right now on an all new hour

of msnbc, a tsunami warning in japan after earthquakes erupted off the west coast. the 7.6 quake causing mass blackouts and crippling communications. first responders are racing against the clock to locate the injured. plus, the israel-hamas war expected to go on for many more months as the first major drawdown of troops since the war began. what the next phase of the war will look like. former president trump's legal battles in the new year, what his appeal could look like after he was removed from colorado and maine, and the the latest on the slew of high stakes trials set to begin this year. happy new year to you. it is 11:00 a.m. eastern, i'm frances rivera reporting from new york city. we start with breaking news out of western japan where a powerful earthquake hit overnight disrupting kplun

communications. as tsunami warnings rang up and down japan's western coast. now, japanese officials are warning the aftershocks could continue for up to a week. we want to bring in nbc's foreign correspondent meagan fitzgerald who has been tracking this all this morning, and bill karins to help make sense of the science. do we have a better sense of the damage this quake has caused across that region of japan? >> absolutely. the latest here is that japanese officials have kept in place that downgrade of the tsunami warning for the noto peninsula which is right near the epicenter. they're telling people in the coastal areas not to return home. this continues to be a very serious situation. there have been multiple reports of injuries throughout the region, homes and buildings collapsed, video coming in showing waves crashing onto land. large signs inside a train station shaking.

people running for safety. store shelves rattling. keep in mind, we're talking about some 33,000 people that are now without power and temperatures are near freezing. cities in the region are reporting that they no longer have running water and cell phones aren't working. meanwhile, local officials have also said that people are trapped beneath the rubble, so you got to imagine that search and rescue crews are underway as well. meanwhile, meteorologists are warning that these waves could exceed 16 feet. >> that is so alarming when you hear that and see these images that we're watching. it is winter in japan, temperatures could drop in the 30s and 40s. how are the japanese officials helping residents stay safe amid this ongoing disaster and how are they managing that given that there is such a rescue effort that needs to be going on? >> yeah, i mean, this is absolutely a concern. we know that officials have already started setting up these shelters in the area for people to go where they can get needed

supplies, warm blankets, a warm place to stay, all of that at the ready, but at this point, there's still no way of telling just how full those shelters will get and how quickly they will start to fill up. >> and of course this comes as we are just hearing more and more about the destruction, the damage there, still developing with that risk of the aftershocks still very, very present. all right, bill, i want to turn to you now. this quake took place in the west in the sea of japan. why was that significant in the early hours of this quake? >> the quake took place at 2:00 a.m. immediately when you have an earthquake of this magnitude, 7.6, i'll explain that in a second here or two. the concern is the depth. it's a very important factor when you have earthquake and how big the tsunami wave will be if there is one at all. the deeper the earthquake under the ocean floor, the less chance there is going to be of a tsunami. the more shallow, a greater chance of a tsunami. so this one was a 7.6. the depth was about 6 miles, 10

kilometers down. that's kind of average. it wasn't considered shallow, it wasn't considered deep. that's why they issued these tsunami warnings immediately, and it was kind of shocking when they said there could be a wave possibly as high as 6 meters high. that brings back all the memories of the horrific tsunami that hit japan years ago. now it's been nine hours, and we haven't heard any reports of any devastating tsunamis. i've seen pictures in canals with about 1 to 2 foot water surge. the tsunami threat, even though there are still some advisories up. the tsunami center has said no tsunami threat is expected anymore. and even for the west coast of the u.s., alaska, hawaii too, that threat has pretty much ended. here is the shake map. the shake map shows you where we'd expect the most damage to be. when you look at the colors on the map, here's toke you down

-- tokyo down here. this probably was felt. when you start to get into the yellow, this is where you feel it. when you start getting in the orange, that's where you talk about strong to severe. that would be an 8.0 magnitude or higher. this is the peninsula where all the damage is. this is where the collapse structures are. there's a limited number roads in here. some of the roads have been severed. they're actually putting supplies and trying to get rescue efforts on the boats to get onto this peninsula because the roads are inaccessible at this time. and of course it's nighttime there now, temperatures are down around 30 degrees. that makes it even more difficult, frances. >> really complicated rescue mission there. talk about there's still the threat of the aftershocks. >> the aftershocks are scary. sometimes they can be strong enough to actually do damage. this is the frequency of earthquakes on our whole planet. starting this year, obviously today every year we get about one 8.0 or higher on our planet. this one was in between 7 and

