♪ ♪ it's 10:00 a.m. in new york. i'm lindsey reiser. we've got a jam-packed hour ahead of us. breaking news in atlanta, explosive police video of what

they say was a coordinated attack on a future police training facility. fireworks, rocks, bricks, even molotov cocktails thrown at officers according to police. dozens of people detained. what police say led up to it all. plus now, massive snowfall again on the west coast threatening to dump feet of snow on communities already buried and cut off after historic back-to-back storms. people in california's mountain communities trapped in their homes. some reportedly at risk of being snowed in for at least another week. >> we have neighbors who are panicking. they're without food, power, heat, medications. >> there's nine and ten-foot berms alongside these roads. >> this is the only grocery store east of crestline california, the roof collapsed from snow.

residents writing "help us" in the snow. fire and brimstone at cpac. former president trump delivering a dark and at times bizarre speech before a sparse crowd at the annual conservative conference and vowing political vengeance against some of his enemies. >> i am your warrior. i am your justice. for those who have been wronged and betrayed, i am your retribution. >> he also appeared to have a message for his potentially biggest competitor, florida governor ron desantis. what trump managed to say without actually saying desantis' name during his nearly two-hour speech. we want to get to the breaking news out of georgia. overnight dozens of people detained after what police called a coordinated criminal attack on a planned police training facility outside atlanta. police said a group of people they called violent agitators used the cover of a nearby event to launch a violent attack setting fire to construction equipment and throwing rocks,

bricks, molotov cocktails and fireworks at police. the facility has been the site of protests for months. police say they will step up patrols this week to avoid more violence. joining me now from atlanta is nbc's blayne alexander. what more can you tell us about what happened? >> reporter: lindsey, good morning to you. you're right. this center has been at the center of an ongoing fight for months now. the city is touting it as a state-of-the-art training facility, something the mayor says will actually improve community policing. critics say it will only do just the opposite, and they're vowing to continue fighting what they've dubbed cop city. >> this was a very violent attack. >> reporter: overnight in atlanta, a chaotic flash between protesters and police, all on the site of a planned police training facility. officials say protesters burned construction vehicles and a trailer and set off fireworks towards officers stationed nearby. >> this wasn't about a public

safe stay training center. this was about anarchy and an attempt to destabilize. >> reporter: police point to outside and staters, saying they left an event nearby b, changed into black clothing and mounted a coordinated attack into's the latest flashpoint after months of demonstrations against the facility organized the slogan "stop cop city." the planned 85-acre campus just outside of atlanta. protesters say they're both concerned about the center's environmental impact and its symbolism as one of the nation's largest law enforcement training centers. tensions between protesters and police in the city have been at a boiling point for months now with past demonstrations in january also turning violent and fatal with one protest killed. >> we are very fortunate tonight. for the quick action of the officers not only to reposition themselves, but immediately to go back into the woods and start making arrests of the individuals. the criminal activity will not

tolerated in connecticut nor tolerated in connection with this project. >> reporter: overnight a group that opposes the facility put out a statement on their own, saying police used excessive force to break up what they called a family-friendly music festival. we want to turn to the state of emergency in california where people remain trapped in their homes by snow and are running out of supplies. entire communities are buried and got another round of snow this weekend. major roadways near lake tahoe are shut down after up to 5 feet fell. crews are working to clear roadways and reach some stranded for days as some run low of supplies and even power. with me, nbc meteorologist michelle grossman. dana, how are residents faring where you are? >> reporter: lindsey, good

morning. i actually want to give you a better look at the snow pile. i'm about 5'3". let's pan out so you can see just how high the snow berm comes up. this sat least 10 feet tall. this is how much snow the plows have been able to push up the wall to try to create a path for emergency vehicles and residents. it's been a very frustrating week for people. we've experienced back-to-back storms. several people have been snowed in for nearly a week. the one saving grace and the good thing about the story here is that so many residents that have been able to get out of their homes have been going door-to-door to try to check on their neighbors, especially the elder ones. people who have been unable to dig out maybe in those higher elevations. one guy here in crestline actually wrote help us in the snow, that viral image we've been seeing all over the place kind of as a plea for help because so many people feel like they've been forgotten here. you talk about necessities running low. that includes food, pet food,

