good to be with you. i'm kate yid tur. they are guilty for the first time in 27 years, the government has successfully prosecuted two men, stuart rhodess and kelly megs for seditious conspiracy. . in just over a month from today, on january 6th, 2023, we will mark two years since the former president of the united states,

inspired a mob to march on the capitol and violently force its way in. in that time, we've seen 900-plus charged. 400-plus so far convicted, or pleaded guilty. a midterm election flooded with election deniers, leading to historic losses for the party pushing those lies. and now this. two extremists guilty on a civil war era charge. one enacted to keep southerners from continuing to fight the u.s. government. it is a big win for the justice department, and a battle for other january 6th defendants charged with the same including the crowd boys leader enrique tario and a conviction that raises questions about what might happen to those so far uncharged. roger stone and michael flynn who have direct ties to the oath keepers and the proud boys but also donald trump himself, these extremists said they believed they were acting on his behalf.

we will explore those legal questions with two of our insightful legal minds but most importantly these consequences in the courtroom and at the ballot box send a big message to all americans. here is who we are. here is what we stand for. and here is what we absolutely will not tolerate. joining me now is nbc news justice reporter ryan reilly. you've covered this story from start to finish, we are now seeing the convictions and awaiting the sentence. not a lot of history on the sentencing. what might we expect? how soon should we see dates for the snechbsing? >> there's not a lot of record for us to look back on and see what in the past seditious conspiracy people found guilty of seditious conspiracy have been charged with, have been

have gotten at sentencing and we have gotten a lot more of a record specifically for january 6th to these charges of obstruction of justice, we've seen the sentences handed out in those cases, overall, you know, on january 6th cases, we've seen everything from home detention to straight probation, all the way up to ten years on the high end on the january 6th cases. i think obviously with the charge of seditious conspiracy, and potential exposure up to 20 years, we could blow that oust water but there is not a case to point back to and say here in the past this is someone who has had a seditious conspiracy charge, because there isn't anything in modern history that we've really seen like that. in terms of the timing of the sentencing, typically they have been scheduled out for about 90 days sometimes because of the overwhelming number of january 6th cases, that's gone back a little bit further, and because this case obviously involves so many defendant, five defendants, and these very serious issues that deal with complicated matters involving the federal

sentencing charts, and all sorts of paperwork that you have to look over, to figure out what sentence applies here, as well as potential sentencing enhappen hansments because of the nature of the crime, i can see that getting pushed out further, but as of right now, we don't have anything set in stone for when we will learn how long these individuals convicted of seditious conspiracy will spend in federal prison. >> stuart roads' ex-wife says she can breathe for the first time knowing that he will stay behind bars after this conviction. she did also say though that she believes that he is now plotting his next move. he is going to appeal. what is should we expect? >> i spoke with her last night, and she was, she was indeed worried about what was going to come out here, because she said in the past, he escaped many charges, you know, like he always sort of dodged out and never faced any consequences and this is the first time he was actually facing any

consequences. tasha adams is relieved along with her son dakota that this is something that they can put behind them, and she is worried about him coming home and having to split custody with her other children. so this was a big sigh of relief, i think, for them, and i think obviously, there is the appeal here, but given that he was convicted on that charge and also on the other charge of obstruction of an official proceeding, which also gives him a lot of exposure, i think it is safe to say that he'll be spending definitely at least a few years in federal prison here, no matter the outcome of his appeal. >> to think about what he had done or has done. ryan reilly, thank you very much. and joining me now is former federal prosecutor and msnbc legal analyst glen kirschner inside the courtroom throughout the trial as well and former chief of the counter intelligence and export control section in the d.o.j.'s national security division, david laufman. gentlemen. thanks for being with me.

