peter alexander, let's start at the white house. what is going on? >> that's a good question. you'll need a couple of hours of television to clarify that. but we'll do our best in the course of the next few minutes, andrea, if we can. it appears rudy giuliani, the president's personal lawyer, is backtracking from the stunning assertion that he made in that conversation you played a part of just moments ago where he appeared to leave open the possibility that members of the president's campaign had coordinated with russians during the course of the 2016 campaign. the backtracking is a new statement. first he spoke to our colleague kristen welker, then provided us with a formal statement where he said he was afraid that if him changing his position, as appeared to be the case, that he had been i think misinterpreted was his language, he said more broadly that he had an only done so unconsciously. he said, i represent only president trump, the no the trump campaign. there was no collusion by president trump in any way, shape, or form. likewise i have no knowledge of any collusion

our peter alexander has detaipo our peter alexander has detai p. >> reporter: tonight democrats grounded, boarded on this bus but going nowhere. less than an hour before nancy pelosi and othbes were set to n a planned trip overseas, including a secret stop in afghanistan -- >> we're going to afghanistan. >> reporter: president trump writing the house speaker, i'm sorry to inform you that your trip has been postponed, calling it a public lations event, arguing the top democrat should stay in washington negotiating with me. the president's move apparent payback for pelosi's call to postpone the state of the union addresuntil after the government reopens. democrats fuming. >> i think the actions of the president were petty, mean-spirited, and beneath any president of the united states si take. >> reporter: the pnt again today blaming democrats for not negotiating. ck>> the party has been hi by the open borders fringe within the party >> reporter: pelosi's sensitive craft equires military a which the president controls. though he suggested today, if you'd like to make your journey by flying

peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. >>> this is tom costello. across the country, the faces of the shutdown. hundreds of thousands struggling without a paycheck. >> would you like any soup? >> yes, please. >> reporter: in the nation's capital, at world central kitchen, thousands showed up for a free meal in the shadow of the buildings where they normally work. among them anita gonzales evans, who works at department of interior. >> i never thought i'd have to come get a free lunch like this, but i am really trying to save my money. >> reporter: there's an unintended symbolism here. the food bank sits right here on pennsylvania avenue, exactly the halfway point between capitol hill and the white house. the trump administration has now selectively recalled 50,000 workers and high-profile agencies, though still working without pay. faa aircraft inspectors, fda food inspectors, and irs tax collectors. including nic trujillo in utah, going back to work on friday. >> they get to continue to receive their paychecks. and what are they doing to me? they'

peter alexander is at the white house right now. peter, what are you learning? >> reporter: hey, lester, good evening. tonight the president is opening the door to a deal to end this shutdown, but he's putting the ball in the hands of senate leaders. it's a noticeable change in tone, making clear that he'll consider what they come up with. president trump tonight signaling an openness to a bipartisan deal if one's reached. >> if they come to a reasonable agreement, i would support it, yeah. >> reporter: the president insisting he wants a down payment for his border wall, and if that funding's not included -- >> i wouldn't be happy with it, i wouldn't be happy, but we have a lot of alternatives. >> reporter: house speaker nancy pelosi balking at the president's terms. >> that is not a reasonable agreement between the senators. >> reporter: the new urgency after dueling senate bills, one with border wall funding, one without, were defeated. >> the motion is not agreed to. >> reporter: frustration boiling over. >> how ludicrous it is that this government is shut do

>> peter alexander at the white house, thank you. >>> taking a turn now to the confrontation that has become a flash point for race and politics in this country. tonight the high school student at the center of that controversial video was speaking exclusively to nbc news. this as his kentucky high school closed today due to security concerns. nbc's gabe gutierrez is there. >> reporter: nick sandmann, a kentucky student at the center of that viral video says he wasn't disrespectful when he appeared to confront native american veteran nathan philips. he sat down exclusively with "today's" savannah guthrie. >> do you feel you owe anybody an apology? do you see your own fault in any way? >> as far as standing there, i had every right to do so. i don't -- my position was that i was not disrespectful to mr. philips. i respect him. i'd like to talk to him. i mean, in hindsight i wish we could have walked away and avoided the whole thing. >> reporter: the covington catholic high school students, some wearing "make america great again" hats were in d.c. last week for the march for life. >> i

