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 liner.

>> the search zone has been expanded to a 27,000 square nautical mile area. >> it's roughly four times the state of massachusetts. >> today the president hosts ukrainian prime minister at the white house. >> a photo on to stick a thumb in the eye of moscow. >> body language? come on, this guy's shirtless horse back riding, rubbing a tiger, kissing some random kid's belly. he is the equivalent of tweeting in all caps, and the message is, i'm a nutbird! we're going to get to the other big stories today in a moment, but first, we want to bring you the latest on the breaking news we have been covering all morning here on msnbc. at least two people are now confirmed dead after an explosion levelled two five-story buildings in east harlem this morning. police say that at least 18 people have been injured, and at least four of them seriously.

more than 250 firefighters responded to the five-alarm fire resulting from the blast. president obama has been briefed on the explosion by the department of homeland security. residents reported smelling gas just before the explosion happened. you can take a listen to some of bill de blasio's press conference right now. >> the only indication of danger came about 15 minutes earlier, when a gas leak was reported to con edison. >> residents are searching for loved ones amongst the chaos. >> we just want to know if he's all right. that's all we want to know. and the dog, too. that's it. he doesn't pick up. i just want him alive. i just want to find him. that's all i want right now. if you're listening, george, please. if you're outside, whatever, give us a call. please. >> let's go to katie tur, what's

the late tles? >> reporter: we're about two blocks from where it happened. firefighters still fighting a five-alarm fire up there. those two buildings collapsed around 9:30 this morning after an explosion. residents called con ed about 15 minutes earlier down the street to report smelling gas. the explosion happened two minutes after con ed got there. so far, 18 injuries, two confirmed dead. no word on how many are missing. they're not going to say right now how many are missing. mayor de blasio says people could just be at work and not answering their phone. it's unclear who exactly was inside at the time. 15 apartments between those two buildings. a lot of emotional drama on the streets, people looking for their loved ones. the mayor said it was a gas leak. i know there was some concern, as there is always when you have anything happen in manhattan, that there could be terrorism involved. but they're saying right now is

most probably was a gas leak and they're not as of now expecting any criminality. now, con ed was there and they were able to go on scene. residents in the area reported a lot of chaos and drama. come here, and talk to me. you were in the meat market down the street, right? what happened when the explosion occurred? >> i've never seen anything before the explosion like that. never, never. my window for the store is broken. a guy says to me go out, because the building is coming down. i say no, no, no. people coming from the streets. try to see what happened. maybe an explosion there.

>> reporter: how far were you from the actual explosion? >> half a block. >> reporter: could you feel it? [ inaudible ] >> reporter: sorry, the fire trucks went by. were there people in those businesses at the time? are those businesses open usually? >> yeah, it's open. yeah. three people. >> reporter: do you know any of them? >> yeah. i don't know what happened. you never know. >> reporter: do you have any concern for the people that actually lived in that building? have you seen anyone that you know that might have been in that building at the time that is okay? >> yeah, some people come in the street. come in the store say what happened, what happened?

>> reporter: and it sounded like an explosion? >> yeah, for sure. >> reporter: blue the windows out? >> yeah. >> reporter: it blew the windows out of most of the windows on the street. anything else that you've seen? >> no. no. >> reporter: are you concerned about gas leaks? >> no. >> reporter: thank you for speaking with us. as of now, there were 60 violations in that building, unclear if any of them contributed to the gas leak in any way. firefighters still on scene. excavators are looking for the missing. no word on when we'll get an update on the number of people that they're looking for. ronan? >> thank you so much. katy tur on the scene. as you heard, there are reports of already building code and safety violations in that building and already fallout over whether this should have been monitored more. joining me now live on the phone right now is former fdny captain al fuentes.

