get to ask questions, too, and he's been put on the spot for a number of things. and as the week goes on, tulsi gabbard, another one of trump's more controversial choices, she will also appear here. and in the weeks ahead, robert f kennedy jr. kash patel and the like. but this week it starts. starts tomorrow. and it starts with pete hegseth. >> speaking of robert f kennedy jr, did you see the times story yesterday about fluoride? yes. so in other countries, not in america because our our numbers are lower. so the studies don't apply there. but in other countries too much fluoride in the drinking water has an impact on children's iq. so i'm sure we're going to hear more about that over this week as well. >> yeah, we certainly will. as well as his skepticism for other vaccines that most americans feel like are settled matter. >> yeah, but not skepticism that my mother gave me way too much fluoride when i was growing up. i've always had that. this morning, ana cabrera picks up the coverage right now.

>> right now on ana cabrera reports new wind warnings in california bringing new danger this morning, with firefighters still racing to contain wildfires around los angeles. >> plus what people face as they try to return home. anxiety, anguish and hours long lines to see what, if anything, is left standing. >> also ahead, a big week on capitol hill with more than a dozen of donald trump's cabinet picks set to appear for confirmation hearings. >> why one senator says the chamber is bracing for a, quote, train wreck. and later, real progress in ceasefire talks between israel and hamas. the talks underway on the world stage in this last week of the biden administration. >> it's 10:00 eastern, 7 a.m. pacific. >> i'm ana cabrera, reporting from new york. and we begin with the breaking news, wind warnings and the new danger as crews race

to contain wildfires in california. >> fierce santa ana winds expected to cause critical fire conditions again today around los angeles until at least wednesday, even as firefighters continue to fight the fires all across that county. >> and overnight, the death toll climbing to 24, with dozens more missing. >> as this drone video reveals the scale of the destruction. >> with an estimated 40,000 acres and 1200 homes and businesses reduced to ash and rubble. >> in fact, that number climbing into the 10,000 plus zone right now. >> nbc's liz creutz is live in pacific palisades, california. meteorologist michelle grossman is tracking these new wind warnings. also with us, mark ghilarducci. >> he is the former director of the california office of emergency services. >> liz, let's start with you. critical fire conditions where you are. >> what is the situation this morning? >> well, hey, good morning to you. >> a little bit of good news

right now is that yesterday, it does seem like firefighters were able to make some progress on the fire. the winds had died down enough, and there wasn't as much of an active firefight as we had even seen just the day before, when the palisade fire started to encroach into the neighborhood of brentwood. >> so that's some good news. we know that the palisade fire is 14% containment contained right now. the eaton fire in the east part of la, that went up to 33% containment. so positive news there in terms of trying to get ahold of the fire. the bad news, as you mentioned, is that we are watching more red flag warnings and a national weather service issuing that pds, meaning particularly dangerous situation when it comes to the winds. that is the same warning that they issued a week ago that ignited these fires. >> here's what la fire has to say. >> everybody is in place. the plan is set. it's just going to take a bit. and like, you know, with the next couple of days of the wind, we just have to get over that hump. and once that's the case, then you can see we did a ton of work the last couple of days when the winds were low. so we're getting

there. mother nature just has to cooperate. >> and that's in response to saying, when are folks going to be allowed to come back to their homes and assess the damage of their homes? so many people have been waiting in long lines just to get in. but right now, because it's still an active firefight in areas and there's been concerns of looting, homeowners are being told to stay away for now. >> desperate, though, to get back. ana. >> yeah, a rare moment of calm i see behind you, liz, but we're bracing for another round of these winds. >> but there was a little bit of good news, at least with someone who lost their home and their dog named oreo. >> what can you tell us? >> yeah. >> so a week ago, when the fire started on tuesday, i met a man named casey. >> he was desperately trying to get back to his home. this is what's left of it behind me here. he was trying to get his dogs who were inside. >> he had been at work, got the evacuation warning, came here, tried to get them. one firefighter went and was able to rescue one of them, but the other one, when he opened the door, ran away. and that's little oreo that you're looking at. for five days. oreo had been missing. he somehow survived the

