virginia and frankly nationwide, nationwide at 34% increase in drug overdose death in west virginia 50% increase in all-time high for drug overdose death in 2020, in particular the month of may, june, july, 2020 they were off the charts, we are getting close to 1300 overdose deaths county for 2020. the good news they have been able to reduce the numbers and 2021 they are down significantly this would mirror pattern we have seen of a decrease in drug overdose deaths to two years prior to the pandemic, that's a good sign there is some great models out there of course as mary mentioned that and she could buy any pharmacy and harm reduction programs and 70 organizes it and at the forefront of that with the epicenter in the opioid epidemic. there are some positive signs and as i mentioned earlier legislation has passed so you don't wind up with somebody getting a tooth pulled and getting 300 doses of oxycontin. it is definitely an ongoing problem in the situation seems to be the reduction programs and get people importuning many of the cities here and it's a syringe exchange program and

here's the thing was with warren, can't get elected in west virginia. joe mansion probably couldn't get elected as a democrat in massachusetts. that's why we need to think that in probably the most truth, however, i think that that's accurate, but i think that's why we have to have a big tent party and break everybody in. and i think the democrats are doing that, you know, look, you know, i know the senator and i know a lot of folks across the way and, and when i have spent time with him, i've had other democrats come to me and say, are you gonna go take a shower now after, after your time with the senator mansion. ah, my question is, do you think democrats, your democratic party friends understand that that bernie sanders would not be chair of the budget committee? if you did not have that seat in west virginia, that you would not have in control off all, you know, both houses of congress and the white house. probably. if you did not have a, a person in that seat, that the fragility of presence means you have a fragility of presence. and that means tha

eric i who won a pulitzer prize for his reporting on opioids at mayo and now a reporter in west virginia and the author a coal country fight against the drug companies that develop the opioid epidemic. patrick, let me start with you in your devastating, absolutely devastating portrait of the family and their role in that opioid epidemic. can you give us a brief description of empire of pain and tell us what led you to write this book. >> absolutely first of i'm really humbled and honored to share a panel with the two of you and who have written such amazing stuff on this issue, the opioid crisis is so big as an issue that i feel different parts of it have been worked over by people in different ways there's great books on opioid crisis i wanted to look closely at the perpetrators so i was very interested in the family who owned purdue pharma connecticut pharmaceutical company that a lot of people with the tip of this. of the crisis the drug that started this on the road to where we are today. it is not in opioid crisis per se it's a broad look of three generations of the families of fami

joining us from west virginia is stephen smith, co-chair of west virginia can't wait. he ran for governor of west virginia in 2020 placing second in the democratic primary. and joining us from chicago is branko marcetic, staff writer at jacobin magazine. in march he wrote an in-depth profile on senator kyrsten sinema for jacobin headlined "how kyrsten sinema went from lefty activist to proud neoliberal democrat." he's also the author of "yesterday's man: the case against joe biden." you certainly cover a lot. let's start with kyrsten sinema. she was a campaign manager for ralph nader in arizona. talk about what is happening now. you have all of the advisors quitting saying that she is putting the profits of donor over people. talk about what she stands for. branko: i mean, sinema has really sho to stand for the interests of the corporate sector, the wealthy. this is not a new development. in the house she was one of the lawmakers who tried and did repeal fancial reform laws. she went after obamacare. trng to repeal taxes on medical technology makers. she tried to get r

virginia democratic center for west virginia. we need to hold the majority, but we also have to deliver a job like at least be a good negotiating partner in good faith, meet me to where you think you can go and you know, to his frustration to center centers, frustration, you know, there hasn't been a lot of beat to the bones and he's asking, you know, what are the details, what are the things that you would support? what are the things that you wouldn't support and, and had that hasn't come out. so center standards of view has been, well, a president biden, and senator and schumer, the majority leader, can do you know, a job on trying to bring jo mansion along. he's also happy for that to be the case . sometimes maybe other people might be better messengers with, with jo mansion in any case. let's just get a deal done. i mean, when the process mechanics are and they've been going on for so long, people are frustrated about increasingly you see the poll numbers and jump right in dipping because they're just annoyance that you know

