Morning Files NOW Full Broadcast – Jan. 15

After his death good morning thanks for joining us on this Martin Luther King Jr day I'm Joe frier Savannah is On Assignment Ready or Not the first nominating contest of the 2024 presidential campaign is now upon us Republican voters in Iowa will CAU us tonight to pick their State's nominee former president Trump is counting on.

His backers enthusiasm as his Rivals crisscross the state hoping to win over those who are still undecided Hardy Iowa caucus goers will have to face dangerous Sub-Zero temperatures to show their support you're going to be first in the nation so brave the weather and go out and save America because that's what you're doing you're never going to have.

An opportunity where your V voice and your vote is going to pack as much of a punch as it will tomorrow night I know it's going to be cold tomorrow I get it I know it's going to be cold but think about this you get to set the direction for the country a new NBC News de Mo register Mediacom poll shows that Trump has a nearly 30o lead over former un.

Ambassador Nikki Haley followed by Florida Governor Ronda santis and entrepreneur VI ramaswami in just a moment we're going to go one-on one with NBC News senior political editor Mark Murray to discuss the final poll heading into the caucus but let's begin with NBC News correspondent Ally Vitali in De Mo and Senior National politics reporter.

John Allen allly let's start with you after steer in clear of Iowa in the final week leading up to the caucuses former president Trump he returned to the state over the weekend continues to enjoy that comfortable lead in all the polls so what is his strategy heading into the caucus well look Joe he continues to.

Enjoy that comfortable lead he's had that frankly the entirety of this primary he's also continued to be comfortable hitting down at whoever is in second ensuring that that lead stays as large as it is right now for him we saw him over the course of the prior few months continually attack Rona santis that could be in part an explanation for.

Why Dan santis has seen such a decline in the polls here in Iowa instead we see desantis's momentum being eclipsed by that of former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and that's probably why Haley was drawing the ey of trump it's something that the Haley campaign is certainly aware of something that you hear Nikki Haley herself often dismiss.

As the fellas coming at her but certainly this has been Donald Trump's strategy the entire time not just fight his battles in court which Theory should be a political liability instead he's trying to turn that into an asset and something that helps coales his base around him and he's also hitting back at whoever his nearest rival is or really.

Whoever his rival is we've seen him spar with I think every single person left in the field at this point even V ramaswami who has been sort of Frenemy to him out here on the campaign Trail so it's Trump and everyone else and I think Trump is making that known out here all right so John we know this is really then because of that largely viewed as a race for.

Second place between Haley and D santis what does a win look like in Iowa for either of those candidates and what are their possible scenarios moving forward yeah that's a great question Joe uh you know I mean number one uh for either one of these candidates getting into second place and when I say either one I mean uh Nikki Haley and Ron Des.

Sanis winning second place is uh the big win um then you could talk about margin a little bit uh in the latest NBC News poll as you showed uh you know Trump's got 48 uh Nikki hil's got 20 Ronda sandis has 16 uh which sets its own expectation if you're Ronda sandis and you came in third in that final Iowa poll and you get it a second then you.

Get to tell your donors uh that you've got a little bit of momentum that the polls don't always show the truth you get to tell your supporters that Nikki Haley she comes in second here she is uh right now in second place in New Hampshire uh you know closer to Trump in New Hampshire than she is uh in Iowa uh she gets to claim a bounce if she comes.

In second but uh again if you zoom out the big picture here is that Donald Trump uh is the dominant force and the prohibitive favorite not only to win in Iowa but also to win the Republican nomination so Ally with both Dan santis and Haley going back and forth at each other trying to get those undecided voters I know you got to speak with the.

Former South Carolina governor recently she didn't hold back what did she have to say yeah we spent some time with her backstage before one of her events yesterday and she's not holding back when it comes to DeSantis of course that's not exactly new they're not holding back when it comes to each other.

I think many of us watched that one-on-one debate but DeSantis has unveiled a sort of new strategy not saying that he's going to go next to New Hampshire after Iowa but that he'll go immediately to South Carolina it is a sort of challenge in Nikki Haley's home court and one that I asked her about from her arrival this is what she said.

About it I mean he's only played in Iowa he's invisible in New Hampshire he's invisible in South Carolina he's fourth and fifth place in both of those I mean I welcome him to South Carolina but we're headed to New Hampshire that's the next state to vote somebody might want to tell him.

That there's that South Carolina charm of I welcome him it's like the equivalent of a political bless your heart I think Joe but still I don't think there's much love lost between these two candidates and for Nikki Haley she knows that her road to Trump goes through Ronda santis it's why they're hoping for a second place finish here so.

That they can solidify the theme that they've been pushing towards the entire time they want to now underscore it with results the idea that it is Haley versus Trump a one-on-one race for the Republican nomination despite the fact as John said the farest from the trees here is that this is Trump's race to lose period yeah Ally I don't think.

Haley and disan is are Frenemies as you described Trump and and ramaswami earlier so so John we keep talking about the weather how it could be a factor in turnout we we know Iowans they're no strangers to this type of weather still the high today de MO is about ne1 um might be harder for older people to get out your car has to start if you.

Want to get some play so how could the weather really impact the race it's the gigantic X Factor here Joe I mean when uh when we've talked to folks uh who were you know longtime political operatives in Iowa uh talked to the campaigns the consensus that emerges here is that uh that a lower turnout um probably has uh more of an.

Effect on Nikki Haley's base because uh her base is more Loosely Affiliated if you look at the NBC News polling her voters are less enthusiastic or a smaller share of her voters are enthusiastic than say for Trump uh or for Ronda sanis uh she's got a uh I think 43% of her voters say they would vote for Joe Biden uh which means uh.

She's got a lot of Independence and Democrats who are voting for her who may not be inclined to come out and vote for a republican uh if you are out in Iowa you know that the roads are packed with ice uh you mentioned the temperature of uh one below is the high uh it is hard to explain how how cold it is when you were below zero without a doubt that is.

Why both of you were starting this long day indoors Ali Vitali John Allen we appreciate you both thank you so much for kicking us off this hour let's bring in NBC News senior political editor Mark Murray for a closer look at what we can expect so so mark break down the latest polling numbers for us with cocka finally here just what stands out well.

One thing that stands out is obviously Donald Trump's lead 28 points uh over his nearest competitor Nick Haley Joe just to put that into perspective the largest Republican non-incumbent margin of victory in the Iowa caucuses was 13 points by Bob Dole in 1988 uh Donald Trump if this polling ends up holding uh would end up doubling.

If not even tripling that margin and of course we have the really close place for second place between Nikki Haley and Ron to santis but Joe would also stands out in the poll and John Allen was just talking about this is just the enthusiasm given the weather and our poll breaks down that uh Donald Trump is has a large lead when it comes to having.

The most enthusiasm enthusiastic backers then it's ronto Sanz and then well below that is Nikki Haley and if Nicky Haley and Ronda sandis are in a close place for second place those enthusiasm numbers really could be determinant of Joe especially on a cold night like tonight so Mark just what are some of the key.

Groups the key Demos in the electorate that you're tracking as we head into caucuses that help us understand what's happening right now within the GOP especially in Iowa yeah when we talk about the Iowa caucuses we always focus on Evangelical Christians who make up about half of likely Republican caucus goers and Donald Trump has an enormous.

Lead uh more than 50% of evangelicals in our poll back Donald Trump uh Trump also has uh large leads among firsttime cockus scers as well as registered Republicans but where uh Nikki Haley is actually doing very well and John Allen was just alluding to this is among Independents where the race between Donald Trump and Nikki Haley is much.

Closer the one downside for Nikki Haley is that Independents make up a smaller share of the potential electorate in these caucuses than registered Republicans do and Mark so far we have not seen former president Trump's many legal issues cut into his support in fact a lot of evidence statistical and anecdotal suggest the indictments are.

Boosting his support but the polling numbers what are they telling us about that we've been asking this poll question in our uh Iowa poll Joe over the last several months now and it continues to show that three quarters of likely Republican caucus scers think that uh uh former president Donald Trump can defeat Joe Biden despite the legal.

Challenges that he faces just a sliver of the electorate 23% end up believing uh that uh the legal challenges make it nearly impossible to defeat president Joe Biden so most not all but most Republicans who are going to be participating today have brushed aside the legal concerns for the former president all right Mark Murray setting.

Us up perfectly for tonight thank you as always we appreciate it and tonight stay with NBC news for all your Iowa cacus coverage Kristen Welker hie Jackson and Tom yamas will have live coverage and Analysis all night long starting at 700 p.m. Eastern right here on NBC News Now millions of Americans are waking up to below freezing temperatures this morning.

With an Arctic chill blanketing much of the country millions are under wind chill alerts the weather even forced the NFL to postpone a playoff game in Buffalo this weekend that game now scheduled for tonight still record-breaking low temps are expected for the next couple days NBC News correspondent Jesse kersch takes us into.

