1950s new york, and that plays into that as well. emily, thank you so much. we appreciate you taking the time for us at the velshi banned book club. emily van duyne, is professor of writing at stockton university in new jersey. author of the upcoming book, loving sylvia plath. a reclamation. to many members of the velshi vent been club, who may be feeling isolated, depressed, or it's experiencing a crisis of any kind, know that you are not alone. there are people who can help you. you can dial the number 988, the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline, provides 24/7 confidential help, if you or anyone you love needs or ever should need it, i will post that on social media. thank you for watching, velshi is gonna be back tomorrow morning from 10 am to noon eastern. my friend alex witt picks up our coverage right now. right now >> a very good day to all of you from the tom brokaw new center here in los angeles. welcome, everyone, to alex witt

reports. we begin with breaking news, in the last 24 hours, donald trump suffering two major legal blows when it comes to his actions on and around january 6th. three judges, on a federal appeals court unanimously dismissed trump's claims that he has immunity from several claims connected to the capitol riot. the judge overseeing the justice department's criminal case ruled trump has no protection from prosecution as a former president. let's go right now to nbc's dasha burns joining us from cedar rapids, iowa. where donald trump is expected to speak in this next hour. welcome to you, dasha. how is trump's legal team reacting to these back-to-back losses? >> well, trump spokesperson is reacting to both of these lawsuits, saying in a statement, in a response to the federal appeals court ruling, this is a limited narrow and procedural ruling, the facts fully show that on january 6th, president trump was acting on behalf of the american people. carrying out duties as president of the united states.

now, in response to judge chutkan's ruling in the d.c. case, the rhetoric amped up a little bit more. he said that the,uo, radical democrats and president joe biden are trying to, quote, set a dangerous presidents that would cripple future presidential administrations and our country as a whole, in their desperate effort to interfere in the 2024 presidential election action. there you have it. let's not forget, that he is at the same time as these cases are making their way through the courts, also running in the 2024 presidential election, trying to get through this primary, and then on to the general. look, these two rulings are troublesome for the former president. the federal appeals court ruling allows a number of pending cases that we're waiting for what the three judge panel were going to do, that we're waiting to proceed. now, they can move forward, because of what happened here. the ruling from judge chutkan

rejects one of trump's best and only claims to try to dismiss this d.c. case. now it is absolutely moving forward. one line from her ruling that really stood out to me, alex, she said that just because, essentially, you are the former president of the united states, that does not confer a, quote, a lifelong get out of jail free pass that case is set to begin in march, that is a case that is most likely to really play out all through the election cycle here. and getting in just before, potentially, super tuesday, set to begin march 4th, alex? >> hey, dasha, i'm curious, since you're there and donald trump was to speak there shortly, have you gotten a chance to talk to anybody there in the crowd, getting reaction? the fact is, these people are out, it's cold, i see how you're dressed, it's the middle of iowa. these people are coming out in droves to see him, do they sympathize with the president? or does anybody see him as a is

deserving, i guess these kinds of rulings, and really questioning the way these things, i mean, or maybe really are in droves? they're how crowded is it? >> it's crowded, there's a very long line, i don't know if steve our camera man here can show you. there is a very long line, the event is not set to start for a few hours here. it's not set to start until 3:00 central time, 4:00 eastern. already, people are waiting in line to get in. look, this is a trump event. the people who are here are major fans of former president trump. and i'll tell you, whenever rulings like this that go against the former president come out, his fans come in. they come in, they rally around him. the thing is, there are people here in iowa, especially in iowans, they want to kick the tires of all the candidates. you've got this, 30, 35% of republican primary voters that are basically in the loophole that are gonna be at a sidearm at or what.

you've got another 60, 70% that are not certain, or never trumpers. they are absolutely concerned about rulings like this, and about the distraction, most of all, that it poses to the country into the real issues that hit home for them, alex? >> okay, dasha burns, many thanks from cedar rapids. appreciate that. in just a few minutes from now, january six lead investigator tim hey fee is gonna really weigh in on all of trump's legal development. as well as the allegations the new ones made in liz cheney's new book. in the meantime, new today, expelled congressman george santos vowing revenge against at least four congressional colleagues. saying that he plans to file an ethics complaint against them. this, after being tossed from the house in a bipartisan vote on friday. the house ethics committee had found overwhelming evidence of unlawful conduct, he is also facing 23 felony charges, santos maintains his innocence. after the vote, locks on his office were changed, he was marched out of the capitol with

a few words, as constituents in his new york district took in all the news. >> congressman, what do you state your constituents? >> excuse me. you guys gotta get out of my way. >> i'm delighted they finally got their act together to get rid of this guy. >> he's a bum. a liar, a bum, a fraud. i mean, he shouldn't be in government. would you hire him? >> he wasn't convicted of a crime, he hasn't done anything worse than any other politician. so, why him? >> joining me now, emily no. new york political reporter from politico. let me first begin with the threat that santos has made to file an ethics complaint against four of his congressional colleagues. he would be doing so as a private citizen. thus far, he has targeted three republican members of congress from new york, and democrat rob menendez of new jersey. is this just a revenge play? does this have any teeth to it?

