december 11th. then followed up with a formal invitation on december 14th, just this past sunday, president zelenskyy accepted that invitation and said that the u.s. and ukrainians have been figuring out security things and issues and how to get him here safely. obviously, this is something that comes with a tremendous amount of risk. as for what's on the table for discussion, a number of other issues. first, president zelenskyy is expected to arrive at the white house around 2:00. there's at least two hours blocked for the president and president biden to have their meeting, they're expected to have a joint news conference then. and then president zelenskyy will do that joint address to a joint session of congress. now, for zelenskyy's part, we're today, you know, he's expected to thank the americans for the support. they've provided the ukrainians so far. to try to keep up that momentum, as there's some questions in congress about whether or not the spending billions and billions of dollars for ukraine

is a viable thing over the long term. and we expect privately that president zelenskyy will make a personal appeal to president biden for additional weapons that ukraine still wants, longer range weaponry, tanks, f-16s. things like that. as for president biden, he's going to announce $2 billion in aid, including that patriot missile battery for ukraine that they've been wanting. and the question really there is how does the president respond to requests for additional weapons, heavier weapons that the ukrainians wants. and to what extent, mika is peace, an end to the war, a pathway to seeing this conflict. and a topic of discussion between the two presidents. >> all right. nbc's carol lee. thank you very much. let's jump over to ali vitali for the congressional side of things. don't think there will be much pushback in the senate but do you think zelenskyy's address to a point session, might help sway some opinions on the house side

where there is some pushback to more aid to ukraine. >> reporter: yeah, mika, this is a moment where he comes to america and congress at a point where the tides are really about to turn. republicans are about to take control of the house at a moment where there's a lot of conversation about if republicans in the house want to continue pushing funding into ukraine. but it also comes at a point where they're doing their omnibus funding bill. that is making its way through the senate. eventually it will land at the end of the week in the house. in that package right now, $44 billion in funding for ukraine. at least going into next calendar year. that money will already be appropriated. the open question, though, is what the conversation is going to be here after the fact, especially among republicans. many people yesterday, right after this news broke, as i was texting my sources told me they wondered if this was one of the key reasons for zelenskyy's address to congress. not just to come here and what some republicans have said would be helpful, seeing zelenskyy

here, having him explain the true tangible impact of american dollars and american support on the ukrainian effort. but then also pushing ahead to why that support needs to be continued coming here for that in-person appeal that could potentially sway some republicans who could be more in line with stopping that funding in the future. >> yeah. this will be an historic day to watch on capitol hill. regardless of whether some republicans believe that the fight in ukraine, for the safety of the world, is worth it or not. >> yeah. >> there are a lot of other things happening today. up there as well, the january 6th committee releasing its full report. what are we going to be looking for with that? and then, of course, there's that spending issue. >> reporter: yeah, mika, we've got no shortage of news here to end the year on capitol hill. the january 6th report, we've known this is coming today. eight chapters to this final report. but the real news is probably going to come in appendices, all

of the opinions that formed the decisions in the executive summary. is it you read through the executive summary, i know i have combed over it multiple times there are key questions that we think we'll get answers to by being able to read the transcripts and underlying evidence. and who the committee thought were witness tampering. they also mentioned both on monday and in the past, people who weren't forthcoming with the committee. or discrepancies in transcripts. for example, they talked how ivanka trump and kayleigh mcenany were at lower points contradicted by lower-level aides during the deposition. they urged in executive summary for people to go through, read the transcripts and compare and

contrast. s there also possible finance violations, as well as the idea someone who was paying for the witness' attorney and not telling the witness where that money was coming from at that point. a lot of questions that the committee has teased along the way that we might get answers to. of course, mika, there are some pers and many have said this on the air that are not happy about the fact that the transcripts are out there, especially because the next phase is squarely at the feet of the department of justice. we talked about the fact how the criminal referrals are more for the court of public opinion than they are for the department of justice. they're going to make those those decisions whether or not to prosecute on their own. one is not to have the witnesses to bring before them on the graduated juries. know what the people have said in the past. through the transparency of the january 6th committee that is something that we could likely see with the transcripts. for us, it gives us a blueprint, maybe not what the doj wants

