seen with the others for the first time >>> we turn now to a deeply personal story from our own kristen welker like so many couples kristen and her husband, john, struggled with infertility. tonight kristen shares the couple's journey >> reporter: one of my dreams has always been to be a mom. i wanted very much to be a journalist, but i always said to myself the one thing i don't want to do is to sacrifice having a family i was 40 years old when i married john in march of 2017. and we immediately started to try to have a baby it didn't work immediately. so we thought let's just go to a doctor as a precaution >> at that time there wasn't anything unusual. >> reporter: dr. abbasi ran some tests and determined that in fact she thought my best course of action to have a baby would be to do ivf, which i did. i went in to start the process of being able to carry a baby, and the doctor determined that the lining of my uterus was too thin to carry a child. i tried for months, and it was really just some of the most difficult months that i can remember because i was going in to the doctor in between li

joining me are nbc chief correspondent current kristen welker, eddie glaude jr.princeton university, anna palm palmer founder of punch bowl news and senior eder to of "the dispatch" david fren. welcome to sunday. it's "meet the press." >> announcer: from nbc news in washington, the longest running show in television history, this is "meet the press" with chuck todd. >>> good sunday morning. there was no shortages of big stories this week, criticism of police tactics, yet another mass shooting, this one in indianapolis. troop withdrawal from a war zone. president biden tried to flip and then flop on immigration policy. the news that garnered the biggest headlines came when federal health agencies temporarily halted injections of johnson & johnson vaccines because a small number of people suffered blood clots after receiving them. while it's not clear what connection, if any, there is between the vaccine and this clotting, the halt is likely to have profound implications, however temporary it is. will people ever feel confident about getting the j&j shot? >> will v

marks the end of national infertility awareness week as so many people already know, and nbc's kristen welkerknow you weren't alone, it helps you put one foot in front of the other kristen and john were married in march of 2017 when she was 40 years old. kristen said they tried right away to get pregnant but it didn't happen. a doctor suggested ivf and that didn't work either then more devastating news with the rest of her own story, here's kristen >> after two years of trying to carry my own baby and after having consulted with four different doctors, they all agreed that i wasn't going to be able to carry a child. it was that fourth doctor who called me when i was walking into work for one of the busiest days, i was going to cover the michael cohen hearing, and it was probably the lowest moment and realization that i've ever had. >> i was sure that we had tried most every protocol there is available. >> john and surrogacy and adoption surrogacy felt like the right step for us. being mapped with a surrogate is one of the most extraordinary experiences i've ever had. >> our surrogate has been

debate, should the supreme court be expanded today president biden giving fresh oxygen to the idea kristen welker is at the white house, and kristen, this idea of court packing is very controversial. >> reporter: that's right, lester. president biden is taking one step forward on that explosive issue, today ordering a 180-day study on potentially adding seats to the high court, which has had nine members for over a century it comes amid pressure from progressive activists who are pushing for more seats to make the court more liberal. president trump appointed three justices, resulting in a more conservative court. during the primary candidate biden said he was not a fan of court packing but later refused to say what he would do republicans have pounced today, saying this is a case of democrats trying to change institutions when they don't get their way. lester >> kristen welker, thank you. >>> new troubles tonight for matt gaetz. the house launching an ethics probe into the florida congressman who's under investigation for possibly sex trafficking a 17-year-old girl and now congressman adam kinzi

lester >> kristen welker at the white house for us thank you. >>> the president also heralding that covid vaccine milestone. 200 million shots have now been given with more than 134 million americans getting at least one dose but resistance to the vaccine is a growing problem. here's miguel almaguer >> reporter: today the nation met the white house's goal 200 million shots in the first 100 days of the biden administration though reaching that vaccine benchmark came quickly, tonight the pace has dramatically slowed at some super sites and pharmacies across the country >> are you ready >> reporter: the president now trying to reach americans who are hesitant or with less time and access to a vaccine, proposing business tax credits to offset lost work hours >> i'm calling on every employer, large and small, in every state to give employees the time off they need with pay to get vaccinated >> reporter: but a new poll shows 20% of americans are not at all likely to get a vaccine as soon as it's available still, a new snapshot also reveals despite the johnson & johnson pause vaccine confidence

