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weekdays at 6:00 only on msnbc. >> msnbc premium gives you early access and ad free. listening to rachel maddow's chart topping series, msnbc original podcasts, exclusive bonus content, and all of your favorite msnbc shows now ad free. subscribe on apple podcasts. >> at the top of the hour. a very good day to all of you from msnbc world headquarters here in new york. welcome, everyone, to alex witt reports. we begin this hour with the breaking news and the very latest developments on the devastating wildfires in southern california. officials today warning that critical fire weather conditions, including another round of powerful desert winds, are expected to continue through wednesday. at least 16 people are dead as we give you a live look there at malibu, the beachfront. there, 16 more reported missing. authorities are warning the death toll is likely to rise. more than 100,000 residents are under

evacuation orders. thousands of firefighters are battling now at least three major blazes. the largest, the palisades fire, remains only 11% contained. and earlier today, california governor gavin newsom signed an executive order removing permit requirements, including the state's costly environmental review process for homeowners and businesses, rebuilding properties damaged by the fires. los angeles officials today said it could take up to a year just to clear the debris to begin the rebuilding process. >> as we fight these fires, my office is already working to make sure that we can rebuild as fast as we can by cutting through the bureaucracy that holds us back, even in normal times. i want to join the supervisor in thanking the governor for his action this morning. that will go a long way to making los angeles stronger than ever. >> police today said that officers will stop escorting people to their homes to pick up

pets, medication and other important items in order to search homes to recover victims. many displaced homeowners have been waiting in line for long hours to go back to those neighborhoods and see whether their homes are still there. >> we've been online since five and 6.5 hours since five, 6:00 this morning. trying to get up to our building is one of the few buildings still standing. >> it was a miracle. >> fortunately, my neighbor was able to go, and i think they said that our house was standing. we're not sure if there's some burn marks on the house or whatnot, but i guess i leave for college tomorrow. so ideally i'd like to just go get my stuff to be able to leave tomorrow. >> it's pretty traumatic. pretty unfortunate that we have leaders like we have that can let us down like this, that we have to be in this position that we're in. >> nbc's ellison barber is in brentwood for us, but we're going to begin with nbc's dana griffin in los angeles. dana. another welcome to you for the

show. what have we heard from officials on containment efforts? >> well, this is a very active threat, alex. and they say that there is still a potential for life threatening hazards out there because this is an ongoing fire. you mentioned that the palisades fire is only 11% contained. and so that is still concerning, especially with santa ana wind gusts expected early this week. they are not in a place to let people back home. and we're at a checkpoint here where we've got not only the national guard behind us who are stoppingple from going in, but as we walk down, you can see some firefighting assets that are kind of just staged here. we've seen some additional fire trucks go down this road down the mandeville canyon road area. so this is this is still a very active scene. you don't see a lot of flames and smoke in this area because you can't see it from where we are located. most of the areas are kind of in the remote canyons, but that's why there is a major concern, because we know that embers can blow at least a mile away. and

so these neighborhoods are still very much threatened. and even the la fire chief, christine crowley, described a little bit about why this is still a very active threat. >> listen, there are still active fires that are burning within the palisades area, making it extremely, extremely dangerous for the public. >> there's no power, there's no water, there's broken gas lines, and we have unstable structures. the first responders are working as quickly as possible to ensure that it is safe for you to return into your communities. >> so she said it right there. >> they are trying to make sure that this area is safe enough before they allow people back in. i want to flip over just because this is one of the checkpoints that has actually been cleared. as far as not a lot of people showing up here yesterday, this line was really full. you've got some officers here that are checking cars as they come because people want to get in. and we understand that, you know, they were at some

point allowing people to go inside to check their property. but a lot of people have also been sifting through the rubble, which is very dangerous because there are some hazards in that, in that, that soot, there's a public health emergency because of the toxic air and smoke. so people are encouraged to wear p100 respirators or n95 masks. so that's another health concern. that's why they really don't want people in that area. so how soon could they get in? that is the major question, and it probably won't be anytime soon, because if these winds shift, they don't want people having to evacuate again. so my guess is possibly after this next santa ana wind event is over, which could produce winds up to 60mph. alex. yeah. >> i got to tell you, i'm able to watch your monitor before you actually come live on the broadcast. i know you've been wearing that mask for good reason. thank you for explaining that. and you'll probably put it right back on when you get off the air. but this checkpoint, dana, is it that people have to show some sort of identification or proof of residency before they can even get there, if

