>> we love you too. we watch you every morning -- well, i don't know about him. i watch you every mortgage. >> yes, i watch. >> we don't live together so i don't know what he's watching in the morning. >> we're being yelled at. we're told we have to go. >> there's another show. it's only been four hours. >> would you like to talk about muppets or anything before we go? >> muppets. >> oh, boy. >> curb your enthusiasm, returns for its 12th and final season. this sunday, 10:00 eastern on hbo. of course streaming on max. larry david, susie, thank you, guys, great to see you. >> that does it for us this morning, ana cabrera picks up the coverage right now. right now on "ana cabrera reports" a final home coming, the president preparing for the most solemn of presidential traditions this morning, being there as fallen troops return to

american soil for the last time. this as the u.s. prepares to retaliate for their deaths. what america's response could look like as iran sends the world a warning. plus, the mother of a school shooter set to be back on the stand this morning in a historic trial. this time jennifer crumbley faces the prosecution. and breaking news overnight, a plane crashing into a mobile home park killing three and igniting a massive fire, what happened? >> thanks for being with us on this friday. it is 10:00 eastern. i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york, and right now the president is preparing for a solemn moment. the final homecoming on three fallen american soldiers. the president, first lady and defense secretary will travel to dover air force base in delaware this next hour as three troops killed in a deadly drone attack on a base in jordan return to

american soil. the president will meet with their families and stand on the tarmac as their transfer cases are carried out of the plane. this is a somber tradition known as the dignified transfer. this as the u.s. is preparing to retaliate for that deadly strike, and the group blamed is vowing not to back down. let's go to nbc's keir simmons with more on the threat. keir. >> reporter: good day to you. overnight president raisi of iran sounding a defiant message saying we will not start a war, but the ones that want to bully us will be dealt with a strong response as iran prepares to face that response from the u.s. over the deaths of those three american service members at that base in jordan. now, meanwhile, the leader of one faction in an umbrella organization called islamic resistance in iraq, that organization blamed by the u.s. for the deaths of those u.s.

servicemen and women saying defiantly, we said it before, and we will repeat. we will not stop until we achieve two goals, stopping operations in gaza and withdrawing of the american occupation in iraq. that's a very different message from another group in that same umbrella organization, which said this week that it was suspending activities. it gives a picture of the confusion at some sometimes and in some places among these proxy groups, these iranian proxy groups. but at the same time, the u.s. insisting that iran is responsible for these attacks, and that it will face retribution. we don't know when those strikes are from the u.s., which are being described as kinetic and cyber and in multiple countries over a sustained period, we don't know when those will happen, but certainly this region is bracing itself. >> okay. thank you so much, keir simmons.

of course you are going to stay on top of any new developments, will bring them to us as they break. joining us now is aaron gilchrist at dover air force base. walk us through what we can expect there as these americans return home for the final time. >> reporter: ana, we will see a very somber military ritual play out here today behind the gates here at dover air force base. this is something that the mortuary affairs team is used to doing here at this base, and it will be the last opportunity to honor the soldiers you see on your screen here, sergeants rivers, moffett and sanders. if i can back up a little bit, as you mentioned, president biden will be here today, an unusual thing to see a president at one of these transfers, one of these dignified transfer events, but the president will be here today along with the first lady and the secretary of defense. they will meet with these three families personally for a time,

and then they will all move out to the tarmac for that dignified transfer, which will be the carry teams moving toward an aircraft. that's what we will see, removing these transfer cases draped in american flags from the aircraft, and then placing them in transfer vehicles where they will go eventually to be positively identified as the military calls it and then return to their families. this is really a final tribute to these soldiers, their last time coming home as members of the armed forces. that will happen this afternoon here at dover. ana. >> it's going to be a painful moment for the country. aaron gilchrist, thank you. and joining us now is democratic senator tammy duckworth of illinois. she's a member of the armed services committee, the committee on foreign relations, and an iraq war veteran. thank you so much, senator, for joining us first on this solemn day as someone who has personally been wounded and has lost friends in battle, i want to get your thoughts about what we're about to witness as these

