jesse kirsch is there tonight. >> reporter: even though bourbon street is now open and buzzing some peopledy to return to new orleans' most famous strip. >> thinking about the crowds coming in for the super bowl and mardi gras, i'm scared. >> reporter: after wednesday morning's attack jada quit her job as a bartender on bourbon street where she worked for five years. >> i was baffled. i don't think that i can say anything else. it doesn't make any sense. >> reporter: concern about safety, each after the city says it has beefed up security. we were there around 9:00 p.m. local time, hundreds of people were in and around the bars. as we looked around bourbon street's intersections, some were fortified with vehicles, but at least two side roads we saw had no heavy duty barricades. >> right now this is one of the safest places on earth. >> even as the city and the governor keep ing safety. new questions about why bourbon street was not safe wednesday morning. nbc news obtained excerpts from a 2019 corpororate intelligence report warning new orleans barrier system does not seem to work and is r

jesse kirsch, nbc news. >>> still to come. host and musical guest? he really is. timothee chalamet returns to studio 8h for something that hasn't been done in three decades. the first time you try bounce, it hits you. your laundry feels way fresher, softer. so you start to wonder. if i put a sheet of bounce on the finance guy, will it make him softer? bounce can't do it all but for better laundry, ♪ put a sheet on it with bounce. ♪ jordan's sore nose let out a fiery sneeze, so dad grabbed puffs plus lotion to soothe her with ease. puffs plus lotion is gentle on sensitive skin and locks in moisture to provide soothing relief. a nose in need deserves puffs indeed. america's #1 lotion tissue. can neuriva support your brain health? mary. janet. hey! eddie. no! fraser. frank. frank. fred. how are you? support up to seven brain health indicators, including memory. when you need to remember, remember neuriva. welcome to the 100° sweat test. which one of these two antiperspirants can stand up to the heat? that's it. take it up a notch. looks like ordinary antiperspirants

>> jesse kirsch tonight, thank you. >>> we're going to turn now to growing concerns over the bird flu. one state now reporting the first death in the u.s. related to the virus. anne thompson is with us. anne, what are health officials saying? >> reporter: lester we know this individual was in louisiana. the person was 65 years old with previous existing conditions. this was the first severe human case of h5n1 in the u.s. there have been at least 66 cases in this country since last year, most of them involved farm workers who got the virus from sick poultry or dairy cows and had mild symptoms. this is believed to be the first case transmitted from what state health officials call a combination of backyard flock and wild birds. the good news here, the cdc says the risk to the general population remains low, and so far there is no sign of human-to-human transmission, lester. >> okay, anne. thanks for the update. >>> canada's long-time prime minister justin trudeau announced today he is stepping down as he faced growing turmoil at home and a difficult relationship with president-elect don

jesse kirsch tonight on how they pulled it off. >> reporter: with wildfires raging in los angeles --roken. >> reporter: the city is being braced on one of the sports world's biggest stages. >> we salute the brave nirps and everyday heroes who continue to support their neighbors. >> reporter: this weekend marks the start of the nfl playoffs, and before the l.a. chargers played the texans in houston saturday, a moment of silence in the stadium. chargers quarterback justin herbert giving a tip of his cap to the l.a. fire department. >> that's it. >> reporter: the chargers lost, ending their season. but tomorrow night l.a.'s other football team, the rams, takes on the minnesota vikings. that game was supposed to be in california but the wild card matchup was moved to arizona. the cardinals pitching in, sending planes to fly in the team, their families, and even some pets, while letting the rams use their stadium for the game. >> our hearts and minds and everything, thoughts and prayers go out to everybody who has been affected. >> reporter: the cardinals home field and locker room transf

