let's turn to chris pollone. good morning, chris. what problem to these sites have with this law? >> reporter: frances, good morning. basically, this texas law requires that adult websites take steps to verify that users are over the age of 18. violations could lead to fines of up to $20,000 per day, plus a $250,000 fine if a minor sees the material. some websites like porn hub chose to take their content completely offline in texas. an industry group called the free speech coalition has helped take this fight all the way to the supreme court, arguing that this content is protected by the first amendment. critics also say the law also exposes people to privacy and security risks. a similar law was struck down by the court 20 years ago, but texas argues there are less-intrusive ways to verify age now. meanwhile, in a separate case we're all waiting to hear the justices to decide the fate of a platform possible for all ages, tiktok. it could be banned in the u.s. this sunday unless the chinese company divests of their u.s. assets. bloomberg had reported that the app had discussed se

nbc's chris pollone joins me from d.c. good morning, chriss. pete hegseth's nomination is one that has faced the most scrutiny. >> reporter: hi, frances, good morning to you. that's absolutely right. hegseth is a veteran and former fox news host. there are questions, a lot of questions, about if he has the experience to lead the pentagon. sources tell nbc news that the two leading members of the armed services committee received an fbi background check on hegseth late friday. senators from both parties have said they want to see that report. but it's not clear if more will get the chance before tomorrow's hearing. while democrats question hegseth's qualifications, he does have the support of john barrasso. >> i think pete is going to be terrific in terms of recruitment, in terms of morale, in terms of returning america to a fighting force, which is what the american people really want. >> there is not a job that's more serious and more critical to our national security than secretary of defense. and we need a qualified individual in that job. a

frank. >> chris pollone, thank you very much for that report. nbc's chris pollone. have a good day. thank you again. >>> moving on with a quick look at u.s. stock futures right now. in the green as we mentioned at the start of the show. the s&p up .50%. nasdaq up .75%. joining me now is gene goldman. happy new year. thank you for being the first guest on cnbc in 2025. great to have you. >> great to see you, frank. happy new year to you. >> futures are in the green. we are talking about two terror attacks. one in las vegas and one in new orleans. do you see that having a potential impact on the market or sentiment today? >> first of all, our hearts and prayers out to those who lost their lives in new orleans and vegas. it adds to market uncertainty. we say 2025 is a new year's resolution. full of promise and challenges to work through. the challenges are this, stronger than expected u.s. growth, moderating inflation and fed easing. that usually means good market returns. there are near-term challenges. fed uncertainty. we saw that fed decision in december. we saw where the neutral ra

chris pollone joins me. the president-elect seems focussed on expanding the united states. >> reporter: that's right, frances. good morning to you. this, of course, is not the first time that president-elect trump has floated some of these ideas. but, at this latest news conference, he refused to rule out usg military or economic force to take over other areas. mr. trump says the u.s. needs to control greenland and the panama canal for national security. >> the panama canal is vital to our country. it's being operated by china. china. and we gave the panama canal to panama. we didn't give it to china. we need greenland for national security purposes. people really don't even know if denmark has any legal right to it. but, if they do, they should give it up, because we need it for national security. that's for the free world. i'm talking about protecting the free world. >> reporter: donald trump jr. arrived in greenland yesterday, visiting the island that his father showed an interest in buying in 2019. it is

nbc's chris pollone joins me from d.c. hi, chris, good morning. the president-elect tried up until the last minute to stop today's sentencing. >> reporter: hi, frances, good morning. that's absolutely right. president trump's lawyers asked the supreme court to intervene. but, in a 5-4 ruling, the court decided not to step in. the court said the sentencing should not be much of a burden to the president-elect. the new york judge has made it clear that the sentencing will not include any prison time. the court said he could address any issues he has with the case through appeals. and last night he said that's exactly what he will do. >> well, they called for an appeal. and, as you know, they acknowledge what the judge said about no penalty, there's no penalty. but we're going to appeal anyway, just psychologically, because frankly, it's a disgrace. >> reporter: a source with knowledge of the proceedings told nbc newews what we can expt today. they say both the prosecution and defense will be given a chance to speak if they want to. president-elect t