either, mika. >> exactly, nbc's ali vitali, thank you very much. we have with us still mike barnicle and jonathan lemire. and host of politics nation and president of the national action network reverend al sharpton. and former secretary of homeland security jeh johnson. and here to talk about the border but a few other issues first. i want to jump back to reverend al and just get your thoughts on watching those sound bites of donald trump saying i'm in an audit, i can't show you my tax returns. we know what people in the new york city area were saying about donald trump and what doing business with donald trump was like. and why some major financiers and many figures in the business community would not do business with him. and now, we find out, after all of these years that he was lying about the audit. does it matter? >> i think what we have is a confirmation that he was lying.

many of us that have known him for years believe if he said -- if he said good morning, we've got an umbrella because it was going to rain on us that day. i mean, that just was his reputation. so, i think for the rest of the country, that they've got the confirmation that -- about his tax situation, for the release of his tax return. but i think what is more troubling is that was this seeming allowing him, as president of the united states, not to do what a president is supposed to do. what most unsettles me, mika, is that people were bending rules and really in many ways deflating the presidency for this man. and more troubling. there's no reason he wasn't audited every year as every president is audited. and i think that is more

concerning to me than the fact that everybody knows that donald trump is what all of us always knew. some of his followers would never be convinced if you had everything laid out on video, but the fact is we should never have lowered the standards of this country and the presidency for someone like donald trump. >> yeah. i don't disagree with you on that at all. let's jump to jeh johnson, if i could, mr. secretary, we watched the january 6th committee final hearing this week. the full report is coming out today. i'm curious what you'll be looking for in that, or what will be of interest to you. and also, just overall, the four criminal referrals. we know the doj can choose to do whatever they want. they can ignore them if they want. they can ignore all of the information coming their way. chances are, they're not going to ignore it. but i'm curious about the mark meadows, dan scavino and others,

how they were handled in this entire operation. and the question surrounding whether or not they have already flipped and are working with the doj. >> that's a good question, i've heard speculation about that earlier on this show. mika, i know from authoring government reports myself, that probably 95% of people who read government repors read the executive summary. so, to me, it was absolutely right tole release the executive summary first. it's 160, i'm sure ali vitali and carol and i are going to read the entire thing cover to cover, but i suspect the essence of it is in 160 pages. i have thought for a long time, mika, that if there is to be a criminal case here, those responsible for bringing that case should really charge the essence of what happened here. don't just go for the quick and easy win, the charge that's easiest to prove.

this was, the very definition of an insurrection. and federal criminal law punishes those who incite the insurrection and those who give aid and comfort to the insurrection. based on what i see and know, that's exactly what donald trump did here. as a former prosecutor myself, i know that the prosecutors at doj are now looking at this report, obviously. but they've got a different task. they've got to figure out what can be proven in a federal criminal trial. what's admissible evidence. an excerpt of a video is not admissible in a federal trial. a defendant has a right to cross-examine witnesses. you can't cross-examine a videotape. the task for doj is to take all of the evidence and figure out what it is can be proven in a federal court that's admissible under the federal rules of

evidence. it's not insurmountable that so much of this record is public. it's been done before. lawyers like to have a monopoly over the record, but it can be done. >> mr. secretary, i also like to get your take on the other story in washington, of course, it's visiting president volodymyr zelenskyy. we've got details at the white house, 2:00, with a news conference, and meeting with a news conference at 4:30, after meeting with speaker pelosi, 7:30 this evening. exactly right. churchillian is a description that came out earlier today, this moment of war, as zelenskyy trying to speak to the american lawmakers and the american public to make his case. what do you think we'll hear from him tonight? and will it be effective for two audiences, one, back in europe, before growing capitals growing concerned about the length of this war and the toll, and secondly at home, to those in