fallen soldiers return home. >> well, you're going to see a terrible beauty, that's how i've always described these moments. whether it's the dignified transfer or ceremony at arlington cemetery. i'm heartbroken for the three service members, sergeants rivers, sanders, and moffett, as well as their families. but you're going to see them brought home to their loved ones so that they can be laid to rest and be receiving of the thanks of our grateful nation for their service and sacrifice. >> the u.s. believes an umbrella group of iranian-backed militias known as the islamic resistance in iraq is responsible for their deaths. you have said the message we send to iran must make war less likely, not more. what would that look like? what kind of response? >> i think we need to have a very strong response, and we need to target these groups. iran has been reckless in its

funding over years and decades now of all of these iranian proxy groups all over the middle east, and they're wreaking havoc everywhere. and in fact, they've lost control of these groups, and i think they were quite surprised by this attack themselves, so i think we need to have a very strong response. we need to go after the groups that we can identify which ones in particular were responsible for these attacks. we need to retaliate, but i also caution that in our retaliation, we don't bring ourselves to the cusp of spiraling into another war in the middle east. that is not something that we want as a nation, and certainly we would not to be putting more troops in harm's way by starts us on a path towards war. >> is it a fine line? i know you've been critical of your republican colleagues who have called for striking iran directly. iran has warned it would hit back, but what do you think iran would do? >> well, i can't tell you what iran would do. i think that it depends on the

type of attack that we mount. initial reports suggest that what the president is planning is well thought out, that it is going to be a strong response aimed at deterring iran from supporting further attacks on u.s. troops without risking that escalation that i'm worried about that could lead us into yet another war in the middle east. what we need to not do is start us on the path towards war. now, i do think we need to go after these terrorists, and as we have done with the hamas fighters, as we have done with retaliatory strikes on other groups, i think that that's what the president should do. again, we have to be very careful how we respond so that we are not in danger of escalating to a full-blown war. >> the u.s. has already been conducting some targeted strikes, in particular against the houthis in yemen, and it has not deterred them. these groups largely seem emboldened. why haven't they been deterred? >> well, some of them have.

there is a mixed response from them. i think we continue to need to retaliate in a very strong way. we need to take some of these groups out. but remember that the responsibility for this lies with iran. iran its from reports that i've seen were surprised by some of these attacks. recently i believe one of the groups used ballistic missiles, for example, that iran indicated that iran was surprised that they used ballistic missiles. so we need to continue to strike back, but we need to do this in a very strong way to send that message to iran to get control of these proxy groups and make sure that your maintain control over them and let's not escalate war. >> do you have any concern that the biden administration hasn't responded more forcefully or swiftly since the deadly attack in jordan? >> well, i don't have concerns with that because i understand that they are planning a very strong series of attacks, and from what i can discuss here, it appears to be a very well

thought out surgical way of responding that will be aimed at deterring iran. >> the chair of the senate foreign relations committee, your fellow democratic senator ben cardin says that he believes president biden should come to congress for a new authorization for military action. do you believe the white house should seek congressional approval for additional military action? where's the line on that? >> well, so there is a line that is approximately 90 days from the initial responses. that will happen sometime, i believe, in march or april. i do think that if the president does continue to move forward with responses, that there is a need to bring an authorization for use of military force to the floor of the senate. this is what i say to my republican colleagues who are calling for us to take it to tehran, some of them say. if you want to attack tehran, let's have that conversation on the floor of the senate. let's show a tiny percentage of the bravery that our troops are showing in harm's way by having that discussion on the floor of the senate. and then let's have a vote.

you want to attack iran, let's have a vote on the floor of the senate and let's have the guts of our convictions and have that discussion, and if need be, then vote for it. but to call for attacks, taking into tehran, i have these very reckless statements i don't think helps the situation there. is a process for the president to come forward. he's in a time period right now that he can continue to retaliate. he's able to do this because american troops were directly attacked but i'm also going to be calling for the president to come to the united states senate should this continue further than the 90 days. >> senator, before i let you go, i want to get your reaction to the news with secretary lloyd austin who apologized yesterday over his secrecy over his cancer diagnosis. what's your reaction to that? and do you have any concerns about his continued leadership? >> i have grave concerns about this decision that he and those around him made to hide his

condition, not just from the american people but also from his commander in chief. it sends a very bad message to the troops in the ranks. you know, i spent a lot of time working on veterans affairs, and i've been working on veterans issues and one of the things we've been fighting is when you need help for your medical condition whether it is seen or an unseen wound, you need to ask for help and don't hide it, and to have the very top person at the department of defense hide his condition from his own commander in chief is something that is deeply troubling, and i've sent that very strong message to the dod itself, and so yes, i am deeply concerned. i hope that this will never happen again, and frankly, we deserved better than these decisions that were made within dod prior to secretary austin going in for his medical treatment. >> so just yes or no answer, if you will, do you have confidence in his continued leadership as the secretary of defense? >> i do. i do have continued confidence, as i said, i've had very strong