fire. he survived amidst the rubble. that is the heartwarming moment yesterday where casey there had been was reunited with him. >> neighbors and some dog rescue people had spotted him and casey was able to get here, and little oreo came running to him. and that is that moment that they're back together. >> so little bright spot in all this devastation. >> oh my gosh, that moment, that reaction, just so, so deeply heartfelt. >> and what a moment to capture on camera a small little bit of light. >> thank you for that reporting liz. >> wow michelle, let's talk about what's next because it's not looking good is it. >> it's not. >> it's feeling a lot like last week right. so liz mentioned the pds. that's a particularly dangerous situation where the national weather service out of out of l.a county issued this warning. and we're looking at the potential for some explosive fires. once again, we remember how quickly they started and then just fueled. so right now we're looking at 10 million people at risk for winds gusting up to 50, 60, 70mph. once again. and it is bone dry. it remains bone dry. we're looking at

relative humidity levels 8 to 15%. that is super dry. so we have those red flag warnings where you see the pink here. places like santa clarita, san bernardino, temecula, escondido is looking at the chance for some fire risks over the next several days. that should ramp up as we go throughout today, also tuesday and wednesday. so we're looking at a several day event with this, the weather threat. we have an extreme risk now that was added earlier this morning where you see this pink outline here. so we're talking about thousand oaks, santa paula santa clarita, glendora. then we have the red including places like wrightwood, palmdale, riverside, temecula. and the orange is the elevated risk that is today. but look what happens tomorrow. it looks almost exactly the same. we're looking at an extreme risk once again, that super dangerous in the same places where you're looking at that pink glendora to santa clarita, the thousand oaks. we have this red here, including places like just north of santa barbara, wrightwood, riverside, temecula. so it looks a lot like it did today. and we will keep that risk in place on wednesday

as well. liz mentioned this too. we're seeing some improvement, the containment up to 33% now for the eaton fire. that just came in 14%. two for palisades fire. the worst fire looking better to 89% contained. that's been that number for quite a bit. but this is going to be the big story as we go throughout time here. not only are we looking at really dry conditions, but these winds are going to start up once again. we're going to see those northeasterly winds. that's a warming wind. it's a dry wind. so right now we're looking at winds gusting up to 26mph. so some of these gusts have already started anywhere from five even 55mph in some spots. and as we go throughout time, we're going to see winds gusting up to 60, even 70mph. it's going to be dangerous once again and very closely watched over the next several days. >> thank you for tracking it for us. michelle grossman, thanks so much. >> california governor gavin newsom, he posted on social media about this warning from the national weather service. again, it's called particularly dangerous situation. that warning has gone out four times in the last three months, he

says. each preceding devastating wildfires, the mountain fire, the franklin fire, the palisades and eaton fire. and then this is the fourth such warning that begins today. so just how dangerous is the situation at this moment? >> well, you know, by what we've been seeing, the situation is dangerous. it's something that we really need to take heed of. >> and the expectation of the winds, as we've seen it over the last week, we will have potentially new fire starts or more than likely areas where they've been able to make some containment. >> some of those containment lines would be lost. the most important thing to do is, is to also assess that a lot of the wind warnings and the red flag conditions have also moved southern. so you see, it goes all the way down as far as escondido, which is down to san diego county. so we have a whole new group of, of, of citizens that really need to take heed of this and pay attention to what's

going on in the warnings. >> mike, you just point out it's an expanded area that is in this danger zone now with wind gusts up to 65mph. the potential today. how do these high winds impact firefighters and other first responders, both in the air and on the ground? help us understand that fire activity. >> you know, clearly when the winds are really gusting very fast, the when we're talking about winds that are in the 60, 70, 80 mile an hour range, we you know, it really precludes aircraft being used. it's too dangerous. and really, if they if they were to squeeze in there, you know, as they did the drops, the, the water or the retardant would just blow, blow out, it wouldn't be very effective. it really becomes a ground operation. and, you know, there's been a tremendous effort to pre-positioned resources. and in high risk areas that combined with alert and warning to the public so that they're ready to evacuate if they're told to evacuate. and i can't underscore

