♪♪ good to be with you. it's 11:00 a.m. on the east coast, 8:00 a.m. on the west, i'm steven romo with another hour of news this monday.

first, new year, new congress and new problems for kevin mccarthy as he struggles to secure the speaker's gavel. the pushback he's getting from his caucus with time right nowing out to secure the votes he needs before republicans take control of the house. it's one of the busiest travel days for what has been one of the craziest travel seasons in recent memory. ahead, we're on the ground at one of america's busiest airports. and you'll want to turn up the volume for this one. who stands to benefit from new big changes for retirement plans and student loan payments this year? how it could affect your bottom line. plus, the new restrictions for women in afghanistan that groups say will cost lives. about 25 hours from now, the 118th congress will convene with republicans in charge of the house of representatives. but it's still far from certain who their next speaker will be. nbc news has obtained a letter written on sunday by a group of nine current and incoming house

republicans expressing skepticism over mccarthy as the new speaker saying he is not done enough to address their specific concerns. but the fight over the speakership isn't kevin mccarthy's headache alone. he also has to deal with the controversy surrounding george santos who has admitted to lying about parts of his background. last week, santos apologized for, quote, embellishing his resume. nbc news has reached out to santos and republican leadership for a comment on this but have not yet received a response. with us now to talk about all of this, allie raffa, geoff bennett, donna edwards, and susan del percio. they're all msnbc contributors. what do the hold outs want from

mccarthy here? >> reporter: that's what's still unclear at the moment and that's what kevin mccarthy is talking to these members about and asking them the same question right now as he tries to lock in every ounce of support he knows he's going to need before this make or break vote tomorrow. in this letter by these nine house republicans, they're saying that mccarthy is too late in making these concessions that he's already made. he's really missing the mark as a whole and they're also saying that, you know, after nearly 15 years in gop leadership, he is part of the problem and they're looking for someone else to be part of the solution. this is, steven, after all coming after mccarthy made some key concessions over the past few weeks so these far-right holdouts in the republican party in exchange for their support. concessions that could make mccarthy even more in a vulnerable position if he is elected speaker tomorrow. he knows this is going to come down to a tricky game of

numbers. he has to reach 218 votes to win this and right now you have these nine house republicans in this letter in addition to five that have been publicly opposing him for months now, so the numbers are not adding up as of right now for kevin mccarthy. >> pretty incredible those concessions and also incredible that they may not be enough. as the "politico" playbook pointed out this morning, this doesn't look good for republicans as one lawmaker told "politico," we're supposed to be hitting the ground running here, but instead it's just a big belly flop. just how bad could a long, drawnout fight for the speakership, just how bad would that be for republicans? >> well, it would be very bad because that means the business of the house could not be conducted without a speaker elected. and, you know, there's something called a strong minority. we saw that with nancy pelosi in 2016. and kevin mccarthy is proving

that there could be such a thing as a weak majority. because no matter who decides to -- whoever is decided upon to become the next speaker is probably going to have to adopt some of these rules from the far right which will mean they will always be looking over the shoulder and they'll never be able to put forth a real legislative agenda. >> geoff, that same lawmaker who spoke with "politico" also said a big fight over this would just aggravate people. if all this is going to do really is cause some aggravation, why do it in the first place? >> why fight over who is going to be the next speaker? it's because it speaks to the fractious nature of the republican caucus. kevin mccarthy rose to the top because he's a fantastic campaigner. there are a number of republicans who owe their careers to him. but in this congress, with such

a small margin, he needs -- he can't lose more than four votes. right now there are between five to ten republicans who are saying no, and they're saying no come what may. mccarthy's office released a package for the next congress last night brimming with concessions, steven, to the far right of his party, and even that is not good enough. and so this could be a scenario tomorrow where it goes to multiple ballots on the house floor, it devolves into a fight. we haven't seen a speaker's race go to multiple ballots in 100 years. we're watching to see if these never kevin republicans, will they then come around, or will they be a hard no to the very end? and then it becomes a real mess because there is no viable alternative on the republican side. >> and brendan buck who worked for two republican house