conversations with them, and they've assured me this will not happen again and that they are reviewing their procedures. >> senator tammy duckworth, thank you so much for joining us today, and thank you for your service. >> my pleasure, thank you. breaking news in florida overnight, three dead after a plane crashes into a mobile home park igniting this massive fire. what we know about what happened. also ahead, jennifer crumbley set to be back on the stand today in her historic trial tied to her son's school shooting. this time she faces the prosecution. plus, a dramatic attack on nypd officers with my grants -- migrants among the suspects according to police. does it dial up the pressure on both parties to get an immigration bill passed? new reporting from "politico" on the language president biden has used to describe donald trump behind closed doors. one word to describe it. colorful. colorful urtec odt, i can treat a migraine when it strikes and prevent migraine attacks, all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec.

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welcome back, and right now jennifer crumbley is back on the stand in a michigan courtroom this time to face the prosecution. the mother of the oxford high school shooter testifying in her own defense today as she faces unprecedented involuntary manslaughter charges for failing to stop her son's deadly rampage. again, she just took the stand today, and in emotional testimony thursday, crumbley said she didn't know her son was struggling with his mental health or would hurt his fellow students. >> i've asked myself if i would have done anything differently, and i wouldn't have. >> you could change what happened, would you? >> oh, absolutely. i wish he would have killed us instead. >> nbc's maggie vespa is joining us from pontiac, michigan. maggie, talk to us about what we expect today. >> reporter: yeah, so ana, as you said she just took the stand moments ago. essentially what we expect is first thing prosecution will begin their cross examination of america's first parent to ever

be charged with crimes tied to the mass school shooting committed by their child. the prosecution expect to kind of drill down on their core argument. it's been their core argument this entire time that jennifer crumbley willfully ignored and they say flagrantly ignored criminally they believe clear warning signs that their son was strug wlg his mental health, he was having violent thoughts, exhibiting violent behavior and decliing to get him when he asked. yesterday it was the defense's turn. she was their first witness called. she was on the stand being questioned by her attorneys and essentially she said that she and her son had a close relationship. i thought he could come to me about anything. he had come to me about his concerns about anxiety but about normal teenage things, what's he going to do after high school, does he go to college, the military. i was involved in making sure his grades stayed up and he turned in his homework. she had no idea, she had no way

of knowing that he was struggling to this degree, but again, the prosecution has yet to take their shot, their kind of first shot at jennifer crumbley. there is no telling, it just began my producers telling me, there's no telling how long this could go on, but i should note, ana, the defense has not made any witness list public. we don't know who witnesses in this case would be for the defense beyond jennifer crumbley, so right now this is kind of all we know as far as what's to come next in this, as you said, absolutely landmark trial. >> so at this point no real sense on how long the defense could present its case or how soon it could go to the jury? >> reporter: exactly. it's been an interesting sort of earmark of this trial this entire time. i should note the defense complained about the prosecution doing the exact same thing when they had control of this case essentially earlier this week saying prosecutors haven't given us a witness list, they're not giving us a heads-up as to who you they're calling.

the defense attorney complaining to the judge saying she would love to know who's going to take the stand next. now we're seeing publicly the same behavior from the defense team, just calling their own client as their first witness and not making their plan known beyond that as to who else they could call. the one kind of detail that we can tell you what about we know not to expect is yesterday they asked the judge again for permission to call ethan crumbley to the stand to testify at his mom's trial. he's made it clear he will plead the fifth, and the judge said existing case law prevents a lawyer from calling a client who has made it clear they will plead the fifth. ethan will not testify in this trial. jennifer crumbley back on the stand being questioned by the prosecution. >> quickly, maggie, if you will, any color from the courtroom as to how the jury has reacted to any of her testimony so far? >> yesterday we saw multiple jurors crying during the

