Morning News NOW Beefy Broadcast – Feb. 12

right now on morning news now playing defense the White House and allies are blasting a special Council report that questioned President Biden's age and mental Fitness meanwhile former president Trump is under Fire for suggesting he'd encourage Russia to attack us allies if they haven't paid.

Their fair share to support NATO no I would not protect you in fact I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want you got to pay we have reaction from Washington also this morning a shooting at one of the most famous mega churches in the world the gunfire broke out in between services at Joel ostein Lakewood Church in Houston.

What investigators are now saying about the shooter and the 5-year-old boy who was with her plus Israeli forces say they rescued two hostages taken by Hamas who were being held in the city of Rafa the news comes as Palestinian Health officials say Israeli strikes have killed dozens of Palestinians in Rafa including women and children what we've.

Learned about the rescue the strikes and the progress on a possible deal to free the remaining hostages and A League of Their Own for the second year in a row and the third time in five years the Kansas City Chiefs are your Super Bowl champions we've got a look at last night's overtime Thriller that was one for the record.

Books good morning if you are a little tired this morning I am right there with you I was of course up to watch that I'm Savannah sers Joe is On Assignment this morning so you're with me we're going to get started this morning at the White House still on offense following that bombshell report on President Biden's handling of classified materials by.

Special counsel Robert Herr this morning the president's allies are defending the commanderin-chief after that special counsel questioned his memory but stopped short of charging him for mishandling classified documents his likely Republican rival Donald Trump has created a firestorm of his own and it even has some members of his own party.

Trying to distance themselves from him after remarks he made at a campaign event in South Carolina over the weekend Trump appeared to suggest that the US would not defend NATO countries that did not contribute enough to the alliance take a listen to what he said well Sarah if we don't pay and we're attacked by Russia will you.

Protect us I said you didn't pay you're delinquent he said yes let's say that happened no I would not protect you in fact I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want you got to pay you got to pay your bills NBC News White House correspondent Ali Rafa joins us now Ally good morning so walk us through some of the weekend.

Reaction we've seen to the special council's report on President Biden what it said about his memory and then tell us how it's impacting his campaign yes saah well we really saw a full court press launched by the Biden team and Democratic allies over the weekend coming to the president's defense in the aftermath of that special.

Counsel report and those scathing details about his struggles with memories that the president denies we saw several people trying to discredit the special counsel saying that he's not a doctor and because of that doesn't have a right to be giving any sort of cognitive analysis we also saw the White House Press team put out a memo.

Circulating a memo that quoted Republicans in the past complimenting the president mental Fitness uh we uh saw on Meet the Press yesterday uh DHS secretary alahandra mayorcas as well as Biden campaign coacher Mitch Landrew come to the president's defense listen to that here the most difficult part about a.

Meeting with President Biden is preparing for it because he is sharp intensely probing and detail oriented and focused I'm telling you this guy's tough he's smart he's on his game and a secretary May Yorker said a minute ago when you go on to brief the president you got to you better have your big boy pants on and and this kind of sense that.

He's not ready for this job is just a bucket of BS that's so deep your boots will get stuck in it and Savannah the Biden team knows that the age issue isn't something they can obviously wish away so over the next nine months until election day they plan to have a similar uh instances that we saw on the Sunday shows yesterday with.

Having Biden allies come out and talk about their personal interactions with the president trying to restore any lost confidence in his ability to serve a second term Savannah allly we're also seeing a mixed response by Republicans of course the former president's own party over those controversial comments that he made over the weekend about NATO.

And Russia how are those remarks being received tell us what we're hearing from within the Republican party and and from the former president's allies yeah those comments really ignited a firestorm of reaction over the weekend uh we saw former Trump allies and former 2024 presidential candidate Chris Christie come out and say that.

This is why for a long time he has said that Trump is unfit to be president of the United States Mr Trump's lone GOP rival Nikki Haley slammed those comments uh saying that the last thing we ever want to do is side with Russia but Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio actually rushed to the former president's defense saying that every.

President at some point in some way has complained about other countries in NATO not doing enough and Trump is just the first one to express it in these terms but these remarks uh prompted notably a response from the chief of NATO who said that the president the former president's comments put European and American soldiers at an increased risk.

Savannah and Ally while we have you I do want to ask you about the health of Defense secretary Lloyd Austin so on Sunday he was hospitalized again so of course the last time this happened Austin had failed to immediately notify the white house as well as the public that was when he was being treated for prostate cancer and became quite the.

Controversy for him what do we know about his condition this time why is he hospitalized and how's he doing yeah well the Pentagon says that the defense secretary is back at Walter Reed Medical Center in the critical care unit this morning uh because of a quote emergent bladder issue officials are confirming that his duties have been.

Transfer to Deputy uh defense secretary Kathleen Hicks the Pentagon saying that the White House in Congress were notified within hours of his his admittance to the hospital uh and of course unlike as you mentioned his previous Hospital St so this is obviously a very different approach here uh and Austin's doctors say that these.

Latest complications are not expected to impact what they anticipate to be a full recovery from his original cancer diagnosis his prostate cancer diagnosis but they are not sure how long he will remain hospitalized the Pentagon though vowing to continue updating the public as he remains there Savannah all right Ali Rafa thank you very much well.

Turning now to Houston where a child is in critical condition after a shooting at the church of Pastor Joel OST officials say a woman entered Lakewood Church yesterday in between services with a long rifle and began shooting the woman threatened that she had a bomb before two off-duty officers open fire killing her the suspect was accompanied.

By a young child who is now critically injured after being shot police are still searching for a motive as to why the woman may have wanted to attack the church well the father of one of five US Marines who was killed in a helicopter crash in a remote part of Southern California last week is demanding answers about why the soldiers were.

Flying during a significant weather event NBC news's priia sh there has more he just always wanted to be a marine and he's very proud to be a marine Gregory Davis is struggling to come to terms with the loss of his son 21-year-old lance corporal Donovan Davis he is probably one of the most most softspoken kindest gentlest people I've.

Ever met Lance corporal Davis was one of five Young Marines all between the ages of 21 and 28 who lost their lives when the helicopter they were flying from Nevada to California crashed into a forest during one of Southern California's most intense rainstorms in years it's been probably pretty much uh the week every parent dreads having now.

Davis who had a 25-year career as the Navy pilot himself is demanding answers from the Department of Defense about why his son was flying that day I've flown that route many times I was just pretty much in shock that after I'd heard the magnitude of the weather are you hoping that something could potentially come out of this investigation that might.

Change the way the Marine Corps makes their decisions yeah if they don't then these five marines died in vain a spokesperson for the third Marine airwing tells NBC News an investigation into the crash is ongoing military experts say leaders are always calculating risks when making decisions in combat these Aviation units are uh in.

Bad weather they're low level they're at night they're choosing to fly during those conditions and they're facing enemy action so you simply have to get out this this you know envelope and train to what you're going to face this time Davis says the process failed and now he's struggling to cope with the loss of his beloved Son he was a patriot.

He was selfless he loved flying he loved doing uh being in the Marine Corp and I guess he died doing what he really loved doing trying to make sense of his son's sacrifice Prius Shri NBC News well a new storm system is threatening millions in the Southeast with heavy rain damaging winds and hail today we've got Michelle Gman here on.

Set with the latest forecast hi Michelle good morning hi there yeah we are looking at all sorts of stuff with this storm another another week another storm we're looking at that warm side that you just mentioned with severe weather threat also the chance for really heavy rain flash flooding but on the cold side we're looking at the chance of some snow.

So a really warm weekend in the Northeast and in Atlantic things are changing though over the next 24 hours this is what radar looks like right now so most of the rain is in the Southeast and we're going to see this all throughout the day we're going to see the threat for severe storms all throughout the day here and really heavy.

Rain that's where you're seeing those brighter colors that's where we're seeing those downpours and that's why we're concerned about flash flooding even seeing a little purple from uh time to time and that's indicating that we might be seeing some hail with some storms so we do have flood alerts 18 million people under flood watches.

That's where you see the green also flash flood warnings we're going to see these throughout the day that means flooding is happening now or it's imminent because of all that Heavy Rain Over very saturated grounds then as we move a little bit further to the north we're going to see a transition to snow we're going to first start out as rain.

In parts of the Northeast New England it's going to transition to snow and it will bring some accumulating snow in spots so we have 30 million people under winter alerts throughout portions of the Midwest the Ohio Valley into the Northeast and also New England it looks like the bullseye of really heavy snow will be parts of New England and then.

The interior parts of the Northeast as well 30 million people impacted we have winter storm warnings as well that's where you see the pink and that's where we're going to see the heaviest amounts of snow so let's talk about the severe side first 10 million people at risk especially where you see this yellow so Albany Savannah Panama City Mobile under.

The gun for some strong storms we could see some hail a few tornadoes as well certainly we'll see some damaging winds and we will see some very heavy rain we're already seeing that where you see this hatched area that is the likeliest hood for some really strong storms lots of rain with it too it's all through portions of the southeast into the.

Mid-Atlantic back through portions of the Tennessee Valley again that Bullseye for really heavy rain is where you see those darker colors and then we're going to see locally up to 4 Ines of rain with those really heavy downpours flash FL risk we have a risk of flooding a risk of flash flooding especially where you see this blue so places like Charlotte.

Raleigh Columbia Augusta Athens could see some really heavy rain and could see some flooding rains so this is what it looks like we have that area of low pressure that's going to move up to the north and east it's sort of going to combine with a coastal low and that's where we're going to see that cold air pulled in and that that's where we're.

Going to see the threat for some snow it moves out quickly tomorrow but we will see a really tough commute for many in the Northeast also New England and some really Gusty uh winds up to four inches of rain as I mentioned uh as we go throughout today into tomorrow and here is the snow we're going to see locally up to a foot of snow in some spots some.

