and now a lot more people can. so let's go. the digital age is waiting. a lot of developments as we're coming on the air from washington. the commander in chief turned consoler in chief. a new interview here first.

and george santos speaks. let's start with president biden on the ground. and now in california. landing early on his first visit to see the huge amount of damage from those who have been affected by the storms in that state. our team is there live. also this hour, an interview you will see here first. the district attorney of santa fe talking with nbc news after her stunning announcement. what she is saying about charging actor alec baldwin with manslaughter in that deadly movie set shooting. plus, news from back here on capitol hill. george santos responding to a trifecta of stories that kind of don't seem to add up. we're talking drag queen, a military veteran, a denial over a dying dog. we've got a lot to get to from here in washington and around the country. we'll get to some of the stories in a moment but we want to start with breaking news out of the supreme court. here is the headline. the court says it is not able to identify the person or persons, plural, who leaked the draft opinion that ultimately overturned, as we found out a month later, roe v. wade. and the constitutional right to

an abortion in this country. you'll remember that this was a leak first reported in "politico" on may 3rd of last year, not long before that official ruling came down. i want to bring in nbc news senior legal correspondent laura jarrett and former clerk to justice sotomayor and legal analyst larissa. laura, we will start you with, we appreciate you being with us. what is interesting about, this the court is saying they haven't figured out who did this and it is kind of a non-announcement but the fact that the court is coming out at all to give us this update is still significant. help us understand what they're lying out today. >> well, i think they had to say something, because it has been so many months, since this unprecedented leak happened, and there has really been radio silence from the court and the marshal who had undertaken this exhaustive review, we have a much better sense of all that was done behind the scenes to try to get to the bottom of how this happened. we know that they conducted interviews, with everybody who touched the documents. they went back and tried to look at print logs to see if anything

took it improperly, and the hard copy from the print. they did a fingerprint analysis. they did all of these different things, to try to get to the bottom of it. and what's clear, after they lay it all out, in 18 pages, is that the court perhaps doesn't have the most sophisticated technology to address something like this, and so a lot of the logs were missing, or they just, they couldn't get to the bottom of it, because they simply didn't have the technology to get to it. now, they did consult with outside advisers, outside forensic analysis, so try, but at the end of the day, it is significant that something with this high stakes for the court, that something that has hurt the court's trust even among its own justices, at the end of the day, after months, hallie, they still virtually have no answer. >> what do they do next? in other words this was an update and not the end but what else is there left for the court to do here? >> they say there is perhaps a few follow-up interviews to do, and a little bit more work, it is unclear exactly what is left. and you know, they consulted a

former homeland security adviser michael chertoff and it seems they have come to the end of the road here, that's the bottom line. again, part of the issue is the lack of protections and i think one of the things you will probably see is sort of a hardening of some of the systems around the court, and this sort of exposed, you know, the pandemic, everyone was working from home, and part of it, they say here, is that the person whoever did this, was allowed to do it, because, you know, for so lock long, they operated on essentially a system of trust. and that trust broke down. >> laura jarrett, thank you very much. melissa, let's me go to you. we showed a graphic on the screen about the investigation. is it typical, 80-plus people had access to the draft opinion. is it normal that dozens of staffers would have access to an opinion like that? >> in a high profile case like this, it might be normal, each

chamber has four law clerks and multiply that by nine and it could be the case, with the relevant employees to have that many people. but again, what this all has has an air of final ty, they are putting this to bed and what is standing out to me is how little they found. the preponderance of the evidence standard that the court has here is the lowest court that is used in cases which suggests they don't have evidence for anything. the marshal undertook this investigation, as laura said, it often led to some dead ends because the court doesn't have the technology to log who is downloading what or who is printing information at various times, and they had michael chertoff, the former homeland security secretary, review the marshall's investigation, but he didn't actually conduct his own independent investigation, which i think is quite noteworthy. one of the things that really stood out for me is on page 16, where it isonducting these of the interviewees to sign an affidavit saying under oath that they were telling the truth, and that a number of the employees who signed these affidavits had

to go back and annotate them, because they had actually shared information about the dobbs opinion and spoke about it with their spouses, and it doesn't say which employees, it doesn't specify if it is law clerks or justices but it is notable that spouses and partners were apparently a part of the circle of trust. >> you talk about trust, laura referenced trust, and that in many ways this was an operation that relied on the honor system, if you will, relied on the trust. if the supreme court does in fact move forward now, and after this leak, harden up some of its systems, put more protects in place, to prevent something like this from happening, how does that change the ability of the clerks, the staffers, the justices, to be able to do their jobs, and communicate back and forth, and hammer out some of these incredibly obviously significant opinions? >> well, i mean again, this was a system, i think, that became a little looser, because of the pandemic, as laura said, as more clerks were working from home and justices were working from home, that's not the normal at the court, so again, there are

