diaz-balart. right now inside a delaware courtroom, jury selection is underway in the high stakes criminal trial of president biden's son hunter. hunter biden is facing three counts tied to allegations that he lied about his illegal drug use when he purchased a firearm back in 2018. he has pleaded not guilty. this case focuses on a time of personal turmoil for the president's only surviing son who has been open about his addiction to drugs and alcohol particularly in the wake of the death of his brother beau. it's another trial at the center of the political universe coming days after his father's opponent and presumptive republican nominee donald trump was found guilty in his first criminal trial. mike memoli is outside the courthouse for us. joining us dave aronberg, state attorney for palm beach county, florida, and michael zeldin, former special counsel to robert mueller. mike memoli, take us inside that courtroom. how is jury selection going so far? >> reporter: well, ana, the first step in this historic trial, the first of course to ever involve the child of a sitting president is to select a jury. so far we see that the judge is pretty quickly processing through the pool of potential jurors about a majority so far have been qualified, not yet seated but qualified to potentially serve on this trial. as you talk about this unusual backdrop of a campaign environment under which both this trial and the former president's most recent trial of which he was convicted last week, you see that in some of the reasons why some jurors have been removed from the potential jury pool so far. several have cited potential political opinions for which they would not consider themselves potentially being able to be fair, one cited gun ownership as a god given right. another was asked in one of the questions these jurors or potential jurors are being asked about is whether they believe hunter biden is being processed because he's the son of the president or whether there are prosecutions made for political reasons. one of the potential jurors who was struck said that you see an example of that in donald trump's trial last week. so that speaks to the way the politics is affecting this potential jury pool. the other thing that's unusual here, ana, that i find so interesting, we talk about donald trump's jury, the challenges of seating a jury who could be impartial about a former president in the city of new york. well, this jury pool includes the entire state of delaware, a state that president biden as a senator represented for 36 years, as vice president of course eight years and now as president for the last four is a well-known figure. the entire family is a well-known figure in this small state both politically and geographically. one of the potential jurors who was qualified actually noted that she had served as a bartender, the president's brother-in-law jack owens who happens to be sitting in the courtroom. one of the clerks mentioned they had a family member in the jury pool. this is such a small state politically, and so that's affecting the nature of this process. so interesting so far, ana. >> it is interesting. we know jill biden, the first lady is also in the courtroom, ashley biden, hunter's half sister. what do prosecutors need to prove and how difficult might that be? >> they have to prove that he lied when he purchased a gun, that he was a drug user and that he denied that when he signed the atf alcohol, tobacco and firearms form that allowed him to buy the drug. they have to prove he was a drug user during this time period, that he knowingly signed the false statement because of his addiction and that he obtained a gun. it's not that complicated a case. j. >> dave, we know jurors have been asked questions such as whether their views on the 2024 election could impact their service as a juror, or whether they believe hunter is being prosecuted because he's the son of the sitting president. how do both sides ensure that potential jurors aren't coming in with any political motives or influences as a result of donald trump's conviction last week? >> ana, prosecutors and defense lawyers are pretty good at vetting jurors. it's not looking for a blank slate, an empty vessel. you just want people who can set aside their biases and just follow the facts and the law. so i've had some high profile cases down here, and we've always been able to get a jury. i do think it is ironic that some of the jurors that the prosecution wants to get off the jury are nra gun lovers, people who believe that a gun right is an absolute right. those would naturally be more republican jurors, people who would be antibiden, but in this case they'd be for hunter biden because they would be appalled that the government is ever prosecuting anyone for buying a gun, even if that person was an alleged drug user at the time. >> mike memoli, this trial is centered around what was a deeply painful time for president biden who happens to be spending part of the day just miles from that courthouse, first lady again in court today. what are the conversations at the white house about how to handle this trial? >> reporter: yeah, it's so interesting, ana, you mentioned the show of force that the family is making inside the courtroom, the first lady here arriving just as the deliberations were about to begin, hunter biden's sister ashley also in the courtroom as you mentioned. you saw this statement from the president also released just as this was beginning in which he talked about the fact that he as the president of the united states is not going to weigh in on ongoing legal cases but as a father, he said i have boundless love for my son. he talked about how much our family has been through together and that he and the first lady are going to continue to be there for hunter and our family with our love and support. ana, the last time the president and the first lady were here in wilmington was just a few days ago