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good afternoon, i'm chris jansing live from msnbc headquarters in new york city. ahead for us, how a trump co-defendant is trying to get the charges against him tossed out with accusations about the personal life of the fulton county d.a. we'll explain what's causing all the controversy. plus, the u.s. strikes back after dozens of attacks in the red sea, the pentagon launching strikes on houthi rebels. will it be a deterrent or lead to a wider war? . >> 14 nations and the united states all issued a warning to the houthis that this type of illegal and reckless activity needed to stop or there would be consequences, and last night there were consequences. >> and mother nature flowing

down the final scramble before the iowa caucuses. the impact the weather could have just as polls show nikki haley beating ron desantis there. but we begin this hour in atlanta, what might have been a routine procedural hearing in donald trump's georgia election case is now anything but. one of trump's co-defendants has now alleged that d.a. fani willis improperly hired a romantic partner as special prosecutor. nathan wade who is now benefitting financially. our team notes that the filing does not provide any direct evidence to support the claims, citing only sources with knowledge and raising questions about the process by which willis hired wade. wade is scheduled to appear in court for the first time today since what the atlanta newspaper calls these bombshell accusations, leading a defendant to call for charges against him to be dropped and adding to republican criticism of the case. i want to bring in msnbc's katie

phang who's following all of this for us. and former fulton county georgia deputy district attorney and msnbc legal analyst, melissa redmond. also with us, msnbc political analyst and writer at large at "the bulwark," tim miller. so melissa, this is the overarching question, republicans and frankly even now some democrats are raising. if the accusations are true, was an ethical line crossed, and could it potentially affect any or all of the cases being prosecuted in this office? >> certainly it could. that is the major question is whether or not there was an ethical violation and how or whether that ethical violation violates the constitutional rights of any of the defendants to get a fair trial. of course defendants don't get to pick their prosecutors, but they are entitled to have a prosecutor who is pursuing a case free from any fear or favor to any party. so that would be the issue once this motion is decided or once

the motion is heard. >> and we're looking, you see those boxes that remind us all of covid and all the zoom calls we did, but this is actually the case that is getting underway, the hearing that is getting underway, and you see that mr. wade is indeed there. nathan wade. so katie, we're four days into this accusation. it all started on monday, and we have all officially heard that the accusation is there was a romantic relationship and that it's going to be addressed by the d.a.'s office in a future fueling, but already this according to "the new york times," lawyers for mr. wade's wife jocelyn wade, issued a subpoena this week to ms. willis seeking her appearance in a divorce action that is in progress. now, all of this might just seem so much salaciousness, but here is where people point to concerns. fulton county records show that as of early october, mr. wade's firm collected about $654,000 in legal fees in spite of there

being no record that he has ever previously handled a felony trial, a felony case in georgia, and in fact, there are people who have handled these kinds of cases who have suggested that you need to have a certain level of experience in order to be appointed as he was. now, judge scott mcafee is not expected to address this at today's hearing, but does somebody need to, who would and when? >> so it will be addressed because a motion was filed by one of donald trump's co-defendants michael roman when these allegations were raised. i wanted to very quickly address a couple of critical points. one, the billing for the work that was done, work has been done, that can easily be dispensed with. you can look and see the work product and see whether or not it was billed appropriately. the suggestion that the oath of office that needed to be filed was not done and that is defective or fatal in some way by the dime, that's already been disposed of already, it was raised by kenneth chesebro

previously, and that motion was denied to be able to dismiss the indictment on that basis. finally, even if there were a relationship existing on a personal level between d.a. fani willis and nathan wade, it doesn't speak to or affect the quality or the quantity of the evidence. recall, a grand jury returned an indictment in this case. a grand jury independent of fani willis and nathan wade, sat, listened to the presentation of evidence and said there is probable cause that crimes were committed by the following defendants and that is the reason why that indictment was returned against those particular defendants. mcafee will hear this motion. it will be addressed. we do know that other defendants are probably going to adopt the allegations in this motion, but i do not believe in any way it's going to be fatal to the prosecution of this case. >> all right, so let's take that legal part first, if we can, tim. even if there are no real legal questions that are raised here,

