East peace. And family values, the Trump Administration reveals that it may have separated even more kids than it previously said, 1,712 more children taken from their families. And republican congressman justin amauj says attorney general bill barr deliberately misrepresented Robert Muellers conclusions and says the president has engaged in impeachable conduct sparking massive backlash inside the republican party. Its very disturbing. This is exactly what you would expect from he never supported the president. I think hes just looking for attention. We have got to begin with fierce reaction to congressman amaujs impeachment comments. Kristen welker at the white house. Jeff bennett in the newsroom. Kristen, what exactly did this republican congressman say and help us understand how the president s responding. Justin said he believes the president did, in fact, commit impeachable offenses. He said he read the entire 448page Mueller Report and hes basing that on what he calls several examples of the president obstructing justice. So President Trump firing back fiercely over the weekend tweeting contrary to well this is amauj, contrary to barrs portrayal, President Trump engaged in specific actions that have impeachable offenses. Never a fan of amash, opposes me for the sake of getting his name out there through controversy. If he read the biased Mueller Report composed by 18 angry dems he would see that nevertheless strong on no collusion and no obstruction. A little bit of a fact check there, steph, amash did say he read the entire report. What the report says, says there was no conspiracy with no russia, but it didnt make a determination about the issue of obstruction. This is significant. It is important to point out so far he is the only republican raising the issue of impeachment and steph the bigger question may very well be will this add fuel to democrats who are falling for impeachment . Thats what well be watching for, steph. Thats just it, jeff, hes one single congressman, thats not really wellknown on the national stage. Right. Its the backlash from republicans, not the latching on from democrats, thats getting so much attention. Its really remarkable. Heres the thing, justin amash is a libertarian who also happens to be a member of the House Freedom caucus. In the past ive said youre a conservative, why arent you more on the president s team . He made the point, look, the Freedom Caucus is supposed to opposed to president ial overreach and government overspending. He has said he has felt disillusioned by the ways in which members of the Freedom Caucus in general have this Blind Loyalty to donald trump. Im sure hes not at all surprised by the ways in which republicans are breaking with him over his own comments this past weekend. And by evidence of this, take a look at what mitt romney had to say. He in the past has been critical in some wise of President Trump, take a look. Justin amash has reached a different conclusion than i have. I respect him. I think its a courageous statement. But i believe that to make a case for obstruction of justice you just dont have the elements that are evidenced in this document. So kristen did a fact check on the president s tweets. Heres a fact check of my own too. We also heard from kevin mccarthy, the House Minority leader who wondered aloud whether amash is even a republican, his voting record 80 of the time he voted with the party, 64 of the time he voted with President Trump. Now, amashs tweets apparently have gotten him a primary challenger in his district in grand rap hids, but ive talkedo people who say he might run as a libertarian candidate in 2020. This could be a precursor to that. Ive got to talk iran, kristen. Via twitter the president is unleashing apocalyptic like threats against iran over the weekend. It was an ominous tweet, steph, take a look at what the president said and well do analysis. The president tweeting if iran wants to fight that will be the official end of iran, never threaten the United States again. Lets take a step back from this and look at the broader backdrop here, look, this comes after days of mounting tensions between the two countries with each country accusing the other of provocations. Now, at the end of last week, steph, it seemed like President Trump tried to really lower the temperature, he was asked if the u. S. Would go to war with iran. He said i hope not. So this tweet seems to be ratcheting up the tensions yet again, of course this is all over Irans Nuclear ambitions. Now, could President Trump be trying to get iran to the negotiating table . This language, very similar to what we saw with kim jongun youll recall that fire and fury language that he used to try to get kim to the negotiating table, could that be his tactic this time . Or, steph, could it backfire . Because some will see this as mixed messaging coming from this white house, steph. Kristen, jeff, thank you. I want to stay on iran and take you overseas to israel, keir simmons is there. How does iran react to the president . They read his tweets, no doubt. They do, steph and they reply to his tweets which all of this makes aspects of this fairly unprecedented and a little bit bizarre. We had over the weekend a rocket fired into the green zone in baghdad, no one injured, no casualties. But then you have this tweet from President