quote corpse will be warm food for the country of iran falls. needless to say, iran was not happy with the pull out. in 2019, iran began enriching uranium at higher levels and develop new centrifuges for uranium enrichment, and last year, 2023, the united nations inspectors found iran was enriching uranium too close to weapons grade levels. but iran's escalations exploded beyond nuclear development. as or seeing play out now, the regime and its proxy groups increase the regional aggression. iran-backed militias have helped fuel insurgencies and civil wars in syria and yemen. iran is now more embattled, and it is more emboldened. and moderates who existed within the iranian government when the 2015 nuclear deal was signed oregon. in 2020, a new hard-line parliament was unoperated in

iran, while already existing domestic politics had a lot to do with iran's shift in government, many experts say that trump's pressure campaign hoisted the hard-liners to the front and the top of the iranian regime. so, when president biden came into power, negotiated with iran was nearly impossible. it wasn't for lack of trying. for the first year of biden's presidency, his administration attempted a resurrect the 2015 nuclear deal, but tehran refused to engage directly with u.s. diplomats. talk about stop and go for several years, then, something happened in 2022, which made matters even worse. the war in ukraine. you see, the original nuclear deal depended on cooperation between the west and russia. but once russia invaded ukraine, any collaboration with moscow was off the table, and now, iran is helping russia in its war. iran's attack drones are a common feature in russia's campaign against ukraine. the 2015 iran nuclear deal built at least a little good

faith between iran and the west and created an avenue for discussion and for diplomacy, without it, america has no negotiating partner across the table, either to bring the temperature down on attacks across the middle east or to help settle israel's war with hamas. s. good morning. it saturday, february the 3rd. emily velshi. the israel gaza war continues its steady creep outward, threatening to explode into a widespread regional conflict or worse, and the moment. and now, the united states has upped the ante, conducting what the biden administration says it is the first in a series of strategic retaliatory strikes against iranian-backed proxy forces, operating in iraq and syria, and their iranian handlers operating alongside them. these groups are among those responsible for more than 160 attacks on u.s. troops in the

region since the october 7th attack on israel. that includes last sunday's deadly attack on tower 22, a u.s. base in the extreme northeast corner of georgia, right on the border with iraq and syria. more than 40 u.s. service members were booted. three u.s. soldiers died and that attack. 24-year-old specialist kennedy sanders, who was posthumously promoted to sergeant. 46-year-old sergeant william rivers, and 23-year-old breonna moffatt, who was also posthumously promoted to sergeant. yesterday, president biden attended a dignified transfer of their bodies, at dover air force base in delaware. a short time later, the u.s. struck back. utilizing aircraft, including the one bombers, who took off from the continental united states and fluoroplex of the 100 miles to strike their targets. the strikes used 125 precision munitions, hitting more than 85 targets in seven locations, four of them were in syria, and three were in iraq. nbc news has been able to

confirm the locations of five of the strikes. you can see them here. u.s. officials say those facilities including commanding control headquarters. intelligence centers rocket, missile drones, and ammunition depots and supply chain facilities, were used by iran's islamic revolutionary guard corps, the quds force, and that military proxy groups that they sponsor, and were directly linked to attacks against u.s. forces. now, as i mentioned, there's been a sizeable increase in the number of attacks against u.s. forces by iranian-backed militants since october the 7th. while iran hasn't publicly stated that once more with the united states, in fact it, said the opposite, when increasingly appears to be playing out is a proxy battle with the united states, staged outside of iran, using the loosely associated alliance that iran has cultivated over seven years, several years, called the axis of resistance. axis of resistance distance is a term and an idea that was

first coined in response to president george w. bush's axis of evil speech. and we saw a revitalization following the american withdrawal from the iran nuclear deal, and subsequent economic actions in 2018. and the access of resistance has grown stronger and much more aggressive since october the 7th. notably, as i addressed in the last block,'s entire situation could potentially have been avoided if donald trump had not unravel that iran nuclear deal, which was internationally certify to have been working both to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and perhaps, more importantly, in terms of opening diplomatic lines of communication with iran. the axis of resistance consists of groups trained, funded, supplied, and supported by iran. and it includes both large forces, such as hezbollah, hamas, and the houthis, and smaller militias, like the iranian, the islamic resistance in iraq, which was responsible for sunday's deadly attack. it's filled with groups whose ideologies don't typically

