Climbing all day as those Rescue Crews pull more bodies out of the rubble In Gaza city. You asked how officials are responding. Ive been asking the israeli military all day, what was the target here . What were you aiming for . A short while ago they came back to me with a statement. I will read part of that to you. They said they were targeting underground military infrastructure belonging to the hamas terror organization. The Undergrournd Military Facilities collapsed causing foundation of the civilian houses above them to collapse as well, leading to unintended causalities. I should say Nbc News has not independently verified those claims about an underground military facility. Even if this was a legitimate military target, the question under international law, does its Military Significance outweigh this massive civilian we now have more than 50 children killed In Gaza in the last all right, guys, were having some trouble. Well, were hearing a little bit. All right. Are you back . Can you hear me . Reporter yes. Great. Continue. Im sorry. Reporter alex, im sorry. I was just saying, our team In Gaza caught up earlier with a young palestinianamerican who was caught in the strip, now finding himself in the middle of this fighting. And he reflected on the impact this is having on the children In Gaza. Take a listen. To these kids, this is not normal. They dont live normal lives. Theyre going to grow up in a different way other than the kids. You cant expect these kids to be normal in the future. Reporter prime Minister Netanyahu of israel indicating earlier that he is not looking for a ceasefire right now. He wants more time on the battlefield to degrade hamas military capabilities. So far, hes not under much public pressure, at least from the biden administration to go for a ceasefire. That may change as these civilian casualties rise. Alex . Yeah. Okay, thanks so much. Joining me now, ben rhodes, former national Deputy Security Adviser to President Obama. Good to see you. As we look at this conflict, its been going on for decades but right now it feels different. Tensions have reached a new threshold. Is that how youre seeing it . Do you have a sense of whats prompted this level of attacks and why now . Yeah, alex, i think there are a couple things different from Past Gaza wars. First, the asimilar trihas grown. Even hamas, a terrorist organization that threatens israeli people is dealing with rockets and the people bearing the brunt of these strikes appear to be civilians. I think the second thing thats really important, theres no hope for a Twostate Solution. Even during Past Gaza wars, past conflicts, there was a Peace Process ongoing, a prospect of a Palestinian State. It is the policy of prime Minister Netanyahu to never allow a Palestinian State on his watch. He has said that. The Settle Manies have expanded, israeli settlements into east jerusalem, into West Bank in a way that is making a Palestinian State impossible. Not only do you have the Human Tragedy of this horrific violence, obviously the threat to israeli civilians, but the far greater toll on the palestinian side with all these children being killed, included among them. But you also have a real loss of hope and a feeling among palestinians that there is no prospect theyre going to have their rights respected or theyre going to have a state of their own. To have a level of hopelessness on both sides that something can be done. Thats a difficult way to try to negotiate things. Im curious what you think of the biden Administrations Approach so far. The president talked to both leaders yesterday, trying to deescalate but theres no sign of a ceasefire in sight. What does the president need to do . Does he need to change his stance . I think as you watch these images and you see the Death Toll mounting, and as alluded to in your package, you see the trauma this is going to inflict on people on both sides, i think acutely the people of gaza, i think President Biden has to consider getting out there and publicly calling for a ceasefire, publicly calling for the israeli government to stop this bombardment, just as we obviously call for hamas to end these Rocket Attacks because the reality is, its hard to see what Military Objective outweighs the civilian harm being done to the people of gaza. Frankly, some of these other issues around Hamas Tunnel networks, around the Weapon Shipments into gaza can be dealt with in ceasefire negotiations with other parties in the region. Right now i think the world is increasingly looking to President Biden to publicly call for a ceasefire. Im sure in private there are discussions taking place. When you get behind that position publicly, because as of now prime Minister Netanyahu is saying hes acting with the full support of the u. S. Government. Heres something former Secretary Of State Mike Pompeo had to say about it this morning. Lets take a listen. Every single step the biden administration has taken to date puts them in greater risk and puts friends and allies and partners of us in the Middle East a great risk. Theres a direct line between appeasement and war. We worked