Trump and heres where it begins to get pretty different, even though in some ways all of this feels like history repeating itself. You have the Iranian Foreign minister replying on twitter and talking about, in response, that alexander the great have not been able to crush iran in the past and that therefore america wouldnt be able to either. Its kind of like its descending into a monty python sketch, steph, except of course its so serious. Why is it serious . Because we do know from history that in these situations where things get very tension it just takes a misstep, an attack that really does cause casualties, perhaps even american casualties in the region, to have a sudden escalation and leaders on both sides who, you know, are screaming at each other over social media then finding themselves in a real conflict. Walk us through the president s unveiling, i guess, at least the first portion of his middle east peace plan or Jared Kushner, whos the commander in chief of this. Thats caused some surprise here because people were expecting the peace plan to be announced at some point in the weeks and months ahead. But whats actually been announced is an economic plan and really an economic conference that will be held in bahrain in late june. Its an opportunity, according to the Trump Administration, for various states in the region to come together and offer large amounts of money, millions of dollars for the palestinians. The problem is the palestinians are already pretty sour on the idea, on the deal itself, theres no comment yet from, for example, the palestinian liberation organization. But look i think for the palestinians to sign up for this seems pretty unlikely at this stage. Keir simmons, thank you so much. Joining me Jacob Salzburg in the newsroom. Youve got new numbers about Migrant Children separated from families. 2,800 kids, it was far worse than we originally thought. On friday we found out as many as, but potentially more, 1,712 additional children were separated by the Trump Administration. Go ahead. Why are we finding this out now . Because the court that ordered the reunification of the 2,800 kids also order it had Trump Administration to find, search, scour over 50,000 records for kids who were potentially separated before the zero tolerance policy went into place. One thing to underscore about this. The idea that 1,712 kids may have been separated on top of the 3,000 we already know about, and thats just the tip of the iceberg. I think they have 35,000 records still to go through so you could have thousands more kids still emerge separated by the Trump Administration. Just add the two, the 3,000, now getting close to 5,000. What are the reunification numbers . This is the issue. Many of those kids, all of the kids, frankly in the group of 50,000 were already discharged from health and Human Service custody. So their parents could be deported, with family members, they could be back with their parents, they could be with another sponsor. But the issue is that there was never any recordkeeping. You know, you put on the air this exclusive that we had a couple weeks ago about the fact that the Administration Never had a plan to put these families back together. There was no central database to reunite them. Thats the reason we dont know, ultimately, the total number of kids separated and either reunited or not because they didnt keep track. Theyre doing pain staking work of going through 50,000 records to figure it out. Jacob, thank you for your reporting today and for the last year and a half on this massively important story. Thank you. Breaking news, a violent tornado outbreak expected today after a terrifying weekend. I hope you saw these images, destructive twisters, go live to nbcs Kerry Sanders in oklahoma. Kerry, walk us through the extent of the damage this weekend and what are people bracing for today . Reporter well, people are bracing for a really difficult possible second round of even more tornadoes. Let me show you where i am right now as we pull out. This is where Charles Mckinneys home was, as you can see, flattened by a tornado. The National Weather service believes that this was an ef2, that means winds up to 135 miles an hour, charles was asleep in his bedroom. He didnt get a warning because he was sound asleep. The next thing he knew the ceiling was coming down on top of him, remarkably, though, he was able to crawl out and, as i said, remarkably, he is a survivor. Wicked weather packing a powerful punch. Oh, my god. Severe storms. Of nature. Ripping through the Southern Plains. Carving through cities and small towns. This morning residents from texas to nebraska are still on high alert after dozens of dangerous tornadoes tore through the region. In comanche county, oklahoma, significant damage. I actually seen a funnel cloud about halfway to the ground. Reporter homes ripped to pieces after an ef2 tornado took aim at geronimo. In nebraska, two super cell storms spawning terrifying twisters. Funnels charging through fields. This twister a little too close for comfort. It could be one of the more significant Severe Weather outbreaks weve seen in the Southern Plains in many, many years. Reporter residents in kansas also battling mother natures wrath. This jaw dropping video showing a massive tornado, leaving behind a path of destruction. While down