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diplomat is saying about the path forward. plus, terrifying new video of that plane crash in toronto with a passenger is saying about the moment of impact. also ahead, the top social security official resigns. over a disagreement with doge over sensitive data. good morning. 10 a.m. eastern, 7 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz balart in for ana cabrera. we begin with breaking news on the high level talks between the u.s. and russia. the two sides meeting for just over four hours this morning in saudi arabia. the first discussions since the start of russia's invasion of ukraine nearly three years ago. taking lead for the u.s. secretary of state, marco rubio. that delegation, speaking from riyadh a short time ago on the results of today's talks. >> we know just the practical reality is that there is going to be some discussion of

territory, and there's going to be discussion. >> of security guarantees. >> the work remains. today is the first step of a long and difficult journey. >> but an. >> important one. and president. >> trump is committed to bringing an end to. >> this conflict. >> not at the table. today, ukrainian president zelenskyy, he just announced he is postponing a trip to riyadh until next month. he is warned that he will not recognize any agreements made without ukraine. nbc news chief international correspondent keir simmons is in riyadh and nbc international reporter former moscow producer matt bodner is with us as well. so what do we know about these talks today? and the news that the ukrainian delegation is postponing its trip to riyadh? >> well, jose, i think the fact that president zelenskyy isn't coming here. we thought tomorrow is an indication. i mean, he. >> was. >> racing to get here. it's an indication that the pace of things has been slowed. >> a little. >> by this meeting today. two

really, i think big headlines from what happened today. on the one hand, we aren't about to see a summit. >> between president. >> trump and. >> president putin. >> in the coming week or two. that's not going to be you know, we're going to hurtle towards that. there's going to be more preparation before something like that happens. more negotiation. on the other hand, that's not to underestimate the really tectonic shift that we're seeing here, because remember that the west. >> that's europe. >> and the united states and american allies had held a very united front, not completely, but very united front, isolating russia. that is now different. what we saw today was the first formal talks between us senior officials and their kremlin counterparts since russia's illegal invasion of ukraine. breaking through that isolation and a bunch of proposals, including restoring.

>> missions. >> talking even about geopolitics and economics, some kind of cooperation around that. that's a really, really big shift. >> yeah. and kieran, this morning the trump administration confirmed that american caleb byers is released from russia. what do we know about that? >> that's right. so he is an american citizen who was just very recently arrested for carrying a small amount. of drugs, very small. now, he was released very quickly before these talks. and the kremlin saying today. that that was, you know, something that they deliberately did in the build up to these talks. so there's clearly been a view from the kremlin that they would want to try to set a positive tone. and i got to tell you right now, russian television is showing pictures of the two delegations

smiling. you know, kind of cordial appearing foreign minister lavrov saying in the news conference that they that the relationship between. russia and the u.s. need to be improved, saying that's what we did today. and i will say, frankly, not without success. >> so the. >> russian delegation appeared to be frankly pleased, if not delighted, with what happened here in riyadh. of course, that may not be the case for the ukrainians and certainly not for the europeans. >> and so here in those images of the two sides, along with the foreign minister, i should say, of saudi arabia. do we know what now is next for these delegations? now that, you know, there's no ukrainian representation there in any fashion going forward? do we know how long these riyadh meetings are going to continue? >> you look i mean, this was a hastily put together meeting.