with hunter to mark the ninth anniversary of the death of beau biden. you can draw a direct line the ways in which the death of beau biden in 2015 affected the entire family, but especially hunter, leading him as he himself has discussed into drug addiction. and so that is certainly going to be a part a of this case. in terms of the political impact, i think we see in the trump verdict as we're unpacking what that might mean for voters, the bigger question among those close to the president is what will the impact of this trial be on the president himself. he is a father, he is obviously the president at the same time, and as the president and as a candidate, they say this is not impacting him. but as a father this certainly will be. as we see, the president will be traveling overseas later this week. he will be overseas for the majority of this trial as it gets underway. the family wants to be there in person with hunter on this, the opening day of the trial. >> and the president also saying in his statement how proud he is of where hunter is today and who hunter is today talking about his resilience, his strength, all of that, how he's faced adversity and come through the other side. michael zeldin, the judge has already given prosecutors the green light to use portions of hunter biden's memoir. what difficulties could this pose for the defense when prosecutors can use hunter biden's own words against him? >> we saw that in the trump trial, did we not? they are going to use this book to say this admission, if you will, in the book as to his use of drugs during the time that he made the purchase is essentially direct evidence out of the mouth of hunter biden that he was drug addicted during this time and that he purchased a gun. now, it's relevant, but i don't know that it's dispositive of the case because in this case there were two forms that were filled out, one which was signed by hunter biden. and it seemed as if the trump -- the gun dealer then filled in a form, and there's a question about who checked the box as to whether he was a drug user at the time. and so there's a very technical defense at abbe lowell who's a terrific lawyer will try to mount besides the very sympathetic view of hunter biden that i think will try to be a jury nullification implicit defense in this case. >> yeah, let's talk more about that, dave, because jurors could be sympathetic to someone who has struggled with addiction, particularly someone who's been so open about it. how do lawyers handle that? >> i agree with michael, i think this is a pretty cut and dry case, perhaps the best chance that hunter biden has is through what's called jury nullification. that's where you get to the sympathies of the jury, and you have just one juror perhaps that says i can't send this guy to prison. i'm not going to go along with the prosecution, even though the evidence and the law dictates it. it's always a prosecutor's biggest fear. it's our nightmare because although they're not supposed to do that, they're supposed to follow the evidence and the law, it does happen, and they do go rogue. and yes, biden's own statements, his text messages will come back to haunt him because he did text around the time of buying the gun that he was smoking crack down the street in wilmington. and so that's powerful evidence. and when he says, you know, i just came out of rehab. i didn't feel that i was still in the throes of addiction, well, your own words at that time will come back to be used against you. so perhaps jury nullification is the best defense they have. >> dave, prosecutors also plan to use some of the data recovered from the laptop that hunter biden allegedly left at a delaware repair shop in 2019. how could that serve their case? >> well, all the words that hunter biden has said whether through text messages, e-mails, that can be used against him. the stuff from the laptop that the republicans like to crow about, about so-called business dealings, that's not coming in. that is not part of this trial. this is all about the purchase of the gun while he was in addiction, and so anything he says at the time that shows that he was in the throwing of addiction around the time he bought the gun is fair game. that's where you'll see it from the laptop. >> michael zeldin, potential witnesses include hunter's ex-wife as well as hallie biden who is beau's widow, also had a romantic relationship with hunter among others. >> really just interested in the text messages and the book and things of that sort. those are words out of the defendant's mouth. i'd be surprised if hunter biden himself takes the witness stand, it will depend on how abbe thinks the case is going. the others will talk about hunter biden broadly in this time period. remember, he has to at the time of the purchase been a drug user. if they can say during this time period he was using and there is evidence that he was in remission, out of remission, sometimes in denial. all of that stuff undermines the broad notion that the other witnesses will bring that he was generally speaking a drug user. so it's really the stuff out of biden's own mouth at the time of the purchase that i think will be the most compelling prosecutorial evidence. >> dave, do you think hunter biden might testify? >> oh, that's the big question. you know, i think he will because i think he can reach the jurors as a human being, as someone who has faced darkness and come out on the other side. i think he wants to humanize himself in front of the jury. and if your defense is going to be jury nullification, that's when you have to do. you got to put on a sympathetic figure on the stand and let him look the jurors in the eye and plead to them as humans and not as just anonymous jurors who are going to decide his fate. >> just quickly as you will, we talked so much about the risk if trump were to take the stand as an example. do you see it as a risky move to put hunter biden on the