in texas another tornado touching down in the city of abilene, smacking this Elementary School on a day it was thankfully empty and leaving thousands without power. Relentless rain and hail also leaving their mark. As a battered region braces for more. Kerry, that Elementary School was empty, it was a weekend. Todays monday. Where are the kids going to be . Reporter well, in many of the School Districts the schools are closed because of the prediction. I mean, its really quite amazing that the predictions of tornadoes has gotten as accurate as it has but its also frightening. Youre talking about the potential for dozens of tornadoes or more today through the panhandle of texas, here near Oklahoma City and theyre what they call long track tornadoes. That means that when they touch down they stay on the ground for a long time. Where im standing right now here in geronimo, this population of about 1,200 people so its mostly rural. As we see, urinyou know, tornad are indiscriminate. The real concern today is that people need to be prepared with a plan that if a tornado is in their area, not to run outside with their cell phone and look at it but to find a safe place to ride it out. Kerry sanders, thank you for your reporting in oklahoma. Were going to dig deeper on the big stories today and what they mean to you across the hour, including the gender pay gap and how one president ial candidate says it is time for companies to step up or pay the price. Next, weve got to talk about this, mayor Pete Buttigieg criticizing fox hosts, while honoring the viewers. He had a standing ovation at the end. How would you handle the insults and the attacks and the tweets and all of that . The tweets are i dont care. Applebees new loaded fajitas. Now thats eatin good in the neighborhood. Appnoso lets promote ourkeas. Summer travel deal on choicehotels. Com like this surfs up. Earn a fiftydollar gift card when you stay just twice this summer. Or. Badda book. Badda boom. Book now at choicehotels. Com its toughcold turkey. King so chantix can help you quit slow turkey. Along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. 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While much of the focus so far has been on the 2020 president ial race, do not sleep on the fight for the u. S. Senate. Democrats only need to net three seats to take control, but those three may be very hard to get. To Steve Kornacki our National Political correspondent, is here to break it down. Steve, walk us through how hard these seats are to get. Especially if democrats keep running for president. Some of the candidates in the president ial race instead will be running for u. S. Senate. Bottom line republicans will go into the 2020 Senate Campaign with a 53 47 majority. Democrats would need three to get to 50. They would need three plus a win in the president ial race. You win the president ial race, the Vice President breaks any ties so 50 is good enough for democrats if they win the president ial race. This is sort of the big picture, these are the seats, republicanheld seats that are going to be up in 2020, not all of these, obviously, are going to be competitive so more realistically this is still kind of a long list here but these are seats democrats could at least be taking a look at here and from this, a couple of tiers emerge, one is arizona, Martha Mcsally appointed there, martha had lost the senate race in arizona last year and then she was appointed to the other seat, she will face the voters in 2020. Trump carried arizona in the 2016 campaign, but only by three points. Theres a lot of democratic hopes about flipping arizona in the president ial race in 2020, and if they do that then that senate seat, colorado, cory gardner, republican is up there, again this is a state that donald trump lost in 2016, a Hillary Clinton state, so obviously democrats focusing on that. And heres one democrats have been looking at for a long time, Susan Collins up there in maine, maine obviously also a state that donald trump lost, although he did win that one Congressional District in rural maine. But overall it was Hillary Clinton who won maine so i think thats front line for democrats. Those are the three they look at the most optimistically. The second tier, they might look at texas, georgia, north carolina. This is where you say this idea of not getting the candidates they were necessarily hoping for comes into play. There was some talk of, hey, beto orourke might run for the senate again in texas. Not doing that. Stacy abrams in georgia, not running for the senate there. These are still states becoming more competitive. Carolina was close in 2016 so democrats would hope, you know, they could maybe make off one of these for the president ial election and maybe flip a seat. Kentucky, kansas, iowa, they have yet to come up with a candidate there. Three plus the president s seat would get them the senate. Steve, thank you. I want to bring in a man who certainly knows how to run a race, chris wilson, ceo of wpa intelligence whos worked as a republican political strategist for years. How do you see the state of play in terms of senate races . I spoke to someone from austin, texas who said they love beto orourke but they wish he would stay in the state and run for senate and actually make a difference there. Much of the focus has been on