confirmed dead, and a senior fdny official says that at least 16 were injured after the blast. perhaps more, though. this is what we heard just moments ago here on msnbc from a woman who was inside the building. >> there was a big boom out of nowhere. i thought it was the metro rails. it lasted for like five or six minutes. the windows came tumbling, rumbling down. i have no windows. as i got off the toilet, i came down the hallway. debris started coming down out of nowhere. i tried to run down the stairs, that didn't happen. i got jammed in the apartment. i couldn't get out of the apartment at all. so i took a knife and started just hacking at it, hacking at the lock. and then my next door neighbor kicked the door open. that's when we start eed runnin out the building. >> nbc's ron allen is at the scene. we know the mayor is going to have a briefing. we'll of course have that live

as soon as he arrives. but first, there are also reports that there were heating problems from the building. wnbc reporting that there had been complaints of no heat in the building. that con ed utility was called to the scene. what can you tell us about that? >> reporter: well, there were reports, con ed confirmed that they were on their way to the scene of this explosion to investigate reports of a gas leak when the explosion happened just after 9:00 this morning eastern time. there are also concerns expressed by neighbors that there are a number of building code violations that had not been addressed by the landlord at this building over the past months or weeks. and some of that involved heating problems apparently. so there's that that's going to be investigated as well. the mayor is expected to speak at the top of the hour. at this point, there's still a lot going on out here there. are still dozens of emergency vehicles at the scene up there that you can see up the hill. there's still a lot of smoke

rising from the building where the explosion happened because the building is obliterated now. you have to understand, this is a very, very densely populated neighborhood. this is east harlem, new york. and there were literally thousands of people nearby when this happened. we've talked to so many people who have told these horror stories being jolted away as far as a mile away when this explosion hit and they had no idea what happened. people racing to the scene trying to account for loved ones, for friends, neighbors, people who live in the area because there had been a number of homes and businesses that had been evacuated. the building that exploded was an apartment building several stories tall, and at 9:00 in the morning, there may have been people outside. it's likely that there were. we're hearing reports of about 15 people taken to local hospitals. two fatalities confirmed. there's reports that some people may be missing.

we have not heard specific reports of people missing, although there are loved ones. at this point, a very tense situation, a very chaotic scene as investigators try to make sure that there are no other gas leaks anywhere in the area, before they let people go back to their homes and back to their businesses. at this point, the main concern is trying to make sure that this neighborhood is secure and safe while they are also trying to get as close as they can and go through the debris of what's left of what was an apartment building and commercial structure, store, church nearby on the ground floor. so a lot of work for investigators to go through here to try to figure out how something like this could happen in a neighborhoods like this. >> let's get a couple basics out of the way. it's a five-story building. do you know if it's an elevator building or a walkup? do they know that everyone in the building has been identified or recovered or accounted for?

>> reporter: i don't know if it was a walkup or an elevator building. it looked like a building where there's probably an elevator. it was wedged between two other buildings where there had been some renovation work. the buildings are very tight right next to each other. there's no alleyway, as you know. on the bottom floor, there was described a piano store attached to a church building. a store front church on the ground floor right here. just across from the building, i'd say literally 25 yards, there's a metro rail, a commuter rail train tressel that runs by it, which is why train service into and out of grand central station has been disrupted, an for a time, i'm not sure if it's resumed, it was completely stopped. so that disruption has been caused as well. at this point, it's unclear to me whether they have gone through the entire building and accounted for everyone. i don't think they've gone through all the debris. but whether or not everyone is

accounted for is at this point unclear. >> ron, you referred to the metro north commuter rail that goes up to westchester county. that comes from grand central. and i think that is where it is an elevated track. i think i just saw some aerials showing the elevated track. so it's that train service that runs along park avenue there on the east side in harlem. and you're getting pretty close to the part of manhattan which ends up merging into the bronx. >> reporter: exactly. we're at 116th street, a little further up, 125th street, you start getting into the part of harlem that people recognize. this is east harlem. it's a hispanic latino neighborhood. a lot of people who speak spanish. a lot of people who are immigrants from that part of the world who are here. it's a working class neighborhood, i guess you could describe it as. that's why there's a lot of concern about these reports of code violations, building code