for four years to create Sxaes Stability in the Middle East. We made clear to the palestinians that were not going to underwrite you. Were not going to send american Taxpayer Money to the palestinians while youre still committed to wiping israel off the face of the earth. This administration came in and immediately began underwriting the palestinians again. Whats your reaction to that . Welling, i think its disgusting, frankly. First of all, its completely counterfactual. The biden administration has talked about resuming the palestinian authority. That has nothing to do with hamas. That has nothing to do with the Rocket Attacks we see. I think more profoundly, though, what you saw under the Trump Administration was, in part, a kind of full embrace of the right wing of the israeli Governments View of settlement policy, of the conflict generally. But you also saw this politicalization of this issue in american politics. I remember Mike Pompeo speaking to the Republican National Convention with jerusalem as his back drop, as if it was just another political yeah, i remember that. This is an incredibly sensitive, complicated, historical issue that involves the israelis, the palestinians, it involves the base of three great religions, and to continually just treat it like its some Culture War Issue in the united states is part of the problem. Its part of what has infected the efforts to pursue diplomacy to address these issues. I think viewing everything as Mike Pompeo and Donald Trump do as some extension of their domestic war against democrats does nothing to help secure israelis and nothing to ensure rights and security for palestinians. Heres one approach, as there has been substantial pressure on biden to act, not just from its also coming from the left wing of the democratic party. That includes Senator Bernie Sanders who wrote in an oped This Week, ben, saying the u. S. Mes stop being an apologist for the netanyahu government. Should he take a Stuffer Stance against israel . Talking about biden, that is. What would be the fallout of that. Look, i think this is a politically challenging issue in the united states. Theres very strong support in both political parties. I think the issue Bernie Sanders and others is raising, including other people, including me at times, is netanyahu has moved this relationship in an Ins Creasingly far right direction. You have seen him essentially undermine the Foreign Policy of the last president democratic president in the White House that i worked for, barack obama. You see him fully embracing Donald Trump during the trump presidency. You see him walking away from support for a Twostate Solution with palestinians and you see him increasingly embracing the israeli Settlement Movement moving into the West Bank, using incendiary rhetoric in the way he talks about palestinians. It was inevitable that this would force a series of debates inside the democratic party about policy towards israel. I think we all want to support israel and the israeli people. The question is, what has prime Minister Netanyahu done as Prime Minister . Thats a distinct issue. We can support israel while having strong Policy Disagreements with what the israeli government has done. The reality is what the israeli government has done under prime Minister Netanyahu has done runs counter to what Joe Biden has said, a Twostate Solution. I have to tell you, given the difficulties of the topic of this conversation, i want to thank you so much for harnessing your expertise and bringing some really, really sage comments to this conversation. Thank you very much. New today in the coronavirus pandemic, the countrys largest Nurses Union condemning the cdcs new guidelines that vaccinated americans dont need masks in most places. National nurses united says it worries it will put frontine workers at risk while the pandemic is still present. The cdc is defending it, saying the decision was a needed first step. This was not permission to shed masks for everybody everywhere. This was sciencedriven, individual assessment of your risk. Now, what thats the first step we need to take in our guidance to understand whats the individual risk. Cdc is hard at work now saying what does this mean for schools, for travel, for camps, for businesses . But we needed this foundation, this Building Block in order to revise all of that guidance. And starbucks is the latest to change its mask requirements. Starting tomorrow, masks will be optional for vaccinated customers. Walmart, costco, trader joes and publix have lifted their mask mandate. Lets go to New York at a Popup Vaccination Clinic in the Bronx And Scott cohen in california. Thank you to you for being here. What are you seeing in terms of the Vaccine Demand and the masks there, how many people are coming and how many people are wearing masks or not . Reporter yeah, i have to note, alex, really quickly, this Vaccine Popup Site has just ended. Prior to this, just moments ago, it was very busy. It was a busy morning. And doctors tell me it was actually busier than normal. They think there is an effect from the cdc guidelines coming out. 30 