nbc's hans nichols has the report. >> reporter: russia testing the new administration, excepteding a spy ship spotted approximately 30 miles off the coast from a u.s. submarine base in groton, connecticut. the u.s. had been tracking the ship since it left russia months ago. the cold war era vessel had made this trip before. and in the black sea russian planes flying fast and low over a u.s. destroyer. russian aggression, a key concern at the nate ee summit in brussels. u.s. defense secretary james mattis also delivering an ultimate um to allies. pay up or america will, quote, moderate its commitment to nato. mattis saying some of his colleagues agree. >> it's a fair demand that all who benefit from the best defense in the world carry their proportionate share. >> britain's defense minister telling nbc news mattis' message hit home. >> this is a very timely warning. the threats are real from outside nato. >> reporter: mattis' warning an echo of trump's campaign talk to let europe fend for itself. nichols, nbc news, brussino he will. >> now to malaysia where a second woman has been arr

our pentagon correspondent hans nichols has details. >> reporter: russia testing the new administration, sending a spy ship spotted approximately 30 miles off the coast from a u.s. submarine base in groton, connecticut. the u.s. has been tracking it since it left russia months ago. it has made this trip before. in the black sea, russian planes flying fast and low over a u.s. destroyer. russian aggression, a key concern today at the nato summit in brussels. u.s. defense secretary james mattis also delivering an ultimatum to allies. pay up or america will, quote, moderate its commitment to nato. mattis saying some of his colleagues agree. >> it's a fair demand that aho from the best defense in the world carry their proportionate share. >> reporter: britain's defense minister telling nbc news mattis' message hit home. >> this is a very timely warning. the threats are real from outside nato. >> reporter: mattis' warning an echo from president trump's campaign taunt to let europe fend for itself. hans nichols, nbc news, brussels. >>> back home, we received word that a third child has died in

>> my life changed the day my parents took me to see nichols and may on broadway.were comedians talking about how bad their wives were or how bad their mothers-in-law were. >> take my wife. please. >> and then all of a sudden, the sky opened up and there were nichols and may. and i thought to myself, now that's funny. >> tell me, how do you put your sketches together now? do you outline them, or are they fairly well written out? >> we don't ever write anything down and we don't ever outline them. >> it's a terrifying process. >> what kind of an excuse is that? >> well, what do you mean? >> i mean, all the other scientists have mothers, i'm sure. and i'm sure that they all find time after breakfast or before their count-off to pick up a phone and call their mother. >> elaine may was always the writer of the two. i don't think she's given enough credit for being kind of one of these foundational people of improv. >> she was smart, she was witty, she was sexy, she was everything that female comedians up to that point weren't allowed to be. >> well, thank you very much

i haven't forgotten about you, hans nichols. i know you're there. we asked you to be with us this hour because we have other news out of the white house. they asked the pentagon for a plan on isis. inklings today from sean spicer that that plan has been presented to the president. >> reporter: these are the recommendations, the 30-day review that president trump asked for when he came to the pentagon. how to accelerate more rapidly the defeat of isis. understanding it has sort of three parts. one is that this is very much a preliminary plan. it's a framework. everything that the pentagon is presenting to the national security council today, the principals committee, will need to be approved by the president. two, this will have a big inner-agency role. this won't just be about military might. this will be across the whole force of government. third part is this plan is going to include transregional approaches. this isn't just about iraq and syria, of course, that's where there's the most kinetic activity right now. it's being presented to the princ

whatjeff nichols that became a huge nationwide case. — is, he resists any form of grandstanding. as the story goes on, it becomes apparent this is a really important case which is going to have really significant effects. but he keeps us focused on them and their relationship. it is hard to remember the last time a film... imean, the the last time a film... i mean, the opportunities for grandstanding — in the courtroom, banging ta bles in the courtroom, banging tables — are so many. and yet he doesn't do that — he keeps his focus on them as the central couple. and joel edgerton is actually terrific as richard loving. and he keeps it small—scale, which means as the larger machinations happen when you stay focused on the central couple and their relationship. you believe in them, you care about them and invest in them. it becomes that most brilliant of things, a very personal story that tells a very personal story that tells a much wider message, but does not feel the need to wave... it is very apparent what is going on through the detail