they're even allowed to go in at this point? >> you know, i think that's part of it. >> usually when there's a fire zone, they're only allowing first responders media in. but for certain people that want to go to their home, they have to show their id and show, hey, i live on the street, i live in this community. and what we've seen in other checkpoints, they've allowed people to kind of just sit there. some have waited hours and they're kind of caravanned in in groups and they are monitored. they're not just allowed to, you know, freely go into the neighborhoods, they get their stuff, whatever they need, the medication, the pets, and then they all have to come right back out. >> okay, dana griffin, we'll see you again. thank you for monitoring there, the base of mandeville canyon for us right now. let's go to nbc's ellison barber in brentwood, california, where evacuations have been ordered as winds are fanning the palisades fire there. so, ellison, what's happening where you are? >> well, firefighters are still working to control those flames. >> there are a lot of residents here desperate to get back to their homes to try and get medicine, some basic supplies,

to go to other locations because they know they won't be home for so long. but this is what they're encountering, just closures and closures. they say they're really frustrated that the lack of communication, a lot of them came here. and let me show you some of this. carline came here today because they thought they were going to be able to get into their homes with a police escort. they have now been told that's not the case. just in the last little bit of time. see that line? you see how far it goes down. we heard and saw a police cruiser drive by over speaker telling people there will be no escorts today. some people starting to leave the line frustrated that they will not be able to go back into their homes. some people still saying, we're not entirely sure if that's definitive. they say they're getting information from one person and then getting information from another. just massive frustration here at the system. they're frustrated that all of this could happen, that the fires could burn so much property, and that there was such difficulty in the initial hours of getting things under control. people are frustrated

with the entire situation, and the fact now that they feel like they can't get clear information on whether or not they'll be able to access their homes, if they can go get basic supplies, clothing, medicine, or just see if their homes are still standing is adding to the devastation that they have experienced with the losses. take a listen to some of what we've heard from people who have come here today, desperately trying to get back home. >> don't get me started. you know, you hear so many different things like that. our reservoir was emptied. >> that's pretty upsetting and scary. this doesn't seem to be going very well, i heard it. this line goes back, miles, and it's been like this every day. so. >> i just think that they're probably doing the best that they can. >> but for all of us who are suffering, it doesn't seem like it's good enough. >> and at a press conference earlier today, we heard from la fire officials saying that they understand the frustrations people have. they're empathetic. they also they say they want people to be able to get home.

but ultimately they say this is a matter of safety, that in a lot of these neighborhoods, they say there are still active fires, active hotspots, and they can't ensure that the buildings are safe enough for people to go home. they're asking people to be patient and wait while they try to get all of these fires under control. but for the people here, they say the information on the ground is insufficient and they want to have better communication from their local officials on what the plan is for them and for those who have been evacuated and for the at least the plan for today of whether or not they can go home or not, because they say it's too much conflicting information, at least right now. back to you. >> okay. alison. barbara, thank you so much for that. well, joining me right now is our dear friend, california congresswoman sydney kamlager, whose district includes parts of southern los angeles county. it's been a hell of a week, but thank you for joining us. i know you surveyed the damage there in pasadena and altadena, all that stuff relative to the eaton fire. tell me what you saw and heard from

the residents there. >> well, first, i hope that you and your family and friends are safe. this has been a devastating week for all of los angeles county and the state. i did tour the eaton fire devastation with a number of congress members and local officials. it is devastating. you drive through a cross streets and you see nothing except maybe a chimney standing, and that is all landmark spaces like the altadena country club completely leveled. and then you see the air quality and how bad it is. the business centers completely burned down. this is about containment right now, but we have a long road ahead with regards to rebuild. >> yeah. let me just say thank you for asking. my family is okay. many of my friends, however, are not. so it has been, like i said, a hell of a week. but as we look at your district, it is southeast of the

palisades fire. but as i look at it, i'm thinking, all right, culver city is probably the most western area of your district. to the palisades fire winds. is there any risk? have you been told. okay, we got to do a heads up with culver city. you were even south there of the sunset fire in your kind of vermont area of your district. talk about any concerns you have for your constituents. also, as you talk about the air quality, schools are closed as well. i mean, overall, how is that community coping? >> well, the northern part of santa monica was asked to evacuate, and that is not far from my district at all. we've certainly been on high alert because there are a number of hills that are in the district. we have an oil field in the district. we have kenny hahn, park district. if any of those things catch fire, we are in trouble. while we have not been directly touched by those fires, we have family members who have been impacted because they live in the palisades, they live in pasadena, they live in altadena. so many folks in my community

