon power. how they use the fbi. how they use the department of justice. it normalizes the politicization of the government -- of the tools of government in power from the very beginning. and number three, which is not

something we hear widely talked about but i want to put a marker down now, i also think that this is going to be the foundation of a new private militia organization. these january 6ers and their supporters are quite well organized. i don't think it's well understood in the mainstream and on the left that these folks are going to come out i think quite radicalized. a lot of them were violent, not all of them. but you know, they will come out quite radicalized and very loyal to donald trump. and you oftentimes see in quasi authoritarian leaders or regimes not just the misuse of government power but the misuse of private militia power. >> that raises a very interesting point in light of an op-ed by politico, michael shaffer writing about the january 6th verdict, noting the historical record established by the vast nationwide legal effort can't be just erased by a pardon

that frees the convicts. nearly 1,000 january 6th perps pleaded guilty. more than 250 were convicted in court. thanks to exhaustively large footage and voluminous innocencing memos we now know exactly who did what and at what time and with what intent. the prosecutions turned it into the best documented riot in history. having said all that, marc, i think you put your finger on the underlying fundamental fact of a new reality that will emerge once these pardons are granted by trump. and that that coalesces and locks in this sort of militia mentality that the rioters now become this force that sits at the beck and call of donald trump should he ask for their assistance in any manner or if they feel donald trump is challenged or put upon in a way

that they don't like, they can respond. it is essentially what i note politically donald trump did. he took the folks who viewed him over 14 years on television and turned them into the hard core voters who stand by him. this act of january 6th pardons will do the same in creating, to your point, this sort of private army militia ready and waiting for the beck and call -- at the beck and call of donald trump. >> that's right. and by putting sycophants in positions of high power, you know, the fbi, the department of justice, the department of defense, national director of national intelligence you can go on and on, by stocking those people very explicitly with people who are loyal to him, you know, i think that some have gotten this analysis wrong. they say, well, but there were other people who were loyal to

him who he could have chosen, who are more qualified. no, no, no. that misses the point. he purposely wants everyone to know that the only qualification to run the people with badges and guns, the only qualification to run the people who control intelligence operations, the only qualification to run the military is loyalty to him. and he doesn't want there to be any confusion to that. and then, as you say, there will be this outside effort of people who are not part of other militia movement, other agendas, rather one that is focussed solely on him, it is that consolidation of all loyalty and power to him that i think is so dangerous. it's that consolidation of power only to him that i think frankly too many in the mainstream media are looking past in these discussions, but donald trump's not looking past it. >> right. >> so there are the pardons to the 1/6 rioters that trump is

thinking about and then there are the potential preemptive pardons to january 6th skmee members that you have the current president thinking about. i want to take a listen to what january 6th committee members thompson and schiff had to say about the possibility. >> i don't think the incoming president should be threatening his political opponents with jail time. that's not the talk we should hear from a president in a democracy. nor do i think a pardon is necessary to the january 6th committee. >> the president, it's his prerogative. if he offers it to me or other members of the kmeerks committe would accept it, but it's his schois. >> two different questions. if the president was your client, what would you advise the president to do. some of these january 6th committee members were your client, what would you tell them? >> okay. so, let's back up and start with the fact that nothing that joe biden is going do here will affect donald trump's behavior.

so, no one should say he should not do preemptive pardons because it somehow creates a permission structure for donald trump. i mean, whatever one might have thought good or bad or indifferent about the hunter biden pardon, i promise you, it will not change one iota what donald trump's behavior will be in the future. >> yep. >> come on, marc elias, preach it now. preach it. >> so, that i don't think should be on the table. it is true that members of congress enjoyed broad immunities that protect them to a larger degree than many other people -- virtually everybody else in american society. they have speech and debate immunity. it's not complete, but it is substantial. but you know, i think on balance, i come down on the idea that joe biden, if he wants to protect democracy, he needs to create breathing room for people in congress and others to be critical of donald trump.

and if the first thing that happens is that donald trump is going to wage a war, via the department of justice or the fbi against, you know, a newly- newly-elected senator like adam schiff or well-respected member of congress like benny thompson, that is going to take some -- even if it doesn't deter adam schiff, or benny thompson, it may deter the next one. i think on balance i would not be dissuaded by what it means for donald trump. >> all right, marc, stay with us. we want to talk about that breathing room you just referenced. president biden racing to secure his judicial legacy. this is "the weekend" on msnbc. c my work shirt. just wear it again! i added the unstopables now with odor blocker and it keeps our clothes fresh all day! [sniff] ooo imma be feelin it at work today. she smells so good i'm actually paying attention! smell unstopable. ahh, yellow! didn't pass the tissue test? buckle up! whoa! there's toothpaste white, and there's crest 3dwhitestrips white.