align, but we have been unified under an umbrella against the united states. the seem intent on throwing america into another war in the middle east, and potentially, beyond. 20 now, again, from iraq, is nbc news chief international correspondents, keir simmons. keir, your sense of what happens next and what we should be looking for after last night 's attacks? >> oh, ali, in this region, in the middle east at this time, what happens next is a very, very difficult question to answer. a candle typing now in terms of rhetoric,, so we are hearing from qatar, hezbollah, one of those groups inside the islamic resistance in iraq, umbrella group. and it is saying america will see days like they haven't seen throughout history. another one of those groups, saying we have surprises that will anger the enemy and police the friend. of course, that the rhetorical, there are reports of attacks on

u.s. bases in the region, you have it confirmed those. so, i'm getting the detail of them it may not be the case, and frankly, all of this may be rhetorical, because what we haven't seen so far is any major escalation since what really was an escalation by the u.s. overnight. as he mentioned, those 125 decision precision munitions from those beaten bombers flying from the continental united states. what they did was target an area along the iraq syria border, well known for housing or home to iranian-backed militias. that border, running along to 13 to, the place for tower 22 is, that american base where those three american servicemen and women were killed. what we have had, oh, i would say this an escalation drone facilities were hit, you nations were hit, including

here in iraq. and what we have had is a blistering from the response from the iraqi government describing the u.s. as misleading people, that's the iraqi government was told about this and saying that this is putting iraq on the edge of the abyss. now, i think the u.s. will push back quite heavily on the idea that this, that they didn't warn iraq, but just that one aspect of its, really illuminates just how difficult this region is. because the more that the u.s. to the iraqi government about what it was planning to do, the iraqi government as such a close relationship with the iranians there, partnership the iranians as well so with the u.s., that this information will be sent to the iranians. so, as much as the u.s. clearly wanted to fly to the iranians that this is coming, and manage the response,, clearly also, it's likely they wouldn't have told the iraqis about the details because that would simply be sent to those iranian- backed militias and to iran. so, for many americans now

watching, it will be pretty stunning to see the extent of the iranian influence in the three xin, and you've mentioned at the top, ali, about the jcpoa, all of, that it is just worth pointing out that iran has been building this network of proxy groups even while that jcpoa deal was done. that those talks over the nuclear, that's one of the reasons why it really is no way the israelis on the saudis, because i felt like us focusing on the nuclear side while the conventional side here in this region were being built by the iranians. >> keir, we always benefit for your analysis. we thank you for, that will be coming back to u.s. the news develops. thank you, my friend. keir simmons in iraq. now former united states ambassador to a lot of places. iraq, afghanistan, lebanon, and kuwait. now, the senior fellow at the carnegie and dom at four national piece, joining, will nassar, international affairs professor emily studies at johns hopkins university, the school of advanced international studies, and former state department senior

adviser, couldn't ask for a better pair of people to help us get clarity on what's unfolding now in the middle east. gentlemen, thank you for joining us. ambassador crocker, let me start with you,. please one important point here. the shots last night took place in syria and iraq. geographically, very close to each other, next to the borders of either of them. what are our leadership at both of those countries, it's very different. syria it's a lost country. it's a country in which the administration, the government of that country doesn't control its own country. there are still anti government forces there, but largely, iran and russia run the scene in syria. you rock, as keir points out, it's more complicated. they are american allies? and they are iranian allies. now, how does this all complicate what's unfolding? >> well, it couldn't possibly be more complicated, as you and keir have already pointed out. i think is important to look at what are the targets that we

struck were, and they were in a very remote region. they were not in any populated areas on the side of the border. we did inform the iraqis in advance. it's politically convenient to deny that. so, i think we did what we needed to do. i think the signals that we send our very important to iran, to the malicious they back, and two other governments in the region. we do take it seriously, that we are engaged in probably the most important part of this was not the strikes themselves. it was the statements by president biden and by secretary austin, that this is not a one- off. this is the beginning of a process to degrade the capability of these groups. and we, i think, that is the most important message you could possibly sent. that we are committed to a long haul in here. the problem we've had in this