gas for generators. one woman used snowshoes to hike to try to get gasoline for her generator. it is a desperate need here in this town. the sheriff has told people hey, we are coming, we are going to dig you out, asking for patience here. a lot of people, their patience is running thin. they're concerned about are we going to have enough to get through? this is just in southern california. up in the sierra, they've got an estimated 5 feet of snow overnight and there's still more snow possibly coming in that area in the coming days. just a horde thing for a lot of people to take in again during this historic storm. lindsey. >> you can only be so patient until your supplies start running out, just incredible. dana, thank you. michelle, what's in store for california and the rest of the country this week? >> unfortunately it's more of the same. we've been talking about months of storm after storm. the first one this week, snow

added to the sierra nevada mountains, also northern california. 1-2 additional feet. then we'll see another organized system come onshore wednesday. a powerful system on friday. we'll see snowmelt along with very heavy rain. that's going to contribute to some flooding. this is what it looks like now. 12 million americans impacted by winter alerts, the upper midwest into great lakes and even into portions of the mid-atlantic and northeast. lots of unsettled weather on this monday. as we zoom in a little closer, where you see the blue, ha is snow falling, the lighter blue. the almost white color is the heavier snow falling. we're seeing rain and freezing precipitation. that will be the story as we go throughout this monday. then monday and tuesday it will skirt off to the mid-atlantic and could see a dusting of snow in new york city late tonight into tuesday morning. overall, looking at snow showers and rain showers continuing in the pacific northwest.

the northern plains, the great lakes and also rain in the ohio valley. a big difference in the south. we sort of have a battle of seasons, winter taking its grip still in portions of the north. the south feeling like late spring, even summer. temperatures 25 degrees above normal for this time of year. record-breaking warmth will continue. lindsey, we're going to continue to track that winter weather in the northern part of the nation. back to you. >> michelle grossman, thank you so much. this morning federal investigators are heading back to ohio to investigate another train derailment. video captured the moment 28 cars of a norfolk southern train derailed in springfield, ohio, saturday, just one month after the hazardous derailment in east palestine and the fourth derailment in ohio in less than five months. officials say while the train was carrying has thar douse materials, it's leading for new calls for rail reform. jesse kirsch is with us from

springfield, ohio. what can you tell us about what happened and what response we're seeing? >> reporter: when you look at those images, imagine being right there as that driver was, backing away from the railway crossing. we're told by norfolk southern that none of the cars that derailed were containing hazardous. as you mentioned, there were hazardous materials including ethanol and liquid propane according to norfolk southern. focal officials put out a statement saying there's no threat to the public, no threat to public health, no injuries reported. the ohio epa says there's been no hazardous material leaked into the soil, into the air or into the water. as you mentioned, this is another derailment for norfolk southern in ohio. this is the fourth such incident for this company in this state in the last five months. one of the senators from ohio, sherrod brown who is a bipartisan co-sponsor of

legislation looking to increase rail safety measures across the country calls this situation unacceptable. as you can see, more than 24 hours later, we've still got cleanup on going here. this is coming as officials continue to look into the cause of the derailment in east palestine which led to that toxic spill and continues to concern community members there about their health and their safety. earlier this morning norfolk southern put out a new safety plan it says is part of its response to the east palestine situation. again, that is a response to that derailment. they're already dealing with another derailment here. they say they're going to be investing more in their sensors along the railways, to keep a better eye on the wheels and the axel. that's one of the things they're looking at. again, we have another derailment that needs to be looked into. >> jesse kirsch, reporting live, thank you. a scare in the skies after an apparent bird strike forced

an emergency landing in havana. >> big explosion and the plane just shook and then it dropped. it was very terrifying, because a lot of kids and a lot of women. >> scary. plus, alex murdaugh booked and behind bars for life. what three jurors who convicted him of double murder are saying this morning about the quick guilty verdict including what they thought of murdaugh's emotion in the courtroom. the 2024 gop presidential front-runner is airing his grievances once again. >> if you put me back in the white house, their reign is over, their reign will be over and they know it. america will be a free nation once again. >> the details of that speech including a vaeld jab at one of his leading rivals, florida governor ron desantis. what it means for the state of the race. we're back in 60 seconds. we're back in 60 seconds you can make it even smarter.