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next week the senate will vote on the last of president biden's judicial nominee. six votes. if confirmed, biden will have appointed more federal judges than most presidents in their first term including donald trump. the president is on track to

appoint more federal judges of color. 233 appointees, 60 are of color. historic number of women, people who previously worked as public defenders and align with lgbtq. marc elias is back with us. >> put in into context what biden's -- a lot of the noise that's been made around supreme court's supreme court as well as the number of judges that trump appointed, lower bench judges, doing his administration, like aileen cannon, for example, who clearly had an impact already on some of the big cases in the country. >> yeah, i think this is one of the most underreported stories because unfortunately there is so much focus just on the u.s.

supreme court. but just put this in perspective for a second. there are several million case filed every year in federal courts. okay? of those a few hundred thousand wind up going to the next level, which is the court of appeal. the supreme court in any given year hears some place between 70 and 80 cases. so most litigation gets resolved at the trial court level, at the federal district court level. some significant number but not a huge number get resolved at the court of appeals. and almost no cases get resolved by the supreme court. that can't minimize the importance of the supreme court. every case they hear is a big case. that's why it feels they have such a big outcome, but one of the reasons why, you know, in the voting rights election where i litigate regularly, why you see us continuing to have so much success is because when you look at the composition of the bench that exists right now, it is not a bad composition.

a lot of that is due to joe biden. joe biden has appointed -- will have appointed before he left and confirm more judges than donald trump. when you combine those judges appointed by democratic presidents versus republican presidents it's about 57, 58% of the total federal judiciary will have been appointed by democrats. and that is in the world in which we are entering where donald trump controls the executive branch with an iron first, the republicans in congress are just lap dogs and will do whatever he want. go find whatever test there is for cartilage and administer to every member of the republican house and senate and will come up negative across the board. there's no signs of backbone or cartilage, just soft tissue. in that world, the only thing left is the court. and we have to come to understand that we need to be concerned about the supreme court, but we need to also hold the federal judiciary to be the

bulwark of democracy they can be. >> let's talk another piece of what that future can look at. your your docket has been looking at trump's assistant attorney picks has a history of attacking voting rights. in the past few years, dhillon has been involved in a dozen different lawsuits in georgia, virginia, maine, washington, d.c. challenging voting rights laws, redistricting election processes and trump's efforts to appear on the ballot in 2024. what does that portend for elections moving forward in this country? >> yeah. so this is really extraordinary. you know, people do not appreciate how important the department of justice is to protoekting the right to vote, protecting through the votes right act but also protecting the right of military and

overseas voters to vote through the law. they play a vital role. and what we have now is not an appointee who will be indifferent. right? we had that in the past. we had in the past a republican heads of the voting rights and the civil rights division that, you know, have simply not prioritized voting. this is worse. this is someone who does prioritize the issue of voting. she just prioritizes it on the other side, right? i have asked that the department of justice -- i called publicly for the department of justice to dismiss all of its cases involving voting rights before january 20th because i'm afraid she'll take those cases over and literally flip sides. indifference i would take. i'm afraid she'll attack voting rights in these cases. what it means is we're on our own. if you're watching this, we, the citizens of america who care about voting rights, we're on our own. we, the lawyers, who litigate in court cases to protect voting rights, we're on our own. we the people -- people who

support the great work of organizations like the naacp and the lawyer's committee that do voting rights litigation, we are on our own. the department of justice is not going to be helpful. like the best we can hope is that they stay out. this christmas and hanukkah season, hug a lawyer. >> we laugh but, yeah, you're right. hug a lawyer. i'm grateful to the lawyers and folks like you, marc. civil rights under the law, the list goes on. the people aclu folks, the folks doing the work. marc elias, thank you. hug a lawyer, folks, if you see one this holiday season. next up, i think senator alex padilla is a lawyer. i'll get fact checked. he'll join us and discuss what president biden can do to protect immigrants before trump unleashes his extreme agenda. this is "the weekend." s extremea this is "the weekend." ♪♪ open. ♪♪