glen, you sat in the trial. you saw the evidence. you saw how the d.o.j. and the prosecutors used that evidence. what does that say to you? what does it indicate about what we should expect in the next seditious conspiracy trials that are coming, including enrique tario, the leader of the proud boys. >> given the prosecution took a bit of a risk here, because it is not every day that federal prosecutors bring seditious conspiracy charges but they obviously felt like they had the goods, like they could meet their burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and the jury agreed with them. i mean this is a vindication of the department of justice deciding to lean forward a little bit, and take a chance on a case that was not a sure thing. what will these guilty verdicts particularly the seditious conspiracy charges likely do? i have to believe other defendants, oath keepers and proud boys, who are pending seditious conspiracy trials might want to reopen plea

negotiations with prosecutors, perhaps even with cooperation, which will help prosecutors continue to build cases, perhaps for people like roger stone, mike flynn, others who were closely associated with groups like the oath keepers and the proud boys. >> did michael flynn and roger stone come up in this trial? >> they came up freetingly in the testimony. as did donald trump. prosecutors almost never even uttered the name donald trump. why? because the last thing a prosecutor wants to do is inject politics into a trial. if we can help it. but here's the thing, the defendants, katy, did not check their politics at the courthouse door, stewart rhodes took the stand and one of the first things out of his mouth was the election was unlawful and unconstitutional. he went all in on the big lie, which i think gives us leeway to say that this jury's verdict was also a repudiation of the big lie. >> so what about donald trump

himself, david? how might the d.o.j. and the special counsel know look at this prosecution in regards to its own investigation of donald trump and january 6th? >> i think the department of justice investigation into january 6th that is ongoing and under the leadership of jack smith has a momentum and a train track all of its own and i'm sure they capitalized on any evidence that we've seen presented in this case that glen attended, i attended some of it, but we'll have to see how fast the special counsel can get up to speed, and what team he assembles, hopefully he will continue to rely on the career prosecutors who have driven these two investigations as far as they have already, so there is continuity, both in forward motion, and in continued expertise. we'll see the evidence, where it ultimately leads, but it is clear from press reporting that

the grand jury, and the january 6th investigation, that the justice department has been conducting, is very far along and proceeding to the point where a decision about whether to exercise prosecutorial discretion for the first time in american history to charge a former american president may be nearing and that's where the rubber will hit the road for smith and attorney garland. >> part of the arguments put forth on behalf of the oath keepers and the others stormed that capitol that day and the defenses of donald trump have said that this was spontaneous, that this was not planned, this just happened. and one of the arguments that the oath keepers' lawyers made, in talking about an appeal, is that some of the violent language that was used during the trial, the recordings and what stewart rhodes had said and others, it is just the way that they speak. i want to play some of that violent language that we heard. >> you better get your ass to dc

folks, this saturday. >> if you don't, there will be no more republic. but we're not going to let that happen. it's not if. it is either donald trump is bolstered and strengthened to do what he must do, before we wind up in a bloody fight. we all outside of dc prepared to go in if the president calls for it. >> you are with him. if he does not do it now, for he is commander in chief, we're going to have to do it ourselves later, in a much more desperate, much more bloody war. >> much more desperate, much more bloody war. this conviction and hearing all of that certainly at trial, this conviction, david, what does it say about this argument that what happened on january 6th and the breach of the capitol was spontaneous? >> it says that that argument is baloney to put it kindly. there was a pulverizing quantum quality evidence, video evidence, communications, text messages, other communications, that clearly, there was a

pre-meditated effort to bring force to bear on january 6th, to breach the capitol, and prevent the counting of electoral ballots and the jury did not take it is otherwise, they heard the locations in the dc area, it was positively chilling. you cited the historical origins of the seditious conspiracy statute going back to the civil war. how apt, how chillingly apt that we came as close as we have since the civil war to a moral threat to democracy, and as glen said, this case was a flag ship that the government prosecution and that the government prosecution succeeded abundantly in meeting the burden of proof, the jury did not rubber stamp the government's case and they thoughtfully discovered all of the evidence and this is how it came out and it is a fair

representation of what was represented at trial. >> and you say that because there were mixed verdicts for each of the defendants and not rubber stamped. merrick garland will come out and address the conviction. what do you expect to hear from him? >> i expect we'll hear the usual, and that's not criticism, because merrick garland always plays his cards close to the vest. so he will undoubtedly say, you know, this was very vindicating for the victims, because harry dunn, among other police officers, testified and i got goose bumps listening to harry dunn's testimony, where he was but one man, and he testified that he held the line, and blocked a hallway to the speaker's office from oath keepers and other rioters. one man holding the line. so it really is a vindication of the police officers who protected the capitol and everybody in it that day, and also, he will congratulate the