Models are saying a little bit a little bit more especially where you see that pink color so Boston Hartford uh looking at some really heavy snow but also North uh Western New Jersey you could see some really heavy snow and parts of Hudson Valley so there's lots of spots that could see some really accumulating snow uh New York City could see 3 to 5 inches.

We're going to watch this closely because we could even up those totals as we go throughout the afternoon uh hours with more models coming in wow okay I was seeing rain in my little app but it might be snow rain and then it's going to transition overnight and we're going to see some snow we could see some bursts of snow at times and it's going.

To stick so we are thinking right now 3 to five in oh good I'm so happy to hear that I thought maybe we were done for the season all right Michelle thanks so much well now to Super Bowl 58 which took a little while to get going but then ended with a bang Kansas City Chiefs fans are celebrating big this morning after the team defeated the San.

Francisco 49ers and an overtime Thriller that came down to the wire last night the second half was a nailbiter a back and forth Affair ending with the Chiefs taking home their second consecutive NFL championship and that makes them the first team to repeat as champions in nearly 20 years NBC News correspondent Kaylee hardung who had moved to Las.

Vegas essentially for us she is there this morning she has more Kaylee good morning so I mean this is really showing of course right why this is maybe the beginning of a dynasty here backtack Super Bowl champions first time since the Patriots just walk us through some of the major moments from this overtime Victory last.

Night yeah and sannah not just back to back but three in five years that's pretty incredible so this one like you said it started off slow was really a defensive battle in the first half the 49ers got out to an early lead a field goal and then it took a trick play that ended with Christian mcaffrey fresh off being named uh the offensive MVP of the.

League in the end zone and then and then the Chiefs caught fire as you know they will you let those guys stick around long enough this is bound to happen momes started jinning up some magic they'd been down 10 and then before you know it we're tied in the final minutes of the game going to overtime what more can a football fan ask for we got bonus.

Football in the Super Bowl Savannah that is only the second time it's happened in the history of the game you know the 49ers under these new playoff rules they elected to take the ball first could only get a field goal and then it was as if that storybook ending was predetermined right in front of us micle Hardman ending up in the end zone then.

That time for the Chiefs and that guy he still can't wipe the smile off his face he was just on the Today's Show he hasn't slept he says he blacked out when he caught that ball in the endzone not even fully recognizing the magnitude of the moment until Mahomes got up in his face and made sure he knew he just won the Super Bowl for him but listen to.

More here from Patrick Mahomes I can't even explain what what was going through my mind I was just extreme joy um didn't even know where to go um but it I mean just it's so excitement man I'm so proud of the team so proud of the guys and to battle to the very end I mean that's that was my cr r season I said it um and everybody.

Came together and we were able to get the win Savannah I I'm at I'm at a loss forward at this point like I said bonus football in the Super Bowl how cool is that it was a gift it truly was oh my gosh it really was and we're actually going to have mcole joining us soon shortly just uh 20 minutes or so over.

Here on our show we're so excited to talk to him um Kaylee so let's talk about just what it was like inside the stadium what fans thought so we have Mahomes named MVP Chiefs now had coach three super Super Bowl wins how excited were fans oh my gosh it it was absolutely electric I mean Savannah we've been.

Talking all week about how the energy was building in Las Vegas and it was everything that we expected in more inside Allegiance Stadium there were stars all over the place uh from Lady Gaga to Jimmy Kimmel Jay-Z Beyonce LeBron it it was incredible and then the fans my goodness the 49ers faithful heartbreak absolute devast a and.

Heartbreak for them by the end of this game but they turned out in droves but you could hear those Chiefs cheers throughout the night in a way that they are fully recognizing the magnitude of the moment and the greatness that they're experiencing I got to ask you about what you were just talking about some of the star power so obviously.

Taylor Swift winning in her rookie year as I like to keep saying and then we had the Usher halftime show brought these surprise gu out he was on roller blades which was very impressive to me tell us what else happened okay so the roller skates I have seen his Las Vegas residency show and that is an act that he started there it's pretty.

Incredible uh no one fell off the stage from as far as I could see but I was holding my breath Savannah it was an incredible show I mean you and I we grew up with Usher right his three decades long career this halftime show was somehow able to span he had all of the hits Alicia Keys seemingly came out of nowhere on the piano what a beautiful.

Duet that was and then of course as we expected Lil John ludicrous Germaine Dupri some disappointment there was no Justin Bieber but I think that would be the only note anyone has on the halftime show it was everything we hoped it would be a big shout out to the city of Atlanta his hometown who Usher really wanted to represent and uh yeah no no.

Notes on that one exactly um also so Beyonce made this announcement at the big game kind of part of a commercial she was in and then everybody's like wait this is a real thing tell us about that yeah so she released two songs from her very highly anticipated album and this followup to Renaissance during a Super.

Bowl commercial and with some help from social media you know this all happening while she's right there hanging out at the game with Jay-Z so uh that stole I think a little bit of of Usher Thunder perhaps especially on social media but you know the queen will be the queen let her go it's the night of the Super Bowl all the all the stars come out and all.

The big headlines get made so add it to the list there you go of course we saw the postgame celebration with Taylor joining Travis on the field yet again things we love to see Kaylee Hartung thank you so much I hope you get some rest I hope you get to sleep in your own bed soon we appreciate you all week thanks coming up after more than.

120 days in captivity Israeli forces say they've rescued two hostages what we know about the mission that brought them home and the progress on a deal to free the remaining hostages stay with us welcome back overnight Israeli Defense Forces say they rescued two hostages.

That were abducted during the October 7th attack according to a statement from the IDF 60-year-old Fernando marman and 70-year-old Lewis har were found during an overnight rescue operation in Rafa the rescue comes as Israeli military forces continue their mission into Rafa over 1 million gazin are living in that city as a result of evacuations from the.

North there's now growing international calls for prime minister Netanyahu to stop attacks on Gaza in order to protect civilian lives NBC News foreign correspondent Molly Hunter joins us now from Jer Jerusalem with the details here Molly good morning so sounds like a pretty major breakthrough here for the IDF being able to rescue two hostages.

Tell us what we're learning about them and the efforts to free them have we heard anything from their families sah that's right one of the few successful Rescue Stories We have heard from the military and they are releasing details of about that daring operation so what we know at 1:49 a.m. overnight Israeli troops broke into a building in.

Rafa and Savannah as you described Rafa is the Southernmost city in the Gaza Strip as you say 1.4 million Palestinians have been told to go there for the safety uh of the civilian population by Israel so really crowded area and a minute later Israeli air strikes provided cover for those troops now Gaz and health official Savannah.

Said amid that rescue and amid that heavy wave of air strikes dozens Palestinians died now what we know about the two Israeli hostages both older men were flown by a helicopter to a hospital in Tel Aviv where they are in good condition according to the military they have reunited with their family Savannah and we do actually have a very short.

Comment from the niece of one of them let's play that and I'll talk to you on the back end it was very emotional to see them to hug them to feel them H it feels almost unreal all the families won't stop till all the 134 hot JS will be free we will fight for the their freedom we will do everything we can so this of of this H.

War crime will end Savannah very very good news and you can see and you can hear the relief uh in her voice that was the ne niece excuse me of Fernando Maron one of the two hostages rescued overnight by the Israeli military absolutely Molly meanwhile a senior official tells NBC news that major progress on a deal to.

Free the remaining hostages in Gaza could come as early as this week this comes after a call yesterday between President Biden and prime minister Netanyahu where do things stand on this potential deal that's right so that it may be nearing kind of that closing deal stage but gaps remain we do not know how big.

Or how significant those gaps are but interestingly Savannah we have some new reporting from our colleagues in Washington DC about kind of the growing frustration in the US Administration that they have not been able to get prime minister Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire and the new reporting says that Biden has really sharply criticized.

Netanyahu in private three people in at least three different instances tell NBC news that Biden has actually called the Israeli Prime Minister a quote a-hole and that Netanyahu wants the war to keep going in order to stay in power we are watching the flurry of diplomatic activity we know the CIA director is heading to Cairo so we be keeping a very.

Close eye to see if those deal negotiations are actually indeed closing in Savannah Molly this is of course going on as I mentioned before as there is this operation underway in Rafa Netanyahu has called for an evacuation from the city and Israeli forces continue to advance what is the humanitarian situation at this point for.

Civilians there of course were so many people had evacuated to and what are we hearing from the White House on this particular Point that's right Savannah and we've already talked a little bit about this is a very small area in the southern gazen strip rammed up right against the Egyptian border quite frankly.

International organizations unra un organizations and other humanitarian organizations are being very clear that there is no other place for people to evacuate this is where 1.4 million Palestinian civilians already came down because they were told that it would be safe now the White House in their readout of the call from President Biden.

Uh to prime minister Netanyahu last night did say and this is from the White House readout it said the President also called for Urgent and specific steps to increase in uh and put consistency excuse me humanitarian assistance to innocent Palestinian civilians and he reaffirmed his view that a military operation in Rafa should not proceed.

Without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the more than one million people Sheltering there uh at least certainly what the US has not seen given that statement and certainly what has not been made public to us here uh in the country is any kind of executable plan to keep those 1.4 million civilians safe.

Savannah oh all right Molly Hunter stay safe thank you very much well just hours before the Super Bowl on Sunday senators were in session on capito hill to push forward a 95 billion foreign aid Bill the package that includes funds to Israel Ukraine and Taiwan overcame its latest procedural hurdle in the most positive sign yet that a foreign aid.

Bill will have the support needed to pass the chamber joining me now is NBC News Congressional correspondent Julie cirin Julie good morning so this passed with 67 votes yesterday what did we see in negotiations during a busy weekend for the Senate yeah good morning samanah pass with 18 Republicans joining almost all Democrats as a sign that this bill.

