information, meaning testimony, there could be, as you said, interviews that we do not know about, that now will be made public. should merrick garland release the report publicly. former assistant manhattan district attorney and nbc news legal analyst, catherine christian, thank you. that was "way too early" for this thursday morning. "morning joe" picks up right now. this is unbelievable. never thought it'd happen to us. >> you see this rain of hell fire. >> neighbors' houses are burning. it's so upsetting and heartbreaking. >> felt like i was catching on fire a little bit. >> i want to go back because i am hopeful i will find something in the rubble . >> incredible, emotional moments for victims of the raging wildfires burning across southern california still this morning. the winds have died down a bit. they did that overnight. firefighters may not have much time to mtake advantage of tho new weather conditions. we'll have complete coverage of

a ka tat catastrophe in southere california, with live reports as well as the latest forecast. we'll also be joined by the director of fema as the organization tries to begin to get its arms around this. plus, today is the official state funeral for former president jimmy carter in washington. he will be laid to rest in a private ceremony this evening in his hometown of plains, georgia. we'll bring you live coverage from the nation's capitol. welcome to "morning joe." it is thursday, january 9th. i'm willie geist. joe and mika will join us from a moment at the national cathedral as we cover the funeral service for the 39th president. but we begin with the wildfires scorching los angeles county.or at least five people have died. more than 100,000 people now have been forced to evacuate over the course of 36 hours. the fires have burned down an estimated 2,000 structures across the area. five major fires currently burning across l.a. county with

three, the palisades, eaton, and sunset fires at 0% containment. the los angeles fire department, however, confirms it is making progress on the sunset fire. that's a new one last night. n the two others are at 40% and 10% containment. the largest of the fires, palisades, has burned more than 17,000 acres now. officials calling that fire the most destructive in the history of los angeles. the second largest, the eaton fire, engulfed more than hurricane-force winds and dry conditions have fueled the ed fires, and low water pressure is owhampering efforts to fight th blazes. the fierce winds did begin to die down a bit last night, but the santa ana winds are expected to return later this week. we are hearing stories from local residents about how the wildfires have ravaged their ed neighborhoods, their schools, and local landmarks, leaving

many in rubble. this hour, thousands of people have lost their homes, leaving entire communities burned to the ground. childhood photographs burned in the fire. decades of memories now wiped away. we're getting a sense of how residents are coping with the aftermath following their harrowing escapes. >> this is the best neighborhood. everybody knows each other. everybody helps each other out. before we left, our neighbor brad here, he was putting out little fires, you know, before he felt like he just had to go. he was putting out fires on our property. who knows? maybe that saved our house. but that's the kind of neighborhood we have.e it's, you know -- most of it is gone now. >> all the owstuff that's here e replaceable. people are not. so happy the family is -- it's the most important thing. >> i drove with the kids and the dogs down to laguna beach. i mean, what are the answers? they say, mommy, where are we

going to live? where are we going to go to school? what are we gogoing to do? and i don't have answers to those vequestions right now. >> one day you're swimming in the pool, and the next day, it's all gone. but she came out with her little yeti piggy-bank for us to rebuild our house. >> we lost -- we lost all the things. all our photographs and my grandpa's antique chest and all that kind of stuff. >> i'm going to break down again. that's what i feel. it's my whole life. >> everything was in there. we lost everything. >> you shape up.ng you're supposed to be a support. anyway, i'm okay. i'll be okay. i'm tough. we'll start over. >> you are tough. >> even though i'm 91 years old,

i'll start over again. >> ar91 years old. just a handful of what are thousands of stories like those. a woman from houston who is from pasadena describes how the cemetery dwhere her mother, brother, and several family members are buried, now completely burned. joining us from altadena, california, where the eaton fire continues to rage, nbc news correspondent dana griffin. good morning. what are you seeing on the ground? >> reporter: willie, good morning to you. i've got to say, just listening to those stories, they're just heartbreaking. they're touching. there are several more out there just like it. here in altadena, where the eaton fire, as you mentioned, burned some 10,000 plus acres, five people have been confirmed dead in the fire, we're seeing neighborhoods that look just like this. the embers during those hurricane-force winds were pretty much playing hopscotch to veep vehicles and homes. some homes are standing. through this neighborhood we're walking in right now, almost

every single one looks like some of -- well, we'll show the images in a second because we're in front of a vehicle right now. all the homes have been leveled in this neighborhood. as we kind of pan over here, i want to show you, there's not any active flames in this particular neighborhood concerning the wildfire itself, but we are seeing these blow torches at almost every single home. these are fires that are starting from the gas line because officials have not come in and shut it off so we don't see these blow torches here. you do have a tree stump that is smoldering in the area. again, every single home has been burned mostly to its foundation. at this home, the only thing you can really make out are the mailboxes. you see the numbers 309. that's the only thing that you can still see here.l there are even power lines that are hanging over. we drove over some in the road. we usually wouldn't stand this close to these, but these have

been de-energized. you have several power lines everywhere. there was a cat we heard moments ago meowing, obviously badly io hurt. our photographer, producer, got underneath the car to try to get a look at it. they put some water down there for the cat. we're not hearing it at this moment, but, obviously, several families had to flee in such a hurry, so their pets, some have lost them. others have tried to find safety in the only thing they could, a vehicle that was untouched. it's just sheer devastation. we're still trying to determine what caused this fire. we know the palisades fire started in someone's backyard. what caused it exactly? officials have not released that cause. but there's still a lot of unanswered questions. how this happened. why this happened. i mean, obviously, we know we had those hurricane-force winds that really drove this fire. there were issues with trying to s get helicopters and aircraft to dump water on the fire. that is usually such an amaze

ing pull, to prevent fires like this from happening in los angeles county. as you mentioned, i've spoken to people who said the same thing, we did not think this could happen here. willie. >> dana, reading the accounts and listening to the briefings from the lapd, the los angeles fire department, it's clear they've never seen anything like this, and nethey see a lot out there in southern california. the fire department saying, we are doing everything humanly possible. all hands on deck. it's just overwhelming. it's too much to get to every call. it's too much to get to every house that's on fire. it's too much to let people back into these neighborhoods to see if their homes are still there because they're not sure it is safe to be there. so what is your sense of how authorities are attempting to get their arms around this? >> reporter: well, i think they're trying to do the best they can. the good thing is, those santa ana winds, at least the strong gusts we asaw yesterday are no the winds that we are seeing

today. so we have seen some helicopters up above, which has been amazing. we're just going to walk ittle bit more over here so you can see the flames behind us. they're doing the best that they can. we did have a sheriff's deputy drive past us, and we got this warning to be careful. we thought, okay, maybe he is talking about the smoke because the air quality is so poor. that's why we're all wearing respirators and masks. we said, no, be careful because there are looters out here. he said, we've already arrested someone. i asked, well, how many? where? tried to get some more information. he says, couldn't give that information, but the fact that this morning they've already arrested people, it goes to show that people are taking advantage of an already devastating situation. so that's another element that they're dealing with out here, is trying to get the flames fully out. where we are, we're not seeing active flames. that could be because it is in such a remote area. it's hard to get that vantage point. hopefully the fire can burn out

in those remote areas and hopefully not spread anywhere else. we did have another fire pop up in the hollywood hills. they issued evacuation orders. a lot of those evacuation orders have been lifted, which is a great sign. we are not out of the woods yet. there are still major wildfires still burning in southern california, and the threat, willie, is not stover. dana, good morning. it's jonathan.in yes, the sunset fire came within a couple hundred yards of some of the most major and famous thoroughfares in the city. we hope firefighters are able to keep pushing it back. i want to ask about the response firefighters have been able to do, where you are and throughout the city, there's been questions about whether there was water in the hydrants, whether they had the appropriate amount of resources to deal with the fires. what are you hearing from fire officials as to what they're able to do from the ground and the sky, from helicopters like what y,we're seeing now? >> that's a really great question. officials addressed that yesterday. they admitted that we did not eyhave the water pressure in orr

to fight the fire on the ground. and the reason that happened is because they have about three 1-million gallon tanks they have in the palisades area. the reason you fill that up is you have the water pressure. they were pumping out so much water over about 15 hours, four times the capacity, they could not keep up with the demand. that water ran out. around 3:00 in the morning, 4:00 in the morning, they have no more water. that was the critical time of this fire fight yesterday because that's when the winds were the highest, overnight and into the morning. on top of that, you also had the aircraft which were not flying. they had to be grounded because of those strong winds. so when you have no water coming from up above or on the ground, that's why you see more than 1,000 structures that have burned, because there was no way to fight this. also, you had those whipping winds that carried embers up to a mile or two. so it was really the perfect

storm that created this mess. >> dana, altadena is a vibrant n community. i've enjoyed spending lots of time there. right now, does it just seem like an evacuated ghost town, a hellscape? >> absolutely. >> do you still see everyone wandering around, or has everyone fled? >> that's a great question. we are seeing absolutely no one on rethe streets, except for th sheriff's deputy that drove by and reminded us to be safe while we're out here. it's a ghost town. we have not seen anyone out here except for the patrol vehicles that have shut down the roads. again, it's hard to see because it's so dark right now. we've tried to light this as best as we can. but once daylight comes up, you may get a better scope. every home on this street looks just like this. i haven't seen one home that is standing yet. so when you talk about communities that have been

completely wiped off the map, those words are not exaggerations. this is something that people did not think could happen in los angeles county. it's so populated. you know, usually these wildfires decimate remote areas or communities that are very spread out. but these are neighborhoods and communities that our friends stay and loved ones and coworkers. to see this much widespread devastation, it's really hard to wrap your head around it, guys. >> dana, stay with us for a moment if you can. we want to swing over to meteorologist angie lassman for a look at how things may look today, where these fires are now. angie, good morning. what are you seeing there? >> good morning. dana said, the winds a little less than they were yesterday. i want to stress that they're not diminished completely. we're going to kind of see these swings of winds elevated, winds coming down. santa anas will stick with us for a long haul. we could have more events, even into next week.se right now, 17 million people

still under these red flag warnings. winds are coming offshore. remember, that means we're not adding in a whole lot of moisture with the winds coming off the water. instead, they are going offshore at about 40 to 50 miles per hour through the day today. tomorrow, those increase. we're talking a range of 50 to 70 miles per hour across this region. let's talk about exactly where they currently stand. you'll notice closer to the coast less, 5, 10, maybe 20, 30-mile-per-hour winds. get up into the hills, get up into parts of the mountainous regions, and right now we have 40 plus-mile-per-hour wind gusts. 20 plus. that'll be the situation for this morning. as the day goes on, we'll go in kind of a flux. we'll start to see things winding down a little more as we get into the afternoon hours, and then they ramp up as we round out today and head back into tomorrow. still, the gusty winds, they're going to be there. i do think that these will be wind speeds where air relief can be started up again and can continue across this region, so that's at least one specific thing that we'll watch for, a

positive. again, those weekend and next week's santa anas will return. in the meantime, we have the potential for significant fire growth, especially with any new fires that do start. notice how widespread it is. one thing you're not seeing on here, yesterday, we had a good chunk of this same region right here under the extreme version of the fire weather threat. today, it's the critical risk. again, it's just a minor improvement. it will, of course, help those firefighters when it comes to battling these. we've seen a lot of the wind e advisories expire and come ba up. now, the wind advisory in place for parts of ventura and l.a. county, that'll last until 6:00 p.m. we have a total of 13 million people under the wind alerts at this time. this is going to stay with us. again, as we get through the day today. we've got this high pressure and low pressure kind of sandwiched to the north and the south of this region. that is essentially what's in play for the santa ana winds to continue. now, one thing to note, these are really strong high and low n pressures, so that means we've got these strong winds. this low is going to be on the

move here, and this is why we've kind of got a weakening situation with the winds as we get through tomorrow. you'll notice, they get farther apart. there's not as tight of a pressure gradient. that'll leave us with positive, of course, you know, a positive influence when it comes to the winds. but we're still going to kind of go through these fluxes as the day goes ton. guys, we've been talking for the past couple of days about how the lack of rainfall in this region has just added to that intense wind event. we're running way below normal, less than 10% of normal since october 1st. we could use on rain in the region. unfortunately, we don't see a lot unof relief in that way, so it'll be the strong winds. the dry conditions as far as the vegetation goes. one positive is we do see the relative humid coming up by the time we round out this week. we'll see it in flux as the days go on and we get into next week, guys. >> angie, southern california sees wildfires. southern california sees drought. southern california sees high winds. it does feel like they all came together in the last few days. what are the conditions that

have made this unique and so devastating? >> yeah, so basically what happens is, when you have these santa ana wind events, which you just said is common for this region, we've got a high pressure and a low pressure that i just mentioned. the difference with what happened in this scenario is that we have a much stronger low pressure in the upper levels of the atmosphere. why r do we care? that means we've got this extra kind of punch when it comes to the winds coming down the mountain. a lot of that influence gives us a lot of speed, a lot of oomph, when the winds are coming over the mountains and then they come down. when you have just a little more of that going on in the upper g levels of the atmosphere, the winds are 80 to 100 miles per hour. the national weather service, 24 hours in advance, knew this would be a destructive wind event and were prepared for this with the setup in the atmosphere. this is what makes it different. we also, willie, had a couple seasons where we had a lot of rain in the region. that means the vegetation was growing at, you know, paces that we didn't see in previous years, when we had the prolonged droughts across the state of

california. so that now, of course, means we've got lots of vegetation that, eventually, as we're dealing with drought conditions in this season, is now basically just fuel for all of these ingredients to come together and create basically the situation we've seen. by the way, we've seen now more than 2,000 structures damaged from this. that not just makes it l.a.'s most destructive, but we also have seen it enter the top five of california's most destructive, you know, when looking at the numbers of structures devastated. >> still burning as we speak. >> yeah. >> angie lassman, thanks so much. we'll be back to you this morning. appreciate you talking us through that. joining us now, the national spokesperson for the american red cross. nicole, thanks for being with us on a difficult and busy time for you there fiin los angeles. what are you all seeing? what efforts are you making to help? >> being here right in los aeng angeles, at the center, i'm actually outside of one of the shelters the red cross opened up. for anyone watching, it is 3:00 in the morning here in los angeles. that means there mare dozens o

folks who have evacuated their home, that are now having the chance to rest their heads and hopefully, for a moment, they can get well- well-deserved res. during a time that has been quite chaotic, potentially traumatic for what they're facing, right? now, these shelt ers are opened across los angeles. for anyone who is still in need of safe shelter, i can't stress enough, everyone is welcome at nethese shelters. folks may never have thought they needed the red cross services, but i can tell you, now is the time. if you need a hand, we are here to help. >> hanicole, we're hearing that hotels across the area are at capacity. we saw people literally yesterday having to get out of ertheir cars in traffic and sta walking. being told by some police, just go to the beach at least for starters. what can people who do need shelter expect when they goat a red cross? >> they make it to a red cross shelter, folks can come as they are. we know folks may be arriving in

different states. that's okay. when you get there, you're going to meet some of the friendliest people around. methese volunteers who are staffing these shelters are from the area. they've potentially been impacted themselves, especially knowing from conversations i've had with fellow red crossers. but these are the folks who are working day in, day out, even in the middle of the night right now to help make sure folks are cared for. whether it's a warm meal, someone to talk to, a sense of community, and just knowing that someone has your back, i think that really goes a long way, in addition to the safe shelter. >> nicole, can you tell us more, people who are watching at home and want to help, what is the best way they can, whether they live in southern california or e not? >> absolutely. well, i would suggest there's two really prominent ways you can support folks. first, if you feel so inclined, supporting the american red cross and our cldisaster relief efforts. it is because of folks stwho supported us financially in the to t that we were able mobilize so quickly to help the