speakers pointed out that no matter who ultimately emerges as the top house republican, the prolonged spectacle would lead the majority damaged from the start along with the institution of the house itself. so just what would a drawnout fight like this, what would it mean for the house as an institution? >> every hour that goes by when this decision is not solidified on the republican side begins to weaken that majority that's coming -- that's coming in. and i saw when speaker boehner lost 28 votes and when speaker ryan lost nine votes in their bid to become speaker, they had wider majorities. that but that weakened them and it met that a lot of deals had to be cut with the minority on key issues like the debt ceiling or appropriations and things like that, and so i think whether or not kevin mccarthy gets those votes, he is going to be -- if he gets them, he's

going to be a very, very weak leader. if he doesn't get them, it will continue -- it will be the beginning of the chaos that is going to ensue throughout this next 118th congress under republican leadership. and, susan, i wanted to talk to you about representative-elect george santos. he takes the oath of office tomorrow. so what is the thinking here for republican leaders? do they think that this situation could just sort of blow over and go away with time? do we know how other leaders -- what are they thinking here? >> well, you're absolutely right about kevin mccarthy. george santos made one smart political decision and that was saying he would back mccarthy and support his speakership. now moving forward, the most likely scenario is that santos is told we're not going to put you on any committees until this is sorted out. that's the only option that

republicans have to sideline him but not necessarily put it up to a vote to see if he should be expelled. >> patrick leahy who joined the senate after watergate talked with nbc's frank thorp and said he was worth about another constitutional crisis, telling frank, here's a man who doesn't believe in the constitution, has probably never read the constitution, i'm talking about trump, who announced just a week or so ago, well, we should set aside parts of the constitution. but we have someone who has been in the senate now for 50 years saying that his biggest threat to our country could see another constitutional crisis over this. other lawmakers have also said they've had deep concerns about the country, where it's headed politically over the past few years, what should we take away from all of this. your people use the phrase constitutional crisis all the time. i don't want to become numb to that. what are we actually looking at here? >> it's interesting. and to hear someone like patrick

leahy say that, i think should make us all take note that the fight for democracy continues. and even though in the last major package that the last president passed rewrites the electoral count act, the provision that donald trump sought to use to overturn the election. the effort to make sure that our elections are protected and that the counts are accurate and favor, that it all goes on. >> ali, i want to get back to you with more news we're getting in today. today is the final full day of work for the house january 6th committee and a long road it has been. and they've issued their report now, the recommendations and they just dropped a fresh batch of interview transcripts. what can you tell us about that? >> steven, this has been a slow drip of these tranches of

transcripts that the committee has been releasing really over the past week as they prepare to dissolve -- as they prepare to dissolve when this new congress is sworn in tomorrow. we saw several key parts of these transcripts reveal some admissions as far as security failures into the attack on the capitol when the transcripts were released last weekend. in the latest batch, we have transcripts from testimonies from people like mark meadows, dan scavino, ronna mcdaniel, kellyanne conway, some people within former president trump's inner circle who played a huge role in the committee's over a yearlong investigation. these transcripts now under the watchful eyes of some of our producers who are sifting through them as we speak. >> more to come from the transcripts. thank you all for being here. well, it's the bookend to a busy holiday travel season and a chaotic one it's been.

113 million americans hit the road and took to the skies for what aaa estimates will be the third busiest travel season since they started tracking these figures since 2000. and to historic weather and that unprecedented travel meltdown for southwest airlines, many americans hope to just leave all that chaos behind in 2022. antonia hylton is at laguardia airport in new york city. thanks for joining us this morning. what are you seeing there right now? i know a lot of people are tired of all the ruckus for air travel. >> reporter: that might be even be an understatement. people are tired but they're also actually in a pretty good mood because it seems like the systems have course corrected. most people are not flying southwest. some people are shaken by what they saw happen this past week. people describe waiting in airports for 12 hours.