stand? >> it's always a risk, and we prosecutors generally like that. prosecutors are good at exposing the weaknesses of these witnesses, of these defendants. but here, if your plan is just to reach the jurors as fellow citizens, as humans, as parents who may have experience with family members going through addiction, then, yeah, i think you do need to take the stand. that's why i think it's probably 60/40 he does take the stand. >> mike memoli, dave aronberg and michael zeldin, thank you all. we'll be watching closely the developments out of that courthouse today. turning to donald trump's legal trouble, we'll play for you what he thinks about that prospect. dr. anthony fauci on the hot seat this morning over the origins of the coronavirus. we'll tell you what's happening right now on capitol hill. and mexico makes history in a ground breaking election, how that could impact border policy here in the u.s. we're back in just 90 seconds. 90 s , power e*trade makes complex trading easier. react to fast-moving markets with dynamic charting and a futures ladder that lets you place, flatten, or reverse orders so you won't miss an opportunity. e*trade from morgan stanley here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need... ...without the stuff you don't. so, here's to now. boost. if you're looking for a medicare supplement insurance plan that's smart now... i'm 65. and really smart later i'm 70-ish. consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan from unitedhealthcare. with this type of plan, you'll know upfront about how much your care costs. which makes planning your financial future easier. so call unitedhealthcare today to learn more about the only plans of their kind with the aarp name. and set yourself and your future self up with an aarp medicare supplement plan from unitedhealthcare. this morning president biden is congratulating the first woman to be elected as the future president of mexico. claudia shanebaum, a climate scientist, the former mayor of mexico city will also be the first mexican president of jewish heritage. early results show her winning up to 60% of the vote over her opponent, and this election will not only have major consequences in mexico, but it could also impact us here in the u.s. president biden saying in a statement, in part, quote, i look forward to working closely with president-elect sheinbaum in the spirit of partnership and friendship that reflects the enduring bonds between our two countries. let's get to guad venegas live in mexico city. and standing by nbc news homeland security correspondent julia ainsley. guad, tell us more, who is claudia sheinbaum, and why did voters choose her as their next president? >> reporter: ana, i should start off by saying that president biden will be able to have conversations with her in english, something he could not do with current president manuel lopez obrador. sheinbaum is fluent in english. she lived in the u.s. for some time while taking classes at berkeley and stanford. as you mentioned, she's an academic. she has a ph.d. in energy engineering, which gives a lot of hope to mexicans that will place a lot of focus on climate change here, and on issues with energy, the cost of power, the cost of gasoline, so we expect her to focus more attention on how mexico can move forward with the issues, sometimes with gasoline prices going up and also the cost of energy. let's hear from sheinbaum last night when she spoke to her supporters. >> reporter: sheinbaum speaking to all mexicans but also sending a message to all women in mexico. we know that today the news of her being elected is going around the world, the first female president in mexico in the country's 200-year history. last night you could hear her saying all women arrive at office with her together. as she said we came here together, also sending a message saying mexico will work closely with the united states. there's a lot they will have to negotiate like immigration policy, also the economy. remember that mexico and the u.s. not only share a big border, but they're also each other's large trading partners. >> to see a woman elected president in a country like mexico, we know machoismo is a big part of the culture, one more note to how historic this election is. julia, what does it mean now for america's relationship with mexico? >> it couldn't come at a more important time, ana. as you know, we're expecting to hear as soon as this week something on executive action having to do with the southern border, and this policy, as we understand it, will rely heavily on mexico, to do even more than they've already done. over the last years we've reported at nbc, the previous administration more than tripled the number of interdictions of migrants going north, most of those u.s. bound, and now they could be asking mexico to do even more to take back migrants who won't be allowed to cross the u.s./mexico border. we know that in mexico they have repeatedly said under the lopez administration, they will work with whoever. we do understand from people within the biden administration that there's really been a change in the way mexico has been dealt with, really a 180 from trump to biden. the biden administration said they treat mexico like a sovereign equal and they go into these conversations about immigration, about fentanyl, about gun trafficking, something mexico's really worried about. guns coming illegal from the united states. they're entering those conversations, treating them as equals, not putting pressure on them over trades and tariffs, just like the trump administration did, and not using some of that really charged rhetoric that trump did about mexico when he was president and even currently. so this is a good -- this is welcome news for the biden administration to be able to keep really a very similar administration in mexico going from lopez obrador to the sheinbaum administration because they are so closely connected. the