nbc news correspondent jesse kirsch is on the scene for us in new orleans.on't know if that news and those developments or folks who appeared in those videos would seem to have prompted that statement from the local fbi official about not believing he acted alone and obviously sending a chill up people spines about the possibility of accomplices. i don't know if the news filtered, but it seems if it holds encouraging at the least. >> yeah, i can tell you it's been a fluid situation out here, not the least of which because there was a football game supposed to be played behind me here tonight. at first it was play tomorrow night and then a short time ago we learned from officials it will now be at 3:00 p.m. central. they've moved it up about four and half hours from when it was supposed to be moved to. the timeline of the game shifting, we have been watching to see if they change the security situation and as i look out i've been gone for just about half an hour and i'm going to ask our photographer if you can, this is in real time where we are noticing see a

nbc news correspondent jesse kirsch is on the scene for us in new orleans. know, that news in those developments, those folks who appeared in those videos which seemed to have prompted that statement from the local fbi official about not believing he acted alone and obviously kind of sending a chill up people's spines about the possibility of accomplices, i don't know if that news has filtered to new orleans but it does seem, if it holds, encouraging at the least. >> i can tell you it's been a very fluid situation out here, not the least of which because there was a football game that was supposed to be played behind here tonight, has now been postponed a. it's was supposed to be played tomorrow night and we know it's going to be at 3:00 p.m. central, so 4:00 p.m. eastern time. so they moved it up about 4 1/2 hours from when it was supposed to be moved to. so the timeline of the game shifting. we've been watching to see if they change the security situation and actually, you know what, as i look out, i've been gone for just a half an hour and i'm going to as

hope you and your family get some time together. >> thank you. >>> we want to bring back in nbc's jesse kirsch who's in new orleans, and just attended that fbi press conference on the attack. jesse, what stood out to you from those remarks? >> reporter: yeah, so we knew going into this press conference that there was an ongoing improvement project on bourbon street to replace bollards, which are just going to have our photographer pan off real quick and give you an idea of what we're talking about, about the height of a fire hydrant. doesn't look like a fire hydrant but a metal pole sticking up. you have probably seen them in the downtown of a major city before. those are meant to help protect people from being vulnerable to a potential vehicle ramming. so they have been in the process of repairing those. and trying to get clarity on what they have been doing, as they have been replacing them, what they had in place. they did say they had items in place where they were doing those repairs r.. they had a back up in place at the time, including something that was blocking a lift gate, which they

joining me now from there, nbc news correspondent, jesse kirsch. you were at the press conference. let me start by asking you what you heard in that room, and we have been trying to digest and tell the viewers what news we got out of that. tell us what stuck out to you? >> reporter: i want to give you the latest information we have. i am with somebody from the governor's team that just spoke with a colleague of ours, kate. it's supposed to be hosting a college football nationally televised tonight has been called off for at least 24 hours, and they are also supposed to host the super bowl in more than two months, but what i am learning from one of our colleagues that spoke to the governor's team, and we are not sure who called for the postponement, and what we are told from the governor's team that this was a decision made by state and local authorities, the government. that's sticking out to me because this morning, kate, hours, just hours after -- we are hearing sirens, and this is where the press conference was. these are motorcade officials, so we are not looking at an imminent

for "sunday today," jesse kirsch, pompano beach, florida. >> jesse, thank you very much, and happy 100thll lived." on march 19th, 1944, germany began its invasion of hungary, another step in the nazi march across europe. in the dark days that followed, the career of a promising young jewish hungarian gymnast was cut short but only for a while. agnes kaletti, a talented athlete and musician, whose father was killed at auschwitz, survived by using fake papers that identified her as christian. after the war she got back in the gym, becoming the 1946 hungarian champion. keleti missed the 1948 olympics with an injury, and by the 1952 helsinki games, she was 31 years old, well past the typical prime for a gymnast. she promptly won the gold medal in the floor exercise, adding a pair of silvers and two bronze for good measure. at the melbourne games four years later, the 35-year-old keleti won an astounding four gold medals and a silver, cementing her place as an olympic legend. as the soviet union tightened its influence over hungary, keleti was among a group of athletes who sought asylum in au

