right now on "anna cabrera

reports," building pressure, republicans dismiss new allegations for trump's pick for defense but can pete hegseth's nomination survive the onslaught? bipartisan criticism after president biden pardons his son. reaction from members of his own party. also ahead, the president set to speak from the national slavery museum in angola next hour as he makes history with his trip to subsaharan africa. five feet and counting. look at this. we have details of another arctic blast unleashing even more snow on the northern u.s. good morning. it's 10:00 a.m. eastern/7:00 a.m. pacific i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. president trump ready to return to the world stage. trump's first foreign trip as president-elect will be paris

this weekend for the reopening of the notre dame cathedral. as he reopens lines of communication with world leaders, his incoming cabinet hopefuls are meeting with senate leaders. yesterday attorney general pick pam bondi and defense secretary pick pete hegseth were on the hill in the back drop for hegseth's senate hearing were a flurry of new allegations in "the new yorker," including claims he was forced out of prior jobs for financial mismanagement, racist language, intoxication, after he was already facing blowback after a sexual assault allegation, with no charges but a settlement to his accuser. nbc news has want seen the document cited by "the new yorker" or independently verified that reporting. and hegseth did not answer questions about it yesterday. here's what he did say. >> i enjoy the process talking on senators. they have an important role in advice and consent.

and i welcome their advice. they understand a member of the armed senate committee and i welcome that counsel. >> vaughn hillyard is with us and tara, former gop communications director. vaughn, first, trump's paris trip this week, why france? why now? what's he trying to signal to world leaders? >> reporter: yeah, this is notable. it will be his first foreign trip not only since winning the election but since 2023 where he visited his golf clubs in europe. donald trump in west palm beach has been the haven for not only justin trudeau to visit him and have dinner over the course of this week and also the new nato secretary-general here just a week before that to meet with donald trump. but this is for the president-elect a trip in which he is going to go not only to celebrate the reopening five

years after the fire damage to the notre dame, but also emmanuel macron will be there at that service. you could expect the two men to see each other, at least in that setting, along with other dignitaries. this is coming just days after he announced he intends to appoint charles kushner, the father of jared kushner, to be the ambassador to france. emmanuel macron and donald trump through the course of the first four years of his presidency, they often went back and forth. at one point donald trump suggesting that macron was engaged in foolishness over digital sales tax that was imposed and threatened to put retaliatory tariffs on -- and unwind exports from france. this is noteworthy just a month before his inauguration. >> and pete hegseth facing new allegations of misconduct, including financial mismanagement, drunken behavior at bars and strip clubs.

the trump transition team has been staying very quiet, referring nbc news to a previous statement in support of him. where do things stand this morning with him? >> reporter: exactly. pete hegseth was up on capitol hill yesterday and back here today, engaged in meetings with republican senators. it will be up to him to be able to ensure that he is not going to lose the support of more than three republican senators in order to be confirmed. in contrast to the likes of pam bondi, the attorney general pick who is also up on capitol hill this week, there is a little bit more of a measured response to pete hegseth's nomination process, and particularly the likes of roger wicker, republican senator from mississippi, he would like to see a full fbi background check. but this is also, you're seeing on the heels of not only "the new yorker" article but also "the new york times" publishing an email that pete hegseth's own mother sent to him several years ago as he was going through a

second divorce to his second wife. this was an email from his mother in which she has recanted and said she apologized for the words she stated to her son, but she told him that she -- he was not treating women right and was ashamed that his treatment of women. we should note also this morning there was a trump campaign senior adviser and a transition adviser, jason miller, did go on tv airwaves a bit ago in which he did say about pete hegseth, notably, when it comes to pete hegseth, there aren't any concerns and we feel very good about his positioning for being confirmed by the senate. that's a rather explicit statement from jason miller, which is in contrast to what has been about a week of mostly silence from his camp. >> all right. vaughn hillyard, thanks for all the latest reporting on all things trump transition. tara, senate republicans were asked about these new hegseth allegations after their meetings yesterday. let's take a listen.

