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iowa caucuses is donald trump as you see what could be most terribly described as a unique strategy and his closing arguments to voters, with a link with john mccain making more headlines with his plans for a second term. one of his supporters in congress is already safe shave may not certify the 2024 results before a single ballot is cast. >> what about 2024? what about 2024? >> we will see if this is illegal and valid election. what we're seeing so far is that's democrats are so desperate they're trying to remove president trump from the ballot. >> just to be very clear, i don't hear you say committed to certify the election results. will you only commit to certify the results of the president trump once? if former president trump wins? >> it means that they're constitutional. what we saw in 2020 was unconstitutional. >> meanwhile, his challengers are looking for any signs of hope that they could pull off the impossible, and upsets --

the former president is also facing a busy legal week. he is going to be at a crucial appeal hearing on presidential immunity on tuesday. closing arguments in his new york fraud trial on thursday, plus, defense secretary, lloyd austin, under fire after keeping a health scare that had him in the icu. this is a secret, even from his boss, the president. we learned that biden wasn't the only key figure who is kept in the dark. that new information is next as well. then capitol hill, back in session this week with a shutdown looming. can they get a deal? we're going to ask congresswoman, melanie stansbury, coming up. all, that the latest on planes grounded across the country today as the investigation into what caused a wall of alaska where airlines plane to be sucked out. elaborate on that ahead as well. >> we want to begin with just eight days left before the iowa caucus, in front runner, donald trump, made a bombastic appearance in front of voters this weekend. with a wide range of baffling

remarks. he had comments and everything from the civil war, abraham lincoln, a january 6th. even the possibility that some of his republican opponents could get into their own legal trouble. if elected. >> if you negotiate, then you probably wouldn't know who abraham lincoln was. lincoln was -- what happened with the j six hostages, it's a terrible thing. they'll be indicted, they'll say she was having an affair or something, you know? it doesn't mean it's line, but she'll be indicted for something. rhonda scent ammonia's will be indicted. he's not going to handle at the same way as i am. >> nbc news correspondents is on the -- i think a lot of folks were surprised by this tactic taken by the former president, and the way that he went after him? i'm not necessarily sure this is the strategy or what we're seeing here, ali. >> i was going to say, yasmin,

i'm not sure by ascribe too much strategy or tactical value to that. it stream of consciousness. it's frankly what we've seen from the former president throughout his time on the campaign trail, from the time that i started covering him in 2015, nevertheless, that is his closing note here in iowa. he made appearances throughout the weekend, notable that he was here on the ground and disclosing period of the caucus because he hasn't spent nearly as much time here on the ground as his rivals, including ron desantis who will eventually take the stage behind me and the next few minutes. still, trump has the lead in the polls, and comfortably so. what people like to santas, once he gets on stage behind me, as well as nikki haley,nd vivek warmer swami, they are competing for second as they have the entire time. they're hoping to make it close, and desantis, case he had laid out the metric that he should be winning and iowa. haley, of course, never laid such a metric. their team is hoping that they can at least place a strong second and springboard into the states. as far as what we're seen on

the ground here today, look, this is what you want to see in the closing days to the iowa caucus. you look behind, me you see a packed house. you also see validators onstage. you mentioned congress is going back into session. until they do, you've got two of the key endorsers here on the ground, stomping for ron desantis. you have congressman on stage right now, and firebrand congressman, ship, roy will follow him. it's rare to see lawmakers endorsing someone not named trump, but it's also why they're out here on the campaign trail to pitch a different feature, different nominee to republicans in the state. >> ali, weather can oftentimes be a predictor of turnout when it comes to elections in general, right? we're looking at iowa. the caucus is there, and caucus day, by the, way the current forecast for that day, we've been seen over the last couple days all bundled up while we've been speaking with you, it's going to be zero degrees with the wind chill of minus 16. are their expectations this

could affect turnout? >> first of, all your see me bundled up not because i'm a baby about the cold weather, though i have been accused of that, but because it's actually very cold here. i know that that's something that lens to the dynamics of winter in iowa. all of us come here prepared to be cold. at the same, time when you look at what it takes on caucus, night there is the threshold to get it in these, rooms to caucus. it happens on a monday night. there are some who would say that the caucus system, overall, is not accessible to the majority of would-be voters. what it looks like the caucus is to get in your jams, your local high schools, get in the cafeterias, and talk with other members of your community. everyone cast their votes, but there is a pretty good amount of convincing that goes on between different people to try to get their neighbors and their friends over to their candidates cause. it's a high threshold already, make it a cold, potentially, snowy it adds further barriers, it could mean that we see turnout be lower. it is a week out, over a week

