that is our show tonight. now it is time for the last word with lawrence o'donnell. good evening lawrence. i always enjoy our handoffs but they respecially important these days. checking in with our friends who are in the area.

>> i mentioned my home would be lost tonight. tomorrow night. saturday is the first time the wind will let us relax at all. so the good news, bad news is, the reports i have gotten, the fire trucks have been on my street. it means they need to be on my street. that's not the bad news. it is much better new it is fire trucks are far away from your street. because that means it isn't really threatening. but that's the way it is for everyone in los angeles. they are either deeply worried about their own house. walking out here to the studio.

it just crossed my mind. oh, i don't want to say his name. i have to check with my dentist because i know he lives in pacific palisades. so i didn't even ask is he okay. there isn't really any suspense if you know where people live, you know. that's the most valuable thing anyone can send you is a picture of your street. and so, it is a real human

agony. >> that's why people like you and katie and jacob with direct ties to the state, it is critical and essential to hear. >> alex look, the last thing i deserve is anyone's sympathy about what is going to happen to my house. there is no real danger for me. a family member in my house the other day. grabbed the few things i could think of off the top of my head that would be nice to have. but people are losing every

single thing. there were people working out of town whose houses burned down. and no one walked through that door to grab anything. and every single thing in those homes is lost and lost forever. the challenge and strategy for the people who come out of this, who come out of it uninjured but with nothing. >> we are in the thick of it. thanks lawrence. good luck out there. to understand the historic apocalyptic worst ever fire

storm in los angeles. it could never be more than a rainstorm. the water might find some leaks in your roof. huge puddles out there on the road you can't drive through. when it is a really bad rainstorm. there would be very little actual destruction in a hurricane without wind. a rainstorm. wind is the single most destructive force that exists in our natural elements. the destructive force of a hurricane is in the wind. not the rain. the wind speed is what you fear in a hurricane. the wind speed is what they keep reporting to you. the wind speed is what can kill you. that's why they want you to know it. the wind is what you are fleeing when you are evacuating a hurricane.

the wind can sink the biggest ships ever built. the ocean doesn't sink those ships. the wind does. the wind creates those giant waves that can sink those ships. the wind can rip the roof off a building. a funnel of wind called a tornado can knock down everything in its path. they called it the pacific ocean when they first saw it. standing on cliffs and what's now california. looking out on that ocean. after they are experienced with the stormy, windy atlantic, they were looking at the calmest ocean scene they had ever seen.

they couldn't believe it wasn't just windy all the time like an ocean is supposed to be. wind is the most dangerous natural element in california. wind can destroy much more than earthquakes can destroy. because when a strong wind finds even the slightest spark, it turns it into fire and then turns fire into an explosion of flame and blows it at everything in whatever direction the wind is blowing. the prevailing wind in los angeles, the most common direction of the wind is the ocean to the land. the wind carries the coolness of the ocean air. and the moisture of the ocean air. the most dangerous wind that is burning down los angeles tonight comes from the east. it comes from the desert areas

east of los angeles. and that wind, that deadly flame thrower wind is named after a saint. santa ana. almost all the place names in california are spanish since it is all territory that was once mexico seized by the united states. even the wind has a spanish name. santa ana. it is as hot a wind that blows in america. it travels over land with none of the cooling power of the ocean. none of the moisture of the ocean. it is dry and when it is traveling over the driest of california land that hasn't seen rain during the rainy season, ignition is inevitable. it has to happen. it has to happen. that is before a single spark emerged, anywhere in los angeles the fire department

issued a warning before the fire started saying that tuesday would be an extremely high risk fire day in los angeles. not because anyone was going to make a careless mistake with a cigarette, but because of the fact that the warm santa ana wind coming across the driest of winter los angeles in many years would surely somewhere be turned into fire. the question was just how big. and when the santa ana came, it was the worst wind los angeles had ever seen. gusts up to 100 miles per hour. i had never seen winds at half that speed in los angeles. gusting winds at hurricane levels. a hurricane with no rain. a hurricane with only the destructive power of wind until that wind found a spark and