testimony. i should note her testimony was preceded yesterday by surveillance video the prosecution claimed of the shooting happening, of police officers running past wounded students to stop the shooter. jurors were crying. jennifer was crying. we saw her attorney wipe away a tear at one point. this is really hitting jurors hard. we've seen them get emotional. we have an a.p. in court who says they are adamantly taking notes. like they have been engaged and dialed in this entire trial. yesterday especially when jennifer was on the stand for close to four hours including multiple breaks. they were captivated by every word she had to say. so clearly this is pivotal, ana. >> all right, maggie vespa, thank you so much for that reporting from pontiac, michigan. and more breaking news from overnight, three people killed after a small plane crashed into a mobile home park this clearwater, florida, igniting a massive fire. marissa parra is there on the scene for us. what do we know about what

caused this crash? >> reporter: ana, good morning. we know that the pilot reported an engine failure, and of course as everyone is trying to answer exactly that question on what went wrong, we're learning more details from the faa who release the three people who died included the pilot and two people on the ground and also telling are the final moments, those distress calls that came from the plane and those final moments before tragedy. this morning tragedy in clearwater, florida, after a single engine plane crashed into a mobile home park thursday evening. >> i'm losing engine. >> they went down hard. >> reporter: the fiery crash happened around 7:00 p.m. last night. >> i can confirm that we have several fatalities, both from the aircraft and within the mobile home. >> reporter: the small plane striking one home directly, the blaze causing fire damage to at least three other homes nearby. >> two people trapped inside the house and the flames showing. >> reporter: this helicopter video shows the field of debris

with firefighters working overnight to put out any hot spots. >> we haven't been able to get into the scene to effectively assess the totality of it at this point. >> reporter: the pilot of the plane, a beach craft bonanza v 35 reported engine failure shortly before the crash, according to the federal aviation administration. the faa adding in a statement it is not yet known how many people were on board. >> we heard what we thought was like a motorcycle go by or something, then a few seconds later it was a loud bang, the windows actually shook, the house shook. >> is there anybody else in this house? >> no, i think they're all out. >> reporter: neighbor rick renner was at the scene take thg video of the blaze. >> even after the fire was like out, you really couldn't even tell there was a plane in there. everything was gone. everybody knows everybody. everybody is friends, and i mean, it's just weird that something like this happens, you know, in your neighborhood. >> reporter: investigators on the ground now working around the clock to get to victims and

determine what went wrong. so ana, some of those mobile homes in this neighborhood are right behind me. you can still smell the smoke in the air this morning as investigators are still trying to piece this all together. and just to kind of set the scene, this is a densely populated area. we're just a few miles away from the nearest airport, but the clearwater mall is even closer, and of course we're working to learn more about those three people who lost their lives here. but everyone wondering what happened here, and of course so begins this interagency effort between the faa and the ntsb to answer exactly that, ana. >> truly tragic and so unexpected. marissa parra, thank you. up next here on "ana cabrera reports," the stakes in south carolina. what nikki haley is saying about a second place finish in her home state. plus, donald trump's election interference trial has now officially been bumped off the march calendar, how he benefits from this delay.

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now to the campaign trail, voters head to the polls in south carolina tomorrow to cast primary ballots, but it will just be democrats. the republican primary is later this month. south carolina is important for president biden for a lot of reasons. it will be the first time this election cycle that his name will appear on the ballot. it's the state that really catapulted him to the presidency

four years ago. let's bring in nbc news correspondent ali vitali in charleston, south carolina. we got a lot to talk about, including the democratic primary, but first, you're at a trump rally, so let's talk about the republican race where there's this competition between nikki haley there in her home state and donald trump. nikki haley is trying hard to do better, she says. what is her path forward looking like? >> reporter: yeah, ana, everyone criss-crossing south carolina. you're right to point out democrats vote on saturday. republicans, though, still have a u if weeks more of campaigning, that's a few weeks from now, also on a saturday. where we are now is a sort of counterprogramming event hosted by the trump campaign, where we're going to see one of their most recent endorsers, congresswoman nancy mace speaking as a sort of counter programming to nikki haley's continued candidacy in this race, which take it from nikki haley herself, she is not going anywhere. listen to what she said recently