some relaxing protocols because of the pandemic. now there will of course be a hardening of things. this is very much like what we saw during the trump administration, where we learned that such manufacture washington, d.c. ran on norms, as opposed to rules or laws. and we're now going to see a fixing up of some of the norms, maybe even hardening them into laws and regulations to prevent this kind of leak in the future. >> melissa murray, thank you very much for your analysis. appreciate you coming on today. let's take you out west, where just a couple of minutes ago, quite literally, president biden has arrived now in california, you know a state that has faced relentless extreme weather, for several weeks, these storms, the series of storms, leaving at least 22 people dead across the state, costing more than a billion in damage, something like 500-plus landslides recorded since the end of 2022, since december 30th, 17 inches of rain in the northern part of the state. it has been devastating for so many people. and now president biden is going to look at that damage for himself. nbc news white house correspondent kelly o'donnell is

with us. and we know the president is on the ground. it is one of these situations where the pool of reporters who follows him is with him. we're going to be get be live shots, we will be dropping live shots, it is one of those fluid moments here. talk through how important it was for the president to be there in person today. and what you heard from the white house on that front. >> reporter: well critically important, because the president needs to do a few different things. on a human level, it is about connecting with people who have gone through really remark able period in their life, where they have suffered some catastrophic losses around their homes, their businesses, there will be long-term ongoing problems with trying to clean up, rebuild, and fix things. in a larger sense, there are policy implications to all of this, when it comes to how do you deal with some of these climate-related and weather-related instances of storms that we have seen ratcheting up in their severity. and the costs that keep mounting. whether it is these storms in the west with mud slides and

hurricanes and all of the devastation, so that is part of it, and to be a witness to what people have experienced and to bring federal resources. what he can do with a stroke of a pen but it is more effective to come and talk to local officials and meet on the ground and hear specifically what people need. we have often seen in instances like this where the president will have a briefing, he will be able to put a local official or a real family in touch with some of his contacts, to try to shorten the gap of bureaucratic red tape. >> kelly, i just want to let folks know what they're looking at on the left-hand side of the screen, obviously that shot goes down, i'm sorry, that is annoying, this is marine one, this is the president, we understand that the california governor, gavin newsom is with him on the helicopter there, headed to capitola to look at some of the storm damage. sorry to interrupt. i wanted folks to know what they were seeing. >> yes, that is very helpful, yes. the chance to see the damage, it is always more impactful in

person. pictures never quite do it justice, even as we're able to send images that our team as colleagues and crews have been able to gather over these days. being there in person makes a difference. and also shall the relationships with the governor like gavin newsom who has been a big ally of the biden white house. that is important. the senators, and the lawmakers, who have relationships with this president, that matters for his agenda, it matters politically, and so it's layered in all of those ways, and in trying to execute the kind of services that will be needed, federal help is a part of the picture, especially with insurance in many cases, where it has limited impact for homeowners and business owner, and so how can the federal resources, at least in some of that, ease some of that burden. you're talking about a large swath of california, a state with a lot of natural richness, a lot of crowding, a lot of challenges in is topography, and there is a lot of work to be do

done there. so the president will bring sort of the federal tool kit and he will want to hear the personal stories as well. >> kelly o'donnell live for us in washington. let's take you out to california gadi schwartz has joined us from the location in california. and this is in some ways a terrible kind of ritual for the commander in chief to go to some of the areas of the country hardest hit by natural disasters to see it firsthand, to talk to people whose lives have been destroyed in many ways by what happened, who have lost loved ones, lost businesses, et cetera, give us a sense of what it is like on the ground and the people you're talking to, at least there is the silver liking, silver lining that the storms are over and now the cleanup. >> you said ritual, hallie, it is weird because the last month, there was a ritual of the storms. they kept coming over and over and over again. so normally, after a big storm, we cover a hurricane, the hurricane passes, and after everybody's hunkered down and then they start to rebuild. in this case, many of these places that were hit in

california, they saw the mud slides come through, and they cleaned it up, and then the next week, there was another one. and then a few days later, another one and another one and another one. so the ritual here is an unpredictable climate that seems to be coming more extreme. we've got a drought that is still going on for half of this state. we've got record-breaking inundations in a lot of these places, we have know pack, and the ritual is really the unpredictability of all of it. so some of the conversation that is going to be happening today is how do we harden california to be able to deal with some of these extreme swings of mother nature. and you got people that have rebuilt or cleaned up again and again and again. they're not looking at rebuilding, they're looking at okay, we're going to clean up this mess, we're going to rebuild and then how do we harden. so when we're talking about electricity, that goes into the trillions of dollars. when it goes into coastal areas like this, hallie, let me show you what it looks like behind me, we've got a pier here in

capitola and halfday down through the pier, half of the pier is missing. this is one of the places battered again and again. and during that month, a lot of the drift wood, a lot of the pieces of the pier were basically sitting in this bay and crashing back into shore. so part of that pier made its way into some of the businesses right here in capitola, destroying the -- insides of the businesses. and that is what they're looking at, how to make it stronger for coastal erosion and rising sea levels and lot to talk about with the president today. >> thank you. we know president biden is looking from the helicopter, from the chopper there, at at damage in santa cruz county, seeing what is up in santa cruz county, talking with people who have been affected by this, and you'll be on the ground for us and i'm sure we will talk again later this afternoon. gadi schwartz, thank you very much. we will sneak in a quick break and prosecutors as i'm quite sure you have heard by now, they plan to charge this

guy alec baldwin in the deadly shooting on the set of the movie "rust." what the charges are he could face and the legal defense for him and what it could look like. the u.s. debt ceiling being hit today and how much is being done to try to avoid a default in a few months? we're live on the hill. first, another bizarre thread in the scandals, plural, surrounding congressman george santos. why an nbc news interview with a brazilian drag queen is now part of the story. we've got that in just 60 seconds. e got that in just 60 seconds. ♪ what will you do? ♪ what will you change? ♪ will you make something better? ♪ will you create something entirely new? ♪ our dell technologies advisors provide you with the tools and expertise you need to do incredible things. because we believe there's an innovator in all of us.