biden administration would like to continue to do that work. >> the criminal gangs, the drug cartels, guad, obviously top of mind for a lot of mexicans as they went to the polls. this election cycle has been riddled with violence from september to may, 34 political candidates or aspiring candidates were killed including three mayoral candidates just last month. what's going on there, and why are these political candidates being targeted? >> reporter: ana, when you look at that report with the 34, that will update because there were more killings this week just leading up to the election. so this is a case, according to experts of organized crime gaining more power in local municipalities. you have to look at mexico's two different parts of the country. the large cities like here in mexico city, guadalajara, the city of monterey have good protection, and we didn't see a lot of violence there. the violence took place in the rural parts of the country like wacha ka, areas where organized crime has slowly worked to get control of local governments. so a lot of the people involved in local elections are the ones that were the victims of this violence. so the new president of mexico, sheinbaum will have to work on figuring out ways to fight the criminals, to fight these organizations that we used to call cartels. experts are no longer calling them cartels. now they not only work with drugs, they also get money or make money from smuggling migrants and also from businesses that they have at the local level. it will be a big challenge moving forward for the next president as they deal with an increase in violence we've seen in mexico over the last few years, ana. >> julia, in terms of the human trafficking and the migrant smuggling that guad just referenced, you mentioned the potential executive action to come as soon as tomorrow at the border and president biden's plans, what do we know about the potential plans he may be trying to institute here. was the white house also waiting on this election to take further action? >> yeah, that's right. we do understand based on some of our reporting is that this, the timing of this announcement from the biden administration was in part because they wanted to wait until mexico got through this election so that there was no immigration news from the u.s. that could somehow change the fate of sheinbaum being elected. now, i will say that we are expecting this executive action to come tomorrow. it could probably come with a lot of fanfare. we expect to see a lot of people coming out talk about this. also a lot of advocates criticizing it because it should raise the bar on who is allowed to cross into the united states, and use a presidential authority or use an authority that they will claim as presidential to shut down the border at certain points. but what the top line is we can expect a quick -- expect it to be quickly enjoined in court so it might not ever go into effect. >> julia ainsley and guad venegas, thank you for your reporting. we are staying on top of what is next after donald trump's felony conviction. up next, trump's message about what could happen if he's sentenced to jail time. and we will take you to the hearing right now on capitol hill as house republicans demand answers from dr. anthony fauci about his decisions during the covid pandemic. during the covid pandemic introducing, ned's plaque psoriasis. he thinks his flaky red patches are all people see. otezla is the #1 prescribed pill to treat plaque psoriasis. otezla can help you get clearer skin. don't use otezla if you're allergic to it. serious allergic reactions can happen. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. some people taking otezla had depression, suicidal thoughts, or weight loss. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. live in the moment. ask your doctor about otezla. upset stomach iberogast indigestion iberogast bloating iberogast thanks to a unique combination of herbs, iberogast helps relieve six digestive symptoms to help you feel better. six digestive symptoms. the power of nature. iberogast. smile! you found it. the feeling of finding psoriasis can't filter out the real you. so go ahead, live unfiltered with the one and only sotyktu, a once-daily pill for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, and the chance at clear or almost clear skin. it's like the feeling of finding you're so ready for your close-up. or finding you don't have to hide your skin just your background. once-daily sotyktu was proven better, getting more people clearer skin than the leading pill. don't take if you're allergic to sotyktu; serious reactions can occur. sotyktu can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections, cancers including lymphoma, muscle problems, and changes in certain labs have occurred. tell your doctor if you have an infection, liver or kidney problems, high triglycerides, or had a vaccine or plan to. sotyktu is a tyk2 inhibitor. tyk2 is part of the jak family. it's not known if sotyktu has the same risks as jak inhibitors. find what plaque psoriasis has been hiding. there's only one sotyktu, so ask for it by name. so clearly you. sotyktu. ♪ that colonoscopy for getting screened ♪ ♪ is why i'm delaying ♪ ♪ i heard i had a choice ♪ ♪ i know the name, that's what i'm saying ♪ -cologuard®? 