and i should say there are people who are trying to raise legal questions. opponents are calling, for example, for an investigation into misuse of funds. how much could this muddy the waters in the court of public opinion at a time when there's already suspicion about the way the judicial process has worked here? >> yeah, i guess i'd say this. here's what we know already about fani willis. you know, she's been getting criticized from the start of this investigation really from the right, from a lot of sources, and she is one that has already gained multiple guilty pleas, and so i think a lot of ways fani willis has quieted a lot of doubters with the nature in which she's conducted this case to date. that's the important thing, to date. you know, going -- i do not know, you know, the details that mr. roman alleges here, but i think that in all of these cases, in all four cases facing donald trump and in the campaign facing donald trump, it might not be fair but everybody involved in this needs to have their t's crossed and their i's

dotted. the stakes here are way too high to have anything that could possibly, you know, muddy the waters and help donald trump and his compatriots get off the hook. and so, i think that that is why there is a lot of legitimate concern about these accusations from folks who have been supportive of fani willis. i think that is really the big question here is are, you know, were the alleged actions bad enough to create problems here and to allow some of these people to get off the hook? the stakes are too high for that. >> let me ask you to put on your communications consultant hat, if i can, tim. you're right, from the beginning of this case fani willis has been a target of the right. and by a lot of people's estimation she has built a strong case. but now in one of the most high profile cases against the former president, there are these allegations the special prosecutor is not qualified. he works far two-person firm that handles everything from

divorces to car accident disputes and he and willis -- this is an allegation -- have benefitted financially. given the stakes and given the level of accusations here, does willis need to answer these allegations and fast? >> i think so. look, in all of these sort of situations, the right answer is to get all the information out, and you know, if the information is damning and this means that they need to look to bring in other prosecutors on this case, that's just -- that's life. okay? if the accusations are false or exaggerated or hyperbole, then she needs to reject them, right? again, this is not -- this is not your usual case that hits the fulton county office, and like i said, i repeat, fani willis to date has quieted a lot of critics by getting guilty pleas from high profile folks. as this goes forward and as the fish get bigger, the right thing to do when these accusations are out there is not to let it

fester, and i'll tell you it's festering if you're following this case online. >> so katie, all of that distracting from the actual cases. we've seen a lot of people on the screen who are actually in court today or weighing in remotely. what's going on today? >> so there's several motions that have been filed by co-defendants in fulton county that are being addressed today. at 1:00 what has already commenced, what we're seeing on screen in that zoom are several basically back in december 1st, several defendants had motions that had to be addressed. it was an eight-hour hearing. a lot of it got rolled over to today. it goes to show you, how much is going on with a case that has 15 remaining co-defendants. what's going to come up at 2:30 is stuff that's a little more interesting. at 2:30, not only do we have trefon cuedies's lawyers, she has had a lot of social media posts that have been very controversial. her lawyers have said it's not about the money. we can't control her anymore, we want to withdraw as her counsel. she's in court today for the

first time since she was arrested and arraigned. >> and they're doing that because she seems to have said some things that maybe would have broken the terms of her release. >> bond conditions. exactly. whether they were threats or otherwise. in addition, we're also knowing that donald trump today through his lawyer is asking to compel the production of some evidence from the house select committee, from the january 6th committee. that's all going to be teed up today. mcafee is very efficient, the judge of this case. he takes it in. he narrows the issues. you know what we have been waiting for months, not weeks, for months, a trial date. fani willis has said try this case in august of 2024. she asked for that last year in 2023. we've been sitting here waiting. >> we are wain in so many let me go back to one of the te. things she just mentioned if i can, melissa. the way "the atlanta journal-constitution" put it about the agenda today, it includes the forme president's atlantal team wants access to lists of evidence disclosed to other trump attorneys in the separate federal election interference case in washington

and in a twist has asked fulton prosecutors for help obtaining the material. why would they want this stuff, and how likely is it to happen? >> well, they want all the information they can get their hands on. i think it's unlikely that the court, and it was kind of discussed in december whether or not the state had an obligation to help the defense obtain evidence that's not part of the state's case. it's information they would like to have to see whether or not there's some relevance to their defense, but the state is obligated to provide information in their possession or in their possession they intend to use during the trial, and this does not appear to be part of that file. so i don't believe judge mcafe is going to compel the state to assist the defense in getting this information that's not -- that they have no authority over, nothing to compel the state department from turning over the requested files.