of people were just coming through to use the Subway and decided to get the shot. 60 heard from word of mouth. Everybody i spoke to out here was excited to get the shot and move into the next phase of life. Even though many of them did say theyre going to continue to wear their mask indoors because they just dont feel quite ready yet, they do feel that it is an important first step in order to be able to get back to not just leisurely life but important things they need to do every day. Their jobs, child care, that sort of thing. Listen to what one man told me. [ speaking foreign language ] translator he feels great that he got vaccinated because this way he could get back to normal. He could now take his mask off. He could speak in ways people will understand him because they can see his face and this Way Everything is going back to the normal he knew before. Reporter of course, alex, these popup sites are the latest way for states to be able to reach communities and really, really hyperlocal communities that might not have otherwise had a chance to get the vaccine. Were seeing this more and more that states are having to get really creative. As a matter of fact, we have seen certain Tourist Destinations where tourists can get free vaccines as well. Were looking at about 30 Million people who say they want the vaccine, they just havent had a chance to get it yet. Thats a sweet spot of trying get those people vaccinated as well. Thank you from New York. Were going to head west across the country to Scott Cohen in San Francisco where authorities are looking for ways to ramp up the momentum for the vaccine. So whats happening where you are, scott . Reporter yeah, alex. About 10 14 in the morning Pacific Time so its early for a burger but when super Duper Burger opens up in about 15 minutes, theyll continue with their incentive of a free order of French Fries for anybody who can show theyve been vaccinated. This restaurant is one of four locations in the chain and its been a difficult year for them, as it has been for most restaurateurs because of the pandemic. This is a busy touristy area of San Francisco where. Were near the Art Museum and a few blocks from the masconi center, a convention center. The hope is, obviously, to get more people vaccinated buzz the owners also say its good for business. The safety of our employees and our guests, very important for us. So encouraging people to get vaccinated would seem to really help with that. If everyones done their vaccinations and people are, you know, no longer worried about getting exposed to it, i think it will help the Restaurant Industry build its way back up. Reporter the Bay Area is among actually the best in the nation in terms of vaccination rates. In San Francisco, 75 of the population now has gotten at least one shot. 60 fully vaccinated. And yet theyre still offering these incentives to get more people in. At levi stadium, home of the 49ers in santa clara, theyre Offering Tour for teens who get vaccinated. Free pizza in some areas here. Santa clara The City offering fast Food Gift cards. A lot of food involved in all of this. In some parts of the country, the incentives are even richer. Like in ohio if you get vaccinated now, you get entered into 1 Million a week lottery. What . Reporter you could potentially win a fullride scholarship at an ohio university. So, they are really trying to pull out all the stops to get people vaccinated. I guess if thats what it takes, thats what officials are willing to do, alex. I think there has to be people out there like you and me thinking, we got vaccinated too soon. Anyway, its all for a good cause. Its all good. Thanks. A New York times piece on the demeanor of the president is drawing attention. Ill talk with someone who knows him personally next. Robert gibbs will join me. Robert gibbs will join me. Incomparable design makes it beautiful. State of the art technology, makes it brilliant. The visionary lexus nx. Lease the 2021 Nx 300 for 349 a month for 36 months. Experience amazing, at your lexus dealer. Were here for the heavy flowers and the wedgiepickers lease the 2021 Nx 300 for 349 a month for 36 months. With a pad made like no other up to zero leaks because it locks blood in up to zero bunching because it flexes no worries just always flexfoam seeing blood when you brush or floss can be a sign of early gum damage. New parodontax active Gum Repair kills Plaque Bacteria at the Gum Line to help keep the Gum Seal tight. New parodontax active Gum Repair toothpaste. Tech every customer has their own safelite story. 