right now on msnbc, breaking news overseas. a massive earthquake and aftershocks rattle japan. tsunami advisories triggered for the country's wester coast. israel announces it's pulling some of its troops from gaza. what that means for a war the prime minister still says will

last for months to come. also ahead, donald trump facing multiple trials in 2024. how that's raising the pressure on the u.s. supreme court and an appeals court in washington. later, what this new year will bring for congress with a new speaker, contentious issues and an election year all on the calendar. calendar i'm stephen romo in new york. we begin this hour with the breaking news we've been following out of japan. right now a tsunami advisory remains in effect after a 7.6 magnitude quake hit the sea of japan. this morning japan's prime minister said he would personally head the nation's disaster response as officials have already started arriving in the areas affected by this quake. joining me is nbc's meagan fitzgerald for more on this. i know it's around 3:00 a.m. in japan right now.

where do things stand? >> reporter: what we know is this is one of the most significant earthquakes the western part of japan has seen in years. a major tv network in japan is saying three people have died. officials say there are multiple reports of people trapped under collapsed buildings, under collapsed homes. we know roads have buckled and cracked, making them impassable. the prime minister, which you mentioned, will personally head the nation's disaster relief, says supplies will come in by boat because at this point that's the only way. the military has also been deployed to help as tens of thousands of people are now without power. shelters have been put in place because temperatures in the region are freezing. also, it's important to note here that officials have confirmed that that nuclear plant in the region has not seen irregularities. you can bet that is absolutely something that they will also be keeping a close eye on. stephen. >> all right.

certainly more to come on that one. meagan fitzgerald from london, thank you. turning now to the escalating tensions in the middle east. tehran is accusing washington of destabilizing the region after u.s. navy helicopters returned fire, destroying three houthi boats manned with iranian-backed militants. since the start of the israel-hamas war, the houthis have been attacking commercial cargo ships. inside gaza, the idf rightow is preparing to pull back some reservists. prime minister netanyahu vows the war will continue, ote, for many more months. also breaking news from jury room this morning, the israeli supreme court rolling back part of netanyahu's highly divisive judicial changes, threatening to reignite the domestic tensions that split israel before the october 7th attack and setting up a potential constitutional crisis. we want to start with the latest on the red sea situation with nbc's jay gray in tel aviv.

>> reporter: the situation in the red sea began with a distress call from a cargo ship. u.s. navy choppers responding. at that point they say they were fired on by houthi rebels and returned that fire, sinking three ships, killing ten men on board those ships. it's the first response we've seen from u.s. troops that have ended with a fatality. a lot of concern there. while israeli troops continue to gather along the border with lebanon, more troops moving in, more equipment, tanks and other equipment there, and that's a contentious back and forth. not only here in israel, but globally there's a big concern that this could ultimately become another front in this war. all of that while the ongoing

war in gaza continues with a lot of focus right now on the khan yunis area. we know it's a densely populated urban area. the fighting has been very intense. the idf says they believe hamas leadership is hiding in that area. they're really focused on trying to find all of that while they continue with air strikes as well. they do say that they've eliminated a lot of the command and control structures, a lot of the military facilities including some of the missile launch sites. they say they are continuing to find and eliminate tunnels in that renal only as well. what leadership here in tel aviv and military leaders on the ground in gaza are saying is that this is a process that's going to continue months i understand the new year. that's the latest in here in tel aviv. i'm jay gray. back to you. >> one place of agreement is people saying this is going to continue for quite a while.

jay gray, thank you. here with me is nbc news correspondent monica alba and retired four-star general barry mccaffrey. monica, the white house looking at possible retaliation inside yemen. here is how national security adviser john kirby described it. >> we don't seek a conflict rider in the region. certainly aren't looking for a conflict with the houthis. we have made it clear publicly to the houthis and privately to our allies and partners in the region that we take these threats seriously and we're going to make the right decisions going forward. >> monica, what factors is the administration looking at when they decide how to move forward, especially ahead of secretary blinken. he's traveling for the fifth time to israel this month. >> reporter: exactly, stephen. this is a concerning pattern that the administration has been tracking for weeks now. this is something where the posture of the u.s. is that if