violations that may have been happening inside the building that exploded, where the landlord was not taking care of things. you hear all these kinds of stories and some people in the neighborhood are saying this is what happens when the concerns of people are not addressed. now, there's no confirmation yet of exactly what was wrong in the building, if anything. we do know, and con ed has confirmed, that there were reports of a gas leak somewhere nearby. it's unclear whether those reports came from somebody in the building that exploded or someone nearby. so a lot of problems to sort through. a lot of housing problems to sort through. a lot of utility issues. and, of course, there's still all that debris. it was a four or five-story building with a commercial business on the ground floor. it's been completely flattened, levelled like a pancake. a lot of debris to go through. at this point, there is a search, there is a concern that there may be more people who have been trapped or somewhere in all that rubble. it's going to take some time to

go through all that. but again, i've not heard of any reports at this moment, specific reports of people missing. we were talking to people earlier who could not account for loved ones, friends, relatives in the neighborhood, but there are a lot of people out of their homes, a lot of people out of their businesses. there was a lot of chaos, especially in the hours right after this happened. so a lot of sorting out to do. people would have been -- would have left this neighborhood to go into the city to work, or other areas to work. so a lot of accounting to do and a lot of catching up to figure out where everybody is. at this point, it's still unclear whether everyone from that building and from the neighborhood has been fully accounted for yet. >> and of course, there would be elderly people who would not be at work. they have to be accounted for. we have to worry about the beam in the store fronts, in the church, in the piano store that you described because that is a retail area as well on the ground floor. so a lot of questions to be answered. just to recap here, there were 200 firefighters at the scene. but the fire -- whatever fire there had been from the

explosion is completely contained, correct? >> reporter: it appears to be completely contained, if contained means not spreading. but when i look up at the scene and when i've been close to it, you can see smoke still rising out of what's essentially a hole between two buildings, where the explosion happened. i have not seen the firefighters pouring water on the blaze for some time now. so it appears to be under control. but again, securing that site, getting into it. >> making sure it's safe for firefighters and investigators to get in in. they have to make sure that they are structurally sound, the other buildings. the most urgent concern is to make sure that there is nobody that has been trapped, or killed, dare i say, inside what's left of those structures. you can hear just behind me another fire apparatus arriving. there's still a lot of activity here there.

are firefighters coming and going. also dozens of police on the scene because they're trying to keep people away. we have seen and talked to people who were very, very upset about loved ones who may be somewhere in the neighborhood unaccounted for. some of those situations may still be unresolved. we're trying to get to the bottom of all that. just a really incredible morning out here. and i can't emphasize enough, this is a very, very dense neighborhood. there are literally tens of thousands of people who lived close by here. this is 116th street in new york city. and it's a relatively poor, working class neighborhood. so a lot of concerns that the building may not have been up to code, that there may have been violations that weren't dealt with. and we know that there were reports of a gas leak, so there obviously was some kind of a problem going on here this morning. a lot of things for investigators to look at and a lot of concerns that people have here about the safety of their neighborhood going forward.

>> ron, if you'll stand by, we are seeing also the podium being set up for the mayor who will be doing a briefing. and joining me now by phone from east harlem is an eyewitness, christopher graham. mr. graham, thank you for joining us. tell me, what did you see happen? >> we're three blocks away, and when the explosion happened, it shook my windows and it got me to get up out of my chair. i went over to 116th street. as i walked across from madison to park, the streets were covered in rubble and broken glass. there was a bus, you know, sideways in the middle of the street with a car behind it. they hadn't put up barricades yet. the windows of the stores across 116th street on the downtown side were all blown out. and i started to snap photographs. i submitted them to nbc. the roof of that building, before it collapsed, was all popped up and out. you could see the beams that had been blown up and hanging over.

it looked like i guess what a cake would look like if somebody popped up and out of it. the whole top was popped out and then it collapsed. so whether it was gas or something bigger, i've never in my life seen anything that big and that loud. and there was just rubble everywhere. and it looked like beirut. >> mr. grande, did you see any sign of people, residents, other survivors coming out before the building collapsed? >> i didn't. there was a lot of smoke, and everyone nearby that area were standing back. there was no one coming out of that area. there's a deli right on the corner, and nobody was in there either. everybody that was anywhere near it got out. so i'm amazed that more people weren't hurt. >> and tell me about the neighborhood. obviously you're a resident from a couple blocks away. but the daily life on 116th street there around park avenue.