then instead of delivering rain, that wind, that hurricane force wind helped, the kind of wind that whips at you during a hurricane, whips rain at you during a hurricane, instead of whipping snow at you as it does during a blizzard, that wind, the santa ana wind delivered what it is famous for. it delivered what it is feared for. that wind didn't deliver fire or snow flakes. that wind, did deliver fire. didn't deliver rain or snow flakes. that wind delivered fire. the wind put that fire where it is tonight. and asking why the fire department doesn't have the resources to put out these fires is like asking why the new york fire department couldn't put out a fire on the hundred floor of the world trade center caused by burning jet fuel. the fire on 9/11 was in an

unreachable place for fire fighting technology and everyone knew that. everyone understood. that is why that was so horrible. and that is where the los angeles fires always start. they start in, inaccessible wilderness areas. it takes a while for people to even know there is a fire. and by that time, it is already raging toward homes and the fire department starts on these fires. as far behind a santa ana wind fire as the new york fire department was behind as they rushed toward the world trade center. there was nothing they could do on 9/11. and that is a human truth some people refuse to learn. every once in a while, there is nothing that we can do. it is not within our human power. every once in a while, something happens that is

beyond our control and yes, sometimes that is a fire. everyone knows when a hurricane stops. hurricanes stop when the wind stops. no one has ever stopped a hurricane. that is what is happening in los angeles. it is a hurricane without the rain. it is a hurricane with fire. the hurricane can only stop when the wind stops. in the meantime, the firefighters are doing as heroic a job as firefighters have ever done in the face of the california fire. everything i have just told you about los angeles fires has been true for every day of our lives. most people outside of los angeles, outside of california don't really understand that. the brilliant writer, she was from sacramento. so she knew a bit of what she was getting into.

in los angeles. where she haded screen writeing to her literary workload. and 57 years ago, in slouching toward bethlehem, joan didian wrote los angeles weather is the weather of catastrophe. of apocalypse. just as the reliably long bitter winters of new england determine the way life is lived there, so the violence and the unpredictability of the santa ana affect the entire quality of life in los angeles. accentuate its unpermanence. the wind shows us how close to the edge we are. thousands of people in los angeles discovered this week

they were over the edge. and they have gone over the edge into the oblivion of complete burnout. their burned down street and their burned down neighborhood. and i remain among the lucky ones living on the edge. my house in los angeles is right on the edge of the fire. fire trucks have been on my street most of the last 24 hours hoping to hold the line at or near my street. if the winds decide to blow more strongly in my direction. it is not up to the fire. what happens to my house or any house in los angeles is not up to the fire. tonight, our homes in los angeles if they will survive is entirely up to the wind. and santa ana is going to come back tomorrow. and as usual, she will bring no

mercy. leading off discussion tonight is cal fire battalion chief brent pasqua in the pacific palisades. brent, what is the situation there as of tonight and what can we anticipate overnight? >> i'm happy to report today was a good day as far as the winds go. they were predicted from the afternoon tonight. we are taking full advantage of this time to try and get the upper hand. or at least turn the corner on this fire. >> and it is all about the wind as i understand it. that for you to get control the wind has to cooperate. you said to me, the wind was working in your favor last night. meaning that's what allows you to do your job. >> right. we fought the santa ana wind

driven fires before. we put them out before. we were just trying to get people out of the way. and then, chase spot fires down today, we took the fight to the fire. >> and what can you tell people about what you are in the palisades and the area on the western edge of los angeles that edges up to brentwood and santa monica. there is a massive evacuation zone outside of the actual fire zone. and people there are wondering if it is possible that in your view, do you think it might be possible that saturday might be the day when people can start coming back and trying to take a look? >> i really hope so. i think that is being optimistic i was up there today. it still looks like a war zone. there's trees that have not

burned. but been blown over by the wind still blocking roadways. small burning hows. i saw a gas main leaking where a house was and still fire coming out. i hope it is saturday, but it might be a little longer seen with all the work that needs to be done still to keep it safe. >> what is the cooperation that you need now from people in the area? >> just patience. once we get this fire under control, our priority is to get people in there to see what they have left. i know it is tough. they want to be there now. but they have to have patience. we want to make sure it is safe for them to go back. >> and i always want to ask you about the people working with