do we have you? thank you for joining us. >> thank you, ronan. >> we just saw what it looked like on the ground. can you explain to us what are the priorities for crews on the ground right now? >> well, right now, actually, it's still an ongoing developme development. the priority is to contain the fire and stabilize the buildings to begin the search and rescue. >> we saw reports that residents smelled gas and there was a potential leak. do you think that could be the whole story here? >> well, i would be guessing, but certainly from the data and the information that they were getting from the scene, and i'm sure this is going to be ongoing and everything is going to be examined, but it seemed like

there was a gas leak. a gas leak in a building confined to certain areas could possibly create an explosion of that type. >> captain al fuentes, thank you for joining us. joining me now on the phone is another very different perspective, state senator that has already spoken out on some of these issues, highlighting the building code violations. 60 open housing violations, i believe. senator, thank you for joining us. what do you know about what's going on on the ground? >> first of all, there are 60 open violations. 26 c violations. >> can you explain what that means? >> inspectors have determined that in some apartments there were smoke detectors missing. so this is also a big problem.

i think the real issue is the fact that the infrastructure in many neighborhoods in new york city is very old, very archaic. it needs to be taken a look at. it happens everywhere. we have these gas leaks. we need to ensure that the infrastructure is in perfect condition. >> really appreciate your joining us here today. thank you, state senator adriano espaillat. >> thank you. >> and we also have been relying on viewer testimonials about infrastructure problems and housing violations that are going on there. so we will watch closely to see what you have to say as this unfolds. please stay with us, everyone. we're going to have much more on this break news out of harlem throughout the hour. but first, coming up here on "ronan farrow daily," we have a lot of big stories to get through. spy games on capitol hill, and

we are going to bring you the very latest on that bitter dispute. that is a senator lashing out at the cia claiming they behaifd unconstitutionally. we'll have more coming up next. i'm nathan and i quit smoking with chantix.

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welcome back. today a fight is raging between the cia and senator dianne feinstein, who apparently reading from a lost crypt to homeland, accuses the spy agency of removing documents from computers being used by her committee to investigate cia detention and interrogation practices. she called those acts unconstitutional and a violation of the separation of powers. it's causing a stir on the hill.

>> it's troubling to see this, but i do have immense respect for senator feinstein. so if she's going down to the floor, she clearly believes that something untoward happened. >> cia chief john brennan denied those charges. he said, "i'm in no way interfering with the investigation." brennan is now fielding questions about his future, including from senate intelligence committee member mark udall. >> i've lost confidence in director brennan, particularly because he won't acknowledge the misdeeds and misconduct of the cia. >> scenario feinstein has also been a target of a lot of criticism. nsa leaker edward snowden weighed in, accusing her of hypocrisy. snowden released a statement that said "an elected official does not care that the rights of millions of ordinary citizens are violated by our spies, but suddenly it's a scandal when a politician finds out the same thing is happening to them." for an insider's take, i turn to congressman adam schiff of california, a senior member of

the house intelligence committee, he joins us from capitol hill. thank you for taking the time to join us. >> you bet, ronan. >> senator feinstein is calling this a violation of the separation of powers. this is a somewhat murky area. it's not explicitly anywhere in that document. you're a lawyer. i'm not a not very good lawyer. do you think this is unconstitutional? is she justified in using that word? >> well, she is justified, if the facts are as she stated and i don't have any reason to believe that they would be otherwise. senator feinstein is very thoughtful. she's very deliberate. and she does her homework. so these are very serious allegations. the senate was doing an investigation into the issue of the waterboarding and the rendition program. the cia had a very different take on that program. and in the context of that investigation for the cia to be accessing a senate computer and database is completely

unacceptable, may very well be unconstitution unconstitutional. but certainly i think violates the principle of the separation of powers. so very serious charges that are going to have to be looked into and thoroughly vetted. >> senator feinstein has, according to many, propped up the spying apparatus in this country. she has defended the intelligence community time and time again. she did so following the revelations that the nsa was spying on americans. here she was on "meet the press" in january. take a listen to this. >> the whole purpose of this program is to provide instantaneous information. to be able to disrupt any plot that may be taking place. and, you know, i think a lot of the privacy people, perhaps don't understand that we still occupy the role of the great satan. new bombs are being devised. new terrorists are emerging. new groups. >> so, senator, is the senate only outraged when it impacts