are turning into community responders. they are taking in friends and family. they are helping with donations at the shelter and at the pasadena convention center. doolan's restaurant, a local restaurant on crenshaw, has been working with world central kitchen. i went to see him in altadena cooking prepared hot foods to give to folks who have lost their homes. so we are working with the first responders in a way that a community should. >> but look, blocks and blocks of burnt out communities. that means many people are displaced in a city that's already short on housing. how big of a challenge is this going to be, and what can congress do to help? >> well, this has been huge. we have 40,000 folks homeless before the fire and now thousands more. i'm going to be on a call right after this. we're talking with insurance companies. we're talking with adjusters. we are asking fema to send us the money that we were owed from covid and asking them to do more. this is all hands on

deck. the convention center is already seeing folks coming and preying on folks who have lost their homes with scams, asking them to pay their property assessments on homes that have burned down. and then we have to think about the economy of los angeles. that has been changed because folks were working in homes, they were teaching, they were caregivers, and the homes where they were working have now burned down. so it is as much about containment as it is. you know, how we move forward in rebuilding in a way that does not change the character and the essence of los angeles county. yeah. >> as you know, president biden approved that major disaster declaration this week, pledging the federal government is going to cover 100% of the cosassocian just days. the next administration will be tasked with approving future spending. president trump on social media overnight called politicians incompetent, saying they just can't put out the fires. what's wrong with them? and then here's vice president elect jd vance this morning.

>> there is a serious lack of competent governance in california, and i think it's part of the reason why these fires have gotten so bad. we need to do a better job at both the state and federal level. president trump cares about all americans, right? he is the president for all americans. and i think that he intends to have fema and other federal responses much, much better and much more clued in to what's going on there on the ground. >> okay. >> do you get the sense that president trump cares about all americans? let's go specifically with california. are you confident the trump administration and this new congress will follow through with the federal aid distribution that this you know, the golden state needs? >> well, one thing i know no leader can control with wind gusts or lack of rain. and those are real issues that california is facing. you know, donald trump claims that he fights for the underdog. and right now california is the underdog. we know that fires are nonpartisan. they do not check voter id. and right now california needs

leadership that operates in that same way. donald trump's next administration, that will be about his legacy building. and i am hoping that he sees that there are republicans and democrats who have lost everything because of these fires. and he steps up and helps all of us. >> let's hope so. i hope you're right, sydney. love, thank you so much getting through it all. appreciate you checking in with us. thank you. coming up next, a first hand account on the toll of misinformation when it can take coming to the california t-what've you got there, larry? wildfires-time machine. you gonna go back and see how the pyramids were built or something? nope. ellen and i want to go on vacation, so i'm going to go back to last week and buy a winning lottery ticket. -can i come? -only room for one. how am i getting home? sittin' on my lap like last time, ronald. fine, but i'm bringing this. [ whirring ] alright. or...you could try one of these savings options. the right money moves aren't as far-fetched as you think.

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kitchen to our bathroom, all our laundry. you just pick a date, pick a cleaner, and enjoy a spotless house for $19. >> as firefighters in california battled the deadly blazes, there's another war being waged online against misinformation. governor gavin newsom launched a page on his campaign website to combat the rumors being spread. he slammed donald trump for his role in spreading false information. >> it's a salad. >> it's a form and substance of fog. it's made up. it's delusional. and it's a consistent mantra from trump going back years and years and years. and it's reinforced over and over and over within the right wing. and so it's become gospel and it's so profoundly ignorant. and yet he absolutely believes it. >> joining me now is shaniqua mcclendon, vice president of political strategy at crooked media, along with former florida

representative and msnbc political analyst carlos curbelo. glad to see you both here. so, shaniqua, your organization, vote save america, is raising relief money for california. rumors spread online, including from republican operatives, that the money was being funneled through a democrat super pac, or even that some of this relief money would actually be diverted to democrats. just take a moment to set the record straight. and how dangerous is it to politicize these disasters? >> yeah. so crooked media and vote save america have been around for about 7 or 8 years. and the work that we're doing, our audience always wants to be very engaged. whenever something happens, they come to us, they want to know what they can do. and so we set up a fundraising opportunity to give money to organizations on the ground in los angeles, responding to the wildfire disasters. and all of the money we raised goes out the door. we actually never touch it. if you go to our our relief