these iranian-backed militia groups are going to launch an attack involving u.s. personnel, of course they reserve the right to engage. so far what we've seen specifically in the red sea is these militant groups are really targeting commercial ships, that is what we saw, that biggesting lags in the last couple of days over. when there was that distress call, that's something the u.s. has responded to to try to help these merchant ships. you did see them engage in the response that sunk those boats. that's something that the u.s. says it will continue to do. all along they have wanted to stress that what they don't want to see is a widening of this conflict. we've seen this also with other iranian-backed proxies attacking u.s. bases and personnel in iraq and syria. we saw how over christmas that was something that the u.s. responded with retaliatory air strikes. this is something that obviously in the region the u.s., the president, monitoring daily and

very closely. they don't want to see this really get to a point where tensions are so inflamed that they would have to go beyond what we've seen. they've always said that from the very beginning, if there were more provocations, if it got to that point, the u.s. reserves all those different rights. i think this is something that secretary blinken when he is traveling there in the coming days will continue to try to tamp down tensions. that's the number one goal always when we're talking about this current war in addition to all his other priorities here in terms of a potential future hostage release and, of course, talking about a next lower-intensity phase of israel's war against hamas, stephen. >> general, let's bring you in here now. how big of a threat do houthis pose to our troops. we've seen them attack these cargo ships. answer that one for us. but also, the overall stability of the region. you and i have talked about the potential for this spreading into a broader conflict in that region. how volatile is the situation

with the houthis? >> i think monica had an excellent wrap-up, the primary objective of both u.s. military forces and secretary blinken on diplomatic outreach is to prevent the war from escalating. clearly the situation is beyond tense. i was shocked to see the iranians putting a warship into the red sea. this situation could get out of control in a flash. if the iranian warship took military action against the u.s. navy, the next step up in my judgment would be major u.s. naval and air power attacks on iran itself. they don't want to see that happen. right now they're walking the edge of a catastrophic conflict. their proxies are attacking u.s. forces in syria and iraq and the red sea on the northern border of israel 100,000 hezbollah

fighters with well over 100,000 rockets are prepared to intervene in a war against israel. so it could not be a more dangerous situation. the only flash of good news is apparently the israelis have agreed to lift a 16-year naval blockade and will allow humanitarian aid to come in by sea into gaza, staging it out of cyprus. that's one bit of positive news. >> welcome news there, that humanitarian relief much needed for the people in gaza, many of them at risk of starvation now. general, if the u.s. does strike inside yemen, what would that look like, and what would the reaction be from iran? >> i think we're right on the edge of it. right now a retaliatory pinprick responses. you notice the u.s. carefully

staged the sinking of three houthi attack boats was in response to fire on them. the next step is to go after the launch sites. there's an enormous amount of u.s. naval air power from two carrier battle groups in the region. the u.s. air force is there in various stages in the region with an immense amount of air power. so i think, if we went after the yemeni launch sites, it would be a devastating blow to the rebels. i don't think we want to do that. it would clearly be a signal of aiding of the war. there's so much commercial traffic through the red sea, more than 100 container ships, by the way, have already been diverted in a 3,000-mile additional transit around south africa to get to european markets. the suez canal, the red sea has

12% of the global economic traffic. we're simply going to have to maintain that open. so 20 nations have come together. the u.s. navy's fifth fleet is orchestrating it. we're trying to prevent an economic global disaster. >> you can't rule out the economics involved in all this. general, back into the fighting actually happening in gaza, the idf saying it's going to start to draw down some troops from the gaza strip, reservists in particular. is this an indicator? should we look at this as shifting in israel's strategy? >> i think so. i think within a month they've got to get a cease-fire of some sort. there's still 129 hostages presumably still alive under hamas control. it's a tremendous economic burden on israel, not just their high-tech sector. they called up 220,000 reservists that came right out of the workforce. but also the agricultural system is on the edge of a disaster,