folks of los angeles. but, you know, disasters can happen in any community. you might actually have a heart for this, right? you might be ready to roll up a sleeve and besay, i want to hel my fellow neighbors during a time of uncertainty. during a time of disaster. becoming a volunteer is a great path to do that. you can get started both ways at redcross.org. >> national spokesperson for the american red cross, nicole maul. i know the people there so appreciate the work you are doing right now. we'll let you get back to it. this is a good place to start if you're sitting at home and wondering how you can help somehow. the red cross is a great way to do it. nicole, thank you very much. let's go back to dana griffin, reporting frommal that alaltad california. dana, we're a few hours from sunrise when we'll get a look at the destruction wrought overnight. what are you expecting in terms of the fire and a response here? >> reporter: the response is

still trying to put out fires in neighborhoods like this. you just missed it, there was a fire truck that came down this road. it stopped for a second. we thought maybe it was going to come down, but there are also power lines that are down that we can walk over. you can see, these are some of the conditions which are possibly hampering those fire fighting efforts. because you've got these lines that are across the street, and you've got a light that -- a streetlight that is on the ground. you can tell that this broke. this was likely during the windstorm or possibly the fire that cut through this wooden pole. so they're still responding. the fact we're still seeing these torches, as i like to call them, almost at every single a house, like this entire neighborhood is aglow, they haven't -- usually, you get the gas sucompany to come out, shut those off, but they haven't gotten to that step yet.at that tells you that they are still in the active phase of this fire. because they say the priority is

first saving lives, second property. a lot of these homes have burned down, so there's not much they can do. but there are still areas that need to be -- there are still some areas that need to be visited by the firefighters. hopefully when the sun s up, we get a better look at some of the areas where maybe there is the active flames still happening. i was watching our local affiliate, knbc. the only image they had was of the palisades fire, but they could only see it from their chopper. it was burning in a remote area. so it is very smoky in this area, so there is still some residual from the fires that rolled through here. the major concern right now is the air quality. a lot of us are wearing respirators or masks because this air is so dangerous and very toxic to breathe in. that's going to be a major concern. a lot of people are probably wondering, when can i get back n inside my home? when can i get to my

neighborhood to see if my home is still standing? those are questions we always get during these fires. there's never a timeline for when that will happen. it just depends on how quickly firefighters can mop up this fire and get it under control. they also have to make sure the neighborhoods are safe for people to come back through. a lot of times, they keep people out of the area for several days just because firefighters and trucks are coming up and down these roads constantly. having people in the way only inhibits their ability to continue to work on these fires. again, it's a very smoky mess out here. just kind of getting a look at the devastation, i can't imagine what it was like for people who had to evacuate. actually, we'll walk over here. willie, there is a cat that is stuck inside this jeep. this is one of the vehicles on this road that is untouched. it was meowing a little bit.

let's check on it to see if it is still there. i don't know if you can hear it. we're not hearing it anymore. our producer, jaszel, put some bread, some water. our photographer went under there, tried to get the cat out. we heard it meowing, and it was doing that for several minutes throughout the morning, even during some of our earlier live shots, we could hear it. but we're not hearing that cat right now. it appeared to be injured, according to our photographer. so that's the other part of this devastating story.f so many people evacuated and did not have a chance to take their cats. many of them have died or are hiding in vehicles like this. willie. >> dana, we want to get you and your crew to safety and get you out of some of the air right now. we appreciate your reporting. we'll be back to you later in the morning. nbc news correspondent dana griffin live in altadena,

california, for us. dana, thank you so much.th john, we all know people. we've all got friends out there, to the point dana was making. we have dear friends who grabbed their pets, grabbed their dogs, get some prescriptions. if there is a photo album, great. otherwise, get out. they're expecting the worst. haven't been allowed back in. at a place like pacific palisades, it's all but burned to the ground. some well-known people, billy crystal among them, put out a statement, the home he and his wife lived in since 1979 is gone. all the memories of our kids, grandkids, have taken place in that home.e they can't take those memories away from 'tus, but everything else is gone. he offered his great thanks and prayers for first responders. but this is just impacting so many people. they're still trying to get it under control this morning. >> yeah, a number of celebrities lost their homes. paris hilton, john goodman among them. bold-faced name or not, the idea

of losing everything you have, and in a matter of minutes. again, this was a fire that started as a small fire in someone's backwards in the pacific palisades and exploded within hours to consume an entire neighborhood. then we have seen these other fires, the hop and skip, embers flying, surrounding l.a. county right now. thankfully, there is a break in the winds right now. the sunset fire burning in the hollywood hills, helicopters able to drop water and other chemicals on there. they were able to suppress it somewhat. it is a forever changed city right now. elise, two words we haven't said yet this morning but need to, is climate change. the extreme droughts, these extreme fires have become only that much more common in recent years. you rknow, there's no sign tha that be abate anytime soon. >> a week ago, i was in arizona over christmas break, and a friend told me there hadn't been any rain there in over 100 days,

at the place we were at. and temperatures in the summer, that it'd been over 100 degrees for over -- for months on end. and what can we do to combat this and to keep people safe and to make the los angeles area and southern california a safe place to live, in light of all these challenges? it's just heartbreaking. my best friend has left. all of my friends in l.a. have fled. her little sister's house in brentwood, on the edge, got completely overtaken and is gone, in a heart beat. these communities, the schools the children go to, everywhere that you made your life, it's just gone. it's heartbreaking. >> it is hard to fathom. willie, we should note, president biden was in southern california the last couple days. he left yesterday, canceled events because of this fire. he did thank some firefighters at a firehouse there in santa monica. there's obviously a major federal response to this. also, president biden was originally, after today's funeral for former president carter, was supposed to leave tonight for rome, what would

have been his final presidential trip, ing an audience with the pope, but he's canceled it to stay in the united states and oversee the response to the fire. >> the president approving a major declaration for disaster due to the fires, saying the resources are the there and california has the support. more than 100,000 people evacuated. these fires still burn. the palisades fire, 17,000 acres, flattening to rubble. pacific palisades. the hurst fire and the sunset fire burning up into the hollywood hills appears to have been contained somewhat, but not completely. the fight continues this morning. we will be covering it all morning. also ahead on "morning joe," the national funeral service for president jimmy carter will take place a bit later this morning at washington national cathedral. we'll tell you what to n expects the t nation's 39th president i laid to rest. "morning joe" back in 30 seconds. it's time.

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president biden will deliver a eulogy there. also in attendance, first lady jill biden, vice president kamala harris, and second gentleman doug emhoff, and all living former presidents. let's bring in nbc news capitol hill correspondent from the east front of the capitol, julie tsirkin. good morning. what are you expecting to see today? >> reporter: good morning, willie. first of all, the crowds to pay tribute to jimmy carter are still streaming in. the wind chill is making it feel like 9 degrees here. they've been coming overnight to pay tribute, to pay respect to the 39th president. over the last two days, since the emotional procession that we witnessed on tuesday, here at the east front of the capitol, you see police and military units, the navy band, as well, that just made its way into the capitol. that is because in a couple of hours from now, they will begin the moment of processing jimmy carter's casket in a hearse to the washington national

cathedral, which has held funerals for many presidents in the past, including president ford. gerald ford was a close friend of jimmy carter's. his statue has been looking down at his cat sket at the capitol carter's body has been lying in state at the rotunda. they had a close bond. the son of gerald ford, stephen ford, will be paying tribute to jimmy carter. you mentioned all five living presidents will be in attendance there. that is going to be a special moment, including president-elect donald trump, who paid tribute last night with melania trump to jimmy carter when he visited the capitol. it was such a beautiful moment here on tuesday, willie. you know, all week really, from georgia to d.c., in his final trip here to washington, just to see the family, the friends of jimmy carter, people who worked for him. on tuesday, they actually followed his casket as it was in the case, in that military wagon

coming up the hill from the navy memorial, which, of course, jimmy carter was famous for establishing. there was a law that he had signed, establishing that memorial. he was, of course, a graduate of the navy academy. he was a lieutenant in the navy, as well. that was a really powerful moment because, of course, they replicated the walk that jimmy carter and rosalynn carter made in 1977 during his inauguration. so many unique tributes just dating back to his legacy as president, especially his legacy in his post presidential era. of course, all of those moments were touched on by speaker johnson johnson and john thune and vice president harris a few days ago. >> president carter will leave the capitol around 9:00 this morning and make his way to the washington national cathedral for a brief arrival ceremony at 9:30 and a funeral service at 10:00 this morning. julie tsirkin outside a chilly united states capitol, thanksjo

klobuchar. what are your thoughts as president carter will be laid to rest tonight in plains, georgia? >> the outpouring support for president carter and what he stood for, not only as a president, as a peanut farmer, capturing the nation's attention, winning the presidency out of nowhere, but also what he stood for after the presidency. i think it's astounding. you saw at the capitol the republican leaders, senator thune and speaker johnson, give beautiful remarks earlier this week. now, you're going to see, as you noted, all five living presidents, from president bush and clinton and obama and trump and biden, all there to pay tribute today. jimmy carter was a relentless force for good in our nation and the world. i can't think of a better time, of this divisiveness and what we are facing right now, than trying to ground ourselves in the life of jimmy carter.

>> senator klobuchar, good morning. you're right, a rare moment of bipartisanship in washington there as republicans and democrats alike unite to remember the former president. tell us a little more about your personal connection to the carter white house. you interned for them vice president mondale, a fellow minnesotan, of course. tell us what that meant to you. >> first job in washington, thought i'd be meeting president carter, which i did do, but i did the furniture inventory. but what i do remember is the relationship between him and vice president mondale. then how that relationship continued after their presidency. it was mondale's words that are emblazoned on the carter center in atlanta. i got to visit there when i went to plains and met with jimmy carter and rosalynn. the words said, "we told the truth. we obeyed the law. we kept the peace." we told the truth. we obeyed the law. we kept the peace. i can't think of a better word

and a mantra for us to think about as we go forward. when i met with them in plains, and once i went to the bible study and prayed with jimmy carter, and on this other time, went to his house. rosalynn made cheese sandwiches, one of their favorites. he related to me his own run for president. he said one of the reasons he picked walter mondale, among many, was walter mondale had done the research and could say rosalynn's name, unlike some of the other nominees. so his memory was incredible. his advice was always so good, for so many candidates. i think it was bob dylan, and im thinking about dylan because i love that movie, "complete unknown," but he, of course, and other musicians spent a lot of time with carter. in an interview, one of his rare interviews, he said, "carter was the kind of man you don't meet every day and that you're lucky to meet if you ever do." i think that pretty much sums it

up. >> senator, president carter made human rights the forefront and just a cornerstone of his foreign policy vision. how has his emphasis impacted foreign policy within american politics in the decades that followed his presidency? >> in a big way. you know, american policy, foreign policy has its moments, and there are moments that involve human rights and others that don't. but carter looked at the world and said, you know, america should stand for being an economic power, yes, but also being a human rights power. that's what our democracy is based on, respecting people's rights and freedoms. so you saw him elevate that. i think you're still seeing it today. you see it with the bipartisan support that you saw against the

actions of vladimir putin when he imprisoned journalists, including evan, "the wall street journal" journalist. when you see the action that's made to take on sanctions and other things against nations that are violating human rights. again, we are not a perfect foreign policy, and sometimes there are other reasons that intervene. but, clearly, human rights is mentioned more and more and more, and as a reason for siding with a country like ukraine. because of the violation of human rights by, in this case sh , russia. >> you're representing minnesota well with mentions of walter mondale and bob dylan. >> come on, it's early but i'm good. should we get to the vikings, or are you okay as it is? >> they look pretty tough. you get prince into the conversation, you will have hit the trifecta. >> there you go. >> we'll see this bipartisanship today as we talked about it. you'll have the five living presidents, ex-presidents there, at the funeral. shortly thereafter, it's back to business in washington, as you

know. president-elect donald trump is calling on republicans to pass his legislative policies. it appears he doesn't have a strategy for that. he held a closed-door meeting with republican senators yesterday, their colleagues. president-elect calling for one, big, beautiful reconciliation bill that tackles taxes and the border. something mike johnson supports, but republicans think it'll too tough to pass, suggesting two separate bills. trump, for now, appears to be staying out of the strategy debate. >> whether it's one bill or two bills, it's going to get done one way or the other. there's a lot of talk about two and a lot of talk about one, but it doesn't matter. the end result is the same. we're going to get something done that's going to be reducing taxes and creating a lot of jobs and all of the other things you know about. >> senator, what's your take on how this is all going to play out? your republican colleagues in the senate appearing a little frustrated yesterday in their

most polite terms possible because donald trump was there, saying this is going to be a little tough to do in one, big, beautiful bill. how is this going to go? >> these bills, first of all, are never very big or beautiful, but i think they're just trying to practically get through the machinations of government. understanding there are some republicans that have concerns about the debt and some of the proposals that the president-elect has made that would add to that debt. that being said, when he talks about results, results for who? is it going to be results for regular people and americans like he promised in the campaign? or is it just going results like we saw in the last tax cuts that helped the wealthiest, helped them game the system, helped them rig what's going on to help their businesses or help themselves? that is where democrats are going to really draw the line. because what we want to see is, yes, tax reform and relief for people making under $400,000. but for the wealthiest people,

if the past is any instruction, and some of the things we're seeing out of the mouths of our republican colleagues, there's going to be a whole bunch of stuff here that's going to set other people back and make it harder for them to get things like social security or housing or less expensive pharmaceuticals. if they're ready to work with us on those kinds of things, we're ready to find common ground. but we're going to draw the line if they're elping their wealthiest buddies to rig the system. >> there's been talk about a mandate for president trump and republicans own washington. they, of course, will control the white house, the house, and the senate, but by very slim margins in both chambers. so how are you approaching, in less that be two n two weeks fr this new administration, this new congress? what do you think things will be like in washington over the next couple of years? >> well, i have good relationships on both sides of the aisle, as you know, and i will, whenever possible, as i know senator schumer wants to do, our leader, and others, is

find the common ground. we love to bring more affordable housing in. let's get proposals and get it done. child care, let's get that done. let's bring down health care costs. but some of the things we're seeing, including in the face of these nominees, right, where you've got kash patel saying he wants to close down the fbi headquarters when we just had an incredibly tragic attack in new orleans, or cyber attacks happening every single day, he wants to turn it into a museum and be on a revenge agenda, that doesn't keep people safe. as we look at the nominees, and i'm sure we'll support some of them, but we're going to look at them and say, are they able, do they have the ability to do this job? does their background check out ethically? finally, are they going to be committed to the american people? so i think you're going to hear a lot of the work done on looking at these nominees, because our job is advice and consent. under the constitution, we take an oath to support and defend

it, and that means making sure that the people who are in place, that are making major, major decisions for our country, are able to do the job, up for the job, and have a mission consistent with the american people's. >> democratic senator amy klobuchar, we appreciate your time. >> thank you. thank you for focusing on these horrific fires in los angeles. literately, it is apocalyptic. you think of all the lives changes forever and those that have been lost and our brave firefighters. i appreciate your coverage. >> well said. it is breathtaking. we'll get back to that coverage in a moment. thanks, senator. coming up, we are learning more about donald trump's mass deportation plan. nbc news correspondent julia ainsley will join us with her exclusive reporting on the action the incoming administration may take soon after trump's inauguration. plus, we will return shortly to southern california, covering the wildfires as they continue to burn this morning, with more than 100,000 people now