whatjeff nichols does — and in the past he has directed take shelter and mud — is he resists any forme story goes on, it becomes apparent this is a really important case which will have really significant effects. but he keeps us focused on them and their relationship. it is hard to remember the last time a film... i mean, the opportunities for grandstanding — in the courtroom, banging tables — are so many. and yet he doesn't do that — he keeps his focus on them as the central couple. and joel edgerton is actually terrific as richard loving. and he keeps it small scale, which means as the larger machinations happen when you stay focused on the central couple and their relationship. you believe in them, you care about them and invest in them. it becomes that most brilliant of things, a very personal story that tells a much wider message, but does not feel the need to wave... it is very apparent what is going on through the detail, through a scene in which they hold hands, in the car, through a scene in which he talks about his dream for building their home. i thought it was very well p

nbc's hans nichols is at the pentagon. i hear you have new information from military officials. what are they telling you? hans, what are they telling you? >> it was a joint force of navy seals and special operators from the united emirates. they were not expecting the intensity of the fire and as part of the mission, there was also this osprey forced to make a hard landing and that disabled the aircraft. then they had to call in an air strike on the aircraft to make sure that was destroyed and couldn't fall into enemy hands. despite all this, some officials are saying this actually could have gone even even worse, there's a great trigger of displan by the seals, there's a lot of bravery and valor on the field. and what's happening now is potentially three different investigations. right now we're in a credibility assessment on the civilian casualties. there's nearly always an investigation when a u.s. service member dies. there will be an investigation into the death of the seal and also why the aircraft crashed, the osprey. three potentially different investigations looking in

the story is by great cap of and mark nichols -- greg top of -- tuppo and mark nichols. our next caller is a republican. caller: i'm looking at the map that you just showed, and that evens one thing, that black women or black men know that they don't even want attempt to teach black kids because it is a bad situation. host: that is what the numbers show? why do you read that into those numbers? caller: we know. we've got a problem. the inner cities are absolutely terrible. everybody knows that, but nobody wants to say it. this is a money thing for the democrats. ,ook what they did in new york one of the first things they did was closed down the charter schools. one of the first things they did. even obama did it. everybody knows this is about the unions. look at chicago. we have to do something. matthew in maryland on the line for teachers. caller: good morning. question, iur believe the voss should be nominated and receiver recognition. being in the education system, i worked in private and public institutions and my father is currently teaching in a public community co

you've billy morgan and jamie nicholls, the two big names.n why we cannot get more medals this year. we are doing really well. there is a long way to go and i'm just trying to get my tricks back and solid. but behind them, you have matt mccormack and roland colthurst, both very impressive young talents. in the freestyle skiing, there is pipe and slopestyle to look forward to. in pipe, this junior olympic gold—medalist will almost certainly go to pyeongchang. it is her first olympics but anything can, and probably will, happen. there is no pressure because i'm the youngest to get the olympics. just to get there be an achievement. it would just be... not many people do it, so it would be nice to get there. obviously, if i do well, that is even better. in slopestyle you have two sisters, katie and molly, and this athlete who's came so close in sochi, can he make it onto the podium? we know freestyle has the fun factor, but can curling be considered cool? every four years interest leads the nation, and during sochi 2014, #lovecurling became a soc

joining us from munich, germany, hans nichols is with us. great to have you with us.w do secretary mattis's comments at nato play into all of this? >> reporter: well -- good morning, what mattis said at nato when he was asked about additional troops for syria, he sort of stalled. he said, i'm -- i'm not the right person to ask. that was a strong hint that, a, he needs to get approval from president trump but also approval from allies. that's why this conference here in munich is so important. he'll be meeting with his counterpart. he met with the israeli defense minister already this morning. lots of sideline meetings here. when we get to the actual proposal, again, this is just what we think may happen. pentagon planning. they like to plan for things. we're talking about apache attack helicopters. ground troops. in some way the campaign between isis and syria would look like the campaign between isis and iraq. you have u.s. ground troops in a supporting role. we already have some special forces inside syria moving forward, helping out, directing fire. you could also