hard working fbi agent, the prosecutors who prosecuted this case, i would say expertly. the d.o.j. gets a lot of criticism, some of it from me, i think some of it from david, because we call it the way we see it, but when they do really a remarkable job representing the interests of we the people, we need to recognize that, and that is what this prosecution team did. >> i know you want to talk about harry dunn, and david, he went to the courtroom for the verdicts, he told the "washington post" that he was emotional, he didn't expect to krirks but he was emotional, talk to me about what harry dunn testified to, and then just if you can, we ended the open with, which is this idea that the election and these convictions sending a message to all americans that we're not going to stand for this type of violence, we're not going to stand for these lies that somehow 2020 was stolen, and a violent insurrection is justified. >> thank you for the question,

and i may get emotional in answering it. as glen saw harry testify to what he experienced that day inside the capitol, he ran up the stairs, when he heard radio reports that there had been a shooting, and responded to the scene within the capitol, and kept encountering these characters in para-military garb, and what he experienced and what he saw rebutted the narrative that the defense tried to promote, that they were there to prevent violence, they were there to protect law enforcement, and his testimony, which had to be found credible by the jury, shattered that defense narrative. you know, for harry dunn and my other client, sarge darnell to continue to give testimony in these trials, it is so difficult, it is so triggering, it is so evocative and so perpetuating of the ptsd

symptoms that these officers continue to experience, but for them, it is an extension of public service, and everything they can do to bring about accountability, that's all they want is accountability, all of these officers, and that's all that they ask for, of the criminal justice system. >> that's what they got in this verdict, that's certainly what they got, this conviction, these convictions. thank you very much, gentlemen, for starting us off. let's go to capitol hill now, and nbc news correspondent ryan nobles. so ryan, this conviction obviously being heard where you're standing. i think it's interesting, and worth bringing up, that as these extremists were convicted, donald trump is still associating with extremists. donald trump, who is still the leader of the republican party, who is running for the republican nomination for president again, and there's still fallout from the nick fuentes dinner from friday night, the dinner with the white nationalist, what you are

hearing today about that? >> reporter: i spent a lot of time on this beat asking republicans difficult questions about the leader of their party, donald trump, this is no different than that, but this time does seem a little bit different, in that you are not having a hard time finding republicans who are willing to say that what donald trump did was wrong in hosting this dinner with someone the likes of nick fuentes and kanye west for that matter. for the most part, they're stopping short of actually saying that it disqualifies him for another run for president. there are a few republicans that will say that, mitt romney and others, but pretty much universally across the board from the house minority leader kevin mccarthy, to the minority leader in the senate mitch mcconnell, every single one of them in saying this is a bad decision for donald trump and should not represent the republican party. whether or not that translates into donald trump's political future still remains to be an open question because mcconnell himself was pushed on the idea that if donald trump was the nominee, would he still support

him, and he refused to answer that question. but he did say that someone who conducts themselves like this should not be the nominee of the republican party. so you know, we have seen donald trump with the back against his wall in instances like this many times in the past. he has found a way out of it. we'll see if this is any different. >> what about the january 6th committee? they have been interviewing people left and right. last time i checked with them they were writing their final report but still submitting interviews, kellyanne conway was there, tony oronato whose name should be pretty familiar, a former secret service agent and white house aide and implicated about the story of donald trump reaching for the steering wheel, prying to get to the capitol. also robin ross, a to be republican official in wisconsin, who refused to overturn the state's election there, when there was a lot of pressure. what is the committee doing? and could perhaps, could we see another public hearing before they dissipate? >> all good questions, and it is pretty remarkable, katy, to

point out benny thompson the chairman told us last night, they are about to put their pens down on their final report but at the same time they're still conducting lengthy depositions with some of the most important key players, the deposition with kellyanne conway, for instance, in excess of five hours. so it is interesting that they're still compiling the information while at the same time attempting to distill it and put it into a final report. but to answer your question quickly about whether or not there will be a public hearing, they will have to have a public business meeting where they adopt this report, just how elaborate that meeting will be, when it actually does get issued, that remains to be seen but it perhaps may be the last time this important committee assembled for the final time here in congress. >> ryan, thank you very much. breaking news for you, the department of homeland security raised concerns about the potential for threats or potential threats to the lbgtq jewish and migrant communities, from violent extremists inside the united states, domestic

