blayne alexander nbc news washington. >>> the "today" show is's -- on democrats take control of the house. you can see that tomorrow morning on "today". >>> the government shutdown affecting national closed but remains partially open, and the visit not very pleasant for many. visitors are complaining about all the garbage and waste. staffing is limited and that means bathrooms aren't being cleared. yosemite has cleaned bathrooms and campgrounds in play areas. rangers will now be at a check point during the day at a south entrance, only admitting visitors with reservations. all others must enter using the western entrance. >>> apple stock was halted after the company lowered its first quarter earnings outlook. trading stopped for the announcement. the stock price was down by 7%. in a letter to shareholders, ceo tim cook reported it would not meet initial revenue projections and blamed a weakening economy in china, specifically weaker iphone sales there, and other emerging markets. >>> now, in spite of that, stocks kicked off the year on a positive note after plunging earlier. they managed

jim and doreen, back to you. >> blayne alexander. blaine, thank you. > during his speechtonight, the president highlighted the recent murder of a teenager in gaithersburg as an example of gang violence. >> inma land, ms-13 gang members who arrived in the united states as unaccomnied minors were arrested and charged last year after viciously b stabbing ating a 16-year-old girl. >>lexandra disappeared back in 2017. she was found weeks later in fi springd, virginia. several ms-13 gang members have been convicted in that murder. it isn't clear if any of the members charged were undocumented. >>> as the president spoke tonight, dozens of people were protesting outside the white house. they held up signs blasting the so-called fake crisis over border security. jacqui benson is live with their part of the story. jackie? >> reporter: protesters toldorhe s of increasing desperation on the part of fe ral workers and those w depend on them. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: the noise and music-filled protest is a regular fixture on pennsylvania avenue outside t

blayne alexander isracking all of this for us. blayne. >> reporter: this really has the feel of a state of the union night, but with higher stakes. and now with're seein a new approach to this shutdown show down instead of focussing on their negotiations with each other, both sides ain bring their arguments directly to you. tonight president trump in or hisime with a pr push border wall. but the big question, is he preparing to go around congress altogether and declare a national emergency to build the wall. >> what i expect the president to do tonight is explain to the american people that we have a humanitarian andecurity crisis our southern border. >> reporter: the shutdown now the second longest in u.s. history with president trump and stalemate,ocked in a both sides not budging. >> no excuse whether there's a crisis or war, there's no excuse for shutting down the federal government. >> democrats will make their own argument tonight, a prime time rebuttaled deliv by nancy pelosi and chuck schumer. >> reporter: president trump t

. >>> blayne alexander is at the live desk in our news room now following t roger stone story. blayne, he was not shy after his hearing ts morning, was he? >> reporter: he has never been one to awy from news cameras. that trend continued this morning. he had t a lot say after that court appearance in florida. roger stone is one of president's earliest potical advisers and today he made it clear he will not tun the president. today, former trump campaign adviser roger stone defiant after s earlymorning arrest and court appearance in florida temming from special counsel robert mueller's russia investigation. >> i will plead not guilty to these charges. i willm defeat t in court. i believe this is a polically motivated investigation. >> reporter: stone, surrounded by a throng of reporte and spectators vowing he will never turn on president trump. >> i wl not testify against the president. because i would have to bear falseitness against him. >> reporter: stone is facing seven charges, including ct obstn, false statements and witness tampering stemming from his alleged c nection to

he said he does believe that russia interferedn the 2016 elections. >> blayne alexander. thanks so much. >>> no work, no money comin in federal workers forced to find new ways to bring in cash. >> today fairfax county public schools held a second job fare to help workersind work as substitute teachers. >> cory smith is live for us toni financial struggles of those attending. >>> with each onese of t shutdown stories i cover i look for a silver lining. something positive to take away from it. here in fairfax it's simple. the school district h a hole in its teaching force and these furloughed employees can help fill it. >> i think iwas last week, this last week when reality set in. >>eneporter: k carter already has two jobs but with no end to the partial government shutdown in sight she came to the fairfax public schools looking for a third. >> you can't prepare for something that you don't know how to prepare for. >> reporter: she was one of 200 employees hoping to get a substitute teaching job. it comes with less certainty but it's better than nothing. >> if i can invest