>> it's a very busy corner. that building didn't exist two years ago. i remember walk by thinking what are they going to put in here? sure enough, the next time i turned around, there was a new building there. so it's been there for less than two years. so this is not an old building with bad pipes. this is a brand-new building that blew up. >> pretty scary. thank you so much, mr. grande. thank you for calling in. and another eyewitness joining me by phone, myra ramos. thanks so much. tell me where you are and what you saw. >> i was in my dad's home. looking out of the window, i see some smoke. and a big explosion. it even shook the building where

i live. it was so chaotic. >> did you see any people when you saw this explosion? were the people already out on the street? >> yeah, there was a lot of people out on the street. i really couldn't see that block from my home. but you could see there was a lot of people running. it was very chaotic when that explosion went off. but it did sound like a big, giant explosion. >> all very, very fryingighteni. there are 15 or 16 people injured. and two people confirmed dead. 200 firefighters on the scene. and we're waiting for a briefing now from mayor de blasio and we'll take a quick break and continue our live coverage, the latest developments from east harlem. an explosion, two buildings

collapsed at 116th street and park avenue in new york city. we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness if you qualify, and new car replacement, standard with our auto policies. so call liberty mutual at... today. and if you switch, you could save up to $423. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

so i'm going pro. [ male announcer ] new crest tartar protection rinse. the only rinse that helps prevent tartar build-up and cavities. a little swishing. less scraping. yes! [ male announcer ] new crest pro-health tartar protection rinse. it helps you escape the scrape. tartar protection rinse. so ally bank really has no hthat's right, no hidden fees.s? it's just that i'm worried about, you know, "hidden things." ok, why's that? well uhhh... surprise!!! um... well, it's true. at ally there are no hidden fees. not one. that's nice. no hidden fees, no worries. ally bank. your money needs an ally. i have a big meeting when we land, but i am so stuffed up, i can't rest. [ male announcer ] nyquil cold and flu liquid gels don't unstuff your nose. they don't? alka seltzer plus night fights your worst cold symptoms, plus has a decongestant. [ inhales deeply ] oh. what a relief it is.

[ inhales deeply ] it's amanda. hey sweetie. what? [phones rings] okay, i'll send it. one hundred seventy-two dollars for a chemistry book, what is it, made of gold? just use citi popmoney. boom. ah, she's feeling lucky. hey sweetie...cancun, yeah no, you'll be spending spring break with your new chemistry book. with citi popmoney it's easy to send money to just about anyone, anytime. visit your local branch or citi.com/easierbanking to learn more.

welcome back. we'll have continuing coverage of the explosion and new york city and, of course, the news conference from the mayor as soon as that happens. meanwhile, here in washington, explosive charges from senate democrats accusing the cia of spying on congress. the spy agency swung back with its own allegations, accusing the intelligence committee of improperly taking cia documents. what is the back story behind this knife fight? joining me now is nbc counterterror analyst michael leiter, also the former director of the u.s. national counterterrorism center. you've got two personalities, dianne feinstein and john brennan. john brennan very close to the president. dianne feinstein pretty much a

supporter of the intelligence community throughout the nsa controversies. this goes back to the most controversial recent era in cia history, which is the detentions, the so called torture investigation. >> this really is in my view the perfect storm of oversight in the intelligence community. it's the most sensitive issue for both the congress and the cia, interrogations and possibly torture. second, it's post-snowden, where the oversight committees really did get beat up for not being intensive enough. and last, but not least, this is about executive branch disrupting or interfering with congressional oversight, which will normally make these things very bipartisan. that's the surest way to get congress mad. those three things, as you said, combined with these very, very strong personalities of john and chairman feinstein make this a pretty volatile mix. >> and i think one of the back stories here, we should bring people into what people in the community are all talking about, this really started getting very, very nasty when it turned

out that a man named jose rodriguez, who was in charge of covert action, ignored -- supposedly ignored what the bush attorney general and harriet miers was saying and destroyed tapes. videotaped evidence of what the so called torture interrogations. and by destroying those, he said to protect the men in the field from potential retaliation. that really infuriated the oversight committee so. the then cia director mike hayden goes up to the hill and says this shouldn't have happened, but the tapes were destroyed. we should have told you soon hear the the tapes were destroyed, but there's documentary evidence, we have a log of all those interrogations, we're going to let you see all of that. well, then hands changed, dianne feinstein takes control. obama is elected, and whether it's partisan or not partisan, she said we need a real investigation to find out what happened. we want to look at that documentary evidence. then the cia says we're not going to bring that stuff to you in the senate. >> which is not surprising.

let's interrupt our narrative. the mayor is about to speak. we'll pick this up when he finishes. >> i want to speak about the tragedy that unfolded this morning. there's a lot to tell you about what's going on about the extraordinary response by our first responders. but first, let me tell you, i'm going to give you a quick overview. we're then going to hear from our fire commissioner sal casano. we'll hear from the speaker that represents this district in the city council. with us are other key leaders of our response who will join in for the q&a. chief banks of nypd. joe bruno of oem.