making it barely in time to join their loved ones for the holidays. but right now they say things are smooth. i've spoken to people who are going to d.c. and the opposite side of the country right now, and it looks like delays and cancellations are more in the hundreds than the thousands, and they're hoping that this is, you know, going to continue through the rest of the week as people kind of make their way back to their different places. take a listen to some of the conversations i had with travelers today. >> i made it here just in time. if i would have left the next day, i would not have made it. every flight was canceled. >> it's a little disappointing. i've always had really positive experiences with southwest. with their -- i don't know if it's computer glitch or their whole system and everything else. when people -- two days, three days, four days, that's disappointing. but my experience has been pretty good with them. systems seem to be mostly back to regular business.

southwest has really a reputational and trust issue on its hands right now. of course, they're facing a federal investigation. the department of transportation is going to be ensuring that they follow their own required customer service guidelines and make their customers whole. but there are people that we've spoken to today who said they might not book a southwest airlines flight again. they have a different relationship with the airline now and it's going to change some of their decision-making. and that kind of reputational fallout could take months or years to repair, steven. >> my husband and i were some of the southwest passengers who were stuck at an airport trying to sort all of this out. >> reporter: sorry. >> flight attendants and workers are dealing with this. a lot of people struggled with this situation, a lot more to come on this. thank you for that report. rescue crews in california are still out looking for people trapped in floodwaters after a levy break flooded sacramento

county. it's possible that flooding is responsible for at least three deaths. more than 6,000 customers, meanwhile, are now without power. that rain started on saturday and flash flood warnings are still in effect for multiple communities south of sacramento. new details in the killing of four college students in idaho. what the suspect's lawyer and family are saying about it. we're learning more about the suspect in the times square machete attack. what investigators found in his backpack. back backpack you've done the hard part. you quit smoking. now do the easy part and get scanned for lung cancer. if you smoked, you may still be at risk, but early detection could save your life. talk to your doctor and learn more

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welcome back. new details in the new year's eve attack on three officers in new york city. investigators say the suspect, 19-year-old trevor bickford of maine, was allegedly wielding a machete shortly after 10:00 p.m. he swung at their heads before being shot in the shoulder and taken into custody. officials tell nbc news the

suspect likely arrived in new york city by an amtrak on thursday. he had a backpack with personal writings, what authorities called terrorist propaganda, a pocketknife and $200 in cash. in mid-december, he was interviewed by federal law enforcement after being alerted by a concerned relative. kathy park is in times square with the latest. the officers are out of the hospital and they're recovering. what do we know about the suspect's condition right now? >> reporter: yeah, steven, so our producer was able to make some calls a few moments ago and we know that trevor bickford currently is still being held at the hospital right now. right now we don't have any sort of timeline on when he will be released. we also know that charges are pending. a lot of things still fluid. meanwhile, the investigation is still ongoing and over the last 24 hours, we got some new details about the suspect, as you mentioned. he headed to the new york city area on thursday via amtrak and officials were able to get ahold

of personal items, including a backpack. in that backpack were personal writings, terrorist propaganda, he had some cash as well and a pocketknife and then there was a diary that they were able to get ahold of as well. in that diary he wrote that he was prepared to die in the attack, even describing where he wanted to be buried and where he wanted his belongings to go to. we still don't know a motive. obviously, investigators are looking into that, his past as well. over the weekend, our affiliate in maine, they noticed fbi agents going into the family home in wells, maine. a lot of information that is still kind of trickling in. but police are saying that he was the lone attacker and right now there is no threat here in the new york city area after that attack on new year's eve.