you. trying to control this fire and what they are going through. there's a lot of people suffering and working at a heroic pace. what is the typical sleep cycle for people you have been working with? how are you doing it? >> the crews have i been talking to, they have been taking naps when they can. one guy gets a little bit of shut eye while the rest work and they will take turns. they don't want to go in. they don't want to take a day off. they don't want to be down for 24 hours. especially when there's still a fire fight going on. they would rather stay out there. make do and make some progress on this fire. >> chief brent, thank you very much for joining us again tonight. and thank you and everyone working with you for what you are doing there. >> you're very welcome. thank you. >> thank you. joining us now is nbc news

national correspondent morgan chesky who is also in pacific palisades. what have you been able to find today and tonight? >> reporter: heartbreaking scene in every direction you look. we had a chance to embed with a los angeles fire crew. we joined a captain who took us on day three of this fire fight. it was telling what we witnessed and how this fire has evolved the last 72 hours or so. since it erupted here. from what we are told in a pacific palisades backyard. but we arrived on the scene of a home not too far away from where i'm standing to find a san francisco crew that had driven down to help out the crews here and the house fire caused likely by a single ember. the home fully engulf and lawrence i can't tell you how

many times we have heard and now seen crews plug a hose into a fire hydrant and try to get any sort of flow and not have enough to conduct an adequate fire fight. the san francisco crews telling us that they had to call for a tanker. precious minutes ticking by as we watched the fire overtake another home. one said if we had enough water, we could have saved at least part of this home. instead, it is likely a total loss. even with that tanker coming. by the time it did arrive, it is essentially just a defensive fight to keep that fire from spreading and we saw that play out yesterday at the eaton fire. and we saw that play out again today. and it just underscores a lot of the frustration in this particular fire fight here. >> yeah. and, the officials explained

how power has had to be cut to many of the systems that powered the pumps for the hydrants. the power has been out of my hydrants all week. there's a lot of aboveground overhead power lines and electrical lines going on telephone poles and neighborhoods. there are so many additional resources we have seen there including these remarkable planes from canada. scoop up water. fly it back up and drop it. a family member of mine showed me a video of one of these planes on the very first day of the fire, she didn't know what she was looking at when they were going down to land right onto the ocean and scoop up that water. but she just kept her video camera rolling and we figured

it out as we were watching. it is an incredible convergence of resources on this. >> reporter: that's right lawrence and you mentioned the flames from the fire we were at. we could see the pilots come down to the level of the water and scoop it up and continue to make drops all afternoon long. any resources can help us. help fire crews rather try to get a handle on these blazes that remain 0% contained despite the drop in the winds. we know fire crews from oregon, from arizona, have now made their way here. one question i asked the fire captain i tagged along with today, lawrence, that really struck me is if you had officials sitting in front of

you, what would you ask for to have conducted a proper firefighter? he said more firefighters and working fire hydrants and trucks. more of everything is what the los angeles fire department needed to have taken on this fire the best way they know how. they have had the use the resources they have to do the best they can in conditions that are as far from optimal as you could possibly get. >> it is over a 30-mile range from the pacific out into the interior fire. nbc's morgan chesky, thank you very much for your coverage of this. i really appreciate it. >> thank you. and when we come back, we'll have more on the fire coverage in los angeles. president biden ordered new

resources, massive military planes to join in the fire suppression effort. planes capable of dropping more fire suppressant and water onto these flames. those planes are on the way. when we come back, we will be discussing what i am doing first thing tomorrow morning at a manhattan courtroom. at 9:30 a.m. watching donald trump face sentencing as a criminal defendant. that's next. s a criminal defendant. that's next. with a beautiful new design— and the most in-depth info— all we need now is a new name. (marci) do we? (luke) so, we're gonna lock the doors and stay late until we find that name that's synonymous with shopping for homes. (marci) here's a wild idea: homes-dot-com? (luke) we're gonna go with homes-dot-com. we're gonna keep it. i love it. fresh. innovative. this has been fun. (vo) homes-dot-com. we've done your home work.

prime's exclusive wild card playoff game is coming part of wild card weekend. the steelers. the ravens. they're a prime super bowl contender. what a night! prime's exclusive wild card playoff game. steelers. ravens. part of wild card weekend. only on prime.

let's monopoly go! friends are like money. keke, i won again? they make everything more fun. and you can never have enough! toodaloo. pete g. writes, "my tween wants a new phone. how do i not break the bank?" we got you, pete.