underscoring what she said to me at least multiple times over. watch. >> we're not going anywhere. this is about just closing that gap. i am not going anywhere. we have a country to save, and i am determined to keep on going the entire way, as long as we can keep closing that gap, i'm going to keep staying in it. >> reporter: so of course haley saying she's staying in the race, and then we have the counter programming behind us about to kick off in the next few minutes. it tracks with something we saw the trump campaign do in columbia, south carolina, yesterday, trying to show they are both ready to physically counter nikki haley as well as of course trump doing so in his own campaigns. >> and this also means trump can't move on to the general election and take on president biden. he's got to get through nikki haley first. >> exactly. >> we did mention how south carolina gave biden momentum back in 2020, but this year he is the incumbent, so what is his team hoping for tomorrow? what are they watching? >> reporter: look, south carolina was absolute magic for

the biden campaign book in 2020. i remember at that point i was covering the campaign of senator elizabeth warren, and i think every other candidate who was still in the race at the point of south carolina and then just after that super tuesday in 2020, i think all of them might have underestimated the role that south carolina could play in sort of making joe biden the inevitable nominee on the democratic side of the ticket. of course now you're right to point out the way that things have changed, biden is the incumbent. under biden's presidency, south carolina now assuming its true first in the nation status, much to the chagrin of some of the earlier states. this is going to be a way for the biden campaign to kick off 2024, even as the incumbent candidate in this race. >> ali vitali, thank you so much for that report. and joining us now, mark mckinnon, former adviser to george w. bush and john mccain, and joel lowry who served for 18 years as a south carolina democratic state representative

and senator. good to see both of you. let's start with what's happening tomorrow, and joel, i'll come to you with this. what will you be watching for that may indicate president biden's strength or vulnerabilities? >> thank you. it's a pleasure to join you. you all referenced this earlier, but biden is very popular in south carolina. in 2020 he had a few early setbacks, you may recall, and then came here. he had an amazing team that was headed by sort of the dean of the democratic party here, congressman jim clyburn. most of the elected or formal elected officials like myself were standing with him, and he won overwhelmingly here, and that really opened the door for him moving on into super tuesday and for the rest of the nomination. quite honestly, i don't really think we're looking for anything outstanding or earth shattering tomorrow. i think if you walk down the streets of columbia or any of the main cities, 3/4 of the people don't even know that

there's a primary taking place, and those that do couldn't tell you the names of the other two candidates who are on the ballot with him, dean phillips and marianne williamson. four years ago we had roughly a half a million people vote here, that number could be half, but i think the fact it really doesn't mean anything. it's a foregone conclusion. joe biden is the democratic nominee, and he'll be the guy to take on trump in november most likely. >> so mark, nikki haley is saying don't count me out yet, and she says she's not going anywhere if she comes in second there in south carolina in their gop primary, the end of the month. all she's saying is she wants to do better than iowa or new hampshire. what do you make of that strategy? is it a winning strategy? >> well, there's no downside -- there's no upside to getting out, and there's a lot of upside to staying in. first of all, she's got money, and she's raising more, a lot of it. she maintains and pumps up her name, people get to know her

better. her primary goal really for a long, long time has been to make this a two-person race, and she's done that now. it's her versus trump, and that's the race that she wanted. now, obviously south carolina seems to be very trump friendly but it is her home state, and maybe there will be a little bit of the we know nicki, we love her, we never thought she'd be running for president but here she is. maybe there will be a nikki surge because she's the girl next door and somebody we know. she comes out of this and she's committed to going on through super tuesday. the reality is in this environment, anything can happen. i mean, trump faces a potential conviction in a trial ahead. so if trump encounters problems down the line of the legal sort or health problem, whatever it might be, she stands a lot to gain by being the last person standing next to trump. >> and so joel, haley won twice in south carolina to be elected governor. you were the state legislator during that time. do you think it's possible, a

nikki surge? >> you know, i agree with mark with regard to she has nothing to lose, and i would also tell you, nikki, the more donald trump attacks nikki, and you know, he just can't control himself, and the more he attacks governor haley, i think the more he helps her here. we saw that happen. if you go back and look at her first race, this is very interesting, ana, in her first race in 2010, there were a bunch of people crowded in the republican nomination between first and third place. no clear front runner. a republican senator from her own county went on a facebook live of that, made some very negative racial comments about her, and she became a victim. she became a martyr, and she surged, and three weeks is a lifetime in politics, and so do i think she can win here, probably not. do i think she can make up what looks like from most polling a 25 to 30 point deficit, yeah, i

