watch live breaking news and analysis anytime, anywhere. go beyond the what? to understand the why. download the msnbc app now. >> donald trump is defending the mass firings of federal watchdogs. >> our federal. >> government now. >> can discriminate against the citizens of the country. >> we are. >> all. >> watching and. >> waiting to see. >> who is going to hold the line. >> don't miss the weekends. >> saturday, and sunday mornings at. >> eight. >> on msnbc. >> hey there everyone, i'm alex witt in for chris jansing. taking sides president trump embraces vladimir putin's narrative. >> with a verbal. >> assault on ukraine's battleworn leader, falsely accusing him of being a dictator without elections. the latest

back and forth, and what it could all mean for the peace talks that have. all of europe rattled. plus creating a tinderbox. firefighters and parks personnel warning of dire consequences from the massive layoffs to the federal workforce. one union rep out of washington state saying, quote, there's going to be firefighters that die because of this. there will be communities that burn. and, you know, it's cold when a high of zero is the best you can hope for. the arctic blast setting records across a huge portion of the country, with some areas seeing wind chills of 60 below. we're going to get to that, unfortunately. but we are going to start with president trump turning on ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky calling him a dictator. just hours after zelensky told trump his country is not for sale. that response follows trump's stunning and false accusation that ukraine was to blame for russia's illegal invasion three years ago, dismissing zelensky's concerns about being left out of peace talks in saudi arabia by arguing they could have made a

deal to stop the bloodshed and avoid a war. >> i'm very disappointed. i hear that, you know, they're upset about not having a seat. well, they've had a seat for three years and a long time before that. this could have been settled very easily. just a half a half baked negotiator could have settled this years ago without, i think, without the loss of much land, very little land without the loss of any lives. but today i heard, oh, well, we weren't invited. well, you've been there for three years. you should have ended it three years. you should have never started it. you could have made a deal. >> the president also called for new elections in ukraine. music to the ears of russian president vladimir putin, who said just this morning he'd be happy to meet with trump. zelensky, meantime, is meeting with u.s. special envoy keith kellogg in ukraine after warning that russian disinformation is responsible for president trump's thinking. the new york times peter baker, summing up trump's approach as, quote, one of the most jaw dropping pivots

in american foreign policy in generations. a 180 degree turn that will force friends and foes to recalibrate in fundamental ways. i want to bring in nbc's vaughn hillyard in miami with the president. we have nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel. he's joining us live in kharkiv, ukraine. and michael mcfaul, former u.s. ambassador to russia, as well as an msnbc international affairs analyst. guys, it's good to have all of you here. so you first, vaughn, what's going on here? >> three years. >> ago, we should. >> note when. >> the war. >> started and russia. >> began sending missiles into ukraine and advancing military personnel onto the ground to take ukrainian land. it was at that moment in time that we began hearing some on the fringe of the far right in the united states suggest that somehow the russia's invasion was justified. and people like tulsi gabbard in recent years have echoed what

other even republican lawmakers have called russian propaganda that somehow russia's invasion was justified because of ukraine's interest in joining nato. but what is so remarkable about the comments here down in florida by president trump yesterday was this for the first time in nearly three years since the invasion that we heard from donald trump and expressly and explicitly say that it was ukraine's fault for starting the war. and he followed that up this morning with that long social media post that was littered with falsehoods and statements that were inaccurate. when it comes to amount of money that the u.s. has invested compared to the eu. but there is one particular attack on president zelensky in which he said, quote, a dictator without elections. zelensky, better move fast or he is not going to be have a country left. and now i think it's worth noting that it was five months ago when he was candidate trump. it was actually at a campaign event in north

carolina that i was at when he was talking about zelensky, and he referred to him as the greatest salesman in the world. and a quote of his at the time, then candidate trump was, quote, we continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal with zelensky. these are stunning comments from the president of the united states. at a time in which eu leaders are questioning the commitment of this united states administration to continue to help ukraine's war efforts against russia. and all of this is happening at a time in which we should note, just later on this evening, president trump will be here in miami to address a conference. all of this happening simultaneously. alex. >> yeah. hey, vaughn, as you were speaking, i just want to note what you were addressing, this flagrant falsehood by donald trump. it's caught in the eye of, well, people around the globe. but, frankly, let me read what former vice president mike pence wrote. again, we remind everyone donald trump's former vice president in his first term. and he writes, mr. president, ukraine did not start

