>> good night. >> thank you, "the 11th hour" with brian williams starts now. and good evening once again, day 64 of the biden administration, we're now at point where its agenda is running headlong into reality. president is going to get a chance to talk about his priorities and his challenges at his very first quote/unquote formal news conference tomorrow and challenges are many. just tonight u.s. officials confirmed north korea has launched two more short-range missiles. white house is grappling with the growing surge at southern border, renewed call for gun control following two more mass shootings and resistance from republicans, issues all vying for his attention as the administration works to end the pandemic. he named vice president kamala harris as point person to stop

the flow of migrants to the southern border. >> she's most qualified to do it to lead our efforts with mexico and the northern triangle and the countries that help us need help in stemming the movement of so many folks. this new surge we're dealing with now started with last administration but it's our responsibility to deal with it humanely and stop what's happening. >> while we're clear that people should not come to the border now, we also understand that we will enforce the law, and that we also, because we can chew gum and walk at the same time, must address the root causes that cause people to make the trek. >> and here was the reaction tonight from one republican senator. >> she doesn't understand what

has generated this problem. this is not a trump problem, this is a biden problem. trump brought order to chaos, this will be the achilles heel, the undoing of the biden administration will be their immigration policies. >> and so it goes, senator graham among 18 republicans on a trip to the southern border on friday. today after growing pressure over a lack of transparency, the white house allowed very first look inside one of the texas facilities for unaccompanied children who crossed over the border. nearly 800 children are held there. biden administration led a tour with congressional members and nbc news crew on the understanding the video would be shared with all networks. meanwhile nbc news is reporting biden transition officials are accusing trump advisers of quote sitting on their hands when urged to increase shelter space for migrant children back in

december. trump white house reportedly failed to take action until days before the inauguration, and remember the biden team was robbed of the normal and proper transition as they came into office. on top of that, axios reports nearly 300 migrant children in u.s. custody have tested positive for covid. on the pandemic front, over a dozen states reporting rise in new cases and particular concern about michigan where hospitalizations are spiking, soaring, especially among younger patients. white house says tomorrow president biden will announce a new vaccination goal after achieving original goal of 100 million shots in 100 days with many days to spare. as we mentioned recent mass shootings in boulder and atlanta have reignited the call for tougher gun legislation, the white house was asked if the president is closer to taking executive action instead of waiting on congress. >> executive actions are of

course an important lever that every president has at their disposal. there's current discussions and analysis internally of what steps can be taken. >> the suspect in the boulder shooting is scheduled to be in court tomorrow, he's facing ten counts of murder. authorities yet to reveal a motive, curious why he chose that supermarket, 30 minutes from his home. in another ongoing investigation, newly released video obtained exclusively by the "new york times" offers a harrowing glimpse into the moment on january 6th, one that may have cost capitol police officer brian sicknick his life. nbc news correspondent is pete williams is following this story, here's a portion of his reporting on it. >> reporter: videos obtained by "new york times" show the moments before and after prosecutors say police officer brian sicknick was hit with a chemical spray. outside the u.s. capitol the day of the riot. he died next day, coroner not

said what caused his death. two men accused of assaulting him can be seen in the video, julian khatter of new jersey, and george tanios of west virginia. says give me that bear, expletive, but tanios said it's too early. reference to the brand of bear prepellant spray he bought before coming to washington. nine minutes later video appears to show him raising arm to spray something at sicknick and other police officers. all three cover their eyes and prosecutors say cry out in pain. that night officer sicknick collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, died about 24 hours later. meanwhile new federal court filings show prosecutors believe the leaders of the oath keepers and proud boys were in touch,

did some planning and coordination before 1/6. one social media message from leader of the oath keepers says quote, we have made contact with the proud boys and they always have a big group. force multiplier. with that, let's bring in our leadoff guests, julia ainsley, nbc news national security and justice correspondent, jonathan lemire white house reporter for the associated press, and dr. nahid bhadelia, infectious disease specialist, good evening and welcome to you all. mr. lemire, as we have laid out, as no one needs to remind you, absent any honeymoon, has a full plate. tried to be the anti drama president, no suspense, but life hands you these events in that office. what do you know about