to west virginia, democratic senator joe manchin's home state. manchin today saying no way to yet another climate change provision in the president's social programs package. but climate change has become a growing threat to west virginians. rene marsh, you travelled to west virginia this week. what did you learn from his constituents? >> what i learned, it's not just senator manchin who doesn't want quick and aggressive action when it comes to climate change. it's many of his own constituents who in real time are feeling the impacts of climate change. so we traveled there to peel back the layers and figure out just why climate change is so complicated in that state. >> our house is already -- >> we're in the car. the car is flooding full of water. >> reporter: floodwaters submerged people, cars and homes in the thousand year flood. the town in west virginia almost wiped off the map in 2016 and this past summer parts of the state saw more flooding. from raging deadly floods to widespread drought, west virginians over the past few years have faced

west virginia. they now basically alone have been dragging out negotiations on the larger budget bill for weeks and weeks, with no apparent progress, and no real bottom line or finish line that either of them seem able to articulate in public. and that is why just tonight the spirit of last night's congressional baseball game took to the potomac. several of senator joe manchin's constituents from west virginia voted up to him today. they paddled a kayak up to the hospital where senator joe manchin lives when he is in washington. do you see him in the back of the boat there? the constituents are in the kayak, and in the little boat. and they have voted, is that the word? they have voted in themselves up to him to the back of his vote to talk to him, to plead to him, to get on board with the budget. to get on board with president biden's agenda. you can see here that these kayakers on his houseboat, are at one point in the video that we've seen of this, ask them where they are from. and they shut out

does senator manchin believe that working-class parents in west virginia and vermont should not have to pay, does he believe they should have to pay 25 or 30% of their incomes on childcare all over this country. working class are paying 20 to 30% of their incomes so that they could go out and do their jobs. are the children of this country not entitled to high quality childcare and pre-k education? did senator manchin not believe that they are entitled to affordable housing and that we shouldn't have some 600,000 people including many veterans sleeping out on the streets. and perhaps most importantly do they not believe what the scientists are telling us they have told us we are on a red alert for the work on climate change does senator manchin not believee that our children and grandchildren are entitled to live in a world that is healthy and is inhabitable. he's been critical of the $3.5 trillion proposal many of us support. we are beyond generalities with specificity what he wants and what he does not want and to explain that to the people of west virginia and america. i look forw

look how fast west virginia has moved to the right. last year west virginia 39 point win for trump. you see arizona a 9 point win for romney in 2012, four points in 2016 for trump and biden winning. so west virginia and arizona two completely different trajectories. >> still though clearly a very divided state. so for a senator who needs statewide approval you can make the argument that she wants to appeal to as many voters there as possible. she is hoping to keep as many republicans on her side. there are a lot of other democrats who have won in arizona in recent years. >> yeah. it is a divided state. it is a purple state. it's not a red state. if you look at arizona and you compare it to west virginia, you see that kyrsten sinema is one of a number of democrats who have won since 2018. seven. you look at west virginia, it's just joe manchin. joe manchin is literally the only democrat who can win in west virginia. and so you look at the other senator like mark kelly. he won by exactly pretty much the same margin, i think 2.35 verses 2.34. i might be a little off on that but give me

virginia because west virginians perceive it as a direct attack on their livelihoods. but it is also interesting, too, that inaction of our business leaders and inaction of our decisionmakers is also a direct attack on livelihoods. >> joining me now cnn's renee marsh. renee, good evening to you. why is there such commitment to coal in west virginia in the face of all of the destruction and loss of life in the state from severe weather? what is going on? >> reporter: yeah, well, don, you know, there are several layers at player and west virginia for one has an undiversified economy. coal is really what the state has built itself on for decades, so there's this struggle to hold on to what was because of this feeling that there aren't any viable alternatives with the same sort of $61,000 a year salary, but the reality is this is a dying industry and the data tells us that. don. >> all right. renee marsh, thank you very much. i appreciate that and your reporting. >> sure. >>> he alleged a coverup and accused his colleagues of murder, and now a louisiana state trooper could