Has some positive chances to pass at the back end but it's going to take some time to get there because of those negotiations that you mentioned that happen over the weekend there's a lot of disagreement especially among Republicans toward sending that Aid you see on your screen to Ukraine that's really really important of course for.

Democrats and of course for Republican leadership but leader Schumer was on the floor uh making note of how rare this Sunday Super Bowl session was the first time this has ever happened in Senate history here's what he said I can't remember the last time the Senate was in session on Super Bowl Sunday but as I've said all week long.

We're going to keep working on this bill until the job is done the only right answer to this threat is for the Senate to face it down unflinchingly by passing the this bill as soon as we can so here's the thing it might take some time for them to actually pass this bill because you need a Time agreement.

From all 100 Senators to do anything quickly in the upper chamber without that agreement this could drag on until Wednesday that's when the final passage of this legislation could be but it could happen as soon as tonight you really don't know time will tell and Julie we know conservative Republicans are hesitant to send more Aid to Ukraine.

While the Border situation and fixes to immigration remain unresolved what are the remaining obstacles that the bill could face going forward that's one of the reasons this is taking a long time because they're trying to see if they can offer any amendments to adjust this bill to put some of those border security provisions.

In there especially to appease House Republicans who have drawn a red line essentially several months ago saying they will not accept any Aid to Ukraine without those border Security Solutions obviously as you and our viewers remember Republicans did reject a bipartisan compromise last week so it sounds like Aid to Ukraine and Israel.

And Taiwan will move separately here's what leader McConnell the top Republican in the senate had to say our partners don't have the luxury of pretending that the world's most dangerous aggressors or someone else's problem and neither do we so today it's.

No exaggeration to say that the eyes of the world are on the United States Senate pointed comments from McConnell of course directing those at those Hardline conservatives that don't want to send Aid overseas and certainly a group of senators and house members on both sides of the aisle who are attending that key Munich security.

Conference at the end of the week Savannah they don't want to go empty-handed all right Julie cirin thanks as always coming up less than 12 hours ago he made the game winning catch in the Super Bowl now Kanas City Chief's wide receiver micole Hardman Jr is joining us on morning news now to talk about the biggest catch of his life but.

First texting while judging the real life courtroom drama caught on camera as a judge sent hundreds of questionable texts while presiding over a murder trial what she is saying now stay with us welcome back in Oklahoma a district judge has stepped down just a year after being elected why well she admitted to.

Sending hundreds of Texts From the Bench during a murder trial NBC News correspondent Morgan chesky has the details it's the video evidence from a courtroom camera authorities say captures former judge Tracy sostrom on her phone mid- murder trial texting and scrolling social media there were some things that I did inappropriately that.

Admission coming Thursday after sostrom announced her resignation following an investigation accusing her of gross neglect of Duty and partiality in office a Judicial conduct complaint against sostrom States over the course of trial involving the death of a 2-year-old the newly elected judge texted her bayth more than 500 times mocking the physical.

Appearance of attorneys jurors and Witnesses I texted during a trial and that was inappropriate the content I am not agreeing to um because it doesn't matter but the complaint cites messages that allegedly shows sostrom was no longer impartial at one point sostrom calling a prosecutor gross and a horrible speaker while praising the.

Defense attorney texting her bayith can I clap for her and during testimony texting the state just couldn't accept that a mom could kill her kid so they went after the next person available adding can I please scream Liar Liar evidence sostrom still denies played a role during the trial um I didn't make up my mind even if I had it wouldn't.

Have mattered because I was not the FactFinder mid-trial comments went further solder Strom allegedly calling a testifying officer pretty saying she could look at him all day authorities tell NBC News the BFF is no longer a County employee meanwhile sostrom has agreed to never seek any state judicial position ever again Morgan chesky NBC.

News let's get you International headlines now thousands are taking to the streets in Pakistan to protest election results Claudia labanga joins us now from Rome with that and more hey Claudia good morning Comm saana well that's right supporters of the now jailed former prime minister.

Of Pakistan Imran Khan have blocked key highways to protest against alleged rigging of last week's parliamentary elections now K could not run in the election but candidates backed by him won more seats than the political parties who Ed him from Power nearly two years ago a government spokesman urged protesters to show Grace by accepting.

Defeat and asked them to move away from the highways now now to Finland where former prime minister Alexander St will become the next president after winning an election run off against ex- former prime minister Pekka havisto stub of the National Coalition party declared Victory Sunday night havisto congratulated St and shook his hand as.

They watch the results come in St will become the 13th president of Finland since the country's independence from the Russian Empire in 197 and we end up in Britain where for the first time since his cancer diagnosis King Charles III has made his first public comment the King on Saturday expressed his gratitude in a.

Statement thanking for all the messages of support he's received in recent days now Charles and his wife Camila were seen attending church in in the east of England on Saturday his first public outing since the diagnosis Buckingham Palace has not given any details of his condition order to say that it is not prostate cancer back to you s all right.

Claudia lavanga thank you so much well coming up it's the pop culture phenomenon in inside the Super Bowl from movie trailers to album announcements we're taking a look at who made the grade and who missed the mark in this year's Super Bowl commercials but first Super Bowl hero micole Hardman joins us on morning news now to talk about what.

It was like to make the game winning catch in the Super Bowl that's up next day with us we are back now with an up close look at the Kansas City Chiefs third Super Bowl championship in five years in a back and forth game that took every inch to decide a winner it came down to a.

Game winning touchdown in overtime to secure back-to-back titles for the Chiefs and I am thrilled now to welcome the now three-time Super Bowl champion micole Hardman who made that game winning T catch to get his third ring in overtime mcole thank you so much for joining us this morning first congratulations of course Super Bowl.

Champ yet again how you doing this morning have you had a fun night some amazing videos of y'all after party are coming out yeah I appreciate you thank you and yeah definitely Drake Knight the after party was was lit had some people come perform so definitely enjoyed that oh yeah it looked like a blast okay I want.

To hear everything about how this goes down so when there's 6 seconds left in overtime Chiefs are losing you're in the Huddle tell us about that moment I mean what was the play call did you know you were going to get the ball walk me through it all yeah so they uh they caught a personel.

And was crazy I didn't even know they called the personnel and T coach Reed just looking me dead in my eye like you going to go out there I'm like oh yeah I'm going go out there and um but the play was called Tom and Jerry and um it's like a like a two-way play either go to me or the running back and um so it's like a fake fake Jet and then just.

Come back out kind of like similar to the play we did um last year Super Bowl in Philly the one we scored off twice and um so did the fake jet came back out I seen a corner Bill I'm like well this is going to this is going to be my ball right here and I caught the ball blacked out for like 3 seconds and started celebrating so so when you say you.

Blacked out you realize you crossed into the end zone did you just not realize you won the game tell me about exactly what that blackout meant and then when Patrick was like hello um I don't know like I I remember everything like I knew that we won the game I knew um that it was a walk off but when I caught I guess just the the I.

Don't know just all the emotions and the magnitude of the moment just just got to me I guess and then finally I just see Pat run to me like you know you're a champion right I'm like oh yeah and started celebrate from there at halftime um it was it was a different situation right uh a tough first half for y'all I know that you just told our friends over.

At the Today Show that Travis was really the one that got you all focused in in the locker room at half time tell us a little bit about what he said and what the vibe was like at halftime yeah you know Trav he been very passionate you know the last um couple days and um just a lot of energy from him and definitely coming to the.

Halftime um I can't say exactly what he said but definitely he he said some things that that make you you know refocus up and and get that fire going and definitely want to go out there and run through a brick wall for for what he said so you know you got to be thankful for guys like that and guys that that passionate about the game and want to.

Win so bad and and guys like that you want to you want to play for and you want to do your best for it so everything he said got got everybody right and you know came out with the win I Know Travis after the game also said that you're one of his favorite teammates what's your relationship like with all the.

Guys I got a great relationship with everybody you know I'm I'm got to get along with everybody um I try to you know talk to everybody and and have a relationship a bond with him but you know me and TR we we we've been at it since 2019 my rookie year he kind of was the guy that you know took me under his wing and kind of taught me the game and.

I just learned from him and you know it's crazy that you can watch a tight end but he moved like a receiver and how smooth he really is you know he really can elevate your game and he's just a tremendous leader so guys like that lead by example and um definitely a guy that you'll follow especially in this league he been doing it for a long time.

Probably the best tight end to ever do it so um to learn from him to to grow with him and you know be his teammate this long is is is definitely special absolutely MCO Before I Let You Go last question for you you know you started the season on a different team with the Jets you end it making the game-winning catch in a Super Bowl can you sum up.

Kind of what this season's been like yeah definitely up and down you know like you said definitely signed with the Jets you know definely had a different Vision going into that and then when they didn't go that way just grateful the Kansas City uh was traded back for me to bring me back home to the team that drafted me.

And you know there was some up and downs as well with KC especially you know the last couple you know playoff games but you know now this game you know walk it off I think everything happened like it's supposed to so I'm definitely grateful for it they brought you home and you brought it home for them micole Hardman thank you so much.

Congratulations I know it's probably been a long night so we really appreciate you staying up and talking to us uh last night slash this morning for you and congratulations amazing to to watch appreciate it thank you so much awesome thanks well if you stayed up way too late watching that game you also would have seen some of those great.

Commercials well from Beyonce trying to break the internet to Mr T schooling us on his Sketchers they did not disappoint let's bring in Sally Hogs head a brand expert and author of several books including Fascinate how to make your brand impossible to resist Sally good morning so each 302 spot cost $7 million right so tell us who made the most of.