kyiv? >> i suspect we'll hear i need arms, i need supplies, i need weapons to fight the russian militia. two, president zelenskyy and the ukrainian people are the front line in the battle for freedom in this world. and i need your support. if you cherish freedom and liberty, i'm on the front lines. and i'm sure he's going to be a big hit. i'm sure the majority of congress will be highly supportive of his message. and i wouldn't be surprised if he changed a few minds in terms of funding for the effort, in congress. >> all right. joining us now, we have the democratic member of the house ways and means committee, congressman tom swazy of new york. it's a great time to be on.

we learned a lot about the tax returns this week. just this week alone, he's dealing with a lot, tom. the doj, of course, getting the four criminal referrals from the january 6th committee, as we've been discussing, we're not necessarily sure what they'll be doing with them, if anything. but they probably are going to be taking a good long read at the january 6th select committee's full report which is being released to the public today. we can't put aside the documents that he took from the u.s. government to mar-a-lago that, you know, right now, is being investigated, whether he stole them and whether he's returned them. and the criminal exposure that he faces there. but the tax returns this morning are proving a number of things. some basic things, like he lied about being audited. and tell proves a number of things about trump's financial dealings, his financial moves, moves he made to avoid taxes. paying very, very low numbers in taxes in one year, paying zero in taxes.

and also, losses. so, my question to you, sir, is what is the wrongdoing that has been exposed so far here, as these tax returns are finally being released, revealed to the public? what is the wrongdoing that you think needs to be pursued? >> well, the focus of the ways and means committee on this issue has been about the process that's set up to make sure that every president is audited by the irs. they have a rule that was set up back in 1977 that says every president is to be audited or says don't audit me and then go after that president, no fear or favor. every president released their taxes, it wasn't a big issue. when president trump decided to break and not release taxes, people said what can we do here. well, the good news we can count on the irs, they're mandatorily

required to have the president. well, we found out yesterday that the irs is dormant. they didn't pursue the president without fear or favor, like they're required for every president. so, now, we are proposing legislation that every president must be audited -- because right now, it's just a regulation of the irs. it's not a law passed by congress. we're proposing a law that says every president must be audited on a timely basis. you have to have enough resources. the irs had one person looking at one set of taxes from 2016. they didn't look at the other years. and they didn't have any experts. people on partnerships, on foreign affairs, on the different sophisticated transactions that this president was involved in. >> so, why? why was it dormant? why was he not audited? is anyone asking the question and pursuing the answer? >> that's going to be the continuing push because we need to make sure the irs is doing its job on everything that they do, but certainly on this as well.

was it because it was the president's appointee? or was it because the whole system has just been broken down? we don't know the reason that the irs did not do its job. we don't know if somebody called up and said, hey, you know, the treasury secretary appointed by the president, the irs agent -- irs commissioners appointed by the president. do were know if there was a phone call made? or is this just because the whole system is broken down. we had to pursue this in a way that was not political, just to look at the legislative requirements that to do our job, as a separate branch of government, what can we do to ensure that every president, and every vice president, is getting audited. >> okay. but, like, a thought game for you. what are the chances that a presidential candidate who refused to release his tax returns and said he was under an audit becomes president and continues to say he's under an audit, when it turns out he was completely lying and never was?