they need to be with us >> reporter: kristen welker, nbc news, baltimore. >>> and with so many kids keptclassrooms over the last year a lot of families have faced impossible choices tonight president biden will address expanding access to childcare. here's stephanie ruhle. >> hold on to it >> reporter: at the height of the pandemic and with her children out of school latasha kendrick had to make a difficult decision stay home with her three kids or keep her job. >> i'm going to quit i have to. >> reporter: eight months later the single mom is still without a job. >> i want to go back to work and i just need childcare if i can have that, then i'll be okay. >> reporter: is it a vicious cycle? no childcare no job, no job no childcare? >> yes it really is >> reporter: it's not just parents struggling childcare centers are being hit hard too last year many parents pulled kids out because of fears over the virus. facilities also had to limit the number of children to account for social distancing. all of that led to layoffs and shutdowns. now 1 in 6 childcare workers are out of a job. is your

for talking about the verdict he was praying for before the jury had reached a decision nbc's kristen welker is at the white house. kristen, what did the president say tonight? >> reporter: lester, tonight president biden speaking for 15 minutes, saying new legislation is needed to combat systemic issues in race and policing. >> no one should be above the law. and today's verdict sends that message, but it's not enough we can't stop here. >> reporter: meanwhile, the president is facing backlash for saying while the jury was deliberating, he was praying for, quote, the right verdict. it's highly unusual for a president to weigh in on an ongoing trial. multiple people close to the president told us biden's comments were not helpful. the white house insisting he was merely echoing the emotions of the moment lester >> kristen welker at the white house, thanks. let's turn now to trymaine lee, an msnbc correspondent who has been closely following the trial. trymaine is in tulsa, oklahoma, a city that knows all too well how precarious justice can be. trymaine, what are people there saying and does

nbc's kristen welker reports. >> reporter: just hours from now ben will aim to show he's making progress on his administration's most pressing challenge, the ongoing fight against covid-19. >> cases and deaths are down, down dramatically. >> reporter: and he will also pivot to his new call for congress to pass his nearly $2 trillion american families plan which includes $200 billion for free universal pre-school for 3 and 1-year-olds and extends the child tax credit for five years to. pay for it the president is proposing a set of tax increases on wealthy americans making more than $400,000. investors and large corporations, but republicans are already opposing the idea. >> might as well be elizabeth warren and bernie sanders giving the speech tomorrow night. this is massive increases in spending. >> reporter: noting that with his covid relief and broader infrastructure plan the president will have asked for a combined $6 drill crop. white house officials say the president's other major focus tonight, racial justice and police reform coming on the heels of derek chauvin's conviction whic

and a few people have covered it more in-depth, like chief correspondent kristen welker. the years. he's usually pretty good at getting back to you. have you heard anything today? >> i haven't heard anything today, katy. we do know that some of our team have reached out to folks who are close to him. they say that that search lasted for about 45 minutes and that both sides were quite cordial and cooperative. but, again, we have not heard from rudy giuliani himself, and i'm trying, and if i get any reaction, i'll get that to you as soon as possible. but just to put this into context, this is really striking. this is one of former president trump's closest advisors and closest legal advisors. he was part of the team in the first impeachment, and then during the reelection campaign, rudy giuliani was quite vocal about the fact that he was doing work in ukraine to essentially try to dig up stuff on the bidens. he talked about that quite openly. there was no secret in that. and so this is clearly at the root of part of what investigators are looking to find, but just to unders

nbc's chief white house correspondent kristen welker is there at 1600 pennsylvania ahead of the majoro churchill downs in louisville, kentucky. kristen, let me start with you, what's the latest on what we can expect to hear from the president? >> reporter: well, we anticipate that president biden will announce what the cdc is going to announce in just a short while which is that people who are fully vaccinated and are outdoors no longer have to wear masks if they are gathering in small groups. craig, this does not apply to people who are gathering if large groups or if you're gathering if large groups inside. we'll look for the specifics of what the president has to say, but this was something that was signaled by dr. anthony fauci over the weekend when he said i think it's pretty common sense now that the outdoor risk is really, really quite low, particularly if you are a vaccinated person. so that was sort of the tell that this was coming. now we know that 26 states still have mask mandates in place, and we also know that cases of covid are on the rise in about a dozen states all ac