definitely think she can close that gap. trump will not out work her, and she's a great retail politician. she's very tactical in everything she does here. >> and of course there are open primaries there in south carolina, so if somebody chooses to sit out the democratic primary, a democrat who would otherwise normally vote in that primary, they could in theory vote in the republican primary later this month. they can't vote in both but they can choose which one to vote in. >> yeah, i was just going to tell you, i know a lot of independent voters, particularly women that normally lean democratic that are going to vote for nikki haley because they despise donald trump. they can't stand the thought of a trump/biden rematch and trump winning sochlt to your point, i couldn't agree with you more. there's some weird things that could happen in south carolina. >> mm-hmm, interesting. there's always a surprise in every election it seems. mark, speaking of despising donald trump, "politico" has some new reporting on what

president biden says about trump behind closed doors and they write, he has described trump to long-time friends and close aides as a sick expletive who delights in others' misfortunes. biden has stopped short of using this language in public. it really tells you how he really feels. do you think this is what's really driving him, and should he let voters see more of that emotion? >> sure, listen, i think that's his irish showing, right? and i think that's why people like joe biden, he's kind of lunch pail joe and tells it like it is, and listen, it's clear that despite his age and despite a lot of reasons why a lot of people including me think he should keep running for re-election when he said he'd be a transitional president and there's lots of talent in the democratic party, he has a passion for it, and the passion is all about trump. he felt like he was the only guy that could beat trump in 2020, and that's probably right. the issue is whether or not he's the guy that can beat trump in 2024, but that passion will

help. >> mark mckinnon and joel laurie, thank you both so much for the conversation. joel has a podcast with a great name, bourbon in the back room. >> that's right. >> in case someone wants to check it out. >> come down and have a drink with us. >> sounds like fun. happy friday, cheers to you both. >> thank you very much. pleasure to talk to you. up next here on "ana cabrera reports," legal calendar limbo, when we could see donald trump's new york fraud verdict as his election interference case gets bumped past march. and the new troubles facing allen weisselberg because of his testimony in his old boss's fraud trial. y in his old boss's fraud trial. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need... ...without the stuff you don't. so, here's to now. boost. there's nothing better than a subway series footlong. except when you add a new footlong sidekick. like the boss with the new footlong cookie.

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you were always stubborn. and on that note, i'm evan low, and i approve this message. two leading candidates for senate. two very different visions for california. steve garvey, the leading republican, is too conservative for california. he voted for trump twice and supported republicans for years, including far right conservatives. adam schiff, the leading democrat, defended democracy against trump and the insurrectionists. he helped build affordable housing, lower drug costs, and bring good jobs back home. the choice is clear. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message. it could be a while before donald trump is back in a courtroom, the trial that was supposed to be up next, the washington, d.c., federal election interference case, has officially been booted off the court's march calendar. and here with us now is criminal defense attorney caroline

polisi, and anthony coley, a former senior adviser to attorney general merrick garland. good to see you both. caroline, this election interference trial was supposed to start march 4th, and of course we're still waiting on the appeal on presidential immunity grounds from the appeals court and their ruling. so if it's off the calendar now, this march calendar, what does that mean and how complicated could it be to reschedule? >> this is confirmation of what we've known for a while now is that this march 4th trial date for this election subversion case which we all thought was going to be the first case to move forward, it ain't happening. the issue obviously is, you know, many people surprised that we haven't seen the opinion issued. >> are you surprise? ed they likely want to issue a procure yum decision, meaning the opinion won't be attributable to one of the three judges.

rather they want to present a united front. those types of opinions have, you know, more likelihood of being affirmed on appeal, meaning the supreme court may just, you know, rubber stamp it and say let's go. however, you know, the wheels of justice do move slowly. after this opinion comes out, either party will have the opportunity to appeal to the full circuit court, the full panel. that could be rejected and then thereafter the appeal to scotus. so there's no way that march 4th trial date is happening, and the dark horse of sort of these criminal cases, alvin brag, it looks like he's going to take a front seat here. >> let's talk about that, anthony. some legal experts have argued that the election interference case might be the most dangerous for trump. does it benefit him if other trials like the hush money case here in new york go first? >> i started 2024 as an optimist, so i still think -- i feel pretty strongly that this election interference case is going to happen and it's going to happen soon. perhaps as early as may, perhaps