and joining us now lift from new orleans is jesse kirsch. t still despite what happened do not have hard barriers in place. tell us about that and officials addressing why there is nothing more secure in the area. >> reporter: yes, jonathan. frankly i've spent most of my time since we got on the ground here near the superdome because we were worried about what might happen at the super -- football game. i went to bourbon street, went there to see what it looked like after it reopened, sought the memorials, saw the law enforcement presence. i was looking around and as you come up to the intersections, i looked left, looked right, and walking down bourbon street i noticed i could see vehicles turning, i could see headlights down that street and i thought, why can i see headlights? why can i see a car driving by right now? theoretically hard barriers should be blocking that out and that's not what i saw. we did this on two separate side streets and i can tell you the metal fencing you just saw, looking like a bike rack, that is the extent of the

our jesse kirsch has more on the city's physical security measures. >> reporter: hours after that bloodyack on bourbon street, growing questions about the physical barriers used to secure the area, devices known as bollards, typically short stainless steel posts used in cities and towns to help control crowds and vehicles. but the bollards weren't there. the system was in the midst of repairs. >> bollards were not up, because they are near completion. with the expectation of being completed, of course, by super bowl. >> reporter: the game-set to be played in new orleans next month. the superintendent of police says other barriers like police vehicles and officers were in place to secure bourbon street on new year's eve, but video shows how the attacker drove right around a patrol car. >> so we did, indeed, have a plan, but the terrorist defeated it. >> anything that's currently in the midst of being repaired had a backup replacement? >> we had vehicles, and officers were there where all those bollards have been. we had that. we knew. so we did have it. and, like i said, in this particula

joining me now, jesse kirsch live from new orleans. zzi and barbara mcquaid, former u.s. attorney in michigan. she is also an msnbc legal analyst. let's start with you, jesse. and what are the new details learning from law enforcement as they investigate this and as the suspect has been identified? >> reporter: that's right. the suspect has been identified and one of the things we're going to be watching for throughout the day is what happens where i am right now. we are outside of the superdome. this is supposed to be hosting part of the college football playoff tonight. this is going to be a nationally televised game. georgia, notre dame, two schools that have massive followings. i was on a plane with people from atlanta with georgia gear on. you can see the fencing already up here and the metal detector set up they've got outside of this stadium right now. i also want to show you as we head further down the block, charlie, our producer, if you can pivot and show you outside of the superdome. again, tens of thousands of people presuma

nbc's jesse kirsch continues our team coverage from new orleans. a short time ago, officials here in new orleans held a press conference and gave us an update after that deadly ramming incident overnight. what we know at this point is as follows. first of all, the sugar bowl, which was set to be played this evening here at the superdome, has been postponed at least 24 hours to tomorrow night. i asked officials what gives them the confidence they can put that on safely tomorrow night? and the governor simply said, because he will be there. so we don't have much clarity at this point on what exactly officials are doing t to ramp up security or reassess the security situation, considering the fact that they acknowledge there may have been deficiencies on bourbon street where this attack happened overnight, officials tell us that there were some bollards, those posts that go about waist high and can protect sidewalks or street areas, that some of those were being in the midst of a repair project. and officials tell us that there was also a lift gate th

nbc's jesse kirsch reports from outside the superdome where the super bowl will also be held in just as fans made their way to the superdome for the sugar bowl, there was a visible, high-profile law enforcement presence, long guns, armored vehicles. police clearly trying to have a show of force. and this is the same venue that is set to host the super bowl next month. so you can imagine the level of scrutiny that this event is getting in the aftermath of the deadly attack on bourbon street on new year's day. inside, i can tell you having been in there myselfthat if you drop someone in this seat and they didn't have any context over what had been going on over the last few days, it would feel like any normal big-time college bowl game. they did have a moment of silence. it was about 30 minutes before kickoff, and at that point, the crowd was probably only about 60% of the seats were probably filled at that point. then they started the game. and the game proceeded as if it were any other electric college football atmosphere. that was the atmosphere while you're watching the game. but i