what are the chances that it was just the irs that made a mistake and didn't do it? >> listen, i've never been engaged in hyperbole related to this president but i can say very clearly, president trump is a liar. and president trump, you know, broke with all norms. and now, we have to do a once in a generation fix to fix this problem that we thought was addressed back in the 1970s. >> so, congressman, can we assume -- i assume we can assume that you've seen the tax returns that you've gone through the tax returns. is that accurate? >> yes. >> okay. so can you tell us about the charitable contributions? given donald trump's lack of character, charitable contributions, how much has he thrown into the pot? did he have receipts for the charitable contributions that he made? what's in the tax returns on that? >> the only thing i can tell you is that his charitable contributions, as reported by the jcp, the joint task commission are not

substantiated. there's very little detail about his cash contributions. there's very little detail about conservations. he's got millions of dollars of deductions. very little detail on a lot of topics which is why we're proposing these fixes to make sure this president is officially audited. this is not going to end today. this is not a two-day story. this is going to go on a long time to fix this process. >> congressman suozzi, tom you and i are from new york, we know each other, a lot of those contributions, i understand, he claimed were in cash which is interesting in and of itself. why was he making cash contributions. i've been in new york all my life, i don't know anyone that ever got one, certainly not in cash, but putting that aside -- is it not something of real concern that he has, in many ways, brought down what we give

as respect, no matter who is in office of the presidency? i mean, you're talking about a guy that became president that just outright lied and just outright just told the rules and the standards of the presidency, they don't apply to them. and those of us who live in new york knew who he was. you kind of hope head would grow into the office, and clearly, he hasn't. so is not the committee concerned about preserving the dignity and standards of the presidency that has been tainted by this trump presidency? >> that's exactly what the concern is, rev. this president has broken with all kinds of norms. and he has for years, you know, five years now, we've been shaking our heads and saying what can we do about this? how are we going to stop this breakdown of our society, where people just break with norms and

nobody is holding them accountable. and to do this the proper way, the chairman of our committee, richie neal, chairman of the ways and means committee, said, listen, we've got to follow the rules here. we can't be political. there are no leaks. he talked about last night, he's very proud of his committee, there's been no leaks from the committee whatsoever. he followed the process and said what can we do legislatively to fix this going forward because we've all been tearing our hair out the last five, six, seven years. we've got to set up procedures, processes and systems to protect us against this type of egregious behavior. that's what the house ways and means committee has done. that's what we're doing with the legislation we're going to be presented to the congress. >> jeh johnson, jump in with a question. >> i don't really have a question. i do have a comment, are there cash payments made for contributions? yes, by people, the jails are full of them. the thing that comes across to me, every time i think about

this, the next rally donald trump does, you know, i want him to explain to coal miners in west virginia, or the steelworkers in pennsylvania, why it is -- look them in the eye and explain why it is i get to pay less than federal income taxes than you, the so-called billionaire? >> yeah. >> you know, jeh, i think the president's most ardent supporters have to agree he's not above the law. he's got to follow the law. he's got to pay his taxes. and that's why the system was set up for these mandatory audits of presidents' tax returns. and you know what, didn't happen. didn't happen the way it was supposed to happen. the resources weren't put towards it. it wasn't done in a timely basis. and people say why do you have to release his taxes in order to make sure there's an audit. because if we just said, oh, we found all of this stuff, we think there's got to be mandatory audits going forward legislatively, people say what are you basing it on?

we're basing it on the tax returns, look at them. >> so far we know he lied bold face over and over about getting audited. congressman -- >> shocking, shocking. >> yeah, shocking. i'm hoping that somebody in sort of trump land, the people who follow him, you know, to the lengths that are hard to even understand, perhaps, see this. because they remember him saying that when he was running for president. a lot of people remember. i'm being audited, you can't see them. i'm being audited. that's a bold face lie. we're finding that out. agency we find out more with president trump we hope the fever breaks for the sake of democracy. congressman, we also want to get your reaction about reporting about someone you ran against in an election. newly elected george santos. they say allegations that he misrepresented his biography

during his campaign. let's take a look at this by nbc news national correspondent gabe gutierrez who has got the growing scrutiny even before santos was sworn in, take a look. >> this campaign was never about me. it was always about the people. >> just weeks after pulling off an midterm upset new york congressman-elect george santos is facing mounting pressure after a bombshell record in "the new york times" that his story may be fake. >> he has spat in the face of everybody in new york saying facts do not matter. >> reporter: all telling nbc news they have no record of santos despite being listed on the biography. and an animal rescue group tax exempt he claims. and how santos lent his campaign $700,000. the paper also reports unresolved criminal charges against santos with fraudulent