region and elsewhere is since that we don't have strategic patience that will cut and run, as we didn't have in afghanistan, and sadly, there is pressure on ukraine. so, a point on persistence and consistency, i, think is as important as the rate itself. >> professor nasr, that is a remarkably important thing for us to remember. again, it ties into our commitment to the iran deal and the jcpoa. i understand governments change, but we lost strategic patience with the outcome of that deal very quickly. now, we are in a bit of a pickle, because iran is struggling for hegemony in the region, and we don't have a good and direct line into these things. >> no, and just to build on what ambassador crocker was saying, if you look at it in the more recent past, when iran attacked oil facilities in saudi arabia during presidents

trump's time in office, he decided not to react to it when iran shot down an american drone over the gulf, the united states decided not to react to it. he united states killed iranian general, soleimani, iran retaliated with a large missile barrage against a base, which host americans in iraq in the united states, at that, point decided not to pursue it so. the message is that the united states is not committed to the region. the united states does not want war in the region. in fact, the united states wants or less, let's say, that its adversaries do. so, it's very difficult for the united states to establish deterrence. secondly, it's complicated in iraq for other reasons as well. these particular groups that we are targeting largely were set up after 2014, in order to fight i.s.i.s.. they were set up with the full backing of a lot of people in the shared community, shia

religious leaders, and they've become a political force in that country. they have a vested political interest in the process and you know, degrading of them, sustained attack on, them could also destabilize the political situation in iraq. and my sense who's the current attack was very, very meaningful , but the other side has decided not to show any casualty numbers. in fact, iranians have claimed in the press that all the buildings are empty and they have nobody in syria, which means they have chosen not to escalate. not saying the only buildings were hit. we don't need to really retaliate. so, i don't think the real measure of what happens is this attack. it's what will the united states do next? and the question is, if the united states goes further and iran or these groups decide to retaliate, it becomes a very dangerous sort of game of poker between the two sites. each side is trying to bluff the other one out. and i think they're calculating

the fact the united states will blink first. it's election year, the u.s. has shown its hands are full. it doesn't want to war in the region. and therefore, it will not pursue a full-fledged military conflict with them. >> guys, standby please. i want to take a quick break and continue that conversation, particularly highlighting what you're talking about, vali, and that is what happens next. the former ambassador ryan crocker and vali nasr, we'll be right back after the break. e right back after the break. before planning the big trip you were limping thanks to a bad knee. then, you heard about mako robotic-assisted knee replacement. it starts with a ct scan to pinpoint the problem. that becomes a personalized, 3d plan to guide your doctor during surgery. mako can help lead to better outcomes, like less pain and shorter recovery times.

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back with me now, ryan crocker, former ambassador to the united states ambassador to iraq, pakistan, lebanon, syria, afghanistan, and kuwait. i'm not making that stuff up, by the way. and vali nasr, former state department senior adviser. the reason why i underscoring this, ambassador crocker, is because we are in a moment in the world, whether you are looking at what happened last night or you are looking at the war in israel and gaza, in which

diplomacy has got to prevail. this is an unsustainable matter for there to be this much war in that region. this is dry tinder in which people are throwing latches and could creates a fire bigger than we can control. what's your sense of how what happened last night and what could happen relates to what has been a positive few days in which we have been underscoring a potential deal that is, israel and hamas could come to to release hostages and end of that war? it is the middle east, so everything is connected to everything else, for better or generally, for worse. i think that the key to this is a frankly, a hostage deal. if we are able to help broker that's, and i would be cautiously optimistic that we can succeed in it. that will bring with its a prolonged truce. not a cease-fire, neither we nor