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donald trump offering new details on his immigration plan, mentioning using the u.s. military for mass deportations. so before his administration takes control, some democratic senators are calling on the biden administration to act now and extend temporary protections for migrants living in this country. one of those senators, alex padilla of california not only stressed the humanitarian concerns surrounding this moment, the economic ones as well. here he was during a senate judiciary hearing this tuesday. >> for anybody whose vote this last november was motivated by high prices, of food, of housing, of anything else. understand that mass deportation donald trump is describing will be disastrous to our economy. it is all oufs the american people, who will pay for the extremism policies that he has promised. >> the senior senator from the great state of california, senator padilla joins us now.

good morning, senator. >> good morning. good morning to all of you. >> good morning, senator. i love that sound. simone and i were commenting while it was playing that it really kind of went -- goes to the nub of this. could you lay up for us again exactly what these deportation policies that are being articulated, even in the softness of, oh, well, you know, if a family member wants to go after the person we deported is going -- he can self deport. all of that. how that impacts the economy this idea, the interconnectedness of the migrant communities that are -- the bed rom of our economy right now being pulled out and what that may mean for prices, for those folks who are so concerned about the price of eggs. >> yeah. thank you, michael. gladly, gladly i will lay it out. and let me do it in a two-step. because for all the talk about the border, border, border,

versus these mass deportations. let's understand we're talking about a couple of different populations. yes, democrats agree. i agree. we need a safe, secure, orderly border. we do need to address the structure, the policies surrounding poem coming from around the world. not just mexico, not just latin america, to the southern border seeking asylum. so we'll talk about that in a minute. when trump talks about mass deportations, we're talking about people who have been in the united states. in some cases years, in many cases decades, living here, working here, paying taxes here, contributing to the economy and represent a disproportionate percentage of the work force in a number of key industries. whether it's agricultural workers, meat packing plants, other food processing facilities, hospitality, construction, healthcare, et cetera.

since the pandemic, i heard nothing from employers and business leaders than we have a demand for more workers. if you want to keep the economy growing, if you want to keep serving your customers. if you want to keep producing more, we need more workers. we have a shortage of workers in the united states already. now, imagine deporting 4 million, 6 million, 8 million, 10 million workers and what that would do to the difficulty for the private sector to serve and to produce. yes, prices will go up. it's simple economics. sew again, democrats -- if you want to target violent criminals, convicted criminals for deportation, that's one thing. but this mass deportation that trump and his cabinet to be that he's talking about is much more -- and people need to be

aware, price of milk goes up more, you'll know why. the cost of housing goes up more, you'll know why. the cost of child care or meat at the grocery store goes up, you need to know why. >> i mean, it is all connected. none of this is happening in a vacuum. and i really encourage people to take a look at the time interview that the president-elect did with "time." that donald trump did. he was very clear about literally -- deporting people who are currently americans who are here legally who either have -- who are here with legal status, with a legal status in some way, shape or form or who were born here. he talks about in the interview with our colleague kristen welker, revoking birthright citizenship. he literally says, you know -- >> yeah. >> i want to do an executive order. i don't know if we can do that, we'll see. we have to do something about it because we're the only country in the world that has that. birthright citizenship means anybody born in america is an

american. this is, i think, perhaps a little more expansive than what is just happening at the u.s./mexico border. >> and simone, what you said is fundamental. it's in the constitution. right? birthright citizen is in the constitution. it's not an executived orrer that will do away with it. it's not even a bill that may pass a republican. majority congress that will do away with it. it's very different. also appreciate the point you raise about what we refer to mixed status families. right? if there's an undocumented immigrant in america, chances are they live in a household with someone who is, at least a legal, permanent resident for the time being or very likely a citizen. it could be their spouse. that is what the executive order that president biden announced back in june sought to do. if you're a long-term undocumented immigrant but your spouse is a citizen, you have citizen children, then there ought to be a temporary protection for you and maybe a pathway to citizenship for you if you're otherwise a