checks in brazil. the local gop chair calls the allegation serious. and says he looks forward to santos' response. democrats are now calling for a house ethics investigation. >> he's got to stand up and say whether or not he's been honest. if he hasn't, then he should not be seated. >> reporter: santos' attorney did not respond to specifics for the "times" report but said in part it is no surprise that congressman santos has enemies at the "the new york times" who are attempting to smear his good name with defamatory allegations. robert zimmer ran against him. >> the number of issues in the article are not shocking to us. it was documented in opposition research that we've done in the course of the campaign. >> tom suouzzi, what do you make of the story? >> it's kind of like the two stories we're talking about the president's tax returns and george santos, they're kind of part of the same thing. there's a breakdown in the norms that exist in our society and

you got to hold people accountable. the idea that somebody can lie about where they went to school and where they got their money from. i ran against santos back in 2020. he had $40,000 in the bank. it was in the middle of covid. he's an odd, unusual person. and it wasn't a real race. i beat him by 12, 13 points in a district that's kind of 50/50. you know, we didn't take him that seriously. it became more of a race in the last campaign obviously, because of what was going on in new york state overall. and robert zimmerman said he does some research, the dccc did research. the papers didn't really cover the race that carefully. but it's this anything goes mentality that's been visited upon us that started with president trump. and now a lot of people think they can just do whatever they want. and we have to as a society, and as a culture, figure out how we're going to get back into the

groove of holding people up for office that are really somebody you can respect and admire. and hold people who you can't respect and admire accountable for misdeeds. >> democratic congressman tom s souzzi, thank you. >> merry christmas. >> marry chris macy. still to come on the fourth hour, the investigations into the murder of four idaho college students is now in its fifth week. we'll also get a live report from the southern border, following a new request from the biden administration to end a pandemic-related immigration restriction. plus, a look at the damage left behind after a strong earthquake rattled northern california yesterday. that is all straight on "morning joe."

half past the hour, now to the latest at the southern border. the biden administration wants the supreme court to allow the pandemic-era border restrictions known as title 42 to end. but not until after christmas. joining us now from mission, texas, nbc news correspondent morgan chesky. morgan, where do things stand this morning? >> reporter: and that is a great question. a lot of people are looking for the answer. we do know that with record crossings here illegally on the rio grande on the rise, everyone wants to have something done. but as of right now no compromise is yet to be seen on either side. now it's title 42 likely lasting through at least christmas. some fear only delaying an inevitable mile gration boom. turned away at the texas border. the national guard blocking migrants from entering the united states. one official telling them to try

an official port of entry instead. it's a snapshot of el paso understand a state of emergency, amid a growing border crisis. >> the biden administration has no plan on how to deal with this situation at the border once title 42 goes away. >> reporter: in response to the supreme court's pause of title 42, the biden administration asking the high courts to delay its expiration until after christmas. ultimately, it wants the court to reject efforts by republican-led states to keep the pandemic-era policy in place. in a tuesday filing, it a disruption will likely lead to temporary release of border crossings. >> this was not an immigration of force. we need to get rid of title 42. >> reporter: we visited this migrant camp in el paso, mexico,

until those chasing a better life. do people come up to you and ask you about title 42? >> they don't know what title 42 means. >> reporter: he tell us, over the last year, venezuelans, haitians and nicaraguans have quadruled the size of the tent city. back in el paso, despite dhs and border patrol moving out 10,000 migrants this week along. shelter guard reuben garcia fears an even bigger spike if title 42 ends. >> i think border patrol is going to be processing 5,000, 6,000 refugees per day, possibly even more. >> reporter: for now, they play with a future as uncertain as ever. now, as for the fate of title 42, the supreme court could let it expire per the biden administration's request in just a few days' time. or if the high court chooses