israel already to accept that. they prolonged truce, and that, interned, gives you an interval and a set of circumstances in which you can go from shooting to talking. and who knows? i mean, if a truce is sustained over a period of time, we may not see a resort to renewed violence in gaza. that, in turn, is the key, i think, to getting at these other regional problems. >> vali, let's talk about that. iran is not directly connected to any of the conversations that are happening around a potential truce or hostage exchange. qatar is. so, it's kind of a broken line. you've got qatar, which deals with, hamas by hamas, which also deals with iran, is what happened last nights and iran's general search for greater influence in the region, going to stand in the way of a potential deal, if israel and hamas decided like to move

towards one? , i don't think it's going to understand the kind of a deal that ambassador crockett was describing as a step one. largely, because last time you had this deal for over eight days, all of the -- hill silent, not just israel and hamas, but also, all of these militias, houthis, hezbollah, everybody stopped biting. so, the assumption going forward with is if we are successful with this truce, for whatever period of time it may be, it may also include others falling silent as well. in other words, supporting the truth. because after, all houthis, hezbollah, iran, all have taken the position that they have escalated since october 7th because they want this war to stop. so, if there is a situation in which the intensity of the conflict is getting less, particularly, if there is, truce i think and this really, they are likely to also supports it. and the benefit of that is that we are at the point or the gaza conflict is about to touch off

other sets of conflicts in the region, like directly between united states and iraqi militias, united states and iran . and a truce helps prevent that. it's not the escalation, it's actually really, sort of the fire that jumps and start of the fires elsewhere. it prevents that from happening. and then, we can use that truce to think about, you know, how we can arrive at a more stable place in the middle east. beyond that cease-fire. but we need that at the beginning just to catch our breath. and have everybody calm down, to see a path forward. >> that's exactly right. catcher breath and have really come down. see a path forward. guys, thank you very much. i really appreciate the analysis and expertise that you both bring to this. ryan crocker is a former united states ambassador, vali nasr is a former state department senior adviser and professor of international affairs and middle east adiz. to me, up the white house as we have not seen the end of the military response to the iran- backed drone strike that killed three u.s. soldiers. what could happen next? another deal to release the

israeli hostages and possibly fighting in gaza, as we've discussed, could be within reach? we are the negotiations between israel and hamas stand at this hour, and which hostages could be released first. could be relead sefirst. (christina) with verizon business unlimited, i get 5g, truly unlimited data, and unlimited hotspot data. so, no matter what, i'm running this kitchen. (vo) make the switch. it's your business. it's your verizon. 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. this might be my favorite sidekick ever. what? every epic footlong deserves the perfect sidekick. have you ever considered getting a walk-in tub? well, look no further. every epic footlong proudly made in tennessee, a safe step walk-in tub is the best in it's class. the ultra-low easy step helps keep you safe from having to climb over those high walled tubs, allowing you to age gracefully in the home you love. and now, back by popular demand,

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from breaking your momentum. you may have already been vaccinated against the flu, but don't forget this season's updated covid-19 shot too. we're talking a little bit about this in the last segment, but a potential deal for the cease-fire in gaza and exchange for the release of the's remaining israeli hostages appears to be gaining some traction. in the last couple of, weeks top officials from the united states, from, israel, egypt was the prime minister of qatar, have been involved in the go shooting a truce, which was presented to hamas this week. the exact details haven't been made public, but reports indicate it would involve a few phases that would transpire over several weeks during a pause in the fighting. -- confirmed in a statement to reuters is studying the three face cease-fire plan, and the first phase, hamas will be expected to release the

remaining civilians that it has held hostage since october 7th. primarily, women, children, the sick, and the elderly. female soldiers would be released next, in exchange for an increase in humanitarian aid into gaza. the final phase, would involve the release of male soldiers, and the bodies of hostages who are still being held. in captivity. that deal will also involve the release of palestinian prisoners in israel, though the details on that part of things are unclear. hamas is said to be asking for thousands of prisoners to be released, including notable people like marwan barghouti, a popular political figure among palestinians who was thought to be a contender to lead the palestinians in the future. earlier this week, prime minister benjamin netanyahu said he opposed releasing that many prisoners, and he also wouldn't support a deal that involves withdrawal of israeli troops from gaza. but after hamas was presented with the proposal this week, a qatari official told reuters that hamas quote, received the