it's a work in progress. >> you really get. >> that impression. that being said, they have talked about setting up two high level working groups. president zelenskyy now saying he's going to. >> come here. to saudi. >> arabia in march. and i will say one other thing, and i think it's. >> important to. >> note, jose, president. trump's envoy for russia and ukraine, general keith kellogg, in a briefing overnight saying that he plans to spend three days in ukraine this week. >> he plans. >> to go back multiple times. >> that he will brief. president trump on the view from ukraine. >> so something like a pause, perhaps an opportunity for the europeans to have their say, to have some influence. >> but and. >> this is a big caveat. we haven't heard from president. trump yet. and of course, president trump is the one who decides u.s. foreign policy. >> keir simmons in riyadh, thank you very much. appreciate it. joining us now is former state department senior adviser nayyera haq here. thank you for being with us. so 4.5 hours of

discussions this morning. state department released a readout of the meeting, writing in part, quote, the parties to today's meetings pledged to remain engaged to make sure the process moves forward in a timely and productive manner. what do you make and what do you take out of that diplomatic language in that readout? >> well, that's a saving faith. >> readout, because what. >> it's really trying to do is allow for these talks to continue. it's hard to have. peace talks. >> when one party is not. >> showing up. and the ukrainians. >> are. >> not happy at this. point that the united states. >> is. >> rushing to meet with. >> vladimir putin. >> going directly. >> to the. top and having. >> the secretary of state. >> and. >> foreign ministers sit down. >> the ukrainians. >> want. >> to. understand what's. >> the pivot. >> from these three. >> years of u.s. support? and the ukrainians. >> have been willing to fight.

>> russia has taken. >> 20% of their land. >> but has not gained any more ground. >> so the. ukrainians are. >> fighting for their livelihood. >> the europeans. >> are fighting. >> against russian aggression. and now the big question. >> mark is. >> why is the united states. >> rushing to the table. >> with russia? >> and the europeans are also fighting for at least to. have a voice, because it seems as though the western european nations so far have played very little role in this new reality that we're seeing. matt, i want to ask you, with your deep and profound knowledge of russia and the russian government, what do you think putin's aim is in these talks? they just released that american before the talks. what is putin's aim here? >> thanks, jose. it's a. >> great question. >> i think, speaking broadly, what the. kremlin is. >> looking for here. >> or what they see. >> here is an opportunity. >> if not at least to. >> extract some kind of major concessions from an

administration that. >> they seem to feel. more closely. >> aligns with their worldview. >> or at. >> least their. >> style of. >> doing business. >> these sort of big, grandiose one. >> on one. >> talks. >> then at least it's an opportunity to. >> be heard. >> or speak to the us. >> at a very. >> high level directly. take, for. >> example. >> this statement by. >> the kremlin spokesman, dmitry peskov. >> today, saying that there's no. reason to believe that. america is. listening better to russia's position. and so i think this is really just as much about the entire optics of what. >> we're seeing right now. >> as it is any sort of concrete outcome. but that isn't. to downplay the optics. i think. from a certain perspective, the optics. >> are important. >> and potentially devastating for ukraine. >> i think. >> so much. >> of. >> ukraine's will to fight. >> or at least the confidence that they bring. >> to the fight, has for the last three years, been rooted in this idea that america is with us, particularly america, but. >> also europe, of course. >> and that there was this. grand united front presented towards. >> the. >> kremlin against the kremlin. >> and that.

>> has sort of been shattered. >> over the. >> past week. and we've seen ukrainian officials and european officials scrambling. >> to try. >> to figure out how to address this, because it's really, really a major. >> major change in. >> us policy. so the kremlin, i think, is looking at this. >> and. >> is really quite pleased with what they're getting so far. you know, there's been. >> some some sort. >> of muted reactions. >> to the. >> meeting so far. >> but a. >> process is underway that a year ago, even a few months ago was frankly a very difficult to imagine. >> and that. >> is, of course, the united states. >> sitting down. >> with russia without anyone else at the table. that's exactly what the kremlin wants to see. what specific outcome we get, i think, is still is still very much up in the air. but but even just. >> right now. >> president putin tonight, and i think we'll see this on russian state media. >> over the next few days. >> can claim to the russian public and show the russian public that these efforts to. >> isolate him. >> to isolate russia, to. >> ignore their concerns. >> have failed or failing. >> and that. >> there is there is. >> an. >> opportunity here, jose. >> no doubt, matt. although i