>> they're throwing disparaging remarks at someone who has earned a great deal of credibility. are soldiers sometimes wild childs? yeah, that can happen. >> the democrats and the press are obsessed with personal accusations. >> did he address the allegations of the report that came out? >> he talked about what he would accomplish. >> he did not address -- >> he talked about what he would accomplish. >> would you ask about it -- >> i'm not going to talk about what other people talked about. >> tara, are you surprised some are simply dismissing these allegations? >> well, unfortunately, no. this isn't surprising. and it's so incredibly disappointing because i remember a time when republican senators used to take their job vetting and their advise and consent roles seriously. the position of secretary of defense is one of the most important cabinet positions in

the country. and they are actually -- what are they actually contemplating here? i remember a time where the allegations, just one of these allegations would have been disqualifying. never mind the fact that his personal character is questionable and disgraceful and he doesn't deserve the confidence of the american people to run a 2 million person plus organization like the pentagon, but he's unqualified. the fact he hasn't managed anything beyond a couple of organizations, which he managed -- mismanaged into the ground not only financially but a toxic workplace environment, five to ten people maybe? they want to put this guy in charge of the pentagon? what an affront to the seriousness of the men and women who serve in our military. what an insult to the women in uniform who would -- you expect them to serve under a guy like this who's been married three times, cheated on every wife and has a reputation of being a

philanderer and says women shouldn't serve in combat? this is such an affront on so many levels. the seriousness in which these senators should be taking this, it feels like they're not. the only qualification here is that pete hegseth is a loyal sycophant to donald trump and his dangerous views of what the military should be and the fact that donald trump doesn't care about our men and women in uniform. he calls them suckers and losers. you pluck a guy out of fox news and ran veterans organizations into the ground and this is who senators are actually thinking twice about about whether he's qualified to run the pentagon? again, this is disgraceful. >> again, these are allegations and "the new yorker" hasn't been independently confirmed by nbc. an adviser to hegseth gave a statement to "the new yorker" saying they were outlandish and came from a petty, disgruntled

former employee. richard blumenthal said this to "the new yorker" about its hegseth reporting. quote, it's dangerous. the secretary of defense is involved in every issue of national security. he's involved in the use of nuclear weapons. he is the one who approves sending troops into combat. he approves drone strikes that may vofl civilian casualties. literally life and death issues are in the hands of the secretary of defense. and entrusting these kind of issues to someone who might be incapacitated for any reason is a risk we cannot take. megan, will that argument be enough to sink hegseth's confirmation? >> i don't know it will be enough. i used to work for senator blumenthal and i take what he says seriously, his words mean a lot and they are right on point. i think the republicans and democrats here need to do what they are there to do for the american people and have serious confirmation hearings and dig into these allegations. i understand they're allegations

but they are very serious. and this is an extremely important agency in our democracy, in our government, and the men and women of the military deserve better. they deserve someone who is competent, who can lead an agency, and the women, like tara was saying, deserves someone to have their back and they can trust, not someone who has been disrespectful to them and, frankly, probably doesn't want them in the military to begin with. i hope some of our senators will come forward and be strong on this as well as some of our republican senators that this is one of their strong issues like joni ernst. i know she had a sort of soft statement yesterday. we cannot underscore how important it is for the senators to take these confirmation hearings seriously. >> hegseth has denied all wrongdoing. what message does it send to the world if a man accused of sexual assault, accused of mismanagement, accused of making racist, drunk chants and almost getting thrown out of a strip

club, ends up in charge of america's military? >> we just elected someone who has over 30 felonies to be president of the united states, so i'm not sure we have a lot to stand on in the world view, but i think it sends a message to the military and men and women in the military that this is their leader and someone who is in charge of every move from logistics they make to, like senator blumenthal was saying, air strikes and components that our military is in charge of, the nuclear weapon. i hope this is why the senators take their role very seriously when they're looking at hegseth for confirmation. >> tara, what's your read on how the trump team is handling this, leaving the rebuttals to hegseth's lawyer or adviser rather than coming out with their own statement, coming to hegseth's defense? >> well, reporting has shown they were unaware of some of these allegations, particularly the sexual assault and the nda where he paid the woman off to be quiet. they are in a bit of a

hypocritical situation here due to, given megan's point, donald trump's conviction of sexual assault civilly. so, of course they're going to stand by. that's what they do. this is their m.o. they stick to it in public. they double and triple down. but they're trying to gaslight the american people into believing that pete hegseth is perfectly qualified to be the secretary of defense and ignore all those other things. because they ask the american people to ignore all those things about donald trump, character, judgment, all of those things. so, i don't know why anyone is surprised that the trump campaign and the trump transition team is still sticking by him. this is their m.o. this is who the top of the ticket is. that's who donald trump is. i think they're going to stick it out as long as they can. ultimately, republican senators have to decide, are they going to fulfill their institutional role or are they just going to pledge to donald trump and sell out our democracy and men and women in uniform for someone