kristen welker is at the white house. kristen, what's the president saying >> reporter: lester, tonight president biden is defending his more than $2 trillion infrastructure plan he says will create millions of jobs to pay for it the president says he'll raise taxes on corporations republicans say those tax hikes will actually cost jobs and they call the plan a spending spree with most of the money not going to things like roads and bridges. i pressed the president on whether he's open to compromise he said he's "wide open." tomorrow the president is expected to announce executive actions aimed at curbing gun violence, including on so-called ghost guns, which are homemade guns that don't require background checks. lester >> kristen, thank you. >>> in atlanta the mlb's decision to move the all-star game to protest georgia's new voting law has many small business owners facing a new hit let's get more on that from blayne alexander. >> reporter: after months of seeing his sales stunted by the pandemic, shawn cooper thought al

it's in that spirit, and i'm already crying, that our kristen welker and her husband, john hughes, areu >> morning. >> savannah, hoda, craig, good morning to you guys. you're going to make me cry, as well so here's our news john and i have struggled with infertility for years, and we're so excited to be able to announce that we, with the help of a surrogate, are expecting a baby girl in june. >> oh! >> kristen, wow. >> you guys have been so supportive as you said, it is a lonely journey. you guys have been so supportive and helped us along the way. we wanted to share our journey with others, to help other families, too. one of my dreams has always been to be a mom. i wanted very much to be a journalist >> there is new fallout this morning. >> i always said to myself, the one thing i don't want to do is sacrifice having a family. i just didn't meet the right person until i was in my late 30s. my husband, john. >> i think it was our second date, i shared that i very much wanted kids. she just opened up and talked about how much she wanted to be a mother >> i was 40 years old when i marri

joining me not nbc news co-host kristen welker, a philly girl, garrett haake. kristin, first you, and craig preferring the president on the $6 trillion, do we really need it. he had a direct response. here it is. >> that's the reason why it's recovery, because we're investing, look how rapidly we've recovered since we passed the last piece of legislation. and that legislation was $1.9 trillion. if we don't invest in this country, we're going to actually start to -- we're going to fall behind even further. >> kristin, he's absolutely going strong on this. and despite republican complaints about the spending he believes that this is popular and this is going to get him across the finish line. he's got a hard road, though, in an evenly divided congress. >> it is going to be a tough sales job, there's no doubt about that. what you saw with that exclusive interview with craig melvin was president biden doubling down on this proposal to go big. and he is, essentially, making a bet that americans want the government to be more involved in their lives. that they now wa

these are things only government can really do. >> kristen welker? >> go back to former president bill clinton, right, who said the era of big government is over. this is the opposite of that, katy. this is skwloebd is back and thgs a reorientation in the lives of american citizens and this will be a big push by the president. can he get this passed in congress? early polling shows there is actually a fair amount of support for the number of policies he is proposing within the broader family bill, within his infrastructure bill. are they on board, though, with this reorientation of government and how big it is. that remains to be seen, katy. >> michael, i want to get your take on the electoral politics of that, but kristen, i believe you do have breaking news from president biden. >> i do. just moments ago, and this relates to the ongoing response to the covid-19 crisis, we know that cases have been surging in india recall. so moments ago, a white house officer told me, the administration will restrict travel fromly pole pole in caseskploeds multiple

facing backlash from republicans for moves they say takes away americans' second amendment rights kristen welker is at the white house. >> reporter: tonight, with more mass shootings in the headlines, president biden announcing new restrictions on guns >> this is an epidemic, for god's sake and it has to stop >> reporter: the president unveiling a series of executive actions including directing the justice department to draft model red flag laws which allow courts to temporarily bar someone who's viewed as a danger to themselves or others from accessing guns and directing the doj to propose rules to stop the proliferation of so-called ghost guns, homemade firearms assembled from kits that do not have traceable serial numbers. in 2019 a shooter using a ghost gun opened fire at a california high school, killing two children including bryan muehlberger's 15-year-old daughter gracie >> she could make people laugh she was my little jokester and to have that empty seat at the dinner table is just -- it's unbearable >> reporter: a gun owner himself, he called today an important step >> this is personal

some of the strongest reaction today after senator tim scott declaredrica is not racist country kristen welker has that story >> reporter: he's a rising republican star and potential presidential candidate. tim scott, who grew up poor in south carolina, then became a senator. >> good evening. >> reporter: grabbing headlines with this response to president biden's address. >> hear me clearly america is not a racist country it's backwards to fight discrimination with different types of discrimination. >> reporter: while many praised scott, others called him naive. for hours the hashtag "uncle tim" trended on twitter before it was blocked. the phrase echoing a racial slur, "uncle tom," used to describe black americans who were viewed as too deferential to white people scott slamming the comments this morning. >> intolerance so often comes from the left with words like "uncle tim" and the n word being used against me by the left >> reporter: in an exclusive interview today craig melvin pressed president biden on scott's comments >> he said among other things, america isn't racist is it? >> no, i d