(woman 1) i just switched to verizon business unlimited. it's just right for my little business. unlimited premium data. unlimited hotspot data. (woman 2) you know it's from the most reliable 5g network in america? (vo) when it comes to your business, not all bars are created equal. so switch to verizon business unlimited today. controversial congressman george santos responding on twitter from a navy veteran, saying santos positioned $3,000 meant for a dying dog. santos called the claims shocking and insane. i'm quoting but he is not denying them outright making

this a another twist in the saga and the lies swirling around him. and the home district on long island, veterans are pushing for santos to step down all together. watch. >> what george santos did here is despicable. what he's done all along seems despicable. i'm not sure what straw will break the camel's back, but i too call for mccarthy to man up, stand up, speak up, and do something to expel george santos. >> santos for his part still is not saying that he will resign. speaker mccarthy is not doing anything to try to expel him at this point either. i want to bring in nbc news capitol hill correspondent ryan nobles and "washington post" national reporter. i think we talked yesterday or the day before on this show, drip, drip, drip, with george santos and here we are, another day, another drip this. other new scandal that is circulating today, too, about, and i halt to call it a scandal, it is not a scandal to be

addressing, that's not a scandal, santos says he wasn't, but there is some controversy around his past on that front and whether he is actually at thing the truth about it. let me put it that way. >> yes, you know, hallie, i think you're right, that this aspect of the santos story probably doesn't qualify as a scandal itself that he may or may not have performed as drag queen during his time in brazil. >> right, like who cares. >> exactly, who cares. but you know, when you look at santos' record, his positions on a number of issues related to the lbgtq community, most mcly, he came out in -- most specifically he came out in support of that law in florida that was coined the don't say gay bill as an example, he is not necessarily one what one might call an ally of that community. and it is interesting that all of these allegations against him, many of which he's refused to answer at all, he immediately rushed to deny that this part of his biography is accurate and that is what he said on twitter

earlier today. quote, the recent obsession from the media claiming that i am a drag queen or performed as a drag queen is categorically false. the media continues to make outrageous claims about my life while i am working to deliver results. then he claims he will not be distracted or fazed by this. to be clear, it is not those of us in the media that have made, you know, kind of crazy or outrageous claims about his biography. he's the one that has made these outrageous claims about his biography which have later turned out to be not true. but again, as you rightly point out, hallie, it is the drip, drip, drip, adding to this big, big pile of inconsistencies across a broad spectrum of his life. we don't really know who the real george santos is. and this drag queen story, unto itself, not a scandal but when you add it to everything else, it just further murkies the picture as it relates to his service here in congress. >> you make two important points about that, which is number one his policy views, right, and the way that he may act in congress are, on issues that are

important to let's say the lbgtq plus community. plus the truth-telling or not aspect of this as well. and on that, to you, you confirmed reporting of the past 24 hours, that santos' mother was not at the world trade center on 9/11, despite the campaign saying she was in the south tower and died a few years later from cancer. talk us through, and help us understand, based on as best you can tell, from sources in and around this story, what gets congressman santos any closer to having congressional consequences to what he said and done here. in other words, you said at the top of the show, and ryan nobles well knows this, santos says he is not stepping down, speaker kevin mccarthy has put santos on two committees, not a plus committees but committees nonetheless. he is not a pariah in this conference. >> well, he has been seated on two committees, and thankfully, as we have seen for a long time, it is not illegal to lie to reporters. and in most circumstances, it is not even illegal to lie to the

public. now, what is illegal is if you say something untrue in order to get something, usually money. >> like money. >> to people. so that could potentially be an area where inaccuracies, misstaples of fact, lies, could get someone in trouble, and there are several probes looking into whether or not santos had violated any laws, there's brazil, several offices in new york that are looking into the matter but currently as it stands you are allowed to say whatever you want without consequence in very public settings and still get electioned to office. remember, in 2018, rudy giuliani, trump's personal lawyer, told federal agents, it's okay to throw a head fake when speaking publicly. he said that was like an old thing of campaigning and we all remember the new york governor mario cuomo would say more artfully that people, they campaign in poetry and govern in

prose. so there is some wiggle room between what people describe what they're going to do and what they're going to do when they get elected to congress and what they will do once they're there, and santos' misstatements are so vast and so numerous, it's making it more difficult for him to sort of get anything done while he's in congress. >> thank you. good to see both of you. appreciate it. still ahead, some new nbc news reporting about when we may learn about president biden's 2024 plans. but first, new information about the shooting on rust. prosecutors, as you know, say they're going to charge, they plan to, charge actor alec baldwin. we'll talk more about what they're thinking about, how soon it could happened, what else we know coming up in just a minute. owkn coming up in just a minute.