like pete hegseth because that's who donald trump wants to, i don't know, destroy the military, use it as his personal guard? there's a certain lack of seriousness in nominating and sticking by someone like pete hegseth when it comes to the way they view our military. they should be the military folks should be speaking up about this. i hope they do more and republican senators really take their responsibility seriously, putting the responsibility of the nuclear codes and our military in the hands as someone as unqualified and unfit as pete hegseth. >> ladies, thank you very much for the discussion. we're following the fallout from president biden's pardon of his son, including blowblack from an unlikely place. president biden's visit to subsaharan africa and how he's making history. snow, ice, freezing temps, oh, my. parts of our country being hammered by an arctic blast with more storms on the way.

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for the independence of the department of justice, not to undermine it. and i think that's what, unfortunately, has happened. >> listen, the accusation is that he was picked on by the legal system, i don't buy that. >> now, that is just some of the reaction from capitol hill following president biden's decision to give his son, hunter, a full and unconditional pardon after repeatedly promising he wouldn't. and now even some democrats who have spent months warning that trumps a threat to the rule of law are joining their republican colleagues to blast the current president. let's get the very latest from gabe gutierrez at the white house. ali vitali tracking the latest on capitol hill for us. joining us, barbara mcquaid, current msnbc analyst. lawmakers have had time to let this new pardon sink in. what are we hearing from them? >> reporter: they've had the time to let it sink in and react. congress coming back after a lengthy thanksgiving recess and

receiving this news in somewhat of a mixed fashion. some democrats saying this is something that makes sense on a legal basis, which i'm sure you guys will talk about after, but also on the fact that they felt in some ways this was politically motivated. other democrats saying, and i can put some reactions up on the screen for you. other democrats saying they get it from a family perspective, especially those lawmakers who have known biden for a long time. those that cover him know the special role family plays in biden world, but also the specific profile that hunter biden cuts within that realm. many of these lawmakers saying they understand the family piece of it, but they still think and worry about the precedent that it sets. frankly, we've seen lawmakers appear on capitol hill at each turn of the hunter biden tale. we've seen them try to consistently separate hunter from his father. obviously this pardon undoes all of that work and puts some of these lawmakers, frankly, in a difficult position because many

of them defended the president when he said he wasn't going to do this pardon. now they're being forced to defend that. none of them seem to feel particularly good about that, understandably. >> gabe, president biden left town immediately after this pardon for his trip to africa. was the white house prepared for this level of blowback, especially from members of his own party? >> reporter: hi there, ana. certainly white house officials did expect some backlash to this. that's why the press secretary has reiterated that the president really wrestled with this decision. the last sentences of that written statement seemed to be a direct appeal to the american people to try to understand why the president did this, both as a father and as a president. he laid out his rationale in that written statement saying, i believe two things can be true, that he still believes in the justice system but he does believe that raw politics infected this process. it can be a tough thing to

square. and karine jean-pierre yesterday while on board air force one responded to some tough questions about that. here's how she responded. >> he wrestled with it. he made his decision this weekend. and we've laid out pretty clearly of what he was thinking, his statement lays out pretty clearly. he believes in the department of justice. but he also believes that his son was singled out politically. >> reporter: during that briefing aboard air force one, karine jean-pierre stuck to the written statement the president had put out. notably, the president on this three-day trip to africa, he has not answered any shouted questions regarding the pardon of his son. the only thing we've heard from him or the first lady was yesterday at a christmas event here at the white house. she responded to a shouted question that she, of course, supported that pardon. >> ali vitali, thanks. gabe, stand by. first, barb, i know you believe this pardon was justified.

how do you respond to even allies of the president who say this is bad for the rule of law, bad for trust in the justice system and bad press deputy overall to set? >> yeah, i think the biggest concern is joe biden's flip-flop on this. at one point he said he would not pardon his son and now, of course, he has done so. i think that is probably where this feeling of betrayal comes from. i also think you have to look at the fact that circumstances have changed since he made those statements. we have donald trump now elected president and vowing to secret bugs against his political rivals. how better to get back at joe biden than to go after hunter biden, his son? i think there are two aspects of this pardon that are intertwined. first are the charges, which most prosecutors would have exercised their discretion to file these charges. the gun charge and tax charge are not typically charges filed by any u.s. attorney in the country.