>> maybe not. but he's demonstrated in his 11 months in office that he will speak up. and that he wouldn't go quietly if and when, if they finally have ousted him. i'll point to mike lawler, and nick -- his particular his colleagues around new york state who were vulnerable, who are up for reelection. but have competitive sites in 2024. they have been very vocal in attacking him. in maintaining that he has no place in congress for his alleged fraud. for his apparent lies. he wants to strike back. he's out of office, now something that he told me, told other reporters, that he knew the votes were there for. he doesn't want to go quietly. he loves the public eye. he loves the spotlight. he's out for revenge. yes. >> so, up to the very last minute, as you know, it wasn't quite clear if this vote was going to pass. ultimately, the top four

republicans in leadership, they did vote against the measure. what drove the other republicans to push him out, even though it now narrows their hold in the house. >> you're right. it was a bit of a surprise to see so many republicans dismissed the signal from leadership, from steve scalise, from mike johnson, from stefanik, who said they'd vote against the expulsion measure. but i really found that george santos had wronged a lot of his colleagues on the republican, including max miller. of course, he had enemies, opponents, like i said, -- as well as anthony d'esposito. republicans on long island who really iced him out, from the outset, from the time that george santos took office, in january, said they didn't want him there, didn't want to work with him. and i feel that the rank and follow colleagues on the one to able to convince other republicans to come to their side to vote for expulsion, to make sure that george santos wasn't there for next year to, at the very least, serve as a

distraction. there is, of course, the concern about the republican party holding the majority in that chamber. there's the short term vision in -- having santos as a reliable republican vote. in the long term, about some of these more vulnerable republicans maintaining their seats. >> so, we have ten days to decide a date for this upcoming election, a special election. how is that going to work out timing wise? how long after the announcement will that date be held? and are there any front runners, by the, way to replace him? >> so, we do expect a special election, which will be very, very heavily covered, which will be very, very expensive, tons of outside money pouring in. it will take place on a tuesday in february, like you said, governor kathy hochul from yesterday, from that vacated seat, has ten days to set a date for the special election, and then it comes 70 to 80 days later. yes, there are front runners, jay jacobs, who is the chair of the new york state democratic

party tells me, he and gregory -- the congressman who's in charge of the queens democratic party, will announce the decision on a nominee for that party on tuesday. we expect that to be former congressman tom suozzi. other contenders as well. state senator anna kaplan. among them. we do see that a lot of the other democrats have consolidated behind suozzi. republicans have a much wider view of the play, a lot of top contenders there. >> is this expected to revert to a blue seat? >> that is not necessarily the expectation, it's very much up to the process. a very much a biden district. the trends thus far in the last two local elections have been the republicans have the momentum, that they have taken local seats. and the republicans are really out to hold that seat. they have a number of contenders that would pose a threat to democrats, including a woman named -- a very compelling back story. >> okay, emily ngo, we'll be talking with you to the next couple of months. thank you much. let's go now to the breaking

news in the israel-hamas war, right now, israel is bombing targets in southern gaza. also, ordering residents to evacuate after that cease-fire fell apart on friday. israel says it has struck more than 400 hamas targets in the last 24 hours. and according to the health ministry in hamas-run gaza, at least 200 palestinians have been killed since the fighting resumed. this comes as israeli military analysts reportedly warned officials of a hamas war plan over a year ago, but they were dismissed by their superiors. joining me now from tel aviv israel, nbc's david maria. david, welcome. let's talk first about the resumption infighting, and the state of any potential negotiations to get hostages released again. >> alex, hi. israel's military campaign in the gaza strip has resumed. it has resumed intensely. as you said israel says it has targeted at least 400 targets, it's important that these are