proposal, positively, and quote. the fact that the talks have, in fact, gotten this far might be an optimistic sign. there's been no pause in fighting since late november, when both sides reached a truce for six days. subsequent negotiations have since fallen apart, but as we approach the four month mark of this war, with the death toll in gaza climbing past 27,000, there are other signs that something might be a foot. president biden's decision to sanction for israeli settlers in the west bank is the most significant action an american president has taken against settlers since george h. w. bush's administration. additionally, to u.s. officials told axios this week that secretary of state antony blinken made a request for the state department to review policy options for the possible u.s. recognition of a palestinian state. now, that doesn't necessarily mean the united states is ready to make any changes to official policy, but the fact that it's

even being talked about is significant, and a sign of how this war is causing top -- to reconsider decades old policies. joining me now is acmar amit, a senior diplomatic correspondent for the huffington post. up, mara want to start with that last point. america has already said it supports a two state solution. it has always said that will lead to the recognition of a palestinian state. but in this very moment, where benjamin netanyahu and his right-wing governments have actually said that's a nonstarter, in the world in which benjamin netanyahu, people forget, was elected in 1996 on a platform of opposing a palestinian state, i think that last point small and unconfirmed though it may be, be a massive development. >> it's significant, ali, for the administration to be legally looking at what that would look like, and how they get there. and it's important to remember the uss is a bit of an outlier on this. a number of states, including some u.s. allies, actually do

recognize palestine as a state. so, it significant. the question is really if it has an 18th to it. so the idea is, are they leading this to say, the union who are talking about, or are they saying, we will actually get here, and here's how he would do, it regardless of netanyahu saying i cannot tolerate a palestinian state. which he's explicitly said recently. >> now the other, thing and, again i am a glass half full kind of guy,, so i've been looking at the fact that neither israel nor hamas have out of hand said there is nothing in this proposed deal that they would be involved in. that, what's important to note, massage the table when the deal was being hammered out. so it's weird for netanyahu to say there's nothing in there that he can deal with so, he's hedging his bets. but hamas, typically what they don't want to deal, say so very quickly and move on. >> i love that you point out the mossad, because i think it's important to remember on both sides, there are factions, right? the israeli side and the hamas side. and it's really critical, it's

really security and military establishment, the most, off the shin, that which is the hamas intelligence service. they are a lot more pragmatic about palestinian issues because we have to deal with the impact of violence for his political leadership, like netanyahu. so you suddenly see a lot more interest from the security side to build some more stability, get out of this phase of just tit-for-tat violence. on the hamas side, there's a political leadership in qatar, and there's a military leadership. and it certainly seems a bit of a division there in terms of what the folks in gaza might be willing to accept, because they are actually living through the war, versus the political leadership who are in qatar, you know, not experiencing those horrible conditions. >> again, there's nothing simple about this. hamas has listed a bunch of things they would want to make the deal move forward. interesting to me they have listed a bunch of things they would want to supposed to saying, forget it. israel has said on an official level that they're involved in

continuing the discussion. saudi arabia is involved in this as well. and a deal would probably be contingent upon saudi arabia to bring something that they were headed towards doing, and that is the so-called normalization of relationships with israel. the recognition, official recognition of israel, that was a road that was already, they were going down in the first place. tell me a little bit about that? >> sure, so, last month, i recorded that -- wish this white house advisor, very close to president biden, very little scene, has devised a path to tie causes future to an israeli saudi normalization deal. the white house officially denied, that the following my report, there's been multiple public foster nations of. it what that means is, ali, to have saudi funding, rebuild gaza, and -- for a relationship with saudi arabia to push israel to make concessions to palestinians. now, like with all of this, none of it is easy.