preparation going into tomorrow's event, 1:00 p.m. thereabouts eastern time? >> this has been through the first 50 or 60 days a remarkably disciplined and methodical white house moving in one direction to the covid relief bill, quelling interparty divisions to focus on $1.9 trillion package. they got it done, wanted to spend time touring the country and selling it, telling americans what's in it. but plans have changed, events overtaken them. tomorrow at that news conference, we know the president and aides have done rehearsals this week and they're going to talk about covid relief bill but fielding questions on variety of subjects, external forces that define the presidency, situation at border, the two mass shootings and call for gun reform laws. to be sure. international pressures from places like north korea and russia and some divisions in the democratic

party, senators objecting to the lack of asian-americans in the biden cabinet. full plate tomorrow, it's a significant moment as any presidential news conference is. >> julia, great to have you, the trump team blames some if not all the problems they're having with surging and processing at the border on the fact that trump administration dismantled all known systems we used to follow and they were denied the usual period of transition. how close is that to the truth in your reckoning? >> it's close to the truth, of course there is a seasonal surge, we expect it to get higher further into the spring, and secretary of homeland security has said he expects a 20-year high. but i think that we have to look at the pandemic, it's hard to

talk about any news or trend outside of that. and as we've seen because of the pandemic not only did the trump administration block all immigrants, including asylum seekers from coming in, they also dismantled the bed space for children. so when the biden administration came in and decided to start letting children in, there was not enough bed space, as we're reporting today, brian, we know now that in early december right when the transition conversations started, possibly should have started earlier but when they finally got off the ground, every single week biden team transition officials told dhs, hhs, we need more space for children, if you don't expand the space, they're going to be stuck in border patrol facilities and they knew how long it would take to ramp up the space they needed. could have had a head start if the trump administration had responded and begun to open the

facilities and look for new facilities and time. instead then secretary alex azar waited until january 13th to even begin site surveys, let alone get people to man the facilities. there was significant delay bringing on the bed space and wasn't because of a blind spot from the incoming administration, they say it was because of absolute reluctance in the best possible light from the outgoing trump administration. >> dr. bhadelia, we turn to your expertise, dual question, what is sending cases up and what is making young people sick in a state like michigan? >> what you're seeing is new more transmissible and lethal variants beating pandemic fatigue and loosening

restrictions. way forward, take the case of michigan, example of a state that started to loosen public health measures and had the bad luck of hit with high amounts of the 1.1.7. since the majority of the people over 65 have been vaccinated, now seeing a shift of people younger affected by this strain potentially more lethal and transmissible. not just the states heavily hit, but all states need to reconsider, rolling back indoor capacity and keeping the mask mandates until more are vaccinated. federal government may look at states with big surges with variants to consider if they need greater help with vaccinations. or other measures to help control the surges. last thing is, young people need to get vaccinated. and this is a lesson why everybody of every age needs to get vaccinated. >> indeed, jonathan lemire, now your beat,

it's clear that kim of north korea will not enjoy a second straight american president with a crush on him. biden administration has thus far brushed off test launches, been a handful in last handful of days. where do you think this is headed and what do you know about the level of engagement? it is early yet in this administration. >> certainly is early, brian, but odds are against president biden and kim jong un exchanging love letters like president trump and kim did. i was part of that trip to the dmz, seems unlikely to be repeated soon. publicly the u.s. is brushing them off, saying north korea likes to rattle their sabers and north korea knows there's a new president and want to test him to see what response they get. right now communication is behind the scenes or minimal, and white house doesn't seem to

want to engage, no talk about fire or fury or comparing whose button is bigger. but another factor, china, president trump and his administration and others have leaned on china to help control north korea. china and north korea sometimes are allied. right now things are tense with beijing to say the least. we saw what happened this week in alaska first meeting between u.s. officials and top chinese diplomats. that is an avenue that u.s. want to keep the channels open with china to control north korea, even as other parts of the relationship remain very strained. >> julia ainsley, how unusual is this lack of access to border facilities? we're happy to have the glimpse we got today, our crew allowed in to see a broad brush view of conditions, long video shots with faces fuzzed up to protect identities, how unusual is this?