steven? >> kathy park, thank you so much for that important update. now to another case we're following. after being arrested in pennsylvania, a suspect in the killing of four university of idaho students is expected to be brought back to idaho in the next 24 to 48 hours. here's the report from idaho. >> reporter: with the suspect finally in custody, the search for was is only beginning. >> detectives arrested 28-year-old brine christopher kohberger. >> reporter: friday, authorities took kohberger into custody on suspicion of the murder of four college students in moscow, idaho. after graduating from university, he enrolled in criminal justice in washington state university, miles from the university of idaho campus and the scene of the murders. he's being held in pennsylvania where his public defender says kohberger was shocked by the arrest. >> he believes he will be

exonerated. >> reporter: the lawyer reading a statement from kohberger's family. >> we have fully cooperated with law enforcement agencies in an attempt to seek the truth and promote his presumption of innocence. >> reporter: he confirmed that kohberger's father flew to washington state to meet his son and made the trip back to pennsylvania with him. >> everything was ordinary and he saw nothing unusual about it. >> reporter: police seized a white elantra from kohberger's parents' home. kohberger was a teaching assistant in a criminal justice class he took in washington state. >> really quiet. very off to the side. he sat in the class, didn't do a lot. >> reporter: two law enforcement sources told nbc news that detectives used genetic genealogy to track down the suspect. >> it broadens the search. instead of looking for that one person in the database or maybe

their very close relatives, we now are looking for second, third, fourth cousins and beyond. the team that did this work had a very difficult task. >> and our thanks for that report. joining us now, dana griffin and also with us a former federal prosecutor. thank you for being with us this morning. what more are we learning about the suspect in this case? a lot of questions about him. >> reporter: we're learning some more information, steven, about people who have some interactions with bryan kohberger who said they had to add notes into a bar system. he would come in and he was very creepy, noting that they had to add notes saying, hey, this guy is creepy. keep an eye on him. he said he would have a beer or two and then would just get a little too comfortable. and that's kind of an image that

we're getting from pennsylvania, the brewery owner there. we talked to some people here, including wsu student who says he was quiet, just stayed to himself, and also a neighbor who said that he seemed normal, but he would make a lot of noise at night that sounded like he was cleaning or moving furniture. steven? >> getting more details. i'm not sure how to piece them all together. more to come on that. the police chief spoke to nbc news about this case saying this about their investigation. let's listen. >> i am certain this is our guy. >> no doubts. >> no doubts. i can tell you is, there's a lot of pieces that came together, obviously. and you will get to see those soon, hopefully. and you'll get to see the pieces of the evidence that we pulled together to get to where we are today. >> so he's teasing the details there. but the probable cause affidavit with the supporting details for

kohberger's arrest, it's under seal until he steps foot back into idaho and gets served in a courtroom with those papers. what are you anticipating from that probable cause affidavit? >> well, i think a couple things. we already heard from the sources regarding the genetic testing. nowadays, we can actually use genealogy to try to piece together the dna of someone by use of their relative's dna. the people who are using, let's say, these dna apps that -- you submit your dna to find out if your genealogy actually are contributing to databases that law enforcement over time can gain access to, but also i think location information is going to play an important role here. we saw that the vehicle was recovered at the scene. that was important to law enforcement. in my experience, in modern investigations, location information is increasingly important and it's -- you're

able to locate whether it's telephones or cars or other things using gps technology and i think that's going to likely play a significant role here. this is a case that probably would have been unsolved 50 years ago or would have taken some time to solve. modern technology has really enabled them to close in on the person here. >> i wanted to ask you, there was so much frustration and mystery surrounding this case when it was first breaking. there were entire tiktok accounts, youtube channels devoted to dissecting anything from this. a lot of the online sleuths were way off on this. but do you think it was the correct decision from the police department to just really say very little about this until they made this arrest? >> yeah, i think that's important, because particularly you have a criminal justice student who doesn't want to get caught, letting the suspect know about your leads and the potential clues that you have is

only going to give him an opportunity to potentially destroy evidence or evade arrest. they played this by the book which is to remain silent about your investigation, to investigate secretly, that's how grand jury investigations are supposed to work in this country, and bring forward your evidence. it's under seal for now. they're saying nothing on the record and we'll see some evidence once there's a probable cause hearing and he'll have his day in court and he's entitled to that presumption of innocence and the proof in court. >> hopefully a lot more details will come when that actually happens. thank you both. to some concerning news this morning. actor jeremy rinner is in the hospital after a serious new year's accident. he was injured while plowing snow in reno, nevada. he was the only one involved in that accident and had to be flown to a hospital from the accident. he's post known for playing

avenger hawkeye and has been nominated twice for an oscar. what now appears to be a major blow against russian fighters in ukraine. we'll go live to ukraine and talk with president zelenskyy's former press secretary about it. you're watching msnbc. u're watc.