too. a lot of the workers were foreign workers, thailand, et cetera, that came in to run israeli farms. their tax receipts are plummeting. their output is going down. i think israelis have got to back off. they're losing the information war clearly to hamas. the focus on the brutal, devastating 7 october attack, torture, rape, murder of israeli innocent civilians has shifted now to the gaza population which clearly has been put in jeopardy, not just the destruction of the infrastructure but just getting food and medical care. i think israel is running into the limits of what they can accomplish. we've got to find -- u.s. diplomacy has to find someone to maintain order in gaza and probably the west bank, also. that's a significant challenge

facing the united states. >> that as we approach the three-month mark of all of this going on. monica, i wanted to ask you about the breaking news from israel, the supreme court striking down the key part of netanyahu's controversial judicial overhauls. is there concern from the u.s. that this could ignite tensions there, potentially weaken netanyahu in all this? just to remind people, the huge protests we saw, most of the headlines out of israel before october 7th were about these huge protests and the unrest we saw there. >> reporter: mass protests stephen. that was something that at the time the u.s. had been worried about in terms of destabilizing the country. much of that was put aside, as you mentioned, after october 7th and the terrorist attacks in israel. so what we saw in terms of the disruption, and in all of those mass protests and that expression really had been put to the side.

now with this ruling there is a renewed fear that that could come back up. this is a very divisive issue. certainly prime minister netanyahu has staked his political capital on. there's always from the u.s. perspective this question about who is leading israel and how the united states can work with them. after those attacks and, of course, after hamas murdered those israelis, including americans and other foreign nationals, the priority was to make sure that the u.s. was continuing to support israel. the president has been steadfast in that even though he has been clear in recent weeks, he had serious disagreements with the prime minister and even those comments recently about the, quote, indiscriminate bombing that israel has done. he's suggested even that the government of israel was going to have to make some very difficult decisions ahead. a part of that is in this judicial overall and the questions about the future of

the country from that aspect as well, stephen. >> so many variables at play. monica alba, general barry mccaffrey, thank you both. pressure point. will the debate over whether donald trump is eligible to be on republican primary ball loss hurt the former president, or could it actually help him? we'll take a look when we're back in just 60 seconds. you're watching msnbc. conds. you're watching msnbc. dry skin is sensitive skin, too. and it's natural. treat it that way. aveeno® daily moisture with prebiotic oat is proven to moisturize dry skin all day. you'll love our formula for face, too. aveeno® right now get a free footlong at subway.

like the new deli heroes. buy one footlong in the app, get one free. it's a pretty big deal. kinda like me. order in the subway app today. welcome back. former president donald trump is expected to appeal decisions in colorado and maine that disqualify him from the 2024 ballots. they argue it violates the 14th amendment that stops insurrectionists from holding office. right now there are 14 other states with challenges to trump's white house bid, putting pressure on the supreme court to settle this issue. geoff bennett, msnbc political

contributor, david jolly, former republican congressman from florida and msnbc political analyst, along with carol lam, former federal prosecutor and another msnbc legal analyst. thank you for being here. jeff, how is trump responding to these state challenges? >> well, the former president is fund-raising off these challenges and making the case that, as he sees it, this is election interference by another form. you have in the case of colorado unelected judges, and in the case of maiven you have an unelected civil servant who are making a determination for hundreds of thousands of people about the fate of donald trump's political future. of course, both in colorado and in maine, they arrived at the decisions to very different processes. one was through obviously the court, the other through an administrative process. it was through a strict reading of the constitution, making determinations that donald trump participate fld the streks, is an instructionist and on those

grounds cannot be placed on their ballots. in the short term he's using this as he's used the previous curveball indictments and civil cases against him, to rally his base. but in the long term, we really have to see whether this adds to the political baggage that donald trump brings to the electorate. that's exactly what happened back in 2020. we saw what happened there with the outcome of that election, stephen. >> many other states waiting to see what happens here. carol, i want to ask you about the federal election interference case. trump's team arguing he's already been acquitted for his alleged crimes during the second impeachment trial. how much does that impeachment trial matter in criminal court? does it matter at all? >> it really shouldn't matter at all, stephen. it was what i view as the weaker argument that former president trump makes in his argument to the d.c. court of appeals. he's basically saying because i was not convicted in the