7.6. we typically get about 18 of these. if they happen in the middle of the ocean, way deep down we never hear about them. obviously ones like this near land, it's a big deal. when we talk about aftershocks typically they're in this 5 to 5.9. they don't do a lot of damage. here's a map. this is the peninsula we were talking about. in the last 12 hours, each of these circles represents an aftershock that we've been seeing. about eight minutes after the 7.5, we had a 6.2 magnitude earthquake. they had violent shaking and an eight minute break. i'm sure that was scary for everyone. since the initial one, we've had about ten 5.0 magnitude or more. you definitely feel the 5s. these will slowly subside, frances. it's rare to get a significant like another significant earthquake to do a lot more damage after the initial one. >> that's reassuring to hear,

but so tough again. it is night there, and we'll see what damage continues to be revealed in the days to come. meagan fitzgerald and bill karins, thank you so much. i want to turn to israel where the residents of tel aviv watch as a barrage of missiles was fired towards them. there are no reports of any direct hits. meanwhile, prime minister netanyahu promising this war will go on for many more months. thousands of israeli soldiers are going shifted out of the gaza strip. in the first major drawdown of troops since the war began. a navy helicopter returned fire and sanked three small boats. jay, thank you for beings with us. i want to ask you about the next phase of this war and what can we anticipate that looking like? >>. >> reporter: i think, frances, we're going to continue to see

some intense fighting, and in those very densely populated urban areas where they are right now, khan yunis is the focus right now. they believe that's where hamas leaders have been hiding. they're really focusing on that area, and it's been very intense over the last three to four days. some on the ground say it has been as difficult as they've seen since this war began. we'll see that. we'll continue to see the air strikes and we know that it's something that the rest of the world is watching and really pushing israel to draw back a little bit to maybe make these attacks a bit more precise. to this point we haven't seen any indication that they plan to do anything but continue the course with these very difficult battles going on in some of the most populated regions in gaza. >> you can't help but think about the civilians, the

humanitarian crisis as well. jay, i want to ask you also what the united states is very concerned with now and what could happen next as the violence between the united states and houthi rebels involving a helicopter and small ats. >> reporter: this all started with a distress call from a cargo ship in the red sea. u.s. navy choppers responded to that call. they were fired on by houthi rebels below. they returned that fire, sank three ships, all of the men on board those ships died. it's the first fatal attack in the area. this comes as they continue to see an uptick in skirmishes and the u.s. has faced several attacks over the last month or so. there's a big concern not only internally here but globally that this could develop into another front in this war, and that's very frightening for a lot of people in the region. >> the broader scope of what this could mean and what this could lead to. jay gray breaking it down for us. thank you.

a deeper dive into the war in gaza and its potential effects on the u.s./israel relationship. plus, the special counsel asks an appeals court to dismiss donald trump's immunity defense in his federal election interference case. you're watching msnbc reports and we're back in 60 seconds.

the israel-hamas war is now entering its 87th day, but israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says the war will last many more months as the israel defense forces need more time to take out hamas. for more on this we're joined by ambassador elon pin kas, former israeli consul general in new york. i appreciate you being with us on this first da of the new year. let's jump right in, the prime minister said the war will last for many more month thes. the israeli military says it's

pulled thousands of soldiers out of gaza as it focuses on khan yunis. is this the result of pressure from the united states and others or is this more of a strategic move? is. >> happy new year, frances. assuming that 2024 will be somewhat better. looking it's a combination of everything you just mentioned. it's american pressure. it's an israeli realization that the operation in its current form and scale exhausted its usefulness and it's also a strategic calculation that you pointed to that the contours of the war need to change from a massive large-scale high intensity operation into more targeted operation, intelligence-driven raids and incursions, but we have to wait and see, you know, a few days