enough the importance of paying attention to alert and warnings. and if you're told to evacuate you, you need to do that. but keep in mind, you know, we saw it in this last go round. you know, when you got winds that are blowing to the degree that they are these extreme winds that are, that are driven by, you know, low humidity and, and hot temperatures, it's essentially almost impossible to stop these. and so it really, you know, the firefighters will do their best to save lives and property. but the key thing is there's got to be a partnership with the public. and if you're told to get out of harm's way, be prepared to leave. have a plan, have your supplies together, and then evacuate when told to do so. >> okay, mark ghilarducci, thank you so much for offering your your expertise and your insights in this really scary moment that so many are facing. it's been a traumatic past week there. thank you. good luck. as i know you're probably in the thick of it yourself personally. and joining us now are jesse khan and emily davis, who lost their home,

which is in altadena in the eaton fire. emily is also 38 weeks pregnant. wow, i can't i can only imagine just how stressful this must be for you guys. thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us. emily. how are you feeling right now and what is your situation? what is life like right now? >> life is a state of survival at the moment. >> i'm thankfully feeling okay physically, so i have the to feel all the emotional stuff. >> kind of grateful that adrenaline works against going into labor, but yeah, due in just 11 days. yeah, taking care of two kiddos, 11 and nine and then waiting for this one, trying to figure out how to stay close enough to the hospital without being in in an evacuation zone, an evacuation

zone, and also not, you know, ending up in a car in labor. so it's been a juggle. it's. >> yeah. it's been awful. >> it's amazing to see you smile through all of this. it's got to be just so overwhelming. jesse. >> it's i mean, i think we, we spent most of the last few days not being able to think straight. >> and we've been really we feel very, very lucky to have a community of people that reach out to us and care about us. but, you know, we left our home with really nothing but the clothes we were wearing and our pets. and so we've been in, you know, an airbnb, and we were trying to find another one. and it's just been it's been nonstop every day. just trying to. yeah. you can see the that's our street, which i think there is actually nothing i don't know that there is a single house left on the street. so it's

really horrible. yeah. this is that's where our house used to be. >> oh, gosh. >> how did you find out it was gone? and did you were you able to go back and get these images or is somebody else there. >> yeah. >> yeah. these are our neighbor was able to get in i think the day after. but we haven't been back and no one's been allowed back in the area for days now. we found out from them they they had been renovating their house and they came back to check on it, and it had completely burned down. and they sent us the video and it was absolutely devastating. you never expect it, you know, you hope like, oh, maybe it'll be okay. >> but yeah, i mean, you have your you have each other, you have your health and safety at this moment. >> thank god. thankfully. yeah. what was it like to see that, to see those pictures, emily. and i

mean, i just think how quickly you had to get away. just just close. right. like, do you have what you need for the baby? >> we have been overwhelmed by support in a good way. it's been a it's been the wind in our sails. >> honestly, we have been so grateful. >> the altadena community is so special. >> it is. it's so special. >> so we have been given so many things in preparation for her, and that has made us. it's been a boy. >> it's kept us afloat. >> so i'm very, very grateful for all of the donations that are honestly the only thing keeping us going, like clothes and everything, everything. it's been such a gift in in such a time. sorry. >> no, i, i'm sure there are other words you could use that are even worse than that. and jesse, i know gofundme has been set up to help your family in this unbelievably difficult time. where does your family go

from here? have you even been able to think about what's next? >> we, i think, have just found out that the kids schools are unlikely to reopen in their same locations for quite some time, so we're waiting to hear about that. we're trying to find a more permanent place we can land, but honestly, we're just focused on having our our little girl, and that takes a lot of our time and energy right now. so, you know, we're we're we're a bit day to day at the moment. but we as emily said, you know, we we'd love to stay. and altadena is such an incredibly special place and figuring out what the road ahead looks like. you can see those pictures. i mean, the community is absolutely decimated. and so we're just, you know, we're hopeful to reconnect with our neighbors and figure out what what comes next. >> it is a long road to recovery, i'm sure. jesse kahn and emily davis, thank you so

much for joining us. wishing you a very healthy and smooth labor and delivery, and just sending you strength for the journey. >> thank you so much. >> thank you, thank you and more on this wildfire devastation just ahead, including stories of kindness as communities come together. and there's also a battle brewing over politicizing these fires, how the california governor is responding to the president elect's claims of mismanagement. plus, it is a make or break week for donald trump's defense secretary nominee, pete hegseth, as he faces a senate grilling tomorrow. what a top gop senator is saying about whether he has the votes to get confirmed. the votes to get confirmed. we're back in 90s. if you have bladder leaks when you laugh or cough like we did, there's a treatment that can help: bulkamid and the relief can last for years. we're so glad we got bulkamid. call this number, today. get your bladder back.