have to reaffirm once again that there as far as optics and other things, it is the united states meeting with the russians, but also the saudi foreign minister sitting in those meetings as well. and matt kremlin going back to peskov, the kremlin spokesperson, he spoke this morning about the possibility of ukraine joining the european union, saying that nobody, including moscow, would dictate anything here. but it's another matter when it comes to military blocs. what is russia's underlying message here, matt? >> it's definitely. >> it's an interesting. >> statement because so much of the european union. >> membership overlaps with nato. i think it just goes to show, again, this long standing fixation by russian policymakers on nato, on the idea of nato and ukraine potentially being in nato. it also it also sort of represents potentially an expansion of the kremlin's demands of ukraine, of nato. you

know, for the most part, what we know of russia's negotiating position at this time is, is it looks almost exactly as as it did the day before the war, back when russia was was issuing essentially an ultimatum. >> for. >> for the west to back off to, to disband nato in. >> eastern. >> europe and essentially demobilize and get away from russia and let ukraine essentially stand unprotected. so it's an interesting distinction. it's not necessarily one that i've seen before. from them, but it's hard to. >> know. >> what to make of it. jose. >> yeah. now you're i want to go back on the issue of european relevancy or lack of it. last night, french president macron posted on social media following the emergency summit he held with western european leaders in paris, saying he spoke to president trump and president zelensky, writing, quote, we will be working on it with all europeans, americans and ukrainians. this is the key. we are convinced that europeans

will have to invest better, more and together for their security and defense today and tomorrow. what do you think the things are that europe could do to become a bigger player in all this new access of influence, which is kind of tilting much more towards saudi arabia than it is towards paris. >> well. >> europe has been feeling the pressure of. >> russian aggression for. >> quite some time. >> i mean, the actions, the military actions. >> of ukraine go. >> back to. >> 2015. the russian support. of syria's. >> bombardment of its civilians. >> led to millions. >> of syrian refugees. >> into europe. >> right. so the migration. >> challenges, the economic challenges. frankly. all of. >> this raises the specter. of what is a world war scenario look like. and so europe was looking to the united states effectively. >> to help push. >> back against some of these

russian threats, and is now realizing. >> the united. >> states is not the ally they expected, and that saudi arabia. >> has always played all sides. >> they're part of the. opec oil cartel with russia. >> they raised the. >> prices of oil right when the united states was. >> having gas problems. >> so they're. >> not a reliable. >> ally either. >> so europeans. >> are ultimately looking at this as. >> something that. >> for their. actual territorial security and that. russia's stated. aggression against the west. cristina. >> united states. >> that the europeans. >> are going to. >> have to go it alone. >> and i apologize because we lost a little bit of your audio in there, although you were able to, of course, you know, come very clear on on your thoughts. i appreciate that, matt bodner, and your heart for both for being with us this morning. up next, terrifying moments for passengers on a delta flight after a plane overturns upon landing at toronto airport. take a look at this. look at this. this is really amazing. one

passenger recounts the moments after impact. amazing because everybody survived. also ahead, another resignation over doge. this time it's the top social security official and a dispute over sensitive data. all as protests erupt around the country against president trump and elon musk. we're back in and elon musk. we're back in 90s. when emergency strikes, first responders are the first ones in... but on outdated networks, the crucial technology they depend on, is limited. that's why t-mobile created t-priority... ...the only solution built for the 5g era, that can dynamically dedicate up to 10 times the capacity for first responders. t-priority. built for tomorrow's emergencies. ready today. (♪♪) i'm getting vaccinated... ...with pfizer's pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine. so am i. because i'm at risk for pneumococcal pneumonia.