jesse kirsch is in louisiana.tion will be safeguarding the sugar bowl, a college football playoff game initially scheduled for last night postponed until this afternoon. give us the latest on the ground. >> reporter: first of all, the fact it is being played this afternoon is not sitting well with everyone. the attorney general in louisiana said she wishes this was pushed back at least another day. jonathan, we know from the superintendent they are planning to have law enforcement standing here at an equal level or potentially at a higher level than they were planning for the super bowl, which will be at the same venue next month. what fans can expect when they get here, we have seen barricades along the sidewalks extended over the last day or so and we are hearing from the sugar bowl if people are parking in the venue space itself, expect a security screening for your vehicle. one of the unknowns in all of this besides the potential for nerves and enhanced security presence is what it will look like inside the ve

we have nbc's jesse kirsch from miami to breakdown all the action.rning. >> reporter: laura, good morning. the stage is now set. the ohio state buckeyes and notre dame fighting irish. that's the match up for the national championship just over a week from now. for the moment, many fans' attention will be turning to the pres with a weekend full of playoff football. >> ohio state scoop and score. >> reporter: this morning, the ncaa championship match up is set. >> texas does fight hard and ohio state has the final word. >> the cotton bowl trophy. >> reporter: the ohio state buckeyes will faceoff against notre dame in over a week in the national championship. >> for ohio state. >> reporter: the first since the ncaa expanded the college football playoff from four teams to 12. the wild card kickoffs tonight and the college game is feeling like the pros. now college players are getting paid through name, image and likeness or nil deals. ohio state with a reported payroll of around $20 million. texas be believed to be in the same range. all that cash and th

nbc's jesse kirsch joins us to get the latest on the investigation. hey, jesse. good morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning. investigators also now sharing that the suspect made at least two visits to new orleans in the months leading up to the new year's day tragedy, as the mayor of new orleans now admits she cannot say for certain that the super bowl safety plans are good enough. this morning, mounting questions about new orleans' ability to safely host the super bowl next month. the company which makes the new bollards being installed on bourbon street says they can only stop a car going a maximum of 10 miles an hour. some experts say the famous strip should have barriers that could stop a car going three times faster. >> i have full confidence that the city of new orleans not only is safe, we will continue to be safe. >> reporter: but new orleans' mayor, latoya cantrell, now admits she cannot guarantee that bourbon street's new barriers can effectively protect super bowl crowds, and she's asking for a tactical expert to review the city's safety plans. >> th

nbc news correspondent jesse kirsch is live in new orleans and has been tracking all of these developments. jesse? >> reporter: andrea, what you just mentioned there from the mayor is an acknowledgment that she cannot guarantee at this point that they have enough of a safety plan in place for the upcoming super bowl. the mayor saying that she is asking the white house for help getting a tactical expert to new orleans this week to review the city's safety plan. and this is an important moment, because we have heard from, as recently as hours after this attack, from the city, from the governor, from the police superintendent, that this city is safe, they're prepared to host big events, ready to welcome crowds. now there's this acknowledgment that they don't actually know with 100% confidence that the plan they have in place is enough. and that really stuck out to hear that from the mayor yesterday. as you mentioned, we also are learning more from federal investigators, they shared videos showing the man behind this attack riding a bicycle through the french quarter in october. that was one o

. >> jesse kirsch is at the superdome with more on this angle, also with us nbc sports reporter.te suggesting the super bowl should be further delayed -- the sugar bowl, louisiana's ag added she does believe the event will be safe. what changes have been made since yesterday? >> you can see these barricades across the street right outside the super bowl behind me. the number of them has expanded since yesterday morning. we have noticed they have expanded the hardened barrier directly outside of the stadium. we are looking to see if there's any other security measures that are added. you can imagine there are some things they don't want us to know exist so someone who might try to take advantage of that is not aware of that situation. there's also a press conference upcoming so we are hoping to get some more clarity on what the safety plan is from officials. the superintendent of police as they will have bomb dogs out here and also this morning police further updated to tell us they are now planning to have as many, if not more law enforcement officers out here today for this game