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elevated design for thoughtful living thuma. >> but as democrats struggle with their identity now as a party post-election, we'll find out if they're still clinging to that open as democrats struggle with their identity now as a party post election, we'll find out if they're still clinging to the open border policy. >> why you talking about an identity crisis? the republican conference is filled with marauding bands of individuals who can't stand each

other. and democrats, as far as i can tell, are unified in our determination to make life better for the american people. >> marauding bands. house minority leader hakeem jeffries hitting back yesterday after speaker mike johnson accused democrats of struggling with party identity after the 2024 election, not really knowing what it is. meanwhile, nbc news has exclusive reporting that the incoming trump administration is actively considering carrying out a high-profile raid targeting undocumented immigrants in the d.c. area. three people familiar with the discussions reveal the raid could take place within days of trump taking office to send a message. joining us now, one of the reporters who broke the story, nbc news homeland security correspondent julia ainsley. julia, good morning. what more can you tell us about what the trump team is considering here? >> well, willie, of course, nothing is final yet, but we know that they're in discussions to try to figure out what resources they have to carry out workplace raids in the d.c.

area. that could be in maryland, d.c. proper, or northern virginia. you could target a number of sectors. they're looking at agriculture, hospitality, and health care. this is to carry out what would be a shock and awe first operation, and it could be done, willie, as soon as inauguration day. this is because, of course, the president campaigned on making -- or the incoming president campaigned on making this the largest deportation operation in american history. he wants something to show for it when he comes into office. but workplace raids are historically very expensive and logistically difficult. they take a long time to plan. when i.c.e. barges into a workplace and arrests people who they suspect to be living and working in the u.s. illegally, they know exactly who they're arresting and don't make mistakes. some current officials i've spoken to say they worry about the risk here if they try to take an action like this too early. >> julia, we've heard from tom homan who is going to be trump's border czar or immigration czar, whatever the title is exactly,

who has said, we are going to target hardened criminals first. it is going to be a very difficult task to deport, as donald trump has promised some 11 million people here illegally. but how does that work exactly? what does that look like as a practical question? >> well, willie, i think this reporting shows that they can't only target, they can't only arrest the people who are the biggest threats. if they're looking at workplace raids, for example, most of the people who would be working in those places wouldn't be these hardened criminals they want to go after. if they're going to do a big sweep like that, of course they're going to be picking up people who committed no other crime, other than being in this country and working here without authorization. these could be families. there could be fathers who are deported while their children are at school, when you're talking about a workplace raid. now, we do know that there are over 400,000 people on i.c.e.'s non-detained docket. they're at large in the united states. some of them could be serving time in prison who do have criminal convictions of some

kind. obviously, they would want to start looking at that population. there are also people who already have final orders of deportation, have exhausted all their remedies for asylum or any other benefit, and they were told by a judge to leave the country. that's who they want to target. but this kind of discussion really illuminates the fact that there's also a very strong voice within the incoming administration to say, cast the net as wide as you can and boost those deportation numbers, willie. >> this was a key promise of donald trump during the campaign. looks like he wants to deliver on it right away. julie, you talked to the current i.c.e. director about the biden administration's handling of the immigration issue. what did he tell you? >> yeah, willie, this was a really surprising and candid interview. this is outgoing acting i.c.e. director, who sat down with me and told me about some of the frustrations. he thinks the current administration could have been more transparent and forthcoming on the immigration issue and, frankly, that biden may have taken action too late to solve

the border crisis. this is someone who has been with dhs since its inception. he is a 30 year career in law enforcement, served with republicans and democrats. i think some of his rashes here are enlightening. take a listen. >> we saw millions of immigrants come across the border, and i know you're not focused on the border but, you know, the ramifications. >> we get to it. >> sure. a lot of the numbers drastically fell, especially starting in june when the new executive action went into place. do you think biden should have taken the action earlier? >> yes, yes, absolutely yes, he should have. the administration should have taken that action earlier, and i think the career people in dhs would have liked that. all of us in dhs, quite frankly. i don't know if anybody in dark hs wouldn't have wanted that earlier. you know, maybe there's some counselors here or there that don't like this stuff, but law enforcement is always going to be on that side where we want, you know, some tighter controls. because for a while there, you

remember, it was 10,000 plus. >> biden had an exit interview this week where he was asked about his regrets. he did not mention the border. does that surprise you? >> no, it doesn't surprise me, but it's unfortunate. because i think we could have done more. >> what specifically? >> we could have put more resources to it, either at cbp, for the border itself, and with i.c.e. we could have went and tried to get more of the individuals in the non-detained docket and could have detained more people, could have removed more people. i think we could have used more resources and support. we could have done that in the last, you know, four years. >> is it possible to increase your number of deportations under your current resources? >> under current resources, no. we're basically at -- like i mentioned before, we're burning hot. we're at maximum resource capacity at this point.

we need more money and resources to increase, and with more money and resources, we can increase detention, increase removal operations. listen, there's a whole immigration process, so people have to get through and you either get some benefit that comes out of it and, you know, asylum, you name it, or you order remove. as you go through the immigration proceedings, you go through there. but with more resources, with more money, we can do more. >> a very candid conversation. we should say, that was him speaking from his own opinions, not the view of the administration. we're reaching out to the white house for comment. what this shows, for a lot of people who are career dhs, there was some frustration and, really, a thinking that they were doing a lot of work that wasn't being recognized because, at least in his opinion, the biden administration wasn't doing more. also -- to talk about it. also, when you talk about the resources, he's looking at a new

administration promising mass deportations. he says, unless they have more money, it's really not possible. >> fascinating interview. you have an i.c.e. director telling you publicly what we've heard privately from them for several years. homeland security correspondent julia ainsley, thank you so much for bringing it to us. appreciate it. we should point out, elise, that border apprehensions are at lows not seen since in the trump administration right now. too little, too late for a lot of people, including for the electoral hopes of democrats. >> and only after the june executive order. that interview from julia with the i.c.e. director was really revealing because he wasn't holding back in saying he was dissatisfied with that they'd accomplished. he felt more could have been done. the rules were too lax and, you know, he thought asylum became a good opportunity, in fact, for migrants crossing the border. that, i think, in and of itself, is quite an interview that says everything about the 2024

election. >> there's no doubt, there's been a lot of second-guessing on the political side of this, that the biden team should have acted sooner on the border. you know, they didn't do enough to promote the idea that it was the republicans who scuttled the bipartisan bill over the summer. as we turn the page to the incoming trump administration, julia's terrific reporting there lines up with what we heard about the detention camps they'll build outside major cities. you'll have high-profile raids. the question s do they just target hardened criminals? sounds like maybe not if they go after workplaces. if they're going to do these deportations at the massive numbers, it'll change american society in some ways. that could trigger a protest moment. we'll have to see. if they pair it with border measures, as well, the measures they voted down the last few months. >> trump administration promising to start in the next couple weeks, as soon as they get into office. elise, thanks so much. always great to have you at the table. ahead this morning, nbc's jacob soboroff is standing by in the palisades with the latest on the wildfires still raging in southern california this morning. plus, fema administrator

deanne criswell will join us with a look at how the federal government is responding to the devastation there. also ahead, just hours from now, the funeral service for former president jimmy carter will begin in washington. joe and mika will join us from the national cathedral with full coverage. "morning joe" is coming back in two minutes. ♪ who knows what tomorrow ♪ ♪ will bring ♪ [dog barking] ♪ maybe sunshine, ♪ [dog whining] ♪ and maybe rain ♪ ♪ but as for me ♪ ♪ i'll wait and see ♪ [knock at door] ♪ and maybe it'll bring my love to me ♪ ♪ who knows ♪ ♪ who knows ♪ ♪♪

joe" on a very busy thursday, january 9th. we're at the top of the hour, 7:00 on the east coast, 4:00 a.m. on the west. wildfires destroying more than 2,000 structures leaving at least five people dead and with more than 100,000 evacuations now. nbc news correspondent liz kreutz has the latest from los angeles county. >> reporter: a massive and deadly wildfire emergency is unfolding in southern california from the pacific palisades to pasadena, multiple infernos

continuing mass destruction of homes and businesses. tens of thousands forced to evacuate. >> last night was one of the most devastating and terrifying nights that we've seen in any part of our city at any part of our history. >> reporter: on the coast, the palisades fire exploding to more than 15,000 acres, 75 miles per hour winds pushing the flames up the pacific coast highway where it overtook the iconic city of malibu, and created this apocalyptic scene stretching for miles on the california coast. we are watching multiple beach front properties go up in flames. first responders trying to get ahold of the fires. in the pacific palisades, officials say a thousand structures lost. 45 minutes from the coast, at least five people have died, and more than 100 structures destroyed as wind-whipped embers expanded the fire's path, it forced the evacuation of this

assisted living facility. >> you'll see the people on stretchers and just the effort, very rapid effort to try to get these people out of harm's way. >> for many, the race to get out was by any means necessary. >> is this your house? >> this is our house. backyard is on fire. i'm out of here. >> reporter: some of the most expensive real estate in the world reduced to rubble on the pacific coast highway. >> on pch, home after home after home of beach front properties are destroyed. usually you would see the pacific ocean there. now it's ashes and smoke. as fires burn, officials warning residents not to ignore evacuation orders. >> a high number of significant injuries to residents who did not evacuate in addition to first responders who are on the fire line. >> have you ever seen anything like this? >> the closest approximation was paradise, california. nothing comes close. >> reporter: l.a.'s mayor, karen bass who has been on a work trip to ghana was press ed by sky

news. >> do you owe citizens an apology for being gone while their homes are on fire. >> i'm making sure we leave no resources untapped. >> reporter: thousands displaced with the flames threatening homes. in malibu, steve wiggins said he tried everything to save his. >> i kept spraying all the embers, next thing i know, a 30 foot wall of fire was coming at 60 miles an hour and i couldn't see. it was so smokey, i said, well, it's time to leave. >> he came back to find nothing. >> we lost everything we own, but it doesn't even look like a house anymore. it just looks like a -- something. >> nbc's liz kreutz reporting from southern california. let's go straight live now to nbc news correspondent jacob soboroff. he is in pacific palisades, jacob, what are you seeing this morning? >> reporter: willie, it is --

this is what happens when an entire community in the largest county, most populous in the united states of america, los angeles, is literally wiped off the map. pacific palisades was home to 23,000 people. most everybody, virtually everyone has left this community, and there are very few homes left standing, and most of the critical infrastructure is gone. i grew up here, willie. this is literally my neighborhood. i was born and raised here. this was the ralph's supermarket, one of two supermarkets in town. you can see what it looks like today. it's awful. it's awful. come just take a look down this way. i remember when i was a kid here growing up, in and around this area, look at all of these terra cotta tiles. these were a feature of a lot of the architecture here in pacific palisades. you would sort of sit and hang, eat in the front, and go across

the street to the hardware store or to the gas station. there's a car wash right over there. across the street there was an indian restaurant. i can close my eyes and walk around and tell you what this place used to look like. it is no more. it was an unbelievable, extraordinary set of circumstances that involved winds that were hurricane force that we had never seen before, and it was a tinderbox ready to go because of the nature of how dry it's been here in southern california. we have barely gotten rain this year after two years of incredibly heavy rain. now what happens? there's no library. the library is burnt down and gone. schools are gone. the high school set on fire. there are multiple elementary and middle schools here, they're all gone. there's still fires burning. i drove up here this morning, up from the pacific coast highway, this fire burned from the santa monica mountains all the way down to the coast. there are still smoldering homes in the huntington of pacific palisades. i don't know if there's any way to wrap your head around it, other than to say a neighborhood

in a city that is a patchwork of neighborhoods, los angeles, is literally wiped off the map. ceases to exist as we know it and now people are going to have to start to rebuild. i think the only silver lining is that the death toll has been remarkably low in all of these fires here in southern california. it's going to require a response that is not only mutual aid on the first responders level, and i have seen firefighters that are getting some well deserved rest in town right now from up in northern california, from all of the jurisdictions in southern california, los angeles police department has been on a modified city tactical alert. officers are searching over here to make sure people are staying out, staying safe. in terms of rebuilding, this is not something one municipality, even los angeles, can handle from a general fund or even the state level. gavin newsom has been around here. it's going to require a federal response to the tune of billions and billions of dollars to start rebuilding this place, and that

effort is underway as what remains pacific palisades. it will take a minute to get back to what it was, willie. >> i can only imagine what it's like for you on a personal level to walk the streets you grew up on with nothing left, including your own home. i have friends from pacific palisades who rushed to their home, grabbed a couple of things, photos, prescriptions, got their kids out of the school that shortly thereafter burned to the ground and are starting from scratch, like so many people across los angeles county. what can you tell us this morning, jacob, about the status of the fires that continue to burn? some still in pacific palisades but across los angeles county, the wind we hear has died down a bit but may come back a little bit later tomorrow. what are you seeing and hearing about the progress and containing, at least, some of the fires? >> they're having a very difficult time, and containment

is low. near zero almost everywhere, willie. because the winds have died down, this is the moment they have to do it. i no longer live in pacific palisades, i live further east in downtown los angeles. as i drove back this morning after getting rest last night, there were fires all the way from the san gabriel mountains, the eastern part of los angeles county, alta dina, into now the hollywood hills near nichols canyon, sort of in the center of the city to the coast. and so when you say that los angeles is a city that's 430 or something square miles. the county is even much larger than that. the most populous county in the united states, 12 million plus people, 4 million in the city of los angeles alone. it's a remarkably vast municipal jurisdiction. it's why it's so difficult to get the hands of the firefighters and first responders around these blazes. what we really need and what they really need is a reprieve

from all of this wind. this moment is the first i can recall in the last 36 or so hours that has felt like this. you can feel the smoke settling in. if there are any fires remaining, they have to attack them, get their airplanes back up in the sky. it was so difficult for them to fly those attack airplanes and helicopters over the last couple of days because of how windy it was. the idea that there were hurricane force winds in los angeles is almost unheard of. 100 mile an hour wind gusts in southern california is not something that we contend with. santa ana winds, we talk about all the ime, they come from inland, and blow off the coast, the warm air you feel. it's what drives a lot of fire danger. as governor newsom said the other day, we're in a permanent state of fire season, the vegetation, the constant droughts we face in southern california, and the idea with a

wind event like we experienced, you think, willie, the big one. as an earthquake. when i close my eyes and imagine what the devastation would look like, it looks like what we're facing today. never did i think anybody, first responders, head of cal fire said this is one of the most devastating fires in the history of los angeles. this seems to have been some version of the big one that we didn't expect, sort of what the cause and source of it would be. >> jacob, it's jonathan. you're right, the danger posed by earthquakes now surpassed by wildfires. my quick question to you is the fact that there are four or five distinct fires, some of them 20, 30, 40, 50 miles apart. do local officials have any sense as to how this could have happened. the palisades started in someone's backyard, that blaze. we see on the map, these fires are not close. perhaps even out of the reach of a burning ember caught by wind. is there any sense of how this could happen in so many places at once? >> reporter: i think because of the wind and so many aboveground electrical utilities that are in

southern california, more often than not, they're looking to a spark from one of those as the first cause. i talked to fire experts, they said they can triangulate, and each of these distinct locations, and there will be forensic analyses of all of this, jonathan, in the days and weeks to come. >> nbc's jacob soboroff reporting for us from the ground in his hometown of pacific palisades. jake, we appreciate you giving voice and conveying what so many people in los angeles county are feeling today, and we'll talk to you again later. thank you so much. joe and mika join us now from washington national cathedral, ahead of the funeral a short time from now for the 39th president of the united states, jimmy carter. guys, good morning. >> good morning. a beautiful and very very cold day here in washington, where former president jimmy carter will be laid to rest this morning following a week of state funeral events in washington and the state of