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homes. >> this is criminal dereliction of duty. >> we do care. >> we want to get you back into your homes. >> los angeles county sheriff robert luna warning about criminal activity. >> people that do not belong in these disaster zones need to stay out, or they're going to get arrested. >> on saturday, two people were detained in the evacuation zone near. vice president kamala harris's home. according to officials. l.a. fire chief kristen crowley, adding that it is too dangerous for many residents to go home. >> 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. tell me your first name. >> we met shannon grooms when she walked up to talk to police. her family waiting since 4 a.m. >> we're just hopeful to get a couple minutes to grab some things and. and then get out of town. >> she was with her fiance, shay burns, and shay's 81 year old

mother, judy mcelroy, trying to get back to their pacific palisades home. >> we don't have any answers and there's a lot of different information, which is why i'm posted up here. >> shannon couldn't get in. she told us about something she forgot to take. >> my aunt passed away recently, and she left me a small diamond, and i was saving to be able to afford to make it into a new ring. >> i asked for her address, hoping that if we passed her house while we were reporting, we might be able to help. a couple of hours later, we saw it. amazingly, it still standing because if you look around just across the street, their neighbors not nearly as lucky. they told us to. the door was unlocked because they had to evacuate so quickly. you can smell in here that it smells of smoke. i texted asking if she needed us to get stuff. she told us they needed some medicine for judy, things she'd left behind as they scrambled to evacuate. we couldn't find the diamond ring, but found the medical

supplies. i saw these, and i know you didn't ask for these, but i saw these, and i just. >> oh my god. >> i showed them videos of their home with the windows closed. >> yeah, all the windows were closed right in the middle of chaos. >> a moment to help a family still looking at an uncertain tomorrow. >> allison barber with that reporting. meanwhile, california's governor is blasting the president-elect's response to the wildfires, accusing him of peddling misinformation. gavin newsom, appearing to reference trump's social media posts about himself. l.a. mayor karen bass and president biden in the midst of the firefight, including one where the president elect baselessly claimed newsom had blocked a measure that would have allowed water to flow from northern california to southern california. here was governor newsom addressing trump's post in an interview with nbc's jacob soboroff on meet the press. >> president elect trump has blamed you for this crisis. he called you incompetent. what's

your response? >> well, i called for him to come out, take a look for himself. we want to do in the spirit of an open hand, not a closed fist. he's the president elect. i respect the office. we have a president of the united states that within 36 hours, provided a major disaster declaration over a text. we had support from the president of the united states, joe biden, with 100% reimbursement. all the resources you could hope for or imagine. constant communication. i'd like to extend that to the president elect. i don't know what he's referring to when he talks about the delta smelt and reservoirs. the reservoirs are completely full. the state reservoirs here in southern california that mis and disinformation, i don't think advantages or aids any of us. responding to donald trump's insults, we would spend another month. i'm very familiar with them. every elected official that he disagrees with very familiar with him. >> let's go to nbc news senior white house correspondent gabe gutierrez, covering the trump transition in florida. gabe, why is trump picking this fight now? and has he said anything about

promised disaster aid for california when he retakes office in one week? we just heard president biden has offered 100% reimbursement for the next six months. >> hi there. good morning. well, president elect trump has not said anything about that disaster relief once he takes office, but he has threatened a funding federal funding for california before as he's picked fights with democratic officials there. look, ana, this is not the first time the president elect has attacked democratic officials following disasters. he's spread misinformation before in the aftermath of hurricane helene and in other previous disasters, when he seized a moment of political opportunity. and that's what we suspect he's looking at now. look, the big question right now is whether the president elect will take up the invitation of governor gavin newsom to visit california. he has not said whether he would or not. but vice president elect jd vance has said that trump does want to visit. a question right now