before we can really ascertain if there's a major change here. now, as for the first thing that you mentioned that mr. netanyahu vowed and pledged that this will take many months, maybe a year, there needs to be a distinction made between the war and the fighting. the war is nearing its end. that doesn't mean that there won't be fighting. so the way he's phrasing it is for domestic and particularly political consumption, not necessarily a description of the military landscape. >> yeah, i want you to delve into that, sir, when you say the war is ending, not necessarily the fighting, because you know israelis are prepared for a long, drawn-out conflict that could eventually inflict a huge number of casualties, so when you say that, how are we seeing that, the war ending not the fighting? >> meaning that, you know, five

or six armored and infantry divisions inside gaza, that's not going to happen anymore. you're not going to see an israeli reoccupation military, reoccupation of the gaza strip. a strip of land that israel left in 2005, in august 2005. what you will see are two of three enclaves or security buffers inside gaza, mostly northern gaza and one swath of land in the southwest of gaza bordering the mediterranean sea, from which more pointed, more -- as i said before, intelligence driven operations will be launched. what you will not see, again, i'm surmising here, what you will not see is a massive movement of thousands of soldiers with aerial bombardment with artillery support. you will not -- again, i'm somewhat speculating here, frances -- you will not see that. now, there is a reason for that.

it's not just that it exhausted its usefulness, which i think it did. there are also political pressures from the biden administration. i'm not sure yet -- and i say this very cautiously -- why the u.s. made the decision to withdraw the u.s.s. aircraft carrier strike force away from the eastern mediterranean. it was deployed here immediately before it began. >> i'm glad you brought up the united states because i want to ask you about that and our involvement here with the"new york times" coming out with a big piece on the strain in the united states israel relationship. since this war began and as "the new york times" pointed out, the relationship has grown increasingly fraught as mr. biden has involved himself more intensely in the conflict than almost any other issue. the president and his team have intervened time and again to steer israel away from what they consider the excesses of its

retaliation, only to have the israelis defy them at critical moments. what message is israel trying to send to the united states? >> well, an intransigent message, a defiant message. i think "the new york times," i read that article thoroughly. i think "the new york times" is being somewhat mild and mellow in how it is describing the difference of opinion or the divergence of interests. the u.s. had two things in mind when this all started, to limit the scope of civilian deaths, which it has been unsuccessful in convincing israel to do, and the second was to prevent what is called the horizontal escalation, meaning that the war will expand to lebanon and hezbollah with the backing of iran to see a mini front with the houthis in the yemen and you referred to in conversation previously. the u.s. was afraid -- still is

to a large extent -- of being dragged into an expansive conflict. so right now most of the disagreement or most of the divergence between the u.s. and israel and the source of those trains that the "new york times" is talking about and you and i are talking about is not necessarily about the scope of operation in gaza but about the framework or the contours of the so-called post war gaza. which the u.s. has articulated a plan but israel was very quick to deride and dismiss. >> and of course there's that along with, again, humanitarian crisis that we're seeing, hostages, the families there who are so concerned and hoping a cease fire could be possibilities. on many fronts, i wish we had more time, there's a lot to cover, and we appreciate your time. ambassador alon pinkas. thank you so much. up next, a new year or

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♪ ♪ welcome to 2024 in boise, idaho, they celebrated with fireworks, and by dropping a giant potato of course there. let's take a look at some of the other new year's eve celebrations. how about this here, nope, is

that paris? this is the fireworks display last night on the vegas strip, but in actual paris, france, crowds gathered for a fireworks display of their own. in washington lawmakers face a changing to do resis wn they return to capitol hill. they'll have to quickly stave off a government shutdown. plus, they are also seeking to cut a deal to provide critical funding to two u.s. allies, a deal that includes new border policies as republicans have demanded, and they'll have to resolve disputes surrounding the government's spying powers. joining us now is nbc news senior capitol hill correspondent garrett haake. good morning. good afternoon, whatever it is on this first day of the new year. let's talk about how far apart lawmakers are. >> well, frances, happy new year. the good news is lawmakers will hopefully come back to town refreshed in the next couple of days. the bad news is they still have all the same problems and the