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sideways and i was looking down and just seeing, like, sparks and flames and whatever was grinding against the ground. and then, yeah, it happened pretty dang quick, and we were just upside down hanging from our seatbelts. >> what a terrifying experience for airline passengers in toronto. new video this morning shows the moments of delta flight carrying 80 people from minneapolis, crashed on landing and overturned in toronto. that same man you just heard from also capturing passengers escaping out of a window? take a look at this. where they saw one wing gone and jet fuel spilling out onto the runway. thankfully, everyone survived, and now investigators are working to figure out exactly what happened. nbc's stephanie gosk is in toronto. stephanie. >> this morning the plane is still on the. >> tarmac and there are two runways that are closed. looking at the video from this. >> accident. >> it is remarkable that there

was no loss of life. the plane hitting the tarmac hard, bursting into flames and then flipping over the passengers. >> inside, suspended upside. >> down in their seatbelts, scrambling with the plane still on fire to. >> safety. >> an unimaginable. >> scene at toronto's. pearson international airport. >> oh, >> oh oh no no no no no. >> we just landed our plane crash. it's upside down. >> video obtained by tmz shows the moment delta airlines. flight 4819. >> crashed into the runway. >> and overturned. >> the aircraft is upside. >> down and burning. >> video posted on social media shows passengers evacuating the plane. operated by regional jet company endeavor air. >> come on. >> one passenger filming the. moment he jumped out of the emergency. exit onto a tarmac covered in patches of snow. >> you know, i was. >> just on this plane.

>> all 76 passengers. >> and four crew. >> members are accounted for. paramedic services saying at least 18 were injured. including a child. two people were airlifted to a nearby trauma center. >> there was no loss of life. and this. >> is in due part to our heroic and trained professionals. >> bystanders filming giant clouds. >> of black smoke as first responders. >> quickly covered the. >> plane in foam to prevent flames from spreading. officials say it's. too early to speculate about the cause of the crash, but the weather conditions are coming into sharp focus at around the time the plane landed. wind gusts reached close to 40mph amid blowing snow and negative 2 degrees wind chill. it comes amid some confusion over the presence of crosswinds, which can impact plane landings. toronto pearson fire chief saying the runway was dry and there were no crosswind conditions at the time. but according to aviation tracking website flightradar24, weather advisories indicated a gusting crosswind. monday's accident

involved a crj 900 plane popular for. >> short. >> haul flights. >> next thing i saw. is basically a plane. the plane. basically flipped on the runway. >> the regional jet. is a bigger version of the same model involved in the deadly collision in washington, dc, between a military helicopter and an american airlines flight just 20 days ago. that crash, the deadliest in nearly 25 years, killed 67 people. before this accident. >> the airport was trying to get through a backlog of flights. after two successive storms. now, with this accident and those. two runways shut down, travelers can expect more chaos. back to you. >> stephanie gosk, thank you so very much. and joining us this morning, former commercial pilot and security expert anthony roman. anthony, thank you so much for being with us this morning. boy, looking at those different videos, you're just like, this just looks like it's going to be. look, i mean, so i think what are you seeing when

you're seeing this? >> the conditions. >> that are at the airport were difficult under the best of circumstances. they were winds gusting from 30 to 40mph and. coming at an angle towards the aircraft, landing at about 40 degrees. it's a challenging landing. the airport is within proximity of lake. >> ontario. and those winds can vary direction. >> i was watching the rescue. scenario via video, and they. >> had. >> a view of what's. >> called the windsock. >> and the windsock allows. >> the pilot. >> to. >> have visualization. >> of the direction of the wind and its gusts. >> and you can. >> see that windsock. >> moving from right. >> to left. >> and gusting. >> so the conditions. >> for landing. >> is tough. >> but these. >> are professional pilots.