georgia. president biden has declared today a national day of mourning, the 39th president has been honored by lying in state inside the u.s. capitol rotunda. at 9:00 a.m., carter's casket will depart the capitol for washington national cathedral where his funeral service is expected to begin at 10:00 a.m. this morning. president biden will deliver a eulogy in honor of carter, something he asked of biden before his death. in attendance will be first lady dr. jill biden, as well as vice president kamala harris, and second gentleman doug emhoff. all living former presidents are also expected to attend. as are many former first ladies and first family members. country stars garth brooks and trisha yearwood will sing carter's favorite song, imagine, a performance he requested before his death. the two became friends with the carters during their work

together with habitat for humanity. following the service at the national cathedral here, carter will be brought back to his hometown of plains, georgia, where a private funeral service will be held, a private burial will follow, and carter will then be laid to rest on the grounds of his home, beside his late wife of 77 years, rosalyn, a navy flyover will confirm the national ceremonies. a series of events honoring the former president that began nearly a week ago. on saturday, january 4th, president carter's motorcade made a brief stop at his childhood home before continuing on to atlanta for a moment of silence at the state capitol. a private service was also held saturday at the carter center in atlanta where the former president established a library and headquarters for the family's organization. carter laid in repose at the center until tuesday to give visitors an opportunity to pay

respect. according to the carter center, more than 20,000 visitors came to honor the 39th president. many driving through the night just to have a last moment with their president. on tuesday, carter made his final departure from the carter center, travel to go lie in state in washington. upon arrival, carter's motorcade made a stop at the u.s. navy memorial and then his casket was transferred to a horse drawn military wagon as part of a procession to the u.s. capitol. vice president kamala harris and other congressional leaders eulogized carter during a service on tuesday, praising his work in office, his faith, and his volunteerism, his service. carter has been lying in state in the rotunda where crowds of mourners have lined up in freezing temperatures to pay their final respects. joining the conversation, we have here at the national

cathedral in washington, rogers chair and the american presidency at vanderbilt university, jon meacham. democratic senator, raphael warnock of georgia, and pulitzer prize winning author, and presidential historian, doris kearns goodwin. it's good to have all you. and thanks for being in the cold with us. >> jon, your thoughts about the passing of the 39th president. >> president carter would appreciate this point, which is moments like this are not just about the person being laid to rest but they're about us. and american presidents in particular are both makers and mirrors of an era, and i think one of the things to which mika was reporting, one of the things that brought so many people to take pains to pay tribute to someone who was president 44 years ago is a hunger a hunger in the body itic for a sense

of service over self. >> and, doris, bipartisan tributes coming forward for president carter. not only this morning but throughout the week. this morning, in the "new york times," peter baker talking about a close relationship that formed during an war sidat's funeral in 1981 between gerald ford and jimmy carter, a friendship between old rivals that we seldom see today. talk about that and whether we are saying good-bye to an era with jimmy carter or whether he offers guidance for where we need to go in the years to come. >> oh, how i wish we could follow that guidance, as you say, and just use this moment, where we've seen bipartisanship, just at the memorial service the other day when the speaker, mike

johnson, spoke, and when senator thune spoke, there was a sense of really understanding the example that carter had set as a decent man, a man who served, a man who had the country involved in more than himself. i think these friendships, they matter so much to us. i have been lucky enough to moderate conversations between bush jr. and clinton, and the audience just is so heart warmed to see the two of them laughing with each other, knowing there had been tension before, when clinton had beaten george bush sr. and then the friendship between george sr. and bush as well. he teased that he was the brother of another mother, in other words, so that i think we all yearn for this. i think watching this ritual that we have seen in these last days, i'm so glad that carter chose a big state funeral, you know, it was partly a combination of a private funeral at home, and then going back home. in the middle, a week long, history has been so exciting. i love listening to the biographers, i have learned so

much about carter that i didn't know. it's an important time that history has been diminished, and choosing the state funeral allowed the ritual. it's sort of the reverse of an inauguration, which is going to be coming, saying farewell, the inauguration is saying we're coming, and those are institutions that provide stability and continuity, and i think it's been an extraordinary thing to watch. >> yeah, certainly it feels like such an honor to be here. senator warnock, president carter and his family had a long time relationship with your church. you were a senior pastor at ebenezer baptist church. if you could talk about the significance between the church and the carter family and you? >> well, thank you so very much. it's wonderful to be here with you, as you point out, president carter had an amazing and long-term relationship with the people of ebenezer baptist church, just as a man who had served in the governor's

mansion, when he decided to run for president, there were folks who weren't so sure about the southern white governor, remember, at a time, when we were just coming out of the civil rights movement, black folks certainly needed some assurances about where he stood and it was martin luther king sr., daddy king, as he was affectionately called, pastor of our church, met with carter, determined that he was all right, put his arm around him, and the rest is history. let me pause, i would be remiss if i didn't say that my heart goes out to the people of los angeles, as they're dealing with this terrible devastation, lots of people have died a lot of folks have lost everything. president carter created fema in 1979. this is our collective goodwill for -- from all of us when any one of us is faced with a disaster. we need to summon the goodwill

in a moment. we are all americans, we are all los angeles. i think that's the spirit with which president carter did his work, and we need it right now. >> absolutely. >> i'm curious, mika, as we've heard this story of when pope john paul ii met with jimmy carter, he said it was more like two leaders of faith coming together than a religious leader and a political leader. i'm wondering, you've known the carter family since you were very young, and you all remained close, and you've talked about that faith and that morality, and how that drove so much of what he did in office, and his personal life. >> morality drove his decisions and sometimes, you know, some would say that other things might have needed to drive decisions at the time. at the same time, he was such a good man. and the bond with my dad was

real. they both felt like outsiders to washington in their own different way. jimmy carter coming from the south. my dad, a refugee of war coming to america. and they both were similar in age compared to others in the cabinet, the national security adviser was the first cabinet level position in the carter presidency. and they worked out together. they often had these memos that they sent to each other as jokes just to sort of lighten the energy during really tough times, and also he was so so mindful of family and connections. when my dad was sent to cairo for an assignment, carter sent him off to cairo, my dad was going to miss my brother mark's, i believe it was his confirmation at st. luke's church in mcclain, virginia, so president carter stepped in and represented my dad at st.

luke's. my mom said no, but then he wrote my brother a letter about it. he was just -- they were fully connected, family, about family and about their relationship working together even when they didn't agree, and that was something carter welcomed. >> right. and, doris, as the one who wrote "team of rivals," there's a picture of jimmy carter and dr. brzezinski jogging, and carter writes in the caption, one of the few times we were in step together. and i will tell you, reading through dr. brzezinski's diaries, it's amazing that he lasted four years only because he was constantly pushing and prodding carter, constantly disagreeing. >> challenging him. >> constantly challenging him,

and that's -- it's unbelievable, that's actually why jimmy carter kept him around because he appreciated the honesty, and how remarkable that is in a leader, and we just -- we do not see that often enough in the white house. >> oh, you're so right. only a confident person can surround themselves with people who can question their assumptions and argue with them day after day. prank lin roosevelt had eleanor roosevelt who he considered a welcome thorn in his side. it's great to have that on a daily basis. it's interesting to know who these people feel as their heroes. as you know, joe, in many ways, i think carter valued truman more than anyone. he thought truman was the greatest president in the century of the country, and i think it was because truman never ducked an important issue for public opinion. truman listened to other people. truman never really wanted to become wealthy. truman had the simple

personality that he responded to. it's interesting to think how different truman decided to have his ceremonies. he went through the whole state funeral planning, 600 people, you know, thousands of soldiers involved, he said, no, i want a simpler affair, i just don't want to be in washington. i don't want to be lying in state. i don't want to be in arlington. then he quipped, i want to be buried near my library so that i can wake up in the morning and go there if i have some work to do, so it's interesting to see that carter combined the simplicity of truman by starting in plains, going back to plains, but having this big state funeral in the middle, which as i said before, i think it's just given us a chance to hear stories about him, one story after another that makes us understand even more than we knew at the time what an extraordinary figure he was. >> you know, often when people talk about the greatness of jimmy carter's ex-president it's seen by some as casting shade on

his actual presidency where he accomplished a great deal across the world, but i want to focus with you as a man of the cloth, as a pastor, on jimmy carter, the servant of god, jimmy carter, the born again christian. jimmy carter, the man driven to serve others for decades after he held the most powerful position in the world. >> well, the world's most famous sunday schoolteacher was at heart a man of faith, and it was faith that drove his public service. it's something that's inspires me to this very day. his project was humanity, and politics was just a tool in the tool kit. so it didn't matter whether he was in the oval office or working with habitat for humanity, literally getting his hands dirty as an ex-president. he spent his life, all 100

years, serving other people. you know, i was struck by what i saw when i visited with him. i paid him a pastoral visit. my church had a long relationship with jimmy carter and with the carter family, and about a year and a half ago, when everybody was already writing his obituary, i went to see him in plains, georgia, just to read scripture, to pray with him, and rosalyn carter who was alive at the time. and i went into his study, and one of the things that i shall never forget is he had this old rickety tattered chair that was in his study. i said this could be anybody's granddaddy's house, and as i looked at that chair, where the leader of the free world, former leader of the free world would sit and write books. it occurred to me that jimmy carter understood it didn't matter where you sit. it's your project.

it's your life project. that's what matters, and he remained committed to that. his faith was not a weapon, as we see so often in politics today. it was a bridge. and he inspires us to this very day. >> the simplicity of his life was very much something that he was worried about in this country, and he talked about in some of his speeches the materialism that was developing in america and how that was clouding our vision in terms of what was important. in terms of world affairs, jon meacham, it was a presidency that had its ups and downs for sure, some really painful moments for sure. but middle east peace, normalization of relations with china, the list goes on. there was a mark that this presidency left on global affairs. >> and, jon, one other thing that we've heard people talking about this past week, and that ed luce touches on a great deal in the book, ronald reagan is credited with defeating the

soviet union single handedly, as ed luce points out in his upcoming book, it is the soviets, the russians blamed the carter administration, blamed jimmy carter and dr. brzezinski for being fierce cold warriors and focusing on morality, focusing on human rights, and by doing that, driving a wedge behind the iron curtain, and starting, taking the steps that needed to be taken that ronald reagan, and george h.w. bush could finish. >> i think it's an important day to make this point, which is i remember president ford once sort of the rose up, and he was a big guy anyway. in a conversation. he said, you know, people say one person won the cold war, meaning, of course, president reagan. the american people won the cold war.

and presidents from truman through george herbert walker bush stood in the breach, and there's going -- >> we periodize as we say, these moments. there is no presidency that didn't have controversy. >> right. >> there's no presidency that didn't have ups and downs, and i think we -- people like me and doris, we tend to talk about these things in discreet periods, understandably. but there's an unfolding american story here, and i think the more we can recognize that it's not just the presidents but it's also the people and the decisions we make, then i think we're going to perhaps come through this complicated time a little bit better. >> all right. well, we're going to be back. presidential historians jon meacham and doris kearns

goodwin, thank you both, and democratic senator of georgia, raphael warnock, thank you as well. the sun has come up. >> and the temperature, still very low. let me just say. >> joe, we are grateful to be here. this was all my idea, and i'm so honored to be here. we're going to be attending the service, and i know you're cold. it is a little cold. >> i'm not cold. but as we talked about. it is a great irony, isn't it, that the first southern president says good-bye to washington on a chilly day, but can you talk about what he meant to the south really quickly. it was such a shock for us southerners to have a president in the white house. >> and he carried a lot of sates in the south. >> mississippi put him over the top. >> he carried tennessee twice. it was a remarkable, not twice, in '76. he was the first president

outside of texas since reconstruction for a southern president. and represented, i think, a redemption narrative. leave aside republican versus democrat here. he was someone who had largely been on the right side of the movement. he was not a, you know, with all respect to reverend warnock, as john alter has written, he tacked a little right in the senate district because that's what politicians do. >> he did. >> but, again, he when he stood in atlanta and said the era of racial discrimination is over, it seems so benile now. it was profound. >> it was profound. still ahead on "morning joe," much more on the devastating wildfires across los angeles, and the struggle to contain the flames. plus, it appears president-elect trump is using the moment to reopen a feud with california governor gavin newsom. "morning joe" is coming right back. avin newsom. "morning joe" is coming right back

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even as we speak this morning. nbc news correspondent gadi schwartz has more from los angeles county. >> reporter: this area of pasadena has become a wasteland. rows and rows of homes have burns. some homes are still standing but it's just a matter of time. this was the moment the sun rose over the fire raging above pasadena. you would never know it because the dawn disappeared in the smoke. again, you hear those explosions. so many of these homes, there is no home. >> reporter: against the odds and mother nature, some staying doing whatever they can to fight back. >> there are people here trying to fight this fire with garden hoses, there is still water in this area, but with this much destruction, it almost seems -- it almost seems futile. you were here fighting by yourself, right? >> yes. >> reporter: how long have you been out here?

>> i have been out here since 4:00 a.m. >> reporter: 4:00 a.m., trying to protect your home. you have a full contingent of firefighters, it seems like it's right in the nick of time. >> they saved this home for now. >> reporter: a scene that played out across the foothills of the angeles mountains to the palisades. and trying to make entrance, they're smashing down that door. they got to go inside. they got to make sure no one is here. >> who else is left in the house? >> reporter: homeowners on rooftops, trying to wet down everything. >> here they come. they're going to help us! >> reporter: it's hard to show the scope of what's going on. as we headed down sunset boulevard, the loss was worse than any fire we have ever seen. this looks like the apocalypse here. and the chaos, way too often, firefighters left without water as hydrants went dry. >> they are not designed to fight wildfires. a fire fight with multiple fire hydrants, drawing water from the system for several hours is

unsustainable. >> water! >> reporter: officials say they weren't able to fill tanks fast enough, which would have helped with the water pressure. something nbc's morgan chesky saw firsthand. out of every fire hydrant, what have you found? >> most of them are down or low pressure. >> reporter: if you had a hydrant for this building? . >> if we had a hydrant for the building, we might have been able to save. >> reporter: this apartment complex is untouched for now, you can see how close the flames r. firefighters are making their way up. again, they're having to ignore massive structures like this, huge apartment complex. it looks like it's going to go up imminently. they are overwhelmed, there isn't enough water up here. >> reporter: the winds grounding the critical support from the sky for most of the day. when firefighters were able to make a stand and save home, there was no victory. just a brief reprieve from the helplessness of fighting fire

against the wind. >> gadi schwartz reporting. fire officials and police officials across los angeles county saying this is unprecedented, they have never seen anything like it. they're doing all they can, there's no way to get to every pocket of fire right now. president biden has canceled now his trip to rome where he was to meet with pope francis. he'll be here on the federal response to the wildfires. the president returned to washington yesterday evening from california after attending a briefing at a santa monica fire station with california governor gavin newsom. president biden said californians have the full support of the federal government. >> anything and everything, as long as it takes to maintain these fires and get back to normal. it's going to be a hell of a long way. as you need us and everything you need. >> can't hear the president there if you're listening in the car.