The tundra Joe good morning from a blustery Grand Rapids Michigan you might be able to see the snow blowing across the screen right now it has been windy here and we have been getting snowfall here in western Michigan since Tuesday every day since take a look at some of the accumulation here this is a fire hydrant.

You can see how much snow is on top of it right now and it's obviously you know coming up along the side as well but honestly there probably was even more snow on that at some point because of these wind gusts blowing snow around and that has made visibility difficult we've seen snow stretching all over this region of course the buffalo Bills game.

Against the Pittsburgh Steelers a playoff game was postponed and moved to today because of conditions in Western New York unfortunately this series of winter storms appears to be responsible for at least four deaths across the country and there is more tough weather on the way much of the country could see temperatures 20 to.

45° below average today roads have been treacherous and flights have been challenged as well according to flight tracker flight aware there are more than 1,400 flights cancelled that are tied to US airports today alone we do know officially that hundreds of flights over the weekend were cancelled because of weather so that new total for today uh.

Of course could factor in any number of things but there are travel issues across the country and we know that it has been tough to get around because of the weather as well and as I mentioned we are not past all of this yet Joe all right Jesse kers thank you so much let's bring in meteorologist Michelle Gman tracking the dangerously old bow temps.

For us Michelle good morning Good morning Joe it is dangerously cold out there it's life-threatening in some spots we have spots where if you're out for 5 10 minutes you could get frostbite so we're talking about temperatures feeling likeus 40 in some spots in the northern PLS and that's going to stay in place today tomorrow Wednesday and then.

We have another round of Arctic blasts that's going to affect us for the uh rest of the week so 105 million people impacted by wind chill alerts from the Northern Plains through the Ohio Valley South Central States were really chilly there temperatures feeling like below zero in some spots South Central States also really chilly as well along the.

Gulf Coast so we're dangerously cold right now we're feeling like minus 47 in my not right now it feels like- 36 in Delo so it's not just the air temperatures that's dangerous you factor winds that are gusting to 20 30 mph and it feels much colder than that look as you go all the way down to Houston it feels like 19° right now feeling likeus.

8 in Fort Worth we're not used to those temperatures there then as we go throughout the rest of today we're looking at temperatures staying frigid today tomorrow Wednesday we start to moderate a bit before we get that second blast by Thursday so Buffalo we're into the 20s Monday Tuesday Wednesday with that snow in place still soup ball we're.

Looking at 6 degrees uh Tuesday Wednesday 14° we're still chilly in Memphis temperatures below freezing Monday and Tuesday right at the freezing mark mark on Wednesday and that cold air is into Boston too temperatures into the 30s so just above freezing today what does that mean I know this is a big story we've heard a lot about this how.

Will this impact the caucus and we're looking at temperatures so frigid at least the snow is stopped we're looking at temperatures the windchill minus 32 and Fort Dodge same story in uh Mason City Spencer Iowa we're looking at minus 37 so really really frigid temperatures it's going to be howling to with the winds blowing 20 to 30 mph so that's the.

Big weather story today the second big weather story today we're looking at winter alert so we have lots of cold air in place that is setting the stage for snow across the country we're looking at 96 million people impacted in portions of the Inner Mountain West the Rockies the South Central States into the Lower Mississippi Valley the Tennessee valleys.

The Mid-Atlantic and then eventually into the northe East the Great Lakes Buffalo you're going to see another foot of snow today you're just being socked in with the snow so we're looking at a mixed bag of weather right what does that mean we're looking at snow that's in the blue we're looking at some freezing rain some sleep falling in.

Spots that's going to mean for very tricky travel on the warmer side we're looking at rain and we're looking at some showers and storms in portions of Florida but I do want to show you this because that lake effect snow machine is on in Buffalo that steady stream of snow over Buffalo where you see those whiter Blues those whiter colors that's where.

We're looking at the heaviest snow falling so we're still looking at a winterstorm war this morning we're looking at winter storm watch Tuesday through Thursday and again could see another foot of snow so just a mess out there this is really due to that cold air in place allowing for all the snow to take place and we could break our.

Snowless streak in New York City by tomorrow finally so what is it like 76 days I think we'll do it tomorrow morning it's going to be a tricky commute tomorrow for many of us too and for those who have just been complaining about the lack of winter it winter is here you're happy now all right thank you so much appreciate it the political.

World is not just centered on Iowa today on Capitol Hill Congressional leaders from both parties have reached a short-term spending deal to keep the government open until March the deal comes just in time some parts of the government were set to run out of money this upcoming Friday NBC News Congressional Corr respond Julie Cen.

Joins us now with more on this so Julie what are we learning about the deal yeah Hey Joe good morning well this is going to be structured effectively the same as that last stop Gap Government funding measure that took us into these two deadlines the first of which you point out coming this Friday so basically that moves that deadline January 19th to.

March 1 and then it moves the second deadline that would have been hit February 2nd down to March 8 that's keeping that structure intact because some of those Hardline conservatives in the house took Johnson at his word that he would not pass another short-term spending bill they are nervous that the Senate led by democrats could Jam them.

With a big Omnibus spending package they want to make sure that house conservatives know they're still going to pass these items in two different buckets so this is good news averting that deadline potentially coming up at the end of the week but they still have to get an agreement to pass it in the Senate and the house and that inclement.

Weather will certainly make that tricky with lawmakers set to return tomorrow night Joe yeah so speaker Johnson held a call last night with House Republicans to discuss the negotiations do we at this point have any indication on whether he'll have the votes needed from his own party to get this passed before Friday's deadline Joe there were.

Certainly a lot of voices a lot of opinions raised on this call last night sources told me that Johnson did take a lot of incoming from Republicans who again are frustrated that he is continuing to go in this direction he is following uh what his predecessor Kevin McCarthy had done in trying to keep the government open uh and certainly this is.

Going to be something to watch for Johnson going to have to reach across the aisle unfortunately the map just does not cut it for him he has a very very tight margin even more so with one lawmaker for example getting into a car accident this weekend now he's going to be out Johnson announced that at the call yesterday he's going to need.

Democrats to pass this along it's going to be passed under what's called a suspension of rules that means it's going to go straight to the floor requiring two-thirds of the house that means a lot of democratic votes to get it across the Finish Line good news for them though hakeim Jeff leader of Democrats in the house had released a.

Statement yesterday encouraging me his members to vote in favor of this to avert that government shutdown on Friday but certainly that's just going to mean more heat on Johnson from conservatives you mentioned the previous speaker Kevin McCarthy he faced similar inp party clashes on government spending and that is what ultimately cost him to gabble so.

Here's the question could we see a repeat what are the challenges Johnson's facing right now remember this stop Gap funding bill just gives them more time to process the full year spending agreement keeping those in those two buckets that I talked about but that just means that he's also going to need Democrats to vote to pass that Topline.

Spending Bill 1.6 trillion dollar they're going to divide them up they're going to pass them in a series of bills but we already heard from a lot of conservatives last week saying they're going to vote against it they want Johnson for example to pair it with hr2 with border security he said no way that's not happening keeping that linked.

With Ukraine instead but he's going to have to rely across the aisle and like you mentioned Kevin McCarthy had to do that and it cost him his job so far though Joe people are willing to give him a chance I spoke to a handful of conservatives on Friday for example while they are criticizing Johnson they say they're not willing to go as far as.

To threaten his job just yet we'll see what happens as the months continue but we also ended Friday with Johnson saying he's gonna keep that Top Line agreement intact he's not going to go away from it and certainly that's going to anger conservative all right Julie cirin Julie thank you so much today marks the federal holiday on in civil rights icon.

Dr Martin Luther King Jr and for the 20th year students at a Washington DC Elementary School celebrated Dr King's birthday by gathering on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to recite his famous I Have a Dream speech it is the same spot where the Civil Rights icon spoke those words back in 1963 NBC 4 reporter Juliana Valencia.

From NBC Washington takes us there a real life lesson in civil liberties and racial healing I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation in front of the steps of the Lincoln Memorial these fifth graders recite line by line Martin.

Luther King Jr's I Have a Dream speech signed the Emancipation Proclamation this moment an annual tradition for the National Park Service and DC's Watkins Elementary School which has brought students out of the classroom for this l for the last 20 years the opportunity for our students to stand on the steps to deliver the message around in Justice.

Equality and their role that they play every child preparing months for this moment like really nice for me for me to be practicing for those days and then finally get to let it out Demi and her friend charisa giving their own speeches I believe that if we come together hand in hand like thousands stood hand in hand 61 years ago we will accomplish.

Great things focused on two issues Martin Luther King Jr spoke about teamwork and gun violence what makes gun vience Stand Out is that it is the top cause of death for children in Washington DC Dr King stood up and spoke out to help black community BR progress into what it is now I would like to continue his legacy by changing my.