jesse kirsch, i know you have been out there for a while. what does security look like?got music playing and people walking about. if you turn around, you can see trucks, delivery trucks amongst all of the people walking out here as well. it's our understanding this is normal to see traffic because you've got deliveries and those kinds of things going on with the road open over here. as we make a full turnaround in this intersection, i don't see any uniformed police officers, a sharp contrast from what we have seen last night. of course the number of people out here right now is a fraction compared to what i saw last night but i think it's worth noting we are couple of days after this attack, there is a memorial at the end of bourbon street, people coming to pay respects over there, people doing tourism over here, businesses over here. with the city under a microscope, i do not see a police officer out here. there has been a patrol car making lapse in the area at least a couple of times but it is such a difference from what i saw last night. i want to show you video from

jesse kirsch visited the area hours after bourbon street reopen, reporting only some entrances were fortified>> wide-open. >> reporter: as bourbon street comes back to life, visitors near and far are paying their respects to the 14 lives cut short. among them, nicole perez, a single mom recently promoted at work and matthew tenedorio, on the new orleans pelican steam. 18-year-old nikyra dedeaux was set to start college in a matter of days with hopes of becoming a traveling nurse. her friend was with her the night of the attack. >> in a split second you lost your friend. >> in a split second. she was truly just the most amazing, compassionate, considerate person that anybody could ever meet. >> reporter: heartbreak in a city known for celebrations, now looking ahead to securing the super bowl next month. >> reporter: and the investigation into this attack is far from over. the fbi saying they received nearly 1000 tips so far. the leads are coming in from all of the country, alex. >> kathy park, thank you so much. >>> join me know when former cia military analyst spokesperson for the counter ex

let's get you to jesse kirsch. to host the president where do things stand on the investigation and security? >> reporter: beyond those revelations that investigators shared there's been a reporting coming out over the weekend about the security plans in place in the city and new orleans mayor is now admitting she cannot guarantee the city super bowl safety plan is good enough. this morning, mounting questions about new orleans is ability to safely host the super bowl next month. the company that makes the new bollards being installed tells nbc news they can only stop a car going a maximum of 10 miles per hour. some experts say the famous street should have barriers that can stop a car going three times faster. >> i have full confidence the city of new orleans not only is safe, we will continue to be safe. >> new orleans is mayor now admits she cannot guarantee bourbon street's new barriers can effectively protect super bowl crowds and she's asking for a tactical expert to review the city safety plans. >> the asses

. >> we are going to go to jesse kirsch who is on the scene in new orleans, you heard that quote from the police chief, we did have a plan but the terrorist defeated it, what are people saying to you and how worried are they about their security in the city over the next couple days? >> reporter: yes, and what stuck out to me at the press conference is when we learned about the plan, the question is was that enough, clearly it wasn't enough to stop this from happening but there's also the question of if more should have been done just based on broad expectation of possible threats. we will get to that, but i want to tell you something that our producer just passed along to me, the fbi is telling us that they are on the scene of a houston texas neighborhood in conjunction with the investigation into what has unfolded here in new orleans, they are not elaborating much beyond that but we do know the fbi is actively on the scene of a houston neighborhood that just came from the federal bureau of investigation and what we know from the fbi is they have found at least two improvised explosi

nbc news correspondent jesse kirsch is outside the stadium in new orleans. >> reporter: in some wayseam colors outside the perdome ahead of a big game. but how many football games have you been to where you see something like that right across the street from the stadium? there is a heightened sense of security out here. we have seen additional hardened barriers and still all these people making their way towards the superdome for the sugar bowl, which was postponed from yesterday to today because of the attack in the early morning hours of new year's eve on bourbon street. but we continue to learn new details about that alleged terrorist attack and it raises, those details raising more questions about the security preparations for new year's eve and to press por details why officials are saying this a safe city and event. you can see a very visible security presence. before questions there security shortcomings and we are now looking at a football game about a day later. back to you. >> thank you. >>> the two men involved with the violence in new orleans and las vegas both served in