west virginia. so what's going on with joe mentioned you outside or simply don't understand this great state. talk to anyone here and they know exactly what's going on with joe mansion. he's getting west virginia be attention. it deserves with his independent streak. right, well i outside is are kind of wondering why joe manson keeps gutting this bill, which isn't even that great to begin with. mansion is trying to end the child tax credit at $60000.00 a year. so america doesn't turn to an entitlement mentality. and there is no better way to avoid that than stoking resentment among people who make $61000.00 a year. so we're going to make working families squabble over crumbs while the rich make off like a band, and this is west virginia make an offer. it's is a well respected vocation here. just look at the management on the one hand, he doesn't want to give unemployed people money. on the other. he makes most of his, from sources that do not require him to do any work. he has been raking in hundred

town in west virginia. spent 22 years dreaming a way out and every day since looking for a way home. >> reporter: he teamed up with the state of west virginia to develop an initiative to grow the community in his home state. >> it invites those who are fully employed and have permission to live anywhere to do their jobs. >> reporter: the incentives, $12,000 cash and one year's worth of free recreational outdoor activities. the first city to try this out is morgantown, out of more than 7,000 applicants submitted only 1,000 will be selected. traveled the world it was this program that drew him back. >> really excited about having these guys experience the best of west virginia. find their passion, find their people and get connected. >> reporter: ascend west virginia creates community by planning events for those new residents like hiking, rock climbing and even lunch at coopers rock state forest. that's just what shane powers is hoping to give his family living leaving arlington, virginia, to come back home

his state west virginia is powered 91% by coal and would

and manchin really doesn't like it when people from outside west virginia come into west virginia. remember when vice president harris did a tv interview. do you think this is the end of it? will this completely stop the bill? >> no, look, i think that the public sparring is notable and reinforces some of the divisions that still exist among democrats over what provisions should be in this bill. but ultimately what really -- what this comes down to is whether or not democrats can come to some sort of agreement and can they do it by this self-imposed deadline of october 31st. >> the latest self-imposed deadline. >> missed a couple of the other ones. the white house today signaling that president biden is open to some of the proposals that senator manchin has put forward like means testing or cap on income for tax credit. also questions of whether they'll cut some of these entirely like clean energy or allow medicare to negotiate. progressives are open to not cutting programs entirely but scaling back how long they'll be funded for. so that's really what the challenge is now for bide

cal perry in west virginia's capital city of charleston. what do the people of west virginia want? we talk about it all the time. joe manchin is a conservative democrat. because he is in west virginia. what do voters there want? >> reporter: yeah. look. conservative democrat in west virginia means something different in the rest of the country. look at the political landscape of west virginia. this state has swung wildly to the right in the last ten, 20 years and president trump won by 70%. joe manchin has been in office since 1981. he is an institution. in this county that he won big people defer to the experience. they want him to negotiate a good deal. this is what we heard yesterday. >> i know how this works. it is like watching sausage. they'll have a bill. but we here in west virginia have to trust the representatives. i trust joe manchin. >> he's always been a mainstream conservative democrat. that's what he was when he was in the house and in the senate. and he was basically that way as governor. tight with the money. >> reporter: i'll pick up on what we heard from ashley p

families in west virginia. joe pandian has a different history than bernie sanders the only person in west virginia and what you saw cap like another issue we were out resolving and making progress. it's going to be painful because joe manchin said he never could have imagined need one from five bernie couldn't imagine 2.5 care about the people they represent having to do what the investor should be. >> you think the revenue pieces esof this, taxes in their he needed to pay for much of this in these measures will still be intact in the final version? >> on that bernie and joe manchin are produced, we have operations extraordinarily profitable don't pay taxes. there was a time with nike where if you bought a pair of nike sneakers, paid more for the sneakers than in texas. americans in west virginia are affected by that. there were a time when billionaires project basis, one of the richest people in the world not only didn't pay taxes but he got money back from the government for the deduction. so bottom line, my