this war. russia launched an unprovoked and brutal invasion, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. the road to peace must be built on the truth. so, vaughn, i know you've got stuff to get to. thank you for joining us. let me move to you, ambassador, because i think there is a temptation to treat this all as some sort of foreign policy dispute. but it is bigger than that. peter baker described it as america, giving the impression it's switching sides. quote. to listen to mr. trump talk with reporters on tuesday about the conflict was to hear a version of reality that would be unrecognizable on the ground in ukraine, and certainly would never have been heard from any other american president of either party. what do you make of president trump's comments, particularly these latest ones calling zelensky a dictator? it's shocking. >> it's appalling. as an american. >> i'm embarrassed. >> i'm embarrassed for.

>> the soldiers that i just met in munich, fighting for their freedom in ukraine against the russian invasion. they knew who who started this war. >> and it's not. >> in america's. >> national interest. >> to have the president of the united states of america talk in this way. this weakens us, not just in europe, around the world. >> everybody is. >> looking at the president thinking he's. >> flipping sides. >> just like you said. my next book coming out in the fall is called autocrats versus democrats. and now i have to question. >> which. >> side will the united states be on by the time it comes out in the fall? >> and i just want to be crystal clear. >> we can. >> have opinions. >> on whatever. >> president trump says falsehoods all the time. but when it damages america's reputation in the world, this is a really serious matter. and i hope the people i know, there is no way that secretary rubio agrees. >> with that analysis. >> there is no way that national security adviser waltz agrees

with that analysis. there is no way that the majority of senators, republican senators and members of congress agree with that analysis. now is the time for them to speak up, because this could have catastrophic consequences for america's place in the world in the long term. >> listen, i'm going to take that a step further and say, there's no way the majority of the world agrees with that analysis. so, richard, what has been the reaction where you are? >> so we were talking to ukrainian troops out at front line positions not long ago. and they were they were shocked. they didn't actually understand how president trump could say that ukraine started this war. they looked at me incredulously like i had misspoken. they said, what do you mean? he said, we started the war and they started to explain what they saw. they were here, i mean, in the city of kharkiv, which is in the east. they said, what are you

talking about? we're here in kharkiv. we've been in these positions defending the city for the last three years. russian troops were here invading, trying to take over the city, and they actually couldn't believe what they were being told. but we also talked further about this, not just these statements. they do recognize this as a pattern of statements coming from president trump, and a pattern of actions that these negotiations are happening. the impression here is that president trump favors the russian president, vladimir putin, and they're very worried that this country is being carved up with little regard to the wishes and political aspirations of the people of this country. and, alex, i'll tell you one other thing. i've covered troops in combat for, for, for a couple of decades now, and one of the most sensitive things that they, they never talk about is morale. and when i was with u.s. troops in iraq or in other parts of the world, they would they would

gripe and they would tell you their their grievances and their their issues. but they always talked about how the morale was high. and today i spoke to these ukrainian troops and i asked them how they are feeling watching this, this trump initiative that's starting with russia, listening to these latest trump comments. and they said to me, it actually is lowering morale, that it is having an impact on the way the soldiers conduct themselves, carry themselves, their desire to show up for duty in the battlefield, and that that is a real impact when you have the president's comments lowering morale of a, of a, of a fighting force that is supposed to be your ally, that that is a major that is a major issue and certainly a major change. i think you described it earlier as a 180 degree change. there's no other way to describe it. a few months ago, the u.s. was considered the essential ally here and now many ukrainians, including the troops, are wondering if they do have an ally left in washington. >> indeed. and president

zelensky, as you well know, richard has said, if the united states pulls out their support, ukraine is not going to be able to go alone. it won't be able to do it. all right, richard, thank you so much. i appreciate that. i know you have more reporting to get to. so back to you, ambassador. with the president's position being embraced by the kremlin, we have foreign minister sergey lavrov praising trump as, quote, the first. and so far, in my opinion, the only western leader who has publicly and loudly said that one of the root causes of the ukrainian situation was the impudent line of the previous administration to draw ukraine into nato. this is already a signal that he understands our position. so the message at the kremlin, what's being received through all of this? >> well. >> this this is beyond their wildest dreams. i mean, i think they assumed that there was going to be some pressure for negotiations with the election of president trump. i know the ukrainians assume that, too. and