they could take weeks or months to challenge further submitted by states. mika. >> nbc's morgan chesky, thank you very much. former homeland secretary jay jeh johnson. and also adviser to the biden campaign. cristobal gonzalez. jeh johnson, there are not a lot of options here, beyond sending migrants home. i mean, what are they? >> well, first of all, the problem today is way bigger than it was when i was in office seven or eight years ago. the smugglers -- >> of course. >> -- are much better at moving larger numbers of people. one thing i do know, which is still true, illegal immigration is an information sensitive phenomenon. it responds sharply to information about perceived

changes in our enforcement policy here in the u.s. right now, the message we are sending to central america, to mexico, to venezuela, nicaragua is a muddled mess. the courts have become way too involved in what traditionally has been a policy left to the political branches of government. one day, title 42 is on, then it's off. one day, migration -- retention protocols are on, they're off. daca is on and off. it's become really a muddled mess. the challenge for dhs, for the government, for the executive branch of the administration is you have to send a clear, coherent message. if you come here illegally, we will send you back, consistent with our laws and values. i used to say that over and over and over again. and you have to actually show people that we are repatriating people. we're sending them back to central america. i used to literally go to

central america, stand at the airport. greet people coming back on the i.c.e. aircraft bringing to show that we're actually sending people back. that has to be a clear coherent measure. of course, there are the push factors that we've got to deal with. but right now, there's no coherence message. >> hmm. reverend al. >> you know, the thing that bothers me that concerns me that i would raise is how you deal with the humanitarian side and with what secretary johnson is saying is the law and how that's communicated. because i remember when we had the crisis at the border just months ago with haitians. and they were -- you had these officers, i guess you'd call them, that were on horses, looking like whips. i mean, these kinds of things

that really made some of us fly down there to the border. how there seemed to be a double standard with certain people coming from different places. so you also have a donald trump that had played the game of i'm going to build a wall. so, how do you deal with the politics, as well as the humanitarian side and enforce the law at the same time, where you don't look like it's different folks for different strokes by not having it different for different people. but at the same time, you enforce the law in a balanced way? >> good morning, rev. it's great to be with you all toe. your question is exactly right. i'm from el paso, those images that you just saw, they break my heart. you know, folks on the streets. it's cold there, it's 32 degrees this morning. i was talking to my mom last night. and the city is under a lot of pressure. that being said, folks on the border, especially in my hometown of el paso have a nuanced view of immigration,

it's not what you hear here in washington where you've got extreme views one way or the other. it's three-fold, number one, we want folks coming over to be safe and sheltered. and second, it is a humanitarian piece. the inscription on the statue of liberty really does mean something. and folks back home take that seriously. it's a very welcoming city. and the third part of this is really an economic one. we need immigration. thanks to the biden administration we're basically humming at full employment. a lot of amazing things happened. we recovered all of our jobs lost in the pandemic and added another million. we're short 3.5 million immigrant workers. we need them to compete on the global stage in a global economy. it's a very complicated situation. i know the administration is moving heaven and earth to get title 42 lifted, it's that nuanced view and humanitarian ones that's needed, reverend. >> so, cristobal, if i could pursue that concept, because you

very clearly laid out how complicated this is. and on a humanitarian level, it is a tragedy. the economic factors are real. but what are the clear options beyond turning migrants home? what is the policy? and what is the message of that policy that would help solve this crisis? >> i really think it's two things. when president biden was vice president, he was charged with dealing with the northern triangle. we had challenges with irregular migration during that period of time. and the focus really was making sure those countries, particularly the three in the northern triangle were stabilized. that they had a functioning democracy. they had working police. they had things like street lights and a functioning economy. without those things people will flee those countries. and a lot of those folks you're seeing coming across running for their lives. part of the issue is making sure the northern triangle is