Community to come together against one gun violence the day after the Martin Luther King Jr holiday is known as the the national day of racial healing we spoke with a Howard University law professor who spent years studying racial Justice about the state of our nation I don't believe the healing has even entered its most important phase.

Which is the phase of repair and as far as reaching Martin Luther King Jr's dream it's very clear that we have not reached Dr King's dream and we're going to see that likely in full effect this year in uh 2024 this election year for these children looking at history with fresh eyes there is hope for the future our thanks to Juliana Valencia for that.

Report today the celebrations and commemorations continue on what would have been Dr King's 95th birthday every third Monday in January we remember the man whose dream of equality still inspires so many MLK day is the only holiday designated as a national day of service and on this day Americans are encouraged to reflect on the fight for.

Racial equality and to give back to their communities joining us now to help commemorate his legacy is Michelle duster she is the great granddaughter of journalist educator and civil rights leader idab Wells Michelle good morning thank you so much for joining us so little history here legislation to honor MLK Jr it was first introduced days.

After he was assassinated but took 15 years before the holiday was approved by the federal government just talk to us about in your mind what is the significance of this day hi um I think the significance of Martin Luther King Jr day is for the nation to reflect on what the uh full potential of the country is for all of its.

Citizens and we should talk about what is happening right now in current times when it comes to Dr King's Legacy officials in several states are seeking to ban the teaching of black history and African-American studies in the Battle of what's been called critical race Theory talk to us about the fight for equality right now and where you think.

It's headed um I think right now things are a little um concerning um because you know everybody in this country should learn all of the history of this country in order for everybody to have the same perspective of who we are and where we can be we just heard from an expert a moment.

Ago who who said we still haven't reached Dr King's dream what do you think it's going to take to get to that dream I actually think education um is the key because I think the more the people know the truth about what happened and what can happen um the more that we can come together as a people and work together towards one focus and.

One dream as we continue in the fight for equality just what are some of the ways especially today that people can honor Dr King's Legacy um obviously you know um service um find an organization that you can um do some volunteer work with but also even on a more simple level just figuring out a way to be kind to.

Somebody who doesn't look like you um we have we need to find humanity in all of us what is your main message to people who who have a day off and maybe sometimes forget about why they have today off I think just reflecting on what this country can be for everybody everybody should in this country should have the.

Same opportunities um to live up to their full potential and so we need to work together as a country in order to make that possible all right Michelle duster thank you so much for joining us this morning we appreciate your time this morning Israeli forces are showing no signs of easing up their assault on Gaza bombing targets across the entire.

Palestinian Enclave a 100 days into the war with Hamas over the weekend Israelis marked the Milestone by marching to demand the release of the remaining hostages around half of the 240 captives have been released so far in Gaza the UN Agency for Palestinian refugees described the situation there is quote a 100 days of death destruction and.

Displacement more than 24,000 people have been killed according to officials with the Hamas run Health Ministry the UN says 85% of people have been displaced and more than 60% of homes in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged NBC News spoke to a doctor in southern Gaza about the humanitarian situation and I cannot find a word to describe how.

I'm feeling or how the situation is 100 day of suffering of a tragedy of a loss of feeling afraid I'm not myself because of this tragedy I'm not myself because of this genocide I wish I I could be the same person before this war the only thing that I wish to seee fire now now now to se the fire NBC News Chief foreign.

Correspondent Richard Angel joins us now from Tel Aviv so Richard 100 days into this War Walk us through where things stand in Gaza and really just the feeling among Palestinians and Israelis as we pass this Milestone so I'll start with uh Palestinians since you asked about them first the uh Palestinians are feeling uh.

Hopeless they're feeling that they are continued to uh uh they're still under attack their homes are being destroyed uh most most of the population has now been crammed down into a tiny part of the Southern Gaza Strip there is talk that maybe one day they will be allowed by Israeli forces to leave Southern Gaza and move back to areas where they came.

From in Central and Northern Gaza but so much of Central and Northern Gaza has been destroyed that eventually uh if the Israelis do allow them to go back there they're going to find uh that their homes are are gone or are so badly damaged that they are uninhabitable and the infrastructure has been destroyed so this war has has devastated Gaza it has.

Made the life uh almost unlivable for the 2.3 million people who are there uh the goal obviously from Israel's perspective is to destroy Hamas and and Israel knows that it is inflicting a tremendous amount of of damage tremend tremendous amount of suffering on the people of of Gaza and it says that it is doing this for two reasons one in order.

To destroy hamas's military infrastructure and the only way it says it can do that is by being on the ground hunting for the fighters looking for their weapons looking for their uh for their Rockets looking for the hostages they still have and they want eventually the people to turn on Hamas and they want people to have some sort of.

Uprising get R of Hamas and turn over a new page uh but what we are seeing in based on on on interviews that we've been doing in Gaza and Gaza is sealed off journalists can't operate in inside unless they were already there and there's a a small group of of very dedicated very brave Palestinian journalists who've been working there.

Since this began uh at at enormous personal risk and many of them have been killed but if you weren't in Gaza When The War Began you haven't been able to to to get inside uh so so in Gaza the situation is quite uh quite desperate and they're not seeing things uh improving uh here in Israel uh you have more uh complex feelings about it people.

Do support the war they do want Hamas to be destroyed they do not want to go back to a situation where they feel that armed militants just on the other side of the Border are preparing and have the capacity to carry out another Massacre but they also are infuriated with with their government they're angry with prime minister.

Netanyahu who they believe uh did not Has Not Taken full responsibility for uh intelligence failures that led up to the uh the Hamas attack or the uh the Israeli military's response after it and they do not believe he's done enough to uh try and get the hostages out and there's still about a 100 living hostages according to the government.

Richard yesterday Hamas released a video clip it shows three Israeli hostages and the group says it's going to reveal their fate today we should mention NBC News hasn't been able to verify the video but what more can you tell us about this uh the the video was very cryptic uh Hamas teased it by saying we will uh.

Say more about the the hostages later and it said that Israel has been lying that the government has been lying uh so we don't uh know exactly what they're going to say it's all speculation in in the past sometimes these videos have been positive signs uh Proof of Life to show that the uh the hostages are still alive and and and in in uh or it were in.

In relatively good health when the videos were taken um but we don't we don't know what they're going to say uh so that they are deliberately building up suspense but with the idea of saying that whatever these hostages are going to be say and anything hostages Say by by definition is under duress uh is going to show expose some sort of.

Israeli lie all right Richard Engel we appreciate all of your incredible reporting over these past 100 days thanks so much for joining us this morning for the second time in less than a month the volcano has erupted in Iceland it's sending slow moving lava toward a small coastal town NBC News foreign correspondent Matt Bradley has.

The latest a tiny fishing Village facing off against a wall of fire after a volcano and Iceland's Southwest opened two cracks in the earth sending rivers of lava creeping toward the town of grindvik just 30 m from the capital the town's nearly 4,000 residents were evacuated just in the nick of time.

Already homes on the town's outskirts are catching fire said this police official we probably just seeing the beginning of a chain of events that will continue and be difficult to deal with no one has been hurt or injured so far but workers still struggling to divert these expanding rivers of flame the government spent weeks building.

These protective ramp Parts workers racing toward the molten rock reaching perilously close to the lava's edge to rescue heavy equipment that had been meant to build the barrier it was awful to see the fissure open in lava reaching the first houses the town's mayor said but Iceland is well prepared sitting on a massive fault.

Line it's long dealt with volcanoes Iceland's president said that while this slow motion crisis will damage property it's unlikely to hurt any people though has created another awe inspiring spectacle in this land of Ice and Fire Matt Bradley NBC News more international news now on Sunday police arrested six people in connection with an alleged.

Plot to disrupt the London Stock Exchange NBC News foreign correspondent claudo lavaga has that in otherw world news claudo good morning Good morning Joe that's right investigators in London say that six Pro Palestine activists try to uh actively stop or uh block the stock exchange in London from opening for trading by.

Locking themselves into the building now police have not publicly identified the suspects but say that all six were between the age of 26 and 31 officials also say they are in contact with the city of London Police and other forces across the UK to block any possible disruptions in the coming days this of course comes on the hills of 100 day.

Marker since hamas's deadly attack on Israel uh sparking a war that claimed thousands of lives particularly in Gaza now let's travel over to Rio De Janeiro where a deadly storm has caused major flooding so far nearly a dozen people have been killed Mayor Eduardo pis called the situation an emergency urging people to stay home for safety Northern.

Rio was hit particularly hard with landslides drownings and even electrocutions bus lines and several Metro stations were closed because of water on the tracks some parts of the city received a month's War for of rain typical for January in just 24 hours and we end our short tour of the world in Taiwan where reactions is pouring in.