same narrow margins that bedevilled them throughout 2023. that first deadline for a partial government shutdown comes up very quickly. as best i can tell, there was no progress made over this holiday break in coming up with even a top line number of you know, spending priorities, after which all the other negotiations happened. that's the biggest, most pressing actual deadline. then there's the supplemental spending request that you just talked about. the idea of sending money to ukraine and israel. all that's tied up in negotiations around border security. no part of that got easier over the holidays. as we saw russia amp up their attacks in ukraine, it probably just increased the pressure on that small group of senators who's doing the negotiations. a lot of work to get done, very little time to do it. not a situation in which this congress in particular has excelled thus far, but everybody knows the stakes when they back to town next week! we'll see who budges. we'll be watching closely. i want to ask you also, the ap points out there's more democrats than republicans deciding to leave the house,

which could shape who wins control of the chamber in this year's election. what are you watching for in that? there's a long time until november. a lot could still happen. some of these departures for democrats have come on seats that are going to be harder to hold. elissa slotkin in michigan who's running for senate or abigail spanberger in virginia running for governor. these are popular members and high profile folks. that's part of the reason they're running for higher office. they sit in swingy seats that will be harder to defend. republicans have a lot of retirements, like kevin mccarthy for example. but in seats that are a little safer and a little easier. i would expect we see more retirements announced in the next few weeks as lawmakers had a chance to talk things over with their families over the holidays. they may be looking less inclined to stick around for another fight, a lot of filing deadlines in the new year. for right now the math is harder for democrats than it is for republicans. again, frances, a lot of time for that to change before anybody actually starts voting. >> getting back to business,

going to roll up your sleeves. getting back to work, garrett haake, thank you. i want to bring in now former democratic congressman donna edwards from maryland and susan del percio is a republican strategist, they are both msnbc political analysts. always great to see you. let's jump right in starting with you, donna. picking up where we left off. the bills revolving around contentious border negotiations. what do you see as the stakes here in these negotiations and what can be the wiggle room? >> happy new year, frances. look, i think when i heard garrett tick off the list of things to do, i thought this congress is probably the least positioned to really get all of these major issues done. look, i think on border policy that the president has signaled his willingness to have a broad

discussion about negotiations and so i think that opens up some space, an opportunity for the senate negotiators. but they can't go too far because there's a very strong contingent in the house among democrats who are really concerned that the president and the senate are going to give away the store on border security without a broader immigration policy so i think there's a lot to lose both for republicans and democrats in this negotiation, and all of that means that what hangs in the balance is ukraine and israel funding. >> well, let's get susan's perspective with this, even if a deal is made, susan, you've got some conservative republicans in the house could try to kill any bill that falls short of their bill to close the border altogether. what are you watching here? what are you concerned about? >> i'm very concerned about speaker mike johnson and the relationships he has with not just his conference because he's virtually -- he was pretty much unknown even among a lot of republicans, but also with his

counterparts, mitch mcconnell, hakeem jeffries, the president, chuck schumer. most of these deals get done based on folks knowing each other, and no one understands what mike johnson's all about. no one knows him, and what's also concerning or what i'm looking for is how many votes will the speaker allow to go to the floor knowing he doesn't have the majority of the majority. he knows he'll lose republican votes but he'll hope he could get democratic votes to get things done. that's going to be a huge challenge for the new speaker. >> yeah, and you also have to factor in, right, the lights on, donna. as congress will have to avert a government shutdown. you've got speaker johnson who's indicated he wouldn't support another stopgap bill and that if congress doesn't reach a deal, he'll push for a full year of continuing resolutions. is that a sustainable solution to this problem? where do we go from there? >> wow, it doesn't sound like it. i mean, first of all, i think speaker johnson thought that he

was brilliant in crafting this kind of two-tier january 19th, february 2nd sort of funding deadlines. but at the end of the day, the ones that remain i think for january 19th, you've got transportation funding, food supplements that republicans have been strongly against, and you don't have a number that they're working with. they thought they had a top line number back with the debt ceiling deal in 2023, and that fell by the wayside and so now nobody knows what they're working with. i think it's going to be really difficult to carve out an approach to spending that is going to be supported by democrats and a majority of republicans. that sounds -- it's almost like it has to go to the senate in order to come back to the house to pass. >> all right, so you got that business at hand, donna, right? then you've also got chuck schumer facing this tough situation defending vulnerable democrats in this recollection year. you've got an unpopular president at the top of the ticket.