tom fariela. also would like to welcome john mcevoy, the president and ceo of con ed, who is us. and thank council member inez dickens for being here. and we have representative of congressman rangel's office as well. so today, at approximately 9:30 a.m., there was a major explosion that destroyed two buildings. the explosion was based on a gas leak. the impact affected buildings around the two that were destroyed, very heavy impact on the surrounding buildings. a heavy fire has ensued as well. the fire is now up to five-alarm level of response. and fdny is continuing its

efforts to contain the fire and then in the coming hours, to finally put the fire out. there was no warning in advance from the information we have now, i'd like to emphasize everything i'm telling you is based on preliminary information. this is the best information we have at this moment and is by definition preliminary. but from what we know now, the only indication of danger came about 15 minutes earlier when a gas leak was reported to con edison. con ed dispatched a team immediately to respond. the explosion occurred before that team could arrive. as soon as the explosion was called in, fdny responded literally within two minutes of the call for help. fdny is now, again, in the proof putting out the fire. con ed is in the process of shutting down all gas mains going into this building.

but that is a detailed and complicated process that requires digging up the ground and a lot of manual labor to turn off all the different supplies of gas to the building. this is a tragedy of the worst kind because there was no indication in time to save people. we know we've lost two people already. we know at this moment prelim gnarly that 18 are injured. there will be a search through the building as soon as the fire is put out, looking for those who are missing. there are a number of missing individuals. i emphasize that those who are missing could well be safe in another location and just not contacted yet. there's going to be a thorough search to try and find or locate

each individual. this is going to be an extended operation. this will take quite a bit of time to fully address this issue. to achieve that, we have on the scene 250 firefighters and dozens of pieces of equipment, including heavy equipment necessary to deal with the rubble from the building. i want to say that once again, we have been shown what our first responders are capable of doing under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. all of the agents that responded, led by the fdny, immediately secured the situation of the surrounding buildings, checked the surrounding buildings, made sure that everyone in those buildings was safe. made sure the fire was not spreading to other buildings.

extraordinary, fast, precise response by our first responders. i want to thank the police, oem. everyone who's been a part of this operation already. we have a lot of people in this community right now deeply concerned. a lot of people who have been negatively affected in their building surrounding a lot of people from the buildings, the two that collapsed, wondering where their loved ones are. the speaker mark viverito has been speaking to a number of families. i've spoken to a pastor of the church that was one of the store fronts in these buildings. there's a tremendous amount of anxiety, but suffice it to say that every effort is being expended to locate each and every one of these individuals. finally, for any relatives who are looking for information about their loved ones, a

special hotline will be set up shortly, but for now, they can call 311. for relatives, family members looking for information about loved ones who might be in one of these buildings, they can call 311. those calls can be taken in both english and spanish. with that, let me bring forward fire commissioner sal casano to give you more details of the situation and the response. >> just to reiterate a little bit of what the mayor said, the call originally came in at 9:31. we had our first unit on the scene at 9:33. they were faced with a very heavy fire condition. two buildings collapsed. debris covering the sidewalk and a couple of vehicles in the street. so they quickly transmitted an alarm for a major collapse response. and we now have over 250 firefighters. dozens of pieces of equipment. dozens of pieces of special equipment through our special operations command. we have backhoes on the scene,

but we know we'll need some cranes, which we have coming on the way. the plan right now is to extinguish the fire. we have to clean the sidewalk of the debris and the brick to make sure there was nobody on the sidewalk or the street. once the fire is under control and extinguished, we'll start to do some surface removal, debris removal. we have to be very careful. the building is in a very precarious position. we want to make sure that everybody's in there that first responds is safe. it's been a great interagency response between oem, police, fire, buildings. but it's going to be a long, extended operation and we want to make sure we can get through that debris as quickly as possible. >> thank you very much, commissioner. i'd like to call forward speaker melissa mark viverito. >> thank you, mayor. i represent this district. my district office is literally half a block from the explosion site. i live five blocks from here. i was headed to city hall when i

heard about what happened and quickly turned around to be here. and obviously it's an extremely anxious time for the constituents that live here, for the families that have been impacted. but i want to praise and give thanks to the first responders, not only the fdny, the nypd and all agencies. the level of professionalism is not to be questioned and it's been an incredibly quick response. we have made our district office a command post for the first responders. we're interacting with some of the impacted families, trying to ensure that they get all the proper support possible. so i really want to thank everyone that has helped to this point. we're going to be as collaborative as possible with all of the agencies. obviously there are people that are still unaccounted for and that is of concern. but we also have to think about people that have been displaced, and so all city agencies have a

role to play and we will facilitate that in whatever way. [ speaking in spanish ] [ speaking in spanish ] >> thank you very much to the first responders. i also want to thank very strongly the mayor for his quick response and for being here to provide comfort and leadership during this time. >> thank you. >> that was the councilmember who represents that district, melissa mark-viverito.