Following a huge election win by the Democratic Progressive party's presidential candidate Li chinte Li's party Champions taiwan's separate identity from China meanwhile China maintains that they see the island as an extension of themselves so it's safe to say chinte was China's least favorite candidate his win now causing a bit of a.

Verbal sparing between countries with Taiwan accusing China of uh making quote facies comments well China also criticized the US for congratulating the winner our Awards between countries that certainly did not help any already shaky tensions Joe back to you all right claudo thank you so much we're back with alarming new numbers released by the CDC.

On the high number of flu cases we're seeing this season the CDC says so far the US has seen 14 million cases with nearly 10 10,000 deaths NBC News senior National correspondent Stephanie Goos explains why so many people are getting sick flu season is Raging fever aches and runny noses especially in the South we had a.

Very early start to our flu season Dr Andy Shane is the head of infectious diseases at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta where cases of covid and both flu a and flu B are up she says the flu vaccine appears to be working this year the problem is is people aren't getting the shot vaccination rates of children are much lower this year um uptake of.

Vaccination has been less the CDC says numbers of outpatient flu cases decreased last week but they have remained higher than expected since November altogether this flu season there have been 14 million cases and nearly 10,000 deaths numbers back to pre-pandemic levels deadly illnesses are hitting even those young and healthy.

Like Quenton Thomas a 27-year-old father of three who died last week after his family says he contracted flew A and B at the same time your son was otherwise a very healthy young man right it's a healthy hardworking young man I mean it's just hard to believe it's too fast it's too sudden his distraught Father Robert telling us Quenton was.

Unvaccinated are you gonna go get vaccinated now yeah I probably think I am definely am I got grand babies round but you know I love and they go father vaccines Remain the best defense according to doctors they really are the optimal way and the sort of foundation of all of the um efforts that we recommend to prevent the transmission of.

Flu and covid our thanks to Stephanie GS for that report if you do get sick Physicians say only go to the hospital when breathing becomes difficult they say you should visit the doctor if you're experiencing other symptoms otherwise protect others and stay home now to a serious call to action from the American Red Cross which says the need.

For blood is urgent according to the Federal National blood collection and utilization survey the percentage of teens and young adults giving blood has steadily declined with blood donations among 16 to 18 year olds dropping by 60% from 2019 to 2021 because of those declining donation numbers the Red Cross says that over the.

Holidays it had 7,000 fewer units of blood on hand and were needed by hospitals NBC News medical reporter Erica Edwards joins us now with more on this Erica good morning so what are official says behind the reason for the decline in young adults giving blood and how worried are they about this drop in donations Good morning Joe yeah they are.

Very concerned part of the reason for this decline has been rule changes that the FDA has put into place uh over the years um about who is who is qualified to give blood um tweaking the minimum height and weight um measure requirements and raising the level of hemoglobin in the blood um experts say those rules were essential right to.

Protect donors hemoglobin for example contains iron which tends to be a little bit lower in teen girls and young women so raising that level needed to donate was meant to reduce the risk that they would become iron deficient after they would donate blood but what happened was young people were turned away from donation sites and simply never went.

Back Joe so we know the Red Cross has tried a number of campaign efforts to try and bring in more donations what have been some of those campaigns and and have they had any impact yeah so one of the most popular campaigns occurred a year ago people who donated blood received a t-shirt with the Peanuts character Snoopy acting as.

Joe Cool on it now it may sound silly but it blew up on social media more than 70,000 people under age 35 gave blood just to get one of those Joe cool shirts that you see there I remember I got a Joe cool shirt when I was young young because my name is Joe and people thought that would be a fun gift all right so Erica Co what role has that.

Played in the decline of young people donating and how is the Red Cross working to try and address that you know Blood Centers really rely on high school and college blood drives to increase their supply of course that stopped when schools went remote the Red Cross says that many of those schools that held blood drives pre pandemic simply have.

Not resumed those programs Joe all right Erica Edwards appreciate your reporting thanks for joining us this morning Awards season is in full swing and tonight is one of the most star studded evenings of the year with the 75th Primetime Emmy Award set to air finally ceremony was supposed to take place last year but was postponed because of the.

Actors and writers strikes this morning NBC News correspondent Dana Griffin walks us through the nominations are there any uh positives about the nightmare we've cheered the Noto annual 75 fth Prime Time Emy has a good excuse for being delayed TV's biggest stars will Grace the small screen after months of.

Hollywood strikes forcing last year's emys which normally airs in September to move to January the last time the emies had to press pause was more than 20 years ago after 9/11 and that means this year we get two of them I'm back HBO's hit drama succession dominating with 27 nominations likely to bring a revolving.

Door of Talent on stage closely followed by The Last of Us and the White Lotus whenever I stay at a White Lotus I always have a memorable time always since many of these shows have come and gone with finales and New Seasons viewers may be tuning in for different reasons the one thing that I love about award shows is the unpredictability so.

Whether it's a surprise reaction or somebody showing up that we didn't think was going to show up 1 2 3 Ted lasso is the most nominated comedy but it has a tough matchup against Golden Globe winner the bear this is a terrible idea as well as Abbot Elementary welcome back dorks there's serious competition in the best dramatic.

Actress category from Sarah snook from succession Carrie Russell in the Diplomat and Elizabeth Moss in the handmaid's tail bringing the funny lead actress in a comedy including Quinta Bronson from Abbott Elementary Jenna Ortega from Wednesday and Natasha Leon from Pokerface I take a map I pick a spot and I head there the EM is raising.

A glass to cast reunions from cheers and The Sopranos a tribute to iconic sitcom producer Norman Lear and for the first time Anthony Anderson hosts so I can check that off my bucket list with an all African-American production team at the helm I thanks to Dana Griffin for that report the last Emmys drew the lowest audience in the history of the T.

Cast with 5.9 million viewers tonight the award show has direct competition for viewers as the Tampa Bay Bucks face off against the Philadelphia Eagles in a wild card playoff game not to mention coverage of the Iowa caucuses welcome back last night Miss Colorado Madison Marsh was crowned Miss America 2024 the 22-year-old is the first active US Air.

Force officer to compete in the pageant her accomplishments don't stop there she's also currently pursuing a master's degree in public policy policy at the Harvard Kennedy School Marsh wi $60,000 in tuition scholarships and the chance to travel the country as Miss America brand ambassador congratulations to her to sports now in day two of the.

Australian Open tennis Grand Slam now underway defending Champion Novak jokovic battled through his longest ever first round match beating an 18-year-old Croatian qualifier in four sets on the women's side coming off for US Open Victory Coco goof cruise through to to the second round Hall of Fame tennis coach and author Rick Macy joins us now.

Also a friend of the show Rick good to have you with us so let's start off on the men's side with jokovic he said yesterday's match was like playing myself in a mirror that's that's High Praise from The Joker what did you make of his performance can anyone stop him from getting an 11th title at the Australian Open well first off I think.

This guy has a lot of potential Joe I don't know what you think but no he's a he's the ultimate Sportsman I love how I complimented the 18-year-old it's a first Grand Slam it's a little tricky but at the end of the day at the end of the day he got the W you know you got to remember if we back the truck up this guy has 24 Grand Slams 10 Australian.

Okay seven Wimbleton four US Open Three French 98 singles titles and he's been number one 407 weeks in 13 years 83% winning percentage so he is the guy to beat but uh once he gets into these tournaments three out of five that's definitely his calling he is the billion dooll tennis player and I just coar a book okay with Dr nier Harvard graduate.

Okay billion doll mine but he is the impit of mental strength if anyone can beat him who do you think it is um well you can lose anybody anytime but it's probably going to be alcarez or CER uh Yanik CER the Italian Stallion he's in the other he's in his draw so they could meet in the semis alcarez he's on the other half so CER is the guy.

Because he's beaten him before and if you've been there done that that gives you a lot of confidence all right on the women's side a little more comfortable in the first round for American hopeful Coco go how impressed were you were you by her game can she do it again can she win another grand slam here uh she definitely can do it again she's been on.

Fire since the summer she's won 30 out of 34 matches she has a lot of confidence you know she's a little nervous in the first round like everybody but remember she's 19 years old and that's what people forget about her okay she has a tough draw a lot of tough matches but she can do it because she's an Olympic sprinter with a racket.

In her hand if she hits a bad shot she has enough speed to get there and produce quality off the quality I forgot that too she's 19 years old it's incredible what she's accomplished already so Rick we've talked about some of the big names in the tournament is there anyone else here keeping an eye on watching out for someone who might be.

Ready to step up into the spotlight here yeah well it's interesting Sophia Kennan uh who I actually coach the scariest little creature I ever coached at age seven she actually plays eega swch in the first round uh eega is the clear favorite but Sophia has a shot and then the defending Champion Sabal Linka she won it last year she's dangerous and.