it needs to be meaningful confessions, and to your point about this being a road they were already on, prior to october 7th, before october 7th, as president biden and others have noted, israel saudi normalization seemed pretty likely, and some people leave that -- it's one reason the palestinians kind of went on that path towards frustration and then the attack. so, the question is, would this deal be window dressing, and just make the u.s. israel and saudi feel like these big teachers while the palestinians are left, out or would give something meaningful to the palestinians. >> that becomes very relevant, akbar, because the iranians would have had an interest in scuttling that the, all right? it's not good for iran that's looking for more power in the region to have israel and saudi arabia have some sort of an agreement and mutual recognition and increased trade and diplomatic relations with each other. so, if there are sense, including in light of the attacks that we've seen, that iran works hard to scuttle such a deal, if one is on its

way? >> 100%. i mean, the way when u.s. official put it to me was spoilers. there are multiple spoilers, and as you've covered, there are iranian-backed militias, forces, seeking control for iran across the region. so, the spoilers could be the houthis in the red sea. they could be militias in iraq or syria. they can be hezbollah and lebanon. so, certainly, there is an interest teams iranian perspective of resistance to the u.s. to say we are standing up to the palestinians. that puts more and more pressure, frankly, on the biden administration, on netanyahu, on the saudis to say, this is a meaningful deal not just for our own benefit, but for the palestinians. many analysts say it's a strategic mistake to allow the iranians and their network to take this narrative of palestinian support after all these years of, of course, occupation and now the war since october 7th. -- you are on le pen

>> correspondent with huffington post. coming up, why u.s. defense officials are saying these retaliations against iran-backed militia are just beginning, and what we know about the sites targeted so far. targeted so far. have heart failure with unresolved symptoms? it may be time to see the bigger picture. heart failure and seemingly unrelated symptoms, like carpal tunnel syndrome, shortness of breath, and irregular heartbeat could be something more serious called attr-cm, a rare, underdiagnosed disease that worsens over time. sound like you? call your cardiologist, and ask about attr-cm. ♪oh what a good time we will have♪ ♪you... can make it happen...♪ ♪♪ try dietary supplements from voltaren for healthy joints. liberty mutual customized my car insurance and i saved hundreds.

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all right, we'll continue our coverage of the strikes the united states has carried out around iran-backed militia groups in iraq and syria.

over 125 precision munitions were used to, hitting more than 85 targets at seven facilities. four of them in syria, and three others in iraq. the response is the first of what is expected to be a series of strikes in retaliation for an attack on u.s. troops last sunday, in which more than 40 service members were wounded, and three were killed. yesterday, president biden attended the dignified transfer of their bodies, at dover air force base in delaware. joining me now is dan balloons, national security and global affairs reported for nbc news. dan, this is a festive elephant story. what's the latest that we can report? >> there are no new strikes to report to get today, ali. but i think it's only a matter of time before we learned of more military action today, and in the coming, days that made it very clear that yesterday's operation was just the start of what they're calling a campaign. this is not a one-off. one thing to look for is that they go back again to those areas in eastern syria and

western iraq, along that border area, where those militias have been operating and have storage depots and command centers, and will they go after and a more intense way, the houthi forces in yemen, that have been creating such problems for commercial shipping and fire and drones and missiles, at those commercial cargo ships. that's another thing to look for. and then, we still don't know how these airstrikes are being received in iran and by these iranian proxies. you know, is this message, with the white house believes is a message of deterrence, will that be interpreted in the way it's intended, and is it too early to say at this point. >> what has iran said about this? iran has indicated generally speaking, prior to this between october 7th and now, they're not looking for a direct engagement with the united states. despite the bidding of some

republican senators, america also doesn't want a direct engagement with iran, because that would be a massive escalation to what's going on. >> that's right. the calculation, which is kind of this calibrated, kind of decision, is on the u.s. side, they wanted to send a message that they had crossed the line, that the regime had through its proxies, killed three u.s. troops. that was completely unacceptable, so the, u.s. thought they had to send the message, saying you know, move back. stop. that that is unacceptable. but stopping short of the strike on iranian territory. now, iran also has said similar signals in the strange kind of game we're in, we are they have said we don't seek a conflict, but they will respond very sharply if there is a direct attack on iran, or if iranians are killed.