them? why the outrage now? >> no, i don't think that's the case at all. there are many in the senate and the house, myself included, who have been urging for a strong reform, an end to collection. senator feinstein calls it the way she sees it. it's something that we all respect about her. when the revelations came out, or the allegations about tapping into angela merkel's cell phone, she was very critical of the nsa about that. she's obviously been willing to take to the house floor in unprecedented fashion to call the cia on the carpet about this. but, you know, where she has a different view of opinion, whether it is on the metta data program or early in her career in terms of the assault weapons ban or the death penalty, she has never been afraid of speaking her mind. that's something that i admire about her. >> in fairness to the senator, despite snowden's comments, it is at issue with some nuance and mistakes legally and otherwise are just different in a case where it's spying between the branches of government.

thank you, adcongressman adam schiff from california, appreciate you joining. i'm now going to turn to a cia alumnus. jessica chastain was unavailable because she is not actually a spy. joining me from seattle is former cia intelligence analyst nana backos, part of the sisterhood of a team of female cia analysts involved in tracking down osama bin laden. thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> do you think that the committee should have expected these computers to be searched, given that they were in a cia facility? >> you know, i think this is a unique situation. these computers were set aside in a facility that was separate from the cia's network. and it was for congressional oversight investigation purposes. in a typical classified

environment, there is an assumption of monitoring. so there is no privacy assumed. but without understanding the details of the user agreement between congress and the agency for those particular set of computers, it's hard to understand, you know, from now without having all those details, whether or not that assumption of privacy is there. so if what senator feinstein is alleging is true, you know, certainly sounds like there was an overreach on the part of the agency, and i think the investigation and the doj will hopefully shed some light on the terms of the issue. >> so you actually referenced a user agreement. do you mean that figuratively, or is this relationship actually down to what is in the fine print here? >> well, you know, typically in a classified environment, there is no assumption of privacy. you are going to be monitored for your use of the computer situation. so i think in this situation, it's very unique and i think that's why it's hard to assume

what the details were in the agreement was between the two. >> how typical is it of the cia to ensure so they can have this kind of access? >> i do think this is a completely unique situation. this is a long conversation about the interrogation and torture programs. so i think that this in particular is contentious. >> all right, thank you so much nada for that insieg. i'd love to come back to you as this story unfolds.ght. i'd love to come back to you as this story unfolds. >> thank you. right now we continue to follow the brek neaking news in harlem. nearly 200 firefighters are on the scene responding and president obama has been briefed on the mayhem. we are headed live to the white house for a report from there next. stay with us. ♪ [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans

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welcome back to "rfd." we now go to developing news from the white house. some controversial foreign policy being made. president obama is set to meet with ukraine's new prime minister at the white house. that could further chill already frosty relations with russia, which views the new government as illegitimate. we're not giving up on pomother russia just yet. john kerry announced he will fly to london tomorrow to meet with russian foreign minister sergei lavrov and continue to talk. >> i have made clear as i have throughout this crisis that while we respect obviously that russia has deep historical, cultural and other kinds of interests with respect to ukraine and particularly crimea, nothing justifies a military

intervention. >> this all comes as our new nbc "wall street journal" poll today found that 72% of americans view russia as an adversary rather than an ally. cold war all over again. just 44% approve of president obama's reaction to the russian occupation of the crimean peninsula. the numbers suggest an uphill battle for president obama and the democratic party in this year's upcoming midterms. president obama's approval rating has dropped to a personal new low of 41%. just 26% of respondents say they are likely to embrace candidates who strongly back him. 48% say candidates' support of the president will actually have the opposite effect. with more on this, i'm joined by peter alexander of nbc news. before we get to the news out of this poll, we understand the president has been briefed on this explosion in harlem that led to two buildings collapsing

and apparently 18 people injured and two killed. what can you tell us about that briefing? >> yeah, ronan, that would routinely be the case in situations like this. a white house official tells us that the president was briefed by as adviser on counterterrorism and security issues, lisa monaco specifically saying the white house remains in close contact with federal, state, and local partners. they commended the first responders and noted that the president will continue to be updated. but that was a brief statement that they put out a short time ago as well. >> going back to these numbers that are making so much news today. peter, a special election was just held in florida and saw a republican win a congressional seat in a district that democrats were very focused on. they put a lot of money into this. that race overwhelmingly focused on obamacare. does that tell us about what's coming up in the midterms across the country? >> i think our poll in particular highlights what we witnessed in florida's 13th district. obviously the environment is bad generally for democrats. one of our pollsters explaining that the wind is really in

