richard engel is standing by. the white house says president trump floated this idea as a temporary solution. what are you hearing from people in the region? >> reporter: so he may have floated it, but it crashed in the middle east. i spoke to several senior arab leaders, ask they all described it with horror and disgust. one official asking, why was it even necessary? why would you have to even forcibly remove palestinians simply to do reconstruction? they could stay in one part of gaza, while building takes plais in another area. one official said that this proposed plan is really tantamount to ethnic cleansing. jordan and egypt have peace treats with israel. have said they won't be party to depopulating the gaza strip. and at the end of the day, lester, it boils down to trust. palestinians don't believe that if they're forced out, they will ever be allowed to return. >> reporter: richard engel, thank you. let's turn to president trump's federal shake up. with one being placed on leave. and cia employees now bei

richard engel is joining me from lisbon. peter baker is the new york times chief white house correspondent. and elise jordan served in george w bush's white house and state department. both peter. and elise are msnbc political analyst. so, kelly, are you hearing anything from inside the white house that the president is rethinking any of this based on the reaction that's been coming in? >> not so far. he has already said today that, quote, everybody loves it, referring to his idea. i don't know who specifically he's referring to there when he calls it everybody. he did not want to go into greater detail and said he would likely talk about it more later today. we're also waiting on the white house press briefing with caroline leavitt. perhaps we'll have some more insight there. so often this president telegraphs ideas in advance, and the clues were present in what you just played in the oval office, which preceded the press conference, where then the president read his remarks that outlined this idea for the first time public

kelly o'donnell reports from the white house and richard engel on the backlash across t middle east. >>> all as the white house eyes deeper cuts for the federal workforce including at the cia and intelligence community. >>> the new airport scare. one flight nearly slashing off the tail of another when they clip wings in seattle. the investigation tonight. >>> pl

kelly o'donnell reports from the white house and richard engel on the backlash across the middle eastall as the white house eyes deeper cuts for the federal workforce including at the cia and intelligence community. >>> the new airport scare. one flight nearly slashing off the tail of another when they clip wings in seattle. the investigation tonight. >>> plus -- >> i've been shot in my neck. >> you took the gun away? >> the suspect in custody after a 12-hour manhunt after a workplace mass shooting near ohio state university. we're on the ground. >>> and can those wildly popular weight loss drugs treat addiction? stephanie gosk on the cutting-edge research on the way. >>> and finally, from billboards to the ballroom, how bad bunny's hits are inspiring so many to get up and dance. ♪ >> announcer: this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening and welcome. the question of whether the u.s. could ever really take ownership of the gaza strip was almost secondary today as the world first tried to understand exactly what president trump has in mind. sounding more like the rere

let's get to richard engel, who, of course, covered this region for decades. lives there as well. richard, let's start with the reaction that's coming in. we already heard from the crown prince of saudi arabia. how are world leaders, particularly in the middle east, reacting? >> reporter: so i have been speaking, savannah, since this announcement came from president trump with powerful leaders in the region, members of royal families and the universal reaction was shock and horror. people don't believe this is feasible. they're not sure if trump is serious. but they believe that this should not happen, that it would be destabilizing, that it would be tantamount to ethnic cleansing in the region because many palestinians don't want to go. the neighboring countries, egypt and jordan, don't want to take them in. that would mean, if this were to go ahead, the u.s. military going in there and removing people with the barrel of a gun and putting them on some sort of busses and trains and sending them into countries where they don't want to go and where they're not welcome. there's a simp

richard. several engel gate bridge both very wet and busy. 76 minutes along 101 that says you're traveling from 85 up to menlo park. wow. service trees. your best bet. probably would avoid want to one to those drive times. drop down. and about 60 minutes, elliott will down to 2 37 over in the east bay along 8.80, sorry. james, back to you. in concord. students went out in protest near monument boulevard and meadow lane. we're about 500 students that were out there. it was peaceful, minimal traffic obstruction. but we just wanted to show you what was going on there. and then also some residents in concord are sounding the alarm about concord city. >> council deciding to examine rent stabilization ordinance. yeah, this comes nearly a month earlier than planned. then that came as a shock to some residents. kron four's. >> lezla gooden takes a look. >> fact that it took 8 years, 8 years of hundreds of stories year after year month after money. you know, all of this year's for them to finally pass something protections for tenants. it just it's really concerning that it only it's hasn't even been a