You also got to look at raka she had about 455 Aces last year she's definitely a contender so those are the ones to definitely keep an eye on it amazes me when you say you've been coaching someone since they were seven years old I mean what does that look like and just what is that say about their their ability at such a young.

Age well Kenan just like I saw the Williams Sister they kind of had that mental box checked it was different but Sophia I had a lot younger you know and she had that already checked she could just plug in and when you already have the mental part and you can get that later because the brain it reasons later on in life you know Serena didn't have.

That but it was amazing I mean she was locked and loaded and ready to launch and I even said at age seven this little girl is going to win a grand slam someday and she did win the Australian two years ago wow incredible I still don't have that checked all right Rick Macy good to see you thanks so much for joining us this morning we appreciate.

Having you on good to see you Joe all right that's going to do it for this hour of Morning News Now the news continues right now good Monday morning I'm Joe frier Savannah is On Assignment developing right now on morning news now we are tracking some lifethreatening winter.

Weather millions of Americans are digging out and bundling up with Subzero temps enveloping much of the country the seemingly endless spats of snow kneecapping everything from football to America's roads and airports this morning what you can expect where you live as you head out the door and that record-breaking cold is bearing down on.

Battleground Iowa today the GOP Presidential contenders making one la last ditch appeal the voters ahead of tonight's caucuses we've got the final polling numbers in just a moment we've now seen a 100 days in the Middle East of War as Israel's war against Hamas rages on how those affected are marking this Grim mil Stone and the protests.

Flaring across the globe calling for an immediate ceasefire and later in the hour we are flipping the script with the Emmy award-winning filmmaker Rudy Valdez his new Disney Plus St you series will have you singing your heart out for one inspirational choir excited to bring you that conversation we're going to begin this hour of course with the severe.

Winter weather that is gripping the nation several states are already reporting record low temperatures and those temps are expected to stay below freezing over the next couple of days putting millions of people at risk NBC News correspondent Jesse K joins us from a Chile grand rapin Michigan with more on the winter blast Jesse hope you're.

Trying to kind of stay warm out there kind of is the key phrase there Joe good morning to you uh from what I hope is warmer conditions we are out in what is roughly 0 degree weather but it feels closer to -20 with the wind chill here in Grand Rapids Michigan it's been snowing every day since last Tuesday and take a look at some of the accumulation.

This is a fire Hydra you can see how much snow is piled on top here and frankly there may have been even more at some point because we've had winds gusting around and that's made visibility tricky as well unfortunately this series of winter storms appears to be responsible for at least four deaths Nationwide and we are expecting more.

Tough weather on the way this morning an Arctic blast is sweeping the country more than 100 million Americans waking up to bitter cold so when it's like this right and it's common it's just falling down it's fine it feels good but when you feel that wind it feels really I felt like my jaw was freezing it was very cold in.

Grand Rapids Michigan today is expected to be the seventh straight day of snow The Frigid punch also hitting Millions with bone chilling temperatures making the job even harder for First Responders in Oregon officials say a woman was killed in an RV fire after a tree fell on the vehicle First Responders finding some roads impassible and a fire hydrant.

Believed to be likely Frozen much of the country could dip 20 to 45° below average today including parts of Texas where cold weather has overwhelmed the power grid in recent years if you lose power you lose heat then you risk your pipes freezing so yeah we might have to look into installing a generator just in case for those braving the cold getting.

Around has been a mess hundreds of flights canceled because of the storms stranding passengers even amra also cancelling some trains and driving has been treacherous too with icy roads and blinding snow officials say this Colorado Highway was hit by an avalanche it's overall just been a terrible terrible winter and it.

Came out of nowhere and unfortunately the travel troubles are not in the past yet according to flight tracker Flight Aware already today alone more than 1,500 flights cancelled in connection with US airports Joe all right Jesse kers thank you so much that was the Prelude to bring in meteorologist Michelle Gman.

With a look at what's in store for the week ahead sounds like more cold frigid frigid frigid cold yeah we are looking at temperatures so well below normal like Jesse said 40 degrees above or below what is typical for this time of year it's dangerous and life-threatening in some uh spots we're also adding in winds we're looking at winds gusting 20.

30 mes per hour and it's making it feel much much colder than that so let's look at today's forecast we have a lot going on we have a lot going on this week too we have that bitter cold in the Northern Plains some some spots feeling like- 47 right now the record chill down through the South Central States or really chilly through Texas as well we have.

Snow falling throughout the Rockies we have snow falling throughout portions of the Tennessee Valley also an icy mix through the Mississippi Valley parts of the South Central States we have sleet some freezing rain we have rain falling in portions of the Florida Peninsula and then we're going to see this rain moving into or the snow moving into the Mid.

Atlantic and also the Northeast so a really busy day today tomorrow then as we near Wednesday we get the record low still lingering portions of the South Central States and notice this another storm system is coming on Shore we're looking at rain along the west coast of California next round of rain throughout the in Mountain West into the Rockies.

This is going to push off to the east so we're frigidly cold today Tuesday Wednesday we Montery a bit on Wednesday uh but then we're going to see another Arctic blast Thursday and Friday lake effect snow machine does continue on Wednesday we're looking at feet of snow downwind of the Lakes because they're not frozen over yet Friday light snow.

Throughout portions of the Ohio Valley we can see some heavier snow into the Northeast this is still to be determined we're going to watch this closely over the next several days a new Arctic air mass bringing that frigid air once again reinforcing that a frigid blast in place and then once again we're looking at a wet soggy West Coast with some rain.

Falling along the west coast you see those brighter colors the Reds the oranges the yellows in portions of California that's where we're going to see the heavy rain falling sunny and Mild let's end it there on Friday in portions of the Southwest but it's all about the cold today it's also about the snow we're looking at a 105 million.

People under dangerously cold alerts from the Northern Plains down through the South Central States into the Ohio Valley we're looking at windchill warnings windchill Watchers windshield advisories and this is why we're looking at temperatures that feel like 47 below zero in my not that is so hard to wrap your head around let alone stand out in.

It so you could get frostbite within 5 10 minutes of Exposed Skin in that type of air we're looking at duth feeling like – 37 it feels like -3 in Little Rock and it feels like minus8 in Fort Worth then as we go through throughout the rest of today we're looking at temperatures still staying frigid staying frigid tomorrow as well just a.

Few spots Chicago minus one today that's the air temperature you factor in the winds it's going to feel colder than that Memphis so cold too temperatures in the teens on Monday 20 on Tuesday still below freezing as we get towards Wednesday and even Atlanta we're going to be pretty chilly as we go throughout Tuesday and Wednesday so of course this.

Is a big story today a lot of eyes on Iowa and the caucus and we are certainly going to have frigid air in place they had that all weekend long we look at daytime highs minus1 into Mo it's going to feel likeus 33 once you factor in the wind so if you have to stand outside uh you want to cover up any Exposed Skin that you do have Mason City is feeling.

Like minus 32 as we go throughout the day that's the cold side the cold air is sitting the stage for some snow so we're looking at 96 million people impacted by some winter alerts we have snow falling in the Inner Mountain West we have snow falling in the Rockies we have snow falling in the Mississippi Valley the Tennessee Valley Mid-Atlantic into the.

Northeast so this is really tough and it's going to stay in place for a few days there better be a lot of Coco at those caucuses to warm people up who or a little little hot totty maybe why not is alled can you have a caucus with we're GNA find out all right Michelle thank you so much appreciate it now to the first stop on the road to the.

Republican Presidential nomination as we just mentioned the Iowa caucus is set to take place tonight in the final Iowa poll former president Donald Trump maintains a commanding lead with Nikki Haley edging out Ronda santis for second place NBC News Now anchor h Jackson takes a look at the state of the race from De Moy hey there good morning to.

You as we are now starting officially the 2024 nominating contest and listen it is not just the state of Iowa that is Frozen right now so is the state of this race at the very top because Donald Trump has dominated here for months and if he can pull out a big win tonight particularly if he can get above that 50% threshold he could send a real.

Message about his grip on the Republican party for the first Republican primary contest this morning a frigid start but no sign enthusiasms cooling off for supporters of former president Trump as he urges the crowd to caucus no matter what you can't sit home if you're sick as a dog you say darling I got to make it even if you.

Vote and then pass away it's worth it despite fewer visits to Iowa than any other Republican in the race Mr Trump here with the last minute campaign Blitz passing out pizza criticizing his competitors and more these caucuses are your personal chance to score the ultimate victory over all of the liars cheaters thugs perverts frauds our.

Latest NBC News poll with the De Moine register and media com shows Mr Trump 28 points ahead of the GOP pack some supporters braving below zero wind chills just for a chance to see him it's terrible I could feel my legs couldn't feel anything while the temperatures are not heating up in Iowa the race for second place is with former un.