democrats' faces right now. it's a big advantage for republicans. but i think what it also demonstrates is republicans have kind of found what they believe is their item to run on, which is anti-obama and anti-obama care. and for democrats, the big challenge is to sort of grasp on to something that they think resonates. those are the headwinds that the white house is facing these days. the president thinks, obviously, that income inequality, issues of minimum wage and overtime pay that he's going to push for in an event to be held at the white house tomorrow may be assets, but what it also demonstrates is the real challenges that this white house, the democrats are going to face, particularly in those red leaning states. those senate seats in particular in states like alaska, arkansas, and louisiana, and in north carolina could pose real challenges for the white house come november. >> a real uphill battle ahead. the poll also shows 53% of americans disapproving of president obama's foreign policy agenda. that is the lowest ever approval

he's gotten in that category. how important do you think that is to president obama's legacy? >> i think what's really remarkable in these poll numbers is that we saw that his personal approval ratings at 41%, that's a new floor for him. also his personal popularity is at 41% as welch that's something the president used to be able to rely on for political capital, that he was just so well liked. what we saw in the course of this poll is the populist theme, just how broadly americans are disillusioned by what's taking place in washington, that 41% number is approaching numbers that president bush had approaching the 2006 midterm elections. i think advertise number was roughly 37% at that time. of course, republicans went on to lose both the house and senate. the conversation the white house is going to have to address in briefings like the one that jay carney, the press secretary is beginning right now is exactly what the holdup has really been in terms of those financial, those economic sanctions, whether they're waiting until

after the referendum or they're going to do them before. what the real strategy is here is they try to give diplomacy a chance. but putin -- vladimir putin clearly doesn't seem to be moved by that. >> some low numbers reflecting on the foreign policy side. peter alexander, thank you so much. we've heard about president obama's poll numbers in the united states, including the dim assessments of his handling of the rest of the world. but in the wide world, there is one place he can always call home if they have anything to do with it. take a look. >> obama is our son from kenya. we love him. >> we love obama. we love americans. americans love us. and obama love us. >> in america, barack obama's popularity has sunk to some of its lowest levels since he took office. but what do people think of him here in kenya? >> what do you think of barack obama? >> he's a good person. helps the needy people. >> kenyans still love barack

obama. and we hope that everyone in kenya emulates him because he is an exemplary leader. >> what do you think of him? >> blessing him, for lord loves him. he has given that kind of leadership. >> what do you think of barack obama? >> i'm not really into politics, but i like the way he's a family guy. he's responsibilities of being a family guy. >> hard-working, united people together. >> what do you think of barack obama? >> he's all right looking for an old guy. >> for me, it's about obama. >> can you give us a little of your song about obama? ♪ this is the man called barack obama ♪ ♪ live in united states >> that was our exclusive

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we are back with breaking news out of east harlem, where an explosion has killed two people and leaving two dozen hurt, at the latest count that we just heard from ntsb just now. they are going to be sending a go team of investigators to the scene. right now joining me on the phone is nbc news correspondent katy tur. thank you for coming back to us. what do we know about why these buildings exploded at this point? anything since we last checked in on this story? >> there's still an ongoing investigation. there's always some concern for terrorism.

but right now they do believe it was a gas leak. con ed was just called to a building down the street, about 15 minutes before the explosion. two minutes before they were able to arrive, these two buildings exploded down to the first floor. they were a mix of residential and commercial buildings. commercial on the ground, residential up top. 15 apartments in total between them and people we believe were working at the time of the explosion in those businesses. right now there is no word on how many people are missing. they refuse to give us that number because they believe some people could be currently at their jobs and unaware that they are being looked for. the fdny says there were 24 people treated on scene. two people have lost their lives. two serious life-threatening injuries. five serious non-life threatening injuries. and 16 minor injuries. now, the explosion could be felt for about 15 blocks.