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normally when we sit back at this moment in time, who everybody thinks the front-runner is, isn't the person who gets elected. the issues we elect the next president on, probably not the issues today. there will be other challenges for that time. >> house speaker kevin mccarthy not yet taking sides in the sharpening political lines being drawn in the race for the white house. over the weekend, former president trump issued a threat to his political enemies during at cpac vowing call out one potential rival, florida governor ron desantis without saying his name. >> we're not going back to people who want to destroy our great social security system, even some in our own party. i wonder who that might be. >> nbc's vaughn hillyard with us and brendan buck former house

speaker to john boehner and paul ryan, now an msnbc political analyst. interesting that desantis himself didn't attend cpac. he's not officially running, but the straw poll had him in second place behind trump. talk about the growing political tension between the two. >> this was very much of a trump show here. donald trump has spoken at cpac consistently ever since ascending the the presidency. he built up a conservative grassroots back here. person after person i talked to over the course of the last several days said they wanted donald trump to win the republican nomination for 2024 again. yet, the reality is that donald trump is not going to be able to just walk into it. you already have nikki haley who did attend. she was greeted warmly, but far from enthusiastically. you have the likes of ron desantis and mike pence who didn't attend the conference. they're waiting on the sidelines. to know donald trump, while he's taken bunches at ron desantis on

his truth social account, when i presented him the opportunity over this weekend, asking him whether he would make ron desantis his number two -- at least according to polling and the cpac straw poll, there is only one major threat to donald trump as of right now, and that's ron desantis. folks here who i've talked to said they want to see a trump/desantis ticket. i threw the question to him. take a listen. >> would you consider asking ron desantis right now to be your vice presidential pick? >> i've always had a great relationship with ron. i was the one that made it possible for him to win. he was at a very low number. after i endorsed him, he went up a lot. i've always had a good relationship with him. it's much too early to talk about that. >> why shouldn't he be the presidential candidate for republicans? >> he can be if he wants to be. >> donald trump just an hour later, he took that cpac stage and said, quote, i will be your

retribution. donald trump wants to take revenge against democrats. if he were to get back in the white house and have a second term, but he's laying out the stakes with subtle shots on his social media accounts, essentially laying out warnings to other republicans to try to get in his way and undercut him, that he would be willing to do the same. for now playing at least friendlier for donald trump's terms. >> brendan, i want to ask you a couple of things that we can dive into. first of all, let's talk about the desantis and trump relationship right now. neither appearing super eager to go into direct combat. of course, we're hearing some of those swipes, trump saying he wouldn't be governor if it weren't for him. talk about how potentially nasty you see it getting and also this idea of retribution, is that an attractive message to vote sners. >> it's certainly the donald trump brand. so there's certainly an audience for that. it's what he's been able to prove to the grassroots, the feeling that he's the only one looking out for them.

you don't run against donald trump and not get in the mud. there's no chance that this will remain polite. it's a little early. ron desantis has indicated he's not even going to be a candidate for a number of months. donald trump faced 16 other candidates in 2016 and took them all out one by one. he's very good at that. i think there's been a lot of people interested in perhaps saying -- writing donald trump's political obituary several times. we look at cpac where the crowds were much more sparse. it's easy to say, well, maybe people are ready to move on. you just can't. there are still millions of people who are diehard for donald trump. ron desantis probably doesn't want to make enemies of those people himself. it's really working quite well for ron desantis at this point for the status quo. he gets to basically run as an incumbent. he's going to go through the florida legislature and pass all kinds of things. it's a position that most people

challenging in a primary don't have the advantage of. it sets him up quite nicely. at some point this is going to become direct confrontation. >> let's talk about some of what desantis is trying to do in florida. "the new york times" broke down some of the legislation in the works. higher education bill that bans gender studies and majors and limits activities that espouse diversity, equity and inclusion, a defamation bill, a concealed weapons bill that allows floridians without felony or drug arrests to carry guns without the state's current permit requirements. essentially we've basically been feeling that desantis is setting a blueprint in florida that he'll have for the nation. are these the winning issues? >> it's obviously set up to win a primary. most people who are running for president don't get to lay out a perfect blueprint to win over primary voters and have your state legislature just pass it or a senator has no chance.