Ambassador Nikki Haley leading Florida Governor Ron de santis for the first time here in a state he predicted just last month he would win what's your level of confidence you can beat Nikki Haley here oh we're going to do very well fact of the matter is I'm the only one that could possibly compete with Donald Trump in a Republican primary she.

Cannot win conservative or core voters Haley has drawn support from more independent and Democrat leaning caucus goers with nearly half of her backers saying they'd vote for President Biden over Donald Trump Haley positioning herself as the best bet to win in a general election the only way we're going to win the majority of Americans.

Is if we elect a new generational leader and leave the negativity and the baggage behind an argument that appeals to firsttime conservative caucus goers Cory and Kim Christensen it really is an electability argument for me and so I like that she's doing really well in New Hampshire so the momentum Factor yeah the momentum I think makes a difference.

For me now there is a warning sign for Nikki Haley in some some of this polling showing that only 9% of her backers are extremely enthusiastic about supporting her so that is one of the big questions We Have Tonight one of the big wild cards who can pull off that second place finish and carry some momentum into New Hampshire and then of course South.

Carolina second big question going back to former president Trump if he wins what does that margin look like how dominant could that be and then of course the third Wild Card factor it's always cold in Iowa in January we know that but this cold the these kinds of temperatures could be potentially historic will people stay home will they.

Turn out and if it is a lower turnout how will that affect the race so lots to watch tonight as we head into caucus night here in Iowa back to you all right hie Jackson thank you so much now in this week's Meet the Press Kristen Welker spoke with one of Iowa's Republican Senators Joanie erns Kristen asked whether erns plans to endorse.

Whichever candidate wins the 2024 Republican nomination even if it is former president Trump here's some of that conversation if Donald Trump wins tomorrow night would you endorse him Senator well again I am not going to say that I need to uh review the candidates.

Very carefully we'll see the margin I guess I am assuming that President Trump wins but it could be any one of these fantastic candidates so again we'll see who emerges I've made up my decision on who I will caucus for it is a private ballot and I would expect uh that will have a very good turnout but again Kristen I'm not going to tip my hand uh.

To who I might be supporting all right well has Donald Trump asked for your endorsement Senator I have had a request from just about all of the candidates so so again I'm not endorsing and uh and we'll keep those discussions private and you're not ruling out endorsing Donald Trump though if he wins.

Or if he wins the nomination you'll endorse the GOP Nomine I am not no I'm not ruling that out at all um but certainly we want to let Iowans make that decision uh through the weekend and tomorrow night they'll come together at 700 p.m. here in Iowa they'll get out in the snow and the cold weather and then we will go from there starting Tuesday.

Morning our thanks to Kristen Welker you can watch the full interview and lots more at meetthe press.com and tonight stay with NBC news for all your Iowa caucus coverage Kristen will be joined by hie Jackson and Tom yamas they'll have live coverage and Analysis all night long starting at 700 p.m. Eastern right here on NBC news now the crisis in.

The Middle East is growing this morning after the US shot down a houthi missile aimed at one of its destroyers in the Red Sea the US and UK carried out air strikes against the militant group in Yemen last week all that comes as the war between Israel and Hamas reaches 100 days NBC's Chief foreign correspondent Richard Angel has all the.

Latest 100 days on and Israel is pressing ahead with its campaign to destroy Hamas and in the process is destroying much of the Gaza Strip Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that despite growing International criticism quote no one can stop us even as this war is now clearly spreading to other parts of the Middle.

East there was yet another attack overnight on American forces in the Red Sea Iranian backed houthi militants in Yemen firing a missile toward an American Destroyer it was shot down according to the Pentagon it's part of the widening war in the Middle East it's been 100 days since Hamas launched a surprise attack that Israel had once.

Dismissed as impossible and unimaginable you know the money overnight Hamas released a video of three hostages including Noah aramani who became a symbol of Hamas cruelty when she was kidnapped from a music festival and taken into Gaza on a motorcycle the Israeli government says at least 100 hostages are still alive in.

Gaza the fate of the youngest hostage cfir bibus and his family remain unclear cafir kidnapped along with his mother brother and father turns one this week want this to be over I want them back I want them back the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza have gone through 100 days of living hell since the Hamas Massacre around.

24,000 have been killed by Israeli strikes according to the health Ministry run by Hamas Israel says it takes great care to warn Palestinians before carrying out attacks and says Hamas uses civilians as human Shields gazin say since they can't leave the area even while it's under attack they are all by definition human Shields Dr n Al wahedi.

Is one of hundreds of thousands of gazans forced by Israeli troops to leave Northern Gaza for the South where people are overcrowded with barely enough food water and Medicine 100 day of suffering of a tragedy of a loss of feeling afraid negotiators say that a deal has been reached to allow some some medicine to enter Gaza both for the hostages and for.

Palestinian civilians all right Richard thank you so much let's bring in NBC News military analyst Colonel Jack Jacobs Colonel good to have you with us so so over the weekend the White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said the US had been speaking to Israel about transitioning to low intensity.

Operations in Gaza saying it was the quote right time after a 100 days after all the devastation we've seen is Israel close to achieving its objectives uh no it's not and as the uh concentration of civilians uh gets greater and greater in the South becomes much more difficult for Israel to conduct combat operations and a builtup.

Area uh with rubble all over the place and be specific about focusing on Hamas uh and not putting as many gazin in uh in danger there's another problem here two and that is after a 100 days now Israel has had to withdraw some of its troops for a couple of reasons one of them is that they are requiring rest and when you're in combat operations.

Continuously you like to rotate units through because they can't be in continuous combat for a long period of time second the large number of Israelis in uniform on active duty now greater than 300,000 at the beginning of the war has had a deleterious effect of than the Israeli economy which is already shrunk about.

2% in addition to that uh there were requirements to have defenses up on the border the with the of Southern Lebanon where Hezbollah is an enormous threat as a result of this the war is grinding much more slowly which means that it's going to take longer for Israel to achieve its objective if it ever will Joe when you look at Israel's military.

Strat straty right now how do you think the remaining hostages and efforts to try to free them are factoring into the military strategy well much more than it did at the beginning if we remember when the war started Netanyahu was didn't mention the hostages at all he said that were the IDF was going to go into Gaza and it was going to destroy.

Hamas as time went on and a great deal of public appropri inside Israel Rose to Focus attention on getting the hostages back Netanyahu started talking more about the hostages and as time goes on they'll be much more focused on trying to get the hostages out which puts a premium on negotiation on the role of the United States on the role of other.

Uh Arab countries in in the region including Egypt who has a great deal uh of impact on whether or not Gins can come into uh into Egypt into refugee camps but there aren't any uh the Border down there is closed Egypt has closed it and it doesn't look like they're going to open it up anytime soon the United States can have a big impact on.

Negotiating with Egypt and other countries in the region to make it easier to get the hostages back and make it easier for uh for Israel to complete its mission in short order rather than dragging it out Joe let's talk about some of these broader issues we are seeing in the region we saw the US shoot down a houthi missile headed toward an.

American destroyer in the Red Sea it was days after the US conducted those air strikes in Yemen are you concerned this operation is dragging the US deeper into conflict or is this just how you would expect to see America respond to what we've seen well the latter mostly uh don't forget that uh the hooti rebels Hamas hisbah these are proxies of Iran.

Iran does not want to get involved in a shooting more with the United States but they're perfectly happy to let their proxies uh shoot at Americans at International Shipping interests and let the Americans respond as we have by attacking the hoodi rebels inside Yemen uh this is liable if not likely to continue uh the the great likelihood is.

That the hooes in particular who are well armed and positioned in the Southern and E uh western part of uh part of Yemen will continue to hurt harass shipping uh down in the Gulf in The Straits of Hormuz and the Red Sea and the United States will continue to react what's interesting is that this latest missile attack the missile which.

Was shot down by uh by American planes uh whether or not the United States and when the United States and Great Britain uh who's been our Ally will then counter strike against uh houti Rebels inside Yemen but those attacks will continue and Iran will continue to encourage them to do so all right Colonel Jacobs as always appreciate your expertise thanks.

For joining us this morning you bet the search is continuing for two US Navy Seals who went missing off the coast of Somalia last week the pair were looking for illegal Goods when they vanish while attempting to board a small boat it comes as the US boosts its presence in the area to monitor those ongoing houthi attacks in the Red Sea NBC News.

Correspondent Molly Hunter joins us now with more on this Molly good morning so are we learning any new details about these two Navy Seals since they went missing last week Joe good morning to now the information we have this morning is that unbelievably search and rescue offs efforts excuse me remain underway this morning so two US defense officials.

Have told NBC News basically what happened was that a seal team was attempting to board a boat as you just mentioned suspected of carrying illicit Goods possibly weapons last week in waters off the coast of Somalia during a nighttime Mission when one of the seals flip slipped and fell overboard in Rough Waters now J the second seal then dove.