they will be able, however, i believe one of the filings indicated that there was information that d.a. willis's office requested from the commission and whether or not that information was turned over. of course, they would -- trump's attorney would be entitled to that information, and i think that's part of the motion to compel also. >> melissa redmond and katie phang, thank you both so much. tim miller, you're going to stick around. up next, concerns over a widening war in the middle east after u.s. and british air strikes against houthi rebels in yemen. we're back in 60 seconds. e backs rr

yemen overnight raising concerns of an expanding conflict. the houthis are vowing to retaliate after the u.s. and allies hit 60 militia targets using more than 100 guided munitions to take out radar, air defense systems and drone and

missile launch sites all across yemen. for months the houis have used those sites to terrorize ships on the red sea disrupting global trade by forcing hundreds of thos ships to take longer, costlier routes to avoid the danger. in a statement, president biden said these targeted strikes are a clear message that the united states and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors imperil freedom of navigation in one of the world's most critical commercial routes. but those strikes have stoked controversy across the arab world. today massive protests in yemen, iran, jordan, bahrain, and beyond. even some key american allies in the region say they're concerned the strike will only inflame tensions. joining us now nbc's courtney kube is the at the pentagon, raf sanchez is in tel aviv. mark polly mor rop lis, msnbc national security and intelligence analyst joins us as well. courtney, let's start on the ground. what can you tell us about the

timing of this operation and what the biden administration and the military wanted to achieve. >> so part of the timing here, they've had strike options on the table and underssion since late 2023, so for about a month or so if not even a little bitonger at this point. the reason that it took until now to really refine them and then make the final decision president biden to carry out these strikes was they wanted to, number one, build a coalition. the u.s. didn't want to go this alone. so once they had the british military on board for the actual conducting of the strikes, the british military also dropped bombs here with the united states last night, and then there were a number of other nations that played a non-operational role. so they supported the mission even though they weren't up there in aircraft or dropping bombs inside yemen. the u.s. wanted to establish that. in addition to that, they wanted to make sure they could identify a number of targets that might actually impact the houthis' ability to continue carrying out these attacks in the red sea. now, tha includes things like degrading their ability to fair

off these one-way drones or the anti-ship missiles or the ballistic missiles that they have now launched more than 80 of in the last two months or so, chris. now, that is why we saw the targets that they selected for last night. warehouses where they kept munitions. radar systems that they would use to -- for some of the targeting of ships. so the idea is to really degrade that. in addition to that, chris, one of the huge missions here was to hopefully deter the houthis from continuing to go after these targets in the red sea. this is having a real impact on global shipping. we're seeing major shipping companies reroute their ships at additional cost to the consumer. that's one of the things that the biden administration was very concerned here, and then in addition to that, because of just the high number of projectiles that the houthis have been lobbing into a very busy shipping area, the biden administration was extremely concerned that one of these things could hit a u.s. military ship. that would really ratchet up the

tensions in what is already an extremely tense region, chris. >> secretary of state antony blinken just got back from the mission that took him all over the middle east. that trip was intended in part to keep the war in gaza from spreading. now you have this sharp escalation from the u.s. and its allies. what's the reaction been like over there? >> reporter: well, the reaction from the houthis has been defiance. they say they are going to continue firing missiles a the -- at ships in the red sea. they are going to respond to the united states and britain for these attacks. they organized these absolutely enormous rallies in houthi-controlled areas of yemen earlier around friday prayers. as courtney was saying, the goal here to deter the houthis and also to degrade their abiliabil. we have yet to see to what extent their capacities are damaged. they haven't yet fired any more missiles since those strikes

overnight. it may be that they're regrouping. it may be that these attacks did deal a significant blow to their ability to launch missiles. it's something we're going to find out in the coming days. the houthis, as we've been talking about are backed by iran. they're part of the so-called axis of resistance of iranian backed groups in iraq, hezbollah, in southern lebanon. we've been hearing from the iranian foreign ministry today, not a surprise, they are condemning the uk and the u.s. for these strikes. they're calling them arbitrary attacks that will have no result other than fueling insecurity and instability in the region, and they are saying that these strikes are designed as a distraction. we are also hearing from saudi arabia, america's ally in the region, and they are expressing concern too. they say they're calling for restraint, avoiding escalation in light of the events the region is witnesses. and it's notable, chris, that if