>> the delta crews. are impeccably well trained. it's a highly. >> disciplined organization. >> with a great. >> safety record. >> but it could have. >> been low. >> level wind shear. >> as they're beginning to flare the aircraft. if the wind. >> gusts diminished suddenly and dramatically, it. >> can cause a wing. >> to fall. >> and a hard landing, resulting in a. >> landing gear. failure or. >> a wing. >> problem, and then the rollover. >> so there'll. >> be big question marks as to. >> whether or not. >> this was the conditions. >> or the pilots were descending too quickly. >> a big question mark. >> interestingly enough, when i'm sorry, go ahead. >> yeah. >> interestingly enough. >> i had a. >> family member landing at approximately 10 p.m. at jfk airport, and. >> i was texted.

>> shortly after the landing by that family member that they encountered wind shear at very low altitude, and that landing aircraft had to go. around at the very last minute and. >> and saved. >> the airplane in that fashion. however, the. crew was. just about to. >> touch down. when they seemed to have a problem. >> yeah. and let's look at that, because there's no doubt windshear could have had something to do with the pressure gradient at the time, maybe shifted. but it seems, anthony, i'm just, you know, when you see these flames in this black smoke come out, how is it that this thing. didn't you know? how was it able to remain relatively intact when, upon hitting the ground? you know, there's already flames. >> the crj. >> 900 has an excellent, excellent. safety record. >> in the. >> united states.

>> it's quite a capable aircraft. >> and the new. seats within the aircraft, the passenger. seats are rated up. to 16. >> g's of force. >> and that really. >> helped maintain. >> the safety for the passengers. following the rollover. and the emergency rescue crew was there within a couple of minutes. >> and doused the. >> fire immediately. it was a combined. response of the emergency crews. at the airport, and that aircraft's. >> wonderful capabilities. >> yeah, i mean, it's really miraculous when you look at all of the different conditions that maybe played. it really is. but anthony, so far this year, this is, i think, the fourth major aviation incident. what what's going on. >> yeah. it's the third. >> of this type of, of

consequence. and you know. >> it's a funny thing. i i've tracked aviation. >> accidents for the last 40. >> years and. >> they seem to roll into threes. you know, there's no study with. >> regard to that. >> it's just an unusual set. >> of affairs. >> but the conditions. >> were difficult. the runway was slippery snow and ice right off lake ontario. high gusting winds. tough circumstances. >> for a. >> great crew and great aircraft. >> anthony roman, thank you very much for being with us this morning. appreciate it. >> my pleasure. >> up next, new fallout from elon musk cost cutting efforts, this time at an agency that impacts 70 million people and restricted from serving their country. the critical hearing taking place right now in a d.c. courtroom on president trump's executive order banning transgender people from the transgender people from the military. wanna know a secret? more than just my armpits stink. that's why i use secret whole body deodorant.

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hundreds of high level homeland security staffers who were reportedly deemed to be misaligned with the trump administration's goals. joining us now, nbc news white house correspondent aaron gilchrist in florida with the president and nbc homeland security correspondent julie ainslie and politico white house correspondent and msnbc political analyst eugene daniels. so, aaron, tell us a little bit about this rift between doge and the social security administration. >> yeah, jose michelle king was the top official at the social security administration, and she retired after she refused to give musks team access to these sensitive government records. that's according to two sources. we're talking about things like bank information, social security numbers, birth dates, some in some cases medical records. the white house did confirm to us that king is no longer head of that agency. the president has nominated a new administrator to fill that role. at the same time, the white house press secretary, caroline leavitt, did an interview last night, and she said that president trump has directed the doge team to go into that agency

and to try to identify fraud there. i want you to hear a little bit more of what she had to say in that interview. >> they haven't dug into the books yet, but they suspect that there are tens of millions of deceased people who are receiving fraudulent. >> social security payments. >> that's exactly why these social security employees, i may add, are. >> digging into. >> the books. >> and going line by line because past administrations have. >> refused to do this very time. >> consuming but necessary work. >> so listen, our team has looked into this idea of millions of dead people getting benefits from the social security administration. there was an inspector general audit last year that showed over an eight year period, the social security administration made almost $72 million dollars in improper payments. a little less than 1% of payments in that time period. now, the report also says that most of these improper payments were overpayments, not payments to deceased people or