in washington, chris pollone, nbc news.nt biden declared today as the national day of mourning of the late president carter, and a national organization is remembering the late president's work that changed thousands of lives. late president and mrs. carter dedicated themselves to habitat for humanity for almost 40 years. the organization says the couple renovated or repaired about 4500 homes in 14 different countries during that time. habitat groups across the world are remembering the late president. today, the east bay silicon valley group is erecting a memorial. some doors at oakland and san jose city halls. the doors symbolize president carter's legacy of opening doors to better futures for habitat homeowners. so back in 2013, here in san jose, he helped us out building playhouses for local community organizations, doing a community improvement project over at lake cunningham park. and he also helped us renovate two homes for sale through affordable mortgages to families with limited incomes here in san jose. and in re

chris pollone from nbc news is joining us at the moment. actually, i would like to just ask you to give us an update and expectation, really, of how this vote is likely to pan out later today. >> reporter: i wish i could tell you, silvia, that's the thing that's crazy. in the past, the vote for speaker has been very routine. generally gone quickly on one ballot. then two years ago, you might remember that it took four days and 15 ballots for republicans to elect mike mccarthy as speaker. now anything support for grabs. now with the smallest margin of the majority that republicans have had. they hold a 219 to 215 majority. mike johnson, the current speaker, can only lose one vote and still win a majority. if he loses two votes, then it would be a tie if everybody votes. already, one representative, thomas massie of kentucky, said he is absolutely not voting for johnson. so, it's up in the air right now. we have no idea how this vote or votes are going to go today. johnson is expressing optimism saying he believes that at the end of the day h

chris pollone in washington for us this morning. chris. thank you. and today is a national day of mourning. as such, federal offices will be closed along with the u.s. stock markets. but federal workers will still be paid. banks and schools will remain open. nbc news will have full coverage of the former president's funeral starting in our next half hour. now it's scheduled to begin roughly at 630, at which point today in the bay will stream online. you can also find that at nbcbayarea.com or wherever you stream. it is 609 and here's a live look at sfo where happening today. tsa security screeners are organizing a protest and rally. workers claim they're owed millions in back pay. and we know a rally is scheduled for noon. remember, screeners at sfo are contracted out, in this case to a company called covenant aviation security. we tried to reach out to the tsa early this morning but are still waiting to hear back. we know at least one san francisco supervisor, connie chan, plans to attend. taking a live look outside, this time from the south bay ove

now, in the meantime, today in the bay's chris pollone. he's live for us on capitol hill this morning. and, chris, the entire natition will be observing this. yeah, absolutely. mark, it's always a spectacle and a solemn occasion when a u.s. president is laid to rest. you know, president biden declared today a national day of mourning for the longest living u.s. president in history. throughout the night and into the early morning hours, mourners by the thousands came to the capitol to pay their respects to president jimmy carter. each with his own reasons for coming. i think president carter and rosalynn carter deserve all the respect and that the world can muster. it was a minor sacrifice on my part, you know, to fly up here in the cold weather. they waited in line for hours in frigid temperatures, just to spend a few moments with a president who touched their lives in some way. i definitely revered the man. i mean, he's definitely done a lot, you know, as a human being. and for the world. throughout the day, political leaders and celebrit

nbc's chris pollone joins me from d.c. hi, chris, good morning. the president-elect is not the only one trying to stop it from becoming public. >> reporter: lawyers for mr. trump's co-defendants in the classified documents case are also trying to block the report. they filed a motion last night asking the district judge in florida to block smith. they cited that judge's previous ruling that smith's appointment was unconstitutional. the special counsel is required to provide a report to attorney general merrick garland, and he can choose to make it public. but mr. trump's lawyers sent garland a letter asking him not to. the justice department did not respond to request for comment. this unfolded hours after lawmakers gathered here at the capitol to certify president-elect trump's latest election victory, as president of the senate, vice president kamala harris oversaw the certification of her own defeat. >> donald j. trump of the state of florida has received 312 votes. kamala d. harris -- [ applause ] kamala d. harris of the state of california ha

nbc's chris pollone joins me from d.c. hi, chris, good morning. is hoping to avoid the long, drawn-out fight that we witnessed two years ago. >> reporter: that's right. even with the support of president-elect trump, johnson knows his chances today are a little bit shaky. he acknowledged that republicans hold one of the smallest house majorities in the country's history. democrats are expected to cast their votes today for hakeem jeffries. johnson can only afford to have one or two republican defectors, but he has been facing backlash on striking deals over government spending. there are a handful of holdouts who say they aren't sure about him. >> he doesn't have my vote. and i think he's losing political capital by the second. >> i'll make up my mind on friday. >> i don't trust him that he's going to deliver. for the last year he's been the speaker, every time he folded to the swamp. >> reporter: president-elect trump did give his endorsement to johnson several days ago, and yesterday the speaker met with several of his detractors to hear their d