and she recounted how everyone has been responding as needed. but as mayor de blasio did say, there may still be people missing. they are still doing a search. they say that there was only 15 minutes of warning, the first call to con ed to come because of a suspected gas leak before the explosion actually took place. so con ed did not get there before the explosion had taken place. there was a five-alarm fire. more than 250 fire responders, and they are trying to contain that as well as they're going to have to dig up under the building, under the street to try to turn off all the gas. so that's obviously a potentially dangerous location as well. they've got -- they are at least putting up some phone numbers, which will be available for new york city residents to find out about their family members and the missing. we know from the mayor that at least 18 people have some level of injuries and two are confirmed dead with more missing. and we'll be back in a moment. feed it, and care for it,

don't we grow something more? we grow big celebrations, and personal victories. we grow new beginnings, and better endings. grand gestures, and perfect quiet. we grow escape, bragging rights, happier happy hours. so let's gro something greater with miracle-gro. what will you grow? share your story at miraclegro.com. i takbecause you can't beatrning for zero heartburn. woo hoo! what will you grow? [ male announcer ] prilosec otc is the number one doctor recommended frequent heartburn medicine for 8 straight years. one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

 ameriprise asked people a simple question: can you keep your lifestyle in retirement? i don't want to think about the alternative. i don't even know how to answer that. i mean, no one knows how long their money is going to last. i try not to worry, but you worry. what happens when your paychecks stop? because everyone has retirement questions. ameriprise created the exclusive confident retirement approach. to get the real answers you need. start building your confident retirement today. marge: you know, there's a more enjoyable way to get your fiber. try phillips fiber good gummies. they're delicious, and a good source of fiber to help support regularity. wife: mmmm husband: these are good! marge: the tasty side of fiber. from phillips.

and michael leiter rejoins me now. we've been talking about spy versus overseers. one of the issues is what role did john brennan play? he was at the counterterrorist center. it was broadly involved in supervision. what supervisory role did he have? this was controversial when he was first nominated. >> yeah, probably played into why he wasn't nominated at the very beginning of the administration. john was supporting people who were supervising the program. but john himself really was not supervising the program. as involved in counterterrorism during that period, lots and lots of people had some involvement, knew what was going on. but i actually do think it's unfair to say john could have stopped it or something like that. he really wasn't in a position of authority at the cia then. the question now fast

forwarding, though, is how much is he going to, i think, buck some of the institutional pressure to be cooperative with the senate intelligence committee, which really is digging into, again, something which is the rawest of nerves, i think, at the cia, even 13 years after 9/11. >> there does seem to be exactly what he was saying in his testimony and confirmation, he was going to try to fix, which was a breach of trust, and that does go back to the destruction of the videotapes and a lot of things that happened not on his watch, but happened at cia. and now the fact that the cia insisted that they set up this off site facility. there's a big legal dispute between the senate and the cia over whose computers these were, because the senate says we didn't want to be off site, but that we agreed and there's a signed document, which we have not seen, a signed document between the senators, both parties and the former cia director, leon panetta, that said that it would be off site,

that these computers would be stand alone or walled off or that langley would not be able to access them. and the cia, in the letter from john brennan back to dianne feinstein in january, was that they are cia computers and they had every right to search them if they thought there was a breach. >> that's right. there's the very concrete issue here about whose network it was, who had access to that network, who was permitted to have access to that network. quite clearly in chairman feinstein's eyes, not knowing what the agreement was. that was just like a senate office building. obviously the cia wouldn't go look at those computers. clearly from john brennan's letter to chairman feinstein, this was a cia network with an enclave used by the senate, but for security reasons, they could still go in and review who had access, what kind of access they had, whether or not there was an information breach. so that's the practical concrete question. the political issue is much tougher. because this really has become a circular firing squad. this is a relationship that has