extremists, saying americans motivated by violent ideologies pose a quote persistent and lethal threat. when asked if recent anti-semitic remarks by ye, formally known as kanye west, led to a rise in threats against jewish people, any high profile official or celebrity trafficking in conspiracy theories only serves to ignite violence among extremists. all right. still ahead, what herschel walker said about where he lives and, hint, it's not georgia, and president biden met with leaders from both parties, to try to avert a rail strike. what the house just did. here's a hint, with this onscreen graphic, to help with that. and later, the latest from the protests in china. what the government has so far been unable, unable to shut down. you've put your dreams on hold.

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where does herschel walker, who is running for senate in georgia live? the atlanta journal constitution says the georgia a. g. is being urged to investigate, after tax documents showed walker claimed a tax credit meant for residents of texas. "the new york times" reports his wife is the sole owner of their property in atlanta. and now cnn has uncovered comments from walker on the campaign trail this year telling voters, quote, i live in texas. regarding a conversation of conditions at the border. vaughn hillyard has more. that is interesting a little bit of a twist in this runoff. also, vaughn, 300,000 people yesterday early voting, another record, showed that the interest, at least early on for this runoff, is still there.

>> reporter: right. look, one of the voters is herschel walker. he did not register as a georgia voter until august 2021, we should note, but he is making his way here around the state, we just left an event here 100 miles north of atlanta in dalton georgia and making his way to rome georgia, the hometown of congresswoman marjorie taylor green, this is all about turnout at this point. when you look at the numbers from the general election three weeks ago, it was 38,000 votes in which raphael warnock bested herschel walker. and now, the big question here is, can herschel walker convince, especially those conserve tive voters, there are 200,000 individuals here in georgia who voted for brian kemp for governor, the republican, but did not vote for herschel walker, we have talked to quite a few voters here, especially over the last 36 hours. take a listen to a few of them.

>> did you vote for raphael warnock in the general election? >> yes, i did. because that's what i was there to do, and i believe he's the choice for me and he's the choice for a whole lot of others. >> i voted for herschel. i'm a republican. i own my own business. that's how i looked at it that way. >> did you vote for herschel in the general election, too? >> yes. >> so he has to make up some ground? >> he's going to lose in all probability. mr. warnock is a wonderful individual. and i fully expect that he will win. >> that man, david, that voter here who we were talking to, a republican voter, who did in fact vote for herschel walker, said that he believes that trump left a stain on herschel walker's candidacy, and really turned out a great share of the georgia electorate. we saw in 2020, the day before that runoff, in which donald trump showed up on the campaign trail with kelly leffler and

david perdue who lost their runoff races. democrats, especially black voters turned out in a greater share in the 2021 runoff than they did in the two months prior in the 2020 election. democrats need that sort of turnout now. but when you are talking here to republicans, who are affiliated with herschel walker, i was having a conversation a day ago with rafael reed, making the case that brian kemp, the governor here, now on the campaign trail with herschel walker and trying to boost the republican's candidacy, that perhaps they can close that 38,000 vote gap and if all things are eekle from the general election to the runoff, perhaps they can make up that difference and convince just enough conservatives that herschel walker is worth a six year term. >> and that is why you asked the question of the gentleman, did he vote for walker, and he said yes and how about the general and the election and fascinating to say that warnock is a wonderful person and he will probably win. vaughn hillyard, thank you very