page, it's about save america.com/relief. >> you'll see that your donations go directly to those organizations. but what this really is, you know, it's you know, i've been watching your show as it's been on today and you've talked a lot about people coming together. and in a moment where so many people are coming together, you know, crooked is based in los angeles and a lot of our staff, a lot of our audience have been impacted by these fires. and in a moment when so many people are coming together to help out, we have these essentially trolls trying to create chaos and take attention away from the fact that they're not trying to help anyone. >> you know, right now, a lot of the work we do when we are responding to these disasters, we did it for hurricane helene, is because we're trying to fill the gap that a lot of republicans have created in making our government unworkable. >> government should be responding to all of this, but they can't, because we have a lot of people who are just really committed to sowing chaos in government. and so we're trying to meet a need that is there right now. and so all the

money we're raising is going directly out the door. and we are trying to help people, not help democrats or ourselves. >> okay. >> let's just drop the mic right there then, because that's i'm glad you've clarified for anybody who wanted to think otherwise. so, carlos, there has been criticism of mayor karen bass over the fire department's budget. the la times reports that while the department lost some positions and overtime funding, its operating budget increased year over year. once firefighter raises and equipment purchases were approved. but that has gotten lost amid much of the criticism. when basic facts and truth aren't agreed on during a disaster, does it harm the response? >> 100%, alex. >> and look, people do need to be held accountable. >> there has to be a review of policies. >> i mean, that makes perfect sense. >> but when we're in the middle of the fire, literally, it shouldn't be about that. >> look, my district was hit in 2017 by hurricane irma. parts of the district were devastated.

then republican house leader kevin mccarthy visited my district with then democratic leader steny hoyer. >> and at that time, it was all about, how do we help these people, many of whom are living through the most difficult times of their lives? what can the federal government do to support local recovery efforts? >> and that's what it should be 100% about here in the state of florida. >> should we have a debate about coastal resiliency, about how we rebuild, about those policies? >> sure. >> but not while people are still homeless and suffering and grieving a very difficult situation. >> that's how it should be. >> now, in dealing with los angeles, we have to put those people in their immediate needs first. over time, we can figure out what went wrong and what needs to be done better in the future. >> yeah, 100% agree with all you've said there, shaniqua. in terms of rebuilding, governor newsom announced some landmark environmental laws in california. they're going to be suspended to allow the wildfire victims to rebuild their homes, their businesses, more easily.

republicans have tried to completely and, by the way, falsely blame this on environmental policies. will states be pressured under trump to not take action against the climate crisis, even when that's what contributes to disasters like this? >> yeah, i think they absolutely will. and we should acknowledge that denying climate is not something that donald trump brought to the republican party. it was happening long before him. but i do think with him in the white house, we're going to continue to see him put pressure on on states that actually care about it. you know, we've seen him across different issues, threatened to withhold federal funding if state governments don't do exactly what he wants them to do. so i think we will see that, you know, something else that governor newsom said was that he wasn't going to back off of the work that california has done to care about the environment and make sure we're protecting it. he just wants to make sure there aren't delays for people who are in need right now. and so i think that we'll

see leadership from people like governor newsom and other governors around the country who are not going to back down. but i do think they're going to see pressure from from donald trump. >> yeah. >> carlos, disregarding more of those bad faith arguments, what policy changes are needed to deal with the worsening and more frequent natural disasters? >> look, alex, we have to talk about adaptation, how we rebuild communities, how we protect communities for a lot of these threats that even if we were to get our environmental house in order, that's not going to change for a long time, right? >> so much of this is baked in in california. they deal with these horrible fires. here in florida, we deal with more and stronger hurricanes. >> right. that's not going to change overnight, even if we do more and more every day to clean up our economy and the environment. >> but the federal government has to be there to invest in infrastructure. the federal government has to be a partner to local governments and to

states in helping rebuild in a way that prevents this from happening in the future. next time there's a big fire, perhaps there are different provisions in place to prevent it from growing out of control in this way, all of these conversations about forest management sure, all of the above. we need to figure out everything we can do to prevent this kind of tragedy in the future, or at least to mitigate it. so it isn't so devastating to so many people. >> carlos curbelo, shaniqua mcclendon. guys, thank you so much. we'll see you next week. new insight into california's insurance crisis. is there any fresh hope for homeowners? we've got some answers next. safelite repair. >> perfecting your swing is hard. >> nice shot. dad. oh. lovely place. >> but replacing your windshield doesn't have to be. >> go to safelite. >> com and we can come to you. >> sick. >> our highly trained techs can