out, it's too soon to say what that impact is going to be. as usual, we always look at the weather report before big election days. no different here in iowa, as it's cold, but at the same, time is always cold. is going to come down to turnout, as it always does. >> listen, ali, always looking better than me, my friend, out there in the cold. ty have known -- >> you're amazing, stop it. >> i have been known to cheer, i have been known to snot. i have done it all in the middle of a live shot when it's that cold. >> me too. >> gotta keep those tissues nearby. ali, thank you, appreciate it. so new details emerging today regarding the hospitalization of lloyd austin. he transferred responsibility to his deputy secretary, kathleen hicks, on tuesday january 2nd. she was not told he was in the hospital until thursday, january 5th. while she was on vacation in puerto rico. nbc news reporting that the pentagon did not form the white house of his icu stated walter reed medical state antilles for days after he was

admitted. the hospitalization was, quote unquote, complications following a recent elected medical procedure. austin, who resume full duties on friday, i spoke with president biden lesson. i want to bring in nbc's allie raffa, who's in wilmington, delaware. what are you hearing here about a secretary austin's condition, and when he is expected to be released from the hospital? >> yeah, yasmin, we still don't have the latest update on his condition, or when we could expect to see him released from the hospital with the defense secretary in a statement last night simply sane that he is glad to be on the mend, and he looks forward to returning to the pentagon soon. in that statement he also took full responsibility for the delay at this closure, of his hospital say. he said, quote, he could've done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. he committed to doing better. yasmin, that is not tamping down the flood of criticism,

and the fallout over this, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, the media, the american public, wanting to know why this was kept a secret for so long. why it took, as you mentioned in the intro, three days before the pentagon told senior white house officials, as well as austin's own deputy defense secretary. before they found out about this hospital say. then took another day before lawmakers on capitol hill, and the american public, was informed. there are still questions as to what medical procedure he did have done, and what complications occurred that ended up landing him in the intensive care unit for several days. the senior administration official told and that intro there that the president and austin did speak last night. they say it was a warm conversation, and today, they're telling me that the president has full confidence in his defense secretary. in the last hour, our colleague,

andrea mitchell, was able to ask the secretary of state, while overseas, about this whole situation with the secretary of state, antony blinken, telling andrea that he wasn't aware that austin had a medical issue. he said that he will let austin statement from last night speak for itself, yasmin. >> to the campaign trail, there are some new details we're learning about a lunch between president biden, and president obama. what they talked about. >> yeah, we're learning that these two shared a launch in december where biden's 2024 reelection bed was really a front and center with the former presidents expressing concern about the political strain the former president trump, as he is likely to be the arrival of president biden in 2024. obama suggesting that the biden campaign needs to strengthen the members of its campaign, specifically, here and will maintain, delaware. that discussion occurred, as

we've seen, democrats expressed concern that the campaign is perhaps waiting a little too long to really ramp up its efforts. today, i meet the, pass the deputy campaign manager, quentin folks, reacted to all of these comments. listen here. >> we've put innovative organizing programs in place to begin to communicate with voters on the ground. this is why we've made investments into constituency media. the largest investments to those of color, hispanic voters, young voters, than any other presidential campaign in history. now we're in the phase where more americans are paid attention to what's going on, and that is what we're making the choice. >> yasmin, the biden campaign tells me to expect former president obama to play much more of a visible role on the campaign trail. much more visible to voters, and speeches, and it adds. the closer we get to election day. >> allie raffa for. us, ali appreciate. it we are back everyone in just 60 seconds. the latest fallout from a

terrifying flight. more than 100 planes grounded after a wall of an alaska airlines plane was sucked into the sky. a live report, coming up next. g up next. when it strikes and prevent migraine attacks, all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. ask about nurtec odt. >> woman: what's my safelite story? nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. i see inspiration right through my glass. so when my windshield cracked, i chose safelite. they replaced the glass and recalibrated my safety system. that's service i can trust. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ ♪ today, my friend you did it, you did it, you did it... ♪ centrum silver is now clinically shown to support cognitive health in older adults.