even june. in terms of this election, in terms of the alvin bragg case here, i think this is a righteous case, and i am glad that the manhattan district attorney is prepared to bring this case forward. at its core, this is about election interference. people like to talk of it as a hush money case, but it was a hush money case in service to a goal, to influence the election, and then the steps that the trump team, trump and his team took to hide those payments. my issue with this case is the judge, and i should note here that he is highly respected within the new york legal community here, but he made not one, not two, but he made three political donations in recent years in 2020. one of those donations was to donald trump's general election opponent, joe biden. another one of those donations was to an organization called stop republicans. now, i want to be clear, he is

allowed to make those type of donations. that's within the new york judicial ethics code. he can do that, but the question here is a question of appearance, and just because somebody is allowed to do something doesn't mean that they should, and my hope here is that he reconsiders his recusal. >> yeah, you're right because he has already addressed this. this has come up and he rejected the request to recuse himself. so at this point he's going to be the judge overseeing that hush money case. he said further this court has examined its conscience and is certain in its ability to be fair and impartial. >> yeah, ana -- i would make one additional point here, we've got the court of law and we've got the court of public opinion. i have no doubt that he can fairly adjudicate this case in the court of law. but it's the court of public opinion here where people can reasonably question whether or not judge marchand in this case can execute justice fairly, and that's a fair question, and it

gives donald trump another talking point on the campaign trail that distracts away from the substance of the case. >> all true, and i'm sure there will be more discussion about this as we get closer to that trial currently scheduled, and we'll see if it holds for the end of march. but let's pivot to yet another court case, this time in civil court, and the judge in trump's new york fraud trial had said he wanted to get a verdict by the end of january. obviously that didn't happen, but caroline, this isn't a jury case, right? it's just up to the judge to make a decision here. he's had this for months now. why do you think he hasn't issued his ruling? >> i know, again, lots of people wondering why he had promised or said at least that he was going to try to get it in sooner rather than later. as we all know, as you noted, it's not a jury trial. the issue really here is only a matter of what the damages would be. remember, there was that sort of curve ball at the end, very dramatic case.

you know, judges are always worried about being overturned on appeal. i think he wants to cross his t's, dot his i's, make sure everything is in shipshape order. you know, the prosecution was asking for $370 million, and so the issue of whether or not that, you know, how that is tied to the activities and the conduct described in this case by the prosecution, i think that's going to be a big issue in terms of the decision he wants to make sure that it's really bullet proof. >> and the new york a.g. wants him to be banned from doing business in the state permanently. thank you very much, really appreciate the conversation today. this just in, house republicans have subpoenaed fulton county district attorney fani willis to hand over documents about her investigation. chairman jim jordan said willis has failed to comply with two earlier requests for documents, and this follows allegations

that willis fired a whistle-blower who tried to stop a top campaign aide from misusing federal funds. so willis has slammed jordan's request and wrote last year in a letter that there is, quote, no justification in the constitution for congress to interfere with a state criminal matter. next here on "ana cabrera reports," dramatic video of an attack on new york police officers, which police say included some migrants as pressure dials up on congress to pass an immigration bill. plus, the first 2024 jobs report is here, and big economic takeaways, what it means for you. takeaways, what it means for you. i know what it's like to perform through pain. if you're like me, one of the millions suffering from pain caused by migraine, nurtec odt may help. it's the only medication that can treat a migraine when it strikes and prevent migraine attacks. treat and prevent, all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. relief is possible.

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now what could be a breakthrough in negotiations for a new immigration bill, with senate majority leader chuck schumer saying a vote on the deal could come next week. even as it faces major pushback from former president trump and his allies. a dramatic video putting a

spotlight on the migrant issues. the suspects attacking these officers here include migrants, but nbc has not confirmed that. stephanie gosk has more. >> reporter: this has been a long battle filled with speculation about what that deal would actually look like. now, democrats say they'll release the details and the senate will vote on monday. this morning, a landmark vote on immigration could finally be in sight. after months of battling on capitol hill, democratic leader chuck schumer will force a vote on monday. >> we cannot simply shirk from our responsibilities just because a task is difficult. >> reporter: as record numbers of migrants have been crossing the southern border, overwhelming authorities, president biden has pushed for more action to combat the crisis. a bipartisan deal coming into shape in recent weeks. but former president trump and his allies have been trying to undermine it, arguing it would give biden a win in an election year. >> if the bill is not going to a great bill and solve the problem, i wouldn't do it at all. >> reporter: with the southern border under immense pressure, leaders of border states have