taking that part off the table makes sense. the other is this blanket pardon for anything that may have occurred between 2014 and 2024. again, we know that congress and the special counsel looked very hard to find crimes by hunter biden for his service on the board with respect to ukraine and china and found nothing. but in this next administration, with the vows that donald trump has made, it seems very likely that he would go after hunter biden even without any evidence of a crime. so, i think because of that change in circumstances, this was a prudent call, it was a decision that joe biden made to protect his son from going forward. >> it was especially brought, maybe the broadest pardon since nixon. this was president biden and his team over months specifically saying he wouldn't pardon his son. listen. >> does the president have any intention of pardoning him? >> we've been asked that question multiple times.

our answer stands, which is now. >> have you ruled out a pardon for your son? >> yes. >> was your son able to get a fair trial, do you believe the justice department operated independently of politics? >> i'm not going to do anything. i said, i abide by the jury decision, i will do that and i will not pardon him. >> but then in his announcement of the pardon, president biden said, i have watched my son being selectively and unfairly prosecuted, and it is clear hunter was treated differently. barb, the president did have the option of dismissing weiss as u.s. attorney earlier on in the probe. he didn't. as weiss is pointing out, multiple judges ruled this wasn't selective prosecution. does that weaken the president's justification? >> well, there's selective and vindictive prosecution as a matter of law. selective prosecution says i've been treated different from other people. it's difficult to find evidence that other people were not charged with a crime, proving a negative can be very difficult.

as a matter of law, i don't think there's any evidence of selective prosecution. same with vindictive prosecution. that means you were prosecuted simply for executing a legal right. so, for example, if someone takes an appeal and they prevail and come back and get sentenced to something harsher, that's vindictive prosecution. those things were not here. this is an example, i believe, of a use of a prosecutor's discretion to target someone in an instance where they ordinarily would not do so. the charge -- the gun charge based on addiction, never filed. prosecuting someone for unpaid taxes and repaid with interest and penalties is typically resolved civilly instead of through criminal charges. i do believe hunter biden was treated differently than any other person would have been treated even if it did not arise to the level of legal selective or legal vindictive prosecution. >> barbara mcquaid, thank you for offering that perspective and understanding to all of us. appreciate it.

we have some breaking news we're following right now involving the treasury secretary janet yellen. nbc's gabe gutierrez is back with us. what are we learning? >> reporter: we're just starting to get details about this. according to senior law enforcement officials, several shots were fired around 1:00 a.m. this morning near the home of treasury secretary janet yellen. now, we have no indication that she was a target here. officials say there was no threat to yellen and officials say there's no indication that any of the person petrators nore any officers. the u.s. attorney and washington's metropolitan police are investigating this. this is described as an agent involved shooting. again, treasury secretary yellen was at -- was not in danger at any time. in washington, d.c., violent crime has been on the rise for years. up nearly 40% last year. and earlier this year there was an incident where secret service

agents were involved in a shooting not far from president biden's granddaughter, although that shooting had nothing to do with her. last year also in d.c., congressman henry was the victim of a carjacking here in washington. again, that breaking news, we do understand, according to senior law enforcement officials, that several shots were fired early this morning around 1:00 a.m. near the home of treasury secretary janet yellen but she was not under threat at any time and this is all under investigation. >> good to have all of that info. keep us posted as you learn more. thanks. we are keeping our eyes on angola where president biden is set to speak at the country's national slavery museum. coming up within the hour. we'll bring you those remarks once he starts. first, an arctic weather outbreak. feet of snow blanketing parts of the country. places set to be walloped by more.

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welcome back. just moments ago senate democrats unanimously re-elected chuck schumer as leader. for this incoming congress he'll be the senate minority leader. this was an expected outcome as he ran unopposed. the full slate of leadership that you see there was all re-elected unanimously. well, more snow is on the way for the great lakes region. that's already been covered with more than five feet. this morning 5 million people are under winter weather alerts. that relentless snow trapping thousands of locals inside their homes and just take a look at this video. this captures the moment a train slammed into a truck that was stuck on the tracks there. the frozen snowy tracks in erie, pennsylvania. the driver was able to flee in

the nick of time, fortunately. nbc news meteorologist michelle grossman is tracking the very latest for us. first, let's go to nbc's erin mclaughlin in erie, pennsylvania, which has gotten 5 feet of snow already. this area is no stranger to snow, of course, but how does this snow stack up? >> reporter: that's right. folks in this part of the country are used to a lot of snow, but even this caught them offguard. a shocking amount of snow falling in just a short period of time. and more snow is on the way. this morning another round of heavy snow blanketing the great lakes region and beyond as foot after foot of powder and dangerous ice roared quickly and unexpectedly. >> it started some time on friday morning. and it hasn't really stopped. >> reporter: this latest blast of lake-effect snow creating treacherous driving conditions. at least one person is in critical condition in michigan.