impeachment process, it would be double jeopardy for me to be prosecuted and perhaps convicted by the criminal prosecuors in washington, d.c., the federal prosecutors. that's just not how double jeopardy works. jack smith lays out a pretty convincing explanation of why it doesn't work, because impeachment proceedings are not criminal proceedings. double jeopardy relates to criminal proceedings. it says you can't be tried twice criminally for the same acts. so the fact that we're talking about different allegations, different processes, different rules of evidence, different burdens of proof i think clearly takes it out of the double jeopardy arena. >> david, let's bring you in here. what do these state challenges, what do they mean for trump's campaign moving forward? >> look, i think the two hot legal issues that ultimately land with the supreme court, the ones we're discussing, the 14th amendment case in colorado, maine and other states by the time it gets to scotus, and then

the second being the immunity question. the immunity question i don't think has a lot of political resonance. as consequential and historic as it is, it's an argument i think probably gets lost in the body politic. this question of whether or not he can be on the ballot or not, does have political resonance. you're seeing that among republican primary voters. arguably in the republican primary as helping donald trump. as ron desantis said, all these court matters with donald trump is kind of crowding out the room and crowding out the space. i think in the short run, it's good for drum. what i would say to republicans making the argument that voters should decide this question, no, they should not. that's why we have a judicial branch. that's why courts rule without fear or favor. ultimately the supreme court has to make a clear declaration on this 14th amendment question with donald trump. >> time is ticking on the decision as the first ballots will be printed starting in

three or four days now. jeff, i want to ask you about trump's republican challengers. how are they responding to all of this? they could be using this to go after him. it doesn't seem like they are. >> they aren't. the reason why is because, in order for them to increase their political standing in iowa, new hampshire, south carolina and beyond, they have to break their own ceilings and attract more support from the trump base if they were going to make a serious challenge against him. so that's one of the reasons why, for this entire campaign, you really haven't seen nikki haley or ron desantis really distinguish themselves from donald trump on the basis of his actions on january 6th or any of the criminal and civil proceedings against him. so on this issue, they are really echoing him and supporting him and going even really beyond that. you heard desantis and haley say if the former president is convicted and they happen to win the presidency, that they would pardon him. so there really is no real light

between the positions that the former president is making and haley and desantis are making. that's one of the reasons why the president's arguing has been so resonant with republican voters. it not just him saying he's unfairly treated. it's the entire infrastructure of the republican party. >> ramaswamy going as far to say that he'll take himself off the ballots if trump isn't allowed in every state. trump's legal team saying they're going to appeal to the supreme court over colorado's decision as well. what happens next? >> so there are a couple of things that the supreme court could do. in fact, there are many, many things the supreme court could do to deal with the issues of whether former president trump can appear on state primary ballots and perhaps in the future on the actual ballot. what's important to realize is that they could actually -- the supreme court could actually

take these state decisions one by one. they could come up with varying answers. they could say the maine decision stands and the colorado one does not. they're all very different. the question the supreme court is going to have to decide is, one, is a former president or is a presidential candidate an officer of the united states for purposes of the application of the insurrection ban? then they're going to have to decide whether these states apply their own state rules correctly and whether the state rules comported with the u.s. constitution tugs /*. it could be a very complicated result at the end of the day. >> when i hear the word complicated, it makes me think time, that this could take a while. we'll see if that comes to pass. david, i wanted to ask you about maine's secretary of state who ruled that trump was ineligible for the primary ballot. she made that decision on her own. it wasn't a court who made that.

she was the victim of a s.w.a.t.ing call friday night, in this case a man pre tent to be an intruder in who are home. the whole point of this appears to be intimidation for the actions she took regarding that ballot. talk a bit about what that means for a public official who would have to challenge donald trump. >> you can throw in the colorado supreme court and some of the threats against the justices there as well. look, donald trump did not invent political violence, but he certainly mainstreamed it. i realize that's a broad brush charge. consider that it was violence on january 6th that he incited to try to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. i think it's fair game to recognize that at the leadership of donald trump is this currency of intimidation. we see it through his own language on truth social. we see it through his actions and his followers act on that. i suspect we'll see many more incidents like this. certainly there are threats and

intimidation that go the other way as well. but in this very specific case, i think what we've seen in maine we will see throughout the country from now until election day. the hard question we face as a nation, are we resilient enough to push through the divisions of this november. this will be an election that can tear us asunder. are we committed enough as a country to push through with unity? that's a question we haven't answered yet. >> november is a long way away, a lot to be seen. geoff bennett, josh and carol lam, thank you very much. congress isn't back in session until next week. but the countdown is on to what could be another government shutdown. you're watching msnbc. another shutdown you're watching msnbc.