trump carried west virginia by almost 40 points. i just think manchin looks at that and thinks, are you kidding me? if you want me to come along on climate or drugs, have a senator from a midwestern state write a friendly op-ed about how over the years i worked with joe manchin and i work forward to working with him further. instead, it's the one guy in the senate who calls himself a socialist from vermont. lobbing this little grenade in the state. i figure it gives manchin a sense, west virginia is going to play fine. he's not taking order from bernie sanders. >> i think we were all waiting after that op-ed came out from bernie sanders for this fiery response from manchin. it was no surprise there. you have the discussion about the climate provision and whether it's going to be taken out and it sounds like the white house is going to follow that, according to our reporting from three congressional sources today, that this provision will be taken out. and i'm wondering if this puts the white house in a bit of a box or a tough situat

first, let us be clear, poll after poll including polls in west virginia show what we are trying to this reconciliation bill is enormously popular among the american people. it's not just the american people who support what we're trying to do. forty-eight out of 58 members of the senate democratic caucus support the bill. and 210 members about 90% support the bill. by the way the president of the united states supports the bill. while we are adequate to maintain who is vigorously opposed to this legislation. think it is important the american people understand that. this is the corruption of american politics. the pharmaceutical industry is currently spending hundreds of millions of dollars on lobbying, on campaign contributions, on advertising to oppose this bill because they do not want us to lower the outrageously high cost of prescription drugs in america. the health insurance industry's many a huge amount of money because they do not want us to expand that medicare to cover it dental, hearing aids and eyeglasses. the fossil fuel industry the coal companies, the oil companies are sp

so these ads are incredibly misleading and basically lying to the voters of west virginia. more broadly, the energy crisis that biden has put us in his creaming the middle-class. they are the ones who are getting killed because they are the ones who pay higher electricity, they are the ones who pay for gas at the pump. they are the ones who are going to pay more on home heating fuels, and the irony in all this, sean, is that if you look around the world, the advocates of the green new deal, renewables only, wind and solar, well, guess what, in the north sea, the wind didn't blow, the united kingdom, britain, has gotten killed by this, and they wind up getting rid of renewables and importing coal, or producing coal, which really is the most harmful of the fossil fuels. maybe there is a clean coal case to be made. germany the same way, having bet the ranch on renewables, particularly wind, they now find themselves failing. they've gone to call, and i might add, vladimir putin, merkel really supported the nord stream 2 pipeline, vladimir putin is not giving them the natural ga

and what is he going to do for the incredible lovers of poverty in west virginia? what about expanding medicare? wouldn't that be good for everyone? what about lowering drug prices he says he is in favor of? what about taxing the rich which even the conservatives want? and tonight with these kayak-tivists he told them he was on board with all those things though he has been saying today he will only accept a bill less than half the size of what the president wants. somehow he tells these constituents of his that he is still onboard with all of the things they want. at one point he tells them we are on the same page. one shouts back to him no we are not. even showing up at his floating house a cheerful but persistent group. we'll follow you home. this really matters to folks in your home state. again, that was just tonight just earlier this evening and, you know, i think credit to senator manchin for engaging with them being willing to talk to them about it even if they didn't agree they were on the same page since he isn't going to vote for all the things he says h

in his home state west virginia, coal is king. manchin's constituents remain deeply skeptical of global warming despite witnessing its traumatic impact firsthand. cnn reports. >> our house is ready to fall. >> we're in the car and the car is flooding full of water. >> reporter: flood water submerged people, cars and homes in what was dubbed the thousand year flood. the town in west virginia almost wiped off the map in 2016, and this past summer parts of the state saw more flooding. from raging deadly floods to widespread drought, west virginians over the past few years have faced weather whiplash and scientists predict it will get worse. >> it's rising about a foot an hour. >> reporter: jimmy raider, a retired iraq war veteran survived the deadly 2016 west virginia flooding, but his home did not. five years later he's still rebuilding. in the meantime, he, his wife and three dogs called this camper home. >> it's really tough with my ptsd. being in such tight quarters. >> reporter: look around the small west virginia town of clande