after multiple crashes shut down a stretch of i-94. views from above show the extent of the damage and delays. semitrucks and cars stopped in their tracks. >> the snow being so deep and getting stuck, you get stuck everywhere you go. everybody getting stuck. that's the worst part. >> reporter: here in pennsylvania, thousands of people have been stuck inside their homes. this is the reason why. all of that snow fell in a matter of days. among them, life-long local kimberly stoler who says she was surviving on thanksgiving leftovers. >> we're used to snow. having a lot of it to deal with. this is definitely a new experience for me. >> this is the first time you've been snowed in and you're from this area? >> yes, ma'am. >> reporter: crews shoveling snow. including a navy veteran who relies on oxygen tanks to breathe. how many folks rely on this help? >> you have hundreds. >> a lot of folks will quietly

suffer. >> reporter: some communities grappling with more than 5 feet of snow and counting. in massachusetts, hundreds of cold stunned sea turtles washed ashore, receiving life-saving treatment at the new england aquarium, where they're gradually warmed up. because of the colder temperatures in the northeast and the midwest, experts say to expect heating costs to go up 10% compared to last year. they're pointing to state programs which help low income families with those expenses. the department of energy is urging folks to set their thermostats to 68 degrees to 70 degrees during the day, and to drop that temperature during those overnight hours when they're sleeping or away from home. >> some good tips. boy, oh, boy, what a ton of snow. the live shot you did was really quite something with the car. thank you very much, erin

mclaughlin. michelle, we mentioned there is more snow on the way. what are you tracking? >> we're tracking accumulating snow today, also tomorrow and also into new england. it's not just the great lakes over the next couple of days. this is what it looks like right now on radar. arctic air coming over the warm water. we're seeing those bands produce snow downwind lake erie, u.p. of michigan. we're not expecting a whole lot of snow today. tomorrow we'll start to see the snow accumulating once again. 6 million people under winter alerts. we have lake-effect snow warnings in that aqua blue color. winter storm watch that includes portions of new england. again, we will see some accumulating snow in the higher elevations there. where you see the pinks and purples, we like to point that out. if you look at the legend, we're looking at the highest amounts. we'll be adding accumulating snow downwind lake erie where we were just at and downwind of lake ontario as well. we're looking at the u.p. of

michigan, the lower portion of michigan expecting heavy, heavy snowfall. this is what it looks like throughout the next couple of days. cold wind bringing snow over the lakes and a clipper system will bring snow to the upper midwest, accumulating snow. this will move off to the east tomorrow. now we're talking about the interior northeast, new england, the higher elevations there. and then it's going to enhance the snow bands over the great lakes once again. lake-effect snow machine will not turn off until those winds switch or lakes freeze over. it's going to be a while in terms of those lakes freezing over. by thursday we'll see slick roadways in new england because the snow will still be falling and cold rain likely near the coast. >> it's like mother nature is hitting back after a very mild start to the fall. thank you, michelle grossman. up next on "ana cabrera roorts" we expect to hear from president biden next hour at the national slavery museum in angola. where there's more attention on this speech with donald trump waiting in the wings. plus, the case of a marine veteran charged with fatally choking a man on the new york

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we are back with breaking news out of south korea where the president declared martial law. the south korean president accused the opposition party of sympathizing with north korea and accused of it unprecedented impeachment attempts on government officials. the president didn't specify how martial law would be implemented. protests have broken out in front of south korea's parliament. these are live images. this is in seoul, south korea. the president said some changes are a ban on all political activities, all media and publications will be subject to martial law command and all strikes or work slowdowns will be forbidden. obviously, a developing story. we will stay on it for you. president biden set to