>> hans nichols in our washington bureau. let's go to fmer ambassador to russia, michael mcfall.f we're going to talk to anybody about russian relations, i'm going to want to talk to you. tell me -- >> glad to be here. >> number one, did michael flynn break the law here? tell me whether or not it's a big deal for us to have somebody who has not officially been part of a white house and is not in the white house and not working within the white house, talk to a foreign diplomat. >> let's parse it in different layers. generally speaking in my view americans should have the right and should not be illegal to talk to foreign diplomats. that's the ambassador's job here in the united states of america. i just hosted him at stanford a couple months ago. that was my job when i was a u.s. ambassador to talk to government and civil society people. so generally speaking, we shouldn't start to make that a problem. that's my first point. second, obviously u.s. officials and u.s. nongovernment officials and oil company executives and former secretaries of state when they meet with russian offi

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pentagon correspondent hans nichols back from washington. we're also tackling these issues with former u.n. ambassador bill richardson. i want to start with you, close to the action and i know you have new reporting on the immigration ban. what can you tell us? >> well, good evening, ari, what we know at this point is that the white house is looking at its options, and the one concern president trump has expressed about keeping up this court battle, not only has he been giving some setbacks, couple of defeats, but the time that it takes and so that process suggests that the president wants to pivot and do something that could include a new executive order. but all of these are on the possibilities list. nothing set in stone yet no firm guidance on what the president will do when he is back in washington this week. accept to say a certain urgency about this, an important priority for the president, the white house feels very strongly that he has the authority to set limitations about non-u.s. citizens coming into the country. they with win th

hans nichols has details. >> reporter: tonight two senior defense officials telling nbc news this month president trump is expected to be presented with the option of more u.s. troops in syria. a possible answer to his request to accelerate the fight against isis. they will join special forces already there. possibly hundreds of troops on a support mission helping to train and advise along with helicopters and artillery. the president still needs to sign off on any plan. aplan. while the president has suggested russia might be a partner in the isis fight. today meeting with nato allies defense secretary james mattis making clear that cooperation is not imminent. >> we're not in a position right now to collaborate on a military level. russia will have to prove itself first and live up to the commitments they have made. >> reporter: a tough tone on russia from another member of the national security team. secretary of state rex tillerson traveling on his diplomatic passport for the first time, meeting with russia's foreign minister. >> we expect russia honor its commitment to the minsk ag

nicholl has also revealed that they were never given the full details of a 2012 internal review intoes being investigated. we were given to believe that actually, we had a very light touch version of it. so we had no indication of the significance of that report. it has only now come to light through a very well—managed cycling independent review. the six nations returns this weekend with the third round of matches. england have received a boost with the news mako vunipola is available for selection for their match with italy at twickenham. the saracens prop has yet to feature this year, due to injury. the loosehead prop is short of match fitness and is therefore likely to start on the bench for the match. joe marler is set to continue in the front row. johnny sexton and rob kearney are set to play in ireland's six nations game against france on saturday after taking a full part in training on tuesday. sexton missed the games against scotland and italy with a calf strain, but is now available for selection. the leinster fly—half is expected to be named ahead of ulster‘s paddy jackson

steve. >> hans nichols over there at the pentagon.ks for that. >>> still to come, polls showing the president at a record low when it comes to his approval rating. record low compared to any new president in modern era. but how much do approval ratings mean anymore? there are some numbers we're going to get into very deep in our new nbc news wall street journal poll. we will show them to you. talk about what they might mean. that is next. it's an important question you ask, but one i think with a simple answer. we have this need to peek over our neighbor's fence. and once we do, we see wonder waiting. every step you take, narrows the influence of narrow minds. bridges continents and brings this world one step closer. so, the question you asked me. what is the key? it's you. everything in one place, so you can travel the world better. i did... n't. hat? hey, come look what lisa made. wow. you grilled that chicken? yup! i did... n't. smartmade frozen meals. real ingredients, grilled and roasted. it's like you made it. and you did... n't

now for those of you who might still be on the fence, meet famed skeppic joe nichol. >> i'm probablyhe world's only full-time, salaried, professional, science-based paranormal investigator. >> reporter: his office in buffalo, new york, is a shrine to cases he claims to have debunked over the years. >> people should realize, psychics cannot do what they claim to do. they have been reviewed by mainstream science and they can't do it. >> reporter: joe says what psychics do doesn't come from otherworldly ability but rather a series of mentalist tricks often referred to as retro fitting. >> that could be defined as after the fact matching. the psychic will say things like, i see water. i'm getting the number 7. they call these clues. >> what do you say to the skeptics? >> if you've never been in the people's shoes that i walk with, the people that i help and walk away with closure moving forward, they're the ones who believed in me. >> reporter: it's twilight in rural colorado as the sun disappears into the night sky. so too do today's hopes of finding any answers. >> you seem like you're