the president ial campaign, and thats taken away from democrats recruiting hopes for president. Beto orourke, joaquin castro, could have made it more competitive. Colorado, governor hickenlooper could make that a strong race, but he deferred. Montana, governor bullet could have gotten into the race and made it competitive, but hes running for the president. Democrats have failed when it comes to recruitment. But maybe the people behind them are going to run, they could be great. They could. But ill tell you, the one race thats most likely to flip, steve also didnt mention, thats alabama, where doug jones has as much chance of getting reelected as i have. Thats one almost being written off by democrats at this point. So from that standpoint i think theyve got an uphill battle, but thats not to say things couldnt go south. You can look at, very quickly, how environments can change and you could, i think you could also see a situation where these democrats who are running for president could see, well, its not working out for me so well, let me take a look at the senate race. If that happens, all bets are off. A different democrat, Pete Buttigieg, going after fox newss narrative, defending how important it is to connect with viewers. Watch this. When youve got Tucker Karlson saying that immigrants make america dirty, when youve got laura ingram comparing Detention Centers with children in cages to summer camps, summer camps, then there is a reason why anybody has to swallow hard and think twice before participating in this media ecosystem, but i also believe that even though some of those hosts are always there in good faith i think a lot of people tune into this network who do it in good faith. And there are a lot of americans, who my party cant blame if they are ignoring our message because they will never hear it if we dont go on and talk about it. I spoke to a massive, unenthused democratic donor last night who after he saw pete said hold on a second, im excited, the fox news narrative of democrats are all socialists or joe biden is a swamp dweller, thats the opposite of what pete is. I think its really smart. You could almost call what he did there his soldier moment in a way, but its also smart in a way that Elizabeth Warren is so foolish by writing off going on fox and the way the Democratic Party has been foolish. When were making decisions as part of the cruise for president ial campaign in 2016, there was internal conversation about should we a certain network, and always the conclusion was no. No matter where the certain hosts may be or talking heads who are more commentary news, every network has them. The fact is the viewers are making the decision. 20 of the viewers are independent. And you can see it from the buttigieg audience theres night. They embraced him and enjoyed what he had to say. It shows the wisdom. Look at where the Democratic Party was who went on stage in 2014 and said there are no red and blue americas and he said lets come together as one and thats the message everybodys looking to hear. That message seems to be working for joe biden in a big way with his huge lead. Does it surprise you in any way, given all the bernie voters, even, that are turning to joe, since theyre not so into the status quo, and joes a long time d. C. Guy. I think it shows how much democrats want to win in 2020. At this point, as you said, he is a longtime d. C. Guy, and from that standpoint that theyre willing to put idea ideological differences they might have, rhetorical or historical differences in terms of his record and say this is someone we want to be our nominee and its smart for democrats overall to take a look at that. The question is, is he able to maintain that after a iowa or new hampshire, sanders did very well in those states and then he goes to the south and how does he do with those heavily minority voting bases . Is he able to grow that lead . Youll see the race boil down to joe biden and antibiden from the 22 other candidates. Thats where it will get interesting. America asking for unity, thats not about a politician, thats a good message for our country. Its why Ronald Reagan was so successful, why barack obama was so successful. It is, its the right message. Unity, dignity. Chris, thank you so much. I appreciate you joining me. Up next, money, power, politics, president ial candidate Kamala Harris releases a new plan that im interested in, to close the gender wage gap by Holding Companies accountable. But a new report suggests the issue might be at home, not in the office. Two of my favorite people, two powerful smart Women Joining me to break it down next. Hey alright, lets get going and you want to make sure to aim it. Im aiming it. Ohhhhhhh i ordered it for everyone. [laughing] dad vo we got the biggest subaru to help bring our family together. Im just resting my eyes. dad vo even though were generations apart. What a day. I just love those kids. avo presenting the allnew threerow subaru ascent. 