it's one more step towards taking charge of your health. so every day, you can say, ♪ youuu did it! ♪ with centrum silver. welcome back. ntsb investigators are releasing new information about the alaska airline boeing 737 max 9 that lost a portion of its outer wall shortly after takeoff. their focus is now on something called the door blog. that flight full of passengers thursday evening when an exterior panel blew out. fortunately, only a few minor injuries were reported. i should say, it's miraculous. i want to bring in now nbc's natasha griffin to talk more about this. what do we know about this, this door blog, dana, and how this all happened? >> reporter: yasmin, this is a modification for this particular model of the boeing 737 max 9. so, it looks like an exit row on the outside. but on the inside, do

passengers, it just looks like a normal window seat. so, investigators think somehow, when this portion fell off, investigators said it may have fallen in the cedar hills area. that's a few miles west of downtown portland. and the ntsb is asking the public to help find this missing door. it could be critical in this investigation. now, for the passengers on that plane, when that door blood disappeared midflight, it was very horrifying for a lot of them. some described the setting as nearly eerily quiet. listen to what some passengers have said about that terrifying experience. out that terri fyin experience >> all of a sudden, i heard a big bang. i look up and the oxygen masks were hanging from the ceiling. and then i looked to my left, there is this huge chunk that's part of the airplane that's missing. there was wind blowing everywhere. i just couldn't believe my eyes.

there is a big hole and you can see the city, the stars, and everything outside the window. it's crazy. >> reporter: so, alaska airlines flight 12 82 was about eight minutes into its flight when that door plugged fell off. it was about -- it was at about 16,000 feet. now, the ntsb is acknowledging that had this plane been at cruising altitude, 33,000 feet, passengers could have been up and walking because that seat belt sign would not have been on. and it could've been far worse. and also, there was no one sitting in seat 26 a, 26 be, the two seats directly adjacent to that panel. so, another great sign in this particular horrifying incident. now, according to alaska airlines, there was only minor injuries, as you mentioned, yasmin. and they say they checked all passengers medically. i'm looking at flightaware because i have been checking all days to see the cancellations. and we have had an update.

so, for united airlines, they have 27 canceled flights today. alaska airlines now has 22. that's a major change. this is minutes ago. we are seeing more than 100 flights canceled for each. maybe they've gotten more of those planes cleared and inspected. now they're back in service. but earlier today, there was hundreds of flights canceled, the two u.s. airlines that use that particular plane, the 737 max 9. so, maybe we will check in with them pretty soon to figure out what's the latest. i think alaska airlines has gotten through at least a quarter of their inspections. and we know 18 planes return back to service yesterday. >> they want to make sure they are as safe as possible before they return to the sky. but i'm sure this is causing some issues because a lot of people are still actually traveling back from their holiday vacations. some schools are not even in session yet until tomorrow. dana griffin for us, thank you, appreciate it. still ahead, everybody,

congresswoman and trump ally elise stefanik already showing her cars when it comes to the 2024 election, and whether she would certify the results. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> what about 2024? >> we will see if this is a legal and valid election. >> will you commit to certify the results, if president trump wins? is that the only condition. >> it means if they are constitutional. reaction to that from congresswoman melanie stansbury. plus, what is she willing to accept on an immigration deal, after a u.s. representative of the border state. first, u.s. secretary of state tony blinken continuing his diplomatic trip abroad with stops and qatar and jordan, as he looks to stop the conflict from spreading. that and more, coming up next. ♪ ♪ ♪ that cold water can't clean. cold water, on those stains? ♪♪ cold water can't clean tough stains? i'd say that myth is busted. (music) turn to cold, with tide.

