a day perhaps too late. we have reporters everywhere in washington monitoring what is going to happen. "today" show , in fact, will hae special coverage with savannah guthrie and that "today" show starts right now. ♪ good morning breaking overnight, it's official >> the votes for president of the united states are as follows. >> congress seals joe biden's victory after one of the darkest days in american history the u.s. capitol under siege, stormed by an angry mob of trump supporters shocking images of rioters breaking into the hallowed halls of congress stop the process, ransacking offices and forcing lawmakers to flee. at least four deaths, damage, and destruction. >> this is not dissent, it's disorder

it's chaos >> democrats and some republicans laying the blame directly at the president's feet members of his own administration resigning, and growing condemnation from both sides of the aisle, including some of trump's once closest allies. >> all i can say is count me out. enough is enough i, among -- above all others in this body, need to say this, joe biden and kamala harris are lawfully elected >> we gather, due to a selfish man's injured pride. the best way we can show respect for the voters who are upset is by telling them the truth. >> straight ahead, the urgent questions surrounding the day's security failures, and how the nation can move forward, today, thursday, january 7th, 2021. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is a special edition of

"today," with savannah guthrie, from washington, d.c., and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> good morning. welcome to a special split edition of "today. what a sight sun is coming up in washington over the beautiful united states capitol. i'm here in washington, in the aftermath of yesterday's stunning siege here at the u.s. capitol. hoda, you know, i used to live here i used to cover this building, cover the white house. i looked at it this morning, and i've never looked at it with tears in my eyes this morning, i did, because of what happened yesterday and what was lost but it is a new day in washington there's much to cover this morning. >> we look forward to that i have to comment, watching that sunrise, savannah, and that calm did make me exhale a little bit. it was good to see that there is a new day today. but look at these images of what was left behind once those protesters finally cleared out check it out i mean, broken glass everywhere.

these are the offices of elected officials, torn apart. benches throughout the capitol overturned it's quite a sight >> we'll show you more of these images there's still almost too much to believe, even 24 hours or so later. here we are at the east front of the capitol, just steps from the spot where that mob forced its way through barricades, scaled walls, broke windows, fought their way inside it was a desperate and disturbing bid to stop constitutional counting of the electoral votes. the results of the presidential election it should have been a ceremonial process. it should have been a matter of debate, perhaps, but not a matter of violence that is what happened. look at this those votes, those very sacred votes contained in the box you see there, they had to be whisked away, rescued during the chaos. a quick-thinking senate staffer who grabbed the boxes, those precious boxes, your votes, americans, and safely escorted

them out lawmakers brought them back with them they did their constitutional duty, confirming the results of the election joe biden is now officially certified as the next president of the united states a few moments later, middle of the night, the president issued a statement and committed, for the first time, to an orderly transition of power on january 20th >> savannah, when congress first returned to the chamber, it was vice president mike pence, and he was quick to condemn the violence that he had just witnessed firsthand. >> to those who wreaked havoc in our capitol today, you did not win. violence never wins. freedom wins >> we've got our team ready to bring you the very latest. there are many angles to get into here. let's start with nbc's peter alexander, our white house correspondent who is with me at the capitol. you're standing among a little

of the damage, violence, and vandalism that took place yesterday. >> reporter: you're right. there is a sea of debris less than 18 hours ago, this was packed with people, the vandals and rioters. now, it's silence. law enforcement telling us they're going to put up a fence, though it is too little, too late new comments from the president overnight. a president who, over the cours of the last several weeks, yesterday, refusing to condemn the protesters, and now he has posted a new statement last night, for the first time acknowledging defeat. it reads, in part, though i totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless, there will be an orderly transition on january 20th here's the way events played out overnight.

>> reporter: overnight, a declaration of democracy, hours after a pro-trump mob stormed and occupied the capitol. congress, in an early morning vote, confirming president-elect biden's victory. >> joseph r. biden jr. of the state of delaware has received 306 votes. donald j. trump from the state of florida has received 232 votes. >> reporter: those simple words concluding a day of unimaginable violence, some of it inside that very chamber >> to those who tried to tear us from our responsibility, you have failed. >> reporter: the proceedings that began a day earlier coming to a sudden, hours' long halt, by the unprecedented breach of the halls of congress. vice president pence again presiding. >> violence never wins freedom wins and this is still the people's house. let's get back to work >> reporter: senators returning under armed federal guard. not far behind the mahogany boxes holding the electoral colleges certified votes

kept safe by a quick-thinking staffer whisked away by before the rioters arrived. republican and democratic leaders taking the floor, still reeling, but vowing to press ahead. >> united states senate will not be intimidated we will not be kept out of this chamber by thugs, mobs, or threats. >> we will begin the hard work of repairing this nation tonight, because here in america, we do hard things >> reporter: some members of president trump's own party holding him personally responsible for the chaos. >> now, we gather, due to a selfish man's injured pride, and the outrage of supporters who he has deliberately misinformed for the past two months. >> reporter: republican attempts to challenge the results failing, with some senators backing down from their defiant stand. >> following the events of today, it appears that some senators have withdrawn their objection.

[ applause ] >> rorter: one of the president's closest allies, lindsey graham exasperated. >> all i can say is, count me out. enough is enough >> reporter: nearly 100 congressional democrats now argue president trump should be removed from office. not on that list, vice president-elect kamala harris. >> senator harris, should president trump will impeached again? >> reporter: we're getting new details about the dynamic between president trump and vice president pence, as you saw yesterday. trump antagonized pence again hen he said he'd not overturn the election results this comes from the oklahoma republican senator jim inhofe who told the "the sul is a world" when he said, "i've known

mike pence forever, and i've never seen pence as angry as he was today. i had a long conversation with him. he said, after all the things i've done for trump. savannah, one thing notable is we heard late yesterday from vice president pence's press secretary, saying that during that lockdown here at the capitol, he was in frequent contact with leaders here at the capitol, with the dod, department of justice, the department of defense, and with capitol police the only name notably not mentioned there was president trump. >> the vice president was in touch with all those authorities. >> reporter: exactly right, yeah. >> peter, thank you very much. stick with us. hoda, we'll send it to you. >> thank you. check out this image police using flashbangs yesterday, attempting to clear the crowd that took over the capitol. that is quite an image the reaction to the violent scene has been swift some of it from inside the trump administration nbc's chief white house correspondent hallie jackson joins us with that part of the story. hallie, good morning >> reporter: hoda, good morning to you this morning, we are waking up in a very different washington than 24 hours ago. a morning then when, yes, protests had been expected, but not like what we saw not like the mob scene not the riots. everything seemed to build slowly and then happen all at

once while words can describe it, it's the images that really tell the story. this is what one of the darkest days in american history look like, a mob storming the u.s. capitol, breaking in through the windows, scaling scaffolding, an insurrection incited by president trump. the stage set wednesday morning, quite literally. thousand of trump supporters waiting for him to speak near the white house. crowded but not chaotic, not yet. at noon, the president delivering his speech, egging on the crowd an hour before the electoral college count began. >> now, it is up to congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy after this, we're going to walk down, and i'll be there with you. >> reporter: so they walked. hundreds of them shaking, then breaking security barricades, getting closer to the capitol steps, then abruptly taking over, swarming the building.