people who didn't qualify to receive these payments. at the same time, this effort by doge is to go through this agency like every other and try to weed out waste and fraud. >> yeah, i mean, and also 72 billion and that's without a comprehensive search. i mean that's, that's that's significant. erin. meanwhile, we're also getting word of the head of the food division at the fda resigning. >> well, jose, there are some reports that the head of that division at the fda stepped down yesterday because of cuts across that agency. when our yamiche alcindor reached out to the white house about those reports, the press secretary did provide a statement. and i'll read part of it for you here. it says there are a number of bureaucrats who are resistant to the democratic process and mandate delivered by the american people. president trump is only interested in the best and most qualified people who are willing to implement his america first agenda on behalf of the american people. it's not for everyone, and that's okay.

and that's from the white house press secretary, caroline leavitt. >> and julia, meanwhile, over at homeland security, hundreds of senior officials reportedly on their way out. and it has nothing to do with downsizing. >> yeah. >> that's right. i think it's important to realize that this is. >> a. >> different bucket. we could see this. >> across the. >> federal government as well. rather than doge coming in and trying to eliminate people for what they say is to try to cut back on the scale of the federal government. these are people who are actually identified during the transition and by the landing teams that arrived at agencies, in this case, at dhs. >> where they were able to put. >> together a list of what. they say are hundreds of employees. across dhs that they want to fire. and it could be as soon as this week. jose, we understand that even includes ice and cbp, the very agencies that trump is leaning on to carry out his immigration goals, whether it's at the. >> border or. >> arresting and deporting immigrants in the interior of the country. they say that it's going to be pain in the beginning, but that they want to backfill those positions with people who they think are more loyal to trump. and these goals. >> some of.

>> the people that i spoke to who are behind these decisions say that they thought that these were senior level people who were standing in the way. these are not just government bureaucrats. these are some of the people who have run strategy and policy for the u.s. government going back several administrations, including the first trump administration, who are now seen as misaligned with these goals and priorities. and as you know, dhs is under a lot of pressure right now to try to increase the number of deportations, because so far, trump has been frustrated that he hasn't been able to deport more migrants. >> jose and eugene, by the way, eugene, it's been a while since i get a chance to see you. i just want to say hi and boy, i miss you. i it's just, let's catch up more. let's not wait. this long between hanging out and talking. but anyway, eugene, i just want to. president trump is about to target dhs at a time when the department is central to his agenda. i mean, immigration arrests, deportations. what's the calculus here for the white house? >> yeah.

>> for them, it is kind of what was literally just said is this is about making sure that the people that are doing the strategy and even doing the work on the ground are on board with what donald trump and this administration want to do. that is at the center of all of this, right? even in caroline leavitt, the white house press secretary's statement to yamiche, she talked about, right, like this is about people who are not interested but want to do the things that this administration wants to, as they put it, their america first agenda. and that is the thing that is concerning for a lot of people who watch civil servants, who are civil servants, who have been civil servants, because at the end of the day, the politics of it and what happens in the in the white house and in these the executive branch, they have usually been outside of that, they've been able to operate between from, from reagan to, to, to, to clinton, from obama to trump. right. they've been able to operate in and around all of those changes politically. and that's when so much of them here. >> yeah. and i mean, eugene, we've seen officials resign in

protest across various agencies, from social security to justice department. what's been the reaction inside the white house to all of this? >> i mean. >> they're they want some of these folks gone. so it's kind of a shoulder shrug. right? that is what we're often hearing from the folks, not just in the white house, just across the administration, who believe that this is the best way to go. because one of the things that's most interesting here, especially in the, you know, u.s. aid situation and the firing of a lot of these people and the and the defunding that elon musk indulge want to do is that that is usually something that congress has to do and has, is, is involved in, and they are basically allowing it to happen. right. you have republicans in congress that we've spoken to that say at the end of the day, they're kind of hoping that the courts take care of this for them, that they don't have to be on the bad side of donald trump publicly. but in those courts, some of these temporary restraining orders that have been asked, the judges in those cases have said they're not exactly sure who they're supposed to. you know, who they're supposed to be.