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today marks three months since the onset of the israel-hamas war. u.s. secretary of state blinken continuing his diplomatic tour of the region, visiting jordan, qatar, and the uae today. his visit is coming as the exchange of fire between israel and hezbollah intensifies across the lebanon border. blinken said a short time ago, we have an intense focus on preventing this conflict from spreading. i want to bring in nbc's matt bradley from tel aviv. let's talk more about this, matt. give me your sense and what you are hearing about the latest from the secretary of state's visit, matt? >> reporter: yes, it sounds as though the real preoccupation here, there's so many issues on

the agenda. the challenges are so formidable for the secretary of state. he's gonna be talking about what life is going to be like after israel, or if israel achieves its goals in gaza, primarily destroying hamas. it's gonna be talking about trying to get humanitarian aid into gaza, trying to get people out, hostages out of hamas detention. so, there's a lot on his plate. but the big one, yasmin, it's gonna be dominating and taking up all of his time, and the reason why this is one of his most sprawling trips of the ones he's taken so far. he's taken five days. he's been jumping all around the region, it's because he has to tamp down tensions region wide. yasmin, for as long as you and i can't remember, there has been war in this part of the world. this is the closest that this entire region has come to engulfing itself in one single conflict. and that's because iran is backing all of these groups that have been firing shots at israel, and united states targets throughout the entire region. and the u.s. and israel have

been firing back. we saw that as recently as last week when the u.s. struck an iran-backed group, killing one of its top leaders in iraq. everybody here from the israelis to the americans, to other world powers, to iran, to hamas, and other proxies in the region, they all seem to be directing for war. and that's why we are seeing antony blinken traveling around the region, engaging in that classic shuttle diplomacy to try and keep temperatures down. blinken has acknowledged this repeatedly. he said it again, just in the past day. here's what he said. >> this is a moment of profound tension in the region. this is a conflict that could easily intensify causing more security problems and suffering. from day one, among other priorities, we have been intensely focused on working to prevent the conflict from spreading. and that is the major focus of

what is now my fourth visit to the region since october 7th. >> reporter: so, the israeli leaders have said very recently that time is running out for some sort of deal between israel and hezbollah, or between the united states and iran. the problem is that why blinken is able to travel to all these different countries and talk to princes, kings, diplomats, and presidents, is not able to really directly speak to the people who matter, the iranians and hezbollah, and hamas. these are the people who have the best chance of really raining in tensions on the other side of the aisle. you can talk to benjamin netanyahu who, as we've seen, made that bold strike. now, the israelis have not acknowledged this, but everybody in the region believe the israelis were behind that assassination attempt in beirut. the israelis have not denied it. but it looks as though he has his work cut out for him, trying to keep everybody falling off the lynch of war. yasmin? >> matt bradley, thank you.

coming up, everybody. donald trump is on the move this week due to all his legal woes, from his d.c., to new york, a look at the former president's very busy calendar. we will be right back. ♪ ♪ ♪ 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.

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former president trump is expected to be in two cotrooms this week, as he begins yet another busy week of legal battles. on tuesday, is gonna be at a d.c. federal appeals court

where oral arguments will begin in his presidential immunity defense. there won't be cameras in the courtroom but audio would be livestreamed on the court's youte ge. then on thursday, expected to appear for closing arguments in his new york civil fraud trial, and judge engoron could issue a written decision in the following weeks. i want to bring in a criminal defense attorney and msnbc legal analyst, and msnbc news justice reporter ryan reilly as well, also author of sedition hunters, how january 6th broke the system. ryan, give us the expectations for tuesday first. >> the presidential immunity one is the one that the supreme court rejected taking up immediately. ultimately, that decision that is, that the appeals court makes in this case could be the last word on this. it could ultimately go back potentially to the judge, judge chutkan, who's taking this case immediately. the trial date for march is still technically on the books although all the deadlines have been suspended and there's been some back and forth. that's what we have seen in recent days, with trump calling

for jack smith to be held in contempt for continuing to file motions in this case, even though those deadlines have been state. essentially, they are getting their homework done earlier. the special counsel's office actually telegraphed that before, saying they were going to continue to meet those deadlines at they're gonna keep the trial on track. the big thing here is that this is just all about the clock. it's all about clock management at this point and getting this to trial as quickly as possible because, you know, obviousl jack smith would not have brought this case if they did not think they could secure a conviction here. and they are pretty firm that they would be able to get that. and even trump's lawyers have argued that he won't get a fair trial in d.c.. they are pretty worried about the conviction. really, it's just the date of this trial and what's gonna take place that ultimately is the big question here, yasmin. >> talk to me about the timing, danny, if you will. first, i want to stick with tuesday for a moment, this immunity case from the d.c. circuit. when do we expect to get a decision? >> judges can set oral argument dates. they can set briefing