it's an incredible advantage he has. trying to pick up a lot of the same voters that donald trump cares about. this is a party much less interested in the old issues that, as donald trump alluded to, this isn't the cut your taxes, strong national security. here is ron desantis trying to pick up that mantle in a legislative way, in a policy-making way that i think is entirely designed to win a primary. does that help him in a general election? i think he'll worry about that late zbler vaughn hillyard, brendan buck, thank you very much. this weekend president biden traveled to selma, alabama, to mark 58 years since bloody sunday. it was part of an effort to register black voters in the south. in president biden's first trip to selma as president, he connected that fight to the push

for new voting rights protections today. >> -- right to vote, to have your vote counted is the tlesh tlesh hold of democrats and lip ber see. without it, without that right nothing is possible. this fundamental right remains under assault. >> voting rights legislation has stalled in congress since the president has taken office. now with the republican majority in the house, there's not a clear path forward for the bill. next, investigating a string of scares in the sky from an apparent bird strike to fatal injuries from turbulence and a separate incident that sent an attendant flying. >> one of the lops, he literally completely hit the ceiling and dropped down. later democrat judy chu first back after her loyalty to the u.s. was questioned by a gop

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it's a terrifying moment for any airline passenger when a flight is forced to make an emergency landing. that's what happened on a southwest flight in havana to ft. lauderdale. take a look at this video. you can see the cabin filling with smoke after an apparent bird strike led to engine trouble. pilots were forced to turn back

to cuba for an emergency landing. this incident is one in a series of recent scares in the sky. nbc's tom costello has been covering all of them. >> reporter: good day. these were serious incidents. first one, a bird strike over cuba filling the plane with smoke as it took out an engine and the engine caught fire. then a private plane over connecticut making an emergency landing with a passenger fatally injured because of turbulence. that followed another plane, a lufhansa flight heading turbulence. seven passengers in the hospital after matthew mcconway was on that flight. a southwest airlines flight departing for ft. lauderdale forced to make an emergency landing. the airline says an apparent bird strike hit the plane's engine and its nose shortly after takeoff. >> chaos, chaos. talking about dropping really quick, and nobody could breathe and everybody was screaming. >> reporter: meanwhile, a

separate instance of severe turbulence turned deadly. >> requesting medical assistance on the ray weigh. >> reporter: a private jet carrying five people on its way from virginia to new hampshire encountered severe turbulence. >> this is tower with a medical emergency landing runway 6. >> reporter: the pilot diverted to make an emergency landing in connecticut. the faa and ntsb confirming the turbulence caused fatal injuries. >> to have someone actually die means that something traumatic really must have happened. >> reporter: meanwhile, the ntsb is investigating and the manufacturer of the jet says it will fully support and provide assistance. it comes after a mid air incident late last week. a lufhansa jet traveling from texas to germany diverted to

dulles airport due to significant turbulence that sent seven passengers to the hospital. passengers recount people screaming and a flight attendant unable to stabilize himself. >> one of the drops, he was completely horizontal. >> reporter: on board actor matthew mcconaughey and his wife. writing everything was flying everywhere and the turbulence kept on coming. back now to that story about the cuban plane that hit birds, the engine caught fire. i was on a plane when that happened one time. we were taking off from sarasota, florida. we ingested a turkey vulture into the engine, the engine blew up. thankfully no smoke filled the cabin. planes can fly on a single engine. but contrast that to the miracle on the hudson in which both engines were taken out by a

flock of geese. so a bird strike can be very, very serious indeed. back to you. >> tom costello, thanks so much. we're learning more about the deliberations of the 12 jurors who found alex murdaugh guilty of double murder. he's now behind bars serving two consecutive life sentences. earlier on "today," three of the jurors talked about how they reached their verdict. >> the witness testimony was very believable, and kennel video definitely played a major part, and his testimony. >> i don't know him. i never knew his voice, but i realized it was him in the kennel video that sealed the deal. >> nbc's priscilla thompson joins us from south carolina. we're also joined by glenn kirschner, former federal prosecutor and msnbc legal analyst. priscilla, as anyone will tell you, you want to know what was happening inside that jury room. their interview was fascinating.

what stood out to you? >> reporter: well, the big question here was was there any one thing that helped to seal alex murdaugh's fate. what we heard from those jurors and as you just heard there, there was. it was the video shot by his late son paul at the kennels where you overhear alex murdaugh's voice in the background of that video just minutes before both maggie and paul were gunned down. that is after murdaugh had said he told investigators repeatedly that he had not been there. of course, during the trial, he took the stand in his own defense, admitting that he had lied. but jurors said that that was a mistake and that did nothing to help his case. i want to play a little bit of what they had to say about that. >> do you think he hurt himself by taking the stand? did he make it worse? >> i think he did.