Their money last night yeah think about that $200,000 per second well I loved Dunkin Donuts and if I understand correctly I think you did too it was hilarious you know that's that's the kind of commercial that passes the drunk bar test where nobody's listening everybody's watching they're talking.

About it later um in the Super Bowl it's a totally different type of advertising real estate stand out or don't bother and that spot stood out it really did there was just so many people Tom Brady in it JLo saying you can stay Tom man it's just funny because I think also what I loved about it is it felt organic since we see Ben with Duncan all the.

Time it's like okay he really loves this to the point where he's going to do their Super Bowl ad um there are a few looks at some upcoming films you know just kind of Snippets of some of these trailers what movies are people going to be talking about you know the advertising a movie on the Super Bowl is a little bit different than a.

Traditional brand because getting people talking about it online in Social media when you went online and you looked at what people were discussing it really uh I think that the um the spots that were about movies were not nearly as impressive finally aliens interestingly enough made an appearance in quite a few of these ads really evident in the.

Squarespace ad that was actually directed by Martin squarey what was the main takeway there yeah wasn't me takeway there and how did it reflect the importance of kind of like messaging in these commercial commercials that spot had a great story great premise it was fun to watch beautifully directed of course by scori.

But what what really made it awesome was not just the way it was produced it was the fact that it was different in the Super Bowl different is better than better so that's a spot that we're going to be seeing over and over again all right there you go Sally hog head thank you so much for joining us thanks Savannah byebye let's date on even more.

Football headlines this morning Amazon will report ly stream its first ever playoff game next season CBC saan hanal joins us with that another news hey saan good morning Savannah good morning to you yes so Amazon has reportedly won the exclusive rights to stream one NFL playoff game next season on Prime video The Wall Street Journal says Amazon had.

Been offered a playoff game this season but past NBC Universal snag the rights for peacock in a deal valued at $110 million that game Drew 23 million viewers making it the most streamed us event ever the journal says Amazon had a clause as part of its deal to stream Thursday Night Football allowing it to claim next year's playoff game a crowd.

In San Francisco vandalizing and setting fire to AO self-driving car Saturday night the witness who shot this video you're seeing told Reuters people were celebrating the Lunar New Year by setting off fireworks someone jumped onto the hood of the car and broke the windshield while others spray painted graffiti whamos says a firework was.

Thrown inside the car which wasn't transporting any Riders police haven't said whether any arrests were made and Coco prices are at record highs as we head into Valentine's Day now that's a headache for Hershey which has warned about weaker profits this year cocoa Futures have doubled over the past year with bad weather in West Africa being.

Blamed for damaging crops hery CEO says given where prices are the company will use every tool it has to manage the business Savannah all right syvan hell thank you so much you got it Valentine's Day is Wednesday and love is in the air but before you start a new romance you might want to think about Finance in particular the sorts of financial red.

Flags that you should watch for in a potential partner so the roses are the only things that are in the red you feel me joining us now with more on this is Emily Irwin managing director of advice and planning for Wells Fargo Emily always great to have you with us thanks for being here so they might not be a topic that you really want to Broach.

Especially not on a first date at least not directly but when is it a good time to introduce this topic good morning Savannah it's great to be here yeah introducing the topic of finances into a relationship really can't come soon enough on some level we know that people would rather talk about religion politics even death before they.

Talk about money and so getting comfortable about it early and often is important first date material might be something like the expect ations of who's going to pay or what are you even doing on your first date as you get further into the relationship you want to start thinking about things like how are you going to commingle your assets.

If at all are you going to have any joint purchases made together even if it's something as benign as a vacation or a something as serious as signing a lease together and so you want to have conversations early often and in safe places where there's low tension and you have the ability to really have a transparent conversation wow even before.

De people would rather talk about death than money wow that's really saying something um our viewers may have just noticed this was already just up on our screen but tell us some of the top Financial red flags people should look out for absolutely well Financial secrecy is a big one you know if someone's not.

Sharing with you their spending habits their saving habits even their career goals their debt on their balance sheet that is a major red flag and it's not just a red flag because it could get you into financial trouble as their partner it's a red flag because it's a trigger for what else could they be hiding how honest are they going to be about big.

Things in their life um prioritizing needs over wants you know it's great to be able to make that Splurge it's not great to be able to make that Splurge if it means you can't pay your rent that month um ignoring debt is a big one so debt does not mean it's necessarily bad in many cases you've invested in yourself you're making a purchase it.

Might be a big one like a home however revolving debt the the constant inability to not pay your bills on time that's a big no no and then finally unattractive frugality this for me is the ultimate deal breaker if you're not going to be open to you know tipping the weight staff tipping the Uber Eats driver you know making that charitable.

Gift around the holiday season or volunteering your time you might want to Ste clear from that that's a really good point it can kind of go both ways here right so if somebody does see any of these things you've just mentioned that are these red flags they might they don't have to be I guess maybe I should say deal breakers.

If I suppose you can maybe talk it out I mean how should somebody approach that yeah the best way to approach it is to share your own money story you know what behaviors and what experiences either growing up or as an adult affected how you interact with money how do you personally feel about kind of the big buckets in your life the the saving.

The taking on debt how do you tie your financial behaviors to your own goals and then by sharing those inviting your partner to do the same that is a wonderful way to be able to start that conversation and then really just paying attention to those micro behaviors you know if you see someone saying something but they're constantly doing something.

Else you know you have to have the strength to be able to say hey this doesn't really line up for me what does this really mean for you is this making you uncomfortable because you want want to be able to dig into that in order to have a healthy relationship I am certainly not advocating in lie of chocolates and flowers to bring your W2.

And your network statement to your first but you have to be willing to go there there you go Emily Irwin as always great advice we appreciate you joining us thank you good to see you thanks coming up can they kick it yes they can from Aussie Osborne to Oasis we're digging into this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame indues and it's list for the record.

Books that is up next welcome back the Chiefs weren't the only team making home vict taking home Victory yesterday the 2024 puppy bull was positively adorable with Team Ruff taking home the trophy and preventing team fluff from a three Pat win as we mentioned on Friday the program encourages animal adoption by bringing.

Rescue pups from all over the country in a fastic three-hour game according to the Discovery Channel The Puppy Bowl has a 100% sex rate success rate meaning all the Furry Friends competing get adopted before it airs this year's MVP or most valuable pup was not Patrick mabon but a beautiful deaf Australian Shepherd mix named Moosh he scored two touchdowns.

Carrying the toys with no problem all the way to the ense we always love to see that all right well the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame just released its list of artist nominated for the 2024 class the likes of Mariah Carey share Mary J blig among the 15 nominees joining us down to break down the short list is of course entertainment journalist and pop.

Culture expert Brian balas or Brian always great to have you with us so tell us about some of the nominees we're seeing who are the big names good morning yeah 15 nominees 10 of them nominated for the first time let's take a look at some of the people as you mentioned Mary J blig Mariah KY one of them for the first time Sher for the.

First time Dave Matthews Band Eric uh B and and rakeim Foreigner First Time Peter Frampton James James addiction cool in the gang Lenny Kravitz Oasis Cheno Connor aie Osborne who actually was uh inducted as a member of Black Sabbath previously so this is his second time uh shade and A Tribe Called Quest now keep in mind only five to 7even of.

These people or groups usually get inducted or actually into the Hall of Fame and that takes a procedure here there's about a thousand members more than that actually of musicians members of the music Community historians that weigh in on things like their contribution to the their influ influence their impact their.

Contribution to the music world and community and obviously their longevity they have to have had their first commercial single released at least 25 years ago so that establishes that they're longtime you know historic members of this community but then the voters they have to agree 50% of them each nominee has to get at least 50% of.

The vote to then get voted in yeah so Brian tell us a little bit more you just just kind of broke down how this works um what exactly does it mean at this point for some of these artists when they get nominated so they had to have been like you said certain years that kind of thing like what is what are some of those.

Qualifications right well the 25y year rule like that basically proves that they've had Commercial Success that we still you know to be honest we have to know who they are 25 years after their first commercial release and those 1,000 plus artists and historians are going to think about what is their legacy have they had Commercial Success have they.

Had just fantastic music and how they impacted the greater music Community as a whole so Brian when will they actually announce the class of 2024 so we will find out in April and then they will televise a big ceremony it'll actually be streaming live on one of the streaming Platforms in the fall so of.

Course the Rock andol Hall of Fame in Cleveland is going to be the home of that and it's always a big party so it's gonna be interesting that we'll be able to live stream it for the first time who are you most excited about Brian oh wow okay wow well you know what I have to say growing up I was a foreign her kid I know I know don't don't doubt me but.

Also let me throw in Sher interestingly remember Sher was actually kind of offended that she had not been nominated a long time ago and said she didn't even want it anymore so it's interesting to see how those politics Will play into whether or not she actually gets enough votes to be voted in I'm looking and I'm curious to see how that ends up.

Absolutely all right Brian balazar I think we're also going to see you in our next hour we'll be chatting again everybody that's a little tease stick around for that appreciate it as always Brian see you in a little bit that's going to do it for this hour of morning new now stay with me though the news continues right.

now good Monday morning happy Monday after Super Bowl I'm Savannah sers Joe has the morning off right now on Morning News Now Hail to the Chiefs after a thriller of a game in Sin City overnight Kansas City is once again reveling in Super Bowl glory and yes of course CH Taylor Swift was quick to rush down to.

The sidelines to congratulate boyfriend Travis Kelsey we've got a full recap for you on this Monday morning from Usher slamming spectacle of a halftime performance to a huge surprise announcement from the queen her sth fiance we are also following a shooting this morning at Joel ost's Lakewood mega church in Houston yesterday that ended.