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robitussin. the only brand with real honeyand elderberry. the house voted on two measures today, in an attempt to avert a major rail strike, with 290 nays, the house played a labor deal brokered by president biden back in september. this agreement includes a pay increase for workers but does not include the multiple days of sick leave that the unions want. the sick leave days were voted on in a separate measure today. that bill, which would give workers seven days of sick leave, passed with a slimmer margin, 221 yeas, both go to the senate. ali vitali and punch bowl co-founder jake sherman. two bills going to be the senate. bernie sanders made it clear where he stands. what are you expecting? >> he's also not standing alone. there are of course multiple

democratic senators who are on board with what bernie sanders is pushing for which is more days of paid leave which is what the house itself just passed in the last little while here and also there are some republican senators who said they would be back what bernie sanders is pushing for, josh hauly and ted cruz, so just the idea here that the political spectrum is not necessarily aligned from right to left, but instead, in some cases, a circle, but at this point, the numbers game gets difficult when it goes to the senate side. the house may have been the easy part here. nevertheless, we are likely to see this go to a vote, and as of right now, if i'm doing an unofficial whip count, i don't see you have the ten republican votes that democrats would need to get on board with the paid sick leave days that they're pushing for here, but you know, there's still some time here before we do that vote. but the unofficial count, by my count, it probably wouldn't pass. but things change here all the time. >> jake, marty walsh is going, the labor secretary, and pete buttigieg, the transportation secretary, will go to speak to

senators on, or tomorrow, ahead of this vote. are they likely to change any minds? >> it is, the big question is whether bernie sanders says i'm going to vote against or block the main agreement, that agreement that the house just passed, that biden brokered agreement, and if i don't get the paid sick leave provision in that legislation, and whether he has kind of the stiff spine he needs to get to block it. i just, it's really difficult to see democratic senators at this point plunging the railroads into a strike because of this paid sick leave provision. i don't think it's impossible. alexandria ocasio-cortez, i spoke to her earlier today, and she indicated it is a showdown and they will fight tooth and snail for this. i think it is hard to believe. listen, every single senator, every republican, every

democratic senator and member of the house i've spoken today is not happy with joe biden. they think this is a bad deal for unions and they believe unions should be fighting harder for the seven paid sick leave days but again, in the middle of an inflationary cycle, where we're right on the brink of christmas, i can't see senators holding up this deal. but it's fluid at this point. i think we'll have to see in the next day or so. >> we'll watch. it let's talk about leadership in the house. we've got some news on the democrats, but i do want to start with the republicans, because there are still questions about what's going on with kevin mccarthy. and whether he has the votes. if he doesn't have the votes, is it steve scalise as leader or speaker? >> we're really early, katy. we are 30-something days early in congress time. a superbly interesting race right now as mccarthy tries to lock up the 218 votes he needs

to become the speaker. now everybody is looking for deals. everybody is looking for concessions. and the next logical choice is steve scalise but kevin mccarthy believes he has republicans who will vote for nobody but him and five or seven of him who are out there saying she not be speaker. of course scalise is the next logical person but there is no movement that i can discern, from spending to many hours in this building to rally around scalise. >> what about the republicans who are saying they are a firm no? no way, i'm not going to vote for kevin mccarthy, and not going to happen, it's got to be somebody else. when you're in this, what do you call it, the standsoff, you know, when you play a game of chicken, who is going to win here, is it the republicans who are saying absolutely no, kevin mccarthy, never, never, never, or the ones who are saying i

will only vote for kevin mccarthy? >> well, they think kevin mccarthy will never get out of this maze, katy. i only hear two republicans saying they are hard never mccarthy-iers, matt gaetz and bob good, everybody else seems to be open at least somewhat to some sort of deal. and i would say this. the tremendously interesting thing right now is in 2015, the last time kevin mccarthy tried to be speaker, the outside conservative voices, which are so powerful in the party, were against him. firmly against him. thought he was a scrub. thought he was a nothing. thought he should not be speaker. this time, they're all behind him, behind steve bannon, who no one really listens to anyway. so what they're trying to do here, what mccarthy's team is trying to do is to really isolate the people who are hard-nosed and make them seem out of touch and blocking the will of the other 220, or 218

republicans who are for mccarthy. now, gun to my head, i don't know if mccarthy is going to be speaker, i couldn't guarantee that. he is by far at this moment the leading candidate. there is absolutely no question about that. but when it gets to the house floor, we'll have to see if he can get 218. but we are a long way from there, and we'll have to see what happens in these next couple of weeks. >> i will continue bouncing around the room following these developments. ali, let's talk about the democrats. the top three spots are locked in. we know who the leadership will be. but what is an interesting battle right now, between clyburn and sicily, for the number four spot. what is happening there? >> we're going to see when that vote comes to a head later this week, if they are able to mount a challenge to clyburn but most of the members we have been hearing from say they are backing clyburn. the only remaining member of the outgoing trio of leadership,