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moments of the day, followed by

analysis from our prime time anchors as the new term begins monday, january 20th, beginning at six on msnbc. 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. >> new reaction to the resignation of jack smith as special counsel investigating donald trump. and it comes from trump himself, as his allies ramp up their push to block the release of smith's final report. he posted false claims that smith had been fired, adding, quote, he left town empty handed as early as today. attorney general merrick garland could release volume one of that report on trump's actions leading up to the january 6th attack on the capitol. joining me now, joyce vance, former federal prosecutor, now university of alabama law professor, co-host of the

sisters in law podcast, and, of course, a much beloved msnbc legal analyst. joyce, welcome. is there anything preventing the release of the january 6th volume, one of that report? and if not, what will you be looking out for once it comes out? well, there is right now there's this order that's been entered by judge aileen cannon in the southern district of florida. it only blocks release in the sense that there's this deep, abiding lack of willingness in the justice department to go contrary to a judge's order. >> in fact, it would be inappropriate to do that. >> but this is extraordinarily unusual. this is a judge who clearly lacks jurisdiction to enter this order. >> she never had jurisdiction over anything involving the january 6th case, and she's dismissed the entirety of the classified documents case that was in front of her. >> so the justice department is pursuing an order from the 11th circuit that will let them release this information as soon

as possible. >> okay. >> aside from the judge, d.o.j. points out that trump has no standing to actually object to the release of the report since he's no longer a defendant. so why are trump's former co-defendants fighting so fiercely to keep volume two from the classified documents case secret? i mean, what's going on there? right. and of course, merrick garland, the attorney general, has already said that he will not publicly release volume two because the case against those two co-defendants, although it's been dismissed, it's on appeal to the 11th circuit. >> and the justice department technically has a live case in that sense. >> in reality, we all know that this case will be dismissed by trump. >> whether he pardons these defendants or his justice department drops that prosecution. >> and to do an end run. merrick garland has indicated he wants to release the volume regarding the classified documents case to high ranking leaders on judiciary committees in

congress. >> presumably, that would ultimately result in a public release. once that case is no longer. yeah. so ultimately, how far can they go to keep these reports secret? can it go all the way to the supreme court? and if they get a delay, can trump seal them when he comes into office? january 20th. right. so this is the problem. the clock is running out. and as it so frequently has been, delay here works in trump's favor. >> yeah. >> all he would theoretically have to do is get the supreme court to sit on an appeal from the 11th circuit. if the 11th circuit signs off on doj releasing, and trump wouldn't have to seal them, even he could simply be in a position where his intern, his incoming justice department leadership understands that they will not release the reports, even though that would be in sharp contrast to the fate that has befell all of the special counsel proceedings that trump initiated, the ones that involved, for instance, people

he thought were in the deep state, or hunter biden, where those special counsel reports were released, as were the reports about joe biden and mike pence when they had special counsels investigating classified documents. >> this would mean trump would get special treatment. >> no other way to view it. yep. you wrote joyce about trump's sentencing in the hush money case, and you point out the sentencing might not have even happened if judge merchan did not announce in advance that he would grant an unconditional discharge. why do you believe that? right. so the supreme court actually told us that in the five four decision by the court that permitted sentencing to go forward, they indicated that one of the two reasons that they were willing to let sentencing happen, in addition to the fact that trump could appeal any issues that he had after the fact, was this idea that judge merchan had already said he wouldn't impose a sentence of custody or anything

else that might linger and follow trump into the presidency, like fines or an obligation to report to a probation officer. so this was really a condition precedent. and had judge merchan not handled this the way he did, it's extremely likely that there would not have been a sentencing hearing. >> i know the results were disappointing to a lot of people. the fact that donald trump remains a convicted felon seems to me to be a very important moment. >> yeah, and there are a lot of people who say, look, the supreme court did not stop that from happening. so there you have it. joyce vance, thank you so much, my friend. how people in california can cope with an insurance crisis that just got significantly worse. >> when the temperature drops, you've got two choices. >> close your eyes and think warm thoughts. >> or open your eyes and get out here. there's only one vehicle lineup that embraces everything the cold has to offer. the official vehicles of winter