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Voila maybe a Couple Throw pillows would help. Get a Strategy Gut Check from our trade desk. Developing this hour, the house is expected to vote This Week on newly agreed upon legislation to create a bipartisan commission to study what went wrong on the January 6th attack on the capitol. As that vote nears, House Homeland Security Chair Thompson told Msnbc Today hes going to stand up against any efforts by republicans to broaden the commissions scope. Were talking strictly about the event of January 6th. If there are some individuals who want to set up another commission, thats perfectly within their right as members of congress, but for what we have here today, were looking solely from a scope of what happened on January 6th. Meanwhile, were getting a new look at how republican voters feel about Congresswoman Liz Cheney being removed from her Leadership Post in the party. A new poll finds only 17 of republicans thought cheney should have stayed in her position. Congresswoman cheney giving new Reaction Today to her ousting. Theres no question but that at this moment the majority of the Republican Party is not where i am. But its my responsibility as an elected official, its my responsibility as a leader to lead and to tell the truth. The vote to remove cheney still reverberating within the Republican Party This Weekend. Today republican lawmakers appear to be split on what role Donald Trump still has in the party as they try to navigate how to move toward. Hes one of many leaders in the party. Hes a former president. Were five months into President Bidens presidency and there is a time to Move On. You cant say hes the leader and then say we have to Move On. I would love to Move On. Were sitting here with Donald Trump throwing up all the Smoke Screen of four months ago. We to want Move On. Its hard to do when he keeps bringing back to a stolen election. It can be a Big Week ahead for President Bidens infrastructure plan. The president Giving Republicans a Tuesday Deadline to present a new counterproposal to his plan. This past week President Biden met with several influential lawmakers, including a group of republicans to attempt to inch closer to a bipartisan agreement. The president is hoping to strike a deal by memorial day. Joining me now is msnbc political analyst robert gibbs, former white House Press Secretary under former President Obama. Good to see you. Lets work on getting your thoughts on some of the challenges this White House has faced so far. Thats going to start with the escalating violence in the Middle East right now. I spoke with another Obama Administration Alum just moments ago, ben rhodes. When President Obama was in office, how did he approach the israel Palestinian Conflict . How much of a hurdle do you think its posing for President Biden . Well, i think its intensifying on the ground in the region and i think you have seen President Biden have to get much more involved, calling prime Minister Netanyahu and president abbas. Theres a senior enjoy that arrived recently in the region. I have No Doubt this is taking up a growing amount of bandwidth inside of the White House. And i think there will be intensifying international pressure to get the u. S. More involved and to also put pressure on both parties to get to a durable ceasefire. Theres No Doubt the conditions that President Obama inherited in 2009 and the conditions for longterm peace that Joe Biden inherited in 2021 are thousands of years apart, lightyears apart in those challenges. Its about managing right now. Its not were not in this longterm look for the peace that many president s had sought. Okay. From there to the cdcs new guideline on masks. I want to get your thoughts on that. According to the washington post, the huge Policy Turnaround caught senior white House And Business leaders completely offguard and prompted some physicians to criticize the move as premature. So, robert, the administration really didnt know this guidance was changing . Does that surprise you . How would that happen . Well, i think thats probably one good element of the story, i will alex. Folks involved at the White House left this to the scientists at the cdc. I think that part of the story is good. I do understand, though, the strain of communicating this quickly and having lots and lots and lots of questions about what this means. I think weve all been to events and places in the last 24 hours that will have a Sign Up that says, please wear a mask, but the guidance, obviously, is different now with that. I think its really going to be incumbent upon the cdc to continue to communicate actively on this, to answer questions, to help businesses, to help cities and states understand how this guidance should be translated into the rulemaking and the policymaking that has to be implemented at that state and local level. So, i think this is really the beginning of that process, not the end of it. I can understand the strain this puts on a lot of different people because just two days before this in testimony before the senate, it wasnt necessarily foreshadowed that this big change was going to happen just 48 hours later. Absolutely. So, theres this New York times piece, robert, on President Biden and it reads in part, beneath Joe Bidens folksy demeanor a short Fuse And Obsession with details. This article goes on to say, quick decisionmaking is not mr. Bidens style. His reputation as aplain Speaking Politician hides a more complicated truth. Before making up his mind, he demands hours of detailladen debate from scores of Policy Experts taking everyone around him on what some in the West Wing refer to as his journey