With two people injured including a child but we know this morning about the suspected shooter Who police say is now dead in Washington this morning the growing Fallout from that bombshell special counsel report that put President Biden's mental Fitness back into the national Spotlight how the White House is now working to assure.

Americans he is still right for the job plus former president Trump taking Heat this morning for comments he made on allowing Russia to potentially attack us NATO allies who will bring you the latest and we are wrapping the hour up back in the World of Sports with an NCAA Superstar who's got her eye on a history-making feat that'll land her in.

America's record books but we are going to get started this hour in Las Vegas where the Kansas City Chiefs are still in their Super Bowl era the Chiefs celebrating their second consecutive NFL Championship after pulling at an incredible overtime Victory against the San Francisco 49ers NBC News correspondent Kaye Hartung was at the.

Game last night and she takes us through some of the night's biggest moments hey there it's as if the chief's entire season was encapsulated in this one game it started off slow but in the end delivered unbelievable drama only the second time in the history of the Super Bowl that we got overtime bonus football in the Super Bowl doesn't get.

Any better in that as the chief Stars Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes prove why they are the NFL's next Dynasty the Kansas City Chiefs are champions again their overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers making them the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls in almost 20 years.

The chief's hardfought win over the ners a nailbiter to the very end San Francisco's defense dominating holding Kansas City down through the first half keeping them to just three points as tempers flared on the sideline he comes over to Andy he goes keep me in but in the second half some momes magic tied it up forcing just the second overtime in.

Super Bowl history the final play punctuating a clust Drive the moment catching wide receiver micole Hardman completely by surprise saying he actually blacked out during his game-winning catch I threw a touchdown to this dude at the end of the game and he looked at me I said and he had no idea I said dude we just won the Super.

Bowl and breaking the hearts of 49ers faithful who came into Sunday as the favorites just know that the Kansas City Chiefs are never underdogs just know that Chief's Kingdom celebrating its fourth Lombardi trophy including its most famous fan Taylor Swift who was seen hand in hand with Mama Kelsey and sealed the victory with a Super Bowl.

Kiss with boyfriend Travis Kelsey Swift arrived in Sin City just hours before kickoff but the pop star was ready to party throwing back a drink in the stands the energy on the field only amped up at halftime as Usher rolled onto the world's biggest stage his career.

Swanning spectacle bringing the heat featuring surprise guest rap royalty Lil John and ludicrous and a fan favorite slow jam with Alicia Keys but they were far from the only stars shining in Vegas LeBron James Lady Gaga Jay-Z and Beyonce all in attendance the queen bee even had a few surprises.

Of her own time for a surprise drop appearing in a Verizon Super Bowl commercial and dropping two new songs from her highly anticipated album Still it was the Chiefs who were over the moon you got to fight for your right this is a once in a-lifetime opportunity that I've been able to to go through three times now and man it's uh.

It gets sweeter and sweeter every time baby now with three Super Bowl wins in just five years Kansas City's Dynasty dreams are coming true and let's put that dynasty into perspective with Patrick Mahomes winning Super Bowl MVP he joins Tom Brady and Joe Montana as the only players to ever win that award three times and Patrick.

Mahomes is just 28 years old he has accomplished more in his six seasons as a starter than so many of the greats of the game accomplish in their entire careers and then there is coach Andy Reid winning his third Super Bowl there are only two coaches who've won more than him that's Bill bellich and Chuck null we are watching greatness in real.

Time back to you all right Kaylee thank you so much we've got entertainment journalists and pop culture expert Brian Bas are back with us to break down all the major celebrity moments of the Super Bowl Brian good morning okay so of course let's start with the halftime performance by Usher it was a Millennials dream concert really and I.

Can't get over the rollerblades so tell us who were some of the stars who joined him on stage and how did it really kind of like celebrate his whole career right it was a jam-packed party 13 minutes long but it it had everything really including many of his great friends and collaborators over the years including Alicia Keys which was a great.

To see in this really cool piano with red flowing Fabric and and then we had Lil John we had ludicrous her will I am Germaine depri um it was really of course the rollerblades moment was incredible marching bands uh show Girls a guy flying through the air it really had something for everyone and of course an.

Amazing list of hits caught up loving the club burn You Got It Bad it it was a party and of course let's be honest Usher has become expected uh for her known for taking his shirt off in concert he did that too the fact that they have these lights in the crowd that change in tandem with the show we've seen it before but it never fails to.

Dazzle us it was a really a great crowd pleaser I thought everyone really loved it and people that were there saying it was unlike any live performance they never SE before wow really cool I liked how it was kind of like a little Vegas theme at the beginning right to kind of fit where he was it was pretty cool okay now of course time to talk Beyonce so.

She announced act two of her Renaissance Era last night during her Verizon commercial I got to say I didn't fully get that that's what was going on at the time and then it was like oh wao this was real and it included two new tracks tell us about this roll out right it's so interesting you know the new thing for artist Taylor and Swift and Beyonce.

Among them is to leave hints and clues Easter eggs about what's coming we've seen Beyonce wearing a cowboy hat at a recent uh award show she G does this commercial for Verizon and she's trying to break the internet and there all these shout outs to Prior things that she's done and then Winks to things like her running for Beyonce of the United.

States um but then at the end she still hadn't broken the internet so she says okay let's drop the music and at that moment two singles were dropped on title later after the Super Bowl uh on all platforms one of them called Texas Holdem the other called 16 carriages these are two tracks on her album that's coming out March 29th that is a country.

Adjacent or country uh Fusion album which I think people are really excited about obviously these two singles are already charting iTunes and what what Beyonce says something people listen so I'm excited to see what happens next isn't that true it's always fun too when you see an artist with genres when they are as talented as somebody like Beyonce.

Is um okay let's talk about commercials uh other than Beyonce's Verizon when my favorite was JLo and Ben Affleck and actually it seems like a lot of people agreed that was sort of like they were winners on social media with this Dunkin Donuts ad by the way Al a lot of other people in there Matt Damon Tom Brady tell us about this commercial and part.

Of what I liked about it was kind of seeing a different set of their relationship right what did you think right I love it because it leans in on what started out as a meme you know Ben affle carry Dunkin Donuts and paparazzi photos here we have JLo recording a single and Ben Affleck in his full Boston accent now decides he's going to.

Start a music career and kind of crashes the recording session as the lead uh singer of The Dun Kings obviously it's a Dunkin Donut commercial and we have his friends that include we have Matt Damon over to the side sort of horrified There's Tom Brady um it's just let's go we have uh the dunk Jack harlo Fat Joe at the end so the song is terrible.

Obviously but it's one of the it combines the best of celebrity surprise the virality of the Dunkin Donuts meme with him and and just humor I think it's a great commercial and it is the one that people are talking about this morning oh my gosh I thought it was hilarious I was laughing so hard when she tells Tom Tom you can stay after she.

Tells bent to leave pretty funny and we talked about this Ben this is not going to happen we talked about this um all right now of course save my fave for last Taylor Swift I mean you I like how you're always like it's funny when you ask me about Taylor Swift because I could tell you everything so I am going to just make a few of my favorite points.

And then I'm going to hand it over to you Brian which was obviously this whole girl gang that she's got with her in the suite so you could tell us about that so fun then of course seeing her on the field then also now there's videos coming up from the Afterparty where the DJs the chain smokers are playing her songs they're playing you belong with me.

Travis is singing it to Taylor I mean it's just like it's like a Taylor Swift song right I mean first of all I feel like if you watch the whole game Taylor Swift was all of us at the end there was a shot of her biting her nails no matter what team you were on this was a nailbiter there was another cutaway while she that she was chugging a beer.

And I don't think she was aware of it there you see Blake Lively is I think that's ice spice over there to the left um it was you know interestingly she knows the cameras on her constantly but also just is her authentic self and you know people have talked about the Taylor Swift effect everyone was questioning what was going to happen in the last.

Literally the last 20 seconds of this game and it was kind of fun to see that jubilance and excitement and you of course we see the photos of everything that happened on the field you know this is this is just an unusual time in in this era of this generation of this romance that's happening and it's kind of fun to watch it happen I think it's.

Hilarious that people get so fired up about it it's just music and football it's okay no you know it's it's fun let's have some fun with it and I love that they're having fun with it could not agree more and obviously Taylor Swift had to win in her rookie season you know what I'm saying Brian that's not no losing great to see you as always.

Thanks for covering it all for us this morning see you soon my friend all right now it's time to get a check on your Morning News Now weather we have Michelle Gman here in studio with us and we've got to look ahead some snow some rain a lot going on hey Michelle good morning hi there good morning yeah a lot going on we have the threat for severe.

Weather flooding rains today some really Gusty thunderstorms and then on the cold side of the storm system we are looking at some snow so let's talk about today because that's the biggest story for today that storm threat throughout the southeast we could see really Gusty winds we could see hail a few tornadoes uh but certainly some heavy downpours.

Leading to flooding some flash flooding as well this is going to move up the coast so overnight into Tuesday we're going to see some rain transitioning to snow in parts of the Northeast and also New England further to the West we're quiet in the middle of the country mild temperatures throughout the Northern Plains uh parts of the central plains.

And then we have some some snow falling in portions of the Inner Mountain West but relatively quiet out west as well by Wednesday we see heavy snow throughout the Northern Plains really heavy snow throughout the Inner Mountain West as well bright Sunshine nice temperatures in the South Central States really nice throughout the uh East Coast as well in.

Terms of any precipitation we are dry we're going to see temperatures returning back to normal it's another mild day today but a big drasic change as we go throughout Tuesday into Wednesday and then Friday lots of snow throughout the middle of the country the northern part of the country into the West we have some uh rainf falling in.