deadlines. we saw some of those on the screen just a second ago. those are set in stone. they can't be moved. what is never set in stone is thatime period after oral arguments one of the judges get together and have to issue an opinion. it is a complex process and they are going to make sure this is an opinion that's going to be red for ages to come. it's gonna be carefully check. and there really isn't a timeline that you can place. ere reallyfor people working are clock, they have to draft and poignant legal document that is really, it's gotta be scrutinized. you have to check that before you -- >> which also by the way doesn't always work. but when you look at the potential march trial date, which we know by now is not gonna necessarily happen, those oral arguments on tuesday, is that it? and then they go to court and try to figure out a decision. the decision comes out whenever that comes out. subsequently, no matter what, it's gonna be appealed up to the supreme court? >> actually, now, the process normally goes in appeals court.

you get a panel. there's gonna be a three judge panel. then, if you don't like the outcome, you can ask for the on bunk review. you can say, hey, we heard from three of the judges, but we want everybody to weigh in. you might have the entire court of appeals weigh in. and from there, it could go up to the supreme court. by the time you are at the supreme court, a lot of this is discretionary. let's get real. the court is almost certainly going to take this case up, as opposed to other cases, it projects the vast majority of requests to be heard. >> this is from usa today, the judges notified that trump on tuesday to prepare to answer questions about arguments from outside groups who participated in the case. what do you make of that, danny? >> for example, you have the amicus briefs. you have other parties participating. this is, there is gonna be a number of different issues. but the core issues in this appeal really are, to me, and i think it's really important that folks frame this, that no matter what else, no party is arguing that there is absolute immunity for everything a president does while he is the

president. instead, the defense is arguing that anything trump did that is within the outer perimeter of his official conduct, that should be absolutely immune. the key to the argument is, which is very strange to me, because they need to vote exactly one page to it and debris. the key is arguing that what trump did, investigate, as they frame it, election interference fell within the outer perimeter of the presidential duties. i think that is factually stretch. i think you can ask yourself the question, what if the tables were turned? what if trump got inward that there was election interference but it favored him, caused him to win. do we really think he would have made phone calls to the georgia secretary of state, if he knew that something nefarious was up that was helping hip. >> no. >> the answer is no. and the common sense answer, i think, it should factor in if you are analyzing whether or not what trump did's conduct that falls within the outer perimeter of presidential conduct. >> ryan, i'm gonna be outside the court on thursday for the former president's civil fraud

trial. we know that's gonna be closing arguments. we've had a bit of a break there about a month or so for holiday season to pass. they are now resuming. what are we expecting on thursday? >> this could be the first, potentially, many hearings of trump in years to come. a lot of trials happening, obviously, there's the civil one. in this case, the judge is, you know, this is only on the judge, as you know. this is gonna be up to the judge to decide how this case sort of plays out. and the judge said that they're going to rule, at least, by the end of the month. that could be a relatively quick turnaround on that decision. >> ryan riley, thank you. danny cevallos, thank you as well. i'm gonna say you guys both back here in another hour. don't go anywhere just yet. congressman lauren boebert, everybody, publicly responding to a report involving an alleged physical altercation and reaction to a story from the daily beast. police were called after her ex husband got into a fight at a restaurant in boebert's colorado district. boebert just released a statement saying this is a sad

situation for all that keeps escalating and another reason i'm moving. i didn't punch jason in the face and no one was arreed i will be consulting with my lawyer about the false claims he made against me and evaluate all of my legal options. the local police chief would only tell nbc news there is an ongoing investigation. after the break, the general election has not even started. already, a donald trump ally in congress says she will not commit to certify the 2024 election results. i'm gonna get reaction to that from democratic congresswoman melanie stansbury, member of the house oversight committee. coming up next, we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ until, i saw how easily it picked up my hair every time i dried it! only takes a minute. look at that! the heavy duty cloths are extra thick, for amazing trap & lock. even for his hair. wow. and for dust, i love my heavy duty duster. the fluffy fibers trap dust on contact, up high and all around without having to lift a thing.