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The first 2020 candidate to make this issue a central focus of her campaign while harris argues that companies are the problem, a new report in new york here by the New York Times says the real problem is culture and that americas obsession with long hours has widened the gender gap. Im going to say amen to that. Joining me now to weigh in, dear friends and mentors of mine, shelly zalles and tiffany defu, achieving more by doing less. Tiffany, to you first, what do you think about Kamala Harriss plan, putting the responsibility on companies . This isnt saying to companies you have to pay everyone more and its going to hit your bottom line, its saying get rational, or get a big ol fine. Its about time. I was jumping up and down this morning when i heard about this and of course its no surprise to me that kamala would be the first candidate out with this. It hits womens productivity and their paycheck hard. Its important to note for particular constituents of women, particularly women of color, this matters even more. 70 of black mothers are either the sole or primary breadwinner in their home. If theyre not getting paid equal pay for equal work their families really do pay the price. Shelly, there is no logic, zero logic behind the gender pay gap. Do you think any other candidate, specifically male candidates, not should, but will take this issue on . Listen, its great for our bottom line. And weve seen study after study that shows that if we do close this pay gap we can add 28 trillion to the global gdp. And so when we look at this new act that kamala is passing, its so incredible because we have the opportunity to add over 180 billion in the next ten years, you know, if we do this right. So its not only the right thing to do its great for business. This New York Times piece out is quite stunning where it says educated women, why theyre opting out of work, and how our culture is pushing couples that have equal careers into unequal roles. Just as women earned degrees the jobs that require those degrees pay disproportionately more to people who have round the clock availability. Those highly educated women with big jobs are marrying men that have the same profile. And guess what . You have a family, that family, that lifestyle, our culture requires somebody to be at home and on call. Even if the woman is making the same amount of money, she tends to say, you know what, i have to stay home, we decided to have kids. It is unsustainable. The thing that blew me away about this piece is how unsustainable that is for anyone, man or woman. Millennial men are going to play an important role, they are the generation thats going to say, look, i want workplace balance too, i want to spend time with my family, i want to see my kids. This is completely unacceptable. But the part the piece really didnt touch on was the fact that nearly 50 of marriages in america end in divorce. So when you have one person bowing out of the workforce or being pushed out of the workforce thats going to present a huge economic risk in the future down the line. So ladies, please Pay Attention to the choices and the decisions that were making as difficult as they are and there are two organizations, path forward, that are doing great work with rim trying to get them back into the workforce and supporting them in doing so. Thats a great, great point. Shelley, whats your take on this . When Corporate America was built, it was built on the assumption that that executive goes to work and thats all they had to do and there was another person in their life, i. E. A wife, who managed all else. Today, whether youre a husband or a wife, we have very different roles, parents want to be home. They want a more full, enriched life. I think we just lost shelley. No. Shelley, can you hear me . Yes, now i can, im back. Whats your idea on this today that men and women want to have a more full life. Most people dont have a spouse at home managing everything. You nailed it. Its not about mother father, its about parents and shared responsibility starts at home and i think thats the most important thing that we have to talk about. Care giving is still predominantly by default a womans issue and leadership is still predominantly a male issue and we have to start flipping the script on how we talk about these responsibilities because millennials today want to have dual income families that starts at home, care giving starts at home, sharing the responsibility starts a at home. On friday missouri became the latest state to pass an abortion Ban Following alabama and georgia, we know that there are other bills cooking in other states. What do you think about this fight . I think that Corporate Leaders should be up in arms. Really . Yes, a womans ability to control her reproductive rights, to decide when shes going to have children, whether or not shes going to have children, when that will happen plays an impact in terms of her productivity and whether or not shes willing to participate in the workforce in droves. Half of your labor force does not have agency over when and where they have children then your productivity is in jeopardy. Corporate leaders need to Pay Attention. Shelley do you think this is an equality and productivity issue . I think we need to flip the balance in general, Representation Matters and when you look at these laws being passed the most restrictive abortion laws in history, and you look at government representation, 24 of mayors and governors, you know, in the white house, and then these laws passed by 25 senators that are men, you know, all about womens rights and reproductive rights, which is a really big issue for us. Ruth