they were they were all ready for it. both sides. what i think they did not assume is that the trump administration would, even before negotiations have started, would signal to the kremlin that they're willing to give them everything that they wanted at the very beginning of the war. remember what putin said? he said, we're we're invading to liberate these territories. the trump administration has said ukraine has to give them territories. he said, we want neutrality. we don't want ukraine and nato. the trump administration has already said that the trump administration has talked about lifting sanctions. and to add insult to injury, they're now saying that zelensky, president zelensky, the democratically elected president of ukraine, who is abiding by the ukrainian constitution, including the clause about martial law, now has to stand for reelection before they will start the negotiations. and none of those demands are being made of putin,

who has been in power as a dictator for 25 years. i honestly think they never imagined that they would be in such a great position early on. now, i hope that the trump team will get their act together. i hope that they'll think about the consequences of just capitulating right and left. but i worry they've gotten off to a terrible start and we're already in a whole. >> ambassador michael mcfaul, a very sobering assessment, but i thank you none the less in 90s the president's new power grab his new executive order seeking total control over critical agencies that are supposed to be independent. but will it hold up in court? >> my eyes, their dry, uncomfortable looking for extra hydration. now there's blink neutral tears. it works differently than drops. blink neutral tears is a once daily supplement clinically proven to hydrate from within, helping

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iberogast thanks to a unique combination of herbs, iberogast helps relieve six digestive symptoms to help you feel better. six digestive symptoms. the power of nature. iberogast. this time over agencies that congress specifically made independent from direct white house control. he signed a new executive order declaring that his power extends to the federal communications commission, the federal trade commission, and securities and exchange commission, setting up a potential supreme court fight. in the meantime, the president and elon musk are defending all the moves in the last month to slash the federal workforce and dismantle entire agencies. here they are in their first joint interview. >> you write a beautiful executive and you sign it and you assume it's going to be done, but it's not. he gets it

done. he's a leader. yeah, he really is. he gets it done. >> they're saying that things are being done unconstitutional, but what they are doing is unconstitutional. they are guilty of the crime of which they accuse us. >> that's always the first thing they do. he's in violation of the constitution. they don't even know what they're talking. well it's absurd. it's just a con job. it's a big con job. >> let's bring in teddy schleifer, a reporter for the new york times who covers billionaires. that includes elon musk. he is also an msnbc contributor. and greg brower, former u.s. attorney and former doj official in the bush and obama administrations. gentlemen, thanks for joining us. i'm greg. what are the legal considerations here? can trump just claim total power over agencies that congress did not intend to place under white house control? does congress have to reel him in? are they the only ones who can? and is there any apparent willingness to do that? >> well. >> alex. >> you hit on the two. >> things that we likely will see. one is litigation whereby interested parties will

challenge these moves in court, and it will be up to federal courts to decide whether the president is acting within legal limits or not. those cases will take a long time. they'll start in the district courts and then work their way up, potentially to the united states supreme court. but the other check on the president's power you mentioned congress is, i think, the one that most people in inside the beltway are really looking for, because these agencies that have been set up as independent agencies were set up in that way by congress. and so when a president, any president seems to be infringing upon that concept, it really falls to congress to stand up and voice objection. if, in fact, congress does object. we haven't really heard that yet. it's early days, but i suspect that some in congress will stand up and say, wait a minute. that's not how we set these agencies up, and they will have something to say about that. but as one member of the senate said

about in another context the other day, you know, there's not much we can do but complain. i just don't think that's true, especially in the senate, where the senate, of course, holds power over the president's confirmations is nominations that need to be confirmed. and so we just haven't seen much of the, the, the separation of powers really working lately, the way it typically works. and i'm looking to congress to step up and change that. >> okay, teddy, we saw elon musk there sitting with that t shirt that reads tech support with all the moves he's making. i mean, it's so hard to keep up. what is the one thing that he's doing that you don't think is getting enough attention? >> yeah. >> i mean, we're sort of playing mad libs here in. >> washington and you know. where it's like, you know. >> musk aid x shows up at, you know, agency wide demanding things. and you're not wrong to be, you know, overwhelmed by sort of the dizzying element here where he's doing so many things atnce, like it's people