>> well, we do still need to see inside the border patrol facilities, brian, i have toured those facilities in the past, even at height of the family separation crisis in 2018, they allowed journalists in, that's where we got famous pictures of kids in cages. these cages have been dismantled and that facility dismantled, but children are in overcrowded conditions, and this facility is hhs, where the children would want to go, obviously want to end up with their parents but first get out of border patrol custody, then go to hhs where there are child welfare workers trained to work with them, make sure they understand their legal process and case, assess their case and mental health needs, where they're best cared for. still haven't gotten into the overcrowded facilities to

understand the conditions there. we know in 2019 when there was a surge before, inside the border patrol facilities children were complaining of not having place to sleep, sleeping outside on the concrete. we don't know if that's happening now because we can't get in. but glimmer of transparency when dhs published the data on the number of children in border patrol custody. about 4,600 at this point, a little over. until then, those numbers us beat reporters on immigration had to spend significant amount of time begging our sources for it every day. it wasn't freely given. nice to see this administration finally sees it's a priority to give that information. hopefully that access will come next. >> we'll take it as a start.

doctor, you've done nothing to deserve this, but i need to play for you, i want to play for you exchange between ted cruz and news media on capitol hill that deals with medicine and coronavirus. we'll discuss on the other side. >> good afternoon. >> would you put a mask on for us? >> talking to the tv camera, not going to wear a mask, all of us have been immunized. >> would make us feel better. >> welcome to step away. point of the vaccine, cdc guidance is what we're following. >> lay aside the infectious charm of ted cruz and talk about remarks on the merits, number one common public health courtesy. number two, is he right on the facts? now we're in the age of vaccinations, you do hear in life. >> unless everybody else in that room is also vaccinated, he's not following the cdc guidance.

cdc guidance currently says if you're vaccinated don't have to wear a mask in front of everybody else potentially not vaccinated, or in a single household with only low-risk peoples. i'm guessing everybody else around him is either not vaccinated and definitely not part of the same family. should be wearing a mask. vaccines reduce transmission, but given what we know about the number of people that still need to be vaccinated and we have highly transmissible variants it's good public health example and practice to continue wearing that mask. >> i try to keep you clear of politics but politics and medicine merged in that moment. thank you for taking the question. thanks to julia ainsley, jonathan lemire, dr. nahid bhadelia, much obliged. coming up, majority of americans supported tougher new gun laws even before what we witnessed in boulder.

but our next guest has a warning for everybody wanting to close gun loopholes. later, death, politics, what is at stake for children and everyone else in the fight on the southern border, all of it as "the 11th hour" is getting under way on wednesday night. way on wt sure, he's the 76-year-old guy who still runs marathons, right? sadly, not anymore. wow. so sudden. um, we're not about to have the "we need life insurance" conversation again, are we? no, we're having the "we're getting coverage so we don't have to worry about it" conversation. so you're calling about the $9.95 a month plan -from colonial penn? -i am. we put it off long enough. we are getting that $9.95 plan, today. (jonathan) is it time for you to call about the $9.95 plan? i'm jonathan from colonial penn life insurance company. sometimes we just need a reminder

not to take today for granted. if you're age 50 to 85, you can get guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance starting at just $9.95 a month. there are no health questions so you can't be turned down for any health reason. the $9.95 plan is colonial penn's number one most popular whole life plan. options start at just $9.95 a month. that's less than 35 cents a day. your rate can never go up. it's locked in for life. call today for free information. and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner, so call now. (soft music) ♪ hello, colonial penn?