>> they're making their way up the steps right now. >> reporter: one video showing an officer alone with a baton, forced to retreat and then run, as the mob made its way inside, through the first floor of the capitol, up the stairs, approaching the chambers. >> they're walking toward the >> reporter: inside, interruptions, then evacuations. at 2:15, the vice president, presiding over the senate, taken to a secure location. in the house, members rushing for cover, some in gas masks. >> we were just told that there has been tear gas in the rotunda. >> reporter: confusion, then fear, as images like this one appeared police with guns drawn, aimed at rioters on the other side of the door some in the mob trying to break through a different entrance suddenly, a gunshot. the senate floor also breached the rioters posing for pictures.

others hanging from a balcony. one person carrying a podium in the house speaker's office, somebody sat with his feet propped on nancy pelosi's desk at one point, capitol police shot a woman, and she did not survive. by 4:00, with the world watching, horrified, president-elect biden demand president trump do something. >> i call on president trump to go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the constitution, and demand an end to this siege. >> reporter: 20 minutes later, the president releasing a video, praising the rioters, but asking them to go home. they did not, not at first, as the 6:00 p.m. curfew got closer. backup arrived, and the crowd eventually dispersed outside inside, disorder turned to determination, with lawmakers insisting they would not be

cowed. the democratic process prevailing that constitutional process did unfold here in washington, local officials are pointing to the loss of life, not just the woman we mentioned shot and killed by law enforcement, but three other people who died due to what's being described as medical emergencies here on capitol grounds. hoda, back to you. >> hallie jackson for us, thanks we'll send it back to savannah. >> let's get an eyewitness account. michigan's democratic congresswoman debbie dingell joining us. we spoke last hour, and you gave an impactful description of what it was like in those moments as our viewers are waking up and joining us, i wish you could share it again, what it was like to be in the chambers, what you saw and heard in those moments. >> well, good morning again, savannah it was -- i think when you are in the middle of it, you didn't -- and watching these clips now, you didn't realize quite how serious it was you saw law enforcement, obviously, engage on the floor

i was asked if i would be ready to speak and keep people calm. now, i didn't understand what calm meant you saw law enforcement then, their protection detail take leadership very quickly off of the floor. they were still asking me to speak, and then law enforcement came in and told us to sit in our seats, to pull out our gas masks. pounding began on the doors. we heard gunshots. you could smell tear gas there was, obviously, a sense that something was going on. then we were told that we were going to have to evacuate. so we were -- i mean, the woman was shot very near where we were, and we were taken out another way. a lot of the younger -- or the veteran lawmakers helping us republicans and democrats, we were a community, taken out the back way through many downward steps, tunnels, to an

undisclosed, safe location. >> congresswoman, when you and i spoke, you said, because of the events of yesterday, the fact that congress came back and did its duty, but it went late into the night, until after 3:00 a.m., you hadn't seen some of the pictures we're showing right now. of the house and grounds, the capitol grounds ransacked, vandalized, rioters breaking windows, putting feet up in some of the offices what goes through your mind when you see the hallowed halls of congress being desecrated in this way >> by the way, when we returned to the capitol, we saw the holes, the glass in the main door to the house chamber. the doors you saw were empty of glass, the entrances into the capitol. bullet holes it's rather -- but you know what i see? i see an attack on our democracy. it was more important than ever that we go back in there

they were attacking what is the symbol of our country and our democracy. we have to fight for it. all of us -- i mean, i'm horrified when i see these pictures, and we didn't. we didn't have access to television yesterday then we were back on the floor i'm seeing most of these pictures for the first time. but i'm fighting for my country, and i'm going to keep fighting for my country >> congresswoman debbie dingell, thank you for your time. we appreciate it stay safe, and we'll keep in touch. hoda, 16 minutes after the hour, i'll send it to you. >> thank you, savannah. in the wake of yesterday's unprecedented violence, we've seen a string of resignations from the trump administration overnight. this morning, the president himself is facing mounting calls to resign or be removed from office nbc's kristen welker is at the white house for us kristen, good morning. >> reporter: hi, hoda. good morning to you. this is a white house in chaos with, as you say, multiple officials resigning overnight.

now, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are rebuking president trump for encouraging violence nbc news has confirmed this morning, there is even talk of invoking the 25th amendment here within the administration to remove president trump from office, with fears there could be more unrest >> usa >> reporter: in the wake of violence by his supporters, nearly 100 lawmakers and congress this morning are calling for president trump's removal from office. >> that's where we are right now, and he's incited this this was a coup. you cannot sugar coat this you cannot be nice about it. >> reporter: the incoming senate majority leader squarely blaming mr. trump for the uprising. >> this mob was in good part president trump's doing, incited by his words, his lies this violence, in good part, his responsibility, his everlasting shame. >> reporter: one top state

department official tweeting, these actions threaten our democracy and our republic trump is entirely unfit to remain in office and needs to go multiple sources familiar with the matter tell nbc news, there have been informal discussions about invoking the 25th amendment by some staff-level officials within the administration the 25th amendment says, if a president becomes unable to do the job, he can be forcibly removed, and the vice president takes over one way to do that, the vice president would need to agree, as well as a majority of the cabinet members. it's not clear these discussions have reached the cabinet level two sources say the idea has not been discussed directly with vice president pence former national security adviser john bolton warned against invoking the 25th amendment on cnn saying it could make matters worse. >> we ought to bear in mind the adage, "do no harm." because you can make this worse if we're not careful.

>> reporter: meanwhile, multiple trump officials resigning overnight. including one of the president's longest serving aids, stephanie grisham. she served as press secretary and was recently the first lady's chief of staff. also calling it quits, the white house social secretary and a deputy press secretary multiple sources familiar with the matter tell nbc news there could be more resignations coming, including national security adviser robert o'brien. sources say transportation secretary elaine chao is considering her options. there's also reports that a top national security official has resigned we reached out to the nse, but so far, no response. i want to set the scene here at the white house as it unfolded, hoda, as this was all coming to pass a number of officials just had the stunned and, frankly, stricken looks on their faces. at this hour, many of them tell me they are still in the dark about what the president will do next hoda >> on top of that, his twitter account has been frozen, i guess.

any idea when that is going to be reactivated, kristen? >> reporter: his twitter account was frozen for about 12 hours, but pending him taking down some of the false information that he had put up yesterday, including reiterating those false claims of widespread voter fraud. hoda, it's not just twitter. it's also facebook and instagram. hoda >> kristen welker, thank you it is 20 minutes past the hour we're going to take a pause and an exhale, and we're going to check the weather with mr. roker. hey, al. >> guys, good morning. we have high surf advisories out west, from southern california into central california. some snow in the western plains, as we move to the east, we're looking at a vigorous storm getting itself together in the mid mississippi river valley generating strong storms through the gulf coast, on into the southeast. sunny and chilly here into the northeast and up into the great lakes. we're going to get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds you're in the right place. my seminars are a great tool to help young homeowners who are turning into their parents.

now, remember, they're not programs. they're tv shows. you woke up early. no one cares. yes. so, i was using something called homequote explorer from progressive to easily compare home insurance rates. was i hashtagging? progressive can't help you from becoming your parents, but we can help you compare rates on home insurance with homequote explorer. guess what. the waiter doesn't need to know your name. good thursday morning, i'm meteorologist kari hall. we have very dense fog in parts of the south county up towards san jose and some patchy fog up the peninsula. but once that clears, we're in for sunshine today and it's going to be a dry one before we get a chance of some scattered showers mainly early tomorrow morning moving from north to south and temperatures during the afternoon will reach into the low 60s and then this weekend it's going to be sunny, highs in the upper 50s to lower 60s. >> that's your latest weather.

>> that's your latest weather. hoda >> al, thank you coming up, what we've learned overnight about the mob that stormed the political heart of washington, d.c., including the woman, an air force veteran, who was shot and killed by u.s. capitol police first, this is "today" on nbc. ♪ ♪ digital transformation has failed to take off. because it hasn't removed the endless mundane work we all hate. ♪ ♪ automation can solve that by taking on repetitive tasks for us. unleash your potential. uipath. reboot work.

the crisis at the capitol from our nation's former presidents >> the messages they want you to hear, offering hope and unity for the nation moving forward. first, on a thursday morning from washington and new york, a check of your local news and weather. if you have obstructive sleep apnea and you're often tired during the day, you could be missing out on amazing things. sunosi can help you stay awake for them. once daily sunosi improves wakefulness in adults with excessive daytime sleepiness due to obstructive sleep apnea.