♪♪ we come from a long line of cowboys. ♪♪ when i see all of us out here on this ranch, i see how far our legacy can go. now on sale at ancestry. i could've waited to tell my doctor my heart was racing just making spaghetti... but i didn't wait. i could've delayed telling my doctor

i was short of breath just reading a book... but i didn't wait. they told their doctors. and found out they had... atrial fibrillation. a condition which makes it about five times more likely to have a stroke. if you have one or more of these symptoms irregular heartbeat, heart racing, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue or lightheadedness, contact your doctor. this is no time to wait. (tony hawk) skating for over 45 years has taken a toll on my body. contact your doctor. i take qunol turmeric because it helps with healthy joints and inflammation support. why qunol? it has superior absorption compared to regular turmeric. qunol. the brand i trust. i'm not just accomplished. i am accomplishing. so i'm doing all i can to help lower my risk of breaking a bone. for postmenopausal women with osteoporosis at high risk for fracture taking calcium and vitamin d may not be enough. adding prolia® is proven to help strengthen bones and reduce spine fracture risk by 68% with 1 shot every 6 months.

do not take prolia® if you have low blood calcium, are pregnant, are allergic to it, or take xgeva®. serious allergic reactions like low blood pressure, trouble breathing, throat tightness, face, lip or tongue swelling, rash, itching or hives have happened. tell your doctor about dental problems as severe jaw bone problems may happen with prolia®, or about pain in your hip, groin, or thigh, as unusual thigh bone fractures have occurred. talk to your doctor before stopping, skipping, or delaying prolia®, as spine and other fractures have occurred. serious side effects, like low blood calcium, serious infections which could need hospitalization, skin problems, and severe bone, joint, or muscle pain have occurred. i have so much more to accomplish. talk to your doctor about prolia®.

i think he's having a midlife crisis talk to your doctor about i'm not. you got us t-mobile home internet lite. after a week of streaming they knocked us down... ...to dial up speeds. like from the 90s. great times. all i can do say is that my life is pre-- i like watching the puddles gather rain. -hey, your mom and i procreated to that song. oh, ew! i think you've said enough. why don't we just switch to xfinity like everyone else? then you would know what year it was. i know what year it is.

when lawmakers get back to work on capitol hill, they've already got mountain of work in front of them. that includes staving off a government shut doup, solving funding for ukraine and israel that includes now border policies which republicans have been demanding and trying to work on limits on the government's spying powers. joining me now is senior capitol hill correspondent garrett haake, and michael snell, congressional reporter for "the hill." congress facing the huge to-do list. the deadlines are coming fast

for funding the government. what is it going to take this time to avoid a shutdown? >> reporter: the short answer is it's going to take some functionality in the house that we didn't see in the first year of congress. the senate has been working through these spending bills in a bipartisan way. the house has been really struggling even just among republicans to decide what they want and a process by which to move them forward. if those decisions aren't made basically now before congress gets back into town, it's very difficult to see how the time exists to pass even the basic funding bills necessary to avoid the first of what would be a two-part shutdown, two partial shut doups, the first in mid january, the second could come in february. that deadline is going to come up very quickly once lawmakers return to d.c. >> this feels all but routine now. michael, now to you, the clash over the immigration policy ended up preventing a deal for ukraine and israeli aid. there is progress on both sides