law-abiding citizen. what's trump's answer to not splitting up families, one has to go, they all got to go. again, just a ripple exponential, negative impact on the economy. it's horrific. so you have tom hoeman on the media circuit these days. one of the somethings we can all appreciate is he's on the media circuit because the position that he's being appointed to border czar doesn't need to go through a senate confirmation. he can speak freely. the price tag on this will be slightly south of $100 billion that that's what you need in order to carry out this mass deportation plan, one of the people who testified at the hearing just referenced it's probably closer to $1 trillion. we're talking about a lot of money to do what they want to do, to say nothing of the economic and humanitarian costs. so my question for you understanding that the most likely mechanism for that funding would be reconciliation. do you think your colleagues,

thom tillis, susan collins, you think they are prepared to spend billions or trillions in taxpayer dollars to fund this mass deportation plan? >> yeah. well, that's quickly becoming the $100 billion question, right? because the outcome of the election is what it is. in the senate the ratio will be 53 republicans to 47 democrats. now thankfully legislation on the book of the policy that will or won't be done over the next couple of years, it's still subject to the filibuster threshold of 60 members. democrats do still have some leverage here. but when it comes to the spending changes that they can effectuate through reconciliation, it's a simple majority, just like the confirmation of the cabinet and other appointees of president-elect trump, it's a simple majority. are there enough republicans that can stand true, not just to fundamental morals and values, but the constitution of the united states to say no. you rattled off a handful of

republican senators that have shown themselves to stand up to do what's right time and time again. and i pray, i hope, that that will continue. it's going to be a rocky first couple of months between the spending plan, between reconciliation and between the confirmation hearings and people will show their true colors real soon. >> can i just note the senate parliamentarian who gets to decide what can and cannot be used go into reconciliation, i'm looking forward to seeing what donald trump will say when the parliamentarian comes back and is like, not here. >> wow. that depends. >> again, back to senate republicans, to keep that parliamentarian or not. that's another true test. boy, they have a lot of tests coming up. a lot of tests coming up. >> one real quick one before you go, senator. donald trump says that he wants to work with democrats on the dreamers. he says we're going to do something about the dreamers. he was asked by kristen welker

what does that mean? i will work with democrats on a plan, but the problem has been the democrats. they've been very difficult to come together on a plan. what say you, sir? >> all right. because donald trump has never lied, right? the democrats have been the problem. look, i can be hopeful. i can be skeptical, anything in between. i owe it to dreamers, to pli constituents to try if there's an opening. so a lot of my colleagues are skeptical. they're hesitant to, quote unquote, take the bait. but if there's an opportunity to protect dreamers, donald trump may be willing to sign something and my republican colleagues may be willing to do what's right finally after years of telling me behind closed doors they support dreamers but not willing to say it or vote accordingly publicly, i say let's do it. dreamers deserve nothing less. simone in the prior segment, you're wondering if i was a lawyer. sorry to disappoint. i'm an engineer. >> even better.

>> you know, you'll get a hug. hug an engineer. >> hug an engineer this holiday season as well. hug an engineer. >> having served on the judiciary committee for four years and nominated a lot of judges helping confirm judges, maybe i can play one on tv. >> you're welcome here any time. >> you would be a damn sight better than some coming into the administration. senator alex padilla of california. thank you so much, serve. appreciate you. next the latest on the man charged with the murder of the ceo of unitedhealthcare. plus the eruption of anger the killing has spurred against the health insurance industry. this is "the weekend." try. this is he"t weekend." why use 10 buckets of water when you can use 1 fire extinguisher. and to fight heartburn, why take 10 antacids throughout the day when you can take 1 prilosec. for easier heartburn relief, one beats ten. prilosec otc. one pill. 24 hours. zero heartburn. oh, my leaffilter? i just scheduled an appointment online and the inspection was a breeze. they explained everything.