we spoke with somebody who lives on 130th street. that's about 15 blocks from where this happened. windows were blown out in businesses around the street and people said they just couldn't believe what was going on at the time. they initially thought terrorism. >> thank you, katy. we're seeing the footage right now and the air-condition looks pretty bad. stay out of those clouds. nbc's katy tur on the scene in harlem. coming up next, we have international news. the three-year war in syria is now a devastating humanitarian crisis. and a big voice on this issue on the hill, senator bob casey reached out to us. he is going to join this week's call to action. you won't want to miss it, right after the break. like two deals . salesperson #2: actually, getting a great car with like two deals . 42 highway miles per gallon makes it like two deals in one. salesperson #1: point is there's never been a better time to buy a jetta tdi clean diesel. avo: during the first ever volkswagen tdi clean diesel event get a great deal on a jetta tdi.

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welcome back. those were syrian children from a refugee camp. they and the brutal crisis that they are embroiled in that is now hitting its three-year mark this weekend in syria, are the subject of this week's call to action. this crisis is not confined to syria. that's what we want to highlight today. from the newfound concerns about a polio strain emanating from syria, to the threat of a chemical weapons arsenal that is still not fully destroyed. what's happening there could affect all of us. this morning, the u.n. released this statement, saying "syria is now the biggest humanitarian and peace and security crisis facing the world, with violence reaching unthinkable levels, the secretary-general deeply regrets the inability of the international community to put a stop to this appalling conflict. just this morning, syrian state

tv reported that president bashar assad visited displaced syrians in damascus where he vowed to keep up the fight against gunmen who he blamed for driving people from their homes. this all begs the question, what is exactly is u.s. leadership doing to help curb this crisis? we've been bringing you different facets of this every day, and here to talk about the american political stakes on syria is pennsylvania senator bob casey. he's a member of the national security working group and co-chair of the weapons of mass destruction terrorism caucus. senator, first i wanted to talk to you about the obama administration's track record on this issue. last summer, secretary kerry got a lot of flak for first saying there was undeniable evidence of large scale weapons attack in syria, but then they punted to congress and backed down altogether. that was met with a lot of criticism. how much has that damaged the administration's willingness to take action? >> i think first of all we should start with the question

you raised initially about chemical weapons. the syrian regime is in the process of working with a whole host of international partners on this to make sure that these chemical weapons are secured and destroyed. it's far from being complete, as you know. it's actually slowed down a lot. but if a substantial percentage of those weapons can be destroyed, that's a significant achievement and we should say that about the administration. secondly, i'd say on the question of the suffering of children in syria, and the suffering of adults as well, the humanitarian aid that our taxpayers have paid for in the administration, the obama administration led should be noted and it's rather significant. more than $1.7 billion. more than half of that going to syria itself for humanitarian aid. all kinds of assistance. so we should commend the administration for that. but even that is not enough because of the scale of this

suffering. especially as it relates to children. we are now in the millions of children in syria that are adversely impacted. more than 10,000 have been killed. but that doesn't begin to tell the suffering that literally millions are enduring, and if you add adults, you're more than nine million. so the scale of this is just unimaginable. >> senator, we just talked about the importance of that humanitarian assistance, and i do indeed commend it. you've released statements talking about some of the other options on the table, some of them more controversial. you've said recently, "families and children in syria are living in a nightmare. i've been calling for greater logistical, financial, and material support to vetted elements of the moderate opposition for more than two years." what do you say to critics who say this is a fractious opposition with a lot of dangerous elements in it and that vetting is unrealistic at this point given the scant intelligence on exactly how trustworthy these elements are? >> i would say two things. number one, i'd say if we want