so, i think it's still too early to say how iran will respond. i don't think iran probably was surprised by this action. the way it was telegraphed in advance but why it is limited to some degree, i think is sort of going according to a script. there is no surprise here. the administration wanted to carry out this operation in a way where they send a message, but they don't inflame the situation. of course, the problem, is in any conflict, the actions one- sided takes aren't always interpreted the way they're intended by the other side. so, it's really too early to say. so much, though, of course, ali, is writing on those negotiations that are going on between israel and hamas, with the qataris as intermediaries. if it could be a temporary cease-fire negotiated in that israeli hamas conflict, if there could be hostages released, that would possibly take the temperature down, defuse tensions, and maybe then we

avoid this kind of escalatory cycle. >> as vali nasr pointed out a few seconds ago, when the last truce was in place that allowed for the exchange of hostages, the guns went silent across the middle east. dan, thanks for your great coverage of this. great talking to you through the course of the day. the andalusian asheville security global affairs reporter for nbc news. coming up, more than 30 states in the united states have banned certain fiction and nonfiction books by black authors. but this black history month, multiple organizations across philadelphia are making those books accessible by way of a new initiative. the president and ceo of one of those groups joins me next for today's meeting of the velshi banned book club. meetinofg th banned book club. lawson, here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85 and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three p's. what are the three p's? the three p's of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford,

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( ♪♪ ) (silence) the year is 1731 in philadelphia. benjamin franklin has a 90. he persuades his philadelphia society affronts, the quakers, that the city and the country need a lending library. first called the judas library, that, the library company a philadelphia. ben franklin knew there needed to be a space where books could be accessed conveniently and affordably. in 1876, nearly 150 years after that conversation, a small group of men met again in philadelphia to create the american library association. their goal? a free public library. all these decades later, the american library association

still exists. generations have passed. america looks impossibly different than the america those men knew in 1731 and in 1876. yet, libraries remain. they've become more than a place to just borrow books. they serve as critical community centers that provide the space to learn and to dream in philadelphia and across the nation. at least, for now. this past year, the most organized ultraconservative book banning group in the nation, moms for liberty, chose philadelphia as the site of their annual summit. among the speakers were donald trump, ron desantis, and nikki haley, and beyond the city limits, in bucks county, pennsylvania, york county, pennsylvania, centre county, pennsylvania, more parents, school board members, and right- wing organizations have been systematically attacking access to literature. books have been ripped from library bookshelves, deleted off nullify, and taken from the hands of young readers. for a moment, it looks like libraries could die in the very place where they were born. pennsylvania.

but philadelphia is fighting back. several groups, including the free library of philadelphia, visit philadelphia, official city tourism board, and little free libraries, a nonprofit that created and distributed free book sharing boxes, have joined together to create little freedom libraries. these brightly decorated boxes have been placed in 13 locations throughout philadelphia, from the betsy ross house to the eastern state penitentiary. the boxes will be stocked with 1500 crucial books that tell black stories that are written by black authors, including some that have been featured on the velshi banned book club. the 16 19 project by nikole hannah- jones, all american voiced by jason reynolds and brandon keatley. beloved by tony morrison. and many more. philadelphia is the -- in which democracy was created in america, in creating for freedom. america found a way to squirrelly condemns mentorship also providing meaningful access to literature in the city.

the point that he is not lost on me on the velshi banned book club. the, reading is resistance. reading is half the battle. initiatives like that little freedom libraries are the other half. right after the break, i'll be joined by angela val, president and ceo of illicit philadelphia. don't go anywhere. shingles is sleeping... in 99% of people over 50. and it could strike at any time. think you're not at risk? wake up. because shingles could wake up in you. if you're over 50, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about shingles prevention.

i'm joined now by angela

val, president and ceo of visit philadelphia, one organization of that partnership to create the little free(dom) library in philadelphia. angela, great to see. you thank you for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> i want to start with the books that were selected to be included in the little freedom libraries. of course, literature lifted by black authors with black protagonists are panda disproportionately high right in america right now. had to get involved in selecting the titles that are going to show up in the little libraries? >> we worked with a lot of different organizations, including the free library of philadelphia. and also, several black-owned bookstores, like uncle bobby's and harriet spoke store. they really help does not just look for books that were fiction, nonfiction, but also, we wanted to make sure we had books that were adult books, teen books, and children's books. >> how is this going to work? what's the idea? you've got these boxes out there. is it a lending library? two people do something to get the books and bring them back?