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(laughter) oh, attilius, you no longer need a knife to jif! to the jif! ♪ ♪ a very good morning to you. 7:26. i'm laura garcia. here are today's top stories including some of the local fallout in the after math of yesterday's storming of the capitol. i'm bob redell outside facebook headquarters. the social media company has blocked president trump from its platform for 24 hours starting yesterday after the president posted a video in which he addressed his supporters that had broken into the capitol hill complex. in the video the president continued to push the false claim that the election was stolen. facebook has removed that video, instagram which is owned by facebook has done the same. youtube has taken similar

measures. locked his account for 12 hours starting yesterday. i'm kris sanchez with the growing calls for president trump to be removed from office with just two weeks left in his term. congresswoman says there's no time for impeachment and should invoke the 25th amendment to remove. it would take two-thirds of the congress for his removal. mayor sam. let's get a look at the forecast with meteorologist kari hall today. foggy start in some parts of the bay. >> yeah, we're seeing that in the south bay right now of all places. we don't get many of these days where it starts out really foggy here and extending down to the south county and parts of the bay area starting out just cloudy but then once the fog

clears and temperatures reach into the upper 50s and low 60s and mild day. but we'll also have a chance of some early morning showers moving in tomorrow morning. laura. >> all right. thank you very much. another local news update coming up in half an hour. have a good morning.

♪ ♪ oh, this is how it starts ♪ lightning strikes the heart ♪ the day has just begun ♪ brighter than the sun ♪ oh, we could be the stars ♪ falling from the sky ♪ shining how we want ♪ brighter than the sun ♪ i swear you hit me like a vision ♪ ♪ but who am i to tell fate where it's supposed to go? ♪ ♪ oh, this is how it starts ♪ lightning strikes the heart ♪ the day has just begun ♪ brighter than the sun ♪ oh, we could be the stars ♪ falling from the sky ♪ shining how we want

♪ brighter than the sun oroweat bread. gathering, baking and delivering the goodness of nature... from one generation to the next and from seed to slice. ♪ we are back. it is 7:30 boy, that's a pretty sunrise a new day in washington after yesterday's violence and mayhem at the capitol that's exactly where savannah is morning, savannah. >> it is a beautiful sight i think people are contemplating this morning not just that the building itself is beautiful, but what it stands for, our democracy. very, very fragile but also very strong let's get you caught up on the latest overnight congress confirmed joe biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election hours after that shock at the capitol in a statement overnight, the president said for the first time, there will be an orderly

transition of power. hoda meantime, lawmakers are vowing an investigation into how police handled yesterday's security one woman was fatally shot by capitol police three other people died due to medical emergencies. 14 police officers were also hurt at least 52 people were arrested of course, one question that a lot of people are now asking is, how on earth did this happen why wasn't the capitol more secure when trump supporters had been threatening similar actions like this for months they've been doing it online nbc's tom costello is on the hill this morning with that part of the story hey, tom good morning. >> reporter: good morning, hoda. i'm just going to ask the camera to pull out a little bit here, and i think savannah is a little in the shot, as well savannah, this is the grounds right here, and it is still littered with trash and debris here on the capitol grounds. as i was walking over here from the other side of the capitol, there's a puddle of dried blood. on this side of me, this is where you saw that shot of

capitol police seeming to open up the barricades at a certain point, and allowing protesters in it does appear that police were quickly overwhelmed and outmanned. it happened in a matter of minutes. police suddenly overwhelmed and overrun on the steps of the capitol. but how could that happen? right-wing websites have been planning and plotting for weeks. the president had been tweeting and encouraging supporters to march on the capitol on december 19th, big protest in d.c. on january 6th. be there we'll be wild. >> we will be needing to ask law enforcement why the resources were not there >> reporter: with 2,300 officers, the capitol police force is responsible for protecting members of congress for decades, it's managed protests and demonstrations. never before has it been overrun. former chief, terrance gainer. >> it was never anticipated we'd lose control of both the capitol

and the floor. >> reporter: at times, officers were all alone in the hallways, as the mob advanced. >> this is our america >> reporter: when d.c. police moved in to back up capitol police, they quickly found themselves in pitched battles with demonstrators, who roamed the halls carrying american, trump, and confederate flags >> i know that i speak for all of us when i say that we saw unprecedented attack on our american democracy, incited by the united states president. >> reporter: anticipating trouble, d.c. had mobilized its national guard before the rally began, but as the mob stormed the building, police did not appear to use the aggressive tactics used against protesters last june in front of the white house. >> there we go >> reporter: this video going viral appears to show police moving a gate to let protesters advance. inside the capitol, police appear too overwhelmed to make mass arrests it was vice president pence

trapped in the capitol who pushed for national guard troops to help clear the building former homeland security secretary jeh johnson. >> we know how to maintain the peace and the security of the u.s. capitol it is inexplicable to me that this happened. and i believe a lot of hard questions need to be asked of president trump, and why he lit this match in the first place. >> reporter: we learned this morning they plan to put up fencing around the entire capitol perimeter here as we head into the final two weeks of the trump administration and also inauguration. importantly, we should make the point that this is the first time, savannah, the first time that the capitol has been breached since the war of 1812 not since 1814 has this capitol building been stormed like that. >> it was a momentous day. as one lawmaker said, a day that will live in infamy, comparing it to pearl harbor

the stakes are high. tom, thank you and let's continue our talk with terrance gainer, serving as sergeant in arms, and commissioner bratton. chief gainer, you had this job to protect this building, protect this capitol when you saw what happened yesterday, that protesters were able to get in and run rough run roughshod over the place and desecrate this building, at the very moment members of congress and the vice president of the united states were inside, were you shocked that this happen >> yes, i was crushed. i couldn't believe it. saddened >> how do you explain it i mean, could you even have fathomed that something like this could happen? >> no. i mean, when i talked to others earlier in the day, i thought it'd be impossible to storm the capitol. clearly, there's failures. there has to be a lot of questions asked and answers given.

what is very clear is the police underestimated the violent crowd and the size of it, and they overestimated their ability to control it there were not enough people on the west and east front. we lost both the steps and -- in addition, law enforcement officers came in to regain control. there was a failure on our part. >> when i show you this video, i'm sure your stomach will turn, as many people have had that exact reaction, where it appears -- and, again, this is just video that was shot by a bystander -- some police officers seeming to let the protesters in. there are images all over the internet of things like this what comes across your mind when you see that >> well, i'm hoping it was an attempt to de-escalate sometimes when you don't have enough personnel, you can't stand and fight a large crowd like that. i will give them the benefit of the doubt, that they were trying

to de-escalate while they're waiting for more officers. it raises a lot of questions >> it does raise a lot of questions. you're cutting out there a little bit yes, in fairness, i think as we talked about it, commissioner bratton, last hour, you know, we weren't there, and we need to give benefit of the doubt where it's merited but, on the other hand, as chief gainer just said, you know, you're in the position of having to de-escalate, potentially, when you are undermanned and you have underestimated what might happen in the first place. >> well, i think this is a prime example -- you'd understand this, being in the news business -- that the first story is never the last story. right now, it's speculation as to what happened with some of the videos we're looking at, including those officers removing a barrier to allow the crowd to come in we have to find out who gave that order, what was the reason

for it right now, the appearance of it looks awful. it looks awful effectively, it accelerated the takeover of the capitol. my heart goes out to terrance because he served many years in the capitol as sergeant in arms. >> chief gainer, that's where we started. i'm sure it does break your heart. this is hallowed ground, and you protected the ground for many years. what do you think, not only that the protesters were able to -- excuse me -- the rioters at this point, that the rioters were able to gain access to the ground, but then it did take quite a while before the capitol could be cleared and secured >> well, they needed more personnel. the plus side, if there is a plus side, the members inside and the staff were protected by the capitol poce who were in there.