across the length and width of the gaza strip, including many in southern gaza. before the cease-fire, much of the campaign was focused on the north, now it appears a lot of his focus on the south. that's significant, a large number of civilians were displaced from the north of gaza into the south of gaza. the hamas-run health ministry says that of the 200 growing number, but of the show for 200 or so casualties, deaths since the resumption of hostilities, most of them are women and children. the idf says it is not targeting civilians, it is targeting hamas targets. it says that it is asking civilians who evacuated different specific areas of the south, what we're hearing from people on the ground in gaza. many of them have been made to evacuate once, twice, even perhaps more times than they feel there is nowhere safe for them to go. as far as the negotiations, at this moment, they seem to be broken down. it will seem to have a team mostly from the mossad, in doha,

on qatar, to resume those negotiations today. a few hours later, this happened just in the past few hours here local time, that team was withdrawn and brought back to israel. as of now, there are no direct ongoing to go she asians. that doesn't mean that the diplomatic efforts to resume them, specifically on the part of the united states, according to the white house, there are at least eight americans still captive inside the gaza strip. u.s. authorities say they're doing everything possible to resume negotiations for a new cease-fire. secretary of state, tony blinken, was asked about this. here's what he had to say. >> the hostages, as i, said we are intensely focused on that. we're determined to do everything we can to get everyone home. to get them reunited with their families. including pursuing the process that worked for seven days. we had seven days of a pause. seven days of people coming home, reunited with their families. so, we're on that almost hour by hour.

>> alex, even if there is a renewal in negotiations, and possibly even a cease-fire, the messaging that we're getting from israeli authorities, is that their intention is to continue this military campaign. idf spokesperson said just today, they consider that this will be a long war, in his words, they wore that is not bound by time. alex? >> i'll tell you, he has been our secretary of state, ceaselessly working on this, including a lot more work to do. david noriega, many thanks. one description of donald trump that came up around january 6th. and it's in liz cheney's new book, and we'll leave you shaking your head. the league 16 investigator joins me next, we're back in 60 seconds. 6 seconds. for your goals okay, great. j.p. morgan wealth management. (christina) with verizon business unlimited, i get 5g, truly unlimited data, and unlimited hotspot data. okay, great. so, no matter what, i'm running this kitchen. (vo) make the switch. it's your business.

it's your verizon. honey... honey... nyquil severe honey. powerful cold and flu relief with a dreamy honey taste. nyquil honey, the nighttime, sniffing, sneezing, couging, aching, fever, honey-licious, best sleep with a cold, medicine. the chase ink business premier card is made for sam who makes, everyday products, designed smarter. genius! like 2.5% cash back on purchases of $5,000 or more, so sam can make smart ideas, a brilliant reality! chase for business. make more of what's yours. a new book, o oath and honor, takes readers behind the scenes a critical moment before the january 6th attack on the capitol. author and former republican congresswoman, liz cheney, quote kevin mccarthy, saying donald trump knew he lost two

days after the 2020 election. jim jordan, later telling her, the only thing that matters is winning. mike johnson telling her, we just need to do this one last thing for trump, and the other gop congresswoman, referring to trump as, quote, orange jesus. joining me now, timothy heaphy, for us attorney, and former lead in investigator on the 16 committee. always glad to have, here as i shake my head, reading these quotes from her book, is liz cheney revealing anything you didn't know that might have been useful to the january 6th committee? and what did the committee know, overall, about the roles that members of congress played? >> sure, miss cheney's book has some anecdotes that reinforce our core story, alex. we knew that members of congress were actively facilitating the big lie. and were part of a multi part plan to disrupt the joint session. we unfortunately didn't get a lot of this direct evidence, like liz cheney is recounting

in her book. we subpoenaed jim jordan, we subpoenaed kevin mccarthy, and they refused to cooperate. it's very difficult for congressional committee to investigate congress. the enforceability of those subpoenas was a legal issue that was unsettled. and we didn't have a lot of confidence when we issued them that they would lead to real cooperation. so, i would say we developed a lot of circumstantial evidence of the role of members of congress at the very active role of certain members of congress, but we weren't successful in breaking into that black box, and getting direct evidence that miss cheney, who of course, was a member of the republican caucus at the time, was able to share in her book. >> i have to tell you, i'm still rather stunned that not complying with a subpoena, that, legally, is still something that unsettled. i find that stunning. let's move on to win cheney says kevin mccarthy told her that trump knew he lost. can quotes like this be helpful in trump's 16 trial? prosecutor see her as a