Bader Ginsburg said it right, its a womans right to control what happens with her body and that really contributes to equality. A womans right, a womans body and those are 24 men making decisions for half the country. Shelley, tiffany, thank you so much. Always great to have you. You make me smarter and better every time youre on. Thank you for having these conversations. Available in paperback now, get it for a summer read. A story of what happens when business and government are too close and the guy just trying to make it, maybe even pursue the American Dream, is the one who gets hurt. This story unfolds like the housing crisis did and it shows what we may not have learned, maybe we didnt learn anything. An extraordinary investigation by the New York Times, the reporter joins me next, were talking taxis, maybe even a little uber. To detecting and preventing threats. To scaling up your production. Giving you a nice big edge over your competition. 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Want more proof . Ask your dermatologist about humira. This is my body of proof. Ive always been im still going for my best. Even though i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib not caused by a heart valve problem. So if theres a better treatment than warfarin, ill go for that. Eliquis. Eliquis is proven to reduce stroke risk better than warfarin. Plus has significantly less major bleeding than warfarin. Eliquis is fdaapproved and has both. Whats next . Sharing my roots. Dont stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. Eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. Dont take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. While taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. Seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. Eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. Tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. Eliquis, the number one cardiologistprescribed blood thinner. Ask your doctor if eliquis is whats next for you. We see two travelers so at a comfort innal with a glow around them, so people watching will be like, wow, maybe ill glow too if i book direct at choicehotels. Com. Who glows . Just say, badda book. Badda boom. Book now at choicehotels. Com now to a story you must hear, it focuses on taxi drivers in new york city. But this is not a local story. It is more about whats going on in this country, rooted in income inequality and illustrating how close ties between big business and government combined with Disruptive Technology and the lack of regulation around it can end up having major implications for the little guy. In a fascinating new investigation the New York Times found that hard working americans, primarily immigrants, were sucked in by the promise of Financial Security that came from owning their own taxi medallions which acted as a license to own and operate your own cab here in new york and thats where it all went on. There was a limited number of medallions, Industry Leaders competed to buy them, which went from 200,000 to well over a million bucks. The plan was many who bought them were going to sell them when they retired. They took out risky loans to buy the medallions. And despite numerous warning signs over a period of years Government Entities stood by and did nothing. After uber came on the scene in 2011 the value of taxi medallions plummeted, leaving hundreds of drivers bankrupt, some taking their own lives. Brian rosenthal is an investigator. Brian, we went through the uber ipo, people are thrilled, excited, consumers like it, investors have made an enormous amount of money. But lets talk about the impact on taxi drivers. Many were so eager to achieve the American Dream it seems as though they were perfect targets. This is a population that taxi drivers, 91 of them are not born in the United States. And they have come to this country and they were looking to achieve the American Dream and a lot of them were told the way you do that is you buy one of these medallions and that is your path to not only a Retirement Plan as you said but wealth and supporting your family for generations to come. But who is in charge of protecting this relationship . It was the government who was telling them over and over, we only have a limited number of medallions, its a supply and demand issue, you want to get this medallion. Then uber comes onto the scene, fills our streets, whose responsibility was it to look after this relationship . Well, its the governments responsibility to oversee the market and they actually sold these medallions at one point they were selling them for a Million Dollars back in 2014. They held an auction and they sold to about 150 buyers for almost a Million Dollars. And we went back and checked in with everybody who bought at that auction and 40 of them are now bankrupt. Okay. But the people here who bought them, the government wasnt guaranteeing that the price would go up. Are there parallels between this and the housing crisis, those who got risky mortgages and thought they were going to flip homes and suddenly the market turned on them and they were under water, are we seeing a similar thing here . Absolutely, its very similar, this idea that there was an asset, whether it be real estate, now with bitcoin, and now were finding with taxi medallions, an asset that is