>>> hello, i'm alicia menendez. we're following breaking news this hour. there's new leaked audio of former president barack obama criticizing the trump administration over their handling of the coronavirus pandemic. the criticism came on a conference call held with former obama administration staffers. also expressed concern over doj's decision not to prosecute michael flynn for lying to the fbi. take a listen. >> the news over the last 24 hours i think has been somewhat downplayed about the justice department dropping charges against michael flynn. and the fact there is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scott free. that's the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic -- not just institutional norms but our basic understanding of rule of law is -- is at risk. >> the leak comes after a week that saw the white house try to pivot towards the reopening of the economy but revealed that two white house staffers tested positive for the virus. and comes after the labor department announ

i'm alicia menendez.siness, but the covid-19 crisis is far from over. the death toll in the u.s. continues to rise, passing 65,000. doctors have tested more than 6.5 million americans that they warn in a country of 330 million people, that is not enough. health officials say returning to public life will require much more testing, much better tracing and we are not there yet. at the same time, pressure is mounting on leaders across the country to reopen businesses. in california a large crowd ignored social distancing regulations and called for state officials to reopen the beaches. similar protests are scheduled across the country today. by monday, about two dozen states with a population of 145 million people will have lifted

i'm alicia menendez, happy memorial day weekend.ns hit beaches and back yards this weekend attempting to recapture some semblance of normal life, the coronavirus continues to lurk in the background. >>> less than six months out from a national election, it's becoming increasingly clear that voters are facing a fundamental choice in november. be bold and reopen the economy as president trump is pushing for, or urge caution and prioritize human laws as joe biden exemplifies. with nearly a quarter of american workers out of a job, the president

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xfinity mobile. >>> good afternoon, i'm alicia menendez. enjoying the start of your holiday weekend. millions of americans are using the holiday to get out of the house for the first time in weeks. beaches and parks are opening with some restrictions but there are a lot of questions about how the restrictions will be enforced. president trump hopes americans will get back to church this sunday. he ordered all houses of worship open, but it's still unclear if he has the authority to do so. plus, joe biden is backtracking from some controversial comments he made about black voters. we'll talk about the former vp's relationship with minority communities and what more he can be doing to bring them onboard. and the fbi is investigating the investigators. we'll explain why the bureau is looking into how it handled the michael flynn case. >>> we begin

i'm alicia menendez. we're following breaking news this hour.audio of president obama criticizing the trump administration over their handling of the coronavirus pandemic. the criticism came on a conference call held with former obama administration staffers. joining me now is

i'm alicia menendez. the reverend al sharpton takes over at the top of the hour.alk with the mayor of san francisco about how her city is responding to the pandemic and the calls to reopen california. that's coming up next on "politicsnation." . that's why we're still offering fast, free two day shipping on thousands of items. even the big stuff. and doing everything it takes to ensure your safety. so you can make your home everything you need it to be. wayfair. way more than furniture. no uh uh, no way come on, no no n-n-n-no-no only discover has no annual fee on any card. being prepared and overcoming challenges. usaa has been standing with them for nearly a hundred years. and we'll be here to serve you for a hundred more. ♪ and we'll be here to serve you for a hundred more. ♪ ♪all strength ♪we ain't stoppin' believe me♪ ♪go straight till the morning look like we♪ ♪won't wait♪ ♪we're taking everything we wanted♪ ♪we can do it ♪all strength, no sweat >>> good evening and welcome to "politicsnation." tonight's lead, mayday. as americans clamor to return to normalc

i'm alicia menendez. we are following breaking news. mass protests from coast to coast over the death of george floyd. demonstrators have taken to the streets in nearly two dozen u.s. cities calling for racial equality. some of the protests have turned violent with police clashing with demonstrators and demonstrators destroying storefront and police cars. there are new developments in minnesota today where the governor has activated the national guard to restore order to the streets. officials saying today many of the acts of violence are being carried out by extremists hoping to damage the image of peaceful demonstrators. the attorney general keith ellison addressed that this morning with my colleague, joy redi. >> there is real legitimate evidence that this is a very serious operation being done to tarnish the legitimate protest that is going on. we need an investigation on who these people are and their identity. >> nbc's morgan chesky is on the ground in minneapolis. tell us more about these outside actors. what are authorities sayi

. >>> good afternoon, i'm alicia menendez, the house overnight passed another stimulus package.s one to the tune of $3 trillion. but with several democrats refusing to get on board, and only one republican signature, many including the president are saying the bill has next to no chance in the senate. democratic congressman joe cunningham of south carolina likened the legislation to a

i'm alicia menendez. hope you're enjoying your memorial day weekend. thousands are using the holiday to get out and about. some are hitting the beach as more states relax their restrictions. but there are still concerns that the shift toward reopening could bring new outbreaks of the coronavirus. this memorial day weekend "the new york times" issued a memorial of its own and a stunning reminder of what is at stake. the "times" posting the names of 1,000 victims of covid-19 on the cover. a mere 1% of the nearly 100,000 americans of w.h.who have lost lives by the he couldn't. president trump, who is golfing at his virginia club holiday weekend tweeted this morning cases, numbers, and deaths are going down all over the country n. stark contrast, trump's own fda commissioner tweeted hours earlier, i remind everyone that the coronavirus is not yet contained and adds social distancing, hand washing and wearing masks protect us all. i'd like to bring in nbc's monica alba at the white house. has there been response from the white house regarding the fda seemin

i'm alicia menendez. we're following breaking news this hour. there's new leaked audio of president obama criticizing the trump administration over their handling of the coronavirus pandemic. the criticism came on a conference call held with former obama administration staffers. joining me now is msnbc's mike mem lee. you have been working on this story all afternoon. what can you tell us? >> former president obama has been fairly conservative about whether and when he chooses to speak out publicly about issues that democrats especially have been concerned about in terms of as they follow the actions of the trump administration. but we got significantly greater insight into the president's thinking as he held a conference call on friday night with more than 3,000 alumni of his administration. during that call, he hit on a number of topics, including the coronavirus pandemic, calling the trump administration's response an absolute chaotic disaster. he also talked about the justice department's decision to instruct prosecutors to drop their prosec