feel like he's winning, right? people feel like he's just overcoming, you know, the bureaucracy as it is and doing so much. i mean, the one thing that i think is possibly going to stop elon musk is the courts, and that sort of seems to be one of the only guardrails that is going to be keeping elon musk in check. congress appears very pliant and willing to go along with whatever trump does, and trump seems willing to go along with whatever elon suggests. you know, i was struck in this interview here, like just by the visual, like you never really see anything like this, where trump is kind of willing to do a joint interview with somebody else. i think he's done a joint interview with maybe like the vp picks occasionally, but imagine, you know, trump having offer time with sean hannity on fox and saying, let me only take half that time. that was remarkable to me. >> yeah, i completely agree. it's just not that they seem to be very much on equal level there. so, greg, speaking of courts, a federal judge just denied a request from 14 state attorneys general who wanted

d.o.j. barred from accessing, accessing their data or making personnel decisions at seven federal agencies. so obviously they're going to be some more lawsuits. but what are the lessons from this? >> well, the key lesson, i think, is that just because a judge may have been appointed by a democratic president doesn't mean they're necessarily going to rule against president trump. in all of these cases, a judge who's doing her job is going to look at the law and make sure as as was not found in this case, that irreparable harm has been done such that the restraining order, at least temporarily, should be instituted to stop the executive action. so i think we're going to see a mixed bag of, of in terms of judges, republican appointed judges, democrat appointed judges trying to rule on these cases on the merits, case by case. some are going to go against the president, some won't. and that's the way the system should work. >> yeah. and i should say we are talking about judge tanya chutkan there. she was very methodical in the way that she

was adjudicating cases against president trump earlier. so there you have it, gentlemen. i'm sorry we're out of time, but i'll see you both again. teddy schleifer thank you, greg brower i will see you again, in fact, in just a little bit. so don't go too far. meantime, coming up, brutal and relentless. freezing temperatures bring misery for millions across this country, with a winter storm warning in effect for flood ravaged kentucky. we've got your kentucky. we've got your forecast after this. my moderate to severe crohn's symptoms kept me out of the picture. with skyrizi, feel symptom relief at 4 weeks. many people were in remission at 12 weeks, at 1 year, and even at 3 years. don't use if allergic. serious allergic reactions, increased infections, or lower ability to fight them may occur. before treatment, get checked for infections and tb. tell your doctor about any flu-like symptoms or vaccines. liver problems leading to hospitalization may occur when treated for crohn's. ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ ask your gastroenterologist about skyrizi.

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>> right now. blistering cold is ushering in life threatening temperatures for roughly 90 million americans, and that includes the state of kentucky, where they are still struggling to recover from flash floods that killed 14 people in bowling green. snow is coating the same roads that you can see from this comparison. they were entirely waterlogged over the weekend. the national weather service is urging against travel, especially near the iced over kentucky tennessee state line. nbc meteorologist bill karins is tracking the forecast, and nbc's kathy park is there in tennesse. live for us in knoxville. so, kathy, welcome. how severe are the conditions where you are? >> hey. >> alex. >> good afternoon to you. yeah. so depending on where you are, conditions are manageable or extremely challenging. we are in downtown knoxville right now, which is the eastern part of the state. and this has been a fast moving system. so we have some light snow falling, but a lot of

it has pushed away. we have about two inches or so of snow on the ground. but we know that in the middle section of the state, there have been reports of dozens of crashes just outside of nashville in clarksville, tennessee. so it looks can be deceiving, because just even a slight coating of snow on the ground can lead to some really treacherous conditions. but alex, as you know, what's unique about this system, not only are we talking about the snow, but these brutally cold temperatures in minnesota yesterday it got so cold that firefighters their emergency response was actually hampered because their equipment froze over. so those are the things that we are seeing. but you mentioned kentucky. i was there yesterday in the past couple of days covering the floods, and they still have a huge cleanup ahead. the governor of kentucky, andy beshear, said that, look, they are in the middle of a natural disaster. but then on top of that, they're dealing with the snow storm now. and as you mentioned, tragically, 14 lives have been lost. and we now know that two people died of hypothermia. so