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days until the 2024 presidential election, but already, top republicans are casting doubt on the validity of the election before single vote has been cast, using debunked claims about the 2020 election as justification, elise stefanik, chair of the house republican conference was asked on meet the press today if she would commit to certifying the results. >> what about 2024? >> we will see if this is a legal and valid election. >> we only come to certify the results if former president trump wins? if former president trump wins -- >> it means they are constitutional. what we saw in 2020 was unconstitutional circumventing of the constitution, not going through state legislatures. >> joining me now is democratic representative from new mexico melanie stansbury, also a

member of the house oversight committee. congresswoman, thank you for joining us on this. appreciate it. give me, first, your reaction to what we just heard from congresswoman elise stefanik? >> i think it's shocking. you know, we saw a massive effort in the 2020 election to undermine our most basic democratic institutions, orchestrated by donald trump through the court system, through these fake elector scheme, including here in new mexico where i'm a representative. and insurrection on the capitol in which yesterday was the anniversary. here, to hear the leadership of the house gop actively talking about undermining the upcoming presidential election is alarming, and i think continues the pattern that we are seeing in the gop that's turning its back on democratic institutions and our democracy. >> i want to turn, congresswoman, if i can, to the southern border. it seems as if progress, we will wait until progress is made on negotiations. i know republicans are pushing

for hr to, amongst other things as well, making it more difficult for migrants toaim asylum, for instance, requiring migrants teld in detention centers as their cases are being processed, dingprotections for migrant children. you represent, as you just mentioned, the border state of new mexico. what are you willing to accept here? >> you know, i think we have to see what the senate has specifically been working on. we understand that there is a bipartisan coalition and senate members who are planning to unveil their plan this week, later in the week. but we haven't seen it yet. but i have to say i'm disturbed that it is tied to the international relief packages that we have been trying to get through for the last several months. but at the end of the day, much of what we understand to be in that package, and certainly the non starters of house bill 02 is that they're trying to stop

individuals from coming to the u.s. that have valid reasons for why they were seeking asylum in this country, and what we know for decades, we've been trying to achieve through bipartisan negotiations is a pathway to citizenship to fix the broken asylum system, and to put into place a humane and fair system that actually meets the needs of the millions of people who are already here, and the people who are seeking asylum in this country. but i think it's telling that we saw this morning, speaker johnson went on national press and said that, you know, he would not even commit to the concessions that the senate has been making on a bipartisan basis. and we are seeing potentially the freedom caucus revolting later in the week over this entire package. >> i'm glad you brought up speaker johnson because we know he just made this trip to the border in the last couple of days or so, and spoke from the border, i believe. he met with texas governor abbott's border czar to take a

tour of what's happening there. and after that visit, he talked about how he thought even if a deal was struck inside the state, it will be a major overhaul in the house to even get passed. >> i mean, all of this is a very performative. they took something like 60 members of the gop down to the border. and i've seen my colleagues all over national media this week talking in the most xenophobic, horrific, and just on practical way about what's actually happening on the border. if we are serious about adjusting the border crisis, the crisis of drugs coming to our communities, we are serious about a pathway to citizenship. then they need to come to the table with some real solutions and not just a bunch of xenophobic, racists proposals that are gonna be approved by congress. it's not a path, the way that we solve these things. and we need things that are grounded in reality. >> we are getting this report

in, congresswoman, while i have you. i'm happy i'm with you, actually, while we are getting this. it seems that the senate has reached a deal. they are poised to announce a deal on spending in the coming hours today, as we all well know, the ongoing negotiations. i think the real question, congresswoman, is what is in this deal, and does it have the ability to also get passed the house? if you will, congresswoman, standby for me. i want to go to the capitol to get more details on what we are learning about this deal. julie tsirkin is standing by on that. jules, walk me through that. what are we learning? >> reporter: this is a big deal. this is the first step to avoid a government shutdown ahead of the deadline on january 19th. now, it's worth noting that this deal, which is expected to be announced later this afternoon, according to sources familiar, is the top line spending number four overall spending. this comes from senate democratic leadership and house

republican leadership. this means that they have made a deal on a top line spending number, which has been, obviously, a point of contention for many, many weeks now. now, it's worth noting that we don't have details of what's going to be in this framework. hopefully, we will see that a bit later this afternoon. and so, this is just one piece of avoiding a government shutdown. it's worth noting it is completely separate from the separate negotiations happening on the border funding and immigration for reform that is tied with the supplemental for ukraine funding. while this is great news for avoiding that shut down, there is that threat from some republicans who have a shot down with regards to the border. but this is really, really good news for those that were hoping to avert a shutdown. >> joe, thank you for that. appreciate it. i want to go back to congresswoman stansbury, standing by for us. correct me if i'm wrong, congresswoman, you know better than i do at this point.