when you shop wayfair, you get big deals for your home - every day. so big, we'll have you saying... am i a big deal? yeah you are, because it's a big deal, when you get a big deal. wayfair deals so big that you might get a big head. because with savings so real... you can get your dream sofa for half the price. wayfair. it's always a big deal. ♪ wayfair, you've got just what i need ♪ [sfx: stomach gurgling] it's nothing... sounds like something. ♪ when you have nausea, heartburn, indigestion, ♪ ♪ upset stomach, diarrhea. ♪ pepto bismol coats and soothes for fast relief... when you need it most. ♪♪

♪ a bunch of dead guys made up work, way back when. ♪ ♪ it's our turn now we'll make it up again. ♪ ♪ we'll build freelance teams with more agility. ♪ ♪ the old way of working is deader than me. ♪ ♪ we'll scale up, and we'll scale down ♪ ♪ before you're six feet underground. ♪ ♪ yes, this is how, this is how we work now. ♪ every day, more dog people are deciding it's time for a fresh approach to pet food. developed with vets. made from real meat and veggies. portioned for your dog. and delivered right to your door. it's smarter, healthier pet food. do you struggle with occasional nerve aches in your hands or feet? try nervivenerve relief from the world's #1 selling nerve care company. nervive contains alpha lipoic acid to relieve occasional nerve aches, weakness and discomfort. try nervivenerve relief.

so... i know you and george were struggling with the possibility of having to move. how's that going? we found a way to make bathing safer with a kohler walk-in bath. a kohler walk-in bath provides a secure, spa-like bathing experience in the comfort of your own home. a kohler walk-in bath has one of the lowest step-ins of any walk-in bath for easy entry and exit.

it features textured surfaces, convenient handrails for more stability, and a wide door for easier mobility. kohler® walk-in baths include two hydrotherapies— whirlpool jets and our patented bubblemassage™ to help soothe sore muscles in your feet, legs, and back. a kohler-certified installer will install everything quickly and conveniently in as little as a day. they made us feel completely comfortable in our home. and, yes, it's affordable. i wish we would have looked into it sooner. think i might look into one myself. stay in the home and life you've built for years to come. call... to receive 50% off installation of your kohler walk-in bath. and take advantage of our special low monthly payment financing.

send another aid package to ukraine, the final price tag still being worked out but we're hearing it could be another billion. defense secretary austin is in germany today. he and general milley are meeting with 50 countries there. the final package set to be announced tomorrow. just a day after a poll was released, showing that 33% of americans think the u.s. is doing too much to help ukraine. we want to take you now over to the west coast, with new developments in the deadly "rust" film shooting, in an exclusive interview with nbc news, the special prosecutor on the case says just because something is an accident doesn't mean it is not a crime. here is talking about the new

charges we expect about actor alec baldwin. listen. >> he knows that the things that are happening, the misfires on the set, the way that the gun was handed to him, he is experienced, he understands what the proper protocol is for safety and he was just disregarding that. >> baldwin and the film's arm-er are facing involuntary manslaughter counts for the death of halyna hutchens in 2021. those charges announced today. the assistant director of the film signed a plea greet, that a negligent use of a deadly weapon. baldwin's legal team are pushing back saying in a statement that the actor, i'm quoting here, had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun or anywhere on the movie set. saying that he relied on the professionals, adding we will fight these charges and we will win. nbc news correspondent vaughn hillyard is joining us from santa fe, new mexico. walk us through the decision from the d.a., what else we're hearing from her, where this goes from here. >> reporter: the three

individuals who the prosecutors implicated in, this the district attorney, along with the special prosecutor, who the district attorney brought on to investigate this, ever since they received the evidence provided by the santa fe sheriff's office, they laid out a clear statement, i'll just let you look at part of it, in which they quote, if any one of these three people, alec baldwin, hannah guiterrez-reed or david halls had done their job, halyna hutchins would be alive today. it's that simple. hannah guit hezzen are reed was responsible tore loading the colt 45 with the appropriate bullets. she said she was unaware that there was any live ammunition on set. she then handed the firearm to the assistant director, david halls, who is the one who then went on the set and declared that the firearm was cold, meaning ha it did not have live ammunition and handed it to alec baldwin, and alec baldwin, while practicing a cross-draw maneuver, lifted the firearm and he said it is his defense that it was a hammer, when the hammer came down on the pistol, when

that dropped, it is what caused the discharge of the bullet. not him pulling the trigger. now, this is where the question is going to go back and forth, that the jury is going to hear over the course of this prosecution here, that alec baldwin's defense, that he did not actually pull the trigger, and the pros cution's belief that he in fact did. this is going to be a complicated case, going before the jury, not only for alec baldwin but for hannah guiterrez-reed, hallie. >> can you help us understand, vaughn, the conversations you're having with experts here, what a viable legal defense strategy might be for alec baldwin in this instance? >> right. alec baldwin is not only a veteran actor who has experience handling firearms and will make that case, but he says that he followed protocol, and when the assistant director went on set and said that that firearm was cold, he took him at his word. but then this is where there's going to be much debate over