xfinity mobile was designed to save you money and gives you access to wifi speeds up to a gig. so you get high speeds for low prices. better than getting low speeds for high prices. right, bruce? -jealous? yeah, look at that. -honestly. someone get a helmet on this guy. xfinity internet customers, ask how to get an unlimited line free for a year, plus a free 5g phone.

convicted criminal defendant donald trump will be sentenced in about 11 hours from right now at 9:30 a.m. for his 34 felony convictions. the united states supreme court rejected donald trump's effort to block his sentencing. 5-4 majority rejected the trump request to block the sentencing with chief justice john roberts and amy coney barrett voting with the other democratic presidential appointed judges. the order read ins full, quote, the application for stay presented to justice sotomeye re and by her referred to the court is denied for the following reasons. first, the alleged violations at president-elect trump's state court trial can be addressed in the ordinary

course on appeals. the burden sentencing will impose on the president-elect's responsibilities is insubstantial in light of the trial court's stated intent to impose a sentence of unconditional discharge after a brief virtual hearing. justice thomas, justice alito, justice gorsuch and kavanaugh would grant the application. justice alito did not recuse himself as we knew he would not despite having a phone conversation with donald trump tuesday. joining our discussion now is andrew weismann. an msnbc legal analyst, andrew, 5-4, what do you make of the supreme court's decision? >> the first is to step back and realize that ten days from now, the new president of the united states will come into office, somebody who is

convicted of 34 felony counts. after a trial by his peers with all the due process of any defendant, in terms of the history of this country. in terms of how we are seeing internationally, in terms of how we think of ourselves as a country, this is a monumental moment in our history. and that is something you will witness tomorrow. obviously the main event was the jury verdict. but this brings us this to conclusion in terms of the trial phase. in terms of the 5-4 decision. the most interesting part here is the chief justice. chief justice roberts essentially flip-flopping from his presidential immunity position. it is no surprise that amy coney barrett, somebody to keep your eye on. because she had actually dissented from the main issue that would have been an issue here so it was really for the

presidential immunity decision, it was 5-4. and, this is one where you have the court saying we will treat you like any other defendant. something i take for granted is you know what happens in cases like this, the defendant is sentenced then on appeal, they can raise any an all issues. that's the order of things. here, donald trump said essentially i'm special. i don't want to be sentenced. i want to immediately take an appeal without going through that intermediary step. so it is right the supreme court said no. you can rise this like anyone else. the shocking part of this case is that it was 5-4. to me it means to the extent anyone was looking at bret kavanaugh thinking he was going to be part of a sort of swing of amy

coney barrett and bret kavanaugh, he has put his lot in with the arch conservative group. >> and two of those, thomas and alito completely compromised. there is that in addition to it. we will squeeze in a quick break and go to the other defendant trump news of the night. the appeals court saying yes, jack smith report can come out. we'll be back with that after this break. after this break.

(sneeze) (hooves approaching) not again. your cold is coming! your cold is coming! thanks...revere. we really need to keep zicam in the house. only if you want to shorten your cold! when you feel a cold coming, shorten it with zicam (revere: hyah)

we will pause our legal discussion and go right back to our live coverage of the los angeles fires. joining us now is knbc reporter live from the pacific palisades, robert. what is the situation there tonight? >> the situation is just as bleak as it has been the past few days lawrence. just ran into a firefighter and he said there is really nothing left to burn in the palisades. we are just off sunset boulevard. to talk about sunset boulevard being impacted and when i say

impacted, there is basically nothing left in this neighborhood. >> that raises the question for everyone around there and other areas of los angeles, but with the particular fire spot you are covering is there any anticipated movement of the fire tonight or tomorrow? is there a direction they anticipate movement or no movement? >> reporter: there is a concern up in the hills pushing toward pch, there is a pocket of homes that is nestled up there. it is too difficult to traverse on the ground. it is a difficult fire fight because of power lines to try to get to that fire, so there is still a pocket of fire that is pushing toward the pacific coast highway, toward the ocean, toward malibu. and there are still homes in harm's way and that becomes a