the houthis do respond, one of their first targets may very well be saudi oil facilities, which may be why we are seeing this cautious line from saudi arabia so far. i will just tell you across the region, there was already a lot of anger from just ordinary people, not just palestinians but ordinary people all across the region who felt that the united states was standing by as we see this humanitarian situation collapsing in gaza, and there is real anger tonight all across the middle east. there is a feeling that the u.s. has done very little to stop israeli bombing in gaza but swept into action in response to these houthi missiles fired at ships in the red sea, chris. >> pointing out, mark, the complexities of what's happening there. so look, the houthis are indeed vowing retaliation, and as raf points out, we don't know whether or not their capabilities were struck with a

significant blow based on these strikes, but you do have extensive experience in yemen. how capable are the houthis, and what's your -- what are you anticipating? >> well, first of all, i think that we had to take this action, for two reasons. one of course is kind of for the future of international shipping. you know, and we've heard a lot about that, and number two, is we lost the aura of deterrence. you can't have, you know, two dozen strikes against maritime ships and u.s. navy ships and do nothing. so the question now is this finished and i don't think anyone really believes that this is just a one-off strike. the houthis probably will retaliate in some fashion, and we may have to take further action down the line. the houthis are a much more capable group than when i first saw them on the scene when i was visiting saana a decade ago. now the iranians have bolstered their capabilities with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles. they're a bit more formidable, but something certainly the u.s. navy can handle. at the end of the day, chris,

you know, we have had in the past, you know, a two-front war, two-front proxy war with iran in terms of the iranian surrogates, militias, and terrorist groups in syria and iraq firing at u.s. bases and troops. now we've opened a third front with the houthis in iranian proxy. at the end of the day, i think we also have to see what the iranians are going to do in kind of allowing the houthis to respond or not. some tense times, but we had to take this strike. there was no doubt that this was an action the biden administration had to go forward with. >> well, based on your knowledge, what do you think the iranians are going to do? >> that's a really good question. the conventional wisdom says iran does not want to see escalation with the united states. i think they signaled that through intermediaries to the u.s. let's see what they allow their houthi allies to do right now. there might be just symbolic attacks. the one thing that i think concerns a lot of us, and one of the reasons why that u.s. h to take this strike is what if one

of these, you know, houthi missile stkes, you know, sinks not only a commercial ship, what about a u.s. navy ship, and then there's going to be a conflict between not just the u.s. and the houthis in yemen, but the u.s. in iran. i think what the u.s. did is escalate a bit to deescalate. we're still in this tinderbox situation because the houthis do have some capabilities that the u.s. military is really going to have to face. >> thank you all so much. up next, momentum for nikki haley in iowa, we'll talk about that after the break. plus, the justice department now seeking the death penalty against the buffalo mass shooter, what we know coming up. you're watching "chris jansing reports." only on msnbc. msnbc. even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. ask about nurtec odt.

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for nikki haley, the latest iowa poll is pretty great news. iowa's poller chill hab not. for the first time this cycle, the former u.n. ambassador is beating ron desantis while donald trump is still way ahead, you see that, 54%, haley is second with 20. desantis 13. but at the same time that her momentum is building, haley is scrapping today's in-person events for tele town halls because of the blizzard conditions. nbc's ali vitali is covering the haley campaign on the ground in iowa. tim miller is back with us as well. that new poll also shows nikki

haley with the support of 48% of moderates, 28% of independents. however, as you well know, those two groups make up only a tiny share of the typical iowa caucus goer. so as someone who knows what it's like to be in the middle of a presidential campaign in iowa, what do those numbers actually tell us? >> you saw the pretty great news, emphasis on the pretty more than the great for nikki haley. i worked for a couple of candidates who had numbers like that where we were doing good with moderate and independent candidates. we didn't ever win any primaries, so based on my experience, she has a coalition that is set up to do pretty well in new hampshire, maybe even well enough to win depending on the makeup of the field, but what from there, right? and in a republican primary, republican voters, they want maga. they like trump. even some of the ones that aren't with trump and are ready to move on, are still more

interested in his brand of politics than nikki haley's. so you see winning a majority of moderate voters, you know, that's just maybe in a democratic primary, maybe in new hampshire that's good, but overall, i think that's a concerning sign for haley, and it's a good sign that she's ahead of desantis. i think it's a concerning sign for the long-term prospect of the campaign. >> long-term prospects, let's talk short-term prospects. let's talk about let's say she does come in second. let's say she does over perform from what people might have anticipated, i mean, how do you take what then is perceived as momentum -- because nobody thought anyone but donald trump was going to win iowa -- how do you take that and turn it into something or even now just with that poll? >> yeah, i mean, in a weird way i think that nikki haley could be a little concerned about having catastrophic success in iowa because if ron desantis drops out a lot of his voters in new hampshire move towards trump. there's a little bit of game