of the aisle. how far apart are lawmakers on this issue? >> this is something lawmakers on both sides of the eichel really wanted to get done before congressional left for that december recess. the difficulties of striking a deal on border security and immigration reform, matters that have bedaefled lawmakers for months. it's going to be a key focus when lawmakers, particularly those bipartisan senators in a group working on border security, when they return. lawmakers on both sides in both chambers and white house officials and biden administration officials and ukrainian officials have been sounding the alarm that ukraine needs more u.s. support as we come into the new year and approach the two-year mark of its war with russia. that's going to be a key focus. again, lawmakers have been saying they're inching closer to a deal. there are still some thor any

matters that remain. it remains to be scene if they'll be able to strike a deal. there's a lot of pressure to get some consent ous on border security to unlock the aid for ukrainian. >> garrett, along with all this, we can't forget there's an impeachment inquiry to biden still ongoing. where does that stand right now? >> reporter: house republicans made further steps to further the inquiry over the holiday break. they sought the testimony of another biden associate who they believe was involved in a loan that joe biden made to his brother james widen, another kind of business partner who they think might have testimony relevant to the core of their inquiry which is the biden family's business dealings. they also have started the process of trying to get information about any communication between the house and hunter biden, about the statement hunter biden made outside the capitol a few weeks ago. they want to know what level of coordination there was between the white house and hunter biden about that statement.

this impeachment inquiry has had a lot of motion but little progress. house republicans have yet to be able to link joe biden to any of hunter biden's malfeasance which is kind of the basis of all this impeachment effort. we'll see if they have anymore luck in the new year. the evidence hasn't shown up for them thus far. >> many people waiting to see that evidence. mychal, we can't forget 2024, what about the fight to control the house and senate? how is that shaping up? >> the presidential election is the main card for 2024. still, control of the house and control of the senate will be two fierce battles when we talk about those november elections. both of which are up for grabs. we talk about the house first. republicans are just holding on to the majority by just a few seats, single digits, a majority that was further slichled with the ousting of george santos. just today, the first day kevin mccarthy is no longer a member of congress. so house republicans are really

holding on to this edge with a very small majority, something that will be up for grabs come november. it's the same with the senate, democrats have a very slim edge there. in terms of how different legislative fights go this year, when you particularly talk about impeachment, this has been something that has been really focused on when you talk about the 2024 elections for control of the house. there are 17 republicans currently representing districts president biden won in 2020. there's a lot of focus to see how they vote on different matters relating to impeachment, how they comment on different matters relating to impeachment. that can be politically perilous for them when we talk about those november elections. look, that may only be 17 in a body made up of 435. again, when you're talking about this razor-thin majority, every seat really does count. >> more to come on that. 11 months until election day. garrett haake and michael snell, thank you both. in an exclusive interview with nbc's "meet the press,"

john fetterman spokane diddley with kristen welker about his mental health issues. he was discharged in march from a treatment center for clinical depression while recovering from stroke. >> at what point did you know you needed real help, that you needed to check yourself in to a hospital? >> after the election, that's when things actually accelerated and got worse. at that point i wasn't able to leave bed. and my kids, i really scared my kids. they thought, you won, dad. why aren't we enough? why are you still so sad? why are you even more sad? it was hard to explain why i was. of course, a 9-year-old child wouldn't understand. it was awful, and that's when it continued to get more and more

intense, and i pleaded not to go down to d.c. for kind of the orientation in the middle of november, and i tried to explain. i'm like, look, i'm probably going to need some time to get to better. >> senator fetterman says he's now living his best life, and he's talking about mental health because he wants people to know that help actually works. working in the new year. how new raises to the minimum wage could affect paychecks and the prices we end up paying. you're watching msnbc. watching. r that sweet shot. and with higher stroke risk from afib not caused by a heart valve problem, we're going for a better treatment than warfarin. eliquis. eliquis reduces stroke risk. and has less major bleeding. over 97% of eliquis patients did not experience a stroke. don't stop taking eliquis without talking to your doctor

as this may increase your risk of stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking, you may bruise more easily or take longer for bleeding to stop. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, or unusual bruising. it may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. the number one cardiologist-prescribed blood thinner. we're going for it. ask your doctor about eliquis.

i have active psoriatic arthritis. but with skyrizi to treat my skin and joints, i'm feeling this moment. along with clearer skin skyrizi helps me move with less joint pain, stiffness, swelling, and fatigue. and is just 4 doses a year after 2 starter doses. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine, or plan to. there's nothing like clearer skin and better movement-and that means everything! ask your doctor about skyrizi today. learn how abbvie could help you save.