. >> if jesse kirsch with nbc news, thank you for holding this press preview. i just want to clarify something. first. you were just talking about bollards that are being repaired. talk about a get a lift gate that are replaced and then a lift gate that's not been working. was there a vehicle in place of that lift gate last night? was there were there things in place of those bollards which are being repaired? >> sure. >> the chief spoke to the plan in place and that is. >> yes. that was indeed and that is anything that is currently in the midst of being repaired, had a backup replacement. it had vehicles and officers were there where all of those bollards, ballasts have been. we had that we knew. so we did have it. and like i said, in this particular case, terrorists just went all the way around up onto the sidewalk and the lift gate. >> was there a vehicle like backing in and out to block that lift gate area, or was that just down in open? because that's what we've heard from the witness. >> captain. i'm the reason i'm calling the captain. he's the captain ov

nbc's jesse kirsch visiting hours after bourbon street reopened. >> wide open. >> reporter: as bourbon street comes back to life, visitors near and far are paying respects to the 14 lives cut short. among them nicole perez. a single mom recently promoted at work. matthew tenedorio. honored by the pelicans. and 18-year-old nikyra cheyenne dedeaux was set to start college ina matter of days with hopes of becoming a traveling nurse. her friend was with her the night of the attack. >> in a split second, you lost your friend. >> in a split second. she was truly just the most amazing, compassionate, considerate person that anybody could ever meet. >> reporter: heartbreak in a city known for celebrations. now looking to secure the super bowl ahead of next month. later on this morning, faith leaders will come together leading a prayer service helping the community heal. meanwhile, the fbi received nearly 1,000 tips from coming across the country in connection with the investigation. laura. >> so many families starting this year in grief. kathy, thank you. >>> we are learning details about the

we begin with jesse kirsch, ken dilanian, frank figlazy. you were there for the news conference that ended moments ago. what is the latest? >> a couple of things. we know the authorities have surveillance video of the suspect in the ramming attack planting the two explosive devices that have been discovered and rendered safe. they have video of him doing this on his own and that is something that led them to say that they believe the suspect acted alone. theyulse said and i asked for clarification on this, they don't have the exact time for us on this point but the fbi tells me that the suspect placed the ieds around an hour or two, in that range, a couple of hours before the actual ramming. that means he left the explosive devices in the french quarter area, left, those devices were in the area while all of these people were out on new year's eve into new years morning and then he returned and the ramming attack unfolded. those devices were there and i asked for clarity on if there was bomb sweeping that would have been done on new year's

nbc's jesse kirsch joins us with that. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. they were teenagers, young adults early in their careers. some were parents now leaving behind children who will grow up without knowing that parent. 14 people killed with an isis-inspired terrorist. this morning the new orleans terror attack victims are coming into sharper focus. many of them young adults, just starting out their lives. martin tiger bech worked on wall street and graduated from princeton university where he was a star football player. the 27-year-old had been helping his younger brother prepare for the nfl draft. >> he was my best friend. he was my role model. >> reporter: his family saying they will always remember his infectious smile, telling nbc news in a statement, we cherished the 26 years we had with him and raising him will always be the greatest joys of our lives. michael headed to bourbon street to celebrate the new year. the 25-year-old's parents said they had dinner together. >> he was 25 years old, but just starting life. >> reporter: nikyra dedeaux was

. >> yeah, nbc's jesse kirsch is right there at the dome with that part of the story. good morning. >> reporter: hoda and laura, good morning. when fans show up today to the superdome, they will see a hardened, expanded skrt perimeter. yesterday, these barricades stopped back there, now they extend to the end of this block ahead of a football game under the spotlight for the wrong reasons. >> reporter: this morning, new orleans is teaming with college football fans. ♪♪ ready to cheer on notre dame's fighting irish and the georgia bulldogs in a quarterfinal that was supposed to kick off yesterday on new year's day. but after the deadly terror attack on bourbon street that killed at least 15 people, football quickly became an afterthought. at a previously scheduled mass, notre dame fans like cheryl and her family were suddenly asked to pray for victims. >> the game is important, yes, but it's not as important as taking care of each other. >> reporter: notre dame's head coach speaking to espn after the bowl game was postponed. >> i have a lot of faith this country will ral