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welcome back. this morning russia's ministry of defense is assessing what happened after what they claim was a ukrainian strike on its forces. the russian defense ministry says ukraine used the u.s. provided rocket system to strike one of the bases. russia says that strike resulted in the death of 63 of its servicemen. ukraine has not claimed responsibility for that attack. today's announcement follows a weekend of russian strikes across ukraine as the ukrainian people begin another year at war. joining us now from ukraine is former press secretary to president of ukraine, volodymyr zelenskyy. she's also the author of "the fight of our lives: my time with zelenskyy." what do you make of this news

this morning of what appears to be the largest loss of life for russian forces so far? >> well, yes, thank you for having me. let me say that the fight here continues and, of course, ukrainians must fight back, must fight russians for trying to make the constant shelling of ukraine's territory just an everyday routine. so we are very happy to have the air defense provided from the west. what this means, we are able, actually, to defy russian military that occupies a huge amount of ukrainian territory and who shells us every day. i don't know if you read what happened here, but i spent here the new year eve and russians were shelling -- we were hiding in the bathrooms and all our neighbors. the missiles were hitting kyiv all the time, everything was

trembles here. we had a lot of wounded people, we had a lot of dead people. this is how we spend the new year and the 1st of january. so of course the fight continues and ukrainians are fighting back the russian occupying army. the russian ministry of defense hides the numbers because they don't want to talk about the huge losses they have in ukraine. >> during zelenskyy's surprise visit to washington last month, president biden said the u.s. would be giving ukraine the patriot missile defense system. how important would that be? >> this systems, they actually have a larger territory with which we can fight. and they provide more capacities for ukrainians. let me say that we as a nation

never attacked anyone and who has not been at war since world war ii, we did not focus much on development of huge military weapons. so the -- together with other air defense systems, they provide us the opportunity actually to preserve the lives of civilians here and help us actually to regain the territories that they have. you know, probably that russia occupied 28% of ukrainian territory. so the latest number was that ukraine already has liberated 40% of the territory that russian has occupied since the territory. a lot of people who stayed there are under occupation and my parents stayed under occupation. my aunt and my uncle, you know, they were there for eight months and now they are free. they are liberated.

all of this is happening only thanks to the western military equipment, to the weapons, and, of course, the american government to provide us more military and to stand with us as much as needed is crucial for ukraine to be an independent country and fight with independence and win. >> as we quickly approach the one-year mark for that russian invasion, thanks so much for your time. >> thank you for having me. well, up next, the new year means new rules for saving for retirement. what workers and retirees need to know. plus, a look at the people of color who broke barriers in 2022 and continue to do so for years to come. years to come. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein. boost® high protein. now available in cinnabon® bakery-inspired flavor. learn more at boost.com/tv not flossing well? then add the whoa! of listerine to your routine.

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as your hepatitis b may worsen or become life-threatening. serious or life-threatening side effects can occur, including allergic reactions, lactic acid buildup, and liver problems. if you have a rash or other allergic reaction symptoms, stop dovato and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have kidney or liver problems, or if you are, may be, or plan to be pregnant. dovato may harm your unborn baby. use effective birth control while on dovato. do not breastfeed while taking dovato. most common side effects are headache, nausea, diarrhea, trouble sleeping, tiredness, and anxiety. detect this: i stay undetectable with fewer medicines. ask your doctor about switching to dovato. welcome back. the new year is bringing some big changes when it comes to how you save for retirement. the omnibus spending bill approved before christmas included provisions to help