so shifting that, you've got this to-do list trying to get those checked off. how does he do that now when it comes to this election coming up? >> well, i think better to get all of this business out of the way so they really can focus on the election. it seems to me that that is really what stands in the way. i think it's going to be really a tough going for democrats in the senate, but you know, these senate races can be very sort of focused on what happens in a particular state versus what's going on nationally. there are oftentimes when people view their senators and senate candidates very different than they view the top of the ticket. either way, they need biden to run a lot stronger to hold the senate and to try to get the house. >> and susan, on the other side, what are you going to watch out for there when it comes to, you know, here we are gearing up and what needs to happen, what needs to be seen. >> well, both for the senate and for the house what's going to be very interesting is how many

republicans are going to be primarying as a trump republican. because that's basically the only hope in the senate that they get some really extreme candidate like they did in 2022 because the senate, the republicans only need to pick up two, and with west virginia gone with joe manchin, it's a one pickup. so they better hope for that. on the flip side, it's going to be very difficult for the republicans to hold onto the house because trump is going to be at the top of the ballot and for those swing districts it's going to be very difficult especially with the talk of impeachment and the maga base that may also be challenging house republicans. >> i was going to ask you about that. what kind of positions does that put the moderate wing of the republican party in when it comes to this whole impeachment inquiry. >> it puts them in quite a jam, although i don't think they're going to -- like if we were going to do a prediction, i don't think they're going to vote on impeachment, i don't

think they can afford to take the vote. the compromise was to get those moderates to agree to an inquiry. they had to do a lot of tap dancing to get that done. again, with the two-vote margin. i think that's all those swing districts are willing to go in on. let's not forget, we saw them kind of unite together, and i think you could see that happen again in 2024. >> and what are you going to be watching out for, donna? >> well, i'm going to be looking to see that president is able to communicate a stronger message around democracy, around abortion rights, around the elements of his agenda that have created jobs and grown the economy because i think that if he can galvanize around that, then that makes it all the more doable for house republicans and for senate democrats to kind of hold their place and so it's going to be a volatile year, and obviously having donald trump at the top of the ticket is very

galvanizing for democrats as well. >> it is going to be a volatile year. congresswoman donna edwards and susan del percio, thanks so both of you. coming up, an update on that massive earthquake in japan. plus, donald trump's attorneys planning to respond to the ballot rulings in colorado and maine. this and much more on "msnbc reports." up to 50% of people with graves' could develop a different condition called thyroid eye disease, which should be treated by a different doctor. see an expert. find a t-e-d eye specialist at isitted.com

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a quick update on our breaking news story. multitsunami advisories. first responders telling residents along some coastal regions not to return home just yet as they try to account for the missing and also the injured. the quake occurred about nine hours ago and caused major blackouts and destruction to some buildings. so far three deaths have been reported. the new year has only just begun. it's already shaping up to be a very busy legal week for the former president. over the weekend special counsel jack smith urging an appeals court to reject donald trump's immunity defense in the federal election interference case pending against him in washington, d.c. the special counsel warning in his 82 page filing that trump's claim poses a grave threat to democracy. new reporting suggests team trump could file their appeal to the united states supreme court as soon as this week over his ballot eligibility in maine and colorado. i want to bring in a former u.s.

attorney and current msnbc legal analyst joyce vance. we need your perspective in all of this as we jump into this starting with the impact that special counsel jack smith's latest ask to the appeals court will have on the trajectory of the case. will that move help smith keep his current march 4th trial start date? >> you know, it should. it motion by trump is all or nothing. he's asking the appellate court to dismiss the prosecution against him saying that he's immune from prosecution because of the four years he spent in the presidency. so this is very much all or nothing for jack smith, but trump's arguments are weak. the real question here is one of timing and how quickly the appellate courts will move this appeal so the the case can go back to the district court for trial. >> when you say that, his arguments are weak and grasping, tell us in your view where we're seeing that the most. >> right.