balancing his promises versus the reality of foreign policy lester >> andrea, thank you tomorrow kristen welker reports on the president's promise to reopen most schools by his 100th day and the new challenge many are facing plus all week our county to county team will be in the key districts reporting on president biden's first 100 days in office >>> more than 10 million people are under threat of severe weather tonight. al roker is tracking it for us. al, what are we looking at here? >> reporter: lester, as we look at the radar, you can see severe thunderstorms already firing up. we have watches from colorado to texas to oklahoma, and it's just going to get worse as the evening wears on we have currently a risk for 12 million people stretching from chicago all the way down into texas for damaging winds, hail, possibility of tornadoes. and again tomorrow we've got 14 million people at to texas for more tornadoes, damaging winds, and hail as well and tomorrow record-setting warmth possible throughout the northeast from chicago up to detroit, new york, all the way down to charlotte. lester? >> a

let's go to chief white house correspondent kristen welker who is there for us with more on what we just heard. >> reporter: you heard president biden trying to make the case that this is a significant step forward in the fight against covid. in fact, he said that the progress has been stunning, but also cautioned that the is not over yet. just to recap the top line here, the president announcing what we heard from the cdc earlier today which is that those gathering outside in small groups who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear their masks. in the words of the cdc director earlier today, the release of these new guidelines is the first step at helping fully vaccinated americans resume what they had stopped doing because of the pandemic. now, you heard our peter alexander asking him why this doesn't apply to everyone. and he went back to the science and said that the bottom line is the science indicates that the risk is very, very low if there are two factors in place, if people are fully vaccinated and if people are outdoors. again, a step forward here, lester. but it comes against

. >> let me -- i bring in kristen welker in here. to make some contact with mr. giuliani. kristen, what do you have? >> well, so far haven't heard back from rudy giuliani, chuck. but just to take a step back and remind people of his close relationship with former president trump. former president trump arguably had no closer or longer-standing legal adviser, someone who was there through all of the various legal battles, both impeachment trials and of course the 2020 election. and so when you think about the fact that federal investigators are now escalating their investigation taking this step it is quite significant. so we reached out to trump world to try to get the reaction there. but undoubtedly this is going to be an unwelcome development. and just to put a fine point on it, when you think about that second impeachment trial, chuck, think about the people who were advising former president trump on that second impeachment trial. the circle was quite smaller than the first one, as you will recall. and there were a number of advi

for now, i'm kristen welker in washington. >> the u.s. capitol on lockdown at this hour because someone rammed a car into a security barrier and then came at police with a knife. might have been able to cut at least one of them. that's a live look at the capitol as this situation still unfolds. here's what we can tell you and show you. we have new video of that car. you can see it's badly damaged. capitol police say officers shot that driver. he's now in custody. no word on his injuries. both officers are hurt. it is about 2:00 p.m. local time there in d.c. neither the house nor the senate in session today due to the holiday. we're keeping a close eye on the situation. of course, we'll keep you updated throughout the newscast as the conditions warrant. we have breaking news here in the bay area, too. the bomb squad was responded to the same hotel in fremont where there was a police shooting fewer than 24 hours ago. this is just in from nbc skyranger at hyatt police. there's a report after suspicious backpack there. the hotel was evacuated

and kristen welker. kristen, let's go first to you. you talked to the national security adviser. tony went to brussels after notifying and consulting nato allies. he met with the president and other top leaders in afghanistan, a government which is weak and about to crumble. taliban declaring victory on this. leaders acknowledged by the state department are very ambivalent about this and told reporters that she is pessimistic about the outlook for civil rights, human rights and liberties in afghanistan. how the president dealt with this has been met with praise and criticism. >> you are right. in his remarks from the treaty room yesterday, the same room where former president george w. bush announced the start of the war in afghanistan, president biden made the case that he believes the goal of the mission in afghanistan has been met to essentially deprive al qaeda terrorist groups from creating havens in afghanistan. he said he is the fourth president to oversee the conflict in afghanistan and he is not going to pass it on. it is not