The west as well by Friday golf rain also on Friday but this is what it looks like right now so radar we're looking at very heavy rainfall lots of bright colors that's showing us where this intense rainfall is falling and that's why we're concerned about flooding and also flash flooding so we have that powerful storm that's springing 18.

Million people with flood alerts we have flash flood warnings we also have uh some winter weather alerts so as we go throughout uh the day we're going to be watching this especially into tonight into tomorrow we're going to see that snow transitioning so 30 million people Savannah looking at the chance of some snow we'll end it with some snowfall.

Totals just because I know we're always looking for numbers so 30 million people involved in Winter alerts and we could see 3 to 5 Ines in New York City and even further uh to the north we're looking at a foot of snow in some spots I am excited about a little bit more so right like we're coming to the end of winter one more time yes we need it at.

Least at least all right Michelle thank you so much sure well this morning there are new concerns over the health of Defense secretary Lloyd Austin the Pentagon says he's back in the hospital this time for a bladder issue it comes as President Biden and his allies are on the offensive after last week's special counsel report called his memory into.

Question NBC News senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez joins us now from Washington with all this hi K good morning hey there Savannah good morning it's not clear how long the defense secretary will remain hospitalized but one notable change from last time the Pentagon alerted the White House.

Immediately this morning defense secretary Lloyd Austin in critical care hospitalized at Walter Reed again yesterday this time for symptoms of a bladder issue according to the Pentagon overnight doctor saying that Austin was then admitted to the critical care unit for supportive care and close monitoring last month the defense secretary faced.

Scrutiny for not telling the White House that he underwent surgery for prostate cancer until days later we did not handle this right and I did not handle this right now the Pentagon announcing this stay publicly saying he is transferring duties to his Deputy concerned for Austin coming as President Biden is on defense politically after.

That special council's report saying he faced memory issues a new poll finds most Americans believe both President Biden and Republican front runner Donald Trump are are too old for another term and though he continued to attack Biden over the weekend Trump himself is now Under Fire after a Wild Weekend rally where the former president encouraged.

Russia to attack us allies if they don't pay their dues in NATO I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want you got to pay his opponent Nikki Haley quickly responding what bothers me about this is don't take the side of a thug who kills his opponents Haley also speaking out about Trump's personal attacks on her husband Michael at the.

Same rally what happened to her husband where is he he's gone Haley writing back Michael is deployed serving our country something you know nothing about Donald Trump clearly doesn't understand that in South Carolina we love our military men and women meanwhile the White House is slamming former president Trump's.

Comments on NATO saying that quote encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes is appalling and unhinged Savannah all right Gabe Gutierrez thank you so much we turning now to Gaza where officials are working towards reaching a ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages being held by Hamas a senior official tells NBC.

News a breakthrough could come as early as this week negotiations come as Israeli forces set their SES on Rafa where over one million gazin are seeking Refuge from the war NBC News foreign correspondent Molly Hunter has the latest from Jerusalem and joins us now Molly good morning so President Biden's actually sending CIA director William.

Burns to Egypt tomorrow to continue negotiations to release the remaining hostages is there hope that a deal could be coming soon are we seeing signs of that yes Savannah we're certainly seeing signs the drum beat kind of leading up to the possible announcement of a deal seems to be growing louder and certainly if Bill Burns is deployed that means.

That the administration clearly thinks that there's something uh to be gained with actual senior diplomacy happening on the ground as you mentioned though a senior Administration official told NBC News it's pretty much there but gaps remain how significant exactly those gaps are we're not sure but the senior Administration Administration official.

Continued to our colleagues n DC saying this deal unlike the November deal is more complex that there are significant issues that still have to close and really as we know the US and Israel are looking to get all of those hostages out not just kind of a first wave not just the women who remain uh and Hamas has been very very clear of.

Course Savannah they don't want just a pause in fighting they want a full ceasefire Savannah M now we're also learning new details about a call over the weekend between President Biden and Israel's prime minister Netanyahu the two discussed this looming hostage negotiation deal but also the ongoing attacks near Rafa again where several.

Palestinians had evacuated to had been told to move to what more can you tell us about what was discussed on this call yeah Savannah and just to give you context and we are hearing kind of growing criticism from the US Administration about prime minister netanyahu's plan or at least announced plans for a possible incursion into Rafa.

Rafa is the Southernmost city in the Gaza Strip slammed up against the Egyptian border and when we see pictures now it is just a huge tent city as you mentioned 1.4 million Palestinian civilians have been told to go there by Israel these are people who have evacuated from elsewhere in the Gaza Strip and they were told that this area.

Was the safe zone now in the call last night we did get a read out from the White House between uh prime minister Netanyahu and President Biden and in that they say the president has really reaffirmed that a military operation in Rafa should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for.

More than 1 million Palestinians Sheltering there the plan or the possible plan for an incursion into RAF has been heavily criticized criticized excuse me by International organiz gations who have been working there on the ground Savannah and I do just want to share a little bit more reporting from our team in Washington about the.

Netanyahu Biden relationship there is clearly growing frustration from the Biden Administration that they have not been able to convince Netanyahu to accept or to agree to a ceasefire well Biden has said that Netanyahu wants the war to drag on so he can remain in power and then according to three people in at least three instances Savannah Biden has.

Even called the Israeli Prime Minister a quote a Savannah and Molly we have a devastating update also this is something that our our viewers may remember the six-year-old girl whose phone call to Rescue Services in Gaza City it's your attention around the world uh here it is on your screen the little girl herself.

What do we know about this that's exactly right this was a major story of course that we covered last week our Network covered as well as many other International organizations over the weekend six-year-old henra jaab was fleeing from Gaza City with her family six people uh kind of smashed into a small civilian car and those.

Audio recordings suggested that Hind and she was calling the Palestinian red crescent um saying come and get me suggested that she was the only person still alive in that car well palestin the Palestinian red crescent has now been able to reach that area Savannah they have found not only the body of Hind and her relatives their car.

Completely smashed up bullet ridden but also just 50 m away this smashed up kind of wreckage of the Palestinian red crescent ambulance and the bodies of two paramedics uh everyone there dead Savannah all right Molly Hunter heartbreaking update there thank you so much well let's turn out of Houston where police are still searching for.

Answers after a tragic shooting at a packed mega church yesterday police say the female shooter who opened fire at Joel ost's well-known Lakewood Church is now dead NBC News correspondent Morgan chesy joins us from Houston with the latest Morgan good morning Savannah simply terrible Ying ordeal here inside Houston's Lakewood.

Church where Pastor Joel oin says they serve about 45,000 people each and every week now this happened just minutes before the beginning of a Spanish service when Witnesses say this woman walked inside and opened fire and today two off-duty officers are credited in fatally shooting her and taking her down after this shooting that's left a large.

Church community shaken to its core a Sunday service interrupted by a terrifying sound in a house of worship gunfire blasting through Lakewood Church's Spanish service the pastor pausing only to hear more shots ring up the chaotic scene unfolding after police say an unidentified woman armed.

With a rifle and wearing a trench coat walked inside and open fire l two people down a young boy in critical condition another churchgoer shot in the leg two off-duty officers are credited with fatally shooting the suspect suspect is down police saying the wounded child arrived at the church with the female shooter but won't speculate if officers.

Who returned fire were the ones to strike that young victim if it was unfortunately um and and and that female that suspect put that baby in danger I'm going put that blame on her officers telling NBC News the woman was wearing a backpack and said she had a bomb they also say she sprayed an unknown substance on the ground but the bomb.

Squad found no explosives this is a light uh an isolated incident we believe at this moment okay uh no further danger to uh our public this morning the shooter's motive is still unclear but is part of an ongoing investigation for church member Mariah who just moved from Colombia the fear hard to Fathom I thought that I maybe will die after that.

I just sent a message to my husband say that I love him Pastor Joel ostein stressing had it happened just minutes later even more churchgoers could have been targets we don't understand why these things happen but we know God's in control and this morning we're still awaiting an update on the condition of that young boy who was wounded and last.

Listed in critical condition also the man wounded in the leg is in stable condition investigators also providing some clarification about some of the early theories about their shooting Savannah there were originally rumors of two gunmen but police say that is not true and that this woman acted alone Savannah all right Morgan thank you so.

Much well King Charles has made his first public appearance since his cancer diagnosis was revealed the British monarch attended a church service yesterday alongside Queen Camila NBC News forign correspondent Megan fitzg joins us from London with the details hey Megan Good Morning Savannah good morning to you that's right we saw King.

Charles walking to church yesterday he seemed to be in good form he was waving and smiling to the crowd a similar scene that we saw last Sunday just hours before he announced to the world that he's battling cancer this morning a new look at King Charles after being diagnosed with cancer the king smiling in waving to.

Onlookers as he walked to church service Sunday in sandream his wife Queen Camila by his side the outing coming a day after Charles's first public statement since the announcement that he's undergoing cancer treatment the king expressing his gratitude for all the well-wishes saying as all those who have been affected by cancer will know such.

Kind thoughts are the greatest comfort and encouragement it is equally heartening to hear how sharing my own diagnosis has helped promote public understanding and shine a light on the work of all those organizations which support cancer patients and their families the palace has not revealed details of Charles's illness which was.

Discovered after he was admitted to the hospital where he was treated for a benign enlarged prostate only saying Charles does not have prostate cancer Queen Camila speaking out about her husband's status in her first public comments he's doing extremely well under the surface of his and he's very touched by all the letters and messages you know.

All the public has being s from everywhere and it comes after Princess Kate who was in the same hospital as the king is still out of the public ey recovering from abdominal surgery Kensington Palace saying she's progressing well most British school kids are off this week traditionally William and his family go to the.

Sandream estate a favorite place for school breaks though they've not been spotted there yet not only is there more for the children to do there's a more active lifestyle there's fewer prying eyes trying to see what they're up to but I think it's a bigger house it's somewhere where where Kate can relax it would be a welcome break for William now.