to be good. it has to be good for the agency to do its job. it has to be good for the senate to do its job. putting partisan politics aside, we need -- and i think john recognizes this. we need strong, vigorous oversight and we need cooperation. and the place we're in now is really counterproductive for all the parties. >> let me ask you about the latest from malaysia air. we're going to bring in tom costello and greg fife in in a moment. there's radar indicating that the plane could have turned. there could have been an intentional u-turn and they're widening the search to a much broader area. >> i'm going to defer to tom, the aviation expert, on all parts of this. but i think what we know from a counterterrorism perspective is that the initial lead of the two individuals using the false and stolen passports almost certainly has nothing to do with what happened to that plane, but in many ways that just leaves us more rather than less confused. >> and let's bring in our aviation expert tom costello, also nbc aviation expert, the

former ntsb investigator. tom, first to you. the widened search and the challenge that this creates for the air and sea search operation. >> i think part of the frustration is that the malaysians have candidly been inconsistent about exactly what did this plane do? one member of the military suggested it did, in fact, take a left-hand turn and do a u-turn back towards malaysia and back over the strait of malacca. in theory, he could have continued going out over the indian ocean. and then the malaysians seem to want to walk that back. they say well, we're not going to commit either way, so there really is some inconsistencies coming from the malaysians. but you cannot deny that they have dramatically expanded the search area now. so as we said yesterday, it now includes the east coast, where it was before, and the west coast. and now the indian navy is joining this search, which tells you that it may possibly -- this plane may possibly be up in the

waters to the north of the indonesian island of sumatra, perhaps even in the bay of bengal or in the indian ocean. you can see here that the defined search area is now 25,000 nautical square miles. 25,000. that is massive. if you then expand into the indian ocean, it's -- boy, the math would just be incalculable. >> greg, how reliable is the information that we are getting from the malaysian military, and what is the conceivable explanation for a plane turning that way? it could not turn. >> the big problem right now is the inconsistency of information. they've been filtering some of that information that they've put out. and right now, it's proven that

it has not been very credible. and we don't know the basis for that. the fact that they've now expanded this search area indicates that they know more than what they're providing us. and it will probably come out piecemealed. as far as the turn is concerned, if you assume that the data is correct that the military has provided, that was a calculated turn. it was an intentional turn. it wasn't an airplane that was out of control or there were no crew members that were actually commanding the airplane either physically with a control yolk or the auto pilot. that was an intentional turn. now, the purpose of it, that's yet to be determined. and if that airplane stayed at altitude, which we believe it did, that airplane with five, six hours of fuel could go probably another 1,500 to 2,000 nautical miles. >> i was just going to say, greg could address this, but importantly, if, in fact, those transponders were shut off, that

would shut off either a cataclysmic event or somebody did it on purpose. the transponders which transmit at tour altitude speed. they haven't found any debris in the area where the transponders were shut off, so that would suggest potentially somebody did that on purpose. >> greg, do you want to pick up on that, please? >> absolutely. tom brings up a good point. if there was an explosive decompression. let's say a window blew out or a door blew out and material was actually sucked out of the aircraft, you would expect to see even the lightest debris along the flight path. the searchers haven't found any of that, especially over the water. so given the fact that if the airplane is intact and that turn was made, that wouldn't have been made by an auto pilot because the auto pilot would have already had a preprogrammed route of flight to go to beijing and it would have continued on track. so it's evident that the course was altered and most likely altered intentionally by either one of the flight crew members or someone else who gained

access and had knowledge of the systems of that airplane. >> all rather incredibly alarming. greg feith, tom costello, michael leiter, thank you all so very much. we'll have an update on that building collapse in new york city in harlem. more than 250 firefighters working to get this fire under control. from new york city mayor bill de blasio this hour, at least two people are confirmed dead. at least 18 were injured after the blast. we'll continue to bring you the very latest developments as we get them. stay with us right here on msnbc. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. ♪ she can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. ♪ my mom works at ge. ♪ has begun.

it's time to chart an entirely new course. with the lexus ct hybrid, featuring an epa-estimated 42 mpg combined. the further you go, the more interesting it gets. take command of the moment, then take command of the road. during the lexus command performance sales event. get great offers on your favorite lexus models, now through march 31st. this is the pursuit of perfection.

in florida's congressional race last night, david jolly's narrow victory over alex sink could be a sign of things to come for republican candidates this fall, a good sign for them. and a warning for democratic candidates and the windows. joining me now, chris alissa, and chuck todd.