but i can't explain away the danger it wato have those people roaming through the building so while forces were gathering to take care of the outside, men and women on the inside were searching the capitol to get the people out of there. it took a lot of people. the breach happened. we didn't have enough people where they were supposed to be it shouldn't have happened someone has to take a deep look at this and hold us responsible for where our failures are >> well, that's the work to be done thank you so much for your time and your perspective, both of you who worked in law enforcement on behalf of our country. we really appreciate it. we'll send it to you, hoda. >> savannah, thank you. meantime, we are learning more about exactly who the people were who took part in the violent scene and its violent and shocking images that have been really broadcast all around the world. nbc's garrett haake joins us now with that part of the story. garrett, good morning. >> reporter: hey, hoda good morning yeah, many of the trump

supporters who came here yesterday were answering an explicit call to action, either from social media or from the president himself at his rally across town, telling people to come to the capitol and protest the electoral vote count when they got here, the situation quickly turned violent, chaotic, and the events of yesterday left the entire country shaken >> usa usa! >> reporter: the images are astonishing. rioters on the senate dias, in speaker pelosi's office. ransacking the hallowed halls of the capitol. >> embarrassing. >> reporter: replacing the stars and stripes president trump flag it started with thousands of trump supporters caravanning from all over the country to contest what they called a rigged event, and to hear president trump one more time. >> we will stop the steal. >> reporter: apparently spurred on by strident rhetoric from the president and his supporters. >> let's have trial by combat! >> reporter: the rally turned

into a march at the president's urging. >> we're going to walk down to the capitol. >> reporter: some of the protesters believing, incorrectly, the president was marching with them >> president trump is actually leading the crowd. >> reporter: once at the capitol, the crowd, which included members of groups women for america first, the silent majority, the proud boys, as well as qanon supporters, behave unruly. >> we think the election was rigged, stolen there was fraud. >> reporter: pushing past the outnumbered capitol police. >> breached the building. >> reporter: protesters became looters, turning the capitol inside out sadly, four people died in the chaos, including 14-year air force veteran ashli babbitt, who was shot and killed as rioters attempted to break into this locked corridor. just the day before, babbitt tweeted, in part, "nothing will stop us. the storm is here. it is descending upon d.c. her family writing in a statement, quote, ashli was loyal as well as extremely passionate about what she believed in.

she loved this country and felt honored to have served in our armed forces. >> there is a family that will grieve tonight because of what got out of hand. >> reporter: stunned lawmakers on both sides of the aisle mourn the loss of life and rebuke the unprecedented breach from secure bunkers inside the capitol. >> it's a disgrace for anyone to tolerate anybody to come in and try to shut down our government. >> garrett, when this wrapped up, there were rioters waving to cameras, taking selfies like they'd done something great. i didn't see many arrests. i think we said there were around 52 that happened overall. do we expect a wave of arrests to come? >> reporter: some of that lack of arrests may be because the police were simply undermanned here yesterday i've covered protests in d.c. for a long time, and i suspect there will be significant additional arrests there's so much close circuit television footage from the capitol, video footage from social media and from news organizations, and some of that

social media bragging you talked about will make it very easy for the mpd in washington, d.c., to track down the folks if they have the wherewithal to do so. >> garrett haake at the capitol, thank you. still to come this morning, more on the aftermath of yesterday's chaos in washington. how the world is reacting to the attack on the u.s. capitol first, these messages. oking for coupon codes. well, capital one shopping instantly searches for available coupon codes and automatically applies them. it's called shopping smart... not hard. but i don't have a capital one card. you should get one! but you don't need it for this. just download capital one shopping to your computer. it's free! ooooo, save me some cheddar! so... when's the party? i love fondue. really? i never joke about hot cheese, susan. me neither. capital one shopping. it's kinda genius. what's in your wallet? be right back. with moderate to severe crohn's disease,

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it is 7:46 we're going to take a pause from washington and get you caught up on some of the other headlines of the day president-elect joe biden has selected merrick garland as his attorney general biden made that announcement earlier this morning garland has served as a judge on the u.s. court of appeals since 1997 in 2016, president obama nominated him for a seat on the u.s. supreme court, but senate republicans refused to hold a confirmation hearing, claiming the seat should be filled by the next president meantime, two louisville police officers connected to the fatal shooting of breonna taylor have been fired. taylor was shot and killed in her apartment last march, as police executed a narcotics search warrant officials say myles cosgrove violated standard operating procedure for deadly force joshua jaynes was fired for violations tied to his work securing the search warrant. each officer has ten days to appeal that decision and on a lighter note,

nearly a billion dollars up for grabs this weekend, as the jackpots for the nation's two biggest lottery games continue to skyrocket there were no grand prize winners in last night's powerball drawing, so that sent the jackpot for saturday's game to $470 million. meantime, the mega millions jackpot is even higher that prize sits at $490 million. there's our little bright spot in the day here's our other bright spot we're going to turn to mr. roker for a check of the weather how you doing? >> you didn't do billion right. >> how do you do it? >> a billion dollars. >> yes, you're right, uh-huh. >> all right so we've been talking about these model differences we've been looking at. sunday evening, one thing we do know right now, we'll be looking at a fair amount of snow for parts of northern texas and heavy rain along the coast some accumulation developing the difference between the european and the u.s. model, u.s. model is a little further offshore both models show a track further to the north snow from texas to the ohio valley into tuesday evening. next week, we're watching this

storm center that stays closer to the coast it is going to determine just how much snow we're looking at right now, as you can see, we've got snow potentially next wednesday evening from boston, new york, philly, washington, all the way down to roanoke. we'll continue to track this that's what's going on around good morning, i'm meteorologist kari hall. high temperatures will reach near 60 degrees and get sunshine at least later today and tomorrow a new storm system comes in and brings a chance of at least some scattered showers early tomorrow morning, not a really high chance for many of us and then we go back to some sunshine and temperatures in the low 60s and we will have a dry weekend also the dry weather ask sunshine continues into next week. our temperatures will warm up into the upper 60s by next wednesday. >> and that's your latest weather. hoda >> al, thank you. still ahead, harry smith will join us with a powerful reminder of what that capitol

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a very good morning to you. it is 7:56. i'm laura garcia. here is a look at what is happening now. >> i'm bob redell outside facebook headquarters. the social media company has blocked president trump from its platform for 24 hours starting yesterday after the president posted a video in which he addressed the supporters that had broken into the capitol hill complex. in this video the president continued to push the false claims that the election was stolen. facebook has removed that video, instagram which is owned by facebook has done the same and youtube has taken similar measures. twitter locked his account for 12 hours starting yesterday. of course, we'll continue to follow and have more on midd, asaywell. let's check the forecast now with kari.

>> yeah, we're starting out foggy in the south bay. here's a live look outside in san jose. we'll see this linger for a couple more hours before it clears out. sunshine today and then rain early tomorrow morning. and the showers will be mostly scattered and light moving through before sunrise and clearing out before friday afternoon and the rest of the forecast is dry as we head into slightly warmer temperatures and upper 50s to low 60s and we're going to see some warmer weather in san francisco, as well, and drier into the middle of next week. laura. >> all right, thank you very much. we'll be back with another local news update for you in about half an hour. enjoy your thursday morning.

it's 8:00 on "today. coming up, breaking overnight, it's official. congress confirms joe biden's presidential victory after one of the most shocking days in american history >> those who sought to tear us from our responsibility, you have failed. >> lawmakers forced to take cover, as a mob of trump loyalists stormed the capitol. >> we were just told that there has been tear gas in the

rotunda. >> this morning at least four people are dead as our nation wakes up to a new day filled with heartache and questions. today, thursday, january 7th, 2021. >> good morning, everybody welcome back to "today." if you're just waking up, this is a special split edition of "today." extraordinary moment in our nation's history i'm in washington. you see the u.s. capitol behind me hoda holding down the fort in new york city in the studio. good morning again. >> good morning, savannah. we're going to get right to it, right to our news at 8:00. the very latest on an historic day in washington. congress formally confirmed president-elect joe biden's election win overnight following that day of chaos. that angry mob of trump protesters stormed the u.s. capitol. meantime, president trump did release a statement early this morning. for the first time, he acknowledged his defeat, saying there would be, quote, an orderly transition on january the 20th twitter removed three tweets from the president's account and

temporarily suspended it, blocked him from posting, because the president continued to push election conspiracy theories the company warned it risked further violations of its rules, and there was a possibility of permanent suspension of the twitter account, also because of its policies against inciting violence our coverage of these unprecedented events continues with "weekend today" co-anchor, white house correspondent peter alexander. good morning to you. >> savannah, good morning to you. stunning scene of a beautiful sunrise here after such an augly day of violence of rioting. overnight, that drama existed. we saw the declaration of democracy. 3:42 a.m., congress confirming president-elect biden's victory. take a listen. >> the votes for president of the united states are as follows. joseph r. biden jr. of the state of delaware has received 306 votes. donald j. trump from the state of florida received 232 votes.