savings put a little more money away for their futures as well as some help for millions of student loan recipients. brian cheung joins us now for more on this. brian, what does this law actually mean for retirement plans and for people who may be close to retirement or people who may be far away from retirement? >> this has a little bit of something for everyone and, yes, even though it wasn't inside the d.c. beltway story, there are a lot of provisions in there in the secure act 2.0 that have implications for savers and retirees as well. it's going to expand enrollment in retirement plans. right now, it's kind of a default, that you have to opt into a retirement plan if it's available for you. this would actually auto enroll people so there's more participation in these types of retirement plans. you could opt out of the coverage if unwanted. it would increase access for part time workers, it would change the eligibility standards by which people who aren't working 40 hours a week will be eligible for a plan and important to know that there

could be lighter penalties if you have an emergency situation where you need to draw out from your 401(k). you would withdraw up to a thousand dollars a year but it must be replenished after the fact. and it's going to increase the year by which you are required to start to take out money from your retirement plan. it used to be 72. it's going to be 73 beginning in 2023 and expand to 75. >> i also saw student loan changes. what does this mean for them? >> there are a lot of younger people who are starting off work and they would love to participate in a 401(k), but they can't because they're paying off their student loans. what the secure act 2.0 will done as signed into law by president biden last week, it would allow employer match on payment of student loans. treats debt repayment as if you were putting money into a 401(k) where you can get a match. it would be the same case if

you're paying off your student loans as well. it will hopefully help a lot of young people that are having difficulty trying to pay back their student debt. >> a lot of people will want to hear about that one. thank you so much for helping us break that down. thanks. as we enter a new year, we're taking a look at some people who helped shape the narrative of 2022 from the world of politics to the supreme court and, of course, pop culture. people of color made waves over the last 12 months and are poised to continue that in 2023 and beyond. germane lee has some of the major names who made headlines and history in 2022. >> reporter: in 2022 the winds of political power in america shifted and the vanguard of this new american movement, a diverse group of barrier breakers, politicians, policymakers and political upstarts who are not only making history, but making

change. raphael warnock begins 2023 as the first black person ever elected to the senate of georgia. >> the people have spoken. >> reporter: house democrats ring in the new year with new leadership. >> hakeem jeffries elected to lead house democrats in the 118th congress in january. >> replacing nancy pelosi. >> standing on the shoulders of people like shirley chisholm and so many others. >> jeffries is the first african american to lead a political party in either the house or senate. >> reporter: more congressional firsts in 2023 as the demographics on capitol hill continue to evolve. there will be a record number of hispanic and latino americans, more women, more openly lgbtq members and congress is getting younger. maxwell frost, a democrat from florida, with afro-cuban roots,

is the first gen z member of congress. >> it's about experience, where you come from, it's about the way you act, who you are. >> reporter: joining frost, a pennsylvania democrat. she's the first black woman to be elected to congress from her state. mary peltola was elected to alaska's house seat. robert garcia from california is the first lgbtq immigrant ever elected to congress. and increasingly the first republican caucus is heading to washington as well. >> we need black excellence everywhere. >> reporter: after winning a newly redrawn district, wesley hunt will be one of four black republican members of the 118th congress, the most since 1877. hunt and john james were the only nonincumbent winners among 178 black republicans who ran in

2022. wes moore is sworn in on january 18th, he'll not only be the state's first black governor, but just the third black governor in u.s. history. rounding out this historic ticket, miller will be the nation's first ever south asian lieutenant governor. >> thank you, los angeles. >> reporter: votes flexed on the local level. in los angeles, choosing democrat karen bass to be their next mayor. >> it took 241 years for the nation's second-largest city to elect a female mayor. >> i am truly grateful. i have a seat at the table now. [ applause ] >> reporter: the supreme court kicked off a new term in 2022 with a history-making new associate justice, ketanji brown jackson. the first black woman appointed to the big bench. 2022 showed us the power of representation as a way of

moving forward. becoming the first afro-latina to take home an oscar. and one of old hollywood's brightest lights finally getting her due. >> chinese american access an ma anna may wong will be featured on u.s. currency. ♪ part of their world ♪ >> reporter: and rising above it all, one of new hollywood's youngest shining stars, halle berry starring in the little mermaid. not everyone was excited. >> "forbe's" reporting the trailer has 1.5 million dislikes and racist comments from angry, quote/unquote, fans. >> reporter: drowning out the backlash, pure joy.