>> yes. >> why? >> i just think that we already know that he's a lawyer. he's able to be emotional with cases, able to be emotional with himself. he knows, like she said, when to turn it on and off. i think we were able to read right through that. >> reporter: we know from jurors who have spoken out that it only took about 45 minutes for all of them to reach that unanimous guilty verdict and come to that decision. less than three hours after they went into that deliberation room they were back in the courtroom to read that verdict. that is what has brought us here today. the kirkland correctional facility where murdaugh is behind bars. he will spend the next 30 to 45 days here undergoing medical tests and evaluations before being assigned a maximum security prison where he will serve out those two life sentences. murdaugh at this time still maintaining his innocence as his lawyers say they do plan to appeal. lindsey.

>> so glenn, unanimous in their belief he was guilty, unanimous in their belief that he was clearly lying to their faces on the stand. not unanimous when it comes to motive. let's listen. >> it may have been a combination of things, not just the financial, but everything was weighing heavy on him. >> he wanted to have control of everything. his wife owned a majority of the things they owned or had. i'm thinking it was more like greed. >> it's a storm. at points in time the defense would take the aspect and say, it couldn't have been this. it might not have been one that one thing, but so many things that contributed to that overall storm. >> they're almost echoing what the prosecution laid out including in the closing saying it was a gathering storm. this was a big of a pivot going to solely the financial crimes as a motive and saying it was all of these things.

is it unusual for jurors to not agree on motive or does it matter at this point? >> it doesn't matter. in each and every case the judge will instruct the jury that motive is not an element of the crime. i used to argue to my juries all the time, ladies and gentlemen, if we prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant killed the victim but we have no earthly idea why, the person is still guilty of murder. why? because motive is not an element of the crime. now, human nature is such that we always want to know what causes one human being to killing another. but it's important to give the jurors some evidence of motive if you have it, but at the same time reenforce, they don't need to be unanimous, don't need to have any earthly idea why the murder took place, just the fact that the murder took place. >> glenn, we heard priscilla say we can expect an appeal from the legal team, we can expect them to bring up the fact that these financial crimes were at the time just allegations, but then he admitted them on the stand.

what chance do you think he has for a successful appeal? >> there were entering rulings by the judge, i think all legally sound rulings. for example, letting the jury hear about his massive financial fraud crimes he perpetrated against his clients, that he perpetrated against his law firm partners because it was part of the motive evidence in the case. here is the interesting thing. every defendant has the right to testify. it's not always a smart, tactical decision to testify. when murdaugh testified under oath and admitted to these massive financial crimes, well, we know he has another trial coming up because he's charged with financial fraud. he has all but guaranteed he will be convicted in that case as well. what does that do? it serves as kind of a belt and suspenders for the prosecutors because, in the very unlikely event he successfully appeals his murder conviction, he will very likely be serving time for

his financial fraud crimes. >> priscilla thompson and glenn ki kirschner, thank you both. there are growing questions this morning about the off-court behavior of rising nba star ja morant. the memphis grizzlies suspended him for two games as the nba investigates an instagram post that appears to show morant flashing a gun at a nightclub. nbc's george solis has the details. >> reporter: off the court and under fire. memphis grizzlies standout point guard ja morant is facing scrutiny. the video streamed early saturday morning hours after the grizzlies loss against the nuggets. the 2019 number two draft pick's instagram and twitter accounts were deactivated by saturday afternoon. the grizzlies announcing he'll be away from the team for at least two games. in a statement the league spokesperson says they are wear