chuck, first to you. what do you see as the bigger story behind david jolly winning -- hardly the best candidate, a lobbyist who was criticized from even within republican circles, over alex sink who had run for governor, was well-known in florida and lost. >> well, i think it's a reminder that national environment and outside money, these are the two big advantages republicans have generically going into the start of this cycle, seem to be the difference makers. in a two-point race, you can claim boy, if they had done this right, done this right, but at the end of the day, jolly did not run as good of a campaign as sink. the democrats, particularly in the beginning were much more organized, much more focused on winning this district. the outside money at the end, the national environment at the end seemed to tip the scales. it's hard not to look at it. then you look at our new nbc "wall street journal" poll and you see the same dynamic playing out here. republicans are going to take away from this victory, that they can run on health care and run against the president and

this is a universal message that can both help them with their base and potentially get some swing voters. the democrats got to look at this race and say while they may have figured out a way to draw even on health care, they've got to figure out a way to motivate their own voters. the democratic spin on this is hey, the electorate was not as swing as it is in a presidential. okay. then guess what, guys. you have a whole bunch of democrats that didn't show up. why? >> and, in fact, we see that reflected in the nbc news-"wall street journal" poll. chris, first, your take on this, the very important congressional election, an election in a district that is a registration edge for republicans, but republicans got their voters out. >> right. i think for people like chuck and i who have spent a lot of time looking at congressional district by congression unanimous district, the line among democrats forever had been that when bill young left that seat, and he passed away in 2013, that was a seat they would

win. they had alex sink, the gubernatorial nominee in 2010. they had no real primary for alex sink. she performed quite well from a fundraising perspective. on the other hand, jolly, a lobbyist, never really run for anything before. had a real primary that he had to spend money on. without a national environment, without those outside groups spending, alex sink wins. so you add up the one side, you add up the other, something else is going on here, because in a vacuum without that national environment, she wins. that, to me, i think -- it's a point of concern. should there be panic? no. but it's absolutely i think a point of concern, and many democrat members, senate and house members, will feel that concern today. >> and chuck todd, let's talk about the nbc news-"wall street journal" poll. you've got first of all on health care, 49% of people still saying it is a bad idea.

only 35% saying it's a good idea. and on the president's approval ratings, his approval down to 41%, disapproval at 54%. what else are you reading into the numbers? >> that's the big concern if you're the democrats here, president obama's poll numbers. they've hit a new floor of 41%. that number goes all the way across the board. used to be able to personally have better ratings than his professional ratings in job approval, something that helped him withstand political problems in the past. this time, that has sunk with them. the question i think for democrats is is there any way for them to recover, because there are voters that president obama can motivate, but can you afford to "bring them in" and the little dances that democrats do in these red states, so you've got that issue. if he's at 41% nationally, imagine what his job rating is in arkansas, in the red states of louisiana, alaska. but what was remarkable in here, the larger picture is it doesn't

look like 2010 yet either, as bad as the environment is for the democrats there is a republican sort of lack of enthusiasm that you notice here. for instance, in the interest in the election. those with the high interest are the tea party republicans. the nontea party republicans have almost no interest in this election. very low. more like independent voters. i have a feeling this is -- it's interesting. what are those voters going to do? do they sit on their hands and sit home? is this a more status quo election where maybe the generic environment helps the republicans because they're running in a lot of the red states. but there is a -- there really is a negative vibe about all things politics in washington that is part of both parties right now. >> and chris cillizza, what about the district in the 13th? how much was medicare an issue? concern among senior citizens who tend to vote more in these kinds of special elections and in midterm elections. >> well, look.

the democrats make a good point here, which is not just it's a special election and special elections are frankly special. but this is a district demographically that is older and wider than the swing district in the country. older, whiter voters favor republicans. jolly, if he ran an ad that didn't attack obama care, it was an ad. the entire campaign was based on the idea that the affordable care act was a bad thing for people in this district. possible because it's an older, whiter community. that is more inclined to support a republican message. that it had more impact than it might in the swing district country. yes. but particularly as chuck mentioned, when you couple it with the fact that the affordable care act is still and has been for years consistently the numbers have been under

water. that is more negative views than positive views. i do think that that plus what happened in florida last night should at least raise an alarm. it doesn't mean that every district will be decided this way, every senate race will be decided this way, but it does mean that this is a potentially very potent issue for republicans. >> i'll say very quickly -- >> it's a potent issue from 2010. two midterms. but one of the other things in the poll -- and i want to get your insight on this, chuck, is that the president is losing altitude with his base, not with white women particularly, but with hispanics and african-american voters. >> well, and part of that is the economy. what we're noticing is look, there's still a large majority of this country that thinks we're in recession. when you look inside the folks that truly believe we're in recession are folks inside -- normally supporters of the president. and we heard it in some individual voter interviews, sink voters talking about how miserable the economy is to