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we're following new developments following the fatal shooting of the unitedhealthcare ceo brian thompson. the mother of the suspected killer luigi mangione told police one day before he was arrested that the person of interest in the surveillance photos could be her son. she last spoke to her son in july. and reported him missing last month to the san francisco police department. mangione is currently being held in a maximum security prison in pennsylvania where he's contesting extradition to new york. the shooting has sparked nationwide discourse over flaws in america's healthcare system. joining us now emergency room doctor helen oyang. she is an associate professor at columbia university and contributing writer for "the new

york times." >> dr. oyang, thank you so much for being with us today. i think i want to preface this with saying killing the ceo of unitedhealthcare was wrong. i do not endorse, michael does not endorse, alicia does not endorse it's crazy we have to say that, but this is where we are. i was -- as we were speaking in the break, i recently saw the netflix special that jamie foxx, about what had happened. he explained what happened in a comedy special. in the special he talks how he went to an emergency room and the first -- and that doctor sent him home. and it wasn't until his sister came in, saw him at this house that he was in atlanta, put him in the car. that's not my brother. he doesn't look okay. and they drove around hospitals in atlanta until they went into piedmont hospital. it wasn't until going into that hospital that the doctor in the emergency room in piedmont hospital said, your brother is having a brain bleed.

i don't know if we'll be able to get him back on track. we're going to try, but he's having a brain bleed. that's what's happening. that underscores -- that's jamie foxx. that underscores why there's so much outrage online and in real life from people about the health care industry because far too many people have a story like this. >> yes. definitely. thank you for having me on the show. again, the gleeful reaction to the murder of this man has been awful. at the same time, it unleashed something very deep and very specific in american psyche which is their anger and frustration with the healthcare system, particularly with for profit insurance companies. >> right. that is a frustration, as you write "the new york times," that really then manifests with you as the doctor. you write, it is critical for me as a physician to build trust with my patients by giving them clear answers but the conversations we're seeing now about health care remind me that insurance unknowns don't just compromise the care i can

deliver my patients, they also undermine the fragile doctor/patient trust. it's an unsustainable dynamic. just tell me how that shows up for you as you are trying to administer care. >> yeah. i'm part of the healthcare system. i see patients in emergency room. oftentimes they are extremely sick, life or death situations. and the last thing they should be worrying about if they can pay for their care. and recently i had a man, he was very sick, his heart rate was very slow. i needed to do admit him to the hospital. i thought he was going to ask, am i going to be okay, am i going to live? instead he asked me, is my insurance going to pay for all my care if i get admitted to the hospital and i didn't know the answer to that, i didn't know what his health plan was. >> michael, today is my older daughter's birthday. so i've been thinking a lot about the day that she was born and how it's the most magical day of my life and i go and they're like, okay. we need to see your insurance and credit card, it will be $1,000. >> first thing. >> oh, we have to do some

business before we go through the miracle of giving birth. >> yeah. i mean, i've had situations in the care of my mom where we've had an emergency and we take her and someone -- before they even get her into the back, who is going to pay for this? what's the insurance? insurance industry drives, dr. ouyang, our healthcare industry. that's the bottom line. you can prescribe a course of treatment as a physician with the patient in front of you, with the diagnosis in front of you. you can prescribe that course of treatment and some bureaucratic insurance operative is sitting there going, no, we ain't paying for that. we're not paying for that. and so that patient's response to you in the moment that, you know, before you committed to care is an important one and an unfortunate one that patients find themselves having to ask. will my insurance cover this?

that's the problem. but is the deeper problem the cost in the first place? why we're spending so much for a bottle of pills. why patients are spending so much for basic treatment that any place else on the globe they can get either at a significantly reduced cost or for free. what is the balancing act here? our system that's so out of whack that we find ourselves, doctors like yours, my sister is a doctor, had to stroke a big check as a neonatal doctor before she even saw one patient in the beginning of january to pay for the insurance before she saw a patient. that's the reality for physicians and patients right now. >> yes, exactly agree. i think health care prices are through the roof. they're too high. all of these health care clinics and hospitals are merging, which gives them more bargaining power. yes, i agree, the prices are too high. but i also feel like the

insurance industry has made it extremely challenging for doctors like myself to provide the care that patients need. >> simone, can i just connect the dots on both this story and another story that we've been following, which is, you know, rfk's position on vaccines and specifically some reporting that we saw yesterday from "the new york times" how an attorney who is both helping kennedy vet other administration officials for the hhs has a history of litigation to try to revoke approvals of the polio vaccine, to try to pause 13 other vaccines. one of the concerns that i have heard, simone, from physicians and i wonder if you've heard the same, is that if you do not have vaccine mandates then all of a sudden insurance companies aren't going to want to cover these vaccines. and so, when they talk about the fact that, okay, those of you who want vaccines, you'll be able to get them.