Into to help that is protocol attempting to rescue the first sailor but both disappeared into Dark Water as of this morning the US military says they're still searching for them by air by sea but at this time Joe their identities have not been made public Somali there is a lot going on right now in this part of the world a lot of people might be.

Wondering are there any connections here between the missing seals and what we were just discussing with Colonel Jacobs the ongoing hthy attacks nearby in the Red Sea exactly right and as you just discussed as we can see on the m map it is all in the same neighborhood the Gulf of Aiden is right off the coast of Yemen it leads right into the Red Sea on this.

Specific raid though us defense officials say there is no direct connection this Seal Team was not part of operation Prosperity Guardian what you guys were just talking about that is the International Coalition defending against the houthi attacks in the Red Sea and National Security Council coordinator Joe John Kirby yesterday.

Said this was a normal operation by the US military that has been going on for some time in an effort to stop the flow of weapons and supplies to Yemen where of course the houthi militant group is based Joe it is a very busy and active neighborhood Joe all right Molly Hunter thank you so much we're back with more Fallout from the Alaska Airlines midair.

Blowout this morning the Federal Aviation Administration says it's increasing oversight of Boeing's production line that starts with preliminary inspections of about 20 737 Max airplanes NBC News senior correspondent Tom Costello joins us with those details hey Tom good morning hey Joe so Boeing is very much in damage.

Control Airline confidence in Boeing Airline confidence and Boeing quality control has plummeted to underscore that point look what Alaska Airlines did over the weekend announcing it's going to send its own inspectors into Boeing plants to double check Boeing's work 10 days after a hole was blown out of the side of that Alaska Airlines.

Plane over Portland the accident has also punched a hole through Boeing's reputation with both passengers and Airlines that blown outd door plug now at the NTSB lab in Washington for analysis as a critical Boeing customer Alaska says it will now send its own inspectors to check the quality of Boeing's work Alaska writing in a.

Statement we will also enhance our own quality oversight of Alaska aircraft on the boing production line to validate work and quality that move comes after the FAA announced it will not approve the max 9 to fly again until it's confident the plane is safe in a statement at the FAA saying after reviewing boing's proposed inspection.

And maintenance instructions the FAA determined it needed additional Data before approving them this is a brand new aircraft it has just come off the line and it had significant problems and we believe there are other manufacturing problems uh as well this slightest black guy for Boeing comes 5 years after those two deadly Max 8 crashes overseas killed.

346 people the mexate grounded for two years there's no doubt that the confidence that Airlines have in Boeing at this time has been diminished as a result of this incident as well as previous incidents it's a cumulative effects that has been plaguing the 737 Max scrutiny also expanding to include Spirit Aros systems which manufacture.

The fuselage for Boe with that suspect door plug already installed Spirit Aeros systems has struggled with quality for years we're not going to point fingers there because yes it escaped their Factory but then it escaped ours too in a statement Spirit Aeros system says as a company we remain focused on the quality of each aircraft structure that.

Leaves our facility former Boeing whistleblower Ed Pearson who testified before Congress on the max 8 says he does not believe Boeing has addressed its core problems even if a supplier makes a mistake does something wrong um Boeing is supposed to catch it it's supposed to make sure that that doesn't happen the FAA says it will review the.

First 40 max door plug inspections before proceeding with the rest of the 171 ground appliance that means Joe United and Alaska must cancel hundreds of flights each day they're trying to use different planes when they can not to inconvenience customers but at this point there is no Clarity no timeline from when the max 9 might fly again it.

Really changed over the weekend I don't think the FAA is in any Rush wow all right Tom Castell thanks for that update appreciate it International headlines now North Korea claims it just completed another Hypersonic Glide missile test NBC News forign correspondent claudo lavanga has that and otherw world news claudo good.

Morning Good morning Joe that's right Kim jnun is on the move again and that Hypersonic Glide could soon become one of the fastest and most accurate weapons in the world now according to state run Korean Central news agency this is the fourth test of its kind by pongyang South Korea's joint Chief of Staff said the missile flew about 621 mies experts.

Say missiles like this with hypersonic Glide have the potential to fly at multiple speeds of sound making them nearly impossible to shoot down North Korea's first test was back in 2021 but according to South Korea's military This Test shows a big jump in North Korean technology now let's travel to Indonesia where Mount marapi is rumbling once.

Again the country's geological agency said the Indonesian volcano just erupted for the second time times in weeks second time in weeks the ministry of energy and mineral resources say the volcano began erupting at around 6:00 a.m. local time on Sunday which is about 600 p.m. Eastern standards for you in New York nearby houses vehicles and.

Evacuation tents were all covered in Ash the ministry warned residents and visitors not to go within nearly a 3 mile radius they also warned nearby communities to wear masks Mount marapi is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia erting a total of 11 times during the early 21st century and we end our travels back here or near me at the.

Vatican where Pope Francis is defending his historic decision to approve blessings for same-sex CES Pope Francis said during a televised interview last night those in the Catholic church that resist have jumped to quote ugly conclusions this comes just about a month after he first made the announcement sparking widespread debate.

Into the church Bishops in several countries are raising objections some even refusing to let their priests implement the new approval back to you an issue that continues to divide churches all right claudo thank you so much the NFL's Wild Card Weekend kicked off with some huge upsets some Subzero temps and four teams moving on with two.

More games later today NBC News contributing correspondent Kaye Hartung was on the sidelines for Saturday's Chiefs Dolphins game look at you Kaye you're moving I think you've unthought or thought I was worried about you you're good I'm good Joe I'm good I have regained feeling in my fingers and toes which I I have to admit I was worried.

About for a minute there but man it feels like the NFL script writers have been working overtime with these winter go home Stakes emotions have been running high as the temperatures have been at record lows but with two more games later today the playoffs are just starting to heat up a super Wildcard Weekend delivering.

The drw Detroit ending its three decades long playoff drought with a one-point win over the Rams yeah means a lot we uh just broke a streak that's been going on for 30 years this after the Packers pulled off a huge upset in Dallas reigning in the Cowboys League leading offense holding them to just 16 points.

Until late in the fourth this is U one of my most surprises since I've been involved in sport period on Saturday in the AFC a frigid face off between the Dolphins and the Chiefs conditions in Kansas City a numbing -4° taking Miami out of its element the temp's taking a toll on Chief's head coach Andy Reid I got the.

Answer to the question everybody's wondering yes he does know his mustache has been frozen the chills spreading throughout Arrowhead with even the drinks frozen solid and fans in the stands feeling negative 22 including the most famous member of Chief's Kingdom looks like a tailor video along with Mama Kelsey Taylor Swift cheering on.

Boyfriend Travis the famous couple leaving together after Kansas City's win at home their 26 to7 Victory keeps the Chiefs surfing toward the Super Bowl the atmosphere here was sou yeah that's the Chiefs Kingdom I mean it it's -3 whatever it is out here and there's not an empty seat in the stands in Houston Browns quarterback Joe flacko threw not.

One but two pick sixes in the third quarter the Texans advancing with a 45 to4 win 22-year-old CJ strad becom the youngest quarterback to win a playoff game clearly a big factor over the weekend how about the two games today could we see any more Frozen mustaches well sea mcder doesn't have a mustache so at least not not the head.

Coach of the Buffalo Bills but you know there were blizzard conditions in Buffalo that buried High Mark Stadium over the weekend and and forced them to make the decision to push the game to today and yet more snow is expected as the Bills take the field against the Steelers as New York's Governor put it I'm not saying it's going to be pleasant.

But conditions won't be life-threatening good to know and in Tampa Bay the Bucks and the Eagles could see some rain showers so the concept of survive in advance is taking on a whole new meaning Joe no kidding all right Kaye glad to see you're doing well thanks for joining us this morning Martin Luther King Jr's 95th birthday today with a story about.

Service in the most unique way an Alabama couple started a donation l Restaurant to help those in need NBC News correspondent blae Alexander takes us there well guys we're here in the king historic district in Atlanta this really is the heart of the King Day celebration but of course his legacy is wide reaching and includes a small town.

Called brutin Alabama that's where we found one popular restaurant that's keeping Dr King's Legacy of service alive every day even before the doors open the energy at Drexel and honeybees is buzzing morning good morning here in brutin Alabama it's one of the hottest lunch spots in town but what you won't.

See menus prices or a single dollar exchanging hands this restaurant operates on donations only their motto is simple we feed the need I just wanted to do something to show people that money does not does not make the world go around it's the brainchild of Lisa McMillan and her husband Freddy together they're serving up hot meals every.

Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday from 11: to 1: p.m. a small town in Southern Alabama Bruin's population barely tops 5,000 countywide more than 177% of people are food insecure Lisa has spent much of her life trying to change that for more than a decade she drove door too delivering meals over 100 a day a lot of went to elderly people who were.

Struggling everybody should have a right to be able to go in a restaurant and have a meal and not worry about paying she shared her dream with Freddy and the two were all in together they took half of their retirement fund to bring Drexel and honeybees to life so when you first told your friends and family about this they thought we were crazy people were.

Telling us how you going to how y'all going to open up a restaurant and people don't pay when the ones that's charging people going out of business 6 years later this is the daily lunch rush they even had to recruit a little help so if you standing back here for two hours you getting tired that's just a fraction of their work Lisa does all.

The shopping how do you all decide what's on the menu that depends on what's on sale at the grocery store okay then comes the cooking every meal is homemade cuz this is hard work oh God it's hard work but that work comes from a personal place that's because years ago Lisa was in the very same position I was pregnant and uh no food when.

Somebody was barbecuing and um I smelled it and I just started crying because I I didn't I didn't have anything to eat and I just want I don't want anybody to go through that that's why she pours her heart out here today Drexel and honeybees gets an annual Grant to help keep doors open but the bulk of the support comes from the kindness of.

Strangers a lot of people come here to share a story believe it or not to a hope we have a bunch of people that normally wouldn't socialize with each other and now they're friends and her customers feel it too the meal is just like the extra that's right donation is the big part that's right the media the food is great it's good every day the.

Food is good here but the real heart of the place Lisa says is the donation box tell me about these partitions here okay the partitions were put up here to make sure everyone had their own little private place to come that privacy she says is the only thing that keeps some customers coming back we had to set it up where they could keep that Pride keep.

It intact and that's what we did some days she finds $1,000 inside others just a few coins but always the handwritten notes thank you uh because of you a family of four8 today we don't find a whole lot of money in there but we find everything we need in here to keep going and she plans to keep going for a.

Long time to come and every year I ask God give me 20 more years Lord 20 more 20 more years that's right 20 more years these doors will never Clos and Lisa and Freddy are committed to that they say the doors will never close at Drexel and honeybees in fact believe it or not they're still putting in their own money to help keep the.

Doors open they say that they'll use the rest of their retirement if they have to now of course that is such a special place another special aspect about it is the volunteers they say there are people who come from as far away as Indiana and Maine they say that they see the place on social media and they come down because they just want to be a part of.

Something special back to you back last night Oppenheimer was the big winner at the 29th annual Critics Choice Awards the Christopher Nolan movie took home eight trophies including best picture director and supporting actor while Barbie was right behind with six Awards including best comedy and best song the award of best actress was given to Emma.

Stone for the film poor things and best actor awarded to Paul Giamatti from the holdovers in the TV categories the bear succession and beef all won several Awards you might see the same thing happen tonight at the EMS all right it has been 20 years since Mean Girls first made its way onto the big screen and now a musical rendition of the classic Story.

By Tina Fay is proving to be box office gold again here's NBC news entertainment correspondent Khloe Moss hey there Mean Girls was Queen Bee at the box office this weekend dominating theaters across the country and while some movie goers might have been surprised to hear Regina George sing the success of the new film is.

Showing that many are changing their tune about movie musicals dance from the new Mean Girls to the fresh Take On The Color Purple to Timothy shalom's reimagined world of Pure Imagination in Wonka movie musicals are having a comeback and hitting all the right notes.

With viewers get in loser over the weekend Mean Girls dominating at the domestic box office raking in an estimated 28 million we've had a movie then we had a Broadway musical now we have a movie with music the new film and adaptation of the Broadway show based on Tina fe's 2004 cult classic it definitely doesn't feel like a filmed.

Broadway show it's very uh it's very like music video style shooting it's very feels very fresh Wonka a prequel to The Original 1971 film also seen green now grossing more than half a billion dollars worldwide while the new musical version of The Color Purple produced by Oprah and Steven Spielberg had the largest Christmas Day opening for a film.

Since 2009 for years similar films have seemingly Fallen flat at the box office including Spielberg's rendition of Westside Story in 2021 all the more reason why some studios appear to downplay the musical Factor trailers for Mean Girls in Wonka largely stripped of any new music what now me to refresh your memory oh I don't think I want to.

Hear that I think there's this idea in Hollywood that movie musicals if a film is labeled as such won't have as much box office potential and while the unexpected song and dance at theaters might hit a sour note with some it was this close of walking out of the theater so many times many in Hollywood now seem to be.

Taking a page from the wildly successful Barbie Barbie introduced a lot of people to singing and dancing you can see that movies and music are a match made in heaven as the song's on screen make movie Magic the box office numbers show that there is a large group of people who.

Enjoy singing and dancing in the theater just look at the enormous success of Taylor Swift and Beyonce's concert films and of course the billion dooll success of Barbie and now with Oscar nominations just one week away the true test is going to be which if any of these are in the running for an Academy Award back to you all right Chloe thank you so much.

Now to our series flipping the script featuring people on air on screen and behind the scenes shining a spotlight on diversity enter Rudy Valdez the two-time Emmy award-winning filmmaker has become known in the film world for his dedication to telling powerful diverse stories aldez Rose to prominence for his work on the HBO docu series the sentence.

Which examined the impact of mandatory minimum sentences through his sisters 15-year sentence he also directed the documentary Carlos about the life of legendary guitarist Carlos Santana and now his newest project is taking him back to his home state of Michigan choir which is set to debut on Disney plus later this month follows the Detroit.

Youth choir after its appearance on America's Got Talent this morning we are lucky enough to be joined in Studio by Rudy Valdez thank you for being here so we're going to be very clear this is a movie with music in it it has some music in it and that's and that's pretty good talk to me about choir what it's about and why you wanted to tell this story.

Well it's a six-part series about the Detroit youth choir and I think one of the big reasons I wanted to tell this story is to be able to come back to my home state and tell a story about Detroit that you know often times in in the media gets kind of a bad rap and I I wanted to be a part of the story because I wanted to come in and really tell a.

Different version of what it means to to grow up in Detroit I'm not from there but I have many people that I know that live there and and have uh had wonderful lives coming from there and I'm like there's always another version of that story and I wanted the kids to be emblematic of Detroit and let them share with you what it's like to be from there.

It seems to be a thread to the work you do is telling stories about communities where often maybe stories aren't told about them or the stories that are told don't really tell the full story why is that so important I mean I think it's representation I think you know part of what's important about being a Storyteller and being a a Storyteller of.

Color is that you know we're finally able to coming and tell our versions of of what it like what it's like to grow up in this country and you know they don't always have to be Tales of Woe they don't always have to be these sort of Rags to Riches stories like we can just be great we can be great without an asterisk and I want to go out there and.

Tell these stories in that manner is there a moment from choir without giving too much away that just really stands out or a message you think that's really going to permeate I mean I think what's what's amazing about choir is you know many people know the Detroit youth choir from AGT and they see this snippet of the greatness that that they are but.

What we've really tried to do is really show that before AGT there was 23 years of buildup to that moment there was a lot of work a lot of dedication a lot of love and it's and it shows you what happens when you believe in people when you put time into kids and when you you really have a passion like you can really make a difference let's talk.

About the sentence it is about mandatory minimum sentences but it's also about your sister I'm guessing that maybe wasn't an easy story to tell but why was it so important for you to I mean it was important to tell because again I think that you could look at that story and and it could be again A Tale of Woe a t of like here's another thing that's.

Happening to community of color and we can really dwell on on what that means or you know you can go in and tell that story and and share it in a way that is filled with agency and hope and resilience and show that version of what it means to be a part of of this Criminal Justice System you know which which always you know seems be stories.

Of tearing us down but this was one of building up Carlos Santana you got to I mean how closely did you work with him during this project what was that like I mean it was amazing I got to work very closely with with Carlos and you know just to be able to sit there and speak with a legend like him about his memories his life and.

And and all the things that he's he's been through but then also get to look at this you know 50 60 years of archive looking at Woodstock looking at all these things and having the challenge of encapsulating that into a single film it was dream come true I mean a lot of stories have been told about Carlos Santana so why did you want to tell a.

Version I think you know he was somebody who inspired me uh when I was younger you know somebody who looked like me who was refused to be boxed in to say you know I have to play Mariachi music or I have to do this I after to do that he really was a Trailblazer and he was somebody that I looked at especially as a young Latino Storyteller was like what.

Kind of stories can I tell and he reminded me that I didn't have to be limited by that that I could tell anything and I wanted to do that so you didn't have to be box in either all right Rudy thank you so much for joining us this morning we really do appreciate your time and a reminder to folks choir it is out on January 31st on Disney plus.

Make sure to check it out that is going to do it for this hour of morning news now but please stay with us the news continues right now thanks for watching stay updated about breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or follow us on social media

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