>> reporter: those simple words from the very same place where the pro-trump rioters had breached earlier. the first breach since the war of 1812 more than two centuries ago. president trump for the first time overnight acknowledging his defeat in a statement, saying, in part, even though i totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, he says, nevertheless, there will be an orderly transition on january 20th still, a president who has stoked his supporters' anger by repeating these false claims that the election was stolen, he never condemned the violence this morning, new details about this dynamic between the president and vice president mike pence, who trump has antagonized for days, and did so again yesterday. the oklahoma republican senator jim inhofe telling the "tulsa world news," quote, i've never seen pence as angry as he was today. i've had a long conversation with him

he said, after all the things i've done for trump. overnight, several white house officials resigned, including the president's former trump secretary, melania trump's chief of staff, stephanie grisham. and aides tell us that more resignations are imminent and now we are learning that mick mulvaney, the president's former acting chief of staff, the former omb director, and presently the special envoy to northern ireland, he has resign resigned his position. he told cnbc he reached out to secretary of state mike pompeo and said, "i just can't do it. savannah and hoda? >> we'll continue to watch that. peter, thank you very much four minutes after the hour, hoda, to you. >> thank you, savannah the nation and the world watched in shock and in sadness as yesterday's chaos at capitol hill unfolded. what was it like to actually be there, forced to flee as the violence erupted

gabe gutierrez joins us now with more on that part of the story gabe, good morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning. we're seeing a massive law enforcement presence outside the capitol, along the perimeter here these are police cruisers from the virginia state police. we've also seen authorities here from maryland. as peter mentioned, this is the first time that the capitol has been breached in this way in more than two centuries. lawmakers inside say they were trapped. in the halls of congress, harrowing moments, as rioters swarmed. >> get down! >> reporter: lawmakers and their staffs took cover. >> immediately seek shelter inside lock all doors if able >> reporter: did you think there'd be this much chaos in the united states capitol? >> no, absolutely not. >> reporter: seen in these pictures in the blue shirt, republican freshman congressman troy nehls of texas, a former sheriff who was sworn in days ago. >> trying to have a conversation with these individuals on the other side of the door, and told them that this isn't the way we

should be doing business i mean, we have to be able to agree to disagree. work things out and talk things through. this is not the way to do it this is -- this was un-american. >> reporter: he and other members of congress stared down the mob. chambers were evacuated. >> i started to see trump flags coming up the steps. >> oh, my gosh. >> i started to see people so that's when i realized, like, they were coming so i was able to then get away, and i made it safely back to my office >> we all feared this worst-case scenario. >> reporter: the intrusion unfolded on live television and was captured on social media congressman of new york hit in a safe room for five hours. >> i got real nervous. i really had the feeling that even if someone were to be able to open the door and harm me, that the police might not get to me in time so i texted some of my family and my close friends, just said

i love them. >> reporter: congresswoman linda sanchez of california also said she'd feared the worst. >> i called my husband last night, and i told him that i was coming into work today, but that should anything happen, i let him know where my will and last testament was located, in the event that we needed it. and it's a sad day in america when you are trying to come in and do your job in a democracy, and you have to think about things like that >> reporter: dr. -- d.c.'s mayor has now extended the public emergency here for another two weeks through the inauguration. savannah >> gabe gutierrez, thank you so much we're joined now by a pair of democratic senators, jeff merkley and amy klobuchar. good to see you both safe and sound after the events of yesterday. senator klobuchar, let me start with you the story sort of begins with you. i had just heard you giving your

statement on the floor, and within a matter of moments, this chaos erupted. what happened from your perspective? pick up the story from there. >> as jeff knew, we were doing our jobs and taking on these objections that senator cruz was making to a verified vote in the state of arizona then we heard there had been a breach we were eventually told to leave the chamber. we were hustled out of there knowing that people had entered the capitol complex, and one of the smart things that staff did and this is very little noted, was to take the verified ballots with them from each state, because they for certain would have been ransacked and take even if they had been left there. so we went to another room, and the entire time and i know that senator murphy will tell you this, that the goal was to get back to whatever state that

chamber was in knowing that people had been standing at our dias to show the american people that as horrific as this was that thugs and anarchists and people in basically people engaged in insurrection would not prevail, and that democracy would prevail. i was there this morning reading the statements at 3:22, and in fact, it did prevail. >> senator merkley, some of you had -- were able to see images i talked to a congresswoman earlier who said, "i'm seeing the images of the looters and the rioters just for the first time when you're showing them on your air." i assume you've seen them now. when you see people who were able to come in and desecrate the halls of congress and stop the business of congress at a key moment, what goes through your mind? >> it was beyond anything we could have anticipated we've seen protests from the balconies. we've seen protests in the hallways, but this was something that was just unbelievable when you go a couple centuries

without the capitol being breached, i'm sure that's partly why the preparation wasn't there. what really struck me yesterday was this simultaneous assault. yes, those boxes with the ballots, those could have been burned had they been grabbed, but at the same time, we had a process going on where senators were saying, "we want to reach in those boxes we want to take the envelope from arizona, and we're going to shred arizona's ballots. later, pennsylvania's ballots. there were two simultaneous assaults one by the mob outside, and one by those who were -- by those trump supporters, those senators yesterday who wanted to also burn ballots through this process. so it was quite a day. >> senator klobuchar, i talked a little bit about this with senator merkley yesterday, but i was wishing to be a fly on the wall when you have a group of senators of different parties, and even within the republican party of different viewpoints on

this critical issue, literally locked in a room together, where you are sheltering in place and forced to be together at this moment of crisis what was the mood like you mentioned the resolve, that was clear. what were those moments like >> well, people were forced to actually talk about this a number of us, the top democrat on the rules committee, were trying to work this out, so when we got back there, we could finish our business. reaching out to them about their objections as you know, people switched their votes. they ended up voting with us, which i called the group of coup fighters, the people that were willing to stand up for democracy with the states. we ended up with this strong, bipartisan vote of 93 people the other thing happening, we were locating senators that were hiding out in their offices because they'd been there on their way to the floor, to make sure everyone was in one place the final thing that, i don't know if a lot of people have spoken about, at the point when

joe biden gave his remarks, when the president had remained silent, hidden in the white house while he'd incited this riot, everyone stopped and listened, including the most conservative republicans, and were very, very respectful and listened to the entire speech of president-elect biden. i thought that was actually a moment that i will never forget. there was, of course, applause when he finished >> before i let you both go, i want to ask each of you, there's a lot of talk, particularly on the house side among democrats, about what to do, whether it's passing articles of impeachment against president trump, censure. senator merkley, what, if anything, do you think should happen now with regard to president trump? >> well, i would certainly support the censure. impeachment makes no sense at all in the short time we have. we need to have our energy going into preparing for a very successful coming administration

with joe biden we have a lot of work to do to address the issues, the foundations for families to thrive, to repair our democracy. i mean, we just had this situation where president trump has said, "look at all the problems we have." there were problems, but those were gerrymandering, voter suppression, and dark money. that's why we should be spending our time now preparing, hopefully in a bipartisan way, to pass the for the people act to improve our electoral process. >> senator klobuchar, to you, what do you think of some of these proposals from democrats, your colleagues in the house what do you think should happen? >> well, i would support them, because i think what this president has done is basically engage in insurrection but i also want to note that it is only 13 days away from the moment that joe and kamala will be sworn in. a lot of our work, as jeff mentioned, is we have a