tonight my colleagues and i are going to come to the floor, i hope some will join me, to read into the record the name of individuals lost to gun violence in 2021. as a way to make sure we recognize who they are, and the lives that they led, but also as a last gasp effort to try to convince our colleagues to do something. >> you heard the senator from connecticut there. this comes as boulder, colorado,

continues to mourn ten people killed in monday's mass shooting at a supermarket. this afternoon police held a procession for the murdered police officer eric talley. people lined the roadway to pay respects to 11-year department veteran. monday's shooting fuelled a renewed push for tougher gun laws. vice president kamala harris was asked about this earlier today. >> this is not about getting rid of the second amendment, this is saying reasonable gun safety laws, no reason for assault weapons on streets of civil society, they are weapons of war designed to kill a lot of people quickly. >> we're happy to welcome kris brown, president of brady, one of america's oldest gun violence prevention groups, we should point out named for reagan's press secretary james brady, who was grievously wounded in

assassination attempt against the president. kris, thanks very much for coming on. does this moment seem any different from the shooting of your founder on a sidewalk outside washington hilton? any different from killing of 20 first graders at sandy hook elementary school? or a week ago in atlanta? when will we know when the moment is going to be different? >> brian, excellent question, and answer, short answer is, in many ways it is no different, the rationale and reason for action has long ago been crystal clear. we lose 100 people a day in this country to gun violence, 40,000 a year lives claimed. 80,000 americans shot every single year in this country, and

like jim brady have to live for the rest of their lives with the consequences of the shootings. difference today is american people have spoken in real ways to address this issue. in 2018 elected gun violence prevention majority to the house of representatives and they passed two important bills that sat on mitch mcconnell's desk. now on schumer's desk, and will have the opportunity to determine whether the united states senate, the elected representatives take action to do something that 90% plus of americans say needs to happen, strengthen the brady background check system. two bills that president biden said the senate should pass and send to him for signature. >> i heard today, mike murphy, comes on this broadcast a lot, veteran of republican politics before he became a never-trump

republican. he said in interview today, if the democrats overreach on this they could single-handedly rejuvenate the nra, whether attempts at legislation, executive actions, are you mindful of that? >> mindful of the fact that the nra, while morally bankrupt, is also in bankruptcy at the moment for a reason. they are misinformation campaign that is actually bankrupt because the way they have managed this issue and misinformation to the american public. we're not afraid of the nra, neither is joe biden. he ran and won on a platform to do exactly what he's doing. i don't think anyone looking at the polls would think that they need to be concerned about not taking action. they need to be concerned about taking action, not taking

action, the american people are fed up. you know, gun violence is uniquely american problem, no other industrialized country on this earth puts up with this kind of carnage. americans are afraid to send their kids to school or go to work as we saw in atlanta and horrible hate crime there just a week ago, or go grocery shopping or to concerts or movie theaters. time is well past due to address these fundamental changes that need to be put in place. and make no mistake, this is a public health epidemic. while the bills pending in the senate to strengthen the brady background check system are critical, brian, we have to have a myriad of things happen. executive action from this white house, more money to finally give communities the funding

they so desperately need and violence intervention organizations that need that money, to tackle the uniquely american epidemic of gun violence with a disproportionate impact in this country on communities of color. we need joe biden to lead on those issues, bring this administration along, sign those bills into law, but also to tackle this issue comprehensively, as the public health issue that it is. reason is needs to be done, this is preventible. we don't need to be talking about this issue three months from now, three years from now, if we put in funding and approaching all consistent with the second amendment. all the arguments we hear on the other side, jim and sarah brady heard those segment arguments 27 years ago when the brady law was being debated, won't work, not going to save lives.

brady law has been in effect for 27 years and stopped the sale of more than 3.5 million guns to individuals we all agree shouldn't have them. that is a goal worthy of all americans to protect our safety and it's well past time we enhance that system. >> kris brown runs the organization called simply brady. thank you for your time and taking our questions tonight. coming up for us, the president has a new assignment for kamala harris, it's being called high risk and very low reward because it involves our southern border. more on the complex politics of immigration when we come right back.