there is still a lot of work to be done. the recovery is still ongoing. the big concern, of course, these dropping temperatures, because there is still some ponding, some standing water and in much of the state. so the concern is that a lot of that will freeze over and then hamper those recovery efforts. alex. >> oh my gosh. let alone people driving or walking the slipping around. okay kathy park, thank you for that. so bill, across this country, people are talking about how brutally cold it is. is it going to warm up any time soon. >> by the weekend? >> we just have to get through. >> this week. >> and then. >> some areas will. >> be like 40. >> or 50 degrees warmer by the. >> time they get to the weekend, but. >> we. still have to get there. >> so this. >> fast moving storm that dropped the snow where kathy is right here in. >> knoxville has now made it to the east coast. it's a winter wonderland in. much of north carolina. >> and virginia. >> all the way up towards washington, d.c. >> the bull's eye is going. >> to be somewhere around norfolk and virginia beach area.

this is going to be a significant snowstorm for you. it's cold. so it's going to be like a fluffy snow, which is very unusual for you, especially this time of year. but someone in here is going to get 6 to 10in of snow before tomorrow morning. so richmond southwards down the norfolk virginia beach. very dangerous drive right now and then i-95 heading south of richmond just outside of raleigh. so winter storm warnings, those areas i just mentioned. >> washington. >> d.c, you're now under a winter weather advisory. we weren't sure exactly how much snow you're going to get, but it does look like you have a chance for anywhere between a dusting to two inches and the timing right before the evening rush hour is the reason for that advisory. but this is the area that's going to get an additional 4 to 6 where it's snowing hard there as far as the cold goes. so we have the storm going off the coast. the door is wide open all the way from the arctic around, you know, greenland, that cold air is pouring down through canada and heading all the way south down into areas of even south texas. 76 million people under extreme cold warnings. this area here from north platte, southward temperatures have been below negative numbers for like the last two days straight. all of these cities we have out here, we're expecting record lows either tonight or tomorrow. that's over 90 cities all the

way down towards the gulf coast. so who's the coldest right now? as you'd expect up in montana, our friends are still struggling. in glasgow. we're at -42 wind chill currently, but it's no picnic. in kansas city you had 2 to 4in of snow and you're at -11. dallas you're not used to this negative two wind chill for you. we were complaining in new york at 20. negative two is not fun. even corpus christi is down there at 26. so as far as when the warm up comes, alex, you know, friday we begin to see it warming up. it really eases on saturday and sunday. there's no snowy weather. there's no winter storms. our friends in the pacific northwest have rain to deal with. but our weather pattern, which has been one storm after another all february, finally quiets down after we get done with tonight. >> listen, you mentioned dallas. we're going to go there in the next hour and see how folks are faring, because they're not used to that at all. that kind of bi. appreciate all that. still to come, the president's sweeping january 6th pardons are put to the test after one rioter tries to get out of a conviction for plotting to murder fbi agents. plotting to murder fbi agents. so what happen

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prize picks. run your game. >> to the justice department now says those sweeping pardons president trump granted to january 6th rioters should not apply to one particular man convicted for plotting to murder fbi agents. his name is edward kelly. he was the fourth rioter to breach the capitol building, and helped open a fire escape door that allowed the mob to flood inside. he then created a

kill list of the fbi agents, who later investigated his conduct. nbc's brian riley is following this for us, and greg brower is back with me. so, ryan, what more do we know about kelly and the argument that his lawyers have made to try and get his conviction thrown out? >> yeah. >> this is an argument. >> that we've seen made by a lot of the. >> january 6th defendants. >> at least online. >> but, you know, this is a case where a lawyer actually made this filing saying that donald trump's pardon, which applied to the conduct of anyone who was arrested in connection with the capitol attack but regarded conduct that was actually committed on january 6th itself, was was part except for those few whose sentences were commuted. so he had been pardoned already for his crimes that day. but this, you know, this was a completely separate trial that took place in tennessee. a federal grand jury in tennessee convicted him, and it only took really an hour. and, you know, i should just point out that donald trump won the state of tennessee, i believe, with 64% of the vote. so not exactly, you know, the liberal capital of the world over in tennessee. and it shows