whether he pulled the trigger. the santa fe sheriff's office in fact sent over the firearm to be looked at by the fbi forensic office. and they issued a report in which they said that that particular firearm could not have projected that bullet if the trigger had not been pulled. and so that is where ultimately experts are going to be brot forward by both sides before the jury, and the jury is going to have to determine to what extent pulling the trigger even matters in this. and of course the other element here is that the special prosecutor is making a case of not only of him being an actor who actually discharged that weapon but also his role as producer. there is at least one crew member who had resigned from the, working on the production, because of, quote, fast and loose protocols on the set, and even noted that there was not good enough gun safety training here just outside of santa fe, where the movie was being produced. so the jury, once the charges are handed officially down in the days ahead, there is going to be an initial court appearance in which he will be

able to appear virtually and then at some point here in the months ahead, they will go before a jury. >> vaughn hillyard, live for us in santa fe, vaughn, thank you very much. appreciate it. you can see more of that interview by the way with the d.a. and our own miguel almaguer coming up tonight on nightly news with lester holt at 6:00 p.m. eastern. talk about what is happening in the building not far from where i'm sitting, right now as the u.s. is hitting the debt limit, the government says it will start taking some extraordinary measures, right, extraordinary measures to pay the nation's bills. and if this all sounds a little bit complicated, it is so, break it down. this whole debt limit dilemma thing, it is basically the debt limit, the maximum amount of money that the government can borrow, to pay for bills. and the legislation, it has already been approved, the laws have been approved, right now, it is $31.5 trillion. our brian cheung puts it like this. spend a thousand bucks on the credit card and only authorized to have $800 to pay for it. how do you plug that gap? how do you make up the extra

difference? what is the debt limit and raising it is all about. and even though the u.s. has hit the limit, there is still time until early june before the u.s. does actually default on the debt. that would be cats sfosk for the economy. and the treasury secretary, janet yellen for her part trying to put heat on lawmakers and a new letter out today, i respectfully urge congress to act promptly to protect the full faith and credit of the united states. that is a phrase you will hear. whether or not it happens, it is still tbd. sahil kapur is in his nerd debt element on capitol hill, thriving in the weeds on the debt ceiling. what is so interesting here, having a milestone moment today, as far as extraordinary measures set to go into place but the real hot mess of it all won't come up for months, right? probably june. maybe later. somewhere late spring early summer. congress works best under a deadline. is it at all realistic that we will see anything that will come of this whole thing, much before, you know, end of may?

>> reporter: not in the near term, hallie. congress typically needs these deadlines to focus the mind and when it comes to things like the debt limit, congress has a tendency to take things right up to the edge. now it is important to step back and think about the consequence of a potential default if the u.s. goes over the debt limit, it could include everything from a stock market crash, to a major recession, a weaker dollar, higher interest rates, for ordinary americans on car and home loans, it could mean the government fails to continue sending out social security checks, i could go on and on and historically congress has always managed to avoid, this it has raised the debt limited dozens of times in the last half century or so. the issue now is that there is a unique dynamic, a republican controlled house led by speaker mccarthy is demanding concessions in form of spending cuts as a price for raising the debt limit, that speaker mccarthy had insisted in a conversation, sitting down with president biden and discussing that. he had some backup today from

the house ways and means chair jason smith, whose committee oversees the debt limit. let's put this quote on the screen. smith says instead of attacking his political opponents, president biden should be spending this time working with house republicans to address the debt cerealing in a way that imposing some fiscal sanity. otherwise, the president is simply scheduling america's next debt crisis. unquote. now the first problem mccarthy has, is as i mentioned president biden does not negotiate it and if you want to talk about the budget, do it through the normal process, but due get any policy concessions simply for agreeing to pay america's bills. the second problem is, it is not clear what if anything can get to 218 votes in this narrow 222 vote house majority, that, you know, includes the debt limit increase. is mccarthy going to be able to placate his hard liners, the 20 of them who made it very difficult for him just to become speaker? and do it in a way that can pass the democrat led senate and get signed into law by president biden? that is a uniquely problematic

rubik's cube puzzle that nobody on capitol hill that i talked to can figure out how to resolve at this time. for now, the doomsday date is june 5th. >> thank you very much. appreciate that. classified documents in garages, and closets and now a special counsel, none of it slowing down any 2024 plans at the white house. as far as our team can tell. sources inside the biden administration are telling nbc news that this whole documents thing is not going to alter whatever the president's plan is to announce something on his political future. and in the decision, and that is interesting on the timing here, the decision will be made public sometime after his state of the union speech next month. sourcing telling us they want president biden to be a president at the state of the union, not a candidate. i'm joined by nbc news chief white house correspondent peter alexander. and we knew for the state of the union, the president had been really clear, he talked about this over the holidays with the family, and the thinking would perhaps the decision would be im negligent considering that there is one named candidate on the other side of the aisle who is