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hegseth for defense secretary or tulsi gabbard for director of national intelligence will be in the hot seat. and it has one republican senator previewing this week as a, quote, train wreck. msnbc will have live coverage of hegseth and all these confirmation hearings throughout the week. let's bring in nbc's ryan nobles at the capitol. also with us, brendan buck, former aide to speaker paul ryan and john boehner. and elise jordan, former aide to president george w bush. ryan, take us behind the scenes and through the week ahead. what are the expectations you're hearing there? >> listen, this is going to be a make or break week for many of these nominees or these picks that donald trump has made for his cabinet, many of them controversial, many of them who will have an uphill battle in terms of confirmation. and they really need to nail these hearings in order to make many of these republican senators who may be on the fence, comfortable in voting yes for them. remember, not one of these picks needs a single democratic vote

to get over the finish line to be confirmed, but the margins are narrow. there's only 53 republicans, so that means they could only lose four republican votes. with j.d. vance breaking a tie, were they to become the next secretary of whatever department that trump has picked them to be. and that means this is going to be a very busy week, and that senators are going to have to pay very close attention to a lot of things that are happening all at once, which is why john cornyn, one of the prominent senators from texas, described it as a train wreck. listen to him explain why. >> so i'll be involved in the confirmation process with tulsi gabbard on the intelligence committee. on both the kash patel and pam bondi and the judiciary committee. looks like we're going to have a little bit of a train wreck next week of confirmation hearings, but i'm glad we're getting those done. >> and so he means train wreck in that everything is happening

all at once. not necessarily that it could end up being bad. and this is reflective of the fact that donald trump has told his republican colleagues in the senate that he wants to have his cabinet in place as soon as possible after inauguration day. that's why you see these senate led committees packing in all these confirmation hearings in the week leading up to inauguration. for some of them, they will likely sail through. marco rubio, for instance, who has many senate colleagues, he's expected to easily win confirmation as secretary of state. but it's those more controversial nominees like pete hegseth at the department of defense, kristi noem for department of homeland security, tulsi gabbard for the director of national intelligence. those are the hearings that are going to be very closely watched as these republican senators make up their minds, leading into these confirmation battles. >> and, ryan, i know there was a little bit of a delay getting some of the fbi background checks moving initially. pete hegseth background check information was just delivered to a pair of the key senators involved in his hearing. they

just got it on friday while the full armed services committee. get it? >> yeah. nbc was the first to break that news on friday afternoon that the fbi background check had been delivered to the chair and the ranking member of the senate armed services committee. that's an open question right now as to whether or not the rest of the committee will get access to this report. i do have to say that it's not necessarily a traditional practice to make sure that every single committee member has access to an fbi background check, but i would also argue that the hegseth nomination is out of the ordinary for a number of reasons. he does not have nearly the level of expertise and experience that most secretary of defense nominees have when it comes to this confirmation process. and also, there are all these questions that are surrounding him related to accusations of sexual assault, of alcohol abuse, of financial mismanagement. these are all things that republican senators want to give him the opportunity to explain. the fbi background check is a part of that process, which is why it may be republicans that are the ones

that asked to see the results of this report. ana. >> and again, we do plan to bring live coverage of that hearing. hearing gets underway tomorrow. to our viewers, ryan, thanks for your reporting. at least some of trump's more controversial cabinet picks have tried to walk back some of their more controversial positions. take sets an example. he previously opposed women serving in combat roles said that very publicly. well, now he's saying he supports it. tulsi gabbard flip flopping on fisa key intel gathering tool rfk jr describing himself as pro-choice on abortion but now saying at least to republicans, that he'll implement trump's anti-abortion policies. how do how do senators know what these nominees actually believe and what they should trust? >> that's what they're going to have to suss out at these hearings this week. and judge the authenticity and how they answer. and if you look at those issues where the candidate where these nominees have shifted their positions, with the exception of rfk saying that

he's pro-vaccine, they really are flipping on key issues that these committees are going to care about. is that because i, you see, walk back of statements? but in the case of pete hegseth, he has so much literature and so much air time with really just out there views, anti-women in the military. and so that is something that he really is going to have to overcompensate for and convince the senators that he actually is okay with serving as defense secretary for all men and women who serve under him. women actually were the only reason that the army made the recruiting shortfall last year. they finally made their goal because more women are enlisting. so pete hegseth has to show that he's going to be supportive. >> and we know senator joni ernst is one to watch. related to that part of his confirmation process. brandon, for weeks, the question has been whether hegseth can get the vote. senate majority whip john barrasso