what happens? >> this works very similar to the free libraries that you might see in neighborhoods in communities. throughout philadelphia, and other communities where you can take a book, you can just take one book, or you can take a book and leave a book. our goal here was to make sure that black voices we're able to be heard here in philadelphia. not just by our residents, but, also by our visitors. so, these locations, there's 13 of them throughout the city, many of them in our surrounding neighborhoods, but also many of them in our downtown tourist area. >> you concluded, when you talk about black others, you concluded classics by tony morrison and james baldwin. fascinating and shocking to see books that have contributed so greatly to the culture of our country, not just black culture, but american culture, on some of these panelists. was it important to little freedom libraries to have sort of a mix of contemporary

literature, which is getting banned at a remarkably rapid rate, and classic literature, because these are targeted books, too. >> yes. i mean, we are shocked by some of these books that i've showed up on the band buckle us. it's important to us to make sure that the books about history, books about the culture, also, books that children have read that in these little libraries, that you get an opportunity not just to talk about one aspect of the black experience, but how we've also contributed to this country. you've mentioned in your earlier remarks, philadelphia is the birthplace of this nation, and we want to make sure that people understand that black history is also american history, and these stories are worth telling and sharing. >> one of the things i said in the introduction, we feature some of the books that are in the little freedom libraries on the velshi banned book club, including one of my favorites, all-american voice. which is told from the perspectives of a white teen and a black teen. that book, all american, voice explains what happens to a community in the wake of police brutality, and i want to play

you just a little bit from one of the authors of the book, jason, reynolds on the main themes. >> we wanted to drive home the point that you don't need to actually know a person to care about their well-being. that it really shouldn't matter that you don't live in ferguson, missouri. for you to care about what happened to michael brown. it shouldn't matter that it may actually never actually touch your doorstep, for you to be concerned about the welfare of your brothers and sisters of color, in this world, it's that simple. >> i think that speaks to your last point. that black history is american history. this doesn't have to be your specific lineage of history, it's important to everybody, one of the black people read the, spokes important everybody read these books. >> everybody should read these books. i think we get to know one another by reading stories that show us a different person that we might not know, a culture we might not be familiar with, and that lets those barriers between people and different races and

different ethnicities kind of calm down a little bit. it is important here in philadelphia that were not only a welcoming place, but that you have a true sense of belonging. and that could first be done by learning about one another first. and reading about each other is a way to do that, which is why this is such an important project. we don't want this to be just a recognition of black history month. we want for this month to be a recognition of the contributions of african americans to this country and have people understand that these stories are related to, because in some ways, we're all connected here. and that you must be able to see somebody else's point of view for these things to heal amongst us. so, really, this project is one of a much larger project called pursuit of a more perfect union, we were really leaning into it,

no attracting diverse markets and letting them know that this is a place that you can be yourself here in philadelphia. >> and look, it's a project that can and should be emulated all over the country, but as he brought up, it's poignant to have happened in philadelphia, given that city search history as it relates to our democracy. how do you tevin? you are the head of the organization that deals with people visiting philadelphia, how do you tie that in? >> yes, it is a very unique project for a tourism, but we want you to not just acknowledge black history, we want to make sure that these books are accessible and available. and as we lead up to the 250th anniversary of this country, we want to make sure that people understand, here in philadelphia, where the country started, that least a race are worth exploring and they are part of this historic celebration, that no matter who you are and how you came here, that we have always then a

place where everyone has contributed to the birth of this country and the building of this country, it's our responsibility, really, to ensure that the tourism efforts that we do attract people of all cultures and all ethnicities here. >> as i often say on the, show i'm thankful for both owners. they've made us much more creative and understand the importance of holding on to our books and making sure others get them as well. angela, thank you so much. angela val is the president and ceo of his availability a. that does it for me. thank you for watching, i will be back here at four pm today, as we continue to cover the u.s. strikes against iranian-backed forces in the middle east, and of course, you can catch me back here tomorrow morning from 10 am to noon eastern, and don't