of a social media post and are investigating. morant issued an apology, saying he takes full responsibility and is going to take some time away to get help. >> understand you're in a different stratosphere. you've got to conduct yourself properly. >> reporter: the video and response a subject of discussion among prominent sports analysts as questions are being raised about ja morant's off-court conduct including one incident in recent weeks that is said to be part of a league investigation. >> you represent your organization, you represent your family, you represent your city. you've got to be mindful of all of that. >> reporter: at stake, a plethora of lucrative deals including a five-year, $194 million extension with the grizzlies. morant also signing deals with nike and power ade. the future of one of the nba's top prospects clouded by controversy. right now it's not immediately

clear if he'll miss more than the two games he's scheduled to miss. also, if the evidence find any evidence of wrongdoing they could fine or even suspend morant. back to you. >> nbc's george solis, thank you. next, mounting alarm in iran over possible poisonings of school girls. how parents and activists who have been protesting the government are reacting. ukrainians training to fly fighter jets in the u.s. as russia intensifies its offensive in the east. the latest on the war next. ast. the latest on the war next when you shop wayfair's spring savings you get deals so big... we'll have you saying... am i a big deal? 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 a sale this big, you can get your dream sofa for half the price. shop wayfair's spring savings now through march 6th! ♪ wayfair you've got just what i need ♪ i think i changed my mind about these glasses.

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this morning iran's supreme leader ayatollah khamenei is responding to details about reports of iranian school girls suspiciously falling iliac cross the country. in a statement to his website he says, if in fact this is a conspiracy and there are people or groups involved, this crime is huge and without co nnchsnivance. this is a crime against the most innocent elements in a society, meaning children. local media reports poionings have been going on for months and have even sent students to the hospital after smelling gas. iranian officials say they may be deliberate attacks meant to stop girls from getting an education. iran's interior minister said 52 schools have been affected by the suspicious samples found by investigators. joining me now, nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley. matt, what details are we

learning about these possible poisonings? >> reporter: the real new details we're hearing, the most important ones are coming from ayatollah khamenei. there is no higher leader than this. his comments "today" show that this really has reached the highest levels of officialdom and the iranian regime now feels they can comment on what's going on with these poisonings. they are very sure, as you heard from these comments, these are, in fact, poisonings, this isn't some sort of industrial accident, this isn't food poi song, food that's been contaminated only spread to girls schools. this is clearly a very targeted attack and striking almost entirely just girls and girls schools in iran and that's why authorities made the comments you're describing. when you look at what was said, this isn't the first time we've heard anything like this from the iranian government. this is the highest level commentary. over the past weekend and week

we've heard muttering, acknowledgments finally this is going on. as you mentioned, this has been going on since november. and there are thought to be over a thousand school girls affected by these poisonings. they haven't acknowledged this. it begs the question, even though we're hearing from the ayatollah saying that there's going to be maximum punishment for whoever is perpetrating this really horrible and bizarre crime, they do seem to be quite concerned about the protests against this crime and against the authority. you can see videos of people getting attacked outside of schools, parents who are protests, and we heard more threats from the government, from the ayatollah himself warning those who might be spreading false information. that makes one wonder after all this time is the iranian government so concerned about these girls who are being poisoned or are they concerned about dissent around this scandal. >> matt bradley, thank you so

much for staying on this. turning to the war in ukraine where the ukrainian military says mugs forces are still attacking bakhmut. russia has spent months trying to capture bakhmut. in southern ukraine russian shelling killed at least three people in the kherson region and the death toll rose to 13 from an earlier strike in zaporizhzhya. nbc news has learned two ukrainian pilots are in the u.s. to have their skills assessed by american military trainers including f-16 fighter jets. officials say their skills are being evaluated at a u.s. military base in arizona. authorities have already approved bringing up to ten more ukrainian pilots to the u.s. next, a republican congress man is under fire for comments about democratic congresswoman judy chu, the first chinese

american woman elected to congress. >> i question her loyalty or competence if she doesn't realize what's going on. >> congresswoman chu joins me next responding to those comments in a new msnbc op-ed this morning. dealing into this language permeating into our politics. s e permeating into our politics right? uhh...nope. intuit quickbooks helps you manage your payroll taxes, cheers! with 100% accurate tax calculations guaranteed. i think i'm ready for this. cheers! heck ya! with e*trade you're ready for anything. marriage. kids. college. kids moving back in after college. ♪ here's to getting financially ready for anything! and here's to being single and ready to mingle. who's ready to cha-cha?! ♪♪ ♪♪