dodged the question this week. watch. >> senator, you are the whip. you count the votes. >> does pete hegseth, the pick to run the pentagon, have them? >> well, he certainly has the qualities that we need to lead the pentagon. he knows about a fit fighting force. he is very qualified. >> in my opinion. >> he has a record, a distinguished record of service in the military. >> every senator gets to speak for themselves, and they will do that. >> the meetings have gone very well. things are heading in the right direction. >> brendan, what's your read and how much do you think it comes down to what happens during the confirmation hearing? because obviously there's a lot out there that's been dug up through reporting leading up to this moment. >> yeah, i would say hearings don't often matter a ton, but this one very well may. >> as we've talked about, there are a lot of issues that that pete hegseth is going to have to

answer for. but there is one key senator on that panel who he has not yet won over. and that's that's joni ernst of iowa, a veteran herself, a survivor of sexual assault herself. and so she's had some real questions about him. and we saw early on in this process, she wasn't ready to get on board with him. she basically said, at some point, i'm happy to allow this process to continue. and now we are at the key moment. if he does not perform well in this hearing and she somehow can't get there, then i would think that would spell a lot of trouble for him. i do want to say it is a very good sign for him. he has made it this far. it felt a month ago like he was 24 hours away from from dropping out. and the fact that he's weathered that storm, i think, should tell you that he is in a decent spot, but he has a lot to answer for. i do think we should also pay attention to the substantive questions he's going to have to answer for in terms of national security and defense policy. a lot of focus, of course, on his personal activity and allegations, which he has denied, of course. but i know

the senators are going to also want to know his views on the use of military force and our strategies around the world. and if he's not able to provide sufficient answers there, we shouldn't overlook whether or not some of these people step on it, on the substance and not just their personal issues. >> speaking of substance, donald trump wouldn't rule out military action to take greenland and the panama canal. elise, will that come up, do you think during the hegseth or the rubio confirmation hearings? >> i do not think that gop senators would rush to highlight that. >> maybe it seems like the democrats will have a chance to ask questions to. >> i you know, i really think that with i think that brendan made a key point that his views coming out, his policy views, hegseth and other and other these other nominees, you have tulsi gabbard, and is she going to be seen as supportive of intelligence collection and warrantless surveillance after previously voting against it during her time in congress? so you have these questions of substance that really are going to matter. and if there is just,

say, a terrible, terrible moment, one of those just made for tv moments deal breaker, it could be a deal breaker. >> so, brendan, how do you think hegseth should answer a question on a hypothetical about trump ordering military action against an ally? >> well, the safe space for any nominee is to say that you are that you served the president of the united states and that the president makes policy like this. i don't know that that's difficult to dance around. donald trump hasn't really clearly laid out what he wants to do in some of these places. i think he would say something to the effect of the american national security is always going to come first, and that is my priority. but the president of the united states makes policy. so that's certainly not going to sink him. but if some senators want to know his views on how we should be using the navy to combat china, and he just can't formulate a coherent thought on that, that would be problematic. i don't know that that is really at risk of that. he certainly written a lot about

national security issues. so maybe he has some. but we've heard, for example, that tulsi gabbard has failed to impress people in meetings with her knowledge of some of the space that she's potentially going to be running. if these people who are nominated don't actually know the substance of what they're supposed to be running, that's where i think you could run into real trouble. >> brendan buck and elise jordan, thank you both. we'll be watching. and just an important programing note for our inauguration coverage next monday. our coverage begins at 6 a.m. with rachel maddow picking up at 10 a.m. to bring you the key moments of the day. and i'll be in washington reporting from the field that day. i hope you'll join us. up next, a community comes together. the selfless stories of kindness in the scorched aftermath of these california wildfires. plus, the mental health toll of these wildfires for families who lost everything. we'll talk to a podcaster known as the angry therapist, who lost his own home and is trying to help when you're looking for answers, it's good to have help. because the right information, at the right