before arriving at a conclusion. Im curious, given your experience with him, do you agree with that assessment . I certainly saw then vice President Biden as extraordinarily deliberative. I had actually i enjoy the fact that he sometimes snaps at people for using too many acronyms or not using the language that most people use or that he should use as a communicator of those policy decisions. I appreciated that. But i think look, i think each president has his own style in making these decisions. I think a couple of important things. The easy decisions dont get made inside the White House. There arent meetings in the Situation Room for easy decisions. Those meetings never get to the campus of the White House and they never go into the Situation Room. So, that, i would say, is certainly part of it. And i think president s are held more not how they make decisions but by the impact of them. I understand and can appreciate the deliberate nature by which Joe Biden is undertaking the Weight And Seriousness of these decisions because each decision sent a oneoff. It impacts other decisions that ultimately have to be made and a path towards different policy development. So, theyre not easy to make and theyre deliberative in nature. And i think most people will appreciate that as long as it doesnt appear as if the process is dragging on and decisions arent being made. So in recent interviews white House Press Secretary Jen Psaki revealed she talked to the biden Transition Team about a roughly one year or so term. Does this surprise you . Im wondering if you can give us a sense of how demanding the job is . I went years ago to a u. S. Open match with then Hillary Clintons Press Secretary lisa caputo. She had so much gear with her, beepers, back when there were beepers, and cell phones. It never stopped. This is at a tennis match. I will tell you this, alex, The One thing you learn in a senior White House position, and particularly Press Secretary, you dont control your own time. You arent in control of what may or may not impact it. I can tell my child that this Friday Night were going to order pizza and watch a movie and i just hope events didnt intervene in conspireing against that from happening. Jen didnt seek this job. This job sought her. And its incredibly hard once the President Elect asks you to serve in such a big role at such a big moment to say anything other than yes, but i think she understands, you know, shes got a young family. She was very happy in the life she had, and i think, again, that constant strain of time i remember leaving the White House on Christmas Eve 2009, desperate to sort of unplug for a few days and figuring, if theres ever a moment to be able to do it, its probably on christmas. Yeah. And lo and behold, by 10 00 or so the next morning, i had already been called by the Situation Room because somebody tried to blow up a Plane Landing in detroit. We all remember that. And i had hoped to unplug for a few days and found myself back at the White House at 7 30 the morning after christmas. Again, you dont control your own time. And you dont control events. That puts a tremendous strain on everything in your life, and its hard. And i think jen understands, shes got a unique view of History Of The World right now at a Big Time and she has other things she wants to do as well. This gives her a chance to dive in but understand she doesnt have to do this forever. I always appreciate your insight into that Sxa Everything else you bring to the table. Thank you. What Congressman Matt Gaetz told a Crowd Yesterday about the Sexual Misconduct allegations involving him. Allegations involving him. Yes, thank you, that was fast. Sgt. Houston never expected this to happen. 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He is expected to plead guilty to six charges and cooperate with a federal Sex Trafficking Investigation. Gaetz has not been charged and has repeateddy denied any wrongdoing. Lets go to Von Hilliard joining us. Lets talk about what this Plea Deal could mean for Matt Gaetz. Reporter good afternoon, alex. When were talking about Congressman Gaetz of florida here, the question is, is he potentially one of these other, quote, other men who Joel Greenberg, the Florida Tax Official and associate of Matt Gaetz. Is Matt Gaetz one of those, quote, other men who Joel Greenberg has indicated he is ready to implicate as part of this Sex Trafficking Investigation that federal authorities are leading . What we know from court Documents Rye leased on friday, ahead of Tomorrows Appearance in court by Joel Greenberg is that he has admitted to 70,000 worth of payments over the course of 150 transactions from 2016 to 2018 for commercial Sex Acts. Not only for him, though but, quote, other men. In those court documents, those other men were not named by greenberg. The question in Tomorrows Court Appearance is whether Matt Gaetz, the Florida Congressman s one of those individuals. Now, we should know the congressman has vehemently denied these allegations saying that he has never paid for Sex Acts, but the other issue, the legal challenge potentially for Matt Gaetz