18 senators are going to be traveling down to the southern border, to texas, to see firsthand the crisis unfolding. >> we want to solve the problem but you have to start with securing the border, under the trump administration so close to accomplishing that and it's all been blown up right now. >> at least sending ron johnson down there, two of the republican senators headed to the border on friday, seized on this surge of migrants at the border, sensing, make no

mistake, political opening to gain back control of congress somehow. back with us, eugene robinson, "washington post," and bill kristol, and editor at large at bulwark. bill, like to begin with you as i welcome both of you gentlemen. given the arc of your career last four years it's not outlandish you could someday advise joe biden how he should not only counteract the politics of this, how should he grab hold of this and not let this issue define him? >> i think he's begun to do that, maybe a little bit slow seeing how much this would be tried to be used against them politically. they're getting out stories and facts. "washington post" yesterday and "new york times," there's increase of crossings over the border, not a huge surge, 2019 numbers and some pent-up demand from 2020, i think they feel they're getting handle on it, housing unaccompanied minors and got legislation pending in senate.

appointment of vice president harris is sign they're going to get it under control. don't bring it into the white house and put vice president in charge, want to work on it and have government attend more than a cabinet secretary making a phone call but mostly this is a sign they are getting their arms around this and think things will look better in couple of months. they want very much to get the dream act through the senate, they have some republican support but they're nervous signing on when the border situation looks bad or republicans are making it look bad and don't want to get beat up by their colleagues and voters supporting a liberal immigration bill. i think they want to get this under control, pass the dream act and move forward on other immigration reform measures. >> eugene, saved best for you, governor ducey of arizona, his

reaction to the naming of kamala harris as the special master in this case. >> she's about the worst possible choice that one could make, at no point in her career has she given any indication she considers the border a problem or serious threat. if president biden's intent was to show he's taking this issue seriously, he's really done the exact opposite here. >> doug ducey staying on brand, and look, does kamala harris have anywhere near the expertise that a mike pence brings to the coronavirus fight? of course not, but getting serious for a moment, a point you made maybe three columns back, so simple and correct that -- and you can say it better than i can, your words after all, biden does have control of his destiny here, he

can simply choose to go big and own it, the problem and the solution, but own it. >> own it. because you're going to own it, you're the president of the united states, and so you know, it is your problem. my argument was just go big and get in front of it, surge the resources necessary to the border to do the -- first of all do the processing that you need to do of this, there has been increase in unaccompanied minors coming across the border, the administration has made a decision on humanitarian grounds not to turn away unaccompanied minors, leave them to their fates in mexico on that side of the border, generally people coming from central america, trying to flee from gang violence, trying to seek asylum,

they're not going to turn them away. owning that policy means getting resources there necessary to process them and move them through the stages of the system in orderly and legal way, get them out of border patrol custody within the legal 72-hour limit, have better facilities for them to go to, which they started to do, and after they get out of border patrol custody, move them on into the care of sponsors and other family situations that you found for them. and this just requires basically surging resources to meet the situation, and you know, if you're vice president, sometimes you get these kinds of jobs, that comes with the turf. i agree with bill kristol, the

administration is getting it now, and i think what they're doing now or attempting to do is essentially what i sort of advised them to do, you know, take control of the situation. >> yeah, just going to say, lbj loved having oversight over nasa, latin america for jfk, not so much. both of these gentlemen are going to stay here while we fit in a quick break. when we come back, something of a bank shot. two topics, voter suppression, what is going on in the states, what did that man say about it today that was untrue. also if it's been a while since you've heard a cuba reference, we're going to change that when we come back.

did you know the source of odor in your home... ...could be all your soft surfaces? odors get trapped in your home's fabrics and resurface over time. febreze fabric refresher eliminates odors. its water-based formula safely penetrates fabrics where odors hide. spray it on your rugs, your curtains, your furniture, all over your home to make it part of your tidying up routine. febreze fabric refresher, for an all-over freshness you'll love.

states are not engaging in trying to suppress voters. whatsoever.