so this is the essence of trump's argument. he says i'm like a king. i'm absolutely immune. there's nothing wrong that i can do that you can hold me accountable for while i'm president. and the special counsel comes back with some very powerful examples. they say, for instance, if the court were to accept trump's view, he would be able to order the national guard to assassinate his enemies. he couldn't be prosecuted. he could sell nuclear secrets. he couldn't be prosecuted, and they point out how ridiculous the position he takes is. at its ultimate expression it would let president biden do anything he chose to do to stay in power. this really isn't a tenable argument. it's one the courts will reject. >> the other side of this here when it comes to another legal fight, what do you make of the reports that trump's legal team could file their appeal this week. could it force the supreme court to weigh in on its ballot eligibility quickly on that? >> yeah, i think that's correct.

the colorado decision is teed up and if trump does not take an appeal, it's likely that it could go into effect keeping him off the ballot there. i think we'll see him file an appeal. i think we'll see the supreme court take it, a more interesting question is whether any of the other state challenges will go up to the court alongside it. minnesota, which has refused to remove him from the ballot is ready. in maine there's still an entire state court process to go before that case would be ripe. >> i want to ask you more about the maine situation there. >> you've got the maine secretary of state about the threats of violence she has faced for her decision to exclude trump from the maine ballot. >> the dehumanizing images that have been placed online of me, the threatening communications to people in my family and to my staff, people who work for me, it is designed to instill fear

and to provoke silence, to keep people from speaking out. >> certainly a shared experience. so how concerned are you about the normalization of violence towards state lawmakers and other officials over how they run these elections? >> i'm extremely concerned. she's an exceptionally fine public servant. you note in that comment she expresses concern about her family and her staff but not for herself. look, we should all be concerned about these attacks. there are new laws protecting poll workers. that's an expression of how routine violence has become in our society. it's time for everyone but essentially those most responsible, republicans to stand up and say that this is unacceptable and has to stop. >> and when it comes to following all of the former president's legal saga, i don't know how you keep track, but you

certainly do, what are you watching most closely right now? >> i think the question is which of these cases are able to get to trial in advance of the election, so voters will have the information that they need when they go to the polls. it looks like the the case in d.c., assuming the appellate courts move quickly would be on track, and of course because it involves january 6th. that's an important one for the public to hear the full evidence and see how the jury decides the case as they head to the polls. so we'll be watching this appellate process closely for the next couple of weeks. >> a lot of work for voters in watching those court events and dates along with the campaign wins as well. congratulations, by the way, on your subscribers for civil discourse. always enlightening to be able to read that. >> joyce vance, thank you and happy new year. coming up, warnings about respiratory illnesses after holiday gatherings and what you

should know. you're watching "msnbc reports." "

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welcome back, u.s. health officials sounding an alarm this new year as rising respiratory illnesses is coinciding with record travel. joining us is msnbc medical contributor and former obama policy advisory dr. kavita patel. i cannot tell you how many friends, family members,

co-workers here at 30 rock who have been calling out this past week. what is the situation? some covid, some not, kind of a mix of both? >> yeah, frances, we're seeing a mix of all viruses. i'm not shocked that you know many people, several people, i would say almost every single one of us knows somebody, one person who was sick with some sort of virus. it's the top three in activity, covid, flu, sweshl as well as rsv. that's a problem for the younger and much older patients. we're especially watching the little ones and anybody over the age of 60 to potentially be hospitalized and frances, also, a low rate of vaccinations for which we've got all three of those viruses covered. there are vaccines forvaccinati there are vaccines for all three now. >> talk about the protocols here, because it's very, very different from when covid was at its height, and then you've got all these other rsv and flu. do you quarantine, do you

isolate? how do we go about dealing with it since it's a reiteration of illnesses this year? >> it's a bit overwhelming. you have to think about the classic isolation with covid, just because the variant we're seeing that's circulating around the world, jn.1, it's a relative of the omicron, it's one of the offshoots. but it's highly infectious. it's not hospitalizing people as much as previous variants, but it's still infecting a lot of people. so you have covid and i've started to see a lot more free antigen tests like at libraries and community centers. take advantage of those. if you test positive, you really should isolate away from anybody else, family members, household members for at least the first five days, especially if you have symptoms and you haven't been vaccinated. and then, depending on kind of what your course of illness is, you may want to keep a mask on, for sure, but stay away from people. my message to all patients and