factor as well when the wind may have died down for now. but they are only expecting the wind to continue in a few days time. that is a very big concern. >> and down the hill, down the hill from where you are standing, down into rustic canyon, there is either very little damage or no damage yet. that separates the pacific palisades fire from santa monica and there is tremendous worry in santa monica that the fire will work its way down rustic canyon and back up the hill on the other side into santa monica. >> you're right. you know the west side of los angeles very well. but what they are looking at right now is the fact the pacific palisades you cannot access. we are about to put in a curfew here to avoid looters, no one

is allowed in anymore tonight. people have been trying to come in just to go to what is left of their homes. to pick up medicines and what have you. just before we came on air, i ran into an army colonel and he said i have been to iraq and afghanistan, and now this. i said, are they comparable? he said the difference is in the war torn countries, they are prepared. these people are not prepared. they are not prepared for what they witnessed or went through and they are not prepared for the aftermath. and lawrence, you understand this. how can they be? we are talking about one of the most desirable zip codes in all of los angeles. one of the most envy able places to live in the entire nation and now it is known as the spot of the worst disaster in the history of the city of los angeles. the worst disaster in the history of the state of california. >> robert, as you say, so many

people are asking each other and it comes across my texts. can we go home if they are in an evacuation zone that is not a fire zonement can we go home to get medicine or something we forgot? some of them are trying to do that. i'm not sure how they are succeeding but most of them are just assuming they can't. >> reporter: lawrence, you have to first of all show proof of residency. your drivers license has to have your address on it and you have to convince or have some type of prescription to show the lapd or another law enforcement agency you have to go to your home. and then they escort you to your home and immediately bring you back to the check point. that is what palisades has become. as of now, they are not letting

anybody in. on top of everything else this community is going through, they are afraid of looters and vandals coming into this area but not much is left. >> robert, thank you for joining us. i know how long your day has been. i have been watching knbc coverage all day. it's the best way to know what is really happening there. thanks so much for joining us. thank you. >> thank you lawrence. after this break, we'll be back with andrew weismann on the latest ruling in the federal appeals court saying that jack smith's report can be released. that's next. e released. that's next.

speak now or forever hold your- [cough] only took 4-hour cough liquid? [cough] unlike robitussin dm, delsym liquid offers 12 hours of cough relief all day or night. delsym, cough crisis averted.

dexcom g7 sends your glucose numbers to your phone and watch, so you can always see where you're heading without fingersticks. dexcom g7 is the most accurate cgm, so you can manage your diabetes with confidence. ♪♪

if you take or have taken humira for moderate to severe crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis and still have symptoms... you don't have to settle. ask your gastroenterologist if switching to rinvoq is right for you. it's one of the latest treatments from the makers of humira. rinvoq works differently than humira and may help. rinvoq is a once-daily pill that can deliver rapid symptom relief, lasting steroid-free remission, and helps visibly reduce damage of the intestinal lining. rinvoq can lower ability to fight infections. before treatment, test for tb and do bloodwork. serious infections, blood clots, some fatal; ...cancers, including lymphoma and skin; serious allergic reactions; gi tears; death; heart attack; and stroke occurred. cv event risk increases in age 50 plus with a heart disease risk factor. tell your doctor if you've had these events, infection, hep b or c, smoked, are pregnant or planning. don't take if allergic or have an infection. rapid symptom relief and lasting steroid-free remission are possible with rinvoq.

ask your gastroenterologist to switching to rinvoq is right for you. you could pay as little as $0 per month. we are living with afib. and over half a million of us have left blood thinners behind. for life. we've cut our stroke risk... ...and said goodbye to our bleeding worry. with the watchman implant. watchman. it's one time, for a lifetime. mega-heist! -yeah! -i can't go back to jail! wait, did you rob my bank? sharing is caring, bro! let's make like dice and roll. ♪♪ (luke) now that we have a completely new homes-dot-com, we're gonna lock the doors and stay late until we findnd roll. that name that's synonymous with shopping for homes. (marci) here's a wild idea: homes-dot-com?