>> she's black. >> reporter: from pushing the social and political boundaries to breaking through america's most stubborn barriers, 2022 introduced us to those changing tomorrow. >> representation matters. thanks for that report. up next, women's rights in afghanistan are in dire straits. how the united states is trying to intervene. we'll be right back. intervene we'll be right back. ♪ ♪

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welcome back. over the weekend a senior un official traveled to afghanistan to meet with the taliban-led government hoping to talk about the country's ban on women working for nongovernmental groups known as ngos. this is just the latest roll back of women's rights by afghan authorities since the taliban came to power. women have been barred from attending universities across the country, leading to protests in major cities. joining us now is former nbc correspondent atia, also the author of "the secret sky." what have you been hearing from women on the ground there about all of these rights that we've seen rolled back? >> well, hi, steven. when i talk to women on the ground in afghanistan they're

devastated. the common dee mom nater is that the afghan people will suffer. they will suffer under the new mandate by the taliban saying women can't work for ngos and they will suffer because the ngos are rolling back their work in afghanistan, in fact, halting some of that work. the ngos they had a decision that had a double-edged sword. either let afghan women not work, which then hinders their own work in helping women and children in afghanistan, or halt their operations, which in the end will lead to afghan men, women and children unfortunately dying, especially leading up to these tortuous winter months where the country is going to be covered in snow, difficult access to many of these provinces, provinces that are already suffering that can't be reached for medicine or food. so, again, it's really the afghan people that will continue to suffer, but really i don't know what else the ngos could have done. it's either stand up for women

now or let them suffer in the long run as well. >> a difficult situation for those ngos. what sort of effect could the changes have on human rights for women in afghanistan but also for other countries around the world? what sort of fallout could sisi from this? >> so for women in afghanistan this has been one punch in the gut after another since august of 2021, since we saw the international community withdraw. this is going to have devastating effects for them continuously, but for the mere fact that the international community as in ngos that operate around the world are standing up for them this is very important. the fact that you're talking about it right now on msnbc to an american audience is very important to them. their biggest fear right now is that their voices are going to be lost. they want the world to know what's going on at the moment and the ngos by making this decision not only sent a signal to the taliban and afghan people that they will stand up for

afghan women, they've sent a message to the world and other countries that they work in that they can't do this to women. that they will stand up for women. that they will help the women as well as the men and children throughout the world and this is a signal of that by these ngos. unfortunately, again, by them halting operations it will hurt a lot of afghans, but i know that some afghan women are torn by this decision, but they also know that it was necessary. >> such a hard place to be. so what more can the international community do to help the women of afghanistan? >> so we're in a very difficult place where the international community doesn't have much say in afghanistan because the taliban are in charge now. this is -- the international community was full of countries that they fought against for 20 years, but what america and the international community can do today is talk to the allies, to the people working with the taliban, countries like pakistan or qatar who have a say with the taliban, try to convince them to

talk to the taliban about letting their women work, their women go to school just as the women in pakistan and qatar do and other muslin-majority countries as well. >> thank you so much for your insights on that situation. definitely something we cannot just choose to overlook. well, that's going to do it for me. i'm steven romo, andrea mitchell picks up more news after this quick break. a mitchell picks up more news after this quick break. if you have high blood pressure, a cold is not just a cold. coricidin is the #1 doctor recommended cold and flu brand. specially designed for people with high blood pressure. be there for life's best moments. trust coricidin. at booking.com, finding perfect isn't rocket science. kitchen? sorted. hot tub, why not? and of course, puppy-friendly. we don't like to say perfect, but it's pretty perfect. booking.com, booking.yeah. my name is tonya, i am 42. as mother of nine kids, i think i waited this long to get botox® cosmetic because i take like no time for myself.

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