adjuncting here. is it elon musk? he's not on, on, on the books as the head of doge here. and so that is causing a lot of complications in the folks that are trying to counter some of this. >> aaron gilchrist, julie ainsley, eugene daniels, thank you so very much. some breaking news at this hour. we're just learning of another significant resignation at the justice department. the chief of the criminal division at the dc u.s. attorney's office stepping down this morning. joining us now by phone is msnbc legal correspondent lisa rubin. so, lisa, what is this resignation all about? >> well. >> it's hard. >> to. >> tell exactly what this resignation is about, because the. >> email sent by denise chung. >> who was the chief of the. criminal division and the d.c. u.s. attorney's office, doesn't say it doesn't even say whether she resigned or whether she was fired. we understand from two sources, however, that she did resign. >> this morning. >> but the timing of her resignation is especially. >> curious because. >> denise chung is a 25 year veteran of the department of justice. she did not resign.

>> for example. >> when ed martin. >> who is now the. acting u.s. attorney for that district, was named. he is. >> as you. >> have noted, an organizer of. >> the stop the steal movement. >> he also represented. individual january 6th defendants in their criminal cases. >> she also. >> did not. resign when she was told that. >> she needed to. >> be the. >> head of what mr. martin. >> calls the 1512 project. >> that's essentially. >> an internal investigation designed to root out what mr. martin describes as. >> the inappropriate. >> use of a particular criminal charge against january 6th defendants. this is the obstruction of congress charge that was. narrowed over last. summer by. >> the united states. >> supreme court. so a lot of. >> heads being. >> scratched this morning and the u.s. attorney's office, as a 25 year veteran of the department. >> abruptly says goodbye. >> and doesn't really give any indication as to why. i mean, you can speculate, but no indication. >> no indication. >> as to why. >> but some of the.

>> language of her resignation email is particularly pointed and indicates that she. >> remains very proud. >> of the work that those under her. >> supervision did. i'm just going to read from her email if i can. she says. i have executed when i. >> i'm sorry. when i started as an ausa, i took. >> an oath of office to support and defend the constitution, and i have executed this duties faithfully during. >> my. >> tenure, which has spanned through numerous administrations. i know that all of the ausa. >> in the office, ausa. >> meaning an. >> assistant united states. >> attorney, that's every prosecutor in the office other. >> than the u.s. attorney, continue to. >> honor their oath. >> on a daily basis. just as i know you. >> have always. conducted yourself with the utmost. >> integrity. >> jose, that language serves as what i would consider a sort of fiery. defense of those who are working in the office as line prosecutors, and perhaps also as a defense of the. >> work that they did in prosecuting the more than 1500 january 6th defendants. prosecuted by that office. >> lisa ruben, thank you so very

much. up next, a critical hearing into one of president trump's most controversial executive orders banning transgender people from serving in the military. the latest on that ongoing legal showdown. and later, make sure you layer up today brutally cold temperatures across much of the nation. when across much of the nation. when can this is steve. steve takes voquezna. this is steve's stomach, where voquezna can kick some acid, heal erosive esophagitis, also known as erosive gerd, and relieve related heartburn. voquezna is the first and only fda-approved treatment of its kind. 93% of adults were healed by 2 months. of those healed, 79% stayed healed. plus, voquezna can provide heartburn-free days and nights, and is also approved to relieve heartburn related to non-erosive gerd. other serious stomach conditions may exist. don't take if allergic to voquezna or while on rilpivirine. serious allergic reactions