blayne alexander ise white house with new reaction. blaine, the president is reacting rather strongly. >> absolutely, pat. he was forced to awer a rathe stunning questiontoday, does he now or has he ever worked for this is something the president did not directly deny when asked over the weekend, but he is denying it aftoday. r a pair of bombshell headlines placing even nor scrutiny on president trump's relationship with russia. today the president firing back. russia.ver worked for not only did i never work for russia. i think it's a disgrace that yov ask that question because it's a whole big fat hoax.hi >> reporter: coming after the "new york times" report, the fbi opened a 20 investigation to determine if he was knowingly working for russia or had unwittingly followed under moscow's influence. >> that sparked by the president's firing of fbi j directes comey and what he said about it to lester holt. >> i said, you knowhis russia thing with trump and russia is a made-up story.od >> reporter:ay the president defending that firing, wh

blayne alexander on the hill for us. thank you. >>> we know someone who is affected neighbors are helping neighbors to put food on the table of furloughed families. >> we go to david culver from stafford. >> reporter: 100 furloughed workers will be coming back to school. we're at the staffordampus here. all day long thursday, they are preparing courses. you have a dozen professors offering their talents to help from financial management, to mindfulness and medication. useful in a stressfultime. farther away, there's a major effort under way. latoya brown. she is helping with the fd bank, stocking up shelves, opening up their services to help families keep food on the table. latoya says this is no time for pride. >> we're not here to judge anyone. it doesn't matter how much money you make. what kind of car you drive or the house you liven. we're concerned about the need right now. >> reporter: the rional food bank is hosting a food drive. if you are one of the fortunate ones receiving a paycheck, you can help out. reporti

blayne alexander, nbc news, washington. >>> the government shutdown affecting national parks. many of them are closed but oates elm tooe remains partially open and the visit not so pleasant for many. visitors complaining about all the garbage and waste. staffing is limited and that means bathrooms aren't being cleaned and garbage is piling up. yosemite has closed bathrooms in several campgrounds and i pla areas. the south entrance only admitting visitors with reservations. all others must enterritory park using the western entrance. >>> incoming utah senator and former presidential candidate mitt romney is laying the groundwork for opposition to the president. writing in an op-ed in the "washington post" today he said the president has not "risen to the mantle of the office." president trump fired back in a cabinet meeting saying if romney had fought president obama as hard as he's fighting donald trump he would have won the 2012 election. romney promises to speak out against dishonest actions and he says he is not running for president again. >>> the death toll has risen in r

blayne alexander has the latest. >> the testimony you're about to give to this committee. >> president trump's pick for attorney general and the man that will oversee robert mueller's investigation promising he will not fire mueller without good cause. >> it's vitally important that the special counsel will allowed to complete his investigation. busharr first served as attorney he was confirmed unanimously but today facing a tougher road because of his 2018 memo offering criticism of mueller's investigation. >> it looked like a job application. >> that's ludicrous. if i wanted the job and was going after the job, there are many more direct ways of me bringing myself to the president's attention. >> instead barr said he was just sharing his thoughts on a specific theory and pushed back on a familiar line from president trump. >> i don't believe mr. mueller would be involved in a witch hundred. >> when pressed by democrats, barr would not commit to recusing himself. >> let's imagine it's a judgment call and the judgment by the career ethics official in the agency are that you recuse your

>> we have coverage of the shutdown and its affects on families in our area let's begin with blayne alexander. >> reporter: this shutdown is oe o break records mp today ties for the second longest shutdown in history and no sign it's ending soon. the partial government shutdown nowtretching into wee three and a compromise over the border wall apparently notcl even e. both sides only digging in deeper. president trump announcing he will address the nation tomorrow night on border security. >> i willell you this, if we don't find a solution, it's time.to go on for a long there's not going to be any bend right here. >> reporter: in fact, the white house says the president is traving to th southern border himself this thursday after threatening to go around congress andre dec a national emergency reallocating military funds to build the wall. an idea rejected by some democrats. >> is probably the worst public policy idea i've heard in about ten years. it would have been horrific. reporter: anwhile, senate democrats taking a stand of their own, threatening to block any legislation until there's a