he said the state of california will have all it needs from the federal government. earlier in the day, the president approved a major disaster declaration for the fires. it allows victims to access pral funding for temporary housing, home repairs and loans for property that was not insured. president-elect donald trump is blaming the disaster in southern california even as those homes and buildings burn and residents flee on california governor gavin newsom. trump posted about the fire several times. he claimed governor newsom's water management decisions caused fire hydrants to dry. trump wrote that governor newsom refused to sign the water restoration declaration, a document that does not exist. here's how governor newsom responded yesterday. >> people are literally fleeing, people have lost their lives, kids have lost their schools, families completely torn

asunder, churches burned down, and this guy wanted to politicize it. i have a lot of thoughts and i know what i want to say. i won't. i stood next to a president of the united states of america today, and i was proud to be with joe biden, and he had the backs of this community, and didn't try to divide any of us. >> not surprising that trump would respond this way. there will be questions to be asked of the governor, of mayor bass, come back from ghana on a trip there in the days to come. in this moment, literally with homes, buildings still on fire, people fleeing, not knowing if their lives have been burned to the ground, donald trump steps to the fray with insults. >> that's what's a little different about this one and that much more inappropriate. we are used to when donald trump was in office politicizing natural disaster. usually not in the middle of it while the fires are raging. he and governor newsom have a tense relationship, going back years. i was traveling with the president, then president trump back in 2018 to a series of

california wildfires. the paradise fire up north, and then the malibu fire down south, and that was when trump said he blamed newsome for not raking the leaves, raking the floors of the forests. he's reiterated that in the last couple of days, too, the palisades fire, at the very least, started in someone's backyard, nothing to do with forest management. there's push back that there was a policy that led the hydrants to run dry. we talked about this earlier in the show. this is a devastating moment for southern california, we should note donald trump while in office threatened to withhold federal disaster relief funds to california because of this ongoing dispute with newsome. president biden is still in office for another ten days or so. congress will likely get the first bill before trump takes office. some of this process as we know, this is going to take months if not years to rebuild. certainly will stretch into the trump administration, and this is an ominous tone in terms of reaching across the aisle to

help those who need help. >> the governor and people of california don't have time for the nonsense. these are live pictures from knbc at 4:44 in the morning. this is in los angeles county. that is our excellent crew getting good reporting and reporting back on what they have seen there. 100,000 relate haves fled their homes. the town of pacific palisades as jacob soboroff showed us and will come back to show us a short time from now, effectively wiped off the map, homes, businesses, everything that stood there for so long, gone. some of the homes along the pacific coast highway there in malibu and other places burning. some pieces falling into the sea. this is, as the chief of the los angeles police department said, unprecedented. said he's never seen anything like it. and the fires continue to burn this morning. we'll get back to jacob in a few minutes and also talk to nbc's christine romans, looking at the economic impact of the damage in

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>> reporter: could you imagine this happening at your home? >> no, we stayed until 1:50 last night and when the embers got too big. we left. we never thought it would happen to us. >> it's a story being told thousands of times over. we got out with our lives, but people returning now to see their homes and possessions. they lives burned to the ground. that was nbc's steve patterson spoke to go a woman in alta dina, california, she lost her home to the raging wildfires burning across los angeles county. 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate because of the fast moving flames. so far officials say 2,000 homes, businesses and other buildings have been damaged or destroyed. at least five people are dead. one early estimate puts the total damage in economic loss from the wildfires at more than $50 billion. but as i said, the fires are still burning so there's no way to know the number. a preliminary report released yesterday by accuweather determined the damages could cost between 52 and $57 billion.

but added that number could be revised upward and likely will be. joining us, nbc news senior business correspondent christine romans. good morning, what are you hearing? obviously we were talking in the break, you can't put a number on it because homes are burning down as we speak. >> and the loss of life is priceless, it's terrible. it's the sad math of natural disaster and this is something we have gotten better and better at over the past years as the fire seasons have lasted longer, the hurricanes have been more intense. one natural disaster after another has been worse and worse, and the insurance industry has been really in a crisis trying to grapple with this new reality here. so early yesterday, you know, jpmorgan basically forecasting there was 10 million of insured losses, pacific palisades and the first fire. but three fires have exploded since then. these numbers will definitely grow and change. some of the folks this morning, who i have been talking to in

washington and on wall street pointing out there will be an epic rebuilding that will need to happen in the world's fifth largest economy. california is the world's fifth largest economy. the tens of thousands of skilled and unskilled workers that will need to rebuild, that is not lost on people who are watching what's going to have to happen for california in the weeks and months ahead. >> christine, what does this mean as you wrap your head around, you mentioned the insurance companies for a family who has lost their home, who has lost everything in terms of getting it paid for to rebuild, in terms of being insured again. how does this change things? >> my heart was breaking for that woman that steve patterson was interviewing. i know what's going to happen next, she's going to have to write down everything that was in that home, check her home insurance policy. it may be in the pacific palisades, a bunch of those policies have been not renewed, and so they have looked to california as the insurer of last resort, the fair plan, it's called. this will be a huge test of

california's fair plan because some of these homeowners insurance companies have either not renewed or they're not writing new policies, so there are people there who are probably uninsured or who have bare basic insurance, and the rebuilding cost is really hard to predict what the rebuilding costs are going to be. used to be you would make a claim based on what it cost to build the house originally or what its fair market value was or what you thought the replacement value was looking at historical table. now they have to look forward and say in a year, what will it cost to rebuild this because that's how long it will take, and there is inflation in this part of the economy. >> talk about the role the federal government could play here. we were talking before the break about the feud between donald trump and gavin newsom, he's threatened to withhold federal funds before. congress is clearly going to have to act. is there a sense as to what the price tag might be and the political will? >> it is going to be the biggest test we have ever had of state and local governments and federal response, and bipartisan getting together to figure out

how to fix what is no question a homeowner insurance crisis in this country. there will be a lot of people, democrats and republicans, who have lost everything and are going to be trying to rebuild here, and this is not -- there's not a sense that this is, you know, the period on the end of the sentence. this is something that will happen again. maybe on the east coast, maybe in the midwest. i mean, we used to have $20 billion a year natural disaster price tags. we tapped $100 billion last year, and that's the new baseline. we have climate driven crises from coast to coast. in fire seasons, hurricane seasons, tornado seasons, and the higher cost of shurg insuring everything and rebuilding everything. >> if insurers continue to leave california, insurance rates will go up for a lot of these people, is it fair to say? >> yes, and insurance rates going up for everyone.

i live in new jersey and got a note from my insurer they were seeking with regulators a 26% annual increase in my premiums. wherefore you live, premiums are going up. car insurance because of the cost of repairing cars, climate driven damage to infrastructure that has, you know, wear and tear. i mean, everywhere you look, the cost to insure, kind of like, where we live, how we drive, where we go is just going up and up and up. there's no solution yet that we have seen, and these folks, unfortunately, are going to be right there in the center of what has been an escalating problem with trying to figure out how to rebuild, who pays for it, how much does it cost to insure it. where we're rebuilding. it's just a real tragedy. >> it's a human tragedy, and part of that tragedy is the cost it's going to bring to these people's lives, to rebuild, to relocate, however they handle this as they sift through the ashes.

christine romans, thank you as always for being here. >> we will check back with jacob soboroff who's reporting amid the devastation in his own hometown. we'll speak with the director of fema about the federal response and to congresswoman judy chu of california whose district is impacted by the eaton fire. "morning joe" is coming right back. t back where voquezna can kick some acid, heal erosive esophagitis, also known as erosive gerd, and relieve related heartburn. voquezna is the first and only fda-approved treatment of its kind. 93% of adults were healed by 2 months. of those healed, 79% stayed healed. plus, voquezna can provide heartburn-free days and nights. and is also approved to relieve heartburn related to non-erosive gerd. other serious stomach conditions may exist. don't take if allergic to voquezna or while on rilpivirine. serious allergic reactions include trouble breathing, rash, itching, and swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat.

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they just try to water down the roof and the hedges of the home, but it is very scary here, but we have seen people staying behind here to just save their homes, there's no services here, it is every man for themselves and we did have a lull just minutes ago. you are just helpless as you watch these people, you know, you put yourself in their situation. >> and he is not alone, we see a lot of residents with garden hoses doing the best they can, trying to water down their houses, in the desperate hope that maybe their home will be spared. two people trying to at least save their house, as the flames consumed the house next door. welcome back, it is just past the top of the hour here on this east coast on this very

busy thursday, january 9th, just after 5:00 a.m. out west, firefighters struggled to contain the wind driven wildfire still burning across los angeles county this morning. dylan dreyer is on the ground with the latest. >> reporter: this morning, a massive and deadly wildfire emergency. >> it's gone. that's all we've got. >> reporter: for a second straight night, wind driving the fire engulfing homes, and overnight, a new blaze popping up over the hollywood hills, cars gridlocked with the famous hollywood boulevard evacuated. along the coast, the palisades fire exploding to more than 15,000 acres, california's iconic pacific coast highway now a trail of burnt wreckage. >> it is devastating, it is

apocalyptic, this doesn't feel real. >> reporter: and the eaton fire, at least five people have died, as the fire and the smoke transforms a sunny day into darkness, last night, the destruction was everywhere. days after this fire began, the flames continued to spread, this is all that is left of a school. the community morning what has been lost including famous residents like billy crystal who wrote of his lost home, every inch of our house was filled with love. paris hilton watching hers burn on tv and mandy moore writing, i'm in shock. a time-lapse showing the palisades fires terrifying growth, overwhelmed fire crews working around the clock. nbc los angeles learning that the l.a.

fire chief warned in the memo last month that budget cuts would affect its response to emergencies. the mayor pressed after arriving back in the city from a trip to ghana. >> you cut the fire department budget by millions of dollars, have you nothing to say today? >> reporter: later saying, budget cuts didn't affect the response, during the peak of the storm, city officials saying hydrants were unable to keep up with the extreme demand. >> we've had some issues with water, if you stick enough straws into a you -- bottle of water, it is going to empty faster. >> what have you found? >> right now we are finding most of them are down or low- pressure. >> reporter: dramatic satellite images show the destruction while a firestorm of unprecedented ferocity continues to rage. >> let's bring in nbc news

correspondent, jacob soboroff, from pacific palisades, by the way, where he grew up. it is just after 5:00 in the morning, the sun is not quite up, we are told that his shot went down for a second, we will get him back in a moment. for now, let's do more reporting on the ground. >> reporter: i grew up in the palisades, born and raised here, and i have never seen anything like this. we've had fires, and even evacuated at times, but nothing like this, the whole town is gone. this is the palisades public library, it is still on fire. i brought my kids here, this was like the private community when this thing was built. it is very intense to think about.

>> in my 26 years, this could be one of the top most devastating fires i have ever seen. >> you've got churches destroyed, the two supermarkets destroyed, how do you come back from something like this? >> we come back one day at a time. >> reporter: this is the heart of my community, there is not a single house left standing, what do you do? there has never ever been anything like this. >> i know my house is gone but i need to see it firsthand, i just can't believe it. >> i thought i was going to wake up this morning and it was going to be a bad dream. >> this is the first time seeing the house that i grew up in, i really don't know what to say. mom, look at this. >> that is your birth house. i'm so sad, everyone of you

guys was born in that house. >> reporter: i know, it makes me sad, too. this was a really special place, and i'm very sorry to see it go. and i'm very sorry for all of the residents of the pacific palisades and everybody across the greater l.a. area that is going through this right now. i look around the town, the neighborhood, i talked to my friends who i spent so much time with on the streets, it is hard to imagine what happens next. >> i'm particularly sorry for the family who calls my former home their own today and i wanted to do that because it is hard to get in and out, there's virtually no communication, that's why i had trouble hearing you earlier.

people are not allowed back in. that is why i'm grateful to my colleagues at nbc news and msnbc to tell that personal story because you know, i'm one person of 23,000, even more who are going through some version of that right now, and we report on these things all the time, all around the world. and the one thing i always take away from it is the resilience in the communities that we come to meet, and even people that work in these communities that may not live here so it has been a tough 36 hours or so's -- so, for the people that work here. ashes are coming down like snow right now as the fires continue to burn you. >> jacob, as i said, your personal story is reflected

1000 times over right now in los angeles county, you were one person that was allowed to get back and see where they grew up, and a lot of other people are still waiting to do the same. to see their home one last time. let's talk about the efforts this morning, it is still a while before sun up, we will get a better view of what happened overnight across los angeles county, how are the efforts right now to contain these fires going? >> reporter: they are not going great but as the wind dies down, that containment number will be sure to rise and that is the key issue here, the idea that there are hurricane force winds in southern california, or at least there were, so what happens going forward is in the hands of a couple of things, mother nature for one, the first responders coming from all over southern california

and i'm sure the state of california as well, i saw folks from the bay area driving around in the community. and the local, federal and state officials are going to be a big part of this effort to rebuild, mayor karen bass came back from an international trip to oversee the effort, governor gavin newsom has been driving around and by coincidence, president biden was in town yesterday for an event to dedicate a national monument that was canceled because of the wind. he met with local first responders, obviously his days in the oval office are numbered, the federal response will ultimately fall to the hands of the trump administration and i do know there are some senior-level trump officials who have family members who live in this community so you don't want to pick one community over another but you know for sure that they are aware of what is going on here and this will require the marshaling of a massive federal response in order to start

rebuilding this community and that effort starts right now. >> palisades fire, more than 17,000 acres have been destroyed, not much left to show you in jacob's hometown, we will let you get back out and do some reporting and we will talk to you later. thank you so much. we will speak with the director of fema about the federal response since fires are still burning across southern california this morning. for now, let's go to the washington national cathedral for the funeral service of jimmy carter, where it will be held this morning. good morning. >> thank you, in a few hours, jimmy carter will be laid to rest following a week of events in washington and georgia, president biden has declared today as a national day of mourning. the 39th president has been honored by lying in state in the u.s. capitol rotunda this morning. in the next hour, the casket

will depart the capital for the washington natural -- national cathedral, where we are, where his funeral service is expected to begin at 10:00 a.m. president biden will deliver a eulogy, something carter asked of biden before his death, and vice president, kamala harris and all former living presidents are also expected to attend, first ladies and members of the first family. joining us at washington national cathedral, andrea mitchell, and from politico, jonathan martin and author, journalist and historian, evan thomas joins us as well, thank you all. >> so great to have you all with us. andrea, when you talk about the carter legacy, so often people talk about the iranian hostage crisis, and really the islamic state in tehran.