welcome back. it's a happy new year for millions of americans getting pay raises starting today as the minimum wage is set to go up in half of all u.s. states. nbc's sam brock has more. >> reporter: after years of fighting for a higher page floor in cities across the country, the new year is going to bring a new paycheck for millions of americans with about half of all states and the district of columbia either raising the minimum wage on january 1st or at some point during the year. hawaii's increase will be the largest, while washington will have the highest minimum wage of any state at more than $16 an hour. but it's california and fast food workers like amisha williams who are seeing the most

seismic changes after years of struggles. >> i have to pick and choose between rent, groceries and livelihood. >> reporter: now the golden state's minimum wage jumps to $16 at the beginning of the year, and for fast foot workers, it rises to 20 in april. the mother of six, williams, says that is definite progress. >> we protested every witch way to prove our point. >> reporter: businesses are reacting, especially in california where several pizza hut franchise owners will reportedly lay off more than a thousand drivers statewide and rely instead on companies like doordash. for mom and pop shoms like franky's pizza shop, the owner says the wage hike will mean longer hours for him. >> are you saying because of the rate hike, it's no longer an option to hire more employees? >> i cannot do it. i can't. who is going to pay it? i wouldn't be able to afford to

do it. i have to work longer hours to compensate. >> reporter: this new reality for many businesses coming as 20 states still rely on the decades' old federal minimum wage of $7.25 in place since 2009 while workers like williams see new opportunities. >> so many people doubting us. sometimes i can't even believe it, you know. i'm just so -- i'm so happy. >> reporter: sam brock, nbc news. >> sam, thanks. predictions of a recession by some economists and industry titans did not come too pass in 2023. experts seem to agree we likely won't see a recession this year either. but that doesn't mean americans are necessarily feeling warm and fuzzy about the economy. joining me is wall street correspondent and messenger and cnbc contributor ben white. ben, are there any signs pointing to an economic slowdown as we enter 2024 or can this be

a soft landing everyone was talking about and hoping for. >> happy new year, steven, thanks for having me. it does look like now we're gong to nail the soft landing for the economy which is a remarkable thing after we had 40-year-high inflation a year ago in march and had the federal reserve raise rates 11 times to slow inflation. we seem to have done that. inflation is coming down finally. so far growth is fine and should be fine in the final quarter of the year with strong retail sales. that said, it's not likely that any economy ever nails a soft landing after a bunch of fed rate hikes like this. there are risks to the forecast meaning we could get off track, that may have raised rates zoo much. that starts to go through the system. interest rates on homes stay high for a long time, credit cards, consumer spending goes down. it's possible the plane goes off the runway, but for now the fed

pulled it off which is a remarkable achievement. >> over all the numbers say 2023 was a good year for the economy. overall americans don't reflect that. they don't feel good about it. inflation is still high. what will it take for people to feel like things are going okay? >> i think it's a larger issue than just the economy on this, the national malaise that we're in. inflation has made it feel like people aren't getting much richer. it's now keeping up with the cost of living, people are looking as much as inflation is raising prices. nobody has ever felt that much richer because prices have gone up so much and they're worried about the fact that the turkey they bought for $3.50 may only be rising by a little amount, but still more expensive than they paid for before. americans don't think in terms of inflation rates, just the price. that's still high even though inflation is coming down. people generally don't feel they've gotten a lot richer.

the market is booming. the economy looks like it will go well in 2024, grow pretty well, which should make feelings about it better which should theoretically be better for democrats and biden in the fall. right now that hate the biden economy even though the numbers underlying it look pretty decent. >> that's a great point. my husband doesn't complain about inflation, he complains about prices all the time. >> it's just us nerds care about inflation rates. humans care about what things cost. your husband is like many americans. >> he'll like to hear that. housing now, a huge cost for many americans. is there any sign of the housing market improving, especially for people hoping to buy a house this year? >> yeah. we were just talking about that around the new year's table here with a lot of family, people concerned about that, the fact that mortgage rates went up to 7%. i think they're going to keep coming down this year. we should float back towards 5,