is whether Joel Greenberg will name him as one of those individuals who engaged in a commercial Sex Act with a minor. Among those women who Sexual Acts were paid for, there is one individual who over the course of part of that time Joel Greenberg has indicated was a minor. Now, the congressman has also denied those allegations that he had sex with a minor. At the same time, Matt Gaetz, who is really kind of taken on the Trump Mantel in congress, hes been on the road. He was in florida in the villages one week ago. Last night he was actually speaking to a roomful of ohio gop activists. I want you to see for yourself the statement in which he denied this saying, quote as i pull up my notes. Quote, saying im falsely accused but congress has renewt instituted a Process A process that legalizes the corrupt money. Essentially downplaying the allegations against him and equating them to why is there not greater focus on earmarks as part of congressional legislating. Were expecting to see Matt Gaetz be in arizona this upcoming friday with Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor greene as part of their america first tour. Something for us to keep an eye on. Joining me right now is sara longwell, Executive Director of republican accountability program. And i know youre joining us because you are one of more than hundreds of republicans discussing whether to create a new party after Liz Cheney was stripped of her leadership role. First i want to ask you about Matt Gaetz, who has been a staunch supporter of Donald Trump. Do his troubles also weigh into any considerations by your group . You know, what i think is remarkable about the Matt Gaetz situation is somehow he remains a republican in good standing while somebody like Liz Cheney is being excommunicated from the party. When i was a young conservative, i sort of became a conservative in the clinton years, and back then the entire mantra of the Republican Party was the idea that character counts, that morality mattered. So, it is such a long trip from there to here. Were not only are the antics of people like Matt Gaetz tolerated but theyre actually sort of celebrated. You see the way he talks about it there. He says naughty favors as though its all a big joke. That is one of the ways Donald Trump has really completely reshaped the Republican Party and where voters no longer it just doesnt matter to them that much that this guy is not particularly a moral or upstanding citizen. Ive got to say, when you pointed out naughty favors, it just seemed kind of gross and sleazy when he put it that way. Lets Move On to the letter now. This group is calling for the Republican Party to rededicate itself to Founding Ideal as and condemns the Gops Embrace of Donald Trump and the big lie. How did it get to this point with trump and before you turn any trump supporters, do you need to identify the secret of his success . Yeah, and i think people have identified sort of the secret of his success. Its the celebrity, its the anti, sort of cancel culture, attack on the left. I do focus groups with trump supporters all the time. They cant really tell you what theyre for on a policy front. So, its not like they have a lot of affirmative policy goals. What they tell you is how much they dislike the left, how much they dislike the media. Donald trump being this fighter, this guy whos just going to beat up relentlessly on their enemies, thats the thing they love about him. You know, as far as, you know i think what the letter is about and what a lot of conservatives who are like me, kind of oldschool conservatives, is they like Liz Cheney. They would like the party to reaffirm itself to a principle. Its not good enough going around saying you need to beat up on the left. I will say, i didnt actually sign this letter. Im not on it. I think it would be wunl thing to start a Third Party if Bernie Sanders had been the democratic nominee. Then i would say we absolutely need a Third Party to kind of protect the center, but i think Joe Biden was the nominee and, look, hes a big Government Spending liberal but hes not a socialist. I think what you need with the Republican Party being in this incredibly dangerous place, you need to build the broadest, biggest Prodemocracy Coalition possible to push back on the sort of antidemocratic place the Republican Party has gone. So for me, i would actually im comfortable in the short term joining with the democrats to kind of fight back against the republicans. I worry about thirdparties. They can be tricky. You never know who theyre going to help. And this broad group, though, a broad coalition for a Republican Party, does that include the level of white supremacists that seem to be attracted to Donald Trump . Well, when i say a broad coalition, i actually mean, i mean a broad Prodemocracy Coalition. Im talking about a coalition that spans from Liz Warren to Liz Cheney. You know, finding pulling together a group of people that are going to say, hey, the Election Wasnt stolen. What happened on January 6th was an attack on the peaceful transition of power. And people like kevin mccarthy, who are out there