pandemic, body bags mounting we have got empty chairs at people's tables. we've got kids not in school we have people out of work so our focus -- and vaccines not being delivered -- is to actually deliver competency and compassion to the people of this country, and to get things done. so we just cannot forget that, that our goal is to make life better for americans part of that goal is to get this guy out of office so that we can bring back the rule of law it either will happen on january 20th at 12:01 p.m., or it will happen beforehand, if his cabinet so decides. >> senator klobuchar, very quickly, do you worry about the security of the inauguration itself >> of course, anyone would after the spectacle yesterday. that has been a routine security measure taken every four years, including at donald trump's inauguration i think you'd have a much more beefed up presence with national guard and the like that have been used. but i think we have to worry about the day to day with the

security at the capitol. that means a major overhaul of what's been going on this should have never happened in the united states capitol i say this as someone that was formerly in law enforcement. >> you know what, because i wasn't sure i heard you right, but you mentioned the 25th amendment, removal from the office -- the president from office via that way. to be crystal clear, do you have any indication that is at all being discussed by members of cabinet or the vice president? >> it is interesting these high-level staff people are suddenly resigning and saying they can't take it anymore that would lead you to believe, and there have been reports there's been discussions i don't have firsthand knowledge, of cabinet members. i'm sure it is something they considered he was engaged in insurrection that happened. he told people to go down the mall and go and march into the capitol, and he was saying things then he didn't dial it back. when it started, when the doors were opened and people ran in

there and started desecrating our capitol like they did in 1814 when they burned it down, he did not stop it. >> senator merkley and klobuchar, we appreciate it. 15 minutes after the hour. hoda, back. >> thank you. the images and implications of that unprecedented siege are being seen and felt all around the globe. "today" senior international correspondent keir simmons joins us from london with reaction from world leaders keir, good morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning to you i have to tell you, i have never seen international reaction from world leaders like the british prime minister here at 10 downing street like this a cacophony of criticism take a look at these pages "democracy under attack. a picture emblazoned across this newspaper of guns drawn as riots try to break into the house of representatives.

there is positive news, too, from democracies across the world saying "we still believe in america." >> violence and chaos in the heart of washington, d.c >> reporter: this morning, a world that's looked to american democracy is looking on in horror >> the angry, final days of donald trump's presidency. >> reporter: british television viewers watching as rioters, one wearing a camp auschwitz shirt, holding up a trophy from nancy pelosi's office. europeans this morning shell shocked. in london -- >> it is disgusting. >> that is when you have an idiot for a president, right >> and in paris. >> it is kind of shocking, because i mean, it is a center for democracy. >> reporter: a tear-gassed reporter from turkey, which saw a 2016 attempted coup, stunned by what she was witnessing. >> i've never seen anything like this >> reporter: germany's chancellor, angela merkel, europe's most powerful politician, condemning president trump personally for not

conceding defeat overnight, a roll call of unprecedented statements from european leaders, urging america's president to respect the election the british prime minister tweeting, it is now vital there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power. the french president recording a video statement. >> we believe in the strength of our democracies. we believe in the strength of american democracy >> reporter: the secretary general of nato, formed when america saved europe from fascism, calling yesterday's images shocking. the u.n. secretary general saddened america's international allies outspoken. australia's leader condemning the riots. >> terribly concerning >> reporter: while new zealand's prime minister, adern, devastated even some of president trump's closest friends around the world

not holding back >> the ravage of the capitol yesterday was a disgraceful act, and it must be condemned. >> reporter: while america's foes reveling. one russian politician comparing these scenes with revolution in ukraine. china's "global times" claiming the bubble of democracy has burst. this morning, even on the streets of beijing, one man telling us, biden is president trump should accept it overnight in japan, small protests in support of president trump. it's government, too, expressing hope for a peaceful transition while israel's defense minister writing, pictures from washington hurts the hearts of everyone just think about this, savannah, you normally hear statements from places like downing street advocating for democracy directed at countries like russia and china for a statement like that to be directed at america from downing

street, the home of churchill, well, it is unprecedented in history, savannah. >> it is keir, thank you very much. let's drill down on this issue with nbc's chuck todd and our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell. it is chilling, andrea, to hear how the united states is being portrayed, accurately, across the world. you know, one newspaper saying the democracy bubble has been burst. that's just so disheartening also dangerous in terms of our adversaries. >> exactly one of the worst that i read was from the head of the general assembly of the parliament in turkey here, you've got erdogan's theocracy, a dictatorship where people are jailed, journalists, opposition leaders they were saying, so sorry the united states can't be as democratic as our country, turkey, and they should learn lessons from us.

i mean, how chilling is that but this is really part and parcel of what's been happening under president trump and his secretary of state mike pompeo never supporting human rights and dissents abroad, embracing dictators. this is really reaping what they've sowed, savannah. >> yeah. i mean, it is a national security issue. >> yeah. >> you cannot have -- as i turn to chuck now, i mean, vladimir putin couldn't have scripted this better himself. you know, his meta goal is to make it look like america is a nation in chaos, a nation where democracy is falling apart those images presented that picture to the world i will say, congress certainly answered back by meeting defiantly and doing its business, even in the face of that violence. >> that's why they had to. this is why, if we want to retain our moral authority as the beacon of the free world on

democracy and freedom, we have to hold our leaders accountable. if president trump is not held accountable for this by our government, by our democracy, not just at the ballot box ballot boxes is one thing. if you do this harm, how do we tell belarus when it happens there? we're lecturing. we're upset this morning about what china is doing in hong kong if we're not going to sort of -- if we're not going to police our democracy when it is at risk, then we are going to lose our moral authority, or maybe we already have lost it. >> our adversaries see an opportunity, a vulnerability, and our allies worry they need us they're counting on us to be there. >> it was sad. >> yeah. andrea, you also have taken a closer look for us at some of the issues and some of the words that added fuel to yesterday's flames. >> exactly savannah, that's exactly what you and chuck have been talking

about, our moral authority because it comes right back to the president, who ignoring calls he go on television and condemn the rioting, the president's tweets on wednesday were just so inflammatory that, for the first time, twitter temporarily locked him out quickly followed by facebook and instagram. >> reporter: inside the u.s. capitol, stormed by his supporters hours earlier, president trump found himself the target of bipartisan blame >> this mob was, in good part, president trump's doing. incited by his words, his lies >> now, we gather, due to a selfish man's injured pride, and the outrage of supporters who he has deliberately misinformed the last two months. >> reporter: strong condemnation of the president's dangerous rhetoric. >> this is a fraud on the american public. >> reporter: his denial of reality starting while the votes were still being counted.

>> we won't stand for it. >> democrats are taking them. >> reporter: in arizona, hours later, an angry gang of his supporters converged on a ballot processing plant the president's refusal to concedrelentless since then, falsely spouting conspiracy theories, telling followers he was robbed. >> they cheated and rigged our presidential election. >> reporter: only last saturday, that phone call threatening officials in georgia if they didn't overturn biden's win. >> i just want to find 11,780 vos. >> reporter: even pressuring his ever-loyal vice president mike pence to do something not in his power. change the electoral college vote >> if he doesn't come through, i won't like him quite as much. >> reporter: finally, not just addressing the protesters, but urging them to march on the capitol. >> and after this, we're going to walk down, and i'll be there with you, because you'll never take back our country with weakness you have to show strength, and you have to be strong. >> reporter: his personal attorney, rudy giuliani, also

fanning the flames. >> let's have trial by combat! >> reporter: some in the crowd had clearly come to washington spoiling for a fight with online forums popular are far-right activists flooded with discussion of storming the capitol. >> i've never been in this house. how about you? >> reporter: even after former trump aides and allies pleaded for him to condemn the violence, he tweeted a video repeating the election had been stolen, and praising the rioters, a video removed by twitter savannah, back to you. >> thank you let's go to new york for another check of the weather. >> good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. it's still foggy in the south bay, but elsewhere we're seeing some clearing, especially for the east bay and north bay. sunshine today. highs reaching up to the upper 50s and low 60s around the bay area. make some time to get outside.