theory at play here. if i'm nikki haley, i'm hoping you can parlay into a victory there and kind of puncture the bubble of donald trump's inevitability and try to get a second look from some of the voters that maybe were with desantis to begin with and left him and went home to trump, you know, because he looked so weak. maybe she can get a second look at some of those maybe trump voters, the swing voters within the republican party, not the general election swing voters. so i think that's kind of a best case scenario for haley. >> so that's the best case scenario from -- you and i were both chuckling, we must admit ali what tim had to say about life experience on the campaign trail in iowa. let's talk about the impact of subzero temperatures and a blizzard. donald trump says his people will vote no matter how cold it gets. they will walk on glass for him. how confident is the haley campaign that her supporters are equally committed?

and i should ask about ron desantis too because he has really put a lot into that ground game believing that they've got a great go tv. >> so look, we're laughing and i shouldn't be because tim is not here in the blistering cold of des moines and i am, so who's the loser on this joke now, i think it's probably me. you can go right ahead when tim references the past folks that he previously worked for, but there's something that's happening on the ground here in iowa, i think. as i talk to voters, yes, i think it's right that the assumption is that trump has the enthusiastic voters who will turn out no matter what, whether it's walking over glass or walking over black ice as the case may be here in des moines. for nikki haley, she just finished one of three telephone town halls that she's going to do here, and she made reference to the weather pretty clearly at the end of this call. she said hey, guys, get out and caucus for me. i know it's asking a lot with this weather situation. i think all the campaigns are

preparing for what the impact of that is going to be, but haley is also trying to carve out something interesting that's different from when you hear her in person than when you see her on the air waves. she's trying in person to present herself at her own biography. she's kind of going at trump, but not directly. on the air waves, though, she's definitely trying to lump desantis and trump together. her super pac out with a new ad that does just that, sort of leaving her as the clear alternative to the non-trump candidates. watch that ad. >> make america great again. >> build the wall. >> big league. >> so good. >> make america great again. >> responsible for the funding. >> then mr. trump said, you're

fired. >> reporter: and of course when you're showing that ad of ron desantis, that's a pretty infamous one that he ran during his first gubernatorial race when i was still covering him in 2018 in florida. you knew it was going to come back around at some point, clearly now it's making its way into ads. the one point i would make here because tim references the game theory of this, and certainly what happens on the ground in iowa is important, whoever comes in second is also important. if you pull back up that poll that you showed of independents and moderates, look at chris christie down at the bottom of that graphic with 30 some odd percent of moderates. this is an iowa poll, so it's not a direct translation. it is something we're paying attention to the for the impact it would have in new hampshire. christie didn't play at all in iowa, he played in new hampshire. it doesn't matter if christie is not saying nice things about her, his voters could come her way. our polls show that and that poll sort of bolsters that idea j ali vitali, once again showing her intellect not only in her answer but the fact that she is

indoors. tim miller always great to have you on the program as well. thank you both so much, have a good weekend. coming up, a landmark case on the world stage. israel is being accused of genocide in gaza at the u.n.'s top court. how they're responding next. res. your risk of shingles sharply increases after age 50. but shingrix protects. proven over 90% effective, shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. shingles doesn't care but, shingrix protects.

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today in what's considered one of the most significant cases ever heard in an international court, israel

defended itself against accusations it is committing genocide against palestinians. south africa went to the international court of justice at the hague seeking preliminary orders to stop israel from continuing its military campaign in gaza. nbc's meagan fitzgerald is following this for us. this went on for hours. what happens now and what did we hear? >> reporter: i'll start with south africa because they presented their case first and argued that israel is committing genocide through various aspects of their military campaign and they've imposed conditions on the territory that can't sustain life. the attorney talked about the mass displacement and indiscriminate bombing of innocent civilians, how there isn't adequate health care and aid is being restricted into the enclave. attorneys also highlighting how the territory is on the brink of famine and disease is quickly spreading. then we saw south africa's legal team really hitting on inciteful comments made by high ranking israeli officials, which they