deliver remarks in just over an hour at the angola national slavery museum on the u.s./angola relationship. this is president biden's first trip to subsaharan africa and the first by a u.s. president to angola. just before the new trump administration takes over next month. joining us from angola is peter baker, "new york times" chief white house correspondent, also with us april ryan, white house correspondent and washington bureau chief for the grior. peter, the first ever visit to angola by a u.s. president, potentially the last international trip by president biden. why was this so important to the president? >> well, the president promised two years ago that he would make a trip to subsaharan africa during his presidency. he promised to do it during a second term. he wants to make the point that america remains committed to africa, even with changes in administrations that are coming. even with a successor who's not

known as a particular fan of africa. angola is an important place for a president to come right now. it's the center of a lot of competition with china and russia for influence on the continent and the president wants to highlight a new railroad the united states is helping to fund, which will help move some of the precious minerals that angola has to export here. so, it's an important visit. even if it's coming in the latter days and weeks of the presidency. >> april, how do you see the significance of the president's remarks today? >> they're significant because, one, this president is trying to put attention on a continent that is resource-rich, meaning oil, et cetera, and other things. as well as a continent, the african continent that is also a key player in national security. think about this, ana, there are so many countries on the continent of africa, particularly subsaharan africa,

but when it comes to skirm have skirmishes where democracy falters, that's a breeding ground for terrorist activity. there's health, there is national security, there's renewable resources, there's -- the continent is resource rich. but when he goes to angola as president of the united states, it sends a signal to pay attention not just to angola, but to the continent of africa, particularly subsaharan africa, that the next president may want look so favorably on. >> he's putting a marker down when it comes to competition with other countries trying to make inroads into this part of the world. president biden is making his commitment to that continent clear with this trip. now, remember, president trump never visited africa in his last term. how might his vision differ? >> well, we saw some of his vision from comments where some very derogatory comments calling african nations shit hole

nations. and this president, the incoming president, president-elect trump, may need to really try to foster a relationship. there were some african presidents to include the nigerian president and the kenyan president, who congratulated the incoming president on his win. also the african union that's made up of those countries on the continent, they are concerned because of the past comments and lack of serious engagement with countries in subsaharan africa. national security, health. i'll never forget the health issue during the george bush administration, the last republican president to ever travel to africa, where he focused in on hiv and aids. and i'll never forget then secretary of state colin powell says, if we don't stand up those people in africa to prevent hiv and aids, you know, there could be a national health crisis because if you don't -- if you

have a sick continent, how do you stand up people to help support the nation when it comes to military issues? there are so many issues, once again, that africa is engaged with around the world. if incoming president, president-elect trump, does not deal with that, he's losing out on a great deal. again, as you said, ana, it impacts the world. china and russia have been building infrastructure in africa to take their oil. so, it's -- this is a big issue. it's more of a global issue. it's not just a black issue. it's a global economic resource issue, national security issue. >> peter, let's talk about the timing here because this trip comes just as president biden pardoned his son hunter. i do wonder, how much is that clouding his trip to africa or overshadowing it? >> well, you know, this happens a lot when presidents go overseas, domestic issues always tend to follow them. you heard today when he met with

president, the reporter shouting questions about hunter biden because the president has yet to address this issue beyond a written statement he released sunday night. it does -- you know, this is a function of the modern presidency, the domestic issues follow a president no matter where they go. this one has been part of this trip as well. >> peter baker and april ryan, thank you both for your reporting. appreciate you joining us today. up next here on "ana cabrera reports," self-defense or manslaughter? closing arguments in the case of daniel penny, the marine veteran charged with choking a man to death on the new york city subway. we're at the courthouse. plus, the cold case that has gripped americans since 1996. could advances in dna testing finally uncover who killed jonbenet ramsey? with liberty mutual. customize and sa— (balloon doug pops & deflates) and then i wake up. is limu with you in all your dreams?

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these kids, they've done nothing wrong in the world. and they end up having to go through all of this to survive. your donation, it means everything. this giving tuesday, make a difference by supporting the children of st. jude. please donate now. right now in new york city, closing arguments are under way in the trial of daniel penny, who faces manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges accused of joking jordan neely to death on the subway last year. in closing arguments, defense says penny was trying to save scared riders. nbc news correspondent joins us from outside the courthouse. what is the very latest and when