potential witness? >> well, the prosecutor would certainly like to get information from anyone who had direct communication with the president. so, miss cheney's account of this comes from kevin mccarthy, who had a conversation with the president. that's hearsay. therefore, probably not something admissible in a criminal case. there's a lot of smoke here. we billowed that smoke, but the direct evidence, the fire, is the direct evidence of what the president said, that's the most direct manifestation of his intent. so, people like kevin mccarthy, people that had those direct communications with the president, mike pence for example, they will be very important witnesses. because that's not hearsay. that would be an admission, or a statement by a party opponent that's not hearsay. there are a lot of evidentiary matters that jack smith in judge chutkan will have to sort out. but it all points to further evidence, alex, that the

president knew, was informed repeatedly, understood that he lost the election. >> so, yesterday, as you know, donald trump lost to presidential immunity arguments in court, a federal appeals court in d.c. unanimously reject his argument ruling he can be sued in january 6th civil lawsuits. and in his 16 criminal case in d.c., judge tanya chutkan wrote, the presidency does not confer a lifelong get out of jail free pass. tim, how do you see these rulings impacting his 16 trials? >> look, the only thing that potentially impacts them is the timing. this is, we think, an immediately appealable order. jurisdictional question like can a person be subject to criminal charge? it's something that's a threshold issue that the appellate court would have to decide prior to trial. the reasoning, however, is very, very straightforward. just because your president of the united states, does not make everything you do, well president, subject to immunity. only things that you do in your

official capacity, things that forward an official function, or potentially covered by that immunity. here, everything he did to disrupt the transfer of power, to interfere with a joint session, the government's position as judge chutkan found outside of a official capacity, it's as if you were to rob a bank as president, that's not anything that facilitates your official role as president. you are potentially criminally responsible for that. this is a very similar incident. things outside of the scope of his official capacity. >> yeah, the extent of a campaign, plenty of presidents don't run again for the presidency. the is that. let me ask about judge chutkan, who has you know, also dismissed his argument that the d.c. indictment violates his first amdmt rights. earlier in the week, she denied his attempt to subpoena, quote, missing records from the january 6th committee. and the judge likened his request to something like a fishing expedition. to your knowledge, tim, what happened to all the committees records? what do you think trump is

looking for? >> yeah, there is no missing records. there is nothing here that has been hidden from the public. the committee meticulously documented, categorized, and disclosed our official records. they went to the archives, in the remainer went to the custodian committee, which is the homeland security committee. what he's referring to our videotapes of the transcripts, the written transcripts, which will provide. the videotapes are not the official record. the transcript is the official record. well the tapes i do not believe are classified by the house lawyers as official records, the substance of what the witnesses said in the transcripts were certainly records. not only been archived, but it made public. this notion that there is this treasure trove of information that was hidden is just ridiculous. >> another new filing in the d.c. criminal case suggests that trump's lawyers intend to argue he genuinely believed his

own false claims that the election was stolen, and lacked criminal intent required for a jury to find him guilty. when we have these direct quotes from republicans, tim, admitting they knew, and he knew he lost, long before january 6th, how far can he take this line of defense? >> yeah, two points here. one, there is a lot of evidence, as you said, alex, that he certainly knew. he was informed repeatedly by very credible sources, very close to him, who had looked into these claims. that they were bogus. yet he persisted. it would be hard for him, factually, to make the claim that he sincerely believed in election fraud in the face of that. second of, all it doesn't matter as a matter of law. all that the special counsel in the march 4th case has to prove, that he took action with the specific intent to disrupt the joint session. even if he sincerely believed that the election was stolen, that doesn't justify a

submission of fake electors, potential personnel change in the form of justice, and ultimately, with rhetoric on the ellipse sending an angry mob to the president. to the capitol, bent on hanging mike pence and disrupting the joint session. it's as if and saying that you believe that money has been unfairly taken from, you and it's doesn't give you the right to go take it from the bank there are laws in place. it doesn't matter ultimately, if you believe the election was stolen, if there's evidence of disrupt to disrupt a joint session. >> timothy heaphy, one of my favorite guests always, thank you for joining us for a great conversation. we have some breaking news to share about something vice president kamala harris just said after a break. id after a break like carpal tunnel syndrome, shortness of breath, and irregular heartbeat could mean something more serious, called attr-cm a rare, underdiagnosed disease that worsens over time. sound like you? call your cardiologist and ask about attr-cm.

woman: who's that, who is that? cole: this is my puppy! woman: cancer. it's different in a child. because your child is still growing. charlie: i had 14 rounds of chemo. there's thousands and thousands of kids all over the world who need help. girl: it is my first time having cancer. and it's the very worst. spokesman: saint jude children's research hospital works day after day to find cures and save the lives of children with cancer and other life threatening diseases. woman: it's scary to watch your kid battle and fight for their lives.