said have genocidal intent citing comments made by israel's defense minister at the beginning of the war calling for a complete siege on gaza and calling the palestinians animals. today israel fired back telling the panel of judges that south africa presented a distorted case and manipulated the reality of what's happening. they defended their military's actions on the territory as a legitimate defense of its people and that it was hamas that was guilty of genocide. we then saw israel's legal team focusing in on the horrific attacks on october 7th showing chilling video and audio and describing the horroring that played out and emphasizing that any attempt to stop the fighting in gaza wasn t prevent israel from defending itself. a decision on this could come within the next two weeks. when a decision is reached and should they side -- should the court side with south africa, there's no way to force israel to adhere to the court's orders. but we've been speaking with many analysts who say if israel

doesn't comply, it could be very damaging in the court of public opinion, and chris, it could affect relationships with other countries. >> meagan fitzgerald, thank you. we are also following breaking news. in just a matter of minutes, we are going to hear from the justice department about a rare plan to seek the federal death penalty in the 2022 racist mass shooting in buffalo. doj says it believes the death penalty is justified if the man who killed ten black people and injured three others in a tops grocery store is convicted of federal charges. joining me now, former federal prosecutor and msnbc legal analyst paul butler. i wonder what you make of this decision by doj. >> chris, when prosecutors ask for the death penalty, they have to explain white case is so egregious. they're seeking the ultimate punishment, and here prosecutors emphasized that this was a hate crime. the defendant wrote that he was motivated by replacement theory, that's a white supremacist conspiracy theory.

he said he chose that store in baltimore specifically because it was in a black neighborhood. he said he wanted to kill as many black people as he could. he actually pled guilty in new york state court, and he was sentenced to life without parole, but federal prosecutors say the depravity of what this defendant is alleged to have done, ten innocent lives gone, means that death is the only punishment that fits the crime. >> and when they had the original hearing on this and it really stayed with me, you had family members talking about the fact they said to him, you didn't even have interaction with many black people. this was all fueled online. you decide that you hated black people and wanted to eliminate them, not because of anything you knew but because of what you heard online. >> yeah, that was such wrenching testimony. i think that this was a tough decision for the justice

department in part because the attorney general has imposed a moratorium on federal executions. that just means that no one can actually be put to death while the law is being reviewed. the prosecutor can still ask for the death penalty. and chris, they did ask for it for the tree of life synagogue in pittsburgh. and civil rights organizations are generally against the death penalty, and some of the family members of the buffalo victims said they would be satisfied with a sentence of life without parole. i think that since both pittsburgh and the buffalo shootings were bias motivated hate crimes with multiple victims, merrick garland decided that he had to treat those two cases the same in terms of what punishment the federal prosecutors are seeking. but certainly that heart wrenching testimony that you talked about from the family members of the victims in buffalo, i'm certain that that made a difference. >> well, the death penalty

information center says just 16 people have been executed under the federal death penalty going back all the way to 1988. you know, when you look at the other side of this and i always think back to charleston, which i happen to be there the day of the shooting at the church, and i can't even put into words the reaction i felt and i think many people around the world when they heard members of that congregation say to that murderer i forgive you, and they somehow found it in their hearts to not want him to be put to death. so how much does what any family member, a community, those feelings have when that final decision gets made? >> such a great question, chris, because it points out that it's the jury who ultimately decides between life without parole and

death. and the two other cases that merrick garland has supervised, the jury imposed capital punishment against the pittsburgh tree of life shooter, but in the case of the man in new york who killed eight people on that bike path in manhattan, the jury spared his life. so i think the buffalo shooter's defense attorneys will emphasize that he was only 19 years old at the time of the crime and that he's expressed remorse. ultimately, it's the jury who will decide. >> paul butler, always good to have you on the program. thank you. and coming up, the head of the faa speaking exclusively to cnbc after that frightening incident when a door blew off an alaska airlines plane. we'll tell you what's next in their investigation. n their investigation. but just ok isn't ok. and i was done settling. if you still have symptoms after a tnf blocker like humira or enbrel, rinvoq is different and may help.