been busing migrants to other cities. in places like chicago and new york, there is tension from overcrowded shelters. a growing firestorm after this dramatic attack on nypd officers, some of the suspects, migrants, according to police. seven people were arrested for the assault in times square. >> the city -- we had enough. >> reporter: several of the suspects have arrest records since coming to the u.s., according to senior law enforcement officials. nbc news has not been able to confirm their immigration status. now, some have been released as the cases are pending. >> any case, when you attack our police officers, you should go to rikers island. >> reporter: the district attorney saying violence against police officers is never acceptable. it is paramount we conclusively identify each defendant and identify each participant's role in the incident. kathy hochul responding to the attack. >> get them all and send them back. you don't touch our police officers. you don't touch anyone.

>> reporter: the mayor of new york said he's disgusted by the attacks. he's been one of several mayors who asked the federal government for help handling the crisis and president biden pledges to do more if this bill goes through. back to you. >> stephanie gosk, thank you. up next on "ana cabrera reports," the new jobs report is out. what it signals about the strength of our economy. als abo strength of our economy. (ella) fashion moves fast. setting trends is our business. we need to scale with customer demand... in real time. (jen) so we partner with verizon. their solution for us? a private 5g network. (ella) we now get more control of production, efficiencies, and greater agility. (marquis) with a custom private 5g network. our customers get what they want, when they want it. (jen) now we're even smarter and ready for what's next. (vo) achieve enterprise intelligence. it's your vision, it's your verizon. there's nothing better than a subway series footlong. except when you add on an all new footlong sidekick. we're talking a $2 footlong churro. $3 footlong pretzel and a five dollar footlong cookie.

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we're back with breaking news on the u.s. economy. the first jobs report of the year blowing past expectations. 353,000 jobs added in january, nearly double what economists projected. and nbc's senior business correspondent christine romans is here with us to break down what it all means for us. this was a big number. >> it was. it shows you that the american job engine is just revving into the beginning of this year. december, and the month before, also were revised up. when you look at just december and january, almost 700,000 jobs

created. we heard those little headlines of layoffs here and there, especially in tech. what this tells us is that the broader economy still adding jobs, these companies are nimble, if some big companies aren't hiring at the moment, that's giving space to medium and small sized companies who are finally getting a chance to hire new workers. it shows you demand for workers, the economic engine of the american economy is still doing fine here. >> so, bottom line, the economy is strong right now? >> the economy is really strong right now. you got job growth that is strong. the economic growth ended the year stronger than it has, than anybody expected and look at wages in this report, up 4.5%. what that tells you is wages are still now for several months growing faster than inflation. so if inflation is running at 3.2 or 3.4% and wages at 4.5%, over time people are going to start to feel this a little bit better, they're going to have more money in their paycheck than they are spending extra in their grocery bill. and that can feed into confidence.

>> interest rates still high. so that is one issue. can we expect those interest rates to come down anytime soon? >> the conventional wisdom had been the fed would begin to start cutting interest rates and relieving us of those high interest rates and borrowing costs sometime this year because the economy would slow and moderate. this is not an economy that is slowing and moderating. so it complicates the fed's next move here. a lot of economists i talked to this morning say there will not be a fed rate cut in march as some had expected, and instead you're looking at later in the summer for the fed to be feeling that the economy is cooling down enough that it needs to cut interest rates. but no one thinks -- most people don't think with an economy this strong, you could be cutting interest rates here. >> that's something we'll keep watching. just focus on the good news today. you are the bearer of good news. i don't want to take that away from you. >> thank you. >> thank you, christine. the weather should be about to heat up, at least according to our meteorologist punxsutawney phil. the renowned groundhog drew a

crowd of roughly 10,000 people to gobbler's knob in pennsylvania this morning where they all cheered when he did not see his shadow. phil's prediction is for an early spring, but you might maybe don't take his forecast to heart, because the groundhog has only been right about 36% of the time in the last ten years. so, yeah, maybe keep that winter coat out for just a little bit longer. all right. that's going to do it for us this week. have a wonderful weekend. i'll see you back here monday, same time, same place. and don't foreget, you can always catch our show online around the clock on youtube and other platforms. so, be sure to take a look. for now, i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. jose diaz-balart picks up our coverage right now. good morning. 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific, i'm jose diaz-balart. just this morning, house republicans issue a subpoena to the district attorney behind a major criminal case facing former president trump. also in washington, a potential vote on immig