this is clearly an effort by one party to rewrite the rules of our political system. >> this is infuriating, i would like to ask my republican colleagues why are you so afraid of democracy? some of these voter suppression laws in georgia and other republican states smack of jim crow, rearing its ugly head once again. >> they talked about voter suppression today in washington, not just any issue, it's elemental to our democracy. mitch mcconnell there was not telling the truth. as the "washington post" reports in 43 states across our country, republican lawmakers have proposed at least 250 laws to limit mail, early in-person and election day voting. that by another name is suppression. eugene robinson and bill kristol

remain with us. eugene i was reading "new york times" story on local tinkering in georgia, changing local election boards that used to be bipartisan, giving them quiet republican control. just one degree off the last time we talked about this, are the democrats nationally and at state level up for this fight? >> i think they have to be, this is at existential, elemental question for our democracy, and has to be for the democratic party because the republican party is essentially trying to make it impossible for democrats to win, to compete, not to win but compete on a level playing field in crucial swing states especially, but in states across the country. and it is an outrage, what's going on. mitch mcconnell just told a

flat-out, bald-faced lie when he said it's not voter suppression, that's the whole point, to make it easier for republicans to win by keeping democrats away from the polls. this has to be as close to a litmus test for democrats in terms of how they proceed in the senate as anything i can imagine because it is just basic to the future of the party and it is basic to the future of our democracy, it's just not fair, it's not american, it's not democratic. >> while we're at it, talk about potential new states. bill kristol of supple mind and constantly migrating ideas has said let's not stop at district of columbia or puerto rico, let's welcome in free cuba to the united states. it's taken up your social media, 60-second argument for us to reserve a star or stripe for

friends in cuba? >> once they free themselves from dictatorship and can join the union, why not cuba? it and puerto rico came into u.s. control in 1898, i don't think we should keep them against their will but would be good americans, they have experience with dictators lying about elections, they would resist that here in the u.s., so i imagine a lot of them would be good americans if they chose to be, and would care about voting rights. and mitch mcconnell thing, it's revealing he had to tell flat-out lie, no voter suppression going on in the states, are you kidding? georgia and explicitly going on around the country, he has to pretend that's not happening, otherwise how can you say the federal government should do nothing? nothing, that's the republican

position on everything, gun shootings, horrible mass murders, democrats have proposals, some good, some maybe not work so well, republican proposal? nothing. against vote suppression? nothing. it's unsustainable, really. >> i can't thank you enough, our conversations cover the gamut, tonight no exception, eugene robinson, bill kristol, thank you. coming up, 18 years after the start of what became known as operation iraqi freedom, a look at what baghdad looks like today, brought to us by the reporter who made his bones covering the destruction of baghdad, after this break. as you are... don't settle for silver 7 moisturizers 3 vitamins 24 hours hydration gold bond champion your skin gold bond i'm a verizon engineer, part of the team that built 5g right.

the only one from america's most reliable network. we designed our 5g to make the things you do every day, better. with 5g nationwide, millions of people can now work, listen, and stream in verizon 5g quality. and in parts of many cities where people can use massive capacity, we have ultra wideband. the fastest 5g in the world. this is the 5g that's built for you. this is 5g built right. only from verizon.

18 years ago this week, the u.s. military was in the early days of the invasion of iraq, for a time early on, chief foreign correspondent richard engel was the only american reporter on the ground in

baghdad, when he was back for the pope's visit, full disclosure, i started asking him what it felt like, what the city looked like. then got around to him going around and taking pictures. it resulted in the report we have for you tonight. richard engel returning to a place where he's used to hearing gun fire and explosions. this time, finding a very different city. >> reporter: baghdad was once called the city of peace. but in recent years, it's more remembered for the civil war unleashed by the american occupation. well, i'm hearing lots of anti-aircraft fire all around me. i was there when u.s. troops invaded in 2003, acting on cherry-picked intelligence that saddam hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction. and when american forces captured saddam on the run. the entire crawl space is tiny.

he would have had to wedge himself in here. it is very well camouflaged, so american soldiers were standing right on top of it. earlier this month, i returned to baghdad. i found a city that's trying to turn a page. families are out, life is returning. during the dark days, baghdad's famous book market was obliterated. dozens were killed. anywhere that drew a crowd was a target. now, the market is back, full of students. english is more widely spoken. the nearby cafe is once again a haunt for intellectuals to discuss the shifting tides of history. there's an underground music scene now, open for jam sessions and exhibits by aspiring artists. one of the biggest differences in baghdad now is you can actually see the city because the blast walls are down. before, all the major streets were lined with these tall concrete slabs and not only did they block your vision, the