but, that eclipses some extraordinary foreign policy legacy that really shapes the world we live in today and whether you are talking about camp david, of course whether you are talking about normalization and relations with china, you had the extraordinary opportunity to travel with president carter on so many of those trips across the globe, give us your reflections this morning as we look back on this extraordinary man's life. >> it is really the ark of my career at nbc because one of my first assignments was to be at the camp david signing in march of 1979 and that relationship, that relationship changed, it withstood decades and decades of tension, most notably now with the gaza war and all of the disputes at the border, but it still has stood, the fact

that that was the first peace treaty between an arab country and israel is so notable and it is of course also the beginning of the very work that president- elect trump did when he started for the saudi arabia accords, and human rights was the centerpiece of his life and it was born in his faith which was of course so integral to who he was as president. but, bringing that human rights message around the world and going to haiti, when he was in the middle of the civil war, he went with colin powell, and of course now we see how that is, going to cuba with fidel castro, so many things he did,

and of course africa, so i just think of him and rosalynn and what they did, they established to do that just a year into his presidency. >> anywhere and everywhere they could, for human rights, andrea and i campaigned in different capacities, i was making trouble and she was covering it, that was a whole different story. >> he was just central to all of those foreign policy decisions, the opening to china, all of that. >> its an incredible time. >> by the way, in 2017, i always heard the story of how mika and amy carter almost destroyed the camp david accords with mika almost

running over, so i wasn't sure, and his funeral, president carter said to me, you know me to almost running him over with a golf cart at camp david. >> but as a couple and jimmy carter as a human being, so faithful, so devoted, so committed to principal and the way they lived their lives from the beginning, even the nanny, that worked for them in the governor's mansion and went on to work in the white house was a woman, who had been convicted of murder, ultimately exonerated or bound to have been, they believe they brought her into their lives, and

brought her to the white house to the shock of many. she was a trustee which is a southern tradition and the fact that she is a black woman and jimmy carter, when he first became governor, and his father was a segregationist, had grown up in jim crow south on that farm but, he became an advocate for the lone black midshipmen at indianapolis and when he became governor, the very first thing he said in his opening speech was the segregation is over. >> there you go. >> you know, jimmy carter, the first southern president since reconstruction, it is interesting, the personal road that he traveled on the issue of race, it is interesting, i reread a curtis wilkie article that actually attacked jimmy carter when he was first

running, and it seemed that both sides in georgia, this is after he won iowa, and curtis went around making trouble in georgia, calling people, and both sides didn't have a lot of nice things to say about him which was interesting but what i took from that was, here is a man that was constantly moving, trying to figure out how to move the south forward, how to move georgia forward, how to move the country forward on the issue of race and he succeeded. >> he did, and he did it by being practical, that pained him because you know, he understood he had to make practical sacrifices, political sacrifices, so he sacrificed

his conscious for a moment, but then he recovered himself and became an enormous, for instance, the federal judiciary, he transformed that. i think he appointed more blacks and women to the federal courts than the entire history of the federal courts. so he did play both sides of the street, he did it for political expedients, it helped him become president, the governor, but ultimately, he followed his conscious. >> and he did that also in foreign policy, i remember jimmy carter being mocked when he talked so much about human rights, a lot of republicans at the time during his presidency thought it showed a weakness, we find out later with the soviets fall, we find out later how important that position was and how of the soviet union, the former soviet union looked at the carter administration

and what they did in 79 and 80, what they did with the polish pope, what they did in supporting solidarity, what they did, in actually starting to ramp up the military, that actually, jimmy carter actually was in the soviet union's eyes a strong, cold war hawk who along with dr. burzinski, brought down the soviet union. >> jimmy carter was anything but weak, he was the opposite, he was strong but in the environment at the time, i was just getting into journalism, he was perceived by the press wrongly as being a week later, he had some flaws as a leader, he was not sufficiently charismatic, he may be was a little bit too truthful but he

was not weak, that was just a story that we got totally wrong. >> talk about that, andrea. >> well, even before he was president, i was a local reporter in philadelphia and i have a picture, it was a picture of me sitting right under the podium of the bellevue stratford hotel, i was a local nbc reporter and that is when he was apologizing for saying to playboy magazine that he had lust in his heart, so here you've got the southern baptist, deeply religious president, probably the most religious president we have ever had, in the way he lived his life, acknowledging that, bless his heart, it almost derailed his campaign. >> jonathan martin, you have a new piece for politico out today, entitled son of the south, how jimmy carter

transformed america, you write, as the former president is laid to rest this week, his critics and enthusiast are at odds about what his presidency meant to the country and the world. but there should be no debate about what the son of plains, georgia meant for the south, leading a cohort of next- generation southern leaders in both parties, carter grafted the region back on the national map by repudiating jim crow, firmly and finally extinguishing george wallace as a political force and assembling a fearsome and fleeting biracial general election coalition. a farmer, a southern baptist and a native of south georgia with the accent to match, carter was unambiguously of the deep south. the most important thing about him as a southerner was that he wasn't a ross barnett or orval

faubus, a wallace, you can go down the list, he was almost like southern nobility. i mean, the story of the peanut farmer becoming the president, that in itself is a true american story. >> right. and the depths of where he came from, he grew up in a time of the jim crow, the worst of racial violence, everybody was saying for a bit, he ran for governor and did not repudiate george wallace, and guys, it is remarkable to think, in 1976 when he became the nominee, he did so by eating wallace in the florida primary, a seminal moment in political history because wallace at the moment ran for four times for president, and he will never be a force again, but in the election, carter has the

support of ml king's father and george wallace, which is amazing to think back, and the reason he became president is because his map, he carried every southern state except virginia, which if you look at today's map, it is a precise mirror, donald trump carried every single state except west virginia. he transforms the south by bringing it back to the rest of the country because he is not part of the battle, he is the face of the new south and he obviously lives up to his promise as president as he mentioned, and stocks his administration with folks black and white. >> evan thomas, what is jimmy carter's legacy on this day, what are your thoughts about his legacy that he has left to america? >> you have to stand for

principle, we live in an age of transactional politics and expedience and power and carter actually did stand, he did it in a lot of different ways, my favorite was appointing paul volker as head of the federal reserve, we have to think about this on because normally the head of the fed is going to provide loose money to get them re-elected and they want a hot economy, jimmy carter appoints a guy who is going to kill the economy, freeze the economy because inflation was out of control and somebody had to step up to a really terrible problem and jimmy carter did by appointing the very guy who is likely to get him beaten, and he made some other mistakes in 1980 and he lost in a landslide, that is true but, it is just incredible courage and principle to make paul volker the head of the federal reserve and save the american economy. ronald reagan didn't do that. that is something jimmy carter

did. >> and let's talk about two things andrea, that you know so much about, two things that he knew could destroy his presidency, the first was the iranian hostage crisis, jimmy carter remained patient, he kept hearing people say he needed to invade iran, turning into a parking lot, everybody was pressuring him and he was determined to bring the hostages back alive, that is exactly what he did and i would say, there aren't a lot of presidents looking back over history that would have had that patience and made that decision, their lives were more important than his political career and as evan said, appointing paul volker, people can't even imagine the crippling impact of double- digit inflation, interest rates hiked up to 21%, jimmy carter

new that would destroy the economy, destroy his chances for being re-elected and yet he appointed paul volker to kill inflation >> and it led to decades of prosperity under ronald reagan, after the first couple of years in his recession, and i would add one more thing, the panama canal treaty, he knew that was politically very dangerous, there was so much opposition against him and he won it overwhelmingly in the senate, so when people talk about how badly he did, he didn't have the best congressional relations in terms of legislation skills on his team but the fact is, they forced that through and it absolutely was transformational, so ronald reagan seized on it. >> i was going to say, jonathan martin, in closing again, another unpopular choice that he made and he made it to help

our relations, in central and south america, the panama canal treaty, ronald reagan campaigned against, around-the- clock and once he became president of the united states, he was the beneficiary of it because he understood he couldn't walk away from the treaty and continue to try to improve america's relations. >> well, like so many issues, it is 12 campaign against -- one to campaigned against, but people forget, the panama canal debate was enormous, especially on the right and it actually helped elevate a bunch of new conservatives who were running against, getting that canal back and it was a very tough vote for a lot of conservatives in both parties and sort of has

been relatively muted over the years but obviously is now back in the headlines so, it shows that history doesn't repeat but it does rhyme because here we are, years later. >> politico's john martin, and evan thomas, thank you so much, andrea you are going to be a part of our coverage of the funeral service beginning the next hour, still ahead on morning joe, fema administrator, deeann criswell is our guest, we will get an update on the federal response to the catastrophic fire still burning this fire across southern california, we are back in two minutes. two minutes. - [narrator] life with ear ringing sounded like a constant train whistle i couldn't escape.

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i believe with all my heart that america must always stand for basic human rights at home and abroad. that is both our history and our destiny. the fundamental force that unites us is not kinship or place of origin or religious preference. the love of liberty is a common blood that flows in our american veins. >> donald trump plans to reshape the u.s. government. >> democrats have wasted no time in laying the groundwork to fight the incoming trump administration. donald trump wants a presidential cabinet full of loyalists. don't miss the weekend, saturday and sunday mornings at 8:00 on msnbc. >> this >> this morning is a night and day difference from the last two days, we have some calm wind right now which is very welcoming to see out here, i

believe if it stays like this, we could turn the corner on these fires and make some progress today, some good progress in case they pick up again later tonight, we will have something to anchor into. >> a little bit of optimism this morning, for the battalion chief of cal fire, providing an update to battle those raging wildfires still burning across los angeles county, fema is working to help those affected. in joining us now is the fema administrator, deanne criswell , what more can you tell us about what fema has seen on the ground and your efforts to help? >> good morning, what i'm hearing so far this morning is that the number of structures that have been impacted continues to rise, we don't know how many of those are homes but we know there are many homes, if not hundreds that have been destroyed or have significant damage, smoke

damage. we know there's thousands of people that have been evacuated so what we want to be able to do now that we have a major disaster declaration that was approved by president biden yesterday, it opens up our ability to really support the people and the families that have been impacted. the first thing i want people to do is make sure that they are in a safe place, this is still a very dangerous situation and if you are in a safe place, you can go to disasterassistance.gov and we can help you on this road to recovery. >> and what is it about getting this grant out the door in the past 24 hours to cover the cost of the fire fighting, how much have you supported in that regard? >> there's two different types of disaster declarations that have been given, the first one which we did on tuesday where the fire management assistant

grant helps to pay the expenses at the local jurisdictions we are experiencing as a result of the onset of these fires, with the major disaster declaration, it does more so it will continue to provide additional assistance to provide financial reimbursement to some of those but we can also now start to send additional resources and we want to work very closely with cal fire and the national air agency fire and coordination center because they have responsibility for the fire so if they need resources that they can't get, this disaster declaration can help us bring that for them. but what it is really going to do is help support the recovery , help support the rebuilding of the infrastructure that has been damaged, help support the individuals that have been displaced with temporary housing or long-term housing as needed, work in concert with their insurance companies to

make sure we are using all the resources available from our nonprofits, to get them on that road and understand what their needs are and make sure we can meet their specific and unique needs to them. >> obviously there is a long way to go before these fires are contained but i wanted to ask about what happens next, what eventually will happen when the fires are out, what role will fema play, let's say it is a family who lost their home, the children that lost their school, what will this then play? >> the recovery from something as catastrophic as this fire is going to be extremely complicated but when we all come together, it is very doable but it is going to take time but, we can put in temporary schools for the children that don't have their school right now because they were lost, we will work with individuals that were underinsured or had no insurance to help them find a

safe place to stay until they can rebuild their home, we will help support the state with rebuilding critical infrastructure that was damaged as a result of this fire, that can be roads, the power structure, the water systems that were damaged, that includes schools and the public buildings like fire stations, police stations, city buildings, but we need to get an assessment before we can start to help the state and help reimburse those cost to really know what the scope and magnitude of this damage is but, the individuals that have been affected, they can start that process now, they can apply for assistance today. we are going to send people into the shelters to be able to start to talk to them and understand what their needs are. i'm traveling there today so i can get a better idea of what they think the overall scope is going to be so we can make sure we are bringing in the right resources to help them after this fire is put out. >> and for people watching on the west coast and these affected areas, you can apply

for that assistance at disasterassistance.gov or 1-800- 621-fema. thank you for being with us this morning, we appreciate it. and joining us now, congresswoman, jody chu, can you set the map for us a little bit where u-district sits and how it has been impacted by this fire? >> my district has the foothill cities of those mountains and as a result, it was drastically affected by the easton fire, particularly the city of pasadena, the northern section

of it, as well as the northern area and the surrounding cities have had an evacuation order, however the fire seems to have concentrated in the pasadena area and as a result, there have been 10,000 acres burned, five debts, 100,000 evacuation orders and 100,000 warning evacuations, warnings of evacuations in my area. >> as you are speaking, we are watching on the screen, in your district, more than 10,000 acres burned, five reported deaths so far, from the eaton fire, and we are going to hear from first responders who are moving into those neighborhoods. have any of them been able to salvage anything from this fire?

>> it is incredibly heartbreaking to hear everything, i actually have friends whose homes have burned down but also we know of major institutions that have burned down such as the senior center, the pasadena jewish temple, i was actually supposed to do a presentation at the elliott arts school and i heard that burned down in altadena, so there is utter destruction, especially in the altadena area and it is a beautiful, wonderful location, just hard to imagine the devastation. i also visited the shelter, the pasadena civic shelter and there were 1000 people there from the surrounding area, they don't have anywhere else to go but, they are in shock and they just don't know what is next.

>> congresswoman, we just heard from the director of fema, the federal government is already there trying to help but this is going to be a lengthy and very extensive process here, congress will have a disaster bill that they will have to take up and in about 10 days, it will be president trump who has feuded with the state of california and its governor about exactly this, threatening to withhold disaster relief funds from the estate, what do you hope we see in the next couple weeks as the administration changes in washington in terms of its needs for california. >> i am concerned because of those threats but i do hope that president-elect trump does the right thing, after a while, they don't have any political affiliation, they affect everybody, they affect people of all the political parties, some of whom did vote for president trump so i hope he

does the right thing because this is about the quality of life for americans whose lives have been absolutely devastated by this wildfire. we saw strong wind before but never were these strong winds combined with this terrible fire, where the embers jumped two to three miles, that is why it increased so much from one night to the next and thankfully the wind gusts seem to be dying down, so hopefully the fire will not spread even further but the extent of the destruction as you can see from the pictures, are something we never could have imagined. >> that is the thing with the shifting wind, people thought they were safe and a couple hours later, found themselves scrambling to evacuate. judy chu of california, we are so sorry for the suffering in

your district, thank you for talking to us this morning. still ahead, we have an update on the weather conditions in southern california, angie lassman will join us with the forecast to see if they can get any help with the weather. morning joe is coming right back. right back becoming a safety concern. are you worried about the cost of a bathroom remodel that could go on for weeks and weeks? well, now you can have a gorgeous new bath or shower with a one day jacuzzi bath remodel that's safer at a price you can afford. >> it's incredible that they were able to do this in one day. >> oh my gosh. it is beautiful. >> oh, you have to see it. it was amazing how they fixed that

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get xfinity streamsaver with netflix, apple tv+, and peacock included, for only $15 a month. >> but, as democrats struggle with their identity as a party postelection, we will find out if they are still clinging to that open border policy. >> why are you talking about an identity crisis? the republican conference is filled with bands of individuals that can't stand each other. and democrats as far as i can tell are unified and determined to make life better for the american people. >> hakeem jeffries hitting back yesterday after mike johnson accused democrats of struggling for identity after the

election, not really knowing what it is. meanwhile, the incoming trump administration is actively considering carrying out a high- profile raid targeting immigrants in the d.c. area, people familiar with the discussions revealed it could take place within days of trump taking office to send a message. joining us now, nbc news homeland security correspondent, julia ainslie, good morning, what more can you tell us about what the team is considering care? >> of course nothing is finalized yet but they are in discussion to figure out what resources they have to carry out workplace raids in the d.c. area, that can be maryland, d.c. proper or northern virginia, they can target a number of sectors, they are looking at agriculture, hospitality and healthcare. this is to carry out a shocking operation and it could be done as soon as inauguration day, this is because of course the

president campaigned on making this the largest deportation operation in american history and he wants something to show for it when he comes into office but, workplace raids are historically very expensive and logistically difficult, they take a long time to plan so when ice barges in, and starts arresting people who they suspect to be living and working in the u.s. illegally, they know exactly who they are arresting and they don't make stakes -- mistakes. officials worry about the risk if they try to take an action like this too early. >> we have heard from tom homan who is going to be the border czar, who said we are going to target criminals first, it is going to be a very difficult task, donald trump has promised some 11 million people are here illegally but how does that work exactly, what does that look like as a practical

question? >> i think this reporting shows that they can't only target or only arrest the people who are the biggest threats, if they are looking at workplace raids for example, most of the people wouldn't be these hardened criminals that they want to go after and if they are going to do a big sweep like that, of course they are going to be picking up people who have committed no other crime other than being in this country and working without authorization, this could be families, fathers that are deported when their children are at school. we do know that there are over 400,000 people in this non- detained docket, they are at large in the united states, some of them could be serving time in prison who do have criminal convictions of some kind, so obviously they want to look at that population. there's people that have exhausted all of their remedies for asylum or any other benefit and they were told by a judge to leave the country, that is who they want to target but this kind of discussion really

illuminates the fact that there's also a very strong voice within the incoming administration to say cast the net as wide as you can and boost those deportation numbers. >> this is a key promise of donald trump on the campaign, and it looks like he wants to deliver on it right away. you talked to the current ice director of the biden administration's handling of the incoming immigration. >> yes, this was a surprising and candid interview, the director told me about the frustrations, he thinks the current administration could have been more transparent and forthcoming on the immigration issue and frankly biden may have taken action too late to solve the border crisis, this is somebody who has been with dhs since it's inception, served republicans and democrats, i think some of his remarks are really enlightening, take a listen. >> we saw millions of immigrants come across the border, i know you're not focused on the border but, you

are focused on the ramifications. a lot of that came down, those numbers drastically fell, especially starting in june when the new executive action took place. do you think that biden should have taken that action earlier? >> yes, absolutely, the administration should have taken action earlier and i think the career people in dhs would have liked that, and all of us at dhs, i don't know of anybody that wouldn't have wanted that earlier. law enforcement is always going to be on that side, where there's tighter controls. because for a while, you remember, it was 10,000+. >> biden had an exit interview this week where he was asked about his regrets and he did not mention the border, does that surprise you?