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in a washington, d.c, courtroom, a judge began hearing arguments in a case that could decide whether president trump's executive order banning transgender members of the armed forces can stand. six active duty military members and two people trying to enlist brought the suit against the trump administration. they argue it violates their fifth amendment right to equal protection. joining us now, nbc news senior national security correspondent courtney qb. courtney. good morning. what are we hearing so far today? >> yeah. so this is. >> all based, as you mentioned. >> on a. >> january 27th executive order. >> by. >> president donald trump, that that said that it was inconsistent for service members to serve if they were diagnosed with gender dysphoria. i'm going to read you the part exactly what it says. it says that a gender, a gender identity inconsistent with an individual's sex, conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful and disciplined lifestyle even in one's personal life. now, this is what is being argued in court right now. i've been listening to that, to that hearing so far, there are eight plaintiffs who

are arguing their active duty or service members in various levels of their career, one with as much as 14 years. several of them have been awarded for bronze stars and other meritorious and combat awards for their time in the military. they are arguing that they have served honorably despite being diagnosed with gender dysphoria, and for that reason, this executive executive order should not be enforced. now, ten days after that executive order, on february 7th, secretary of defense pete hegseth signed a memo that paused or halted all exceptions or all people coming into the military if they had gender dysphoria. and in fact, it halted all gender affirming care for service members. and that is another issue that's now being discussed in this hearing. again, it just started about an hour ago and there. but the judge is really drilling into the department of justice who is defending this executive order and defending this, saying that

the way that the order is written, essentially it prohibits anyone who has gender dysphoria from serving in the military. the government is arguing that, in fact, the 30 days for secretary hegseth to come up with a policy is not over yet and saying that, in fact, we need to wait for those 30 days before we make that kind of an assertion. >> jose courtney kube, thank you so very much. well, tomorrow, new york city mayor eric adams is scheduled to appear in federal court for a hearing on the controversial move from the justice department to drop his corruption case for adams. deputies resigned over the mayor's cooperation with the trump administration, and new york city's council speaker has just called on adams to resign. today, new york governor kathy hochul is meeting with leaders to discuss a path forward. hochul does have the power to remove the mayor, but she points out this power has never been exercised in new york history. up next, bundle up one of the coldest polar vortex of the season starts tomorrow. and as a

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>> and chicago is not alone when it. >> comes to this deep. >> freeze. >> this morning, freezing temperatures. >> and heavy. >> snow sweeping. >> the nation overnight. communities throughout the midwest and beyond facing another blast. >> of wintry. >> weather and. waking up to dangerous. slick roads. in pennsylvania, intense lake effect snow causing headaches for motorists. this tractor trailer overturned. onto its side. icy conditions on interstates from new york to colorado, causing dozens of vehicles to spin out of control, creating two massive. >> pileups monday. >> over 80 million people are under extreme cold warnings, with an arctic blast spanning from. central texas to the canadian border and. >> wind chills as low as. >> 50 degrees. below zero. >> blasting states. >> like montana and minnesota. >> the national weather. >> service warning. >> of, quote, life. >> threatening cold. >> in north dakota. trucks salting. the streets in texas,

where officials there warning this could be. >> the coldest weather event. >> of the year. a reminder of 2020. >> one's power. >> grid catastrophe that ended nearly 250 lives. governor abbott expressing confidence a crisis like that will not happen again. >> the power grid. >> has never been. >> stronger than it is now. >> across kentucky, thousands remain without power and safe drinking water after a weekend of deadly flash flooding that killed at least 14 people across three states and prompted more than 1000 rescues that are still ongoing. >> and josie, these. >> types of temperatures. >> aren't only. >> uncomfortable. >> they're also dangerous. >> the key if you have to be outside. >> for, say. >> walking your dog. >> or if you depend on public. >> transportation. >> make sure you bundle up and layer up, because if. >> your skin. >> is. >> exposed to the elements. >> within minutes, you could be subject to frostbite. >> josie. >> yeah, i mean, adrian, not just that. the people that are

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