nbc's peter alexander has the latest. >> reporter: howard schultz overnight in arizona fueling another round of heated coffee talk. >> i can promise you i'm not going to do anything to be a so-called spoiler in all of this. >> reporter: the former starbucks ceo saying he's surprised from the vi tri yoel from democrats and distancing himself from the former party. >> i'm not a democrat. i don't affiliate myself with the democratic party, so far left, basically want it is government to take over health care and we cannot afford. >> reporter: also deflecting harsh criticism including tough talk from likely 2020 contender elizabeth warren that he's a billionaire out of touch with the american people. >> she doesn't know me. i mean, i started from nothing. i'm self made. >> reporter: on twitter, highlighting his humble origins. >> i grew up in brooklyn, new york, in federally subsidized housing, the projects. >> reporter: theveed proposed tax and his claim that her policies would lead to socialism. >> i believe in capitalism. i see the wealth that can be produced but let's be really clear.

. >>> this is peter alexander. president trump tonight ignoring questions about the indictment of his controversial confidant, roger stone, reserving his outrage for twitter, blasting the russia investigation as the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country, no collusion. the president's aides trying to distance him from the charges against stone. >> this has nothing to do with the president, has nothing to do with the white house. >> reporter: and his lawyers argue the indictment does not allege russian collusion, instead, that it's about alleged false statements made to congress. stone, self-proclaimed republican dirty trickster who used to work for richard nixon and has a tattoo of the 37th president on his back, first met mr. trump decades ago. >> roger's a good guy, strong nation, a lot of the things that i believe in. >> reporter: that close connection even noted in a 2017 documentary by the president's former campaign chair, paul manafort, since convicted by robert mueller of tax fraud. >> roger's re

and nancy pelosi's reply, not in my house you're not.here's peter alexander. >> reporter: the state of the union tonight in a state of doubt. >> the state of the union speech has been canceled by nancy pelosi because she doesn't want to hear the truth. and she's afraid of the truth. >> reporter: president trump lashing out at the house speaker for disinviting him from delivering his address at the capitol next tuesday. >> i think that's a great blotch on the incredible country that we all love. >> reporter: today's traded taunts beginning with the president in a letter to pelosi, ignoring her request for delay, insisting he would give his speech on time, on schedule, and very importantly, on location. pelosi's response, a first in american history, formally rescinding her original invitation, not canceling the speech but telling the president she wouldn't authorize it in the house chamber until the government's reopened. >> let's work together on a mutually agreeable date when we can welcome you to the capitol to deliver the state of the union address. >> your response to the house spe

peter alexander reports. >> reporter: this morning the showdown over the state of the union heating up. >> the president of the united states! >> reporter: speaker nancy pelosi urging the president to postpone his annual dress draes or deliver it in writing, citing security concerns. homeland security and secret service have been hamstrung by the furloughs. >> the state of the union is off? >> the state of the union is off. >> steny hoyer's aides later insisting he misspoke. calling it a political stunt. >> speaker pelosi should act like a speaker. >> thee shooe sashe said it's a knowthat. >> i never said there was no collusion between the campaign or between people in the campaign. >> yes, you have. i have not. i've said the president of the united states. >> rudy giuliani his own past position and the president's position during the 2016 presidential campaign. >> there's been no collusion whatsoever. >> there was no collusion whatsoever. there never has been. the last thing i want is help from russia. >> there's been no collusion. there's been no obstruction. it's all a made-up fanta

peter alexander, nbc news, mcallen, texas. >>> i'm jacob soboroff at the border. this image obtained exclusively by nbc news shows how vulnerable president trump's wall could be. it's the result of a department of homeland security test ordered by this administration. eight prototypes were created to help the president determine what kind of wall to build. military and border patrol were tasked with breaching them using various tools. the president says his decision was a compromise. >> it will be a steel barrier rather than a concrete wall. >> reporter: this steel slat prototype sliced with a saw. critics of president trump's border policy say no barrier, including steel just like this, will do anything to solve the humanitarian or security crisis. before he headed here today the president disputed that and responded to nbc news' reporting. >> that's a wall that was designed by previous administrations. >> reporter: while previous administrations did use the design, the prototypes were built during the trump administration. all eight were breached during testing.

peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. >> reporter: this is tom costello. walking a very thin financial tightrope tonight, irs worker crystal kirkpatrick, air traffic controller tyler kennard, tsa officer tyrone sharper. crystal is now selling her own plasma for $50 to support her family. >> it's kind of uncomfortable to do it. you're hooked up to that machine. they pull out your blood. they spin out the plasma and pump it back into you. >> reporter: air traffic controerkennard and wie becky are facing mounting bills, including regular hospital care for 3-year-old tucker's immune deficiency disorder. >> we're real families that need a real paycheck that my husband's working really hard for. >> reporter: tsa officer tyrone sharper and wife ebony have a 7-month-old to support. >> to say tsa is important or that national security is important, then not to pay the people that are actually performing service as tsa agents, i think that's not right. >> reporter: among the departments and agencies going without funding, homeland security, state, justice, commerce,

giuliani now trying to walk it back, an peter alexander has details. >> reporter: rudy giuliani asked by "the yorker" about his legacy, and whether he is not always being truthful when defending the president, said i'm afraid it will be on my gravestone, rudy giuliani, he lied for trump. somehow i don't think it will it. i don't think as a lawyer i evesaid anything untrue. it comes after giuliani'satest starting assertion about the scuttled moscow tower project. michael cohen said discussions ended in june 2016. july on sunday suggesting they may have lasted longer. he president can remember having conversations with him about it. >> throughout 2016? >> yeah, probably up to -- it could be up to as far as october, november. >> reporter: then giuliani in "the new york times" quoting the president telling him the discussions were going on from the day i announceto the day i won. that's not what candidate trump said at the time. >> they said maybe donald trump is involved in projects an with the rus the answer is no, no. >> reporter: critics have attacked mr. trump for privately discussin

the facts are there, he did. >> peter alexander, there on the border for us. thank you so much. >>> jake sherman, senior writer for politico is with me and so is barbara boxer, former democratic senator from california. president trump expected to preach about this border crisis. again, one of the safer areas of texas. now you're reporting that his much touted steel slats aren't up to snuff. what have you learned? >> it's pretty extraordinary, quite frankly. there's plenty of steel slats like the president talks about. my friend, peter alexander, and right here, where we're standing, there is steel slats all over the place. the president says he's come to an agreement with the democrats. that's the type of border wall he wants to put out there. here's another reality check. take a look at this photo exclusively obtained by nbc news. the prototypes that were tested by the trump administration last year showed that all of them could be breached, including the steel slats that were cut through with what is described in a department of homeland security report as

we'll start at the white house with peter alexander. hey, peter. >> reporter: good morning to you. for president trump, this is a rare retreat, conceding in a showdown with the house speaker nancy pelosi, who blocked him from delivering his state of the union address until after the government reopens. the president, in a tweet sent just before midnight, acknowledging pelosi's power here in washington. it is a symbolic win for democrats, even as the stalemate over the shutdown drags on. overnight, president trump blinking in his state of the union stare down with nancy pelosi. the president writing in a tweet, i'll do the speech when the shutdown is over. i'm not looking for a new venue because there is no venue that can compete with the history, tradition, and importance of the house chamber. pelosi responding with a measured tweet, encouraging the president to end the shutdown and reopen the government. earlier in the day, president trump in a letter to pelosi, dismissing her request to delay the address, saying he'd give the speech on time, on schedule, and very importantly, on

i'll have the latest coming up. >> peter alexander at the white house. thanks. >>> a story i montgomery county. right now, police are investigating how two men mysteriously died. chopper 4 was over the scene in the white o area last night. you can see a police presence. witness told 911, a car crashed into several other pa parked vehicles on the road. when detectives arrived on the scene, tre were two men dead in the car. police are not saying how the men died. >>> in houston, texas, police officersreighting for their lives after being shot yesterday afternoon. this happened on the city's southeast side. the officers were serving a warrant for drug activity in a home, when several officers approached the front door, the suspect opened fire,ng four officers. police returned fire, killing both suspect >>> back to the storm team weather alert. the latest bout of winter weather to hit right around the commute, makg your ride home a big headache. crews didn't waste time preparing the roads. people flocked to grocery stores, cleaning off the bread and milk. >>

alexander. >> good afternoon. i am peter. i am here speaking truth to power, free of all fear, and i came to talk about the salmon, but this was so interesting, i had to put something in on this. talk about marketing, wow. and i don't know, more so propaganda because they kept talking how well the public was being served. the public's been disregarded. you were completely disregarded with smart meters, completely disregarded on numerous things. and i like pg&e workers, but they're being abused, and it seems like many in california are engaged in trump's raking the forest project, because otherwise, they wouldn't be involved in suing pg&e. that's going to hurt the workers. they had nothing to do with the fires. we saw the iron rod of god come down three days after they were commanded, and they haven't stopped since. and so you talk about power, we've had electric cars in this county since 1904. we're woefully behind on wind and solar, and you know, there's a -- i mean, what are we talking about? the smart meters have been impl