nbc's blayne alexander joining us live from d.c. with the latest on thiss this serious power play from pelosi. >> reporter: well, phillip, good morning to you. if you askpeaker pelosi, she security all about concerns. she says because of the massive amount of manpower it takes to just plan something like the state of the union and given the fact that many employees arewo ing without pay or furloughed she says it really is down to security and there's no wa to ensure that everybody there in the house chamber would stay safe. take a listen to what she had to say. >> this is -- requires hundreds of pkiple w on the logistics and the security of it. most of those pple are either furloughed or are victims of the ident's , the pr shutdown. but that isn't the point. the point is security. >> riorter: now, pel denies that it has anything to do with politics. she says she's not making aca poli play nor is she disinviting president trump. but as homeland security secretary kirstjen neels zen pushing back on her claim it wouldn't be secure, ess

blayne alexander is tracking the effort to fd common ground. is that possible, blayne?s certainly the million dollar question. we've got 18 days to figure

blayne alexander isracking all of this for us. ne. >> reporter: this really has the feel of a state of the union night, but with higher stakes. and now with're seein a new approach to this shutdown show down instead of focussing on their negotiations with each other, both sides ain bring their arguments directly to

in written f news 4's blayne alexander will have more on this story at 5:45., the president signed ll into law that would retroactively pay federal furloughed workers when the government opens. contractors such as janitors don't get back pay. >> i have a utility bill right here, don'know how that's going to get paid. >> more than 800,000 federal employees have not received a paycheck and do not know when their next one will come. >>> the shutdown is affecting airport security lines. tsa administrator said most tsa officers who call out are not in caout sick. many employees sab they are not to report to work for financial limitations. severaairports have closed terminal security lines because of high volume of call-outs. be sure to arrive at the airport early to make your way through security lines. >>> anxiety and stress are mounting for federal workers as the shutdown continues. but help is coming from workers and organizations. chef andres is the latest to er offer help to and their families.d he ope the chef for feds cafe in the district. line for a ited in

blayne alexander reports. >> reporter: on capitol hill lawmakers a down to business and on the clock. they have until february 15th to reach a border wallr deal risk a federal shutdown. >> it's also important to meet our responsibilities, to secur the border. >> reporter: it's all up to a bipartisan group of 17 lawmakers trying to find common groun on the very issue that led to the longest shutdown in history the group hoping to iron out a deal to satisfy both congressnt and presirump. some democrats sounding more open to the idea of a borde barrier. >> what i hope to do is talk about the things that will secure the border in a most cost-effective way. >> reporter: a president trump tweeting they are just wasting their time if the talks don't clude a barrier. >> it would be helpfulf the president were onboard helping to reach a successful conclusion today. >> weust do everything we can to prevent another ceunary and destructive government shutdown. >> reporte the president also considering executive action to fund the wall without congress. as for another shutdown, the white house ins

. >> nbc's blayne alexander joins us liveta with the off between the president and the speaker. blayne. >> reporter: astandoff indeed. so both parties seem to agr t th country needs stronger border security. the democrats unveiling nearly $22 billion, a plan for better border enhancements but for a wall. president trump has made it clear that's a no go. it is the largest fentanyl bust in border patrol history, more than 600 pounds o of theoid and meth seized at a border crossing in arizona in the bottom of a cucumber truck. >> in the bottom was what you see here. >> reporter: an example of illegal drugs from the mexico to the u.s. but seized at a legal entry. as washington continues to argue over whether to pay for t border wall. >> it's the only thing that works for security and safety forur country is a wall. >> reporter: a of lawmakers trying to reach a risk facing another shutdown in almost two weeks. but the standoff between president trump and house speaker nancy pelosi not breaking. >> if theywaon't have a , i don't want to waste my time reading what they ve. if there's no

blayne alexander is tracking the effort to fd common ground. is that possible, blayne? >> reporter: that is certainly the million dollar question. we've got 18 days to figure it out or we could be looking at the same scenario all over train. presidenp says that he will get his border wall with or withoutdemocrats. and while the white house says that president trump does not want another ruling out the possibility. with the nation's longestgo rnment shutdown officially over, thousands of americans finally back to work for now. fundings only guaranteed until february 15th. meaning the countown is already on for the next possible shutdown over the border wall in less than three weeks. >> all we can do is pray. >> reporte those praye stretching to capitol hill where hebipartisan group of lawmakers will meet for first time wednesday hoping to hash out a deal on the president's border wall but president trump n sounding optimistic. telling "the wall seet journal" it's less than 50/50 that the group can work it out. >>ly ide democrats would take these next three weeks to negot