throwing his hat in the ring for president. >> talk about the timing for the president and how 2024 plays into what is happening now. >> in terms of how soon it could happen, i think as we speak to aides here at the white house, they have indicated, their understanding, that a campaign re-launch as it were, a relaunch for 2024 is an extended period and it doesn't just happen on a day, it goes with weeks of travel and the like and they want to try to have no political mine fields in the way when that happens which may be all of the more reason doing it in the middle of the controversy over the classified documents isn't a good one. when we posed the question to the white house communications team torque the press office, we asked them, how will the calculations for 2024 be impacted by the probe? . they said it doesn't impact our calculations for 20246789 but here is what we do know. that the white house is an eyeing an announcement to come after the state of the union. and here are some of the other issues we know about the anticipation of a 2024 run. the pressure to make a decision,

according to aides here is really reduced in their eyes by the success of the democrats in the recent midterm elections. the white house, as you note, it does believe that the documents probe is not going to be an issue in the upcoming campaign. but they certainly wish the focus was much more on the offensive issues that they have been sort of focused on. going after republicans on the national sales tax, a potential to get rid of the tax code, and have an elevated national sales tax, and also restricted access to abortion rights, and an issue that they have been focused on and then obviously the issue hallie, of the president and the first lady's health. we know jill biden recently underwent treatment for skin cancer, a cancerous lesion removed from above her eye and elsewhere and we heard from the doctor in the last couple of days that a separate lesion that was removed as precaution turned out not to be cancerous, but it it is still something that is obviously a consideration here, as we anticipate the president will have another physical in the not too instant future,

which could give us a better sense of how he is doing as an 80-year-old man with all of the rigors that come with another run for president, to say nothing of serving as president for another term. >> peter alexander live on the north lawn, thank you very much. still ahead, new zealand's youngest-ever prime minister says she is stepping down. why she is doing it. the interesting reason behind why she is doing it and what we can expect next after the break. maybe try switching your car insurance to progressive. you could save hundreds. i don't know, dad. ♪♪ maybe try switching your car insurance to progressive. you could save hundreds. that's a great idea, tv dad. but i said the exact same thing. some day when you're a father, you'll understand. i'm his father. it's not a competition. listen to your tv dad. drivers who switch and save with progressive save nearly $700 on average. struggling with the highs and lows of bipolar 1? ask about vraylar. because you are greater than your bipolar 1,

and you can help take control of your symptoms - with vraylar. some medicines only treat the lows or highs. vraylar treats depressive, acute manic, and mixed episodes of bipolar 1 in adults. proven, full-spectrum relief for all bipolar 1 symptoms. and in vraylar clinical studies, most saw no substantial impact on weight. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. call your doctor about unusual changes in behavior or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. report fever, stiff muscles or confusion which may mean a life-threatening reaction, or uncontrollable muscle movements which may be permanent. high blood sugar, which can lead to coma or death, weight gain and high cholesterol may occur. movement dysfunction and restlessness are common side effects. sleepiness and stomach issues are also common. side effects may not appear for several weeks. ask about vraylar and learn how abbvie could help you save. (vo) what can a nationwide 5g network from t-mobile for business do for your business?bvie unlock new insights and efficiency-right now.

allow monitoring of productivity at remote job sites, with next-generation bandwidth. enable ai cameras that spot factory issues in real time, using next-generation speed. and deliver ultra-capacity 5g coverage that's years ahead of the competition. t-mobile for business has 5g that's ready right now. age is just a number, 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 i think i changed my mind about these glasses. now available in cinnabon® bakery-inspired flavor. yeah, it happens. that's why visionworks gives you 100 days to change your mind. it's simple. anything else i can help you with? like what? visionworks. see the difference.

doesn't your family deserve the best? eggland's best eggs. classic, cage free, and organic. more delicious, farm-fresh taste. plus, superior nutrition. because the way we care is anything but ordinary. ♪♪

back now, with some

politics, in a story today that maybe might not make headlines in the u.s. but the prime minister of mu zealand is stepping down saying she will not run for another term. does it have a direct impact on the lives of americans? not necessarily. but listen to what jacinda ardern is saying about that decision. we'll talk about why this is such notable announcement, beyond that country. listen. >> i know what this job takes and i know that i no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. it's that simple. >> think about who this is, right? you may have heard the term jacinda ardern mania, it got super popular with the term and notable moments in her career, including a day after more than 50 people were killed at mosques and visited a refugee in a muslim community saying new zealand was united in grief, her response to the covid pandemic led to the lowest covid-related death rate in the western world.

just recently, late last year, she shot down what a lot of people called as a misogynistic question during a meeting with finish prime minister, and the reporters and firing back saying they were only meeting because they were similar in age and listen to what she said. >> i'm wondering you are two meeting just because you know, you're similar in age and you know, got a lot of, you know, common stuff. >> the question is i wonder whether or not anyone asks barack obama and john kerry if they were similar age, because two women meet, it is not simply because of their gender. >> we are meeting because we're prime ministers. >> aaron, what is so notable here for so many people in this country is people know who jacinda ardern is, right? like because of the moments that we just laid out here. she is taking this brave step of saying hey, as you heard her say, i do not have everything left in the tank for this, and acknowledging her limits on that front. talk a little bit about that.