them. you wonder does this just dampen enthusiasm among some democrats, that they need something to run on besides neutralizing health care. there is a silver lining on health care in our poll. we matched up generic democratic candidates who says they want to fix health care versus generic republican candidate who says they want to repeal. generic democratic candidate leads that republican candidate. there is a blueprint of mend it, don't end it on health care that can help democrats to a point to neutralize health care a bit. the problem is what is the proactive agenda? instead of defensive crouch on health care, what is an offensive crouch? obviously they'd like to make it minimum wage, but that's what alex sink was missing in her campaign, and it's tough. i think all democrats are trying to come up with what is that positive message that will fire democrats up the way the republicans right now, they're fired up. two ways to get them fired up. health care and obama.

what is the parallel structure for the democrats. they don't have that right now. >> and the real warning sign is for those senate candidates, which we know in the red states. thank you so much. thanks, chuck, for being there. and we have an update on that building, the two buildings that collapsed in east harlem, new york. two people now confirmed dead. 18 were injured. more missing. we're hearing more from witnesses on the scene. >> we heard a big loud boom, and i went out and you can see the doors fly open. it's how hard the impact was. and i look outside and i see the smoke. i get out there, i see the building that collapsed, the whole front of the building just caved down. i see a lady in the building next to it that collapsed with the debris in front of her and she has her little child holding and screaming and the baby's crying and she's screaming for help. pulled the door open. i get the baby and the lady out. >> that eyewitness account. ron allen is live at the scene.

any update on the recovery efforts here? >> reporter: this is going to be an extended and precarious operation. he said there are a number of people missing. he wouldn't give us a firm number, but a lot of concern that there were still people trapped inside these two apartment buildings that collapsed where there were perhaps dozens of apartments and the call came in at 9:30 this morning or so, so there's a high probability that there were people inside. and the death toll -- the injury toll also could perhaps rise. the fire is not yet under control, the mayor said. they are trying to get that under control and do an extensive search of the buildings. people have been evacuated from nearby homes and businesses, so there's still a lot of confusion and people unaccounted for, according to the mayor, who would not put precise figures on it.

you see up the street behind me, there's still smoke coming out where the buildings stood. it's several hours that they've been trying to get these flames under control. they'll try to make sure this neighborhood is safe. >> before i go, a big shoutout to lester holt. tonight he will receive the top award from the radio television digital news foundation, it's a big deal, awarded to journalists who have made major contributions to the protection of the first amendment and our freedoms, which of course, he has done so splendidly. congratulations, lester. well deserved. ronan farrow daily comes next. join us right here. [ male announcer ] it's simple physics...

a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure

or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, like celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions, or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. don't take celebrex if you have bleeding in the stomach or intestine, or had an asthma attack, hives, other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history. and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion.

phone: your account is already paid in full. oh, well in that case, back to vacation mode. ♪boots and pants and boots and pants♪ ♪and boots and pants and boots and pants♪ ♪and boots and pants... voice-enabled bill pay. just a tap away on the geico app. ♪ huh, 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. yup, everybody knows that. well, did you know that some owls aren't that wise. don't forget about i'm having brunch with meagan tomorrow. who? seriously, you met her like three times. who? geico. welcome, welcome. it's not delivery. it's rf daily. today we have the latest on that tragic deadly now building collapse in new york city. as controversy is continuing to erupt over the allegations that the cia tampered with a senate

investigation, we have got a spy and a congressional rep weighing in. also in today's call to action on syria, a big voice from the senate joins us to talk about american political inaction and enlist you in taking a stand. plus, our celebrity legal panel weighs in on the pistorius trial, because i am a bad lawyer. a bad, bad lawyer. first up, though, try to contain your excitement, it's our headlines. >> at least a portion of the large building completely collapsed there in what is now a five-alarm fire. >> i saw smoke coming out. it. >> did the intelligence agency actually spy on a congressional investigation? >> this is nuts. >> if someone broke the law, they'll have to pay the penalty. >> it's spying. >> we wouldn't do that. >> new polling data suggests an uphill battle for president obama in the democratic party. >> president obama's job approval rating is at an all-time low. >> some new developments in the search for that missing jet