poll after poll, including polls in west virginia show what we are trying to do in this reconciliation bill enormously popular among the american people, not just the american people who support what we are trying to do, 48 after 50 members the senate democratic caucus support the bill 210 members of 96% of the house democratic office support the bill and by the way, the president of the united states in the bill. let me tell you who's vigorously opposed to this legislation it is important the american people understand that. this is corruption of american politics. pharmaceutical industry currently spends hundreds of millions of dollars on lobbying, campaign contributions, advertising to oppose this bill because they do not want have the outrageously high cost of prescription drugs in america. health insurance industry is spending a huge amount of money because they do not want us to expand medicare to cover dental, hearing aids and eyeglasses. fossil fuel industry, coal companies and oil companies are spending millions of dollars despite the fact scientists are virtually unanimous te

the front page of the "washington post" talking to citizens in west virginia. senator manchin's home state. and some of them upset with the proposals that senator manchin would like to see removed from any final legislation. this according to "washington post" reporting. raising kids is work is one of the quotes. from the newspaper. and they feature a couple who are raising their two grandkids, ages 10 and 17, who are benefiting from the expanded child tax credit. they are getting a monthly check because of what the biden administration, congress passed in march. and that has been relief for them. this couple that you are seeing there is another couple that's few teurd in the newspaper -- featured in the newspaper that have a small child and then they have a set of infant twins as well. here from the newspaper what they note, in west virginia, 170,000 children became newly eligible under the tax credit expansion, which was included in president biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package passed in march. the changes to the tax credit raised the maximum benefit from

host: a lot of comments about the senator from west virginia. she writes that on august 11, he issued a statement declaring the 3.5 trillion irresponsible. north carolina, a line is up next. caller: good morning. i'm against this larger bill. i am old enough to remember, i don't think a lot of your callers do. they sound like they might be my age. joe manchin is what used to be considered a blue dog democrat. he's a john f. kennedy democrat. he does have some sanity in him. much of what he says, though he is accused of all kinds of things, there used to be a lot of democrats like him. they were pretty much in line with republicans on a lot of matters. you look back on 1960, john kennedy and richard nixon were pretty much in line. they disagreed at the fringes. john kennedy was pro-business. he was pro strong american defense. i doubt -- that's what democrats used to be. if you're looking at joe manchin, you were looking back in time. the other thing i have to say, i think the big problem is it's everything. somebody made a comment earlier about

and vaccinating our people first in west virginia. we wish the boosters would have come out sooner because we got out so early, we were in a six month situation way before. think about this for one second, marrying: on margaret: g tuesday, we will have given and administeredary administeredevery one of our pfr vaccines -- >> brennan: you just asked the biden administration for more monoclonal antibodies, which is the treatment for people hospitalized with this virus, and they denied that. you need that because people are very sick. are you concerned your request was denied? >> of course we're concerned. it wasn't denied. it was just lowered. with all of that, margaret, the reality is the supply. the southern states just gobbled up all of the supply and everything. and, again, the biden administration is saying they're holding the bag. we need more antibodies weagg it. >> brennan: you were talking about your dispute of characterization of where you are with vaccinations, but you do seem to have hit a wall with the younger than people i

west virginia voters will have his back if he votes for president biden's budget. like his constituents, west virginia voters who kayaked up to his house boat today to plead with him to support the bill, and he did, again, to his credit, have a long back-and-forth with them tonight. so that is one reason the vast majority of democrats in washington are intent on passing the president's agenda and getting it done intact and quickly. it is just superpopular with voters. it is popular in west virginia. it is popular nationwide. it is popular among democrats. it is popular among self-described republicans and conservatives. another reason most democrats want to get this done is they don't want this thing to drag on for months. they certainly don't want to pass the small roads and bridges bill and then watch the larger biden legislation, all of his other economic agenda items for his first term as president, they don't want to watch those languish in endless negotiations. with big legislation like this, delay means death. he had congresswoman ocasio-cortez here tonight,

we are watching the west virginia's race. that's another area where democrats would love to see a win before november 2nd. although they're already going to the polls. there are deadlines coming up that are putting the pressure on everyone, including joe manchin, to try to see something happen to sort of salvage the messaging democrats can do it. bernie sanders are writing an op-ed in west virginia trying to communicate directly with west virginians to try to sell the agenda to them. no one likes it when another senator comes into their home state. senator sanders is saying we're talking about the pharmaceutical industry, we're talking about helping children, making your medication cheaper, so democrats are trying to find ways to get that message to constituents. the question is, can they get on the same page and pass something in the next couple of weeks heading into maybe the end of this year. >> david and libby, thank you both very much. when we come back, we go where "the daily show" is going, including inside the mind of