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>> i think it would be tough for the public to take. you know, at a certain point there's a breaking point. >> joining us now paul butler, former federal prosecutor, current law professor at georgetown university, and ashley parker, senior national political correspondent for "the washington post." both are msnbc contributors. so paul, some ominous words there by the former president saying i'm not sure that the public would stand for it, talking about a breaking point. what impact could this have on the judge when it comes to sentencing? >> so there are the obvious concerns about public safety. trump actually has a proven history according to people like jack smith of riling up his base in ways that lead to violence. but for trump specifically there are clear concerns about this statement. when the judge sentences him, he's going to be looking at two things. one, the crime, which in this case, most people don't go to prison. the judge will be looking at trump himself. they'll be looking at whether he's expressed remorse, and whether he's a danger, and when trump makes comments like this, that emphasizes the fact that to a lot of people he's a clear and present danger who has learned nothing so far from this criminal conviction. >> no responsibility as far as his accountability and him accepting that. ashley, do you think trump is being honest when he says it would be okay with him if he were sentenced to jail or put under house arrest, and what do you see as the political impact if that is the sentence he's given? >> well, i think it's pretty clear that even though the president, former president knew all along that this result, a guilty verdict on 24 -- or 34 counts was a possibility, he's angry, he's upset about it. i don't think any of that would really be fine with him. politically it's an interesting question, he has obviously used it to galvanize his base, but i think if you asked anyone would the former president prefer not to be -- about to become a convicted felon, the answer is of course not. nobody wants that. it's not particularly helpful. the one area where it has been helpful is juicing his fund-raising. it's worth noting we have not independently confirmed these numbers yet, but his campaign reported they raised $54 million in the 24 hours after the verdict. and he has been at a real fund-raising disadvantage with president biden. so the one area where it actually helps him or has clearly helped him so far is cloing that gap, which is real and meaningful in an election year. >> and paul, the former president has said at least in his social media posts just in the last day or so that he wants to take his appeal right to the supreme court. first, can he do that, and what do you see is the likelihood the supreme court will take it up? >> he can certainly ask and they will say no. there's a process here. this is a state conviction. it first has to go to the new york intermediate appellate court and then to the high court in new york, and then possibly there might be some federal grounds, but even then there'd be a series. extremely unlikely that the court would you mind take this case anytime i think even within the next couple of years. >> and you talk about years so is that how long you anticipate an appeals process will take? >> yeah, so the state court could expedite the appeals case, which they have in some other situations involving trump. it's entirely up to them. here the stakes are actually a little bit lower. what it would mean is that while the appeal is pending, trump would ask that any sentence be stayed. if it's incarceration, the sentence would almost certainly be stayed. if it's another sentence possible as well. again, usually the big deal is whether he would be convicted in new york, he's a convicted felon right now. >> and ashley, there's already been some polling done since the verdict. in a cbs yougov poll, 57% think the verdict was right. 49% of independents and 15% of republicans say trump should end his campaign because of the conviction. again, these are just snapshot polls done in the days immediately following the verdict. we'll have to wait and see how it all plays out. what do you make of this? >> what really matters is twofold. there were some polls before when this was just a mere hypothetical, if this would change people's opinions, and some voters said a conviction, and at the time it was a true hypothetical. they didn't even know a conviction in which of the four cases he's facing, right? but some voters said it would actually change their minds. going back and talking so some of those voters, it seems people are so entrenched in their tribal politics, that it's changing less minds than we thought, but the truth is it doesn't have to change the minds of huge swaths of voters. it's galvanized his base. the democrats and biden supporters who don't like him, this just gives them another pretty big arrow in their quiver, and all that matters are those, you know, the election just like last time will likely be decided by about 60,000 voters across three or four swing states. and so those are the people in polls i'm curious and interested to see if it moves them in any way. >> since trump has been convicted now here in new york, what if anything could it potentially mean for his other cases should they go to trial? >> it makes them much less likely to take the stand because if he does in any of those other trials the fact that he's a convicted felon in new york could be offered by the prosecution against them. not that it would mean he's more likely to have committed federal and georgia crimes he's charged with, but it would be used as a way for the jury to impeach his credibility, to determine whether he's an honest person. again, he didn't even take the -- obviously in the new york case. when it comes to some trial decisions, trump listens to his political advisers, but even in this new york case, when it came to the most important decision he had to make about whether to take the stand, he listened to his lawyers. if he listens to his lawyers in the other cases he's not going to take the stand either. >> paul butler and ashley parker, thank you both very much. up next, we'll go back to the courthouse for an update on what's happening in jury selection in hunter biden's federal gun trial, and later top economists sound the alarm over what trump's economic plans could mean for the average america if he's reelected. we'll break it all down next. 