spokesman: 1 in 5 children diagnosed with cancer in the us will not survive. woman: childhood cancer is hard. it's a long road. you just have to give. you have to give someone that hope. and especially with them being so young. spokesman: please, call, go on line, or scan the qr code for only $19 a month. families never receive a bill from saint jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. man: she grew up in this. so when we go to st. jude, she's happy, because that's her home. every time i take her to the doctor, she's excited because she gets to play. and that's all because of saint jude. spokesman: when you call or go online with your credit or debit card right now, we'll send you this saint jude t-shirt you can wear to show your support to help saint jude save the lives of these children.

woman: [non-english speech] spokesman: let's cure childhood cancer together. breaking news, the at bombas, we're obsessed with comfort. quality. movement. because your basic things should be your best things. one purchased equals one donated. visit bombas.com and get 20% off your first order.

philippines and several nearby countries are under a tsunami warning after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck south of the philippines today. there are no orderly reports of major damage or casualties from

this quake and there is no tsunami threat to alaska, hawaii, or the western coast of the united states. meanwhile, this news a major announcement from vice president kamala harris a global summit in dubai the vp says the u.s. is pledging three billion dollars to the u.n.'s main climate fund. harris as the money will help develop the need to fight climate change. >> today we are demonstrating through action how the world can and must meet this crisis. this is a pivotal moment. our action, collectively, or worse, our inaction, will impact the billions of people for decades to come. >> nbc's josh lederman of joining us now from our london bureau. you are outside but thank you for joining us. the summit is bringing together leaders from around the world. tell us what happened today.

>> reporter: alex, despite all of those world leaders gathering in dubai it has actually been a challenge to keep the focus on climate change. the summit has largely been overshadowed by the war in gaza. behind the scene conversations including by president harris about the war going on there. that is why harris and other leaders have been trying so hard to try to redirect the focus back to the urgent crisis of climate change and trying to galvanize action before it is too late. i want you to hear how harris described the urgency of the threat, take a listen. >> in order to keep our critical 1.5 degrees celsius goal within reach, we must have the ambition to meet this moment, to accelerate our ongoing work, increase our investments in the lead with courage and conviction. even given the challenges we

face, i am optimistic. >> reporter: as part of her appearance today in dubai, alex, the vice president announced the united states will contribute a three billion dollars to the green climate fund. which also involves other nations pitching in. he also reported the new u.s. is restricting methane emissions from oil and gas companies. methane a very powerful and potent greenhouse gas. other major announcement that came out of the summit today included a group of 50 or companies announcing that they too will trying to lower their mission from their oil and gas production. we also heard 22 countries vowed to triple their production of nuclear energy which is created without carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2050. of course, the proof of the putting is always in the eating, alex. it is always a question of whether these pledges being made are actually going to be lived up to. environmentalists feel like

this is far too little. instead of talking about phasing downfalls of heels the world needs to be talking about completely eliminating fossil fuels right now, alex. >> i'll tell you, actions are gonna speak louder than words. but it is going to take a global effort. thank you so much, josh global man. more breaking news, the hamas -- is being blamed on is, let's go to hamas -- what are we hearing from secretary blinken on this? >> alex, we know that there has been this back and forth between israel and hamas about who ended the truce. each side blaming the other side. secretary blinken very squarely put the fault in hamas's lump for why this truce and it and why the assault on gaza resumed by israel. i want to do here just a portion of what the secretary had to say on the ground in dubai where he is attending the same conference of a president 's. >> it is also important to understand why the pause came to an end. it came to an end because of

hamas. hamas reneged on commitments it made. even before the pause came to an end, it committed an atrocious terrorist attack in jerusalem, killing three people and wounding others, including americans. it began firing rockets before the pause it ended. and like i said, it reneged on its agreements in terms of releasing certain hostages. >> i think you can see clearly where the u.s. stands on this current state of the pause that was in place. at the same time, secretary blinken went on to say that the effort to try to figure out a way to get more hostages out of hamas's position is still enough for that is being made by the u.s.. we know the vice president today had meetings or phone calls with several of the leaders in the middle east about this very issue. she spoke with the qatari leader by phone, as well as with the king of jordan and others in that region. there is still an effort by the u.s. to try to see if there is a way to pause the fighting to

continue the work on getting more than 100 hostages who are still in gaza out of harm's way alex. >> i tell you all these diplomatic efforts behind the scenes. that hopes that it leads to actual negotiation efforts. thank you so much, erin. new reaction to the hamas plans to start a war. what should've happened, but didn't?

honey, i think i heard something. ok. ♪ from christmas tree mats... to floorliners... cargo liners.... no drill mud flaps... seat protectors... and more... weathertech has the perfect holiday gift. honey, is everything ok? oh yeah. order at weathertech.com and don't forget weathertech gift cards.