blayne alexander in washington with concerns house speaker nancy pelosi is raising. blayne. >> she sent a letter, because of government shutdowns, there are security concerns when securing something of that magnitude because a number of people are furloughed or not working at all. unless it's over by the end of the week, the president should postpone his address until the shutdown ends or submit it by paper in writing. homeland security kirstjen nielsen is pushing back seeing dhs and secret service stand ready and perfectly capable to secure the state of the union as planned. she said he will have a venue for the state of the union address and no security concern. guys, we have not heard back from the white house on this. we're certainly watching president trump's twitter feed refreshing every few minutes to see what he may have to say about this. keep in mind the speech is scheduled for less than two weeks from now. certainly a lot of questions as to, one, how this will play out. and two, whether the government will be reopened by that time. >> thank you very much. l

. >> blayne alexander joins us to happened.n what >> reporter: william barr has had this job before so he's beeo through thess before, but this time it's different. he's facing tougher questionsec nowse of the russia investigation and because of what he has said about it. today president trump's pick for attorney general and the man who would oversee special counsel robert mueller's investigation promising he will not fire mueller without good cause. >> it is vitally important that the special counsel be allowed investigation.s >> reporter: barr first served as attorney general under gorge bush. today facing a tougher road because of his 2018 me offering criticism of mueller's investigation. >> it looked like a j application. >> that's ludicrous. f i wanted the job and was going after the job, there are many more direct ways of me bringing myself to the president's attention. >> reporter: instead, br says he was just sharing his thoughts on a specific theory and pushed back on a familiar line from president trump. >> i don't believe mr. mueller would be involved in a witch hunt. >> he

. >> blayne alexander leads off our team coveragetonight. >> reporter: we're talking about an option that president trump had been dangling for days and that's the option to declare a national emergency to get the ewall. resident said today that he doesn't plan to do that right now. instead he was to see something get done through congress. here's a reminder for you guys congress is hopelessly deadlocked. now it's sending so many people back to the sameon questi when and how willhe shutdown end? for more than 800,000 federal employees, friday's pay stub looks like this. zero dollars. it's a grim milestone just hours before the government shutdown becomes the longest in u.s. history. >> i was abl to pay my mortgage this month. but i don't know about next month. >> reporter: with congress sll deadlocked, all eyes are on president trump, who today took a step back from declaring a nationaler ncy. something that would allow him to go around congress to build l his border an option he's been dangling for days. >> i have the absolute right t do it. but i'm not going to do it so fast, becau

. >> blayne alexander thank you. >>> it's an estimate nearl 300,000 government contractors are out of work because of the sho shutdown. we sat down with a groupf them who have been terminated from their jobs. and unlike the furloughed employees they likely willot get back pay. >> when did it become a crisis modeo you? >> when the kids went back to school, we realized we were a few days away from missing an of, you know, iod being able to get paid. that's when it started to feel that's when you start to really clamp down on your family's decisions. you know, going out, not going out. can it wait to buy something? >> what are some of the financial stresses that come to mind as you start to think about how long this is going to because that's still t question mark? >> i'm going to have two kids in day care starting infebruary our infant will be going to day care in brry, and that's $800 a week or so. and that'soing to add up really quickly. nd your last day was the 21st or 22? >> it was that friday before christmas. >> how did that dou play >> we were just all working to get every holida

blayne alexander has been out there talking to workers caught inhe middle there. >> reporter: for soany people around the country it's tomorrow when the shutdown reaches a whole new level. that's because thousands of people will not get paid and they have no way of knowing when they will t paid again. for almostil aon americans it's been nearly three weeks of uncertainty. >> i have nodea when this is going to end. and it's killing rus. orter: of anger. >> it's very frustrating and it's a hard wayo live. >> reporter: and with each passing day, growing fear. ithurts. we can't pay our bills, the doctors, mortgages. realityter: this is the of the more than 800,000 federal workers caugh in the middle of the government shutdown. across the country thousands of employees and supporters taking to the streetsith a message to washington. >> some way, make it happen. put everybody back to work and get the country moving again. this is ridiculous. >> reporter: they nd relief. but lawmakers apparently not even close. >> we've gone around and around and around with the white house and made little