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>> going forward, there is going to be a major challenge for all of those people that lost their homes, either totally or partially, and that's the claims management. my experience at this is this is going to be very, very difficult. >> so as many begin filing claims for their lost homes and valuables, california has temporarily blocked insurance companies from either canceling or not renewing policies in fire zones. joining us for more on this crisis is amy bach, executive director for the united policyholders nonprofit. amy, welcome. first, i want to get your reaction to this moratorium. how significant is this for a state that is in the midst of an insurance crisis? >> it's very significant, and it's a really solid step to try to keep some order and prevent people from panicking. >> but hasn't the damage been done in terms of so many having been dropped from their

insurances? >> well, so we've been in this crisis now for about five years. united policyholders has been offering shopping help all over the state as people get dropped and then are scrambling to try to replace. so we, you know, we are very up to speed on what, you know, where people are. >> a lot of people are going to have been insured through the fair plan or a brand they've never heard of. so we will be working hard through our natural recovery program to help people make the process as, you know, as manageable as possible. >> we will. we are calling upon insurers, of course, to relax their rules and issue those those policy benefit checks as quickly as possible, fully as possible. given that we know that a lot of the people who are impacted by these fires are going to be underinsured and not have enough coverage. >> yeah, 100%. look, there were warning signs years ago. back in 2023, state farm cited catastrophic exposure as the reason they stopped offering insurance to new customers in california. in fact, the

california department of insurance says more than half of major insurers cut coverage over the last four years. so what led up to this decision two years ago that really has set the foundation for this current mess? >> well, i think that, you know, insurers, the insurance sector has been one of the first economic powerhouses to recognize that climate change is a reality and to adapt their operations to protect their profitability in the face of climate change. >> and this explosion in technology, aerial images and ai and risk scoring has really made it sort of exacerbated that and made them more and more cautious about investing in insuring homes in areas that were that are, that are prone to wildfires. >> so insurers have been taking care of themselves now for years, and consumers have been struggling to keep up because options have shrunk, prices have grown and coverage has shrunk. >> so we are probably going to be rolling up our sleeves here and coming up with some new

concepts here, because i do not see certainly with this, this disaster that this magnitude and the dollars we're looking at, i don't think the marketplace situation is going to get any better, that's for sure. >> so in the wake of what we just mentioned about state farm, thousands joined california's fair plan that does offer coverage up to $3 million, but it doesn't have nearly as many protections as private insurance. and over the last year, it has seen a dramatic rise of people on the plan. can the fair plan cover what's unfolding in los angeles for their subscribers, at least? and what happens if it can't? >> well, so far, the fair plan spokespeople are saying that they they can handle this between their own reserves, plus the reinsurance plus the financial strength of all their member companies. so, you know, if they need to do an assessment, if they need to go to their member insurance companies and say, you guys have to kick in some more to the pot

here, there's a mechanism to make that happen. it's never happened before, but there is a mechanism to do it. and unfortunately, one of the reforms that got put into place last year out of necessity to kind of keep insurers doing business here, was to give them the ability that if they get assessed for the fair plan to kick in more money, they can turn around and seek permission from the commissioner to recoup half of those assessments from their policyholders. so however you slice this thing, you know, california homeowners are going to be paying much more for insurance in the years to come. >> let me ask you about the big picture here, because it reflects a national insurance issue trend. the new york times reported on the increasing losses for insurance companies due to climate change. is it possible that an uninsurable future exists? >> i don't see it that way because insurance is just at its heart. >> it's a pool, right? it's people putting money into a pool. you invest the pool, you try to make it grow. you try to do as much mitigation and sort

of, you know, risk reduction as you can. and so we can we can continue to create these pools. we created a terrorism risk insurance pool after insurers said they can't insure terrorism. >> we created a flood program after insurers said they didn't. you know, that flood was uninsurable. >> we created an earthquake program in california after insurers said that earthquake was an uninsurable risk. so every time this happens, you know, public policy, you know, government leaders and stakeholders like my organization get together and, you know, come up with solutions. we have we will bring solutions to this. >> and, you know, it's just a question of like, you know, how much of a dramatic effect is this event going to have on the private markets availability and affordability to where will it push us into needing a new national insurance disaster program? >> to which i say, amy bach, executive director for the united policyholders nonprofit. you keep on keeping on. then thank you very much for talking with us. thank you. so if any of you are wondering if you can help californians, you sure can.

just scan the qr code on your screen to find out how, and we'll show it again in the next hour of the broadcast. also later, we're going to show you what many california residents can't see a drive through some of the neighborhoods in lockdown of the neighborhoods in lockdown in the midst of the deadly mom where's my homework? mommy! hey hun - sometimes, you just need a moment. self-care has never been this easy. gummy vitamins from nature made, the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand. 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. ♪♪ attention, the one on one you attention, the one on one you can't beat that.