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boeing, the federal aviation administration announcing it will audit boeing's 737 max line production line and its suppliers after that nightmare flight where a door plug blew off in midair. the faa had announced just yesterday an investigation into boeing's quality control involving those now grounded planes. we are also learning that six passengers have filed a class action lawsuit against the company seeking compensation for everything from neck and back injuries to loss of hearing and a seizure. nbc's tom costello is following this story closely for us. what a mess, tom. what exactly is the faa doing here? >> bottom line here is the faa

is questioning whether boeing has adequate safety practices in place, oversight to ensure that its products are, in fact, in compliance with faa regulations, and questioning the entire inspection process, the quality control process. the faa chief in a cnbc exclusive this morning went on the air and essentially said the faa is going to increase its oversight of boeing's production and manufacturing, and oh, by the way, also the company called spirit aero systems that provides the fuselage for boeing systems. here's what he said. >> this is a brand new aircraft. it has just come off the line, and it had significant problems, and we believe there are other manufacturing problems as well. this is all about finding where the risks are, identifying the risks and mitigating them. we're going to increase oversight by auditing the production process at boeing and spirit. >> spirit makes the fuselage.

this is important, i know you'll appreciate it. following the max 8 crashes, where 346 people died overseas, boeing doesn't have enough staff, i'm sorry, the faa doesn't have enough paid inspectors to watch every part of the process. it delegates some of the authority to boeing employees acting as the eyes and ears of the faa in inspecting the process. now the faa is saying this may not be working and as as you said, it follows that investigation that they announced yesterday. e read for you what the faa said about the investigation. this incident, says the fa should have never happened. it cannot happen again. faa formally notifying boeing it is conducting a investigation to determine if boeing failed to ensure completed products, their planes, conform to approved designs. boeing responding, we will cooperate fully and transparently with the faa and the ntsb on their investigations. for a storied company, the

oldest plane maker in the world to now be yet again facing concerns and questions about their, not only their overall their safety inspection process but their commitment to safety. this is a real concern for boeing and its reputation yet again, chris. >> and the faa just figuring out maybe that the fox guarding the hen house may not be the best way, you know, okay. >> that's been exactly the concern all along. it was raised in congressional hearings as well. we have done nbc news investigations on this exact question, and the faa committed to doubling down and ensuring that that oversight, yes, the fox guarding the hen house, that they were going to be on the job, and now the faa is saying this may not be working. maybe we need, says the faa, a third outside party to do this inspection. >> tom costello, thank you so much. >> you bet. the freezing and in some cases, sub zero temperatures expected this weekend are sparking real safety concerns. take texas, big power provider

that's had problems in the past now trying to reassure customers they think the power grid will hold despite the high demand for heat. on the cold field in houston this weekend, the cleveland browns will take on the texans and even colder, the miami dolphins will be very out of their element facing the chiefs in kansas city where highs are expected in the single digits. it could be one of the coldest playoff games of all time. and the playoffs hit as some of the most particular faces in the nfl are leaving the sidelines. here's nbc's kaylee hartung. >> just hours after seahawks head coach pete carroll stepped aside after 14 seasons with the team, patriots head coach bill belichick announced he would hang up his hoodie. >> robert and i have mutually agreed to part ways. >> reporter: belichick built a dynasty in 24 seasons, winning six super bowl titles, all of them with tom brady under

center. the quarterback writing, i'm incredibly grateful to have played for the best coach in the history of the nfl, we accomplished amazing things over a long period of time. i could never have been the player i was without you coach belichick. while he has the third best record in league history, his departure comes after the worst season of his career. still, the future hall of famer says he's excited for the future. >> it's with so many fond memories and thoughts that i think about the patriots and i'll always be a patriot. >> former coach of the browns as well. let me just say one thing for all the sports fans out there, and you'll understand this if you're a real sports fan, i love the browns so much, and i'm so nervous about this game, so if you're a texans fan, i get it, good luck, all that, if you find it in your heart to, like, say a little prayer, send some good thoughts toward the cleveland brown, maybe what we have seen in the past with the texans, they're not so good about the rush, defending the rush for

touchdowns, let the browns get through as they have in the past against the texans, maybe that our defense holds against the pass, the texans have a decent quarterback, i think he has thrown for about 4,000 yards. go browns, according to their web site, one day, two hours, 33 minutes, and 22 seconds until kick yauch. coming up, nbc's steve kornacki on a key voting bloc in iowa that could have a major impact on caucus day, first, you can watch the best parts of our show anytime on you tube, you just saw it, me and the browns, go to msnbc.com/jansing, more "chris jansing reports" with no sports reporting after this. ru? (tina) her. (christina) being all over, all at once. (tina) all the time. (christina) but my old network wasn't cutting it. and that's not good for baking. or judging. or writing. so, we switched to verizon, the network businesses rely on. with verizon business unlimited,

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