back to >> peter alexander, live for us at the white house.eter's full report coming up xt on "today." >> the shutdown is having a negative impact tro, as well. >> the agency is losing thousands of dollars a day because of a steep drop in fares and parking megan mcgrath is in southwest d.c. on how you use epmetro. >>ter: federal workers make up about 40% of metro's rush hour ridership. that's not happening since the shutdown. ridership is way down. and metro is losing money, a lot of it. the general manager says the agency is losing $400,000 every weekday that the shutdown drags ec. he is eng a $50 million budget short fall by the end of january b of unpaid federal subsidies. if the shutdown continues,sae that metro may have to make some staffing and service changes. shat could mean using fewer eight-car train and extra trains to handle the rush hour demand. noer a r we spoke to this morning at the federal center station, he's not surprised. he has been still coming in t work. he says that the riders -- the number of people on the trains, way,

peter alexander, the president is there right now. he admitted to reporters that this was not something you want to do that some of his sadviser were telling him that he should do. what are the chances of this turning into a photo-opt. >> well, we'll wait and see if the president is going to declare his national urgency. saying that he'll do so if they can't get it done through a deal with congress, i would say we would do it. definitely whether it happens today. we'll wait and see. this is part of the multi day campaign blits by the president. that speech he made yesterday and the meeting at the white house and the trip of senate republicans at capitol hill and today at the border alongside you can see this giant steel barrier that the president refers to and says he wants to build that wall. i hope the president will use this as a show and tell opportunity. i will be struck by what he does at the roundtable. because these are some of the safest city along the border, the president has to make a real effort to demonstrate where the p

i'm peter alexander. to jail 40 times. i've season been in congress another five times and i may get arrested and go to jail again. >> he's an icon of the civil rights movement. >> they found the power of the human spirit in john lewis. and he came to symbolize the student movement. >> he believed that he could help a country find its soul. >> risking death to fight for what's right. >> i did not think john would

we have two reports for you this morning starting with nbc's peter alexander. texas.near the border in hey peter. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this is what president trump is talking about when he talks about the steel border in texas. the heart of the rio grand valley. this is the busiest stretch in terms of illegal crossings inye recents. the visit comes amid the shutdown the blow up in the situation room as we're on pace tomorrow tie the nation's record for the longest shutdown in american history. president trump bound f the border today leaving the nation's capital in turmoil after talks to end the partial government shutdown nown its 20th day collapsed. >> our meeting didot las long. >> reporter: the president walking out of a contentious ua-minute closed door meeting in the white house son room. democrats say the meeting fell apart when president trump asked house speaker nancy pelosi whether she would glee to fund a border wall in exchang for reopening the government. >> he sa if i open up the government, you won't do what i want. when leader

peter alexander at the white house for us. we heard from the acting attorney general yesterday who said that the mueller invediigation is w down. is there anything inconsistent what we're seeing here with this new case and that statement? >> reporter: it does give indications inthat that robert mueller may be windinghedown. indications, the fact that the sentencing phase for michael flynn is expected to take place shortly. but even as we heard from matt whisk wh whitaker, this morning we're m nancy pelosi and adam schiff, both saying that they don't want to hear it from the acting attorney general, they think robert mueller can speak for himself. nbc ns first to report last december according to government officials and others familiar wit the investigation that could be winding down, that confidential report robert mueller in the russia investigation could come as early as mid-feoruary. so now, we wait. here at the white house, the president has been fiercely trying toistance himself from roger stone, a man that he's been clo

mimi rocah, peter alexander, thank you very much. >>> coming up, growing danger.s' group says the government shutdown is a threat to national security. former assistant to the fbi sean henry will be right here. >>> and coming up, celebrity chef jose andreas feeding furloughed federal workers right here in washington, joining us next.ed next house, eh? well, you should definitely see how geico could help you save on homeowners insurance. nice tip. i'll give you two bucks for the chair. two?! that's a victorian antique! all right, how much for the recliner, then? wait wait... how did that get out here? that is definitely not for sale! is this a yard sale? if it's in the yard then it's... for sale. oh, here we go. geico. it's easy to switch and save on homeowners and renters insurance. you might or joints.hing for your heart... but do you take something for your brain. with an ingredient originally discovered in jellyfish, prevagen has been shown in clinical trials to improve short-term memory. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. >>> last night, my wife, who is a