going to go up forever. Its kind of a classic financial bubble and an economic pattern that we see. And you see lenders trying to take advantage of that. And if they think the assets going to go up in value forever theyre willing to do very risky loans and because they can make more money off those loans. So its the same thing happening here. So its the same setup, but on a smaller scale because were just here in new york but whos responsible for fixing this . Can it get fixed . Uber isnt responsible for that taxi driver but government officials are still in their seats. The problem is not that uber came on the scene. We found the problem was really that these values were so inflated and these loans were so inflated that now you have taxi drivers who are never going to be able to pay these loans. A taxi driver makes 30,000 a year. Theyre not going to be able to pay a Million Dollars back on a loan, period. And its not a situation that can be easily fixed because the government doesnt have billions of dollars sitting around to bail these people out. Its an important story. I really appreciate you telling it. Brian rosenthal, see more of his story in the New York Times. Next month on the show can weekly. A woman who spent nearly 21 years in prison before getting her sentence commuted by President Trump. Shes out with a new book, what she says President Trump is doing for Prison Reform and why it is very important. That next. And later, the best story of the week, a Commencement Speaker pays off student debt for everyone in the graduating class. One of those graduates will join me live with how he plans to pay it forward. Behr semitransparent stain, overall 1 rated. Stay done for years to come. Right now get incredible savings on behr premium paints stains. Exclusively at the home depot. Oh oh oh ozempic® announcer people with type 2 diabetes are excited about the potential of onceweekly ozempic®. In a study with ozempic®, a majority of adults lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than seven and maintained it. Oh under seven . 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When a plan stops being a plan and gets set into motion. Todays merrill can help you get there with the people, tools, and personalized advice to help turn your ambitions into action. What would you like the power to do . Heres some breaking news. Right now and on your screen, youre looking at the eiffel tower. We dont know who he is or why hes doing it. But a man is climbing up the side of the eiffel tower. Well be watching that. Now, im ready to turn to a guest. A dear friend of mine. Alice Marie Johnson was supposed to spend her life behind bars for nonviolent drug charges after getting involved in a cocaine trafficking ring but her story captured the nation and with the help of one of americas most famous women, kim kardashian. She walked away a free woman last june. Following a reality star power plea, President Trump has fast tracked a drug offender to freedom today an alabama greatgrandmother after a facetoface appeal from kim kardashian. Pardon alice Marie Johnson. I believe she said, you can go home. Wait, you can go home. You can go home now, are you ready to go home . When she said that, i went into full fledge penholy dance. This is a miracle day. This is the greatest day of my life. The most unexpected day to happen to me in my life. And im just that was the moment johnson was reunited with her family after 21 years in jail. She writes about that reunion and how she kept the faith while behind bars in her new book after life. My journey from incarceration to freedom. Alice johnson joins me now. Welcome. Good to see you. Good to see you, too. Even when you were in prison, you stayed massively optimistic. You had a joyful life there carrying no ill will for anyone. Walk us through what the last year has been like. This has been one of the most amazing years of my life. I met some incredible people like you, stephanie. Thank you. Some people that i never thought id meet. The most i have been able to spend with my family. I could never get those moments back that i missed with them. But the memories that we have been making now, i cant tell you what that means to me. And the changes. Its taken place in my family. Youre not resting, though. I know youre thinking about and working to help all the women in similar situations that you were in, but theyre still in prison. In your mind, what needs to be done to our criminal Justice System . Those who dont know much about criminal justice reform. What do they need to know . You cant just rubber stamp everybody the same. People can change. There is redemption. For me, you get to have mercy with justice. You cant just say, lets lock them up and throw away the key. People make mistakes. Many women and men already served too much time. Theyve already. Theyve proven they can be productive, again. They are separated from their families and children and communities. When one person goes to prison, it impacts their families and their communities and were wasting money keeping them locked up. Once you have satisfied all of the retribution, no safety risk, rehabilitation. Why are they still there . People who are currently incarcerated, should they have the right to vote while theyre in jail . I believe when they are released from prison, once youve served