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. a new nbc news report reveals it's smarter, healthier pet food.

at israeli in the military

analysts warned officials abo a serious threat of hamas militants three months before the october 7th attack. it follows a similar new york times report that israel obtained a detailed plan for hamas attack over a year ago, it was dismissed by officials as too complicated to carry out. joining me now, former nbc news correspondent and tel aviv bureau chief, martin fletcher. eight of his family members were taken hostage. all but one have been released. martin, my friend, we welcome you to the broadcast. before we get into your personal experience i do want to ask you about these reports that israeli intelligence was aware hamas with winning a major attack. you know the israeli government very well. where do you see the fatal flaw in their reasoning to dismiss this plan? what should've happened here that didn't? >> there is a kind of arrogance in the israeli military. that came into play here. they misinterpreted information they got before the 1973 war. they thought the arabs would

not be capable of the attack. that is apparently exactly what happened here. credit where credit is due. for the israeli intelligence service to get the hamas attack plan a year ago, as the new york times report is correct, and i'm sure that it is. that was an incredible intelligence triumph. misinterpreting it, that was an intelligence disaster. that led, of course, to the worst day in israel's history. i think these military intelligence in israel failed completely and it interpreted the great success of their human -- why did they misinterpreted? as i said, the israeli army just simply did not believe that the arabs are capable of doing what they did. they were totally wrong. >> what kind of pressure is this going to put on prime minister netanyahu? as you know, also facing escalating calls to and this war, to bring the remaining hostages home. >> i think it is going to increase the pressure tremendously. netanyahu, from the beginning, essentially accused the

military intelligence and service intelligence of being responsible for the failure. basically washing its hands of the government's role in this saying, look, the potential for arrival at the end of this terrible war. what this does, what these reports show is he must've been as of where have the military about hamas planning. and was party to the idea that they couldn't possibly carry it off. i think for netanyahu's arrival this is yet another nail in the coffin. for his ability to continue after the war as israel prime minister. i mean, there is going to be so much anger at him. there already is, of course. it is being controlled while the wars being fought. at the end of this war there will be accounts be settled. foremost among them will be getting rid of prime minister netanyahu after 15 years of leading israel. based on what you said you think there is no way that netanyahu was not made aware by intelligence services?

they would've taken something like this and shown it to him or at least briefed him on? it >> i have been told that there is a code name inside the report, the analyst who made the report, put it together about hamas's intentions. this guy is a sum of one of netanyahu's best friends so the idea that he would not have known about this is a complete nonstarter. >> martin, just so folks know what we are looking at here, not too far from where you are in tel aviv we are looking at thousands who have gathered there. they are calling for an end for this war or at least at minimum to bring the hostages a home. that is a sense that it's been prevailing throughout these 50 or 60 days ever since october 7th. it is pretty trrdinary there. there you can see a peaceful demonstration in tel aviv that effect. israeli officials, martin, the

pause in fighting ended on friday because of a stalemate in negotiations to exchange hostages and prisoners. the white house blaming hamas for itting the fighting in failing to release hostages it had pledged to release. there are still 136 hostages being held in gaza, including your relative. -- whose wife and two children were released this week. what are your thoughts given what you have personally at stake here? what is your response to resumption infighting right now? and not extending the negotiations to get these hostages home? >> i think the difficulty for israelis is separating that personal interest, as you say, i do have a personal interest. separating the personal interest from what is clearly what needs to be done by the state of israel and its fight against hamas. of course, everybody with the relatives who have hostages who are relatives want the negotiation to continue.

we know that the only way to get the hostages back is through negotiation. we do not really expect the military to build a fund that large amount of people being hidden tunnels all across the gaza strip. we know there is a real price to pay if the war continues. of course, thes continuing. hostages may well end up paying the price. their families are exerting enormous pressure on the israeli government to resume the negotiations and to get hostages out. to get them home. there is also a great feeling inside of israel that the war needs to be prosecuted to the and to destroy hamas, so that this can never happen again. again, it is like an emotional rollercoaster, you know? on the one hand, of course, everyone wants the hostages freed. on the other hand, of course, everyone wants must be destroyed so they can't do this again. hamas says promised, they have said repeatedly, this is just the first of the attacks. they will do it a second, if, third a fourth time. this is coming from a mass spokesman. yes, get the hostages home. but at the same time, destroy hamas.