could this be in the hands of the jury? >> reporter: ana, the latest is just a short while ago, the prosecution resumed its closing argument before this group of 12 jurors, arguing that they should believe the new york medical xm examiner's report that described it as a chokehold applied by daniel penny. the defense has a very different view of this. they brought in an expert witness who said the chokehold was not the cause of death. instead, jordan neely had some other extenuating medical circumstances, sickle cell, including some form of synthetic marijuana in his system, and that caused his death. now, when will this go to the jury? that will happen after closing arguments, which we expect will happen in just a short while. the judge will charge the jury. and then it will be up to the 12 men and women on this jury. it is a combination of seven women and five men who have to

decide whether or not they believe jordan -- whether they believe daniel penny was acting as a hero, as the defense says, or as the prosecution says, he was a vigilante, he went too far. ana? >> thank you. we'll be monitoring what happens in that courtroom, especially as deliberations get going next. up next on "ana cabrera reports," how a new documentary has brought new light toon on jonbenet ramsey case. on jonbenet ramsey case use tide. do i need to pretreat guacamole? not with tide. why do we even buy napkins? thankfully, tide's the answer to almost all of them. —do crabs have eyebrows? —except that one. for all of life's laundry questions... it's got to be tide.

your loved ones are getting older, and they need your support. care.com is here to help. it's an easy way to find background-checked senior caregivers in your area. and some piece of mind. see why millions of families have trusted care. go to care.com now more breaking news now. after president biden's pardon of his son hunter, a delaware judge has now formally dismissed this case against hunter biden in that state where he was convicted of lying about his drug use when he bought a gun. hunter biden also pleaded guilty to federal tax charges in california and the pardon, of course, covers any actions hunter biden took since 2014.

this morning a new netflix docuseries is generating new heat around one of america's most infamous cold cases. the 1996 murder of jonbenet ramsey. the 6-year-old beauty pageant queen found murdered inside his family's colorado home the day after christmas. now 28 years later, her name and face is gripping public interest once again. sparking new hope that her killer could still be uncovered. nbc is tracking this renewed attention. liz? >> hey there. like the menendez brothers case, this new netflix docuseries is driving new interest in the mystery. the boulder police chief won't say if they have new leads but in an update he says things could have been done better and he hopes the renewed attention will generate more tips from the public after nearly 28 years. >> we have a kidnapping. hurry, please. >> reporter: the brutal murder of 6-year-old jonbenet ramsey in her home on christmas night 1996

shocking the nation and fueling a frenzy of media coverage that would last for years. >> it was a case that people couldn't stop talking about. >> reporter: as a new netflix docuseries contends, problems with the investigation appeared early on. >> why was the ramsey house not sealed off as a crime scene until several hours after the kidnapping was reported? >> reporter: the decades old case now striking a chord with a new generation on social media, and a new push to pursue the case nearly 30 years later. in the late '90s suspicion and unusual theories of the case focused on the ramseys, her parents, john and patsy, and brother bert. >> bed wetting or toilet issue. >> caused patsy to get mad at her daughter? >> reporter: no one has been charged in the case. patsy ramsey passed away from cancer in 2006. two years later the boulder district attorney cleared the family, pointing to dna evidence. now 80, john ramsey recently telling savannah he'll never give up searching for the killer. >> you still have hope this can

be solved. >> i believe it can be solved if the police accept help from outside their system. >> reporter: boulder's current police chief says the department has been working for years with other law enforcement agencies and outside experts, including recent efforts by the colorado cold case review team. >> those files include more than 21,000 tips, over 1,000 interviews, which was conducted across 17 states and 2 foreign countries. >> reporter: documentarian says police could be doing more. >> certain items that were sent to the crime lab that were never tested should be tested. >> reporter: boulder pd writing, the assertion there is viable evidence and leads we are not pursuing to include dna testing is completely false. the haunting case frustrating investigators and a family still seeking closure after nearly three decades. >> over the years several persons of interest have come up, including john mark karr, who was arrested after what

police say was a false confession. he and others were ruled out in part because their dna didn't match. some who followed the case from the start say the tainted crime scene makes it impossible to really rule anyone out. back to you. >> really fascinating. thank you. that does it for us today. thanks for joining us. thanks for joining us. >> catch our show online around the clock on youtube and other platforms. i'm anna cabrera reporting from new york. jose diaz-balart picks up our coverage right now. >> good morning. 11:00 a.m. eastern. i'm jose diaz-balart. we begin with the intensifying firestorm in washington surrounding president biden's decision to issue a sweeping pardon for his son hunter. moments ago, the judge in hunter biden's delaware case formally dismissed the case in light of that pardon. but the political