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(♪♪) dove it new dove replenish your skin after every shave. whoa! how'd you get your teeth so white? you gotta use the right toothpaste! dr. c?! ♪♪ not all toothpastes whiten the same. crest 3d white removes 100% more stains for a noticeably whiter smile. new personal best. crest. with absorbine pro, pain won't hold you back from your passions. it's the only solution with two max-strength anesthetics to deliver the strongest numbing pain relief available. so, do your thing like a pro, pain-free. absorbine pro. we're back with breaking developments, this time on capitol hill where right now dr. anthony fauci, former chief medical adviser to the white house and former director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases is testifying before a house select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic. nbc's ali vitali joins us from the hill. what's the latest out of this hearing, ali? >> ana, we expected this to get testy, to get fiery, and we've certainly seen some of those moments. largely it's been dr. fauci parrying between republicans on the committee who are trying to talk to him about nih funding of labs in wuhan where the coronavirus could have originated. fauci repeating that the nih was not responsible for that funding but also saying that he's always allowed and kept an open mind in his words for the possibility of the lab leak theory to be true. instead, he said he was guarding against some of the more conspiracy theory-laden ideas that he himself was involved with stopping that lab leak theory from taking hold. fauci has repeated during this hearing, that that was not something that he did. but really what we've seen over the course of the last hour and a half or so have been back-and-forths with republicans looking backwards at some of the things fauci did in 2020 and in the months and years following the immediacy of the pandemic, and then of course democrats allowing fauci repeated moments to clarify, to try to speak through what some of the republicans are trying to make as their more political points on this committee. overall, we have not necessarily seen any fiery moments that will define this committee hearing, but there's still time, ana, especially because we're looking to see if congresswoman marjorie taylor greene or congressman ronny jackson, two top allies of the former president who have been outspoken about fauci, they have yet to question him and, certainly, those are moments we're going to look for, at least i'm going to look for, especially because the beginning of this hearing included a warning from the chairman saying, hey, just a reminder, guys, you cannot personally impugn any of your colleagues. there are rules against that. and of course all of that stems from the hearing that we had just a few weeks ago with the oversight committee where congresswoman marjorie taylor greene and jasmine crockett traded personal barbs during that. that's a reminder that this committee is hoping, at least, to elevate the conversation and stay a little bit more on topic! okay, meantime, the senate set to vote on a bill concerning access to contraceptives this week. what do we know? >> reporter: that's exactly right. over on the senate side of this building, we'll see though lawmakers come back to town today after a day of recess as well. we're expecting that on wednesday the senate will hold a vote on a bill that will protect the access to contraceptives. that's going to make it so that providers can provide that care unimpeded, and of course also so that patients can access it without barriers. this is largely expected, though, to fail. you can consider it yet another moment where senate majority leader chuck schumer is trying to put a bill before the senate that could be politically problematic for republicans. we saw it last week, whether he put forward that bipartisanly negotiated immigration package. now we're going to watch senator schumer do it again, this week on contraceptives. >> senator bob menendez who's currently facing federal charges of bribery, he's currently in court for, that but he will also be filing to run as an independent to try to keep his new jersey senate seat. this news coming in to us just in the last few minutes, and according to two sources with direct knowledge of his plans that he's failing today means that he's just one day ahead of the deadline to run as an independent. of course the deadline to run as a democrat has already long passed, but this is just the next moment, the next march in menendez's fight not just in court but also on the campaign trail to try once again to keep his seat as he battles these bribery charges. >> thank you, ali, great job staying on top of all of these different things today. >> reporter: so much. >> a lot going on on the hill. now to an update on our top stories this morning, right now inside a delaware courtroom, jury selection is underway in the criminal trial of president president biden's son hunter. hunter biden facing three felony counts related to allegations he lied about his illegal drug use, when purchasing a gun back in 2018. he has pleaded not guilty. i want to go back to nbc's ken dilanian outside the courthouse. so what's the latest? >> reporter: judge mary ellen nor yen ka continues to question potential jurors as hunter biden and his lawyers and family members look on. they've gone through about 26 jurors so far. about half of them have been excluded for cause or some reason or another. this is not finalizing the jury pool but taking a first cut at disqualifying people who have said or done something that indicates they can't be impartial. juror number 25 who is a white male, a former wilmington police officer and donor to the republican national committee said that he had worked with jill biden, the first lady for several years at a delaware community college. and he also said that he believed the trump trial may have been political. nonetheless, he was not