we will have a chance ofain in the forecast going into tomorrow morning. we will be trackin thag with some of the showers moving through before sunrise. we will take a look at the seven-day forecast coming up in about a minute. >> hoda? >> al, thank you. coming up, we're going to hear from a very good morning. it's 8:26. i'm laura garcia. new fallout from the outbreak at san jose's kaiser hospital. one patient tested positive after visiting the emergency room december 28th and tested negative for covid before being admitted for surgery. five days later she was called to get a second test. it came back positive. kaiser has contacted all 70 patients treated in the er on christmas day. but it cannot disclose how many tested positive due to privacy laws. at least 60 er staff tested positive. breaking news as well. facebook and instagram announcing they will ban

president trump from their services indefinitely. now let's get a look at the forecast with kari. >> and we are starting out with some foggy conditions. some clouds will linger, but we will get some clearing for the afternoon and temperatures reaching into the low 60s. we'll have a chance of some early morning showers tomorrow, but not all of us will see the rain. for the weekend, it dries out. temperatures in the upper 50s and low 60s. next week, upper 60s for the inland valleys but cold during those mornings. san francisco will have some warming temperatures as well with king tides by the beginning of next week. >> thank you very much. follow us on instagram and twitter for all your latest breaking news updates.

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it's thursday morning. it's the 7th of january, 2021. if you're looking at that building a little differently this morning, you're like many, many americans who saw something yesterday they thought they would never see. people coming in, protesters turned rioters ransacking the nation's capitol, the heart of our democracy. look at this, just one image. >> wow. >> symbol of the violence there. bullet holes in the glass of the

doors that lead to the house, capitol steps. we heard firsthand accounts from men and women serving in congress, about hearing knocks at the door and gunshots, crouching under their desks and putting on gas masks that happened here at the capitol. the business of congress went on, hoda the work of the american people was done at 3:00 this morning. >> yeah. >> those electoral votes, the will of the people, they were certified. we'll have a lot more on the story here in washington and the reaction coming up nbc's harry smith will join us with his thoughts. we always has a poignant thought for us and, boy, we need one today. >> we certainly do i love harry's take on just about everything overshadowed by all of this, we are smack dab in the middle of a global pandemic numbers are on the rise. a lot of folks waiting and hopes to get vaccines. let's turn to erin mclaughlin, who joins us with that story erin, good morning >> reporter: good morning, hoda. officials say this is a health crisis of epic proportions here in los angeles, there are now more than 200 deaths a day doctors are warning the next surge could end in total catastrophe. some fear it's already too late.

this morning in southern california, extraordinary steps to keep the health care system from crumbling >> we are stretched so very, very thin, that we're not able to provide the same level or standard of care we normally would. >> reporter: the state now ordering the hardest hit hospitals to delay non-essential surgeries. forcing counties to accept patient transfers from areas where care has been compromised. >> we're facing the biggest surge of covid patients we've seen. >> reporter: east of los angeles, the crush of covid patients has forced methodist hospital to activate crisis care standards, allowing a triage unit to ration care if necessary. the hospital says it is yet to take that drastic step, deciding who gets care and who doesn't. doctors elsewhere fear they're days away from that deadly scenario, with staffing shortages so severe, firefighters are being called in to help. >> i never thought that i would see a time when we're sending

our firefighters into hospitals to help assist >> reporter: experts say the vaccine rollout has not been able to slow the surge >> clearly, no excuses, we should have gotten 20 distributed and 20 into the arms of people. by 20, i mean 20 million >> reporter: meanwhile, the cdc is investigating the death of a miami doctor, who passed away some days after receiving the pfizer vaccine pfizer issued a statement, saying, in part, we are actively investigating this case, but we don't believe at this time there is any direct connection to the vaccine. distribution has been complicated by sensitive storage requirements some facilities vaccinated non-medical workers, rather than letting doses go to waste. the vaccine arrived too late for this nurse, but she managed to beat the odds. >> i'm thankful. this is my second life. >> reporter: surviving eight months in the hospital >> looking good, marlin! >> reporter: walking out to the cheers and tears of her family

and colleagues >> don't lose hope. just fight. fight. look at me. i'm going home. and i'm walking. >> reporter: the new, more contagious uk variant has been found in at least five states. so far, san diego has the most confirmed cases in the country health experts say that could also be because they're aggressively testing for the strain hoda >> erin mclaughlin for us. it is 34 minutes past the hour let's turn to mr. roker for a check of the weather hey, al. >> hey, hoda we'll take a look at our weekend outlook, see what we have for you. for tomorrow, some snow in the mid-atlantic, as a quick system moves through. chilly and dry around the great lakes. next west coast storm, this is the first of three coming slamming in the next several days rocky snow on saturday below average temperatures in the southeast. sunshine in the great lakes and northeast. sunday, sunday, sunny and cool into the southeast. mid-atlantic states. big storm is getting together, heavy snow for parts of texas.

we'll be watching that closely plenty of sunshine from the plains to california another system brings some snow into the pacific northwest, along with some rain that's what's going on around >> good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. temperatures today will reach near 60 degrees. we will get some sunshine but rain set to move in by early tomorrow morning. starting in the north bay and mostly scattered showers going into late morning into the afternoon. it's all gone. and we're going to clear out before we head into some dry weather for the weekend and early next week. take a look at these temperatures. upper 60s by the middle of next week with some nine. we'll be tracking it. savannah >> al, thank you. coming up next, messages of condemnation and of hope the reaction to the crisis at the capitol from our nation's former presidents. ♪

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8:37 the messages of hope and unity being shared by all four former u.s. presidents who, like so many of us americans, watched in shock as yesterday's events unfolded at the capitol. >> nbc's stephanie gosk has more on that part hey, steph, good morning >> reporter: hey, hoda and savannah good morning yesterday's violence is really the most dramatic example we've seen so far of how fractured this country is. the four former presidents reacted quickly, condemning the violence, and then pleading for the same thing, unity. >> usa >> reporter: a moment of great dishonor and shame for our nation a sickening and heartbreaking sight. a national tragedy an unprecedented assault on our capitol, our constitution, and our country. >> usa >> reporter: in pointed statements, all former four presidents from both sides of the aisle coming together to condemn wednesday's acts of violence

george w. bush, the last republican president, said he watched the scenes of mayhem unfold in disbelief and dismay adding, this is how election results are disputed in a banana republic, not our democratic republic calling out president trump, barack obama said the attacks on the u.s. capitol were incited by a sitting president who has continued to baselessly lie about the outcome of a lawful election adding, we'd be kidding ourselves if we treated it as a total surprise fellow democrat bill clinton writing, the assault was fueled by more than four years of poison politics, spreading deliberate misinformation, sowing distrust in our system, and pitting americans against each other the match was lit by donald trump and his enablers jimmy carter reacting, saying, having observed elections in troubled democracies worldwide, i know we, the people, can unite, to walk back from this precipice, to uphold the laws of our nation, and we must.

all the former leaders also calling for a peaceful path forward. obama urging republican leaders to take the first steps toward extinguishing the flames, and choose america bush calling on all americans to support the rule of law, saying, our country is more important than the politics of the moment. clinton sharing a message of hope for the nation, writing, i have always believed that america is made up of good, decent people. i still do if that's who we really are, we must reject today's violence, turn the page, and move forward together the former presidents will be at the inauguration on january 20th, with the exception of the carters. the couple, both in their 90s, have wished joe biden and kamala harris success with the new administration hoda >> stephanie gosk for us on that part of the story. thank you. coming up next, hoda, we'll get needed perspective harry smith will join us with reflections on a very dark day in our history, and where hope

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we're back. harry smith j we're back harry smith joins us we're always happy to see harry's face he seems to bring the calming presence and perspective, and also eloquence sorry to set you up for that, harry, but we need you this morning. we'd love to get your thoughts >> reporter: you know, i think i was just like everybody else in the country, with the jaw drop and this sense of awe and what is going on, as we watched what transpired at the capitol yesterday. i kept thinking to myself, is this who we are? the capitol building is usually as proud a place as exists in america. it is where franklin roosevelt steadied a nation crippled by the depression. >> the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