kristen welker reports that he won't necessarily directly recall january 6th, an important date, of course, driving some of the fatigue on the capitol hill, the sense of, you know, real emotion that has been pervading since those events. but he will speak to that larger feeling on capitol hill. and call upon the sacrifice that so many of these officers continue to make. and it's also interesting to note, jeff, this moment in which there is a real tension between, you know, law enforcement and those that they're sworn to serve, i don't know that necessarily he'll reflect on that today, but this is certainly something that is in all of our minds as we watch this today. >> and chief best, we should say, for folks who aren't familiar with your background, you rose through the ranks of the seattle police department a 30-year career before you became chief. the capitol police departments, it's a close-knit group. they are right now understaffed, seriously understaffed. you have folks who are working 12 to 16 hours shifts. give us a sense of the compound impact of that and just the loss after los

kristen welker asked the president if he would go ahead with it without republican support.re are not many votes to lose in the house or the senate when it comes to going along with this very, very big bill. >> that is right, ali. when you look at the senate high can't afford to lose a single democratic vote unless he is picking up republican votes to support the infrastructure bill and so far we are hearing a great deal of criticism from republicans and some democrats too have taken issue with some elements of the bill. the white house is making an argument for why all of the infrastructure is so important president biden wants to raise the corporate tax rate to 28%. that is higher than certainly most republican senators are comfortable with and higher than democratic senators said they are comfortable with. joe manchin, a key swing vote in the senate said recently he is willing to raise the tax rate to about 25% but not higher. i think in the weeks to come we will see a lot of back and forth. members of congress telling the congress what numbers they are comfortable with a

i want to begin with chief white house correspondent kristen welker. kristen, the white house has to be very happy about this number. >> they are, steph. and we are efforting reaction but we know that when president biden talks a little later on this morning, he is going to tout these figures. he will likely argue they're in part, and the economy is in part being helped out by that $1.9 trillion covid relief package that passed and those $1,400 direct payments. i think more broadly you're going to hear the president defend this strategy of going big. what has been a controversial strategy for republicans who say that he's going too big, who say that all of the spending in that $1.9 trillion covid relief package is ultimately going to add to a ballooning deficit that was $2 trillion last year alone, one of the highest levels since the 1940s, steph. i think both sides will be watching this very carefully but the bottom line is this is a strong jobs report on president biden's watch. he's going to be touting that and, of course, it does come as he's making

a report from our kristen welker. she joins us along with her husband john hughes.on't want to do is to sacrifice having family. i just didn't meet the right person until i was in my late 30s, high husband john. >> i think it was our second date i said i wanted to have kids. >> i was 40 years old when i married john in march of 2017. we immediately started to try to have a baby. it didn't work. a number of friends recommended we go to dr. abasi. >> there wasn't anything unusual. it was reasonably optimistic. >> she ran tests and thought my best course of action to have a baby would be to do ibf, which i did. the first round it went really well and i thought i am going to be pregnant within the next few months, no problem. i went in to start the process of being able to carry a baby and the doctor determined that the lining of my uterus was too thin to carry a child. i thought okay, let's fix it. there has to be something we can do to fix this. i tried for months. it was really just some of the most difficult months that i can remember because i was going into the do

let's go to nbc's kristen welker at the white house. kristen, it's always good to see you. how did the meeting go, and where is the white house's thinking on this? clearly they want to make a public demonstration they're reaching out to republicans but i have trouble believing, frankly, any of them will end up supporting it. >> good to be with you, kasie, and i believe you hit the nail on the head. there are sharp divides here when it relates to this infrastructure package. you start with the fact infrastructure is traditionally a bipartisan issue. that's partly why you have the president, administration saying this is one of packages we should be able to get bipartisan support for. we're willing to compromise. that is a different tone, kasie, and it's worth pointing this out than the administration took when it was dealing with the covid-19 package. they're saying look, bring us your ideas. that meaning you talked about lasted nearly two hours. there were a number of different ideas that were floated. deb fisher, according to our frank thorpe, suggested breaking the infras