to help those children, and if we want to help people that need the kind of humanitarian assistance that's called for here, and help them in a more robust way, you've got to change the dynamic on the battlefield and that's why i've been supporting all along direct assistance. we don't have to do the fighting. we don't have to send troops. but we need to help the fighters. now, the question of vetting, i'd say this. is it very difficult to do the kind of vetting we need that would be appropriate and far-reaching and really probing? yes, it's very difficult. but to throw up our hands and say it's complicated and there's so many extreme elements we should just abandon it i don't think makes a lot of sense. i think the delay, though -- and i criticized the administration on this, the delay of the progress on these issues of direct help has made it more difficult. there are more extremist groups. they tend to occupy a larger percentage of the overall opposition. it isn't like a couple of years

ago, maybe a year or two ago when the extremists were a much lower percentage. now by some estimates, it could be as much as half of the total. but whatever it is, we've got to find the moderate elements, or even elements that we think are too aggressive, but they tend to be nationalistic. meaning they're focused on syria's future, not some international agenda. so i think it's very important, if we're going to help people, you've got to change the dynamic on the battlefield. >> i would just push back slightly on the idea that the critique comes from this vetting being too difficult. i mean, you don't need to look very far back in our country, afghanistan in the '80s or even what i saw when i was working for the state department in pakistan, where you have units that you may vet and give guns to and it unleashes a genie that's very hard to put back into the bottle. i wish we had more time to delve into these issues. thank you for reaching out to us. and thank you also for

participating in the call to action this week as a reminder to our viewers. we're asking people, starting today, and in collaboration with unicef to fade out your avatar on facebook or on twitter to show solidarity that the people of syria -- senator casey has already done it himself. thank you, senator casey. >> thank you. >> you can go to "ronan farrow daily's" facebook page for all the tools you need. first, up next, that never ending drama that is the oscar pistorius trial in south africa. why prosecutors felt the need to bring the blade runner's bathroom door complete with bullet holes into the courtroom. plus, we have new information on that explosion in harlem. that is right after the break. stay with us. seriously? the last thing you need is some guy giving you a new catalytic converter when all you got is a loose gas cap. what? it is that simple sometimes. thanks. now let's take this puppy over to midas and get you some of the good 'ol midas touch.

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welcome back. we want to update you now on some breaking news that we've been watching all day. an explosion has destroyed two five-story buildings in new york

city, and at least two people have been killed and 24 injured. more than 250 firefighters are at that scene right now battling the five-alarm fire caused by what is what apparently is an explosion. new york city's bill de blasio says the explosion was caused by a gas leak. just learned that the national transportation safety board is sending a go team to the site of the explosion. also this hour we've learned the explosion caused weak seismic readings at the observatory at columbia university. maybe further signs of instability. we'll keep following this story and keep you updated with the latest information. all right. but for now, we're going to turn to a story that has also been causing international headlines today, the oscar pistorius murder trial finished its eighth day today and the double amputee olympian was there watching the actual door from his bathroom, one he fired four bullets into, killing his girlfriend. he broke down as he watched testimony about the cricket bat that was used to hit the door after the shooting took place. forensic expert got on his knees

to show how oscar broke the door without his prosthetic legs on which counters the story that he told authorities that he was wearing his legs which he said indicated that he thought it was a pursuer -- thought he was pursuing, rather, an individual who had broken into his home. the defense says oscar would not be able to swing a bad like an able-bodied person and had the experts show how it could have happened with his legs on. why does this matter how the bathroom door was hit? for the answer we'll turn to greater legal minds than me, former prosecutor faith jenkins and nbc legal analyst lisa bloom, author of the new book "suspicion nation, inside the story of the trayvon martin trial and why we continue to repeat t."welcome back, lisa, and welcome, faith. >> thank you. >> i'll start with you, lisa. prosecutors want to prove that this murder was pre-meditated. how does the angle of the bat help with that?