understanding government talk. so, there is gonna be an announcement of the steel, the top line spending number. i imagine this is connected to the laddered c r that speaker johnson had initially put in place, right? in order to avert a government shutdown, that deadline is a couple of weeks away. this has nothing to do with what we just heard from jewels, with immigration, with getting ukraine aid out, with getting israel aid out at the moment. but nonetheless, effort that government shutdown, which many of us are understandably concerned about. >> you know, i mean, we really don't know what's going to happen over the next few weeks with the house gop. if you rewind that tape a few months ago and remember what happened in october again around the government shutdown negotiations, house republicans could not get it done. the freedom caucus, the right-wing republicans, not willing to vote for any kind of

cr, or any original budget levels that were in the fiscal responsibility passed in june to avert an economic crisis. we heard that some of the freedom caucus after open to the border this week we're going to try to attach border requirements to any kind of funding package. and we have to remember that house republicans only have a few vote majority right now. so they're obviously going to have democrats on their side to pass a republican-oriented budget bill, and the question is if johnson decides to go forward with that on the floor, will his speakership survive? and i think that will ultimately depend on what the freedom caucus decides to do. >> tell me exactly than what the top line spending number is. they've agreed on the number, and everything falls in line behind that. what does that mean? >> you know, so, the way the budget is normally crafted's

numbers agreed to get. it has to do with how much money we have available to spend through revenue, and you know, our various financial outlook for the u.s.. and we have up until this point been relying on the responsibility act because it set these requirements as per the negotiations regarding the overall economy. we haven't seen the language or the numbers yet. but essentially, once that top line number is set, then all of the underlying appropriations bills can be crafted. it's unclear, we've heard reports in the last few days that would be a kind of a continuing result for the rest of the year. it's not clear what will be in regards to the appropriations process. >> there has to be a lot of negotiations when it comes to figuring out those other appropriations beneath this number, and where that money

should be allotted. >> yes, so, there's different ways that that could be articulated. we have weeks until the first shut down that line, it's the 19th. we will see what the four corners have come up with in congress regarding the top lines, if it is a continuing resolution, but under a certain kind of agreement and changes in budget numbers. they may leave that to the agencies to figure out how to allocate that funding or there may be actual appropriations bills. we heard that johnson was gonna try and require that. but it's hard to imagine how they can translate something so quickly as a top line individual bills in the next essentially week and a half. there's still a lot of unknowns. >> how worried are you about these ongoing negotiations? obviously, we have this budget negotiation, funding the government. you've got ukraine, you've got israel. you've got the border and other things on the pipeline right

now. inside the election year, you have the former president running for reelection in the united states, who certainly got his button on the republican party, and they listen when he says job, they say held high. how worried are you that he will have undue influence on the republican party and that way in which they are negotiating? >> i mean, i think it's obvious that trump is still running the show in the republican party. we have over 70 members of congress who were elected through his endorsement or support. and it's very clear that especially folks on the far-right and the freedom caucus, who have been the troublemakers over the last year, who have been calling for these big impeachments that took the speaker out, who have been holding up the budget, they are trump's people, right? speaker johnson himself trying to help overturn the 2020 election results. he was one of trump's guys. you know, we see continued

efforts to undermine congress, our democratic institutions, our elections. and donald trump is using even more autocratic language every day, you know, just weeks ago talking about how he wanted to be a dictator just for one day to be a dictator for the united states. i mean, if you are not alarmed right now about the state of our democracy and donald trump's fingerprints over what's happening in the gop, and you're not giving that attention, because it's frightening, truly. >> congresswoman melanie stansbury, as always, it's a pleasure. thank you. >> thank you so much, and congratulations, and best of luck in your next adventures. >> thank you so much, congresswoman. great to see you, thank you. >> great to see you too. on this show, we have tried to do our best covering covid, keeping you informed on all the latest development, and letting you in on all the ways you can keep yourself safe. here i am, back in the 2020, in the throes of the pandemic, after learning that the vaccine was finally available. arning that the vaccin