how this is being received in new zealand where you are, and what this means for the political landscape there. >> well, it's been a remarkable past 24 hours here in new zealand politics. i mean there's always been talk of just how long can prime minister jacinda ardern keep going. just how long does she have left in the tank. and it turns out, not much longer. because this announcement came as a real bombshell, and shock not just to me, not just to my colleagues but also to the wider public. but when you start to listen to her words, when you start to listen to what she has to say, you also start to see a bit of a picture of a prime minister that wants to do, that doesn't have much left in the tank and as she put in her own words, is human. and there is afternoon election this year. and the announcement we expected from jacinda ardern was election day but she revealed, you can see the tears welling up. the emotion coming out.

and everyone started to wonder, what is going on and she announced she was standing down. clearly, a significant decision for her. new zealand could have a new prime minister by sunday which is when the labor caucus, the labor government caucus will meet, and if they can get a majority, a two-thirds majority, we may well have a new leader in the top job. >> and who will that be? and what is next for the current prime minister? in other words, clearly, you know, again, she's talking, i mean she's basically saying i have burnout, burnout is real, burnout is real. that exists. that is a thing that people deal with, whether you are, you know, like a worker bee here in the united states or leading the nation of new zealand. >> and it is one of those cases of you come back and realize and it is not quite for me and the prime minister is doing it and it is significant, and really reflective of perhaps of her recent movement and indeed of her movement to keep more, in many ways workplace rights. in terms of who could be the next prime minister, the front-runner at the moment here

is a plan called chris pitkin, he is a former covid-19 response minister, he was in charge of many elements of the covid response, alongside jacinda ardern. the dp prime minister, many who expected him to be on the ticket, he has said he's not going for it and it has left the door wide open to a number of candidates and many thousand robertson would be a shoo-in and apparently not so and now we wait with bated breath who will take the position. >> aaron, thank you very much for being here for the reporting today, thanks. still ahead here on the show, federal officials looking into possible human trafficking of up to 50 kids, what we know, and where this investigation goes from here. research shows people remember ads with a catchy song. so to help you remember that liberty mutual customizes your home insurance, here's a little number you'll never forget. did you know that liberty mutual custo— ♪liberty mutual♪ ♪ only pay for what you need♪ ♪only pay for what you need♪ ♪ custom home insurance created for you all♪

♪now the song is done♪ ♪back to living in your wall♪ they're just gonna live in there? ♪yes♪ only pay for what you need. ♪liberty liberty liberty♪ ♪liberty♪ ♪ what will you do? will you make something better? create something new? our dell technologies advisors can provide you with the tools and expertise you need to bring out the innovator in you. get refunds.com powered by innovation refunds can help your business get a payroll tax refund, even if you got ppp and it only takes eight minutes to qualify. i went on their website, uploaded everything, and i was blown away by what they could do. getrefunds.com has helped businesses get over a billion dollars and we can help your business too. qualify your business for a big refund in eight minutes. go to getrefunds.com to get started. powered by innovation refunds.

ubrelvy helps u fight migraine attacks. u put it all on the line. u do it all. so u bring ubrelvy. it can quickly stop migraine in its tracks within 2 hours... without worrying if it's too late or where you are. unlike older medicines, ubrelvy is a pill that directly blocks a protein believed to be a cause of migraine. do not take with strong cyp3a4 inhibitors. most common side effects were nausea and tiredness. migraine pain relief starts with u. learn how abbvie can help you save. ask about ubrelvy, the anytime, anywhere migraine medicine. [♪♪] ask about ubrelvy, the anytime, if you have diabetes, it's important to have confidence in the nutritional drink you choose. try boost glucose control®. it's clinically shown to help manage blood sugar levels and contains high quality protein to help manage hunger and support muscle health. try boost® today. (cecily) what's up, einstein?

(einstein) my network has gone kaput! (cecily) oh, you tried to save a buck on it? (einstein) i got what i paid for. not so smart. (cecily) nah, you're still a genius. but, there is a smarter way to save. (einstein) oh?! (cecily) switch to verizon! for a limited time, get welcome unlimited for just $25/line. (einstein) $25?! (cecily) and it's guaranteed for 3 years! (einstein) brilliant! (cecily) well, you would know. (einstein) i'm switching! (cecily) i think the bike's probably faster. (vo) now is the best time to switch to verizon. for just $25 a line. guaranteed for 3 years. the savings that last. on the network you want. verizon. (vo) when it comes to safety, who has more iihs top safety pick plus awards, the highest level of safety you can earn? subaru. when it comes to longevity, who has the highest percentage of its vehicles still on the road after ten years? subaru. and when it comes to value, which popular brand has the lowest cost of ownership? lower than toyota, honda, or hyundai? subaru. it's easy to love a car you can trust. it's easy to love a subaru. we're here today to set the record

straight about dupuytren's contracture. surgery is not your only treatment option. people may think their contracture has to be severe to be treated, but it doesn't. visit findahandspecialist.com today to get started. y'all wayfair has just what you need for your home. is that glitter? this table is on its last leg. y'all need this. you're kelly clarkson! a whole new look for a whole lot less. ahhh! -you're kelly clarkson! i am... and you need this.