let's bring in nbc news pentagon correspondent hans nichols, hans, a lot of confusion about what exactlyis being said and what's happening here. the backdrop to all of this that iran nuclear deal, take us through it. what does this message mean. >> well, we don't know, steve, and that's maybe not a great answer, it's the clearest one we have. right now at the white house, they are briefing an official saying nothing is on the table and nothing is off the table. that's not going to lift the cloud of uncertainty. and frankly, a cloud of worry after mike flynn went to the podium and said that there will be consequences and that iran is on notice. we simply do not know what that means. there are a variety of options that the white house does have at their disposal. you'll recall at the end of last year, december, congress passed over the president's objections not his veto, but over his objections the iran sanctions act sailed through the senate. it gives the president the authority to impose new sanctions. now if president obama did on this, steve, he just threat go into law. he didn't veto

hans nichols joins me on a story we've been following since the raid happened.re been a change in policy here? >> pentagon officials are telling us, no, there's not been a change in policy. they still -- there's been no change and that it's unlikely that they'd actually telegraph when they might do another raid in yemen. remember, there are only two that we know about over the last couple of years. and it also bears noting this is a part of yemen where al qaeda on the arabian peninsula is very active. it's also not controlled by the central government. these are mountainous regions. you have a real civil war going there. it also bears noting the united states is helping the government. they're helping that government with refueling in terms of the saudi air campaign against those rebels. the line we're getting from the pentagon is no change. hallie? >> so, hans, the white house has repeatedly defined this mission as a successful one because it received intelligence on this. you heard senator john mccain just out with a statement saying it was not a success. the

let me bring in pentagon correspondent hans nichols. do you have any idea why the president would be giving to dover? >> dover is where the remains of fallen u.s. soldiers typically return when they're repat rated to this country. as we know, a navy s.e.a.l., chief petty officer on owens perished in a raid that went bad over the weekend. president obama did this frequently. president bush did this frequently. they go out there, they receive the casket, receive the remains. sometimes they're there with the family. it's a very sacred and somber experience. that's likely where the president is headed if he's leaving the white house to dover. >> that would make sense. and then let's turn to the other news on iran. what's happening where you sit at the pentagon? how is that notice received there? did pentagon officials know that was coming? >> well, secretary mattis is in the plane. is he flying in the e-4b from d.c. on his way to south korea. we haven't gotten a readout on whether malt tis wttis was brie. mr. flynn's statement, number one,

also nbc news pentagon correspondent hans nichols, and msnbc military analyst colonel jack jacobs. he's a medal of honor recipient. let's start with you, kristen, since were on screen for most of my intro. talk about what it meant for donald trump to go down there, address the troops for the first time? and what did you make of him opening up again talking about the election and telling the troops that they love him and that he loves them back. >> reporter: not a surprise, as you point out, katy. this is a line we have heard from him in the past. and, obviously, very proud of the support he has within the military community. a couple of headlines, though, i thought in addition to that. one, he did not delve into a discussion about the controversy over his travel ban. as you know, we've been tracking all weekend long the fact it has now been blocked in the courts. his administration appealing that. there was a lot of anticipation that he might comment on what was happening. he didn't. instead, he largely stuck to his script, really thanking the troop for their service, for their sac

nbc's hans nichols has the report. what is the latest we know on the spy ship? >> reporter: we knew they were always tracking the russian spy ship. it's been in transit for months. this isn't that controversial because it was in international water. when you combine it with the aggression nato members are feeling, it has an added significance. just one example, in the black sea, a u.s. destroyer. today, in a town the u.s. chairman chief of staff is meeting with his russian counter part to talk about it. that's part of the conversation here. the other part is about nato and nato defense spending. the target is 2% gdp. five countries meet that threshold. secretary mattis came here and delivered a stern warning, an ultima ultimatum that he wants to see the spending. a more assertive and aggressive russia. frances? >> thank you for that report. >>> now to malaysia where two individuals have been arrested in the assassination of kim jong-un's half brother. he was poisoned by a pair of female assassins waiting for a flight to malaysian. it marks the 75th anniversary o