i'm in for peter alexander, who is in for kasie, who is under the weather. right now super blood moon and things are extra weird. the president moving to end the longest shutdown in history, offering a deal for daca. we will find out what it will take to reopen the government as hundreds of thousands of federal workers struggle to make ends meet. and after the bombshell report that michael cohen said the president ordered him to lie to congress, there is a reckoning around the mueller investigation. >>> but, first, it was two years ago president trump was sworn into office. "the new york times" wrote at the time -- well two years later on this day after the longest shutdown the government has ever seen, we're asking ourself the same question. the government has been shut down for nearly 5% of the time president trump has been in office. the democratic response to his immigration proposal unveiled yesterday suggests this logjam is nowhere near broken. in his speech, the president offered to extend protection from deportation temporarily for some undocumented

i think our colleague peter alexander at the white house has been reporting that they still haven't finalized the alternative plans but as of now we don't expect that the president is invited at least to address the house chamber. >> kasie hunt, i'll let you continue hunting down congressional leadership in the halls of the capitol. thank you. >> hans, we heard this morning from the president's press secretary talking with fox news and reporters in the driveway on the north lawn about what might happen next with that. the president wants to talk. >> yeah. the president is going full steam ahead whether or not the venue is on the capitol in the traditional place in the well of the house or somewhere else. it's clear the white house wants a big mega phone, and they're going to use the state of the union to amplify the president's message. the president's message hasn't changed. they're making the case there's a security threat even though the fbi is talking about the security threat, the lack of safety because of the ongoing government shutdown. then on the state of negotiations, when kristen w

we're starting with nbc's peter alexander at the white house. good morning. >> reporter: good morng to you. president trump in a speech to the nation will cast the situation at the southern border cs a crisis. his cri say the real crisi is an economic, political and human one.re hu of thousands of federal employees out of wor as this government shutdown stretches on. today many are charging the president's credibility on the border issue after the white house has repeatedly misrepresented the facts. tonight a presidential pitch in prime time. president trump's first oval office address. the immigration speech part of a one-two wri orpret forun pthursday. both designed tot highlight w the president calls a humanitarian and national security crisis.id prt trump warning he might declare a national emergency going around congress to get his border wal>> built. we're looking at a national emergency because we have a national emergency. >> reporter: vice president pence says no decision has been made so far. democrats pushing back. >> declaring an eme

nbc white house correspondent peter alexander has the latest from d.c.ood to see you. for the president, this is a rare retreat backing down in his state of the union standoffer house speaker nancy pelosi who disinvited him from delivering hisheddress in house chamber until after the government is reopened. the presidentn a late night tweet saying it's pelosi's prerogative that we'll give the statheof the union the shutdown is over. this marks a symbolic win for the democrats, but the stalemate itself drags on. the president's job approval droppins taking a hit, to its lowest level in more than a year. importantly today the senaten will vote duelling bills, but igth are expected to fail. now some of progress. house democrats are preparing a new offer funding what they calt a s wall with more than $5 billion for border security, but no money for any new wall. hoda. >> peter alexander at the white houspe >>> the s accused of a deadly plas shooting, 24-year-old zephen xaver shot and killed five people. officials say xaver was the one old them he 911 and ent

now, watch donald trump's face as he listens to peter alexander's question. now, it's very, very unlikely that donald trump has any idea what the phrase concurrent resolution means. you can kind of see that on his face, but he's probably on his way to figuring out that it sounds like nancy pelosi has more power over this whole state of the union thing than donald trump realized. >> mr. president, nancy pelosi just responded and she said she will not consider a concurrent resolution to have you come to the house on january 29th to deliver your state of the union. your response to the house speaker? >> i'm not surprised. it's really a shame what's happening with the democrats. they've become radicalized. they don't want to see crime stopped, which we can very easily do on the southern border, and it really is a shame what's happening with the democrats. >> a shame? that's the best donald trump could do? a shame? that was it? that was donald trump experiencing defeat on live television and there wasn't much fight in that guy. in fact, there wasn't any fight in h