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for our communities and our customers. i hope that's true. [joe] that's my commitment. [ambient noise] for imprint. com has items certain to wow imprint for certain. >> it's amazing how all these people come together and help people that you don't even know. but we're a family. >> with fires still raging in southern california, we're also seeing generosity and so much of it pouring into the city of angels. parking lots have turned into emergency aid centers like this, with towers of food, clothes and other supplies for families forced to flee with little to nothing. their homes

are now gone. nbc's morgan chesky is joining us from altadena, california. and morgan, bring us the light in this very dark moment. how are you seeing people coming together during this crisis? >> yeah, anna, we could all use a little light in these dark times, right? and it has been encouraging, especially when you consider the devastation. and the destruction behind me stretches from here at the eaton fire, of course, all the way to the palisades. and that is why it's been so heartening to see thousands of volunteers turn out and essentially say it is all hands on deck to get these thousands of displaced families back on their feet this morning. as a wildfire disaster deepens, the city of angels living up to its name, acts of kindness and generosity pouring into fire stricken areas. >> we got so many volunteers, guys. thank you guys for coming out. >> donation centers like this one at the santa anita racetrack flooded with much needed supplies and volunteers eager to

help. even adam's pets showing up to lend a hand. even after losing their own home to the eaton fire. >> we feel isolated, like, oh, no one cares. but then at the end of the day, when tragedy happens all over the town, they come and support. >> hallelujah! in altadena, this family singing hymns over the ashes of the home they'd lived in for 35 years. nearby, the altadena community church was a fixture in the community for more than 80 years before it, too, was destroyed by fire, not far from the remains of that church. migrant workers leading a volunteer fire relief force, some 500 people strong clearing debris from roads and parks, collecting supplies and distributing them to victims. >> people need love and company in these times of difficulty. hope is built by this act of kindness and love. >> ruth judkins will celebrate her 90th birthday next month and never expected to see her

altadena home of 48 years go up in flames. >> everybody on our street communicated and just made sure that. are you out? are you out? are you safe? >> she's seen the damage in photos but told us life experience has given her some valuable perspective. >> i don't really need a lot of clothes. my life is really simple. >> have you found that facing a loss like this. that mentality is kind of helping? >> yes, i don't worry. and i am at the age where you can look back and actually know what's important people. >> yeah, that's a valuable perspective for all of us from ruth. and believe it or not, this or what's left of this is the home where ruth lived for 48 years, and she told me that she wished she had a few more minutes before she had to evacuate, because if she could have grabbed one more thing, it would have been the box of recipes that she has compiled

over the last 50 years. but despite the loss and the reality she faces, she does take solace in the fact that she is surrounded by so many family and loving friends. >> hannah. >> more than 10,000 other ruth's are out there in terms of how many homes have been lost in this horrific situation. thank you, morgan chesky, for bringing us that story. and joining us now is john kim, who lost his altadena home in the fires. he's also an author and podcaster known online by the moniker the angry therapist. john, thanks for joining us. you were able to return to your neighborhood, and i want to show the video you you showed us your entire street just reduced to rubble here. we truly can't see anything standing. as we look at these images. it looks like literally everything burnt to the ground. you also have a picture of your motorcycle and just how it's left in charred parts. it's painful to see those pictures. i know it's got to be really, really painful for you. this is

the home you shared with your wife and your young daughter where you did your work. how are you holding up? >> community, friends? >> family. you know, one thing that i'm feeling is a strong human spirit. so not only within our community but also altadena. and so i think that's going to be the vine that pulls everyone kind of out of the quicksand during this time. >> in the immediate aftermath of the fires, you ended up in an airbnb sharing it with several other families. describe what the situation has been like for your family and the others. just looking to put a roof over your heads. >> yeah, so we have three families here. one of our friends is nine months pregnant and she may have a baby here in this airbnb. all of us have kids. and so we just wanted to kind of get away from the smoke. so we're down here in santa ana, you know, just taking it a day at a time.