nbc's cal perry is in charleston, west virginia. so what more can you tell us about how these local factors might be influencing senator manchin's thinking on the climate policy pieces of this bill? >> reporter: i mean there's no question they are. and you're talking about a state as you pointed out with a rich history with goal that for all the right reasons needs to move away from coal. on the infrastructure package he's all in and that's because virginia badly needs that infrastructure, we're talking about roads and bridges. but this climate is a hard one. west virginia has been hit hard by climate change. we've had those floods that killed 23 people, and add to that we've had droughts in every single part of west virginia's county. i had a chance to speak to a democratic state representative about it. take a listen. >> you talk to climate scientists and what they've been predicting as the impacts of climate change in west virginia has been what we've seen in our new weather patterns the last 10 or 20 years. we've seen more frequ

if we look at the offices that democrats have won in west virginia. superintendent of public instruction, so much different from west virginia where joe manchin's the only democrat who represents that state statewide. and you know, i think this may in fact put kyrsten sinema in danger of a primary challenge. here's the reason why -- if you look at the idealogy of registered democrats in the state of west virginia versus arizona versus nationwide, look at that -- arizona, the registered democrats are actually slightly more liberal than they are in the u.s. versus in west virginia they're considerably more moderate and conservative. and the one other thing i'll note is kyrsten sinema likes to hold herself up as the new john mccain. you know, john mccain was this maverick. here's the thing to keep in mind -- yes, john mccain didn't always vote with his party, but if we flip more to the last slide, you see he voted with 85% of the time. kyrsten sinema votes with it just 69% of the time. she's completely different than john mccain when it comes to voting w

all over west virginia. >> morgantown! >> god bless you. >> thanks for coming out. >> we are working on it, we really are. we are going to continue. we are going to get a good bill, and i know it won't be enough for [ inaudible ]. >> there's a lot of poverty. >> there's a ton of poverty. >> we are doing everything we can to [ inaudible ]. >> we're counting on you, senator. we're counting on you, senator. >> out there with boats and kay aks. joining us now, ali vitali, heather cagle, and former senior adviser to joe manchin, jonathan kott, welcome to the three of you. ali, we learned last hour that president biden is headed to the hill to meet with the house democratic caucus. what does that suggest, might a deal be imminent here? >> we're not at the imminent deal stage yet. certainly it shows a ramping up from the white house, president biden ran as somebody who could get things done and show how washington could work. his pitch was bringing republicans and democrats along. certainly the story of his presidency at least th

in west virginia, what are they saying about that? are west virginians cheering manchin on to cut out those things? we want to short time, but i want to let you answer that. >> i don't think so. i think those are widely popular policies and i think it's confounding why both progressives and you know, the biden administration haven't spent more time hammering. they have tried to carry it. they've given joe manchin's wife an appointment on the appalachian regional commission. they've shaved off these hugely important parts of the bill that are going to be critical for the midterms so i think they are widely popular and i think people support them. >> and i can't emphasize enough, this is the second poorest state in the country. it's hard to explain unless it's about profit. daniel, great reporting. thank you very much. appreciate you being here. >>> up next, ron desantis has a new henchman willing to push covid conspiracy theories and misinformation in the name of freedom. absolute worst is straight ahead. don't miss it. s straight ahea

internet on the back roads of west virginia. when you look at the scales, when you look at the charts and 50 being the worst out of 50 states, health care is at 47. close to the bottom in west virginia. education, 45 out of 50 being the worst. the economy is 48. infrastructure, 50. so how is it that senator manchin and senator sinema can really stand in the way of what's best for their constituents? i would encourage people who have internet, a lot of back roads in west virginia don't have internet, some people can't afford it, people should google, use your google machine as joe scarborough scawls it, who is backing senator sinema and senator man manchin in regards to big corporate money. this infrastructure bill will be for the constituents or the majority of americans. and voters should really be thinking carefully about what to vote for manchin. again, west virginia is in bringing big problem trubl in a lot of areas -- trouble in a lot of areas. why manchin is standing in the way of benefiting the majority of people, as well