Taking on even more responsibilities as the king steps back and over the weekend princess an one of the few active senior Royals seen at a rugby match she's helping with royal representation but it's the heir to the throne that's tasked with stepping up now we are not expected to see King Charles in public for official duties so.

Far he has been conducting uh his weekly audiences with the Prime Minister and he's been doing his private business Savannah all right Megan thank you so much we've got much more to come on this hour of morning news now including the drive that's gaining ground Across America to make the day after the Super Bowl that would be today a national.

Holiday can't say I disagree with that first though after the break the special election here in New York to replace disgraced Republican Congressman George Santos we've got more on the candidates buying for the job and what the future could hold on Capital Hill if his seat flips blue once again those stories and more are next stay with us.

we're back now with some international news hungary's first female president has announced her resignation Claudia alanga joins us now from Rome with that and more hey Claudia good morning good morning savan well that's right the president of Hungary cathalene Novak announced on state television her.

Resignation literally a week after a local news website announced that she pardon a man who helped cover up sexual abuse in a children's home and the News caused a public uproar widespread protests and calls for her to step down during her resignation speech Novak apologized saying she made a mistake and believed that the convict did not abuse.

The vulnerability of children he had overseen her resignation is also a rare blow to prime minister Victor Orban her close Ally let's now go to Kenya where the country's truck Federation announced that the marathon world record holder Kelvin kiptum was killed killed along with his coach in a car crash the crash happened on a road on a road in Western.

Kenya in the region that's renowned as a training base for distance Runners kiptum set the world record in October in Chicago becoming the first man to run the marathon in under two hours R minute he was due to compete at the Rotterdam marathon in April which will have been his first event since breaking the world record and let's end the store of the.

World in the north of Brazil where Carnival rers brought the idea of recycling to a whole new level dressing up in outfits made from hundreds of cans of beer and soda this bubbling Street party started in 1997 when a group of friends began Gathering discarded cans left behind by Carnival gors and attached them to the clothing since then.

Recycling in the area has improved but locals thought they will continue the tradition to keep raising awareness and just because of course it's fun you all right Claudia thank you so much well voters in New York's thirdd District on Long Island will will head to the polls on Tuesday in a high-stake special election to replace.

Disgraced excuse me former representative George Santos the extremely controversial Republican was expelled from Congress back in early December after a 23c count Federal indictment alleged a number of crimes and with a razor thin House Majority hanging in the balance Nasa County Republican legislator Mazy pilip will go.

Head-to-head against the former Democratic representative Tom swazi NBC News senior National political report of sahill kapor joins us now from New York's thirdd District to let us know what we should watch out for high sahill so what can you tell us about the two candidates on the ballot to replace George.

Santos good morning Savannah from Great Neck on Long Island there's one day to go in this highly consequential special election early voting is done voters will head to the polls tomorrow to decide between two candidates the candidates are Mazy pup a republican uh she is a Nassau County legislator she has an a fascinating life story she's an.

Ethiopian immigrant to Israel she served in the Israeli military before immigrating to the United States Tom swazi is the Democratic candidate he's a former Congressman representing this exact District before it elected George Santos a couple of years ago he's also the former mayor of Glen Cove and a county executive with some deep roots in.

This area look at that poll on the screen this is a close race that's a margin of error survey Tom swazi leads by Four Points he is seen by both Democrats and Republicans as having a slight Edge in this election but neither party is taking it for granted Democrat I've talked to are nervously optimistic that he can pull this out and.

Republicans I've talked to are simply nervous they're bracing for any outcome they recognize that Tom swasi has got the name recognition here in terms of issues let's show what the recent Sienna College poll that we just showed uh says the major issues are in this race there's the issue of of addressing the migrant influx Mazy pup has an advantage.

There that's the single biggest issue that Republicans are trying to ride to Victory there's a lot of discontent in this area about that on the issues of abortion uh Tom swazi has a 23-point lead on protecting democracy swasi has a ninepoint lead on making Congress work swasi has a 10-point lead you can kind of see a pattern there uh he leads on.

Most of those other issues Savannah so sill Republicans hold this razor thin majority right I mean you need to look no further than the recent failed vote to impeach Homeland Security secretary Alejandra maoris how significant could the way this goes before Congress in the balance of power yeah very significant Savannah.

This has been a way for thin majority for House Republicans they have repeatedly struggled to govern they currently have 219 seats to Democrats 212 seats based on medical absences it's been a TW vote margin and we saw just last week when what would have been a historic vote to impeach Alejandra mayaras the DHS secretary ended up being.

A historic and spectacular failure for Republicans when they lost just three votes it was a 215 to 215 tie is how that ultimately turned out before one flipped if Republicans had this seat on Long Island they would have succeeded on that vote that's how close the margin is so when you look at issues like funding the government reauthorizing the FAA.

This election will either put further pressure on that Republican majority force them to maybe compromise with Democrats or give them that tiny one vote cushion that in some cases as we saw last week could be the the difference between success and failure soill since this district has shown it can swing pretty easily from party to.

Party does this special election tell us anything about what we can expect in the general election it absolutely does Savannah this has been a quintessential swing District uh let's show some of the numbers in 2020 this District voted for President Biden over Donald Trump by eight points two years later it flips dramatically a.

16-point swing George Santos that now expelled Republican won this uh District by eight points as well this is precisely the type of District outside New York City that Democrats need to win if they want to take back the house there are a number of them like this which is why this district will give us some tantalizing Clues as to what the.

National environment is going into the fall election when the entire House of Representatives is up for grabs when of course the presidency is up for grabs districts like these swing districts with a lot of red with a lot of blue in them will determine which party controls Congress and the white house uh in uh later this fall Savannah sill real quick.

We just have a couple seconds but I'm just wondering I mean because of kind of the The Blaze that this all went down in with George Santos is there any anger there among voters about the fact that it doesn't really seem like the Republican Party had had vetted him very well I would say there's more embarrassment than anger I think.

Republicans have tried pretty hard to wash the stench of George Santos off their party brand they want nothing to do with him especially after uh his long Litany of Fabrications in his biography and that 23c count Federal indictment on a smorgus board of alleged crimes uh came out it's Republicans in this area Savannah who were the Clincher and.

Forcing him out forcing Congress to expel him all right sahil kapor thank you so much good to see you we'll coming up celebrating a civil rights icon on one of Hollywood's biggest stages after the break the Oscar nominee who's captivating onscreen performance in Rustin is bringing 1963's March on Washington back to the spotlight in 2024.

That is up next on Morning News Now welcome back Oscar nominee Coleman Domingo is up for best actor for his powerful performance as Bard Rustin in the biopic Rustin as an organizer of the March on Washington Rustin was little known but a key leader in the Civil Rights Movement NBC News Now anchors zcl.

Esa spoke with Coleman about rustin's Legacy counting on the courts to eradicate racial inequity that's Madness Coleman Domingo's performance in Rustin is captivating audiences I'm the one that's been preaching passive resistance Domingo brings to life the story story of unsung civil rights hero byard Rustin the actor celebrated for his roles in.

Euphoria you think you're tough I'm tougher and The Color Purple don't you move a muscle now Oscar nominated for best actor in the biopic there were many years where people said if there was a bued Rustin biopic you should play him yeah it's I feel like that there has always been sort of a secret society of people who knew about byed Rustin when.

This opportunity came at 51 years old when byard was 51 years old when he organized the march in Washington that I had a lot of what I needed to do this film in terms of life experience life experience leadership skills I knew I had I've stored up a lot that I needed Rustin was a critical force behind the 1963 March on Washington were.

Around 250,000 people gathered the organizer seen here behind Dr Martin Luther King Jr anything you learned about him surprise you Rustin there's so much that surprised me about about him I I was surprised at his um cander and his wit and how he used language as his weapon the first demand.

Is that we have effective civil rights legislation raised by his grandparents Rustin studied the nonviolent principles of Gandhi and is credited with introducing nonviolence to King later becoming one of his closest advisers Rustin working alongside the likes of A Philip Randolph Ella Baker and John Lewis there can a desire to present this.

Kumbaya sentiment when it comes to the Civil Rights Movement yet the film is not shy about showing some serious divisions in the movement it really shows that these were people with ideas and they had different ways of doing it it took an outlier it took a queer black Quaker from Westchester Pennsylvania to organize the march in Washington we are.

Going to put together the largest peaceful protest in the history of this nation many believe rustin's work was near written out of History because he was openly gay on the day that I was born black I was also born a homosexual I think it would be easy to just you know talk about his thoughts and ideas and not give you the whole human being.

The fact that he was trying to navigate love romance sex Rustin remained committed to the cause he died in 1987 President Barack Obama and executive producer of the film poly awarding Rustin the medal of freedom in 2013 Domingo says now is the time for rustin's story to be told what do you think his legacy is in this country by.

Rustin was somebody who devoted his entire life to civil and human rights these people weren't superheroes they were just doing what was in front of them you know they were ordinary human beings doing things that were extraordinary what do you say Zin sis NBC News New York what an incredible interviewer.

Thanks to Zin clay coming up if you are feeling a little delicate after the Super Bowl and you're planning to call out sick today you're not alone millions of Americans with Super Bowl flu are expected to stay at home that's got a lot of people now actually petitioning to make the day after the big game a national holiday can they actually score.

We'll break it down that's up next welcome back we have Financial headlines for you now and if you've been thinking about getting a Tesla the company's offering a sweet deal for limited times NBC Savanah hanal joins us with that nether news hey savan hey Savannah good morning yes so Tesla is.