handled. sand second part, we keep hearing republicans wanting to talk about a secure border and deal with the issue but they're not coming to the table. the white house asked for $5 million for protection on the border. they're coming back to play politics on an issue that we can't play politics with anymore. >> all right, msnbc analyst cristobal alex, thank you. and former homeland security security jeh johnson, thank you. an investigation has rocked the college town of moscow. nbc's steve patterson has the latest. >> what i want people to know this is a moscow police department investigation. >> reporter: moscow police chief taking full ownership with no named suspects so far. >> my command team is overseeing this. we have 94 years of experience between us. we're going to continue to work

the case. >> reporter: vowing not to give up after the lawyer nor one of the victims' family criticized law enforcement on "today." >> i'm not sure they are capable of handling a quadruple murder. and maybe they should be getting more help. and maybe there should be some different lead investigators on the case. >> reporter: police also said they know about a surveillance video that appears to be in the night of the murders. >> what did you say to adam? >> i told adam everything. >> reporter: police say they've identified the adam named in the video and that he's cooperating with detectives. investigators have been searching for information about a white hyundai elantra that she say was close to the scenes of the murder of four college students last month. police have one car matching a description that crashed in eugene, oregon, some 500 miles from moscow. but they later said the owner is not believed to be related to

the murders. it's just one of a mountain of clues. >> these things take time and make sure they're done. they're looking for a needle in a haystack. >> reporter: hoping every tip brings them one step closer to the truth. >> nbc's steve patterson with that raert. coming up on "morning joe," we'll have the latest from northern california, feeling the aftershocks this morning from the deadly earthquake. plus, new report from the white house about a looming investigation about an incoming house majority into the administration's messy exit from afghanistan. "morning joe" will be right back. ♪limu emu & doug♪ it's nice to unwind after a long week of telling people how liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. showtime. whoo! i'm on fire tonight.

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in northern california this morning, thousands are cleaning up after a massive earthquake rattled the region. damaging homes, roads and businesses. nbc news national correspondent miguel almaguer has the latest from los angeles. >> reporter: with lives and homes turned upside down this morning, aftershocks are still

rattling humble county california. after an earthquake shook the region. >> structural collapse with entrapment. >> reporter: splitting open homes, destroying businesses and severing roads. the quake struck at 2:48 a.m. as most were fast asleep. >> all of a sudden there was a huge boom, everything started shaking. >> reporter: with violent shaking reported up to 20 seconds, the tremor was cited 200 miles north of san francisco, just outside the small town of ferndale. >> this is ground zero. several of the residences have been red tagged. >> reporter: authorities say two people suffered medical emergencies and died. 11 others were injured. as homes slid off foundations, bridges cracked and roadways splintered. more than 70,000 lost power, but for some, there was a warning. state officials say california's my shake app alerted 3 million users a quake was coming.

ten critical seconds before the ground rumbled. while experts say tremors may relieve some seismic pressure, there's no way to predict where the next big one is coming. >> this is just a reminder that california's earthquake country. >> reporter: urging residents to tie down furniture that can easily tip over. authorities say this quake is also a reminder to store extra water, nonperishable foods and medicine before the next big one hits. tuesday's quake came exactly one year to the day, a 6.2 tremor rocked the same area. now, as dozens of aftershocks rattled the region, this is another unsettling reminder tens of millions are living on shaky ground. nbc's miguel almaguer with that report. earlier, we reported on the $1.7 trillion government funding bill that the senate is expected to vote on today. not in that bill, legislation

that would provide a pathway to permanent residency for tens of thousands of afghan evacuees. refugees and advocates can called the move a betrayal, specifically taking aim at republican senator chuck grassley who opposed the measure because he said it failed to address concerns about security vetting of the refugees. meanwhile in afghanistan, taliban leaders announced they are banning women from attending universities. this is the latest in a series of moves to restrict women's rights, despite the group initially promising to govern moderately. the taliban previously banned young girls from attending middle and high school. and last month, women were barred from using gyms or visiting parks. they've also been restricted from most employment and are required to wear head to toe covering in public. the same day it banned women from attending universities, the