that means extremely high electric bills for people in west virginia. and that women in the piece there whot said let it flood, that is an example of the commitment to coal in the face of climate change. she said this is because historically, coal has provided jobs for the state. but the reality is that the industry is really just shedding jobs due to automation. it's a dying industry. and when we reached out to senator manchin's office, we got no comment. back to you, erin. >> renee, thanks very, very much. >>> and as president biden tries to save his agenda, don't miss a presidential town hall right here on cnn. president biden will take questions on thursday night at 8:00. >>> and outfront next, these iowa voters living in trump fantasy land. >> and the military. >> and he is running the military. so we should blame him for what happened in afghanistan. >> no. >>> and the drama continues tonight in the life of a once-prominent south carolina attorney whose wife and son were murdered. a judge is keeping him behind bars tonight. why? >>> and we will ta

by monday morning, was the top trending piece in west virginia's capital city which by monday morning -- on the website, in it, he argued for the plan that is backed by president biden and the vast majority of congressional democrats as the central legislation that would benefit west virginians. let's hear from gwen in detroit. it's democrats only this first hour. good morning, gwen. >> caller: good morning. i agree with bernie sanders. someone needs to stand toe to toe with joe biden -- i mean with joe manchin. but also i believe that the -- they shouldn't go no lower than 1.9 trillion. because of so much that has to be done and i believe that bernie and the progressives, all it takes the one of them. just like manchin and sinema, it takes one of them to say, we're not going to budge. thank you. >> one of the follow-ups to that story between joe manchin and bernie sanders is from "the hill" and in that story the headline of that story on the money, it all comes down to bernie and joe and they write that senator manchin told democratic colleagues that he will work with bernie sanders

right now i think you hope he stands up for west virginia. this is not a good policy for west virginia. >> harris: it is interesting to see billionaire jumps in. nobody understands what the voters want except for the people in their constituents, right. the president trying to throw on tapestry and outside money and they just want what's best for their state in west virginia as you pointed out. jason, always great to have you in "focus." thank you. >> thank you. >> harris: more backlash against the d.o.j. targeting parents. now two state school boards say they had nothing to do with that letter pleading for federal protection for fr* moms at meetings. uh-huh. joe concha weighs in. inflation nation in "focus." the supply chain crisis taking a toll in stores and at the pump. come on, you see it. this is in our hands as the people. we have see the money flowing away from us. companies and consumers feeling the pinch and the future is not looking much better. we dig in. >> we're seeing a shipping crisis like we've never seen before. every step of

west virginia represents -- the population of west virginia is 1.79 million people and you have one senator that is basically controlling climate change for the entire country. >> that's what's happened and it's very difficult when you have a 50-vote margin. senator manchin is personally involved in the coal and gas industry in west virginia, and he has that power. the only person who can deal with him in any effective manner will be president biden, because west virginia needs the help of the united states government and the president and senator manchin needs some good relationship with president biden. so president biden is going to have sit down with he and senator sinema, who i believe he has been dealing with, i'm not sure what he can do with her. maybe something to do with -- i don't want to get into it. she's an unknown factor. but this is for president biden to deal with, not for speaker pelosi, not for senator schumer, and certainly not for any other group of house members. >> congressman, how disappointed are you that this could go by the wayside here? and also, to kendis' questi

there's a joke that goes around west virginia that next to coal, the number one export in west virginia is humans. are people leaving? there's a brain drain happening here. 17% of folks live below the poverty line. it's a very serious issue. i think that is the key issue and those are the things that you hear from the biden administration. states like west virginia are poised to benefit the most from these bills, frankly. >> coal, big issue there. >> eugene, nine republicans voted with democrats to refer former trump adviser steve bannon to the justice department for potential contempt charges over his refusal to cooperate with a house january 6th committee. where does this process go from here? >> and now this process goes to the department of justice, right? they have to decide whether or not they're going to seek charges against steve bannon, and that is something that everyone is trying to figure out, what's going to happen there? it's important for folks to remember that no matter what ends up happening, if merrick garland makes the decision to go after steve bannon and we go throu