it is a contradiction at the very hard where israel stands today. a tough one, particularly for those like you who have loved ones still held hostage. martin fletcher, my friend, we appreciate you as always. thank you so much for your friends -- you can argue it is the third rail of politics. what happens when you touch? it donald trump has tried, of course. it may not end well! nd well! ♪ tensions... were high. ♪ luckily, replacement costumes were shipped with fedex. which means mr. harvey... could picture the perfect night. ♪ we're delivering more happy for the holidays. ♪

my frequent heartburn had me taking antacid after antacid all day long but with prilosec otc just one pill a day blocks heartburn for a full 24 hours. for one and done heartburn relief, prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. only at vanguard, you're more than just an investor,

for you're an owner.tburn relief, prilosec otc. our financial planning tools and advice can help you prepare for today's longer retirement. hi mom. that's the value of ownership. the subway series is taking your favorite to the next level! like the #20. the elite chicken and bacon ranch. built with rotisserie-style chicken and double cheese. i love what i'm seeing here. that's some well-coached chicken. you done, peyton? the subway series just keeps gettin' better. when you're ready to begin treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, calquence helps you do the fighting. and you can do the exploring. you can do the splashing... ...the sightseeing... ...and the playing. calquence is an oral targeted therapy for cll. more patients begin with calquence

than any treatment of its kind, and calquence is proven to work better than chemoimmunotherapy in patients with previously untreated cll. calquence may cause serious side effects, which may lead to death. these include serious infections with fever, chills, or flu-like symptoms; and bleeding problems that may increase with blood thinners. decreased blood counts are common and can be severe. new cancers have happened, including skin cancers. heart rhythm problems with fast or irregular heartbeat, dizziness, feeling faint, chest discomfort, or shortness of breath, have happened. tell your doctor if you have bleeding, heart rhythm, or liver problems; infection, or if you are or plan to be pregnant or breastfeeding. calquence helps you do the fighting. and you can focus on the things you're loving. ask your doctor if calquence is right for you. a new report claims trump

allies are already pre screening the ideologies of thousand potentialappointees and employees and casey with fact the white house. axios obtained the 2020 research questionnaire used routinely by trump during his final days in office when most moderates and established figures had either been fired or quit. it includes questions such as, have you ever appeared in the media to comment on trump or the trump administration? is there anything in your background that could potentially embarrass the administration were to come out? joining me now is peter baker, msnbc political analyst, chief white house correspondent for the new york times, and coauthor of, the divider trump in the white house 2017 to 2021. welcome my friend! as you look at this questionnaire, what does it tell you about the focus for hiring? the potential people that trump would want to have around him in a second term? >> for donald trump is all about loyalty. it is not about ideology, it's not about philosophy, or issues or policies, it is all about

loyalty to him. look, every president comes in and they want to hire people who support them, who support their administration. that makes sense, obviously. you don't want to haul lot of people undermining you. some presidents are more open to having people in their cabinet or mr. asians who may be from different parts of their party or sometimes even different party. both george w. bush and barack obama had members of the other party in their cabinet. you will never see that with donald trump. donald trump, but he learned in his first term, is dealing with people who are going to be completely on his side. of the people he hired in his first term, within the first couple of years he found to be thwarting his ambition. people like john kelly, hr mcmaster, jim maddox. people who did not think what he was doing was wise, or legal, or constitutional times. they resisted when they thought he was going too far. he does not want those people around him in a second term. he only wants people who will support whatever he's doing. he's putting not just people in

political position who are lawyer, that is not that unusual, he is trying to carve these people deeper into the civil service. which would typically be neutral with republican in presidential candidates. that he's saying i want to control much more the government and the president has controlled in the past century. >> which leads to the washington post, editor, sounding the alarm on what could happen if donald trump becomes the republican nominee. in his new op-ed, robert kagan said a trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable because, until now, republicans and conservatives have enjoyed relative freedom to express anti trump sentiments. all of this will and once trump win super tuesday. do you think that is a legitimate concern? that gop critics could be silenced? >> i think that they likely would be. that is certainly what history has shown us. bob kagan it's someone that's been sounding the alarm about donald trump for years. he was one of the original people to write a very powerful piece back in the first trump campaign morning that this is