family members, if you're sick, stay home. if you've got one of these other illnesses, flu or rsv, they are still contagious. you don't need to isolate, necessarily, but masks and washing your hands, and flu, unlike covid, can live on surfaces. if you've got someone that has diagnosed flu in the house, wiping down surfaces that are common are a good practice. >> great reminders. quickly, the last question, some people say i've already gotten sick, i wasn't vaccinated, but i've gotten sick, my resistance has got to be up. should they still get vaccinated? >> they should. we've got proof that the recent vaccine for covid, the booster, no matter what shots you had before, you just need one, has been incredibly helpful in keeping people out of the hospital. any age, we want to keep you healthy and well and it applies to everyone and you can get it now at your local pharmacies and doctors offices. >> people are back to work, back to school, everyone is going to be interacting after the holidays.

dr. patel, always great to have your insight. thank you. if you are traveling today, you might see some crowds, according to aaa this has been the second busiest travel season since 2000. antonia, how is it looking so far? hopefully all calm and smooth. >> reporter: that's exactly right. very calm and smooth, people are quickly dropping their bags, moving through to security, and virtually every single passenger and travelers that i've spoken to this morning has told me that they purposefully got here hours, like, three or four hours before they need to do check in, because they were traumatized by what happened during the travel period last year, as i think almost every american can remember, there was the southwest travel meltdown, millions of americans were stranded. they were sleeping in airports like this one and in others all around the country and missing some of their holiday gatherings. so a lot of people prepared in advance, well before christmas, and on the back end now coming

out of new year's, so that they could make sure no matter what happened, they got back to their destination. take a listen to a conversation i had with one man earlier. >> did you deal with any delays? >> no, not that -- maybe about a 20-minute delay leaves new orleans, but that was it. travel was perfect. it was pretty easy, actually. my sister did everything. >> reporter: so you can see there he's really upbeat and that has been the mood here all day, even as we know from aaa and other groups that at times this has reached near pre-pandemic levels of travel and that about 115 americans between the roads and the skies have been 50 or more miles away from home, and so the congestion is still expected. if you're planning to hit the road today, you're not coming to one of these airports, think about trying to leave a little after 7:00 p.m. or so if you haven't already left. it's a holiday, so the roads might be clear, you might get lucky in the middle of the day.

but it's usually that evening period where you can get yourself on the road a little more quickly and avoid the delays, but also possible accidents. that's also important to think about as people are rushing out of their holiday celebrations right now and are running low on sleep. so try to make sure you're getting to airports early, you are prepared if you're on the road with snack, with a plan, and a plan b, if necessary, so you can get home safely before everyone heads back to work. >> and stress free. you don't need a vacation to decompress from your vacation. antonia hylton, thank you. this hour, an expected 800,000 spectators are in pasadena as floral floats, equestrian units and marching bands fill the streets during the 135th annual new year's day traditn,he rose parade. the floats part of a larger competition to win awards based on design, presentation, also entertainment value. the new year's day tradition coinciding with college

football's semifinal game between michigan and alabama, so look at the lineup on your screen. the schedule for the remaining games, it's all right there. you'll be able to enjoy a little bit of football if the nfl hasn't been enough for you. 2024 will be a lucky year for whoever wins the current powerball jackpot. the next drawing is tonight after there were no winners saturday night, making the new total $810 million. unfortunately, though, the odds of you winning are almost as high, about 1 in 300 million. it's kind of satisfying to get a ticket knowing you still have a chance. thank you so much for being with us on this new year's day. i'm francis rivera. have a safe and happy new year. steven romo kicks off coverage next. ter) and save big on things we love, like netflix and max! (dad) oh, that's awesome (mom) spaghetti night -- dinner in 30 (dad) oh, happy day! (vo) a better plan to save is verizon. it starts at $25 per line guaranteed for 3 years

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