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attack by a republican colleague. judy chu is chair of the congressional asian pacific caucus and the daughter of chinese american parents. texas republican congressman lance gooden suggested she should not have security clearance or active briefings because she'd supported a biden nominee who had been criticized in the daily caller which alleged she had ties to a front group for the chinese communist party. he also said this. >> i think everyone that's standing up for chinese communist parties should be looked into, yes. i question her either loyalty or competence if she doesn't realize what's going on. >> congressman gooden has stood by his comments and the daily caller defended its reporting on the biden nominee calling it well-research. two other members of the asian pacific american caucus said that nominee in question had undergone an extensive vetting process. chu has responded in an op-ed

saying his ugly and false accusations build on the centuries-long stereotype that chinese americans and asian americans more broadly are forever foreigners in their own land, adding, quote, i was not going to let this malicious xenophobic attack silence me in any way, so i have called these comments out for what they are, outrageous, disgusting and absolutely racist. congresswoman judy chu joins us now. talk to us about how you felt when you heard these words and why you felt you needed to respond the way you did. >> these words were outrageous, down right disgusting, and completely racist, and they are based on long-held stereotypes in this country that chinese americans and asian americans overall are forever foreigners in their own land, no matter how long they've been here or whether they've been someone like me who was born in los

angeles. my father fought for the u.s. as a world war ii veteran. i graduated from ucla, and i've been elected to offices in the united states for 37 years going from city council to congress. i know in other country than the united states, and yet, according to people like congress member gooden, i am a foreigner in my own land only marching to the beat of the chinese communist party. >> congresswoman, in your op-ed you invoked a number of moments in u.s. history including japanese internment, the persecution of muslims after the september 11th attack, most recently the attacks on aapi americans in most recent years. what do these all share in common, and what is it going to take for these attacks to stop? >> i am really alarmed by these terrible attacks, these false attacks because this comes on

the heel of three years of anti-asian hate. it all started when president trump called covid-19 the chinese virus and kung flu. there are many people that blamed asian americans for the covid-19 virus. as a result there have been over the last three years 11,500 anti-asian hate crimes and incidents going all the way from slanders and slurs to outright killings. and so we have this on top of that. this is a newfangled mccarthyism that is combining red scare tactics, racism, and xenophobia, and yes, history could be repeating itself because we know that there was the incarceration of japanese americans during world war ii, but let us not

forget that it did not happen overnight. first the leaders of the japanese american community were targeted as not being loyal to america and, in fact, being spies for japan. that was the basis for incarceraing 120,000 japanese americans who lost everything that they knew and had and, actually, to this day there has been not a single case of espionage against japanese americans proven. >> at the end of your piece you talk about the consequences if we don't address china the right way. are you confident that lawmakers will be able to approach china policy without any kind of racist or xenophobic jabs? >> well, this is why i am raising the alarm bell. the republicans have put forth this select committee on economic competition with china. if it was an actual serious committee looking at this very serious issue, i mean, there are

so many issues that arise because of the tensions between the u.s. and china, and certainly america needs to become the leader of the world again in innovation and research, which is why we have the inflation reduction act and the bipartisan infrastructure bill, but we need to do it the right way, without the xenophobic rhetoric. what worries me is right off the bat they are using these loyalty accusations and that could mean that there's much more xenophobic rhetoric to come. >> certainly hope not, congresswoman judy chu, thank you, i encourage everybody to read her new op-ed only on msnbc.com. that's it for me. i'll be right back here tomorrow. "josé diaz-balart reports" starts next. rrow "josé diaz-balart reports" starts next. surprise. [ laughs ] [ horn honks, muffled talking ] -can't hear you, jerry. -sorry. uh, yeah, can we get a system

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good morning, 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific, i'm josé diaz-balart. overnight in atlanta, a violent clash between protesters and police on the site of a planned police training facility, why authorities say protesters went on the attack. plus, terror in the skies, an emergency landing after passengers said they heard a big explosion and smoke filled the cabin. it's just one incident in a string of dangerous events on board planes with one passenger even killed. in ohio, we're live near the site of another norfolk southern train