>>> good afternoon, i'm alicia menendez, the house overnight passed another stimulus package. this one to the tune of $3 trillion. but with several democrats refusing to get on board, and only one republican signature, many including the president are saying the bill has next to no chance in the senate. democratic congressman joe cunningham of south carolina likened the legislation to a partisan wish list. it was a notion tim ryan did not appreciate. >> 40% of families who have a worker who makes $40,000 or year a less lose their job last month. 4 million people didn't pay their rent. and the republican party says we don't have any money to help you. are you kidding me? where do you guys live? food lines around the blocks at our food banks in the united states of america. one in five kids are going hungry. your party can't even get food to them. this isn't a wish list, if it's a wish list, it's for the working class people. >> as house democrats celebrated the president recaptured the news cycle it seemed, firing state department inspector general steve linnick. he had begun i

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i'm alicia menendez. we're following breaking news as protesters demonstrate across the country. from new york to san francisco and dozens of cities in between people are taking to the streets calling for racial equality in the wake of the death of george floyd. these are live pictures from philadelphia and denver. those are just a couple of the dozens of cities seeing similar peaceful protests today. it was a different story last night. some of the protests have turned violent with police clashing with demonstrators and demonstrators destroying storefronts and police cars. in minnesota where the protests began the governor has activated the national guard and is calling for demonstrators to stay home tonight. but today we learned that many of the acts of violence are being carried out by extremists hoping to damage the imobject of peaceful demonstrators. here's what the minnesota governor had to say. >> the situation in minneapolis is no longer in any way about the murder of george floyd. it is about attacking civil society, instilling fear and disrupting our great cities. so as

i'm alicia menendez. we are following breaking news. mass protests from coast to coast over the death of george floyd. demonstrators have taken to the streets in nearly two dozen u.s. cities calling for racial equality. some of the protests have turned violent with police clashing with demonstrators and demonstrators destroying storefront and police cars. there are new developments in minnesota today where the governor has activated the national guard to restore order to the streets. officials saying today many of the acts of violence are being carried out by extremists hoping to

i'm alicia menendez. more and more states across america are opening for business, but the covid-19 crisis is far from over. the death toll in the u.s. continues to rise, passing 65,000. doctors have tested more than 6.5 million americans that they warn in a country of 330 million people, that is not enough. health officials say returning to public life will require much more testing, much better tracing and we are not there yet. at the same time, pressure is mounting on leaders across the country to reopen businesses. in california a large crowd ignored social distancing regulations and called for state officials to reopen the beaches. similar protests are scheduled across the country today. by monday, about two dozen states with a population of 145 million people will have lifted restrictions. new jersey is one of the latest tot relax its orders, reopening state and county parks and golf courses today. but not everyone is in a rush to reopen. delivery workers are also protesting, saying they're risking

>>> good afternoon, i'm alicia menendez. i hope you are enjoying the start of your holiday weekend. millions of americans are using the holiday to get out of the house for the first time in weeks. beaches and parks are opening with some restrictions but there are a lot of questions about how the restrictions will be enforced. president trump hopes americans will get back to church this sunday. he ordered all houses of worship open, but it's still unclear if he has the authority to do so. plus, joe biden is backtracking from some controversial comments he made about black voters. we'll talk about the former vp's relationship with minority communities and what more he can be doing to bring them onboard. and the fbi is investigating the investigators. we'll explain why the bureau is looking into how it handled the michael flynn case. >>> we begin with the white house. president trump yesterday delivered a combative announcement pushing governors to reopen all houses of worship across the country, deeming them essential. >> i'm identifying houses of worship, churches, synagogue and mosq

i'm alicia menendez, happy memorial day weekend. here's what we're following this saturday -- as americans hit beaches and back yards this weekend attempting to recapture some semblance of normal life, the coronavirus continues to lurk in the background. >>> less than six months out from a national election, it's becoming increasingly clear that voters are facing a fundamental choice in november. be bold and reopen the economy as president trump is pushing for, or urge caution and prioritize human laws as joe biden exemplifies. with nearly a quarter of american workers out of a job, the president made it clear in the even of a second wave it is full speed ahead. >> people say that's a distinct possibility. it's standard. we're going to put out the fires. we're not going to close the country. we're going to put out the fires. whether it's an ember or a flame, we're going to put it out. we're not closing our country. >> on friday the president said that he would urge governors to reopen churches despite evidence showing them to be vir

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i'm alicia menendez. hope you're enjoying your memorial day weekend.liday to get out and about. some are hitting the beach as more states relax their restrictions. but there are still concerns that the shift toward reopening could bring new outbreaks of the coronavirus. this memorial day weekend "the new york times" issued a memorial of its own and a stunning reminder of what is at stake. the "times" posting the names of 1,000 victims of covid-19 on the cover. a mere 1% of the