>> any time you can show that the defendant was lying about details of the incident, that's a benefit for the prosecution, and so oscar pistorius said that he was on his stumps at the time of the shooting. he then put on his prosthetic legs which made him, of course, taller and stronger and more able-bodied and then he -- in that position with the prosthetics on he beat the door down with the cricket bat. so the witnesses who are on today are demonstrating that that's not likely, that in fact he was on his stumps the entire time, that the angle is affected, the angle that the door was hit with the cricket bat, the angle of the bullets is different. i have to tell you though the prosecution seems to have changed their perspective on the case. they are now arguing that oscar pistorius was on his stumps the entire time. that's a change in position for the prosecution. i'm wondering if the judge has noticed that. >> lisa, does the defense have a point that even with his prosthetic legs on he wouldn't be able to hit the door like an expert apparently is what they were arguing? >> i think so, i think so. i think the key question is

going to come down to the screaming and that's what we heard at the beginning of the case. was a woman screaming before the shots rang out? i think that's the most important evidence and that's why the prosecution began with it. >> all right. thank you, lisa. faith, give us the prosecutor's perspective on this. in court the other day very dramatic footage of oscar pistorius breaking down, vomiting apparently as he heard testimony about the autopsy of his now deceased former girlfriend. how does that color the outcome of this case? >> well, when you're looking at a murder trial and you're looking at autopsy photos, it's very emotional testimony, right? someone has died, and they are showing the very graphic nature of that death, and so in these trials people are always looking at the defendant to see how they are going to react, if they have any reaction whatsoever, and oscar pistorius had a very strong one in court. he vomited. he was very loud. everyone in the court could hear it, but you have to understand that why? what was the reason? is it because he's feeling guilty? is it because he's upset? keep in mind, this isn't a jury

trial, so this is a professional jurist hearing the evidence in this case, and she's seen a lot of things and has seen a lot of defendants, and so i don't know if any emotional outburst from him in this trial would have an impact on her whatsoever, like it would perhaps a jury. >> do you think that it helps or hurts oscar pistorius that this is the case that in south africa this is not a jury trial, this is a one-judge panel that has to be convinced? >> you know. they change -- back in 1969 they abolished the jury trials in south africa addressing some of the issues that we see now with our jury trials in america. when you have a celebrity who is on trial, would that have an undue influence on a jury? outside influences, media influences on a case like this one, so in this case i think it actually hurts him because i don't think that celebrity factor is going to be as much of an issue here. this is a woman who was a former social worker. she's a former journalist. she's heard a lot of cases. she has a lot of experience, and

she knows the law, so the focus is really going to be on the facts, and if the prosecutors can prove the evidence based on those facts. >> lisa, last question to you before we go. what's your projection at this point, and in particular given the media frenzy around this? do you think that that helps or hurt the prospects? >> i think it hurts him. i think this judge knows that this case is being watched very, very closely. i think his hot-headed emotional behavior in the courtroom hurts him as well. he doesn't come across as somebody who is calm and in control, and if i'm the prosecution i'm arguing in closing argument that this was a killing that was done in anger. >> all right. lisa bloom, faith jenkins, thank you both so much. teaching me how to be a good lawyer again. glad i paid my bar dues. that wraps things up for this edition of "ronan farrow daily." it's time now for "the reid report" with my lovely colleague joy reid. what's coming up for us? >> great show. thanks very much. coming up next on "the reid report," the malaysian airlines

plane still missing and the mystery deepening. how can a huge plane packed with people totally disappear without a trace? then, chris hayes joins me with the cia scandal. the deeper we dig into the cia, the messier it gets, and we're digging all the way back to the bush administration. "the reid report" is next on msnbc. so i get invited to quite a few family gatherings. heck, i saved judith here a fortune with discounts like safe driver, multi-car, paperless. you make a mighty fine missus, m'lady. i'm not saying mark's thrifty. let's just say, i saved him $519, and it certainly didn't go toward that ring. am i right? [ laughs ] [ dance music playing ] so visit progressive.com today. i call this one "the robox."

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but, first, these are live pictures you're looking at after a massive explosion leveled two new york city apartment buildings killing at least two people and injuring more than a dozen others. president obama has been briefed on this and hundreds of fire fighters are responding to it. >> there was no warning in advance, but from what we know now, the only indication of danger came about 15 minutes earlier when a gas leak was reported to con eds son. con ed dispatched a team immediately to respond. the explosion occurred before that team could arrive. >> and nbc's katy tur is live on the scene in harlem. can you tell us what's going on there now. >> reporter: right now it's still a five-alarm fire. i'll step out of the way so you can see what's going on.