it is actually more complicated than that both in terms of the health of the kid who goes to school with my kid who didn't get the vaccine and in terms of your ability now to pay for the vaccine that you want. >> yeah. just on that, can i dove tail on that real quick. the bottom line is are insurance companies prepared to pay for polio? >> no, they're not. >> because that's not in your insurance formula right now because we covered that. >> uh-huh. >> now you got the secretary of health coming in saying, guess what, we're not going to vaccinate kids for polio. we want to pull that vaccine off the f. the first polio case shows up, insurance companies, be prepared to pay for that because you got to figure that out. that's the reality. >> look, i know we have to go, but dr. ouyang. you are amazing. this is a real conversation for so many people across the country. pre-affordable care act, the insurance companies were deciding whether or not to cover people based off pre-existing conditions. being a woman was a pre-existing

condition in many respect. if you had a cancer diagnosis, diabetes, they could have said, we're not covering you. what the affordable care act ensured a basic level of care for people. but the issues that have emerged still within the system are that the coverage is just so expensive. and so, now you have the administration getting medicare to negotiate drug prices, bringing -- capping the cost of insulin for seniors at $35. those things are important. and it matters. but for the rest of the country, there's only so much that this federal government, biden administration, has been able to do. and now doctors like yourself are out there, just trying to give the people -- trying to uphold your oath, give the people the care they need, yet also fighting the insurance companies. it is -- it's remarkably frustrating and i just don't know what people are going to do. i don't know. i know y'all. this ain't a hopeful note to end on. so, you know, we going to have

something else to say after the break. okay? dr. helen ouyang, we love you. thank you very much. we'll be back after the break. we'll be hopeful. we'll be back . we'll be hopeful how do you spell relief? r-o-l-a-i-d-s rolaids' dual-active formula begins to neutralize acid on contact. r-o-l-a-i-d-s spells relief.

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this date sticks with me, december 14th. it's been 12 years since the shooting at sandy hook elementary where the gunmen claimed the lives of 20 children, 6 adults. i'm thinking today of those 26 people. i'm thinking of their families. i'm thinking of communities all across this country that find themselves survivors of gun violence carrying on in the wake of something that is highly actionable. and we've been talking about our healthcare system, health crisis, reminder this is a highly actionable element of the crisis that is facing our children. >> i'm going to need some tissue. this is about to make me so sad because in looking at those photos, all i can think about was those children's deaths are

necessary deaths. congress still wouldn't act. the people still have done -- they have done the absolute minimum. and how many more kids are going to have to die? guns are the number one killer of our children. guns. and it is only unfortunately a matter of time because we have not done what is necessary in this country before it happens again. and it is just -- i just shutter to -- you know, a couple weeks ago there was a lockdown in the neighborhood of my stepson where my stepson goes to school because there was someone with a gun in the neighborhood. our kids are going active shooter drills. between this and a messed up healthcare system, i understand why people have turned off the news. i really do. >> life, as we know it, is about what we value.

and we have more folks in our leadership, political leadership that value the second amendment over the life of a child. it's just not complicated. that's the bottom line. because, to your point, alicia, nothing has been done since that shooting 12 years ago or shootings that occurred 20 years ago. so you know, it's a matter of what we value. and that's the question is on us because we elect the people who supposedly represent what we value. more after this. stay with us. value. more after this. stay with us would be... silly! woo! hey! try new robitussin soft chews. packed with the power of robitussin... in every bite. easy to take cough relief, anywhere. chew on relief, chew on a ♪ robitussin ♪ have you tried these new febreze car vent clips? the new intensity dial gives you total control. i can turn it up... that smells good! or turn it down... hmm. nice and light. enjoy 40 days of freshness, your way.

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i know we promise hope, but we have to talk about the real issues. shout out to alicia for making sure that we got to the newtown story today because it is important. and come back tomorrow, folks, because we do have another very busy show for you. wisconsin's democratic party chair ben wickler is running for chair of the democratic national party. he'll be here. we'll also talk about reporter gretchen carlson about pete hegseth nomination. all of that will start back here tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. eastern. follow us on social media @theweekendmsnbc. folks, we appreciate your time. our coverage with continue with "velshi." charles coleman is in for ali. take it away, charles. >> so good to see you guys. i want to echo your sentiments as well as thank alicia for