excluded. that doesn't mean he will end up on the jury. it's not clear whether he or the other jurors know jill biden is in the courtroom because of the way they're facing. they're having a direct dialogue with the judge. eventually when a jury is seated, assuming jill biden comes again, they will see her and other hunter biden family members as this trial continues, ana. >> ken dilanian, thanks. keep us posted. we know it's the top issue for the majority of voters. up next, new reporting on why some economists say inflation could soar if trump gets reelected. plus, an update on the scramble to get water services back up and running for thousands of atlanta residents after several water main breaks this weekend. this weekend nothing dims my light like a migraine. with nurtec odt, i found relief. the only migraine medication that helps treat and prevent, all in one. to those with migraine, i see you. for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura and the preventive treatment of episodic migraine in adults. don't take if allergic to nurtec odt. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. it's time we all shine. talk to a healthcare provider about nurtec odt from pfizer. the virus that causes shingles is sleeping... in 99% of people over 50. it's lying dormant, waiting... and could reactivate. shingles strikes as a painful, blistering rash that can last for weeks. and it could wake at any time. think you're not at risk for shingles? 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>> sure. we don't have a lot of details about the former president's economic agenda. what we do have a good chunk of the broader strokes, the bigger picture. we adopt have time to go through all of them, but key focal points are like tariffs. that was a big part of his agenda, and continue to this day with the current biden administration. so american voters will have to come to some decision about the balance of cost and benefit. putting higher taxes on imported goods, it will raise prices for consumers and be inflationary, but is it worth it to westbound less reliant on foreign made goods. same for labor costs. larger-scale immigration crackdowns are being proposed. that will constrain the labor pool. those increased wages could be ultimately borne by the american consumer. tax cuts are part of that, who will pay the most to offset the revenue, those are all issues that could or could not be inflationary. so there's still a lot of questions about the specifics with a potential trump economic agenda there. >> so what about president biden's economic agenda? >> sure. president biden has a problem with regard to house his administration is being perceived on handling the economy. some polls do show it's one of the biggest weaknesses being per received by the voting public with regard to his administration. on the one hand, you have inflation still running uncomfortably high. on the other hand, the jobs market remains relatively strong and the economy continues to grow, even if at a slower pace than previous months. the stock market is at record highs or close to it, but biden, like trump, is a hawk when it comes to foreign-made goods. he's already put more tariffs on items from china, also things like steel and aluminum. that's an inflationary arguably. there's plans to target tax hikes on companies and billionaires. it may ends up lowering inflation over time by improving technology, but that could take years to play out. the bottom line, is that it looks like biden and trump will have to communicate their cases more clearly. >> i think it's so important for voters to understand their choices. let's talk about what's happening on wall street? there was a technical issue call the trading to be halted. so what can you tell us about this? >> so, what i can tell you right now, in the last few moments, is that to say technical trading glitches have been resolved. earlier in the session, a number of names -- and it's not yet clear, berkshire hathaway, newscale power was one of them. i believe barrett gold was one of them, trading anomalies led to sharp drops. those things have been corrected. everything is functioning fine for right now. >> back on track despite what we're seeing with the dow currently down more than 200 points. dominic chu, thank you very much for joining us. just ahead, a slow-moving disaster in atlanta, a water break left thousands without water. we'll have the latest, when we come back. we'll have the latest, when we come back. sup? -who are you? i'm your inner child. get in. ♪ ♪ listen. what you really need in life is some freakin' torque. 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(vo) when life's doors open, we'll handle the house. right now a state of emergency and boil advisory remains in place across atlanta, georgia. pryia is there with more. >> reporter: it's been an -- a few different water main breaks occurred not too far from one another in a very densely part of populated atlanta, essentially downtown atlanta, which sparked a water outage, for key buildings like the georgia supreme court, the capitol building, the hartsfield-jackson airplane was affected. the city didn't issue another update until about 12 hours later. mayor dickens want in atlanta when it happened. he was in memphis, tennessee. many residents were furious, posting flyers, has anyone seen or heard from the mayor? eventually he held a press conference and promised the people of atlanta that he would keep them updated every two hours. but as you mentioned, as of right now, he just gave an update not too long ago, and said the boil water advisory remains in effect. he told our nbc anchors this morning they hope to lift that advisory in the next few hours, but people specifically on this westbound blown that they're still trying to repair, the people on this specific block don't have any water as they're working continuously to try to repair this specific water main break. >>