how a lot of these filtering processes can work out in the voir dire process. and you can get a jury, you can look at the facts and evidence and make an informed decision based upon those, those facts and evidence. but what kelly's lawyers are arguing is that this, this pardon that donald trump gave to all the january 6th rioters should apply to this, because it's sort of an outgrowth of the january 6th investigation itself. he obtained this this list through a discovery process. apparently the government had made a mistake, and he was given this list with a lot of names on it, and then plotted with a coconspirator to murder those fbi agents, as well as a lot of local law enforcement agents that helped out with this investigation. so some real some real serious charges and a real serious conviction there. but the justice department saying that this this was goes beyond the scope of donald trump's pardons. >> okay. so, greg, i'm going to reiterate what ryan just said. the doj says his pardon does not apply to this case, but kelly's attorney argues it should because the crime he's been convicted of is related to what happened on january 6th. is that

a strong argument? and is this more a greater test of presidential pardon power? >> it is not a strong argument, in my opinion, alex. it's unbelievable to me that we're even having this discussion, frankly. and but for the underlying pardons, we wouldn't be having this discussion. so no, clearly, the plot to murder fbi agents that this individual is convicted of does not relate to his actual activities on january 6th and should not be covered by the pardon. but again, it begs the question why was he pardoned for his january 6th activities? why were all of the other, in many cases, violent offenders, pardoned for their activities on january 6th? that, i think still makes no sense to most americans, certainly doesn't make sense to law enforcement and retired law enforcement officers across this country. and again, but for those pardons, there wouldn't

even there wouldn't even be an effort on the part of mr. kelly's attorney to try to somehow get him pardoned for literally plotting to murder fbi agents for what he was for which he was convicted. as ryan pointed out by a tennessee jury. >> you know, greg, like you, i'm absolutely stunned by this. can i just ask, do you think this is just a hail mary from his defense attorneys? they're trying to bring a defense, and they know better. >> i think that's right. i mean, i guess you could put it as a lawyer. i might put it in the category of zealous representation of a client, which every lawyer is, is duty bound to pursue. and it will be up to the judge to decide whether it's the hail mary pass is complete for a touchdown or not. so it's a stretch. doj is clearly opposing it. but again, the fact that we're talking about even the possibility that this could be pardonable is only

due to the fact that all of those other pardons, including for mr. kelly himself, were granted. and again, that's still, i think to most americans, makes zero sense for, i think, obvious reasons. >> yeah. look, i know we're out of football season. i was going to say a home run because we're in baseball season, spring training, but didn't have the same effect. anyway, thank you, greg bauer. thank you, ryan riley. appreciate you both. right now, canadian investigators are examining the cockpit cockpit voice recorder and the data recorder from that delta flight that flipped upside down on a runway in toronto monday. they say it's still too early to say what caused the accident. and while we want to learn more. nbc's tom costello is taking a closer look at how monday's accident appears to be a textbook example of how to survive an aviation emergency. >> with the. >> wreckage of that regional jet still resting on a toronto runway. aviation experts say the fact everyone survived is due in

no small part to the flight attendants, who remained composed yet in charge, ordering passengers to wait as they ensured it was safe to evacuate. then move. they announced. >> not to get out of their seats, so people were hanging there for. i'm not. i can't remember how long, but just about a minute. and then they were like, okay, like get down. >> veteran flight attendants call it a textbook response. >> they were very difficult conditions directly in an inverted plane, where this flight attendant had to find the opening and make that hole, and then shout the commands to get people out safely. >> also textbook the firefighting response required to be on scene within three minutes. an mit study shows fatal commercial plane crashes are rare. just one and 13.7 million passenger boardings globally. >> seatbelts leave everything. >> like other airlines, delta flight attendants go through weeks of intense training. >> grab ankles, heads down.