someone who has otto craddock tendencies he argued he could be a fascist. what we are seeing here, pay attention, according to bob kagan. it could be worse than the second term because he will not have checks in the system, there will not be anyone in the republican party he stands up to him because he will prove that he is the dominant force in their party despite 91 felony counts, despite the indictments, despite everything else. robbie kagan's point was saying that he will be able to get around with a whole lot more without the checks and balance that traditionally restrain the presidents in both parties. >> in that same op-ed, robert kagan also says this, peter. trump will enter the general action campaign early next year, backed by growing political and financial resources and an increasingly unified party. can the same be said of biden? peter, what is the answer to that? >> well, we are a long way away from that, obviously. we have to be careful about

making predictions. it is true right now that the democrats are in a tough position. they are divided over the israel gaza war. particularly generationally. a lot of younger democrats are very upset at the biden administration. younger voters that he needs in order to win reelection. they know that. they tend to think that that will play itself out by the time we get to the general action next year. it is actually a choice between biden and some of these liberals who democrats may not be happy with. and trump will be portrayed and be seen by many americans as a danger to the system a danger to the country and those who will return to biden's camp. they may not be excited about it but at the end of the day they will not want to see donald trump back in office that is their theory it is a gamble, we do not know how it's gonna play out. now we have a ceiling that trump has a hard time going above. there are people who may not be excited about biden but who will not vote for trump. the question is can biden who -- get the people who may not be

excited out and return to vote for him. >> right,. exci the biden party has bacd away from a cause to dismantle obamacare but in a series of social media post on trump is doubling down on replacing the affordability -- this is a proven loser issue for republicans of what is he doing? is there a strategy that you could argue they knew third rail of politics of sorts? >> it may not be a strategy, it may just be an impossible. with trump you are never entirely sure. he had all the opportunity in the world to get rid of obamacare and replaced with something else he said he would replace it was a much better system he never even developed a plan he had two years where he was in complete control in washington he had the senate republicans and republicans in the house. they couldn't do. it is hard for him to return to an issue -- the polls once show that obamacare was unpopular back when i was first put in place. it has shifted over the year. today it is more popular. people do not want to get rid of. it i think a lot of republicans

are nervous about that issue coming up again. they do not see that as a winner on the campaign trail. >> glad that he said what you had. lest we all forget. all right, peter, good to see you my friend. >> the state of texas and its republican governor lose a court ruling again over a controversial border measure. the pictures are from the home of a u.s. congressman. it was just vandalized. i will be speaking with him in the next hour. that éclair. don't touch it, don't touch it yet. let me get the big one. nope. -this one? -nope. -this one? -yes. no. what? the big one. they're all the same size. wait! lemme get 'em all. i'm gonna get 'em all! earn big with chase freedom unlimited. how do you cashback? chase. make more of what's yours.

(christina) with verizon business unlimited, chase. i get 5g, truly unlimited data, and unlimited hotspot data. so, no matter what, i'm running this kitchen. (vo) make the switch. it's your business.

it's your verizon. the new subway mvp rewards earns you points for every order. this mvp uses it for free subs. you can use your points for anything. like free cookies. whoa, peyton. what — i'm not playing anymore. join now and get a free cookie when you buy a sub. the power goes out and we still have wifi what — i'm not to do our homework. and that's a good thing? great in my book! who are you? no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up to keep you online. only from xfinity. let's go to let's go now home of the xfinity 10g network.

today's top stories. to today's other top stories police are searching for a possible syria killer los angeles after three homeless people and the potential killer in a getaway car. police are warning people to not sleep outside. will not take advantage of the inmate who attacked former minneapolis officer derek chauvin in prison was charged with attempted murder. john tercek, a gang member and former fbi informant, stabbed chauvin 22 times and told fbi

agents, it was a symbolic connection to the black lives matter movement. and a federal appeals court is ordering texas to remove the floating barrier from the rio grande. the 2 to 1 ruling upholds a lower court's findings, at the buoy is illegal and a threat to human life. puican governor greg abbott responded, threatening to take back case to the supreme court. in just moments, we're going to have a lot re news for you as we hear from the congressman adam smith the shington state after his home was vandalized by cease-fire activists, plus, it has got to hurt. stunning rulings in two of the cases against donald trump, one of them harking back to a beloved board game. . >> as i bet you all very good day here from nbc news in los angeles, welcome everyone to alex witt reports, we have breaking news in the israel-hamas war right now. israel is pounding targets in southern gaza, and ordering residents there to evacuate after that seven-day cease-fire,