5.5. the fed will be cutting rates later this year if all goes according to plan which means if you're out there worried about the mortgage rates, you may wait a little while. it should come down. ownership should be a little more affordable. it's still hard for people to get that down payment together and have enough cash. the idea we're going to hit 10%, 15% mortgage rates like we did in the '70s and '80s, that seems out the window. be hopeful would-be home buyers. >> ben white, thank you so much for your time today. >> pleasure, happy new year home ward bound. millions of americans are trying to make their way back after traveling for the new year and holidays in general. how it looks at the airport and on the roads. that's next. you're watching msnbc. (vo) that's right! plans start at $25 per line guaranteed for 3 years. only on verizon. ■ if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. ■ ■if you're happy

and you know it, ride your bike. ■ ■ if you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it. ■ if you're happy and you know it, smile big and bright. ■ thousands of kids just like me, are happy every day. and it's all because of generous people like you, who support shriners hospitals for children every month. all you have to do is call the number on your screen or go online to loveshriners.org right now with your monthly gift. because of people like you shriners hospitals for children is able to make an everyday miracle happen for kids like me. ■ if you're happy and you know it, dance around. ■ ■ if you're happy and you know it, play a song. if you're happy and you know it, ■ and your face will surely show it. ■ ■ if you're happy and you know it, take a shot. ■ and when you call or go

online right now to donate $19 a month or more, we'll send you this adorable love to the rescue blanket as a thank you and a reminder of all the smiles you're bringing to kids faces every day. will today be the day you send your love to the rescue? when you call the number on your screen right now and give as little as $19 a month, just $0.63 a day, you'll be making a life changing difference for a child just like sarah. your monthly gift today could change your life forever. because of you, we are happy and we know it. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. please call or go online right now to give if operators are busy, please wait patiently or go to loveshriners.org right away

♪♪ here's to... one year bolder. ♪♪ ♪boost♪ nutrition for now. when you shop wayfair, ♪boost♪ you get big deals for your home - every day. so big, we'll have you saying... am i a big deal? yeah you are, because it's a big deal, when you get a big deal. wayfair deals so big that you might get a big head. because with savings so real - you can get your dream sofa for half the price.

wayfair. it's always a big deal. ♪ wayfair you've got just what i need ♪ (vo) if you have graves' disease, your eye symptoms could mean something more. that gritty feeling can't be brushed away. even a little blurry vision can distort things. and something serious may be behind those itchy eyes. 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 welcome back. today, millions of americans are set to travel as part of the second busiest holiday travel

season since the year 2000. aaa expected more than 115 million people to travel 50 miles or more over the ten-day holiday travel season. joining me now is nbc's antonia hylton at laguardia airport with more. hopefully things still looking quiet behind you. looks like you're at the beautiful terminal b, how is it looking out there? >> reporter: yes, this is the famous terminal b, the light show, all that fun going on not too far from where i am right now, and all the travelers here are in a very good mood because things are moving smoothly. it's not just at laguardia in new york, that's broadly the story across the country right now. there's barely more than a dozen cancellations today, and just over a thousand delays which, you know, can sound tough, but when you compare it to what we have seen in past holiday seasons and with the southwest meltdown that we saw last year, that left millions stranded, people sleeping in airports for days at a time, in some cases, people are feeling grateful. take a listen to a conversation i had with one traveler.

>> it was as early as possible to get here. we got here more than four hours before we were supposed to check in. we were waiting to the check-in. it doesn't seem bad at all. >> reporter: and we heard that story a couple of times today, people who got here early and have been sitting around waiting for their turn to check in, because they were anticipating a way bigger mess than today turned out to be. if you are not flying and you are hitting the road, though, still stuff to look out for across the country. experts say leaving after 7:00 p.m. is going to be your best bet to avoid a crunch and to get to where you're going in the shortest amount of time as possible and also in the safest way possible, steven. >> good advice. all right, antonia hylton, thank you so much. that's going to do it for this hour of msnbc reports. jessica leighton picks up our coverage right after this. righ.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