pelosi and hoyer, both say they will stay in congress, but of course, step down from leadership, really paving the way for this new trio of leaders that many of the democratic members i have spoken to today feel are a superb mix of people to lead them forward into this next phase, both for democrats here in the house, who are seeing really for the first time, in over a decade new faces leading their caucus. but then also, ushering in this new moment of divided government in washington. we're talking about what it is going to take for kevin mccarthy to actually get that 218 votes that he needs. but governing is going to be difficult as well. that's something that jeffries and the rest of his leadership team are well aware of. >> absolutely. ali vitali, thank you very much, jake sherman, you too. and coming up, what china is doing to clamp down on the tens of thousands of demonstrators still protesting the covid lockdown rules. first though, deadly storms leave a trail of destruction in the south. the threat is not yet over. yet r

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at least two people are dead after a night of dangerous weather swept across the south. multiple tornadoes across the louisiana and mississippi alabama areas forced residents to take cover overnight. thousands are now without power. as officials work to assess the total damage. millions of people remain at risk as that massive storm system makes its way east. joining me now from jackson, mississippi, nbc's sam brock. so sam, it does not look good out there. >> no, it doesn't, it is one of those things where it is never not jarring, it is never something you look at visually and think this is normal. because it's not. we're in steve, mississippi. and as we widen the scope here and you look at the debris field, it's almost as if a person just lifted up the structure around this outhouse and just flung it somewhere else on the field. you can see all of the items still stacked there and you have

shredded wood everywhere and aluminum siding wrapped around trees. that is the normal. we are not talking about a long track tornado either. this is one that touched down for a number of minutes, and really affected about 15 or 20 homes. three minutes. that's the number to keep in mind. and i'm directing you over here, because this house, i spoke to the owner, a 76-year-old man named james brown, he lived here his entire life and he was here last night by happen chance, realized what was going on and decided to go into his bathroom. look at the rest of the house, the patio, the carport, the living room, all demolished. he was in the bathroom and the bathroom is untouched and the bedroom next to it also fine. he described the realization of what it was like being inside that room, not knowing if he was going to make it through the night. here is what he told me. >> it was terrifying. i mean it was terrifying. the noise was unbelievable. it was just like they say, it is like a train, i felt safe around that. >> what evidence did you have that you were going to live through this?

>> just that may the good lord told me i needed to survive. >> that's unbelievable. and there were reports of 30 or so tornado sightings and sometimes counted multiple times, the same tornado, and once folks get their feet on the ground to assess the damage we'll find out in the next day or two what the real number is but it was certainly devastating for this part ofwell. >> the tornados are some of the most incredible and unpredictable weather phenomena out there. just to be able to see that residence behind you, where half of it is destroyed, and the other half is untouched, it's completely insane, and that man is just so lucky to be alive today. sam brock, thank you for that. and chinese authorities are cracking down on widespread protests over the deeply unpopular zero covid policy. several universities have closed their campuses, some streets in major cities are walled up, and others, police are conducting random spotchecks through phones

to see if people maybe connected to the demonstrations according to their social media and seeing what apps they have. online videos also show people clashing with riot police in white haz-mat suits on tuesday night. but in a rare break to stop the biggest wave of civil disobedience mainland china has seen since tiananmen square in 1989, two of the largest provinces in china have now announced covid restrictions will be eased. joining me now is nbc's raf sanchez. so raf, one of the things that china has been unable to do so far is to stop these videos from surfacing on social media of the protests. i mean this is a place that has cracked down on the internet, and yet people are still getting these images out. it is also remarkable to hear that there is some easing of restrictions, and it seems like, in response to these protests. >> yes, katy, it is extraordinary that these videos are seeping out, given the