>> stay low. >> recreating the chaos of an emergency. the faa requires you to evacuate a plane completely in 90s. you have got to be on your game. >> absolutely, absolutely. the goal is to try to get those customers off the aircraft as quickly as possible, especially in an emergency. >> the key is to kick your feet and your arms out and slide dow, and let these guys catch you at the bottom. commands must be concise and clear. in flight, leaving purses, bags, and backpacks behind. tom costello, nbc news. >> all right. thank you so much, tom, for that report. well, remember this date december 22nd, 2032, because that's when scientists warn an asteroid big enough to destroy an entire city could potentially make impact with earth. right now, the asteroid is about the size of the eiffel tower, and it has a 3.1% chance of striking earth. that's according to new data from nasa. that translates to about 1 in 32 odds, making it the most threatening space rock

ever recorded by modern forecasting. but experts say there's no need to raise any alarms right now, saying it's not a crisis at this point. it's a very, very rare event. i don't know if you see the movie armageddon, i'm just saying. anyway, coming up, a major reversal. the u.s. department of agriculture revealing it mistakenly fired employees working to combat the for the bird flu outbreak. what happened and how they're trying to get them back. and next hour, new details on a shocking story out of georgia, where a woman is now suing a fertility clinic, saying it implanted the wrong embryo and she's carrying another and she's carrying another couple's child. always dry scoop before you run. listen to me, the hot dog diet got me shredded. it's time we listen to science. one a day is formulated with key nutrients to support whole body health. one a day. science that matters. oh... stuffed up again? so congested! you need sinex saline from vicks. just sinex,

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and for kenadie to get treatment here without having to pay anything was amazing. >> the us department of agriculture is scrambling to rehire bird flu response workers, who were mistakenly let go during the trump administration's mass firings. that news comes as the virus continues to spread, wiping out poultry flocks and sending egg prices soaring. 68 human cases of the bird flu have also been confirmed by the cdc. nbc news capitol hill correspondent melanie zanona helped break that story. so melanie, a big welcome to you. what's the latest you're hearing on this? well. >> this reversal. >> came after an intense. >> behind the scenes pressure. >> campaign to reverse. >> course. >> including from some republicans here on capitol hill. in fact, i'm told that house republicans on the agriculture committee were particularly alarmed by some of these cuts and layoffs at the us

department of agriculture. and in fact, they privately warned the trump administration that this could not only hurt the government's response to trying to contain the spread of the bird flu, but it also could hurt their ability to bring down the cost of eggs. and, of course, that was a key campaign promise from president donald trump. now, obviously, the trump administration is working to rectify some of these cuts and layoffs at the usda, but there is still some frustration in gop circles over just how rushed and messy this doge effort has been. i want to read for you what don bacon, a member of the house agriculture committee, told me about the doge team. he said they need to be more cautious. there's an old saying, measure twice, twice, cut once. well, they are measuring once and having to cut twice. some of this stuff, they're going to have to return back. i just wish they'd make a better decision up front. remember, alex, this is not the first time that the trump administration has had to reverse course or admit they made a mistake with some of their firings. if you recall,

they initially fired and then tried to rehire some nuclear safety workers, but were struggling with how to actually reach those fired workers. and so you are starting to see some cracks emerge in the gop when it comes to their support for the doge effort. i would say, by and large, they are supportive of the mission. but when those cuts start to hit close to home, or when they are starting to impact critical government services, they are starting to willing to speak out. >> alex 100%. i mean, it just seems like it's being done in a haphazard way at times and affecting people's lives, the quality of government services. so melanie,hank youo much for that. and this campaign trial promise a trail promise to shrink the federal workforce. it is now actually impacting the people you might have seen on the trail at one of our country's vast national parks and forests. thousands of workers across the united states forest service and the national park service have been let go by the trump administration, leaving people utterly confused and heartbroken.