delivering remarks about his infrastructure plan, responded to a question from our colleague, kristen welkerng to negotiate with republicans and willing to find compromise where there might be some. give us your response on what the president and members of his team are doing behind the scenes to get this thing over the line. >> well, first of all, geoff, you're right that certainly this is a big vision. the sound bite you played from the president is such. he believes this infrastructure program in the trillions of dollars is also a jobs program and more than just what we think in terms of highways and roads. he believes it's necessary to revitalize the economy and get america's house in order, as i wrote this week, to prove to the world that democracy can still work and deliver for their citizens and blunt the rise of autocracies like china. in terms of getting it passed, white house aides are suggesting they're more willing to compromise than they were with that covid relief bill signed into law last month. they're doing in a slightly less accelerated timetable they want to work with cong

willing to be flexible on the corporate tax rate and plans to raise to $28% to 21% when asked by kristen welkernews whether a potential outcome where he would need to pass this package along party lines like with the covid stimulus package to have failed on the promise to deliver bipartisanship president biden offered this interesting anecdote saying he would have been willing to compromise with republicans on the american rescue plan but when they proposed a package of just $600 billion and refused to move an inch that is when he decided to go it alone and move forward with the $1.9 trillion plan as is and would have been prepared to compromise but they didn't move an inch tyler? >> thank you very much. >>> the cryptocurrency market hitting $2r billion in total value this year and bitcoin rallying more than 90% this year alone. and now one of the largest privately held real estate companies in the u.s. is betting -- getting in on the craze with a significant investment in bitcoin through a partnership with the crypto exchange gemini. let's bring in rick caruso and ge gemini ceo and co-founder

you saw kristen welker asking the president if he would go ahead with it without republican support. there are not many votes to lose in the house or the senate when it comes to going along with this very, very big bill. >> that is right, ali. you look at the senate and he can't afford to lose a single democratic vote. so far we are hearing a great deal of criticism from republicans and some democrats too. the white house is making an argument for why all of this infrastructure is so important and important to have rural broadband and why it is important to have care giving and the other sort of 21st century infrastructure programs. but the question about taxes, president biden wants to raise the corporate tax rate to 28%. that is higher than certainly most republican senators are comfortable with and higher than democratic senators said they are comfortable with. joe manchin from west virginia, a key swing vote in the senate said he is ready to raise it to about 25% but not higher. i think that in the weeks to come we are going to see a lot of back and forth from both ends of pennsy

kristen welker joins us now. pretty striking for the president, what the jury is out, for the president to say he thought the evidence was overwhelming. >> i thought it was remarkable to hear those comments from president biden. undoubtedly you will get reaction from both sides of the aisle to him saying that. i think what he said quite clearly is he would like, the family would like, whatever the outcome of the trial, for there to be a peaceful reaction. we know the president and top administration officials have been engaging in outreach with state and local officials to prepare for eventuality to make sure if there are pro tests, they are peaceful protests. we also know that there is potentially going to be some type of policy to this as well. andrea, taking a step back, when i talk to administration officials about all of this, they stress that their focus right now is son trying to move the george floyd legislation through congress. it has already passed through the house. it's installed in the senate. there

nbc's chief white house correspondent kristen welker joins us with more on this. good morning. >> reporter: hi, savannah, good morning to you. secretary of state tony blinken making news this morning. he has made a surprise stop in afghanistan just hours after president biden announced those plans to draw down troops and take a look at your screen. we have some video of the secretary getting off of the plane earlier today. secretary blinken meeting with the president of afghanistan and thanking troops for their service and sacrifice all as america's longest war winds down. this morning, new fallout after president biden announced he's bringing all of the remaining troops home from afghanistan by september 11th, the date symbolic marking 20 years since the 9/11 terror attacks which led to the war that has claimed more than 2,000 u.s. service members. >> it's time to end america's longest war. it's time for american troops to come home. >> reporter: biden, the fourth president to grapple with afghanistan. >> i will not pass this responsibility on to a fifth. >> repo

nbc ease chief correspondent kristen welker has the latest. >> reporter: good morning to you, president biden will hold his first cabinet meeting today just one day after rolling out that sweeping infrastructure proposal, republicans as you say argue the plan is too big and expensive, but some progressive democrats say it doesn't go far enough. for the president, it's a risky strategy. he's trying to make the case that the government can fix what ails the country president biden unveiling his plan to rebuild the nation's crumbling infrastructure in the steel town, pittsburgh, arguing the proposal with a massive $2.2 trillion price tag will help create millions >> it's not a plan that tinkers around the edges investment in america, unlike anything we've seen or done. >> reporter: the plan includes $621 billion to rebuild the country's roads, bridges and ports, and hundreds of billions more to bolster the nation's manufacturing sector, electric grid and water system. it's part of a sweeping biden agenda to use the government to fix what he sees as america's underlying issues, including bi