i want to get to peter alexander who is part of that reporting team for us.s is a follow-up to a story you broke with one of our colleagues last week. fill us in on what's happening now. what have we learned? >> these are the new developments. a white house security specialist has been suspended without pay for defying her supervisor. a man by the name of carl klein. this comes less than a week after nbc news first reported that this supervisor approved jared kushner for top security clearance over the objections of career staff, among at least 30 similar cases where these career staffers were overrules. the career security specialists objected and in kushner's case pointing to an fbi background check that raised concerns about potential foreign influence on kushner. regarding the suspension, the specialist is trisha newbold. she has a rare form of dwarfism and filed a discrimination complaint against klein, her supervisor three months ago accusing him of discriminating of her because of her height. allegedly moving things out of her reach. according to the d

peter alexander joins us from mcallen, texas, with the latest on this. he border president trump is talking about when he says he wants to build that wall, making the trip to texas as we speak aboard air force one. he'll land here later this afternoon. he comes to texas, the heart of the rio grande valley, the busiest stretch in terms of illegal crossings in recent years. it's going to be a significant day. the president is going to go to the rio grande, get a briefing on border security. it comes at a crucial time amid that shutdown breakdown, the breakup of the meeting inside the white house situation room where the president walked out after he had asked nancy pelosi the democratic house speaker if she would agree to fund a wall if he agreed to reopen the government. she said no. he left. simply saying, bye-bye. he would later tweet it was a waste of time. pelosi calling him petulant. chuck schumer said he had a temper tantrum which he this morning is disputing. all of it is bad news for the 800,000 federal workers who tomorrow for the first time will

>> peter alexander at the white house. peter, thanks. >>> also this morning -- the vice president is out speaking to nbc news about this ongoing shutdown, and his role in negotiations to try to bring it to an end. nbc's chief white house correspondent hallie jackson sat down with him just moments ago. hallie, good morning. what did you hear? >> reporter: savannah, good morning to you. i asked the vice president specifically about the president's comment that the those federal workers peter talked about should make adjustments, but the vp could not offer specifics on what he thought those workers should do. he also made very clear that the possibility of declaring a national emergency is on the table. >> the president is speaking tonight in a prime time address. is he going to declare a national emergency? is that your expectation? >> what i expect the president will do tonight is explain to the american people that we have a humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border. 60,000 people are now attempting to come in

peter alexander is at the white house for us. aid the mueller investigation is winding down. is there anything inconsistent with what we're seeing here with this new case, and that statement? >> well, it does give indications that robert mueller may be sort of winding down in terms of his investigation. other indications we've seen recently, the fact the sentencing phase for michael flynn is expected to take place shortly. even as we heard from matt whitaker, the acting attorney general, this morning we're hearing from top democrats, nancy pelosi and adam schiff, they don't want to hear it from the acting attorney general, they think robert mueller can speak for himself. nbc first to report last december according to government officials and others familiar with the investigation that it could be winding down, that a confidenti confidential report from robert mueller could come as early as mid-february. so for now we wait. here at the white house, though, the president has been fiercely trying to dis tance himself from roger stone

peter alexander, nbc news. >>> we turn to the power struggle in venezuela where americans are on edge tonight as the country faces grave uncertainty in the threat of more protests and violence. lucy kafanov has late details. >>veeporter: after those mas protests calling for president nicolas maduro to go, venezuela's crisis is deepening. tonight nonessential american diplomats were seen heading for the airport inaracas. american citizens now warned to leave. although the embassy remains open. all this dividing much of the rld in a cold war-style showdown. the u.s. recognizing opposition leader juan guaido as interim htesident. >> every country oo recognize the venezuelan constitution, the demands of the venezuelan peoe. >> reporter: russia, china, and cuba are backing maduro.y todadueling press conferences by dueling presidents. guaido telng supporters to stay in the streets, maduro vowing to defeat what he calls a coup. tonight a u.n. human rights official warning the situation could quickly spiral out of control. lester? >> all right, lucy kafanov, thank you. >>> in neighboring braz