>> it's very. >> very sad. >> i feel very sad and very. angry and just. >> baffled by this entire situation. >> it was like having the rug pulled out from under me. all the people i work with are like family and just imagining not working with them anymore. just. it hurts. >> i want to bring in former republican congressman david jolly. he's also an msnbc political analyst. hey there, my friend. so these mass layoffs from the trump administration, i mean, they are impacting real americans like national park service ranger brian gibbs. his story in particular. it's going somewhat viral online. when he shared that he lost his dream job writing, quote, i'm a father, a loving husband, and dedicated civil servant. i am your family vacation planner. i am the toilet scrubber and soap dispenser. i'm the open trail hiked by people from all walks of life. i am the highlight of your child's school day. i am the band-aid for a skinned knee.

i mean, these are not just faceless jobs that we're losing. mr. gibbs shows us how these government workers are part of our lives in countless ways. so what does it do to have stories like this out there, showing a real impact of these mass layoffs? >> yeah, i think it's. >> right. >> alex, to. >> focus on the human story. >> because it's easy to think of federal bureaucrats. >> sitting in. >> washington, d.c, but many. >> of these are in your own community as a viewer here today. >> and they. >> are part. >> of the local. >> economy, particularly in national park communities, where that is a significant economic engine and so many people draw their livelihood. >> and frankly. >> the community culture thrives based on that. and i think what is the impact is you heard in don bacon, congressman don bacon's comments about measure twice, cut once. >> these are. >> having real. >> world impacts. >> and members. >> of. >> congress, local. >> representatives are. >> hearing a blowback about this. and. >> the impact. >> is in the loss of services. i think the real short sightedness of what trump and musk are doing, it's hard to see this now

as anything other than a vanity project, because. nothing about what they're doing will have a negligible impact, or it will only have a negligible impact on federal spending. the entire federal workforce is less than 2% of the federal budget. and let's. >> say they're cutting. >> 10% right now. you're at 2/10 of a percent of the federal budget, and you're causing all of this chaos and making no impact whatsoever on addressing federal spending. so whether it's ignorance or vanity that's driving this, it's not working for the american people right now. >> yeah. beyond a park goer who wants to see the beautiful vistas that we're showing you right now, the new york times reports that, quote, some of the cuts could threaten the local economies and safety of nearby towns. the employees say among those whose jobs were eliminated were river and wilderness rangers, scientists who helped keep forests healthy to minimize fire danger. many were trained to assist firefighters possessing skills that are required every summer, as climate change causes bigger and more severe fires. so, david,

this could impact everything from local economies to our extreme weather response. so until something devastating happens, like a fire, does the administration just operate under a move fast, break things and fix later? if you have to kind of response. >> that, that certainly seems like it. and unfortunately it may be whether it's this or matters of national security and geopolitical relationships or, or frankly, our defense response, it might take a crisis for people to realize what donald trump is doing, right? the notion of laying off federal workers is always popular, because it's not connecting in people's minds with the lack of services or the real life impact in these local economies. but for people, for instance, in this particular case, the national park service, for families who have tried to visit national parks summer after summer, right now their number of visitors are at all time highs. the wait times to get into parks is already significant. they already have a demand for more employees, not less. and so again, with no no discretionary budget impact

really at all, the federal government will see very little return on their investment from laying off people, but they will be reducing services to visitors to our park. they are reducing wages to people who have been faithful civil servants and they're impacting local economies. no one wishes for a crisis, but maybe it takes a crisis for people to open up their eyes to see what donald trump is doing. the scariest part here, though, is he's a lame duck president who's not on the ballot again. so donald trump may not actually care about the negative impact in many of these communities. >> okay. former congressman david jolly, thank you. thank you. coming up, the justice department prepares to explain its highly controversial request to drop all charges against new york city mayor eric adams. but will a federal judge go along with it? a live report outside court next. stay close everyone. court next. stay close everyone. more coverage just after this. with fatigue and light-headedness, i knew something was wrong. then i saw my doctor and found out i have afib, and that means there's about a 5 times greater

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>> by jen psaki. each week, she talks. >> to some. >> of. >> the biggest. >> names in. >> democratic politics, with the biggest ideas for how democrats. >> can win again. >> the blueprint with. jen psaki. listen now. >> 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 at msnbc.com. >> it's good to be back with you. i'm alex witt in for chris jansing at this hour. eric adams goes to court. any minute now, the new york city mayor will be face to face with a judge for a hearing on the motion to dismiss the criminal corruption charges against him. we're going to take you live to the courthouse. also, all politics is local. president donald trump is again weighing in on new york city politics, now ending the much debated congestion