>> ask not what your country can do for you. >> reporter: where john f. kennedy called a country to ort: service. anyone who has walked through it, on a school trip or family vacation, can feel the capitol's power. it is palpable to know that the nation's business is carried on there makes your heart skip a beat or two. through times of peace and times of conflict, but times of want and times of plenty, most of us have believed, or wanted to believe, that the capitol was a place where the people's business was conducted we the people's business throughout our history, representatives came from every corner of the country, and as the country grew, so, too, did the house and senate it grew to look more and more like we do a place where men and women would come to work as equals, where color and origin was no barrier. i have sat in the house chamber

for a state of the union address. i remember looking around the room, from the supreme court to the joint chiefs, the cabinet, members of the house and senate. the robust cheers, the stony silence, a beautifully imperfect mix. the founders conjured all this up while it sure was more diverse by gender and race than they ever imagined, it was their idea, the american idea. i have stood in line twice at the capitol to pay respects to presidents who passed. both times were the same you'd expect, i guess, the crowd to be dominated by the party faithful, but it wasn't like that whatever our differences, in the moment, unimportant. ♪ god bless america >> reporter: like republicans and democrats lifting their voices together after 9/11 our most imperfect union suffered a jolt yesterday, a

simple, procedural step in the peaceful transition of power was crashed by an angry mob. it was as disturbing as it was heartbreaking. it was, quite frankly, un-american. most of us, i reckon, still believe in our ability to govern ourselves, to abide by the will of our fellow citizens many have sacrificed much, and some have sacrificed all, to ensure those rights. so it was with no small degree of pride and relief that the house and senate went back to work last night. >> we settle our differences not with mob rule. we settle our differences through elections. >> reporter: doing the people's business a polite but unambiguous repudiation to those who would wish otherwise the republic still stands. and we pray that it remains indivisible.

we were listening to stephanie's piece. she was talking about how fractured the country is, and i kept thinking, we've withstood so much over all these decades and centuries. but at the end of the day, we are not invulnerable it behooved all of us, i think, to remain diligent and remain respectful >> wow, that was beautiful, harry. we're bringing in chuck and andrea harry, i want to ask you something, though. do you think that this is a little bit like how the country came together after 9/11 do you think that, in some strange way, this will actually be something that brings us together >> wouldn't that be something? you know, i don't know i don't really know the answer to that. the optimist in me, the optimist, we hope the eternal optimist in me would say, yeah, great, wouldn't that be

something? wouldn't it be amazing at the inauguration, to see people say, you know what, we're all in this together >> let me ask chuck, because i'm not going to say he is a pessimist, but maybe he's been around washington too long so he is not an eternal optimist, but you are someone who loves this place and loves our institutions and loves our democracy. i mean, for a moment, when the lawmakers came back and said, all of them, to a man and woman, we're going to do our duty we will not be intimidated vice president pence said, we will not be intimidated. there was a glimmer of hope, of a turning point. >> you hope the weight of yesterday is still on the shoulders of those people, though, today and tomorrow i mean, look, there are a lot of people saying some of the right things, particularly on the right today, who realize, wait a minute, something is amiss here. whether it's the misinformation, feeding the lies that created this situation

but i fear, and i think that's why harry hesitated when he said how optimistic, i fear that -- you and i dismissed this -- like, think about, this is it. this is the moment they're going to hold trump accountable. we thought it when he insulted john mccain. we thought it after charlottesville. we thought it with ukraine it didn't happen we think, maybe it's this moment political expediency always seems to trump these moments when we can be there so i'm -- call me cautiously pessimistic long term. i am somewhat optimistic short term i think a lot of republican senators, in particular, are going to try to look like they'll want to work with joe biden for a while, which might be nice. >> andrea mitchell has been around even longer than you have, chuck. andrea, i'm just curious, your perspective on this. how do you see things going forward? >> i agree with chuck, that i think there may be some short-term effort from republicans in the senate to try to reach across the aisle. they know how badly they performed for the last four

years or longer. but that said, i think with social media and the poison that's in the air, in the atmosphere, that people's minds have been so warped by the lies that have been told, frankly, and the conspiracy theories. i don't know how you get around that and fix that, unless you have an extraordinary outpouring of leadership and truth telling. but when you interview people who are the true believers, they are following these lies they still believe the election was stolen how do you build legitimacy? >> well, that's the question, chuck. i mean, as i turn to you, you know, if you are fed a series of lies and misinformation, that comes in the package where it seems true, and what you're watching on television reaffirms that, and what you're hearing from a president that you support reaffirms that, you think everyone else is crazy i mean, how do you change this

dynamic? you know, it's kind of a cliche at this point, you're entitled to your own opinion, not entitled to your own facts but, unfortunately, in our politics, not operating from the same shared set of facts. >> this is the core problem. like, we're all going to ask this question, how did this happen how did we get here? this is the core issue we have a media ecosystem, information ecosystem, social media allows you to do what you talked about, silo it up so we have, you know -- maybe it'll be a reckoning the elected leadership in this country has to tell the truth. pure and simple. they're lying -- they want to lie or they want to attack us in the press in order to deflect a bad question all of that feeds this anger and this belief that we're the misinformation to this 30% i mean, the elected leadership in this country has to start telling the truth, and we have to figure out how to hold them

accountable for it. >> hoda? >> that was something mitt romney expressed last night on the floor. >> very well. >> i think harry has something to say we always love to end on harry what you got, harry? >> well, you know, it's interesting, because i spend a lot of my time traveling across the country. i've reported from every single state in this union, and all the continents on the planet in a day by day basis, most of the people in the country are not watching the news 24/7 they're not horribly absorbed by what is on this side or what's on that side or how the fabric of the country is being torn to pieces they're worried about their day to day lives quite frankly, i still really do believe there is more that unites us than divides us. >> yeah. you know what, harry, i agree with that wholeheartedly, but the good hearted folks who are just living their lives, they need to turn their attention, too, to our democracy. i think that's what, you know -- it's the famous -- the founders after the constitutional

convention, coming out and saying, what did you vote? what government are we going to have a democracy, a republic, if you can keep it. i think that's what we saw simultaneously yesterday, the fragility and the strength you know, good hearted people, people of good faith just need to come together and support this country that we all love and we do all love it. >> that was the perfect period on that discussion, savannah harry, chuck, andrea, thank you, guys we're going to be back in a moment

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and from seed to slice. ♪ as we wrap up this hour, a look at the nation's capitol i remember when i moved here 30 years ago, hoda, and i would see those monuments, the washington monument, the capitol, the white house. i would get a chill. then the days would go on, the years would go on, and i didn't look at them the same way anymore. i took them for granted. well, i think this morning, all

americans are looking at our monuments and what they stand for. we're not taking them for granted anymore. we're going to have much more on this story from washington and new york a very good morning. it's 8:56. the storming of the capitol still resonating coast to coast this morning even after congress went late into the night to affirm the presidential election results. vice president mike pence made it official well after midnight. a short time from now,

president-elect joe biden is expected to introduce his justice department team, including his nomination for attorney general, merrick garland. and president trump is remaining low though he did release a statement through his social media director saying there will be an orderly transition of power on inauguration day. happening now, we're following all the latest developments not only in washington but in the bay area as well where social media giants block the president's access to his followers. facebook, stainstagram blocking trump indefinitely this morning. the president has not post kwd tweets as he remains locked out this morning but that expiration it expired a couple of hours ago so we're continuing to follow that. join us at midday. also plans for nancy pelosi's news conference coming up in d.c.

good morning. welcome to this special edition of "today" this morning, after a dark day in american history. i'm hoda kotb in studio 1a. savannah is in washington near the u.s. capitol, overrun and ransacked by an angry mob. those solemn halls battered and bloodied. look at the damage left behind, guys. offices torn apart. windows broken. even some statues left bloodied. savannah, lawmakers did what they do. they said that they were going back to work last night, and that's exactly what they did. >> yeah, there was a note of defiance, we