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between the two leaders before biden leaves office. nbc's aaron gilchrist is at the white house for us. so, aaron, welcome to you on this sunday. what are we learning about this call? >> well, alex, this was the first call the two men have had since late november. >> and the white house says they talked about, of course, the ongoing negotiations for a gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal. those are happening in qatar right now. the israelis say that biden was updated on the directives that the prime minister, netanyahu, has given to his negotiating team to try to get hostages released there. the white house also telling us that biden stressed the need to get this deal done and to start funneling more humanitarian aid into gaza as well. now, we know that the president's national security adviser, jake sullivan, was in the region last month working on this same effort to advance an end to the fighting in gaza. sullivan was on cnn this morning, and he said that when it comes to getting a final deal done, he says they're not there yet, but they are, quote, very, very close. listen.

>> we have right now president biden's top middle east advisor, brett mcgurk, in doha. >> he has been there for a full week, hammering out with the mediators the final details of a text to be presented to both sides. >> and we are still determined to use every day we have in office to get this done. can we get it done before the 20th? >> it is possible. >> now, we also understand that the president and the prime minister talked about the broader changes in the middle east with the ceasefire deal in lebanon, the fall of the assad regime in syria, and, of course, the weakening of iran's power and influence across that region. those are all areas that we do expect the president to address in a major foreign policy speech. that will be tomorrow night. and sullivan says that we should also expect to hear the president talk about alliances he's built with countries around the world and the ground that he's gained on competitors around the world. he'll also talk about his hopes for the global community in the future as well. this is before that final farewell address that the president will give from the oval office on wednesday night. and alex, i do want to mention,

too, as i'm standing here getting a note about a meeting happening today, the president is holding a virtual briefing on the wildfires in los angeles with some of the federal leaders who have been on the ground there, the forest service, the fema director, as well as some other members of his homeland security team. he's been getting these briefings almost daily since the fire started. and, of course, we know that the defense department has deployed resources there, along with other federal agencies, all set to help the local agencies and the state agencies in california. yeah. >> do you have any idea what time that's going to be? i believe believe it or not, we have bob fenton on our show from fema in the next hour, and it may actually conflict with conflict with him speaking with the president. so we will, of course, work around the president's schedule. >> yeah, i can tell you we weren't given an exact time for the meeting. we were told this afternoon. but as i looked there, there is a marine posted outside the west wing right now. usually that means that the president is in the west wing. the meeting could be happening now. i don't know that for sure. we'll try to find out. nail down

a time for you if we can. >> yeah. that's great. listen, president comes first. totally fine. and then we'll be happy to have him after that. thank you so much, aaron. in our next hour, the complicated relationship between donald trump and california, what's going to happen to all the support the state will need in the months to come? we've got the months to come? we've got some ins ahh, yellow! didn't pass the tissue test? buckle up! whoa! there's toothpaste white, and there's crest 3dwhitestrips white. whitens like a 400 dollar professional treatment. pilot: prepare for non-stop smiles. crest. sold. they handle everything. they wash and fold your laundry, wash and organize your dishes, mop and vacuum your floors and they even wipe down your windows. this is the best, most affordable cleaning service i've ever seen. book your first $19

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still too dangerous for displaced residents to return home. earlier today, the sheriff described what he saw in a devastated area. >> in driving around some of these areas, there literally looked like war zones. there are downed power poles, electric wires. there are still some smoldering fires. it is not safe. >> also today we're getting a look at the heartbreaking images of what is left standing. reporter annette arriola from our station knbc toward remains in altadena. >> the altadena senior center is gone. >> the girl scout center right off of mariposa and santa rosa, which, by the way, my kids have gone to for several events is still standing and there's really no reason as to why one home survived and why the entire rest of the block is gone. >> in fact, we've driven to through a couple of these side streets and it's just so, so

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