was finally available. >> just because this day is here, and it we have anticipated since early march, doesn't mean it's over. and it certainly does not mean we can let our guard down. >> we cannot let our guard down. and those glasses, right? that message still rings true because right now, we are in the middle of an opposite double surge of covid and flu cases. nbc's doctor puts it, gatherings are helping to contribute to the search. coviwill make it hospitalizations are up 20%. flu illnesses have reached 10 million nationwide up from 7 million just a week before. i want to bring in msnbc medical contributor to talk more about this. always a pleasure my friend. thank you for joining us on this. i don't think there is a person out there that doesn't have someone who is sick right now with covid, with flu, or with something unknown. and you know that all too often between the patients and the people that are constantly

texting you like me saying what do i have at this point in my life, let's talk covid first? what are the risks right now of reinfection. i had covid a month and a half ago. should i be worried that when you get infected again? >> yes, yasmin, the quick question. i do think people should take reinfection seriously. general, we like to think that serious infection and any boosters you might have received give you enough immunity to prevent the infection. it's really to stop the virus from rejecting. you but we are seeing jn.1 going around the world like a crazy kind of fever. and literally, it's infecting people. and i've had patients that are getting reinfected. and these are young healthy patients. what we think might be happening is that immunity you get from previous infections and even for the booster is not just that long-lasting and i do think that you have about 4 to 6 weeks of protection from a prior infection. it doesn't mean you should run around and not take precautions

because as you mentioned, we've got a lot of other viruses out there, rsv, flu, other corona viruses that cause this. in general, i'll say if you are coughing or you know someone who is sneezing or coughing, stay away, that's a good option. wash your hands. remember, flu can live on surfaces. so, even if you have no one diagnosed with flu in your household, wiping surfaces including doorknobs and handles, it's a very good step. >> what about the cone, covid infections? i have covid. i'm home. wait a minute, this thing hasn't gone away. now, i have all these other weird symptoms. do i have the flu? i can find out. i should leave the house and i'm currently quarantining. have you been seeing a lot of that? >> not a lot. i would say still somewhat uncommon too rare to get infection. certainly more common in people who have chronic conditions or compromised conditions, like cancer patients. i warned them that it can be a

real problematic issue but in general, we have seen more of what alkalotic of a domino chain effect for infection. this one started with covid. they got paxlovid. they improve. and then you have something else. it's not covid, it's not blue, not rsv. it's something and we have to ride that wave out too. so, it's been weeks of just miserable -- i do encourage people to get checked, checked for things that they might not realize because with all feelings of numbness, oh, we've got something, it's probably a cold, i'll just stay home. but when it's going on longer, or it's difficult for you or your body, go get it checked out. we are seeing infections on top of these viruses. >> hospitalizations according to the cdc are actually down when it comes to covid, i believe 30% from last year. i wonder if we are at this stage yet. we talked about this in the beginning of the pandemic. one day, we will be at this stage in which covid would be like everything else. are we at a stage in which covid has become this chronic

illness? i come to work when i have a cold. if i'm not feeling well, i don't. if i have a fever, i don't. but if i'm not florida, i will do it. but has it gotten to that point? >> we're getting much closer to that point certainly from a monitoring monitoring perspective. we're not calling the red alert every time we get a surge in cases, closing schools down. that threshold for covid is epidemic, looking for messages. i think from an individual standpoint, we're not quite there yet. why? i think it's because we still have a highly infectious brand that even it's not causing as many hospitalization hospitalizations, but we just have to many other vaccinated people who are ending up on fortunately in the hospital and are unfortunately die. i do think we are getting closer and certainly for most healthy people it is at a collective common cold like the vaccinated, boosted, and you are pretty healthy. but i have to tell you there's

some disturbing numbers in nursing homes, long-term care facilities, the single digits, people vaccinated. they are the ones most likely to die from covid down. they'll argue that not quite at no stage yet. tage yet it got vaccines, rsv, flu, covid. they can save your life. those vaccine rates and come up before we go to the common cold. one covid is still an issue. that's loaded, they're now known treatments loaded, they'rw known treatments >> 20 seconds left karen is with our audience.