>> no, but it is unfortunate because i think we could have done more. >> what specifically? >> we could have added more resources to it, and we could have tried to get more of these individuals who are in the non- detained docket and moved more people. and i think we could have used more resources and support, we could have done that the last four years. >> is it possible to increase your number of deportations under your current resources? >> under the current resources, no. like i mentioned before, we are at maximal resource capacity at this point, we are going to need more money and resources, and we could increase detention, we could increase removal operations. there still a whole immigration process, so people need to go through and get some benefit that comes out of it, and asylum, you name it. or, people are removed and they

go through the immigration proceedings. but, if more resources, and more money, we can do more. >> a very candid conversation, that was his own opinions, not the view of this administration and we are reaching out to the white house for comment but what this shows, for a lot of people who are career dhs, there was some frustration and really thinking that they were doing a lot of work that wasn't recognized because at least in his opinion, the biden administration wasn't doing more and also to talk about it and also when you talk about those resources, that is when he is looking at a new administration who is promising mass deportations, unless they have more money it is really not possible. >> fascinating interview, you have the ice director saying that publicly to you.

julia ainslie, thank you so much, we appreciate it. still ahead, the national funeral for jimmy carter takes place a short time from now at washington national cathedral, we will have full coverage as we lead up to the start of the services when morning joe comes right back. right back r reti ment contributie boosted by 3%. now with robinhood gold. (man) mm, hey, honey. looks like my to-do list grew. "paint the bathroom, give baxter a bath, get life insurance," hm. i have a few minutes. i can do that now. oh, that fast? remember that colonial penn ad?

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try on hundreds of styles at warbyparker.com. >> stay up to date on the biggest issues of the day with the msnbc daily newsletter. get the best of msnbc all in one place. sign up for msnbc daily@msnbc.com. >> a very busy day of news. >> we have never seen anything like it. >> we're going to report the facts out together. there are several stories breaking what protects the country? >> what protects the constitution? >> do you still believe that the collapse of the regime is

inevitable? >> what's your level of concern and fear for your own future? >> america is dealing with many issues, from grocery prices to gun violence. >> it has been over 400 days since the war in gaza started. >> you're watching trump hire a fiercely loyal staff. much more to come here tonight. stay with us. >> welcome to the fourth hou of "morning joe," just before 6:00 a.m. at the west coast. you're looking at an image from outside. soon the cathedral will be filled with mourners for the 39th president of the united states, jimmy carter. five presidents, one current, joe biden, and four former will be there to pay their respects. funeral events in washington and georgia. right now you're looking at the departure ceremony at the united states capitol as the motorcade prepares to depart for the cathedral.

that is the honor guard lining the steps. their spouses were put into position at the base of the capitol steps. the family will leave their vehicles and move into position to observe the ceremony as president carter leaves the united states capitol one last time and you are seeing that happen right now. as the procession stops at the top of the landing ceremonial troops present the arms, render the honors. remember carter served in the united states navy so it presents immediately following the honors. the navy band please it all mighty fortress is our god. and the body will begin moving down the steps to the special honor guard. they will move to the hearse, where they will place the body of jimmy carter inside the casket draped by an american flag and it will move slowly

through the streets of washington where jimmy carter was the president of the united states from inauguration day in 1977 until the end of that term in 1981. ♪♪ ♪♪ [ sound of gunfire ]

[ sound of gunfire ] [ sound of gunfire ] [ sound of gunfire ] [ sound of gunfire ]

♪♪ ♪♪ >> ready, step. ready, step. ready, step. >> you heard hail to the chief followed by the 21 gun salute and now you're seeing the casket of president jimmy carter moving down the steps of the u.s. capitol as the navy band plays all mighty fortress is our god.

we will be watching this very closely as carter is placed into the hearse and placed in the national cathedral at around 9:30 washington time we will expect his arrival there. we will get back to that in just a moment. >> carter is, of course, a navy veteran. the city has come to a stop and it is a day of mourning prema. president biden will remember former president carter. the city is still digging out from a snowstorm from a few days ago and we will be following the proceedings this next hour or so as the service begins at the top of the hour, top of 10:00 as the nation pays one final farewell to president jimmy carter. of course, once the ceremony concludes in washington, it will conclude in plains, georgia , his hometown where he will be laid to rest. >> next to his beloved wife,

rosalynn. we will be watching this closely and we will get to the funeral at the national cathedral a short time from now as president carter moves from the capitol there. across the hour, we will get the latest on the fires in california. these are live pictures out of los angeles county, where five major wildfires continue to scorch the area. at least five people are reported that although authorities say they have canine dogs looking in those areas. more than 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate. the battalion chief of cal fire telling the today show he is hopeful firefighters can begin to contain the flames because they've got a break with the winds, though they could come back later tomorrow. meanwhile before and after satellite photos show the devastating impact of the eaton

fire. you can see there. it stretches along the pacific coast highway in pacific palisades. jacob soboroff has been showing us all morning a community completely wiped out. let's bring in nbc news correspondent dana griffin who joins us live. dana, what are using this morning? >> reporter: hey, willie. we are seeing remnants of what the fire did, the eaton fire that rolled through here yesterday. it is currently 10,000 plus acres and there is zero containment. right now we are in the neighborhood and we are seeing home after home leveled. this looks like the set of some movie, but this is real life. it is shocking for a lot of people to see this section of los angeles county, very populous, not a remote area where we typically see wildfires so it is shocking to

see those images here. when those hurricane force winds ripped through here, not sure if that broke the poll or the fire itself but you've got power lines strewn across the streets in this community and we will take a turn and walk across the way because there is a home that has been leveled just across the street and this is a similar scene. you can see just kind of more smaller details here. there is not much you can make out at this home besides a mailbox. that is the only thing that appears to be untouched. you can still see the numbers on the mailbox here but several homes look just like this. you can see the rubble and a lot of gas lines are still on, so that's why you've got these blowtorches you can see at

almost every home in this community. it's just sheer and utter devastation. for communities like this, it'll take years to recover. willie? >> everything that could burn has burned. those are open gas lines that for obvious reasons the gas company has not been able to get to all of them yet and shut them off. let's talk about the firefighting response. the head of cal fire said they have a break in the wind and hopefully that can give them a window to get these fires under control, but what have the firefighting efforts looked like last night and into this morning? >> reporter: there was a new fire that broke out in the hollywood hills. luckily they were able to get that one under control. it is not fully contained but it's not a major threat like it was overnight so they were able to get some choppers in the air

which is significant because the night prior when they had winds whipping 40 to 80 miles per hour, they were not able to get aircraft in the air, which were crucial to dropping water over communities like this and they had issues with water pressure. overnight they were able to get some additional helicopters in the air. we have seen some above us as we have been here on the ground and we are not seeing active flames in communities like this which means more active flames could be in harder to reach areas, which could be a good sign. a lot of times they try to let those fires burn themselves out rather than exhaust themselves and the resources that could wear them out and tap into the water supply. many of the m working around

the clock saving lives and going through heroic efforts to save pets and precious family heirlooms and photo albums that they know are going to be a total loss. firefighters have been pulling out those keepsakes hoping when families return they will have memories left behind. >> dana, you are speaking and breathing through a respirator mask which means the air quality where you are right now and across los angeles county. on a human level, have you seen anyone come back into the neighborhood to check on their homes? jacob soboroff was in front of a home when a woman came back and saw for the first time everything lost. she said she is happy she got out with herself and her family and they are alive. the process will take years from here. what are you seeing in terms of

the human response? >> reporter: yeah, well we have definitely seen reports from our colleagues. as you mentioned, jacob soboroff spoke to a lot of people during the day. we have kind of been here in the overnight hours, 11:00 p.m. it's a little early. we have not seen a lot of people come into the neighborhood because this community has been completely gutted. they are not allowing residents into the neighborhood for safety reasons, so unless their home is still standing and we don't see any at this hour, we will have to wait until the sun rises, we will likely not see any residents in this neighborhood driving around. it is an active evacuation zone. people will not be allowed in and for good reason because you mentioned the air quality here is very poor. our crew is wearing masks and

respirators because although the fire threat may not be impacting this neighborhood directly, the smoke is very thick and toxic. even the trees behind us are smoldering and we are smelling some of the smoke coming off of this, so we have to take precautions and put safety first. >> i am glad you are doing that and on that note we will give your crew a break to hopefully give you some fresher air. dana griffin out in the field in california, thanks so much. let's get over to meteorologist angie lassman. we may have a break to get some water on the fires without them blowing and spreading so quickly. what are you seeing on the map? >> good morning, willie. winds did we get into the early hours this morning. we will still see elevated wind

gusts 40 to 50 miles an hour as the day goes on and it'll be a roller coaster ride for these winds for the long haul. this weekend and next week we will see a fluctuation of elevated winds going up and coming back down. red flag warnings in place through tomorrow. we've got 17 million people across the region impacted by those. 40 to 50 mile an hour gusts today and 50 to 70 tomorrow. here are the five fires we have been watching. look of the winds are acting in those locations right now. in the hills, 44 miles an hour, close to 50. 30 plus miles an hour. closer to the coast, will be heard from officials there, 4 to 8 miles an hour. this is where we are seeing lower wind speeds but again, they start to ramp up so if we

plate is out there the rest of your day today you can see the fluctuation 40 to 50 mile an hour range into the mountains and the hills. 20 to 25 mile an hour range near the coast. gusty winds ramp up as we get into the weekend. again, and as we get into next week, we have a couple more santa ana winds starting to develop and we will have to watch this into next week across this region. it's no surprise fire weather threats stay with us. we've got a critical risk right now from basically oxford down to the border including riverside and santa clarita in there. yes, we've got strong winds, but we've got relative humidity values, the measure of moisture in the atmosphere way low. yesterday we were dealing with single digits and we are expecting an uptick over the next 24 hours. more moisture in the atmosphere is better but it will not make a world of a difference and by the way we have winds going

offshore. with santa ana winds they are dry winds and often times you will see santa ana winds exacerbate the wildfire season during the fall but because we have had a lack of rain across the region dealing with drought for many folks there less than 10% of their rainfall in this water season you are basically getting, you know, an area that has more rain that wouldn't quite be impacted by this, but instead, we've got dry santa ana winds coming off the coastal area and moving offshore. this associated with the low humidity levels, the lack of rain, the dry vegetation, all of that will fuel the further concern we could see the next couple of days and potentially into next week. we've got wind alerts up and we have seen fluctuation with these but back up to an advisory level for los angeles. not just los angeles but this extends down south to san diego where we have a critical risk for fire weather and this will

contribute to the potential for wildfires rapidly spreading, willie. this will continue to affect air quality as well. we heard you talking to dana about this. we are in the unhealthy range across the region far from where the fires are burning. >> for southern california, they did get a lot of rain but this year, that is not the case. anything in the long-range model to suggest there could be rain in california's future or could this fire last month? >> not in the short term. rain will not offer the kind of relief they need in that area and it is worth mentioning climate change has an influence on this. we have seen climate change related fires, intensity of those fires, frequency of those fires and the lengthening of the wildfire season. there is a strong indication these wildfire seasons will be year-round and of course this is part of the impacts of what we have seen.

not just climate change. we have seen the atmosphere play a big role in this aiding in the 100 mile an hour winds. because of the santa ana winds it is a culmination that made this the perfect storm for all of the devastation we are seeing. >> angie lassman, thank you for walking us through this. we will continue our coverage of the wildfires. we have reporters fanned out across the region and we will be talking to them all day on msnbc. but now we want to turn back to the state funeral for jimmy carter. andrea mitchell is back with us from outside the national cathedral along with jonathan alter who wrote the 2021 biography of president carter, his very best. also with us, editor and chief russell moore and president historian and executive director of the george washington presidential library. good morning do you oh. we are looking at live pictures

through the streets of washington as the hearse carrying the casket of president jimmy carter moves from the united states capitol to the national cathedral where the funeral service will begin a short time from now and that is where we find andrea mitchell. set the scene for us there and the mood has five presidents will sit in a rare bipartisan fashion today to honor jimmy carter. >> reporter: good morning again, willie. the move is somber but also celebratory because this is a celebration of a life and legacy of jimmy carter, james earl carter, known to everyone as jimmy carter even when he was president. there is the motorcade. he had been lying in state in the rotunda all day yesterday and all night. jonathan alter is here with me and he can tell you i was there last night around 5:00 until about 6:00 paying my respects actually at the time president-

elect trump and melania trump came in to pay their respects. and speaking at the funeral today, domestic policy advisor and key advisor to jimmy carter. he and others worked in the carter white house are coming. and a lot of young people and diversity of the backgrounds and the ages of people who celebrated this man who wrote 32 books, all bestsellers. his popularity soared after he left the white house, but we have been talking and thanks to jonathan's biography, his achievements on policy. the motorcade going through the cleared street here. willie, there is a lot of security, as you can imagine. five for me president -- former

presidents and their spouses. you've got former president obama. iso the children, the former governor of virginia here. you got the nixon daughters, julie and tricia. there is an enormous amount of bipartisan spirit in the members of congress. >> go ahead. >> reporter: i was just saying, jonathan noting the rotunda yesterday was filled with people. >> well, it was astonishing to me to see so many young people. were waiting in the cold for up to five hours to file past

jimmy carter's coffin. his flag draped coffin. in the rotunda where john f. kennedy lay in state after the assassination in 1963 and so many others. being brought back so many memories that were not necessarily personal, but almost historic that relate to our sense of who we are as a country. and this is what i think drew the crowds last night in the bitter cold, the hope of the young people that we can do better, that we can have leadership in this country that is committed to decency and helping others. >> lindsay, these are ceremonies that are long

planned often by presidents themselves many, many decades ago. in the case of jimmy carter, i know there are seating charts and details, all manner of details that are planned over seen today decades prior in some cases. >> absolutely. one of the weird parts of being president, one of your first actions is to start planning your funeral if you were to die unexpectedly in office which some residents have had a great sense of humor about including george h.w. bush but they start planning who they want to be included, the music, who they want to get the eulogies, what sort of transportation they want to be on display and of course, the plan evolves over time depending on what they choose to focus on in their postpresidential life, the expansion of their family, and it is something to return to regularly. it is a reflection of the

ceremonies we have seen the last several days reflection of what carter cared about, what rosalynn cared about, what they felt was important about who he was. >> let's talk, lindsay, about the legacy of jimmy carter. certainly in this moment, death has provided bipartisanship here. he is regarded by almost all as the most effective, yet his time in office is now being sort of revisited, sort of reassessed as we are seeing the motorcade here drive through the gates right by the white house, i believe. in fact, on both sides we are seeing the stands set up for donald trump's inauguration being held in about 10 days or so time. president carter heading by the white house he called home for four years, heading by the

white house one more time, one last time. lindsay, how do you think history will regard him decades from now? >> history has had a positive view of jimmy carter which jonathan has written about so well. so many things he did that work forward-looking when it came to environmental protection, women's rights, civil rights, human rights, his ideas about the economy. he was willing to make difficult choices understanding that in the long-term they would be for the good of the nation even if they were short- term perhaps going to harm his political career. his foreign-policy was quite expansive and i think defies what we think of as political boundaries around foreign policy today so of course his camp david accords are what he is best known for what i think he deserves a lot of credit for the cold war because he was the first to put a lot of human rights pressure on the soviet union.