nbc's chris pollone is following the white house reaction. morning, chris. >> reporter: president biden is urging people not to jump to any conclusions in this incident. he says he will keep the country fully informed. the president says he has directed his team to make sure every resource is made available to federal and local law enforcement with the fbi taking the lead on this investigation. >> the fbi is leading the investigation to determine what happened, why it happened, whether there was any continuing threat t to public safety. new orleans is a place unlike any other place in the world, a city full of charm and joy. so many people around the world love new orleans. because of its history. its culture, and above all its people. so i know while this person committed a terrible assault on the city, the city of new orleans will never, never, never be defeated. >> reporter: the president also acknowledged the deadly cybertruck explosion that happened outside a trump hotel in las vegas. he said authorities are looking for any possible link

let's go to chris pollone in washington, d.c. the capitol police aren't taking any chances with security this year. >> reporter: that's correct. nobody is. good morning. authorities are making sure that there can't be a repeat of that day exactly four years ago when supporters of donald trump tried to stop the certification of the 2020 election that mr. trump lost. fencing and barriers have been established around the capitol building, and police have also shut down several surrounding streets ahead of the proceedings set to start at around 1:00 eastern time this afternoon. this time around, mr. trump is the legitimate winner of the election, and it is vice president kamala harris who will oversee the certification of his 312 electoral votes and her own defeat. democrats have already said they are not planning to contest the result, unlike in 2021 when several prominent republicans objected during the vote count. meanwhile, funeral observances have begun for former president jimmy carter. a motorcade transported him to his hometo

today, in the bay's chris pollone live in washington following both investigations. good morning. chris. yeah. scott. laura, good morning to the both of you. two deadly new year's day incidents and two of the most popular tourist destinations in the u.s, both using vehicles rented through the same app. and now federal investigators are trying to figure out if the similarities end there. good evening. president biden extending the nation's condolences to people in new orleans after the new year's day french quarter truck attack, which left at least 15 people dead. to all the families of those who were killed. to all those who were injured. to all the people of new orleans who are grieving today, i want you to know i grieve with you. our nation grieves with you. the fbi says the attack is being investigated as an act of terror. the suspect has been identified as 42 year old samsudin jabar, a us born citizen from texas. jabar, a veteran of the army and army reserves, died in a shootout with police. agents searched a home in houston believed to be connected to jabar. they want to know

today in the bay'snal chris pollone is live on capitol hill. i would imagine the mood is solemn there, chris. yeah it is. i actually went down to watch the caisson go up pennsylvania avenue, and you could hear a pin drop as though the hooves of the horse went clop, clop up the street. you know, for president jimmy carter returning now to the city where the georgia democrat started to build a legacy of being a humanitarian and statesman. in washington, people are pausing to reflect on the life and legacy of president jimmy carter. james earl carter jr loved our country. he lived his faith. he served the people a ad he left the world better than he found it. in a ceremony bringing together leaders and dignitaries with the carter family, the capitol welcomed the 39th president back to washington. remembering carter as a man who performed a lifetime of selfless service after his one term in the white house, the longest post-presidency of any american president ever. he focused on making the lives of his fellow men better. the late president's final

meteorologist kari hall is tracking that storm, and we saw chris pollone just a moment ago in washington, d.c. those lawmakers have to get to the capitol, and it is snowing hard there. yeah. so it's going to continue to snow. they're looking at up to a foot of snow in d.c. i mean, that's pretty crazy there. and it continues to move across parts of the midwest. and now moving off towards the east, you can see pretty much all of pennsylvania is covered by some snow, as well as around the d.c. area. and then just south of there, it changes over to a wintry mix of freezing rain and possibly some sleet. so we'll be watching out for the impacts that has as we go throughout the day. behind that system, temperatures are dropping. we're going to see highs in the teens in kansas city today. that means those lows will most likely be around zero. and then we'll also see that cold air blasting off towards the east. with new york city's high today only making it up to about 31 degrees. so we're seeing some snow as well around denver, and we'll see those impacts there. here in the bay area we are looki