jr. a standstill on voting rights. the deadline for major reform was supposed to be today, now president biden says he's not sure if he can get a bill passed at all. and on the other side of the world the australian open under way just today, but novak djokovic is back home in serbia. officially barred from the tournament for refusing to get vaccinated. why this could be just the beginning of a tough road ahead for that tennis star. plus a dangerous storm plowing through the northeast with millions of people waking up to snow, ice, strong winds, thousands of flights canceled. everything you need to know this morning. but we begin with that brazen hostage taking at a synagogue in texas. this morning police are trying to learn more about why a 44-year-old british man interrupted a saturday service, brandished a weapon and held four people hostage including a rabbi for 11 long hours. a new twist emerged on sunday when british police detained the man's two teenage sons, although they have not been charged with anything. back here we're also learning more from that rabbi who says it wasn't luck, but training that helped ensure he and the other hostages got out alive. i want to bring in nbc's morgan chesky in cholesville, texas, and joyce vance, former u.s. attorney. good morning to both of you. morgan, big sigh of relief, almost really incredible that everybody but the gunman made it out alive. what do we know, though, about how those 11 hours unfolded? >> reporter: chris, good morning. we are learning some new details from authorities here and this synagogue from all of this took place is just behind me and that is why authorities are saying that this man that you mentioned, that 44-year-old british national identified as malik faisal akram entered saturday morning it was around shortly after 10:00 when he interrupted the saturday services there and started making threats, some of which were captured during the live stream on facebook of those sabbath services. we do know he was armed and we do know that it appears his only threat according to authorities was he wanted the release of a federal prisoner that's being held about 20 miles away from where i'm standing. fbi was clear to say that they established contact with this man early on and had a relatively consistent dialogue throughout the day when he was inside the synagogue after taking four hostages. it was about seven hours in that one of those hostages was released, chris. it was a man. and then four tense hours followed. the rabbi sharing over the weekend that the man became increasingly agitated and belligerent. it was within about an hour of that that we're learning that an fbi team moved in. akram died shortly thereafter. it appears according to video that the three remaining hostages inside were able to get out right about the same moment that that team moved in. and the rabbi, of course, giving an incredible amount of credit to the training both he and his congregation have received over the last several years from both the fbi and the colleyville police department. he shared this in a statement attesting to how much it helped during that moment of need saying, over the years my congregation and i have participated in multiple security courses from the colleyville police department, the fbi, the anti-defamation league and secure community network. we are alive today because of that education and the last hour of our hostage crisis the gunman became increasingly belligerent and threatening and without the instruction we received we would not have been