pushing that lie, lying to voters, he should not have access to political power, that you have ensure this is not a person who deserves to be the leader of a party. Im actually talking about joining a democratic coalition for the time being to ensure that youre holding off this sort of dangerous version of the Republican Party from having access to political power. Okay. Sara longwell, Executive Director of the republican accountability project. Thank you for clarifying you hadnt signed that letter. See you again. Thank you. In a moment, Remembering A Dear old friend who filled us with wonder and kept us looking up. Up [tv announcer] come on down to our Appliance Superstore where weve got the best deals on refrigerators, microwaves, Gas Ranges and grills. And if youre looking for. How great is it that we get to tell everybody how Liberty Mutual customizes your Car Insurance where weve got the best deals on refrigerators, microwaves, so you only pay for what you need . I mean it. Uhoh, sorry. Oh. What . Im an emu no, buddy only pay for what you need. Liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. The John Deere Z365r ztrak mower, cuts the hassle out of yardwork. Run with us, because the best job is The One thats easily done. Nothing runs like a deere. Search John Deere Z365r for more. Keeping your Oysters Business growing has you swamped. You need to hire. I need indeed indeed you do. The moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a shortlist of quality candidates from a Resume Data Base claim your seventyfivedollar credit when you post your first job at indeed. Com promo a bit of sad news to report. Legendary Nbc News Correspondent Jay Barbie died in florida at the age of 87. Jay joined nbc in 1958 and retired in 2017. He had a career of 59 years. He reported on every human Space Mission to leave u. S. Soil until the very last Shuttle Mission in 2011, 166 flights in total. Jay was, indeed, a regular on our program many times. Heres some of his reporting from 2003. Thats when we first learned of the Shuttle Columbia Disaster with some information on the investigation in the following days. Well get to Jay Barbree. Good morning to you, jay. What do you have to tell us . Alex, we could have a situation developing here. Straight up on the hour, Mission Control lost communication with the astronauts while they were high over texas. Air force cameras picked up high resolution images of the descent, quote, heavy structural damage on the left wing near the fuselage. Jay barbree joins us. Good morning. As you said, we can now we have visual proof that the left wing of the Shuttle Columbia had high structural damage i should say, high structural damage as it approached its breakup. In the 1980 jay was among those being considered to be the first civilian in space. Back in 2006 i asked him if given the chance, would he do it . Jay, before we let you go, would you still go there . Would i still go . Uhhuh. I dont think they would i dont think theyd let me go today, but kind of the bloom is off the rose because japanese journalist has already paid for his way into space aboard a russian spacecraft to the space station. But maybe one day they will. If they would let me go, of course i would go because i would certainly like this broadcast from orbit. We would love to have you, jay. Thank you so much, Jay Barbree down at cape canaveral. Jay is survived by his wife, one son, two daughters and six grandchildren. Jay barbree of Nbc News. Thank you for all of your reporting, expertise and inspiring passion for all Things Space related. God speed, friend. Our Retirement Plan with voya, keeps us moving forward. Hey, kevin hey, guys they have customized solutions to help our familys special needs. Giving us confidence in our future. And in kevins. Voya. Well planned. Well invested. Well protected. Feeling stressed in your skin . Not with new Olay Retinol Body wash. Which improves Skin 3x better. From dry and stressed, to bright and smooth. So, i can feel my best in my skin. Olay body. Fearless in my skin. At fidelity, Youll Work with an advisor to help you build a flexible wealth plan. Youll have access to taxsmart investing strategies, and with brokerage accounts online trades are commission free. Personalized advice. Unmatched value. At fidelity, you can have both. Its Grilled Cheese time. Yeah, its time for Grilled Cheese. After we make Grilled Cheese, then were eating Grilled Cheese. Because its time. Yeah. Time for Grilled Cheese. A new fascinating article details representative Elise Stefaniks rise up the Gop Ladder to become the third highestranking republican. The piece titled The Handmaiden Of Trump. How Elise Stefanik went from moderate to maga. Once known for embrace of facts, then parroted Conspiracy Theories from the 2020 election. And joining me now is the writer of this article, senior correspondent for time magazine. Our friend charlotte alter. Charlotte, welcome. And its a great comprehensive article. I loved it. You write that Elise Stefanik was once hailed as the fresh face of the new gop when she was elected to congress in 2014. Very detailed article. But