reagan gets a lot of credit for the economic pressure but the moral pressure was i think just as important. >> all right, lindsay, i know you've got to run. we appreciate your insights. i want you to know you are seeing former vice president mike pence arrived at the national cathedral into the best of my knowledge once donald trump arrives this will be the first time trump and pence will be in the same place at the same time since he served in the white house. trump will return with a different vice president. presidents and fight -- vice presidents all in one place. russell, i want to turn to you about the fate of jimmy carter. i know the navy band paused to play a mighty fortress is our god and my faith looks up to the. how was jimmy carter died as

president and in his post- presidency by his faith? >> i was struck by a mighty fortress is our god which includes the line above all earthly powers. i think that is an important aspect of jimmy carter in a time faith along with everything else seems to be a political category. he really demonstrated a trust in grace, not some sort of political righteousness before god. people agreed with him and disagreed with him on politics could see a faith shaped integrity that is commendable and admirable. if you think about in 1976 how stunning it was to secular america jimmy carter sounded bizarre to evangelical

christians for those who grew up like carter did in baptist churches that does not sound unusual at all. quoting jesus christ saying the exact opposite of what people interpret it. he was saying i am not going to judge other people because i am a sinner and i am coming before god simply with grace and i think that is the key message here right now. i think jimmy carter at the end of his life stands before god not in terms of his presidential success or all of the things that he did, but simply with a sort of grace and mercy. >> that was reflected, was it not, russell, in his years after the white house, winning the nobel peace prize in 2002, establishing the carter center, his ongoing work with his wife, rosalynn, his work with habitat for humanity. >> yes, the last conversation i

had with him in 2016 right after the presidential election then, i thought he would want to talk about politics but instead he wanted to talk about prayer and faith and death and what it means to stand before god and i was struck by that. this was an extraordinarily human figure in a time when everything seems to be politicized. >> russell moore, great to have your insights as we remember jimmy carter. we appreciate you being here today. andrea, i will send it back to you. and jonathan, thinking of how jimmy carter made us reshape the way we think about presidents in the white house after he left that period. >> reporter: indeed, willie. a remarkable difference between jimmy carter and just about every other former president because he devoted his life to

service, not playing golf, not making speeches for money, but basically writing books and living his faith by going around the world and you were just referring to this, his work in africa, his work with habitat. habitat for humanity had been formed before he left office, but he knew these people -- this couple from georgia. he became involved with them. he had always been a carpenter and a craftsman so he was familiar with the tools but every year he did a habitat special event. even a number of years ago, five years ago when he had fallen, he was badly injured and had a black eye. he had been hospitalized and they had to go on a habitat trip and he insisted on going and

right here on msnbc, he and rosalynn -- it was just part of his dedication. of course, as we have been saying this morning, that faith. it is so fitting he is coming to the cathedral. every part of this as we have been saying this morning, the ceremonies at the end of all of this, the private burial will be so important to him. he is not being buried in arlington even though as a former president and a military man, he could be, but he will be next to rosalynn. right now coming to the cathedral for the religious part of the ceremony. the prayers and the readings. jonathan? >> it is fitting he is being honored here, more and here, and

buried in plains, georgia where he was born. his commitment to his community, his state, his country, and the world endured since the time he was 10 years old, so 90 years of service of one kind or another. and as far as his post- presidency goes, it is a story of almost renewal and making the most of the rest of your life. that was the title of one of his books, a book they wrote together, jimmy and rosalynn carter. he was a little depressed after leaving the presidency and woke up in the middle of the night in 1982 and said, maybe i could

do a kind of small camp david each year in atlanta makepeace, solve problems, bring people together. they established the carter center and that revolutionized our idea of what a former president could be. >> reporter: as we see, the hearse has almost arrived here. inside the cathedral, we've got the marine chamber orchestra. you know, a folk wire here as well. the music will be extraordinary and the acoustics in this cathedral are really amazing. we will hear the bell here chiming 39 times for the 39 years. his family farm in georgia on saturday -- >> reporter: that was so moving

when the funeral procession moved to the boyhood home, which is a national park site, just outside of planes on their farm and they rang the bell 39 times. when jimmy carter was a boy, that bell rang an hour before daylight and he would get up. the rest of the family would get up and they would start working on that farm and that says discipline and hard work and commitment to the land and the idea of making nature. this stayed with him and he went on to become our greatest environmental presidents. >> reporter: and the pianist was his friend. john denver.

he was the composer. so all of this music, chosen by him. i went to a rock 'n roll concert in his honor back in september, right before his october 1st birthday. there is the white house chief of staff, president biden of course will be coming and attending. he was supposed to go to rome and has canceled his trip to rome to see the vatican. he was going to do an overnight plane to rome tonight but cancel that because of the wildfire crisis in california. we've got five former presidents there which is extraordinary. the five living former presidents. president-elect trump came last night to pay respects to the capitol before he had a meeting

with senate republicans and this will be the first time he and mike pence are together. we expect they will be seated close to each other today. >> reporter: and of course, we've got all four children of jimmy and rosalynn carter. jack carter is the oldest and his wife, elizabeth. ship carter. >> reporter: you can see jd vance and his wife. >> reporter: yeah. and jeff carter, a widower is there. and amy carter, 13 years younger than her closest brother and people of a certain age remember her in the white house in her treehouse reading books at state dinners when he was 10 years old. >> reporter: it was controversial. she was the first young child in the white house for many, many years, since the

kennedys. and she went to public school in washington. as an 11-year-old we saw justice alito and the members of course there. she went to a state dinner and was reading a book during a state dinner. it was controversial, like rosalynn going to cabinet meetings. she was the first lady since eleanor roosevelt. >> reporter: and she was enormously influential on her husband. she was by his description his closest advisor and she had good political sense, arguably better political intelligence than her husband did. intelligent in so many other ways but almost short on the political side and that partnership is one of the most

extraordinary in american history. they were married for 77 years. >> reporter: it looks as though the hearse is coming onto the secured area here at the cathedral. at the rock 'n roll allman brothers show in 1976, with all of those rock and roll stars -- he's about a block or two away. and through all of those years, he was friendly with his rock and roll friends, even when some got into trouble. >> reporter: yes, when willie nelson was jailed only a few weeks later jimmy carter had him at the white house. >> reporter: here is the hearse. you can see the honor guard outfront.

there will be a ceremony here before the body is being received at the great west doors here. reception of the body, the presiding bishop, the bishop of the episcopal diocese of washington. let's listen.

as you can see, members of the carter family a >> as g you can see members of the carter family arriving at the national cathedral, stepping off the buses and taking their seats in the church before the body of jimmy carter is moved inside for the funeral service. carter's spouse, -- kids and their spouses going inside the building. you can see the honorary pole bearers will move inside as well. to give you a sense of what else we will see today, we expect the service inside the cathedral to last just over an hour at which time president carter will move to joint base

andrews and board special air mission 39, matching the number of his presidency just before noon for the final trip home to georgia. he will arrive there. there will be a service at his home baptist church in the afternoon. finally he will move home to his residence early this evening where he will be laid to rest next to his beloved wife as jonathan alter just reminded us of 77 years, rosalynn carter. his final resting place will be there. the u.s. navy will conduct a flyover in honor of former president carter's service in the navy. this time, of course, as commander in chief, so it will be a day of tribute to president jimmy carter and we will watch as they remove his casket and take him inside the national cathedral for his funeral service.

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♪♪ ♪♪ >> as the carter family finds its seats inside the national cathedral, we await for the casket of jimmy carter to be taken inside of the cathedral. it is worth noting, in the room there are former presidents, current president often at odds with each other but not at this hour.

supreme court justices and an extraordinary collection of american leadership. >> we have had two motorcades arrive in the last few minutes, president-elect trump and president biden as we get a shot from inside the cathedral. seats are filling up awaiting the start of the service in a few minutes. president-elect trump was deeply critical of president carter while the former president was alive but has shifted his tone somewhat in recent days and pay respects yesterday at the capitol as the former president's body was lying in state at the rotunda. trump and first lady melania trump were there. president biden returned from california yesterday. he will be delivering the eulogy today at the personal request of former president carter. they had grown close over the years. in fact, senator joe biden was the first u.s. senator to endorse carter's bid for president. the two men have maintained a

bond since then and we should be hearing from him in the hour ahead. >> jonathan alter, you think jimmy carter would be thinking right now as he looks out at the pews and sees this group gathered in his honor? >> reporter: i think you would like a send off, willie. and he planned it. he planned it down to every single piece of music that is being played. he was a stickler for detail, which he was often criticized for but often led to this historic achievement, doubling the size of the national park service. other achievements connected to this meticulous sense of detail and he applied that to the planning of this which began in the 1990s. >> reporter: it is notable,

willie and jonathan, his famous picture in the oval office, jimmy carter standing off to the side. he was at odds with some of his successors. also bill clinton, despite them both being democrats, there was a time in the clinton presidency jimmy carter went to north korea to talk to the leader and he -- the grandfather of the current leader, as a matter of fact, he went out and announced a new policy on cable news before he briefed the white house. i was in the white house briefing room at the time and people were furious with jimmy carter. >> bill clinton himself was furious, yes. >> reporter: willie, he blamed jimmy carter's policies for

some of the immigration policies that he thought contributed to bill clinton's defeat after his first term as governor in arkansas and was defeated in 1980 but came back in 1982. they had two year terms in arkansas. they were not always close and there was a question in 1996 at the democratic convention over whether carter would be invited. eventually he did get invited. jonathan, that is one of the reasons joe biden because of his prior relationship with carter, he was so close to him. jerry ford said they were very close. >> reporter: that is why steve ford will be speaking today. president ford's son. jimmy carter and gerald ford became so close that they pledged that whichever died first, the other would deliver

the eulogy. jimmy carter delivered the eulogy at ford's funeral and now steve ford is returning that favor. >> reporter: and it is the eulogy ford wrote that he will be reading and ted mondo will be reading eulogy written by walter mondo and he really recast the role of vice president. he was a total partner and wrote the eulogy that ted mondo will be reading. both he and ford thought jimmy carter would -- >> reporter: on the question of the vice presidency, andrea, jimmy carter not only redefined post-presidency, he redefined the vice presidency. >> reporter: you can see

president trump and melania. they paid their respects last night. you can see the people in the pews. i think i see some of the carter family now, the great grandchildren. some of the grand children will be honoring as they are being seated, shaking hands with al gore. now shaking hands with mike pence. so they are sitting very close together. the ironies of history. >> this is jonathan lemire. only an event like this could bring together trump and pence

for a handshake. >> mike pence of course defied his wishes to overturn the results of the 2020 election. we are now seeing former president barack obama take his seat also greeted pence with a handshake. al gore standing up alongside donald trump, who is to his right. let's see if the two men interact. i don't believe they have yet. he is making his way down the aisle with handshakes, of course. two of the former presidents there. barack obama now taking his seat next to donald trump. the two men speaking as we see former vice president gore and we are expecting clinton and george w. bush to be in attendance. trump and obama sharing a smile as they read through the program of today's service. >> one extraordinary moment

after another as we see president-elect trump seated next to joe biden or couple of seats away. here comes president george w. bush, the 43rd president of the united states and first lady laura bush seated next to president obama there. from right to left.president- elect trump, president obama, former president george w. bush as well right behind the former vice presidents. andrea mitchell, this is quite a tableau as we look at these first few rows of pews. >> reporter: it is extraordinary, just looking at the former presidents and george w. bush, al gore, mike pence, i mean, you think of -- here comes hillary clinton and president clinton, former secretary of state and former

senator clinton. shaking hands with al gore, with mike pence. jonathan and willie, when you think of what happened on january 6th and seeing the proximity of mike pence and donald trump and the friendly conversation going on between president obama and president- elect trump. >> reporter: so much of this, andrea, is in the spirit of jimmy carter. he talked a lot as a former president. he believed it's easy to make peace with friends. the hard part and the more important part our adversaries or enemies sitting down together and acting in several ways towards one another. >> reporter: this week president-elect trump was

saying while he respects jimmy carter, he was criticizing him for the panama canal treaty so they have a lot of political differences. i would really love to know what president obama was laughing at, what president trump said. obviously friendly conversation going on there in the front row. just watch the clintons and the bushs together. they have worked together on a number of projects. >> reporter: bill and hillary clinton for all of the tensions and the clinton/carter relationship over the decades, they both went to plains, georgia for the carters 75th wedding anniversary. they were surprised they came and it was a sign of respect. nancy pelosi was also there and she greatly respected jimmy carter. loved him, actually.

she told me she felt love for jimmy carter. >> reporter: it is notable the reagans both went to the opening of the carter center. >> reporter: yes. >> reporter: ronald reagan defeated jimmy carter. >> reporter: that was one relationship that was never repaired. jimmy and rosalynn carter to the end of their days were critical of ronald reagan. >> reporter: just the day before christmas or two days before christmas he was in the emergency room with the flu. there you can see vice president harris. their home was evacuated and no one was there but their home is right in the middle of the zone. >> reporter: ronald reagan had a home in palisades. >> reporter: yes, i know.

willie? >> andrea, another interesting moment there as vice president kamala harris briefly looked back over her shoulder to acknowledge donald trump who gave her a bit of an odd too. interesting to see barack obama and president-elect trump engaged in constant conversation. since they sat down. let's not forget obama campaigned hard not so long ago on behalf of vice president kamala harris and donald trump questioned whether brock obama was even allowed to serve as president suggesting he was not born in the united states. but the two men are chatting so far this morning. we did not see interaction we should note between the clintons and the trump's. hillary clinton and donald trump squared off in 2016 and they did not seem to speak any sort of exchange when the clintons took their seats. willie, when harris sat down , biden will do the same in just

a few moments here as we are just a couple of minutes from the start of the service. >> the families have been seated. the two open chairs at the front are for president biden and first lady joe biden who will be president for only 10 more days before trump becomes president again. carter's casket outside the national cathedral in the hearse on a cold and blustery day in washington. he will move inside for the funeral of the 39th president and as i mentioned he will make the trip to georgia one last time before being buried at his home alongside his beloved wife, rosalynn. >> and institutions are being honored here set aside for this service. we should note president biden has set in the commitment to american democracy and the peaceful transfer of power which did not happen in 2020 but

will happen this time, president biden and president- elect trump will share the room in about 10 days. he has invited trump to come to the white house the morning of inauguration day which is customary. president biden said he will attend trump's inauguration on january 20th. as we take a shot here, all former presidents and vice presidents in the room at the same time to pay tribute to the remarkable life and career of jimmy carter. >> the service will begin shortly for the man who was a farmer from an extremely small town in plains, georgia and rose to power as the 39th president of the united states. he united for president jimmy carter. ♪ ♪