taliban government announced it released two americans detained in afghanistan. state department spokesperson ned price commented on the release yesterday. >> this, we understand to have been, a goodwill gesture on the part of the taliban. this was not part of any swap of prisoners or detainees. there was no money that exchanged hands. and the irony of them granting us a goodwill gesture on a day where they undertake a gesture like this to the afghan people, it's not lost on us. >> according to a senior state department official, the americans were flown from to qa. the same official noted qatar's government was helpful in securing their release. they did not prove any other further thfgs on the americans' identities. joining us now is white house reporter for "the washington

post" yasmin, she has new reporting on the biden white house looming for republican investigations into the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan. interesting given that they don't want the afghans brought over here at all citing security concerns or the vetting process, but what can the biden administration expect in terms of questions about that withdrawal, which was quite messy. >> i think a lot of the questions will be ones they have already received in the form of letters or in previous congressional inquiries about the withdrawal. republicans have been looking into this and some democrats since the withdrawal happened in august 2021. the white house and biden administration argued they cooperated with the probes for 15 months now.

they don't think some new bomb shell is going to come out in a gop-led investigation, but there's the fear of just resurfacing these difficult and traumatic moments for the administration. this was the lowest point of president biden's administration so far. this is when his approval rating began to drop. so there's a little bit of a sense of dread, not so much of what could come out in the hearings, but the sound bytes and bringing up the fate of afghan interpreters and story of people left behind and there are a lot of veterans who want answers and are very upset. i think all of that being in the public domain with the option-led inquiry could be difficult for the administration. >> yasmin, what's the sense of anticipation on both sides of this? the administration and the republican-led congress that will be leading this inquiry into the intelligence aspect just prior to the withdrawal. the american intelligence that was provided to the president. >> i think there are going to be a lot of questions about what

advice precisely the president received and what guidance he received prior to the withdrawal. did he know there was a chance that the u.s.-backed afghan government would fall as quickly as it did. did the withdrawal have the potential to be as chaotic as it was? did they rush into it? i think all of these are going to be a huge concern to the republicans. there have been reports released about what advice they believe the president received, that he wasn't completely forthright about. i think a lot of that is going to be revisited. there's going to be because it's led by the republicans a the lot of focus on what did the president know and then proceed with any way. >> white house report for "the washington post," thank you very much for being on this morning. we appreciate it. we'll be back in two minutes with much more "morning joe." uts with much more "morning joe. roc. kitchen? sorted. hot tub, why not? and of course, puppy-friendly. we don't like to say perfect,

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of the hour as we look at skaters outside rockefeller plaza. so. there's santa there on skates. this coming weekend at 5:00 p.m. eastern, reverend al hosts the 12th annual revy awards on "politics nation" tell us about it for your final thought this is morning. >> this is the 12th year we're going the revvie awards. it's a lot of fun, but it's also serious. we judge the main events, the the main issues and players of the year, pro and con, and have some of the reporters and hosts here sit around with me all dressed up. we give our awards out for the good and the bad. >> next year mike barnacle hoping to receive one of those awards. but certainly today is about as busy a day in washington on capitol hill as we remember in a long time. the january 6th report, the budget deal hopes to get done today. we might learn about trump's tax

returns, but ukraine's president is at the white house. it could be a churchill moment. >> tonight from washington, d.c., the president of ukraine, volodymyr zelenskyy, will give us a lesson on how important democracy and liberty are all about. >> true sarifice. that does it for us this morning. jose diaz-balart picks up the coverage live from el paso after a short break. after a short break. before we begin, i'd like to thank our sponsor, liberty mutual. they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. and by switching, you could even save $652. thank you, liberty mutual. now, contestants ready? go!

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