slabs were designed to prevent car bombings and snipers. the walls didn't just change how the city looked, they were dangerous to put up. i was with u.s. troops that had to fight each time they put up one of these slabs of concrete. they were attacked time and time again. they call this intense urban fighting. now the walls are down and it's transformed the way the city looks and feels. and this is baghdad's square. so much of iraq's history has happened right here. this is where saddam hussein's giant statue was pulled down by american troops when they came into this city in 2003. i watched it happen, i was on a balcony right there and saw the u.s. forces, marines, arrive in big armored vehicles and they put chains on the statue and pulled it down, iraqis were celebrating. also in this square, there was a huge, huge truck bomb that blew up. now, it's iraqis who are in charge here, the americans don't patrol, even though there are still some american forces still

in this city, you barely see them. and in the square, there's no statue at all. richard engel, nbc news, baghdad. >> and special thanks to my friend richard for putting together that report for us here tonight. coming up, that rare moment when a first lady says, "here's what happened to me" and then women across the country nod their heads because it happened to them, too. we'll have the story when we come back.

introducing the new sleep number 360 smart bed. it's the most comfortable, dually-adjustable, foot-warming, temperature-balancing... proven quality night sleep we've ever made. and now, the new queen sleep number 360 c4 smart bed, is only $1,499. plus, 0% interest for 24 months. only for a limited time

many plug-ins are stuck in the past. they release a lot of scent at first but after a while, you barely know they're working. new febreze fade defy plug works differently. it's the first plug-in with built-in technology to digitally control how much scent is released to smell 1st day fresh for 50 days. it even tells you when it's ready to be refilled. upgrade to febreze fade defy plug. last thing before we go tonight. this was equal pay day. it is designated on this day because on average, march 24th is how far into the new year women must work to be paid what

men make in just the space of that previous year. that's all women, when you break it down, it gets worse. equal pay day for black women in this country, august 3rd. for hispanic women in this country, october 21st. and while we're at it, if anyone has a good explanation for why women are paid 82 cents on the dollar for every dollar a man earns in the exact same job doing the exact same work in the united states in the year 2021, we'd love to hear it. drop us a line. just as a thought experiment, take women out of the u.s. economy just for a day. see what happens to our country. so, at a white house-sponsored event today, we heard from the president, we heard from the soccer great, megan rapinoe and we heard from the first lady who related her own experience regarding teacher pay. >> i found out that they were

paying me only 75% of the man who was actually hired the same time. you know, i just -- i couldn't believe it. it wasn't just the money. though that was unfair. it was the lack of respect, the discrimination. why was my work worth less? >> i've been devalued, i've been disrespected and dismissed because i am a woman and i've been told that i don't deserve any more than less because i am a woman. you see, despite all the wins, i'm still paid less than men who do the same job that i do. for each trophy of which there are many and for each win, for each tie and for each time that we play, it's less. >> it doesn't matter if you're an electrician, an accountant or part of the best damn soccer team in the world, the pay gap

is real. and this team is living proof that you can be the very best at what you do and still have to fight for equal pay. >> and a quick review here. in our country, women make up slightly over half the population in addition to making our country go. they represent just under 60% of the u.s. work force. and in a pandemic year, which has been disproportionately cruel to one gender, here's a hint. it's the gender that's already underpaid. that is our broadcast for this wednesday night. thanks for being here with us. i'll be with you tomorrow, 1:00 p.m. eastern time, that's when our live coverage of the president's first formal news conference begins. the news conference set to begin at around 1:15. then, of course, we'll see you back here tomorrow night. so, on behalf of all the good men and women at the networks of nbc news, good night.

tonight on "all in". >> if one political party believes that when you lose an election the answer prevent the other side from voting, we have an existential threat to democracy. >> new signs democrats may move to counter the republican radicalization against democracy. then, new evidence of anti-government groups coordinating before the attack on the capitol and breathtaking new video of the attack on a capitol police officer who later died. plus, my exclusive interview with the new secretary of education on today's big announcement about the push to reopen schools and what we learned when nbc news gained exclusive access to a border detention facility housing unaccompanied minors. "all in" starts right now.