. >> let's get right to blayne alexander and take a closer looh at charges he's facing. >> reporter:, you know when he walked out of that courtroom today, roger stone was defiant. remember, he is one of presidt trump's earliest political advisers. and today he made ite lear that ll not turn on the president.t ay former trump campaign adviser roger stone defiant after his early morning arrest and court appearance in florida stemming from special counsel robert mueller's russia investigation. >> i will plead not guilty to the charges. i will defeat them in court. i believe this is a politically motivated investigation. >> reporter: stone surroued by reporters and spectators. vowing he will neer turn on president trump. >> i will not testify against the president. because i would have o bear false witness against him. >> reporter: stone is facing seven charges inuding obstruction, false statements and witness tampering stemming from his alleged connection to kileaks and hacked democratic party e-mails. something candidatetrump repeatedly referenced during the 2016 campaign. >> russia, i

blayne alexander is live to break down the standoff. >> reporter: standoff is a good way to put it. we've been here before. both sid seem to agree that the country needs stronger bordersecurity. democrats offering $22 billion for border enhancements but no money for a wall whilep presidet trs saying that is a no go. it is the largest fentanyl bust in border patrol history, more than 600 pounds o the opioid and meth seized at the border of arizona smuggled in a truck. >> in the compartment under the floor of the trailer was this you see here >> reporter:e example of th flow of illegal drugs from mexi into the.s. but seized at a legal port of industry. not an areact pro by president trump's proposed border wall as washington continues to argue over whether pay for it. it's the only thing that works for security and safety, a wall. >> reporter: a group of bipartisan lawmakers trying to reach a deal. but the standff between president trump and house speaker nancyelosi not breaking. >> if they don't have a wall, i don't want to waste my time reading what they have. if there's no wall it

. >> blayne alexander is tracking this. is it at least a start? >> reporter: even though both of e plans hit a brick wall, what happened today is notable. this is the first time in 34 days that the senate has even voted on bills to reopen the government. but it was clear almost from the start that neither of these meures were going anywhere >> the motion is not agreed >>. eporter: today, the senate taking a stab at reopening the government, voting on a pair of competing bills that would end the shutdown. >> the motion is not agreed to. >>eporter: both expected to fail before even hitting the floor. stop holding innocent federal employees hostage. >> reporter: the republican offer, $5.7 billion for the border wall. the democratic plan no money for the borde it comes as the administration is under increasing fire for being out of touch. commerce secretary, wilbur ross, suggesting some of thealorkers e ou going to food banks. >> i know they are, and don't understand why. >> reporter: ross later trying to walk it back. >> you cannot imagine walking in

"today in the bay" blayne alexander live in washington with the concerns house speaker nancy pelosi is now raising. good morning, blayne. >> laura, good morning to you. she says this is all about security concerns. she says with something as big as the state of the union address, there are lots of logistics and a lot is required to secure all the people inside the chamber. she is pointing to the shutdown and saying because a number of people are furloughed or not getting paid, there's no way they can provide security. homeland security kirstjen nielsen is pushing back seeing dhs and secret service stand ready and perfectly capable to secure the state of the union as planned. speaker pelosi says she's not disinviting president trump but rather suggesting he move his speech until sometime after the government reopens or just submit it by writing. just kind of mail it in essentially. republicans are slamming this as a political ploy and say there will be a place for the president to deliver his state of the union address in less than two weeks as it's currently scheduled. keep in mind, la

blayne alexander, common ground here? >> reporter: we are back on the clock toward another possible aiutdown. president trump he will get his border wall with or without democrats and the white house is not ruling out another do government sh. with the nation's longest shutdown officially over, thousands of americans back to work for now.s fundingnly guaranteed until february 15th, meaning the count down is on for the next possible shutdown over the border wall in less than three weeks. all we can do is pray. >> reporter: those prayers stretching to capitol hill where a bipartisan group of lawmakers will meet for the first time wednesday hoping talhash out a n the president's border wall. but president trump not sounding optimistic. telling the wall street journal it's, quote, less than 50/50 g that theroup can work it out. >> it's weather they're willing to negotiate in good faith. il reporter: the president said he'sng to declare a national emergency to get funding for the border wall. after a 35-day shutdown. the battl