nbc's chief white house correspondent kristen welker has the details organ that and the reaction as well. kristen, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. in his speech today, one of both policy and symbolism, the president will thank the troops and families who have sacrificed over the past two decades. he'll also aim to make his case for why now is the right time to bring america's soldiers home. without a peace deal in place, the move could embolden terrorist groups in the region. after more than two decades and more than 2,000 service members' lives lost, america's longest war may finally be coming to an end. in just hours, president biden is expected to lay out his plan to withdraw all u.s. forces from afghanistan before september 11th. the withdrawal set to begin within weeks, the u.s. has 2,500 troops still in afghanistan, another 7,000 nato forces will also leave the country. the move pushes back a may 1st withdraw deadline that was set by former president trump whose administration struck a deal with the taliban last year. president biden has been signaling for weeks he

. >> and nbc white house correspondent kristen welker joins us with the latest kristen, what are you hearing about today's cabinet meeting? >> steph, the meeting will put the focus on that $1.9 trillion covid relief plan that passed several weeks ago and, of course, this new push, massive plan to overhaul the nation's infrastructure, road, bridges, courts as well as broadband, even dealing with the nation's water systems and climate change now, the reaction so far has been swift from republicans and from democrats, steph. you have progressive members of the president's own party saying, this isn't big enough. they want to see more spending because that $2.2 trillion will be stretched out over about a decade but a number of republicans are saying, this is a nonstarter because the president wants to pay for this plan by increasing taxes, particularly on wealthy americans and large corporations from 21% to 28%. that's the pushback. what is notable the white house has not ruled out doing a go-it-alone strategy remember, that's how the covid relief bill passed with democratic support only

and he was asked by -- i believe that was kristen welker, are you able to negotiate on your tax proposal for corporations, lifting it up from21% to 28%? he said he was willing to negotiate, so there is some news there. some democrats had expressed a disapproval of that, joe manchin being the foremost person. >>> the chauvin trial is also underway. special agent james ryerson of the criminal bureau of apprehension is back on the stand. he's been testifying about the chain of custody, what he found on the scene and what he did with it. >> and agent ryerson, as part of the investigation in your usual cases, does somebody from your agency usually attend the autopsy? >> yes, sir, generally. >> that was done in this case? >> no, sir. >> do you recall why? >> i believe it was covid-19 restrictions as per the hennepin medical examiner's request. >> and as part of your investigations, is it typical to obtain a blood sample from the deceased? >> yes, sir. >> do you know if that was done in this case? >> yes, sir, it was. >> can you describe for the jury how that came about? >> peterson got it from

. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is today, with peter alexander, kristen welker and dylan dreyer. >>> and welcome to "today" and thank you so much for joining us on this saturday morning. and on this easter weekend as we say good morning. our hours are heavy after another deadly day at that building you just saw there, the building behind us, the u.s. capitol. >> that's kplrkt right. another crushing loss for the capitol police. not three months removed from the deadly assault took place blocks behind where we come to the building everyday week, kristen. >> that's right. weo the top story. that's where we begin, the search for answers after friday's deadly attack on the u.s. capitol. nbc's kelly o'donnell has been tracking all the developments overnight. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, kristen. the officer killed leaves behind two children and his mother among those mourning his death duty today. officials who arerism not aware of any political motivation or any connection between the suspect and members of congress who were away on easter recess. wreckage from a stunning

and kristen welker is here and on top of all of this. let's start with the russian news.campaign trail biden said, putin, we're coming for you, and now he is. >> steph, you're absolutely right. that was the exact, right framing for this. president biden on the campaign trail as a candidate said russia would pay a price for meddling in the 2020 election, something russia denies. well, today we are seeing what that price is. more than 32 entities and individuals will be sanctioned, ten russian diplomats forced to leave the u.s. also punishments for the hacking of solarwinds, which targeted major u.s. companies and government. and they are looking into reports for bounties for u.s. troops. but they are not linking the sanctions to the last piece, steph. biden doing this in concert with allies in the region. i spoke with jake sullivan, the national security adviser a short while ago and asked him if president biden conveyed to president putin this was coming when the two spoke. he indicated yes, that was part of the discussion. president biden was quite frank with him that th