>> and as you're just taking it a day at a time, what does that look like for you? >> basics. you know, one of the things as a therapist i know is when something like this happens, our nervous system is regulated. we are in a state of fight or flight. there's panic. and so i think surrounding yourself with humans, with people having a shared experience, and then you really have to kind of try to stay out of your head and kind of drop into your body. and, you know, yesterday i went to the gym, move, talk. love, you know, coffee because it's very easy to start future tripping and thinking about, you know, what the next three years, five years can look like. and that's when you could be drowning in, you know, cognitive distortions and high anxiety. >> i mean, just looking at the video that you had sent, if, you know, you turn the volume all the way up, you hear somebody just sobbing in the background and it just it just hurts. it hurts me. it was that was you. that was your reaction. what was

going through your mind? >> yeah. that video is when i first turned the corner and i got out of my car. your body can't digest what you're seeing. and then of course, right behind that emotions. and i just started thinking that, you know, you're not losing a house. you're losing your home. right? and then memories are playing back. and i just i just lost it, you know? and then also you're in shock. so all of it happening at once. it just felt like i was in a war. war zone. >> wow. john kim, thank you for sharing just a portion of your story with us. i know you've set up a gofundme to help other families that are all going through this. i know you have the spirit of we're all in this together and let's, you know, help lift each other up. and so thank you for what you are doing. and just best of luck to you and your friends and your family and your neighbors that are are working through this time. thank you. next, karen. ana cabrera reports new progress on ceasefire talks between israel and hamas. with the hostage release on the table. we're in the middle east with the very latest on negotiations

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cellular plus for a limited time, new customers get their second month free. >> welcome back. president biden is set to give a major foreign policy speech this afternoon, and he's set to speak about a potential ceasefire deal in the middle east, which the white house is racing to secure before biden leaves office. two u.s. officials close to the negotiations tell nbc news a deal could be days away. nbc's hala gorani is in beirut for us. hala, for months, officials have said a deal is close, but then it appears to really go nowhere. what do we know about the state of current negotiations? >> well, once again, we're at that stage, ana, where we are hearing that a cease fire deal could be days away, could be close. >> according to those two us officials who spoke to nbc news. >> we understand the current proposal could involve a release of hostages, basically 48 hours after the cease fire is in place. >> and that could come as early

as this week. >> one group of hostages that would be released first. we understand, according to one of those sources, is in very bad shape, and all of the hostages would eventually come out, including the remaining americans. >> this is what the national security adviser, jake sullivan, had to say today on bloomberg regarding the possibility of a deal. >> there is a distinct possibility that we can get this deal done this week before president biden leaves office. but as you say, we've been here before. just this morning, i was on the phone with brett mcgurk, who has been basically camped out in doha. he's been there for more than a week working the details within the framework president biden set out last year. i spoke also this morning with the qatari prime minister and with one of the key israeli negotiators. and there is a general sense that this is moving in the right direction. the question now, over the next short while is can hamas get to.

yes. >> well, jake sullivan there is saying, can hamas get to the finish line on the palestinian side? >> they will be blaming israelis for putting obstacles in the way of the deal. crucially, according to one of those officials who spoke to nbc news, the deal would involve the withdrawal of israeli forces out of, quote, populated areas, which means that areas that have been depopulated by the israeli military might not be covered by this agreement. >> and this is very important, and it would come as bad news for palestinians who've been displaced inside of gaza. so it's really important to wait to study the details of any agreement and what it means, not just for the hostages, ana, but for the over 2 million gazans who are homeless and displaced within the enclave right now. >> ana, and quickly, if you will, hala, do we know how many of those hostages are still alive and how many are still in captivity? >> well, it's difficult to say. >> we are at under 100 hostages still remaining inside of gaza.

>> of those, it is understood that potentially fewer than half are still alive. but that, again, is something that we are going to have to wait and see to get more information on. >> hamas has been asking for a period of calm to be able to assess where they are and what condition they're in. ana, thank you. and just a quick programing note. at noon today, my colleague andrea mitchell will speak with secretary of state antony blinken with the latest on these ceasefire talks. that does it for us today. thank you does it for us today. thank you for joining us. some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking allstate first. okay, let's get going. can everybody see that? like you know to check your desktop first, before sharing your screen. ahh...uhhh. no, that, uhhh. so check allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. out. >> stop. this is simplisafe. >> whoa. >> that was impressive. >> there's no safe like

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