your time that they should be restored fully. Its not enough to just open the doors and say that youre back out. They need to have, they need to feel like they are a part of this country again. Talk to me about the divisions in this country and unity. It was a social Media Campaign and the love around it and the attention that caught the attention of kim kardashian, made its way to Jared Kushner and then to the president s desk. But when you left prison, you then saw how divided social media is. How angry the country is. I know people said to you, how could you forgive or accept or love the president. Look what hes done. What is your taken on this divide . We have to start with we have to change. We cant all walk around with hate in our hearts. We have to find the things that were more alike rather than the things that make us more different. We, one person, can build a bridge. It has to start with someone. That was a big thing for me coming out and finding everything so divisive. In prison, you dont care what anyones party is. What their faith is. It is, you just try to get along because youre in this space together and you have got to make this, this is your world. This is your new world. If we can do it in prison, if we didnt have a choice. Well, lets pretend we dont have a choice now and lets do it here. Alice, congratulations on your new book. I want you to stay with me. If alices story was not good news enough, this good news topped it. On behalf of the eight generations of my family who have been in this country, were going to put a little fuel in your bus. This is my class. 2019. And my family is making a grant to eliminate their student loans. And that exceptional news shocked everyone this weekend, especially the nearly 400 graduating seniors at Morehouse College in atlanta, georgia. They are now leaving School Without any student debt. All thanks to their Commencement Speaker investor and philanthropist robert f. Smith who announced he would take on the class of 2019 student loans. It is hard to estimate the exact cost of his pledge, but it could total up to 40 million. Joining us now one of those morehouse graduates. Keith anderson. Keith, i need to know, what have the last 24 hours been like after learning your student debt had been wiped out. Tell me, what were you thinking when you heard his announcement . The last 24 hours have been just crazy. It was already a great day because of the graduation. But when he announced that, everybody was shocked. Just great excitement. You could see the joy on everybodys faces. Do you think its going to change peoples plans after graduation . What are you going to do . I think for sure it is going to change a lot of peoples plans after graduation. That was just such a great gesture by mr. Smith and i know it is something that will change a lot of peoples lives. He said it is not just a gesture but challenging you to pay it forward. What are you and your peers going to do . I know for sure the peers in my graduating class, im very proud of everyone. I know that we have a lot of leaders in our class and i know well definitely pay it forward with leadership in our communities and giving back to our communities. Now that we have this great weight off of everyones back, i know well definitely pay it forward in the future. Keith, congratulations on your graduation and what an extraordinary, extraordinary event. Keith anderson. Alice, can you believe this . Im paying it forward also. With my freedom, im paying it forward by championing the cause of those that are still locked up. Love its a verb. You actually have to do something with it. Alice, thank you so much. Again, congratulations on the book. Always an honor to see you. Thank you, stephanie. That wraps us up this hour and it has been jam packed and i would say pretty darn good. I will see you again at 1 00 p. M. And all day long on twitter and instagram. Coming up right now ill send you down to the district of columbia where my colleague Hallie Jackson is standing by. Thank you so much. Im Hallie Jackson in washington. Where the white house is looking north to the pennsylvania line where the president is headed with his campaign scrambling to make up lost ground in states that gave him the white house in 2016. And in one of those states, a republican congressman is breaking ranks with his party on impeachment. We learn this morning he is now going to face a primary challenge as some of his constituents talk with us. Would you consider voting against your congressman . I will, yes. Because of this one issue. Very well could be. We are tracking how republicans here in washington are responding to that and what this might mean for nancy pelosi. He votes more with nancy pelosi than he ever votes with me. A question whether he is in our republican conference as a whole. Our team is here with these stories and many others well bring you this hour. We start with Kristen Welker at the white house and Shaquille Brewster and here with me on set anna palmer and phil rutger of washington post. Heading back to the rust belt and the first time well see him on camera. The first republican to say that he believes the president did commit impeachable offenses. What is he basing that on . Lets look at what he had to say over the weekend, hallie. He said attorney general barr misrepresented the muell