in summary, what do you make of that moment and where she is today . Well, when i first started talking to representative stefanik in my book, she is one of the main characters, she was kind of the archetype of the modern millennial gop. She was someone who was trying to bring her party in line with her generation on issues like climate change, immigration, college affordability. She seemed to have a real understanding that millennials like her cared about a handful of really particular issues, and she was trying to offer conservative solutions to those issues. And now her party has changed in such a way that embrace of trumpism was really the only path forward for her. And so thats why you see this pivot from somebody who was really trying to bring the Republican Party forward into in order to embrace a new generation of voters to somebody whos now obsessed with sort of relitigating an election that happened in the past. Im looking at the article. You quote one Person Margaret Hoover saying Elise Couldve been the face of a new generation of republicans that could represent a real big tent party. You also spoke with one of stefaniks Childhood Friends. How did she describe her growing up, and did she see a change over the years . I spoke to several Childhood Friends of hers, old teachers, old allies, old mentors. I think probably the person youre thinking of is Melissa Derosa who was a good friend of stefaniks when they were in Middle School and high school. And derosa, whos now a top aide to Governor Cuomo in New York. They obviously had really different politics but were really close. They were able to put politics aside and be really supportive of one another and kind of be there for one another. And now obviously that relationship has completely frayed. And, frankly, thats what happened with almost everybody i spoke to who knew stefanik back she was the old version of Elise Stefanik is that people who knew her back then are frankly alarmed by what shes become. Elise stefanik spoke this morning. Lets take a listen to what she said. President trump is an important voice in the Republican Party. We are working as one team, and voters across america, certainly voters in my district in upstate New York, we believe that president trumps results, whether it was the economic growth, whether it was the historic accords in the Middle East, whether it was being tough on china or the bipartisan Coronavirus Relief packages, these were significant results that helped everyday americans. Look, that was not her tone even in 2016 and early in this administration she barely uttered his name. Talk about that moment, an appearance in 2018, that made a real Turning Point for her towards trump. What was that about . So, yeah. In 2018 trump visited Stefaniks District, and they together threw an art at a major Military Base in her district. And i think that Stefaniks District is a really important part of her evolution in this story. This is a district that voted twice for obama and then swung heavily for trump. It is a largely rural white workingclass district, exactly the type of voters that make up trumps base. And the important thing to remember about Elise Stefanik is that she is a republican in New York state, which means that statewide office is going to be very difficult for her. So for somebody who is young and ambitious and wants a long political career ahead of her, she has to embrace where her party and her district is because thats the only sort of path forward for her. Over the course of 2018 and 2019 She Saw that her district and her party were moving towards trump, and she could kind of get on board or get out of the way. And its clear that she needs to get on board. Can you give me a sense of Personality Traits that have allowed her to rise up the ranks so quickly. She is somebody who everybody who knows her said that Elise Stefanik is one of the most intelligent people that theyve ever met, period. Shes highly intelligent, shes highly articulate. Shes somebody who is very good at communicating. Shes somebody whos very good at making her ideas clearly understood. But, frankly, one of the things that has changed is that when i first started reporting on her for my book, people who disagreed with her said they admired her sense of integrity, thought she had a strong sense of moral character and deep ethical values, even if they disagreed on the politics. And now many of those people who, you know, had once told me that they admired stefanik as somebody who was, you know, willing to speak the Truth And Stick to her principles, now feel like they dont recognize who shes become. Incredible. Well, you can read about it in The Handmaiden Of Trump in time magazine and also in your book. The book is The Ones weve been waiting for. You can get it now in paperback. It is a parade that prides itself on inclusivity. But today the organizers are getting criticize for the people that they want to leave out of all the festivities. Is this a form of cancel culture, whatever that is, gone wrong . Well talk about it in our next hour. 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