(luke) we're gonna go with homes-dot-com, we're gonna keep it. (vo) homes-dot-com. we've done your home work. tonight, the 11th circuit federal court of appeals in atlanta ruled that attorney general merrick garland can indeed release jack smith's report of his investigations of donald trump. back with us, andrew weismann. >> this is another good decision from the court. ruling in a way contrary to judge cannon. >> every time her work has been presented to them, they have overruled her. >> on a trump matter that is exactly right. this is strike three. so she was reversed twice pretrial.

preindictment actually. and the defendants asked for an injunction and it was denied. that does leave in place, what's next. that leaves in place that judge cannon said there was an injunction for three more days. she gave those in order for the defendants to have an ability to go to the supreme court. so, there is no downside for them to try and seek supreme court review of this. that seems highly unlikely even for this supreme court that they would take this case. and so, three days from now, i think it is incredibly a good chance we will see the volume of the report that relate to the january 6th investigation. and with respect to the part of the report that deals with the mar-a-lago investigation, which by the way, could be, could have really important information, not just about donald trump, but about kash patel. that is one that merrick garland has said that he is not

planning to make that public. he is only planning to giving that to certain people in congress. not because of an injunction but because there are two codefendants on appeal. >> and the appeals court said nothing about any distinction between the two volumes. >> nothing at all. there was a request by the defendants to have an injunction for the whole shebang. and they said as a judge used to practice. i have two words for you. denied. >> yeah. there are so many rulings like that. people have grown accustomed for elaborately written investigations. >> expect there will be some

sort of action. it is possible that the government will go back to the 11th circuit to say shorten the three day period so we don't have to wait that long. but it is all good news. in terms of public transparency. >> we'll need you monday. andrew, thank you very much for joining us. tonight's last word is a lesson about real integrity, using an example that i just heard today. that's next. ust heard today. that's next.

prime's exclusive wild card playoff game is coming part of wild card weekend. the steelers. the ravens. they're a prime super bowl contender. what a night!

prime's exclusive wild card playoff game. steelers. ravens. part of wild card weekend. only on prime.

z's bakery is looking to add a pizza oven, arissa's hair salon wants to expand their space, and steve's t-shirt shop wants to bring on more help. with the comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee, they can think more about possibilities for their business and not the cost of their internet. it's five years of gig-speeds and advanced security. all from the company with 99.9% network reliability. get the 5-year price lock guarantee, now back for a limited time. powering five years of savings. powering possibilities™.

in tonight's last word, let's consider integrity. when jimmy carter was born 100 years ago, it was very common for men of any occupation who had the space for it to have a workbench of sorts. where they could fix things and make things like kitchen tables. and other wood working feats that used to be relatively common skills and are now nearly extinct except among professionals. my grandfather who was a factory worker had a bench like that in the basement with a bunch of tools where we thought he could just fix anything or make anything that the house needed. almost everything we heard today in the eloquent and moving comments about jimmy

carter at his funeral at the national cathedral, i already knew almost all of it. but there was something important i heard from jimmy carter's grandson i did not know. something important to me that told me more about the man than thousands of words of his public accomplishments. something that would have impressed no one 200 years ago. something i wish i could do, but never could do. something that speaks to jimmy carter's competence and precision and care and planning and devotion and love and artistry. >> the outpouring of love and support we have felt from you and around the world shows how many lives he has touched and

how his spirit will live on in many ways. for us. he will be in the kitchen making pancakes. or in his wood shop finishing a cradle for a great grandchild. standing in a trout stream with mom carter. or for me, just walking those georgia fields and forests where he is from. thinking. >> yes. there once was a president of the united states who made

cradles for his great grandchildren. young people watching that speech today will be able to tell their great grandchildren 60 years from now that they lived at the same time that a president of the united states was in his workshop finishing a cradle for a great grandchild. it sounds like something only one of our earliest presidents would have done. it sounds like something from the ancient history of the united states of america. but it happened in our time. a man of the sort of common decency that isn't so common more. did more after his presidency than any president in history. one of the most profound acts of kindness any president has delivered here and around the world including in his

workshop. working with his hands. in an era when most former presidents can't do anything with their hands than hold a golf club. looking for goodness in politicians is difficult because it is rare and because they can fake it. you can't fake it alone in the workshop. that cradle has its own integrity as a wooden sculpture. and in that cradle, jimmy carter's integrity will live after him. that is tonight's last word. th. and the 11th hour with stephanie ruhle starts now. tonight, the devastating wildfires burning out of control in los angeles. thousands of buildings burned in what's being called the worst blaze in the city's history. we have reporter standing by and we will talk to