>> i think@peter alexander tv? i should know that.ttle help here, i'll post some good ones today from behind the scenes. my daughter has a mary bell, not a qaiqai but i like the idea. >>> are let's get fto pop start. wendy williams will be taking an extended break from her show. her family released a statement friday saying in part over the past few day, wendy has experienced complications regarding her graves disease that will require treatment. adding that the treatment requires significant time in the hospital. williams was initially on a break due to a shoulder injury and was supposed to return in early january. this marks the third time the 54-year-old has delayed her return. so wendy, all of us here are wishing you well. and moving on to ariana grande, the singer has been teasing fans hinting about a new single from her upcoming album. the song 1eseven rings finally dropped. the video is set to the tune of my favorite things from the sound of music. listen. ♪ ♪ they say which wonlgone i say want all them ♪ >> seven rings has bee

i am peter alexander, kristen welker is filling in for sheinelle.ought things from the white house up to new york. that's where we begin this half hour, with a check of the headlines, and a shocking report out of washington. "new york times" reporting the fbi investigated whether president trump was working for russia against american interests. according to the times, the fbi opened the inquiry after firing of james comey. rudy giuliani blasting the report. >> 22 days and counting. the government shutdown is now the longest in history. friday was the first missed paycheck for 800,000 federal workers. he backed away from declaring a national emergency to build a wall on the southern border, but there's no agreement in sight with lawmakers that have gone home for the weekend. >>> a massive explosion rocked paris, killing two firefighters. police say ten others are in critical condition now. the blast leveled the ground floor of a bakery, trapped people in nearby buildings. authorities believe a gas leak is to blame. firefighters were on the scene inv

. >> nbc's peter alexander joins us live w from thete house now with more on barr's first day in the morning. >> reporter: hey, aaron, eun, good m wning you. th a significant day on capitol hill. william barr does appear headed for confirmation could become the next attorney general as early as mid february. top democrats raising questions about the nominee when it comes to the russia investation. as we know, president trump has repeat lid aacked robert mueller's investigation calling it a witch hunt. bar delivered a different take telling senators that mueller would not be involved in a witch the two of them have been friends for 30 years he says. grilledbout his past criticism of the russia probe, barr refused to say whether he would refuse himself of the inquiry even if career justice department ethicsfficials recommended. he insisted the president would be crossing a legal red line if he interred with the investigation for personal reasons. 'll break it down and have the latest coming on "today." back to you. >> pet alexander, thank you. again, peter's full report coming up next o

back to you. >> peter alexander at the white house.. peter, thank y craig joins the table. >> savannah, hoda, good morning. this is going to be one that is going to hit close for you, cially. super bowl liii almost here, just days away. t whilehe new england patriots and the l.a. rams prepare take the field, the nfl is still doing a lot of damage control in that conoversial mis call that helped keep the saints out of the big game. nbc's stephanie gosk has been folling the twists of this one. what's the latest now? >> good morning, craig. the super bowl wpok is sd to be about the big game coming up, not the one played over a week ago, hoda, but that no-call in new orleans has not gone away. the nfl admits the refs blew it butay there is actually very little that c be done. >> reporter: atlanta is buzzing. r bowl sunday is now jus days away. >> you work hard for that one game and then you got to be able to get it done in the bigges moment. >> reporter: the veteran new england patriots face off against the new kids on the lock, the high-fly

nbc white house correspondent peter alexander joins us with the latest.sions. little room for optimism even as democrats nancy pelosi and chuck rnhumer return to the white house this afn. the president in the scripted remarks warning of what he called a growi humanitarian and national security crisis and again claiming a barrier at the border i only way to keep americans safe.id prt trump in prime time delivering a familiar pitch d fm ifferent setting, selling his hard-line immigration plan in his first ever oval office address. >> ts is a humanitarian crisis, a crisis of the heart and a crisis of the soul. >> reporter: now 19 days into a government shutdown, a political stalemate ensuring 800,000 federal workers won't get paychecks this friday. the president is not offering a single newl propor idea. instead, emphasizing the same dire message about violence and crime that helped ppel him to the white house. >> i've held the hands of the weepin mothers and embraced the grief-stricken fathers. so d,o terrible. how much more american blood must we shed befo

we have two reports starting with peter alexander. >> reporter: good morning. this morning the state of disunion over the president's upcoming stein address less than two weeks away and now this. a power play from democrat nancy pelosi. the house speaker flexing her muscles in a move designed to deperipheral the president of a high-profile platform to attack democrats and to sell his border wall. the this morning the shutdown of the state of the union now heating up. speaker nancy pelosi urging the president to postpone his annual address or deliver in writing. in this new letter citing security concerns, noting that due to the shutdown the defendant homeland security and secret service have been hamstrung by furloughs. >> you can make it from the oval office if he wants. >> reporter: pelosi's deputy more definitive. >> state of the union is off. >> state of the union is off. >> reporter: sceny hoyer's aides later misspoke. white house calling it a political stun. >> speaker pelosi should act like a speaker. it's not a security issue. it's politics. >> reporter