Temporarily cutting prices on some of its model y cars right here in the US until the end of the month now the company reducing the price of the rear wheeel drive and the long range versions by $1,000 that's roughly 2% now the move comes as Tesla is warning of quote notably lower sales growth this year as it braises for cooling demand and.

Production of its Next Generation electric vehicle Elon Musk is denying accusations by Ukraine that Russian forces are using starlink terminals produced by SpaceX in occupied areas of the country in a post on X musk says those reports are quote categorically false and to the best of the company's knowledge no starlinks have been sold.

Directly or indirectly to Russia in a statement today the Kremlin says starlink is not certified for use in Russia nor are they officially supplied to its forces and a win by the Chiefs in the Super Bowl may not be good news for investors well that's if you believe the so-called Super Bowl indicator now that says that it that the market will rise.

For the year if the winning team was never part of the original American Football League which is now the AFC or was in the NFL prior to its merger with the AFL in 1966 but the indicator's track record is actually worse than a coin flip the markets have historically performed better when the indicator is bearish up.

82% of the time for an average gain of 11% Savannah all right there you go see what happens syvan hanel thank you very much got it well Super Bowl Sunday is of course known for watch parties with many people staying up late to tune into the big game I hosted one I was up late well if you planned on calling out this morning you're not alone according to.

The ukg workforce Institute an estimated 16.1 million American employees plan to miss work today like how they're calling it the Super Bowl flu this comes as there's a renewed push to make Super Bowl Monday a national holiday NBC News correspondent Emily aeta has the details hey there well I'm clearly not one of the millions of people skipping.

Work today and while the idea of establishing the day after the Super Bowl as a national holiday isn't exactly A New Concept the push is seeing new momentum especially after what could be a record number of fans tuning in to last night's game in a face off that sent fans to their feet Super Bowl 58 did not disappoint the Chiefs defeating.

The 49ers in an overtime Thriller last night but some say the big game could be even more fun if they had to day off to have the day after Super Bowl as the day off it makes sense according to a poll more than 16 million Americans plan to miss work today and over 6 million of them say they'll f being sick or ghost their employer many call it the Super.

Bowl flu it's one of the few events left where almost everyone in the country does exactly the same thing and they treat the day after as a day to recover and um a little bit of an unofficial holiday and for those clocking in today it may be a pretty tough morning over 28% of workers saying they'll be less productive than usual prompting some.

Businesses like tech company ukg to cancel Monday morning meetings so wait to have a little bit of fun but also acknowledge what people are going through and give people a couple hours to uh ease into the week a fan asked the Kelsey Brothers to lead the charge with a different idea moving the big game from Sunday to Saturday on their podcast.

No completely out it's one day out of the Year all right one day the Super Bowl is meant to be played on Sunday yeah if anything uh we need to make Monday a holiday yeah just make Monday a holiday don't the the the the country should change what they're doing for the Super Bowl not the Super Bowl for the country come on now people four time.

Super Bowl champ Rob gronowski agrees cuz I think it would be the most celebrated holiday as well and while some Skeptics think that's a step too far enjoy the game and all the festivities but you got to get it and go to work over a third of us workers believe the day after the Super Bowl should be a national holiday even ice.

Cream brand drumstick which made its Super Bowl commercial debut this year where did you all get those trying to drum up momentum with a change.org petition many Americans blur died this morning but some lucky students in Kentucky are enjoying a day off after their superintendent made this recent announcement whether you're dying to see.

Taylor momes Usher or just the commercials this year you can Paris City Schools is off school the Monday after the Super Bowl national holiday or not Sean Scott says he decided to take the day off from his account management job anyway had plenty of Mondays after the Super Bowl where I worked and it was not very productive having that day off to.

Relax after especially after hosting a party having people over and so it's important to to have Monday off and keep in mind Congress has established only a dozen federal holidays just two in the last 50 years so a more likely path to an off day is that the NFL continues extending its regular season to push the Super Bowl back a week and next week is.

President's Day back to you all right there you go Emily thanks so much I'm right here with you at work coming up the road to NCAA glory after the break the basketball B Phenom who's now just eight points away from making history we've got more up next welcome back we finally got a look.

At the stars of the eagerly anticipated Wicked movie during yesterday's Super Bowl got the first little teaser for Wicked part one and it shows Ariana Grande and Cynthia arivo looking very pink and very green of course as Glinda and alphaba fans have waited a long time for this movie it all Stars Michelle yo and Jeff Goldblum part one is coming to.

Theaters on November 24th this year with part two released a year later you look at that well a star in women's college basketball is on the verge of making NCAA history I'm talking about University of Iowa's Caitlyn Clark now despite coming up short against Nebraska yesterday the Hawkeye star put up 31 points that leaves her now just eight.

Points shy of breaking the women's division one all time scoring record for more we are joined by WNBA expert Christina Williams Christina thanks for joining us a major feat we're talking about here just tell us about the impact that Clark has had not only specifically on Iowa's women's basketball program but women's basketball as a.

Whole so what makes Caitlyn so special is that she's mesmerizing to watch she plays and exude confidence on the floor and she's entertaining with her logo threes and three-point shooting Caitlyn Clark single-handedly put the Ia program back on the map she led them to their first final four championship game last year they did fall short to LSU but.

She's changing the game in a major way and we see that happening with the Caitlyn Clark effect she sells out Arenas we saw earlier this season where she packed out over 55,000 fans at the kenck stadium against depal University she's also changing the in-game experience of women's basketball as well uh we see broadcasters now they have the.

Caitlyn clam cam uh where they have Tik Tock feeds to try to reach younger demographics and so Caitlyn Clark is impacting women's basketball at just the right time as new interest in the game continues to grow in viewership at our record Ka I mean she's so good it's not just the scoring that we're talking about there's another major Milestone.

She had her 1,000th assist of her college career yesterday how often do you see this kind of skill in college basketball well Caitlyn Clark is just the sixth person to reach such an exclusive Club in reaching this assist in women's basketball history and she joins an elite group of women basketball athletes but this is just a testament to.

Caitlyn Clark as a player because not only can she score really well but also she's a great playmaker and distributor she makes her teammates better and I think that this is going to be something that will help her at the next level she's projected to go number one at the WNBA draft this year and so I think that joining that elite club and her 10,000th.

Assist mark it just shows how great and versatile of a player Caitlyn Clark is yeah what do you think this means for the WNBA when she gets there oh she's definitely going to change the style of play that we see happening she plays with a faster Pace I I I compare her to a mix of like Stephen Curry with a little bit of subber and.

Tisha Panero she can score on all three levels which will be very beneficial to the Indiana Fever who has that number one pick I think that she will make an immediate impact on the game and again bring those fans over from college into the WNBA um Caitlyn Clark is definitely going to be that generational player and talent that changes the game oh.

Absolutely by the way what a basket from Steph Curry this weekend with just seconds to go in that game but that's another story Christina we're getting closer to March which means it's almost tournament time who are some other women's college basketball players that you're watching out for this season there are a few players that stand out.

This season I think that we see a lot of players emerging but one player that I'm keeping my eye on especially is Camila cardoo she's on that number one South Carolina team and she's a 67 Center that's expected to go at the top of the draft um a lot of GMS in the WNBA praise her for her great speed and Mobility she can run she can she can uh shop block.

She has a nice cut around the rim and she just actually this week she missed two games due to being with her national team in Brazil so she's already getting that professional experience some other players that I'm taking a look at is gu guu Watkins and Hannah hildo gu guu she's currently playing at USC and Hannah is playing for Notre Dame but.

These two freshmen are the best we've seen in a while for the respective programs junah ju guu and Hannah they're at the top of the pack they're two players who are just not like living up to the height uh as they came in as FRS but they're exceeding the expectations uh juu for me what stands out is just her scoring and her ability to lead.

She's averaging over 27 and a half points this season she's second behind Caitlyn Clark and then Hannah Helo she's a great two-way player two-way guard so the future of women's basketball is definitely in great hands and then JC Sheldon from Ohio State is someone that also stands out she can change the game with her defense and she's um getting a.

Lots of talks and maybe going at 11 to the New York Liberty in this year's draft wow all right Christina Williams thank you so much good to see you well finally this hour a surgery that is just 10 minutes long is changing lives in South Sudan NBC News Now anchor Kate snow has the details on a team of doctors that are giving people New Hope.

And the gift of sight for eye surgeon Dr Lloyd Williams this moment when the bandages first come off says everything after a life-changing eye surgery this woman is seeing again for the first time in years that moment repeated over and over again as people who had surgery the day before adjust to.

The light what is that moment for you when I first saw it happen I thought I could do this for the rest of my life and never feel like I wasted a minute Dr Williams an opthalmologist at Duke University has traveled with the Himalayan cataract project for a decade on a mission to cure blindness the latest trip in December to South Sudan.

In Africa a country with the highest rate of blindness in the world Dr Williams worked alongside two local eye surgeons for the most part I don't even get up I just sit do surgery next do surgery next they call these surgical boot camps performing nearly 2,000 cataract surgeries in just 10 days people walked from as far away as.

40 mil to be here some arriving in wheelbarrows many led by a stick the results are immediate 5-year-old kual confused at first in this new world of sight before finally SP sping his mom many families here have a child take care of the person who's blind you cure the blindness in the individual you improve the economic situation of the.

Family you put one of their children back in school this woman seeing her adult son for the first time in 5 years imagine if you hadn't seen your child for years I mean it's really quite remarkable you don't need to speak the language to understand what's happening she locks eyes with her son we had one.

Boy say to us I don't deserve to have any friends because I'm blind and when I see that in them and I think I can do something about it it just makes that all worthwhile these boot camps changing lives as patients come out of the darkness to see the world in a new light what a report Kate snow thank you so.

Much that's going to do it for this hour of morning news now 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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