i love it! are we in a wayfair commercial? maybe. personal sauna. ok i need that. ahhhhh! ♪ wayfair, you've got just what i need ♪ i told you how president biden was looking at storm damage. there he is. you see he has landed. he's on the ground in santa cruz county, california. this is a live shot of him. it looks like he's getting back in the beast to head to the next location. the press pool is scrambling to get there as well. tell us what's going on. >> reporter: we just saw him fly over in marine one. there were three off sprays in front of him and two choppers. he was with governor gavin newsom. one of the things they saw from the ground was going to be the pier that you saw behind me. half of the pier is missing.

there are several damaged buildings on the shore. parts of the pier actually made their way into some of the buildings behind here. and so this county alone, santa cruz county, is looking at $55 million worth of damage. the entirety of california could be looking at possibly a billion dollars worth of damage. right now, a lot of the discussion is going to be on how much the federal government steps in with assistance as well as the state of california. hallie? >> thank you. federal officials are looking into whether 50 children were illegally employed in slaughterhouses and the victims of human trafficking. this is according to three homeland security officials. now dhs investigators are questioning the kids to understand how they ended up in this situation and whether anybody forced them to work or profited off of them. julia ainsley is part of the

team who broke this story. packers sanitation services is the company that hired these children. no indication, right, that the company is the target of this trafficking probe. they have been investigated and sued by the labor department over child labor concerns. how does this case tie into this new one? >> as we understand, this is a joint ongoing investigation. in november, the department of labor won in federal court in nebraska an injunction that basically meant that the company needed to stop hiring child laborers and they brought in an outside monitor to ensure that they would comply. now we're learning new details as homeland security investigations is speaking to children to understand how in the world 50 children came to these plants in nebraska in the first place. grand island nebraska where they found children working in the middle of the night cleaning the kill room floors of slaughterhouses with dangerous chemicals, dangerous equipment. the first time they did that, they started interviewing those children. now they're trying to understand

how did they get there. did anyone force them there and profit from it? they're not necessarily targeting the company, but there are a lot of questions about whether or not this was part of a conspiracy. and some of the people that i've spoken to who are on the ground who are very timid to come forward say so far their stories are all similar. they say it's hard to see that it's not all part of a broader scheme. a lot more questions as we dig into this. >> what are the next most eminent steps then, julia? >> well, more imminent steps is to interview more children and see where things might go next in court. the company has complied with that order but they have not been deemed -- they have not been given any kind of penalty either financially or criminally. >> thank you for staying on top of this story. appreciate you being on with us today. appreciate you for joining us for this hour of msnbc. you can find us on twitter and, of course, over on nbc news now,

our nbc news streaming channel tonight and every weeknight for show number two. see you then. in the meantime, nicolle picks it up with "deadline: white house" right now. cks it up with "deadline: white house" right now the six dollar rooty tooty fresh 'n fruity combo. 2 eggs, 2 bacon strips, and 2 fruit topped pancakes. only from ihop. moderate-to-severe eczema. it doesn't care if you have a date, a day off, or a double shift. make your move and get out in front of eczema with steroid-free cibinqo. not an injection, cibinqo is a once-daily pill for adults who didn't respond to previous treatments. and it's proven to help provide clearer skin and relieve itch fast. cibinqo continuously treats eczema whether you're flaring or not. cibinqo can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c, have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. do not take with medicines that prevent blood clots.

serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma, lung, skin and other cancers, serious heart-related events, and blood clots can happen. people 50 and older with heart disease risk factors have an increased risk of serious heart-related events or death with jak inhibitors. it's time to get out in front of eczema. ask your doctor about once-daily cibinqo. ♪♪ the only thing i regret about my life was hiring local talent. if i knew about upwork. i would have hired actually talented people from all over the world. instead of talentless people from all over my house. >> tech: cracked windshield? make it easy and schedule with safelite, from all over the world. because you can track us and see exactly when we'll be there. >> woman: i have a few more minutes. let's go!

>> tech vo: that's service that fits your schedule. go to safelite.com. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ having triplets is... -amazing -expensive. so, we switched to the bargain detergent, but we ended up using three times as much and the clothes still weren't as clean as with tide. so we're back with tide, and the clothes are clean again. do 3x the laundry and get a tide clean. it's got to be tide. i'm a new york hotel. i'm looking for someone who needs a weekend in the city. you hungry? yeah, i know a place. it's the city that never sleeps. but hey, if you need a last-minute spot, i got you covered. so, you're 45. that's the perfect age to see some old friends, explore new worlds, and to start screening for colon cancer. yep. with colon cancer rising in adults under 50, the american cancer society recommends starting to screen earlier, at age 45. i'm cologuard, a noninvasive way to screen at home, on your schedule. and i find 92% of colon cancers. i'm for people 45+ at average risk for colon cancer,

not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider if cologuard is right for you. i screwed up. false positimhm.nd negative results may occur. i got us t-mobile home internet. now cell phone users have priority over us. and your marriage survived that? you can almost feel the drag when people walk by with their phones. oh i can't hear you... you're froze-- ladies, please! you put it on airplane mode when you pass our house. i was trying to work. we're workin' it too. yeah! work it girl! woo! i want to hear you say it out loud. well, i could switch us to xfinity.

those smiles. that's why i do what i do. that and the paycheck. ♪♪ hi to everyone. it's 4:00 in new york. an unsolved mystery will remain unsolved at the u.s. supreme court, suffering an historic drop in public