first, we go to nbc's peter alexander with the president's pitch for that bor wall. d morning. >> reporter:trikingly no concessions made on either side. both digging in their heels last night. e president delivering what was really a familiar pitch from a different setting. hardline immigration plan in his first-ever oval office address but notably he offered no new proposals, no new ideasow 19 days into the government shutdown. the president painting a harrowing picture of danger and death, violence and crime along border,./mexico describing undocumented immigrants as murders and drug smugglers, identical thooefs to the speech that launched his campaign for president three and a half years ago,aying a barrier at the border is the only way to keep aricans safe. democratic leaders, as you noted, fiercelyesisted the president's demand of more than $5 billion in funding for the wall accused president trump of putting fear before the facts. they call h tommediately end the shutdown. as you noted, this friday, those 800,000 federal workers may not get ycheck. we're going t

that's her reporting from kelly o'donell and halie jackson and peter alexander. you think that this is a good faith effort? could you see it that way? >> obviously not. it is ridiculous. i was in the meeting this morning, we are going to be here on tuesday and ready to work. we are ready to take up any legislation that the president may sign or any legislation with sufficient votes to pass it without the president's signature. this is the president essentially being a man-baby all over again. >> kelly o'donell, do you think the house is going to respond on the president being a man-baby. >> reporter: i am going to pass on this one. the other thing i want to share about is pelosi surprised the white house postponing the january 29th date which is her prerogative to invite the president for a joint session of congress. we still have no answer from the white house on that issue. i have been told by multiple sources that a plan walkth throh involving all security and there are many secret services and capitol police and many agencies and departments and offices withi

we'll get a preview right now with peter alexander. tod morning. >> good morning you. >> good morning. >> coming up on a saturday morning on "today," the government shutdown enters the third week the president toying with the idea of declaring a national emergency to get the his wall.for as democrats push for the government to get up and runnini again beforeng anything us. >>> also ahead, our countdown to the golden globes and the buzz brewing over who will go home th the coveted trophy. i have a bunch of movies to see. >> me too. >> why tomorrow is apparently the biggest day for online dating. the sixth giving singles hop in search of their soul mate. >> it's like the blackr friday dating. those stories and more when we get started on "today." you'll have to tune in to check out why tomorrow is sh a big day for the singles. >> there has an a lot of shopping on the apps tomorrow. >> gd stuff. >>> back in our headlines this morning, nancyev pelosi has been accused of taking things slowly. that dates back to her days ine collhere the fir

and when we wut these to the president as my colleague peter alexander just did, he said the only thing he is threatened by is the truth, have a listen. >> he says he was threatened by you -- >> he has only been threatened by the truth. he doesn't want to do that probably for me or other clients. he has other clients also, i assume. he doesn't want to tell the truth for me or his other clients. thank you very much. >>> now we should just note that it is a breach of protocol to weigh in on any federal investigation. president trump has done that more times than any of us can count. he also talked about potential witnesses for and against him, making numerous comments on twitter. he departed from norms so many times from this we will see what level this rises to. we will get michael cohen's story. it will come out. i think with the value of him testifying before the house in open committee it is for everyone, people at home, to assess his credibility, and that is why public testimony is so crucial. >> thank you both very much, we want to bring into the committee. they are launching an inv

. >> i want to go to peter alexander from the white house. peter, good to talk to you this morning.he president responding pretty forcefully this morning to say the least. take us through it. >> reporter: yeah, that's exactly right. we saw this right out of the gates this morning. the president with a series of tweets going off most recently about the intelligence community which will make his only item on his schedule today his intelligence briefing that much more interesting. here's what the president said in reaction to gina haspel. first here's the sound bite from the cia director. he says the intelligence people seem to be passive and naive when it comes to the dangers of iran. they are wrong. when i became president, iran was making trouble all over the middle east and beyond. since ending the terrible iran nuclear deal, they are much different but a source of potential danger and conflict. here's what his cl i a director gina haspel said on iran yesterday on capitol hill. take a listen. >> is iran currently abiding by the terms of the jcpoa in terms of their nuclear activitie