amount of money, energy, time, the chinese government invests in censoring social media, i was speaking to a chinese friend yesterday, she said she thinks these protests probably are dwindling in the short term, but this bale can't be unrung, and no one is going to be forget that they saw a video of people standing in the center of shanghai calling for the downfall of the chinese communist party and the downfall of president xi jingping. now we are seeing kind of a contradiction at the moment. the protests continuing, and at the same time, in some places, these covid restrictions being eased. that contradiction playing out in one city in one example, guangzhou, pretty serious violence there overnight, we saw crowds confronting authorities, in haz-mat suits, they were throwing things, those authorities, police officers, presumably, kind of rolling legion-style, using their riot shields to try to move down the street against the crowd. we saw people smashing shop windows, so this is a real

escalation than sort of chanting on the street. and then at the same time, in guangzhou, the covid restrictions are being eased. and what is so extraordinary about that is they are recording something like 7,000 new covid cases a day right now. katy, a month ago, if a city was getting 7,000 new cases, that entire city would be in lockdown. the chinese government now seems to be going the other direction and actually easing restrictions. katy? >> raf sanchez, thank you very much. and the united states men's national team secured their spot in the knockout stage of the world cup yesterday. with a win over iran. christian scored the winning goal but on the play he collided with the goalie and has a pell vision contusion. we saw it in realtime. it was painful. and he stayed down for a number of minutes. he says he will play in their round of 16 game against the netherlands on saturday. now, if the u.s. wins, it will put them in the quarterfinals for only the second time ever.

the quarterfinal appearance in 2002, when they lost a very close game to germany, 1-0. it is a big if. they have to get past the netherlands first. but a big win yesterday nonetheless. coming up next, royal business, what brought the prince and princess of wales to boston? after a disaster, you don't just want something new, you want what's yours. that's why tide loads of hope is expanding to provide clean clothes to more people in crisis. with every purchase of tide hygienic clean you can help too. with fidelity income planning, a dedicated advisor can help you grow and protect your wealth. they'll help you create a flexible strategy designed to balance growth and guaranteed income so you can enjoy the life you've created. that's the planning effect. from fidelity.

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it's subway's biggest refresh yet! william and katherine, the prince and princess of wales are in boston today for the first stateside trip in eight years, after the royals will meet with mayor michelle wu and ambassador caroline kennedy during a welcome at city hall. they are here ahead of the earth shock prize award ceremony and initiative founded by william in 2019 to highlight organizations tackling climate change. joining me now from boston, nbc news international correspondent keir simmons. i hope the weather is treating you okay up there, this is the first trip in eight years and obviously pretty celebratory but there is a cloud hanging over it now. what's going on? >> reporter: that's right, it is raining here, as we wait for them here at city hall, and that

weather, i think it is something of a metaphor, because just as they arrived here to reintroduce themselves to america, as the prince and princess of wales, a new rau at buckingham palace, a woman who was a long time aide to queen elizabeth, the godmother to prince william, she was until today one of the new aides for queen consort camilla. she has now left that post. she had an exchange with a charity event at buckingham palace yesterday in which she repeatedly demanded to know where this woman was saying and this woman was saying she was from charity, from a london and i will read you a little bit more of the exchange. the aide, the royal aide asked, what nationality are you? she said i'm from here, i'm british, but where do you come from? where do your people come from?

and now, clearly, that has been received extremely and she tweeted her out of that exchange and a spokesman for prince william here saying racism has no place in our society, but of course, katy, it is the second time william has answered questions about an allegation in the royal family, the last time when the oprah interview of harry and meghan said a member of the royal family had asked what color their children would be and harry and meghan are expected in new york next week, fighting racism. here we, are waiting for the prince and princess of wales, william and kate it arrive here in boston, and for the first time in many, many years, and they're hoping that the headlines will be positive about their charity, and a spotlight on that, but unfortunately right now the headlines are from back

home and they're not good. >> keir, thank you very much tell that reporter next to you to pipe down a little so we can hear you better. thank you. enjoy boston. and that's going to do it for me today. hallie jackson picks up our coverage next. llie jackson pick coverage next. strong soothing... vapors. help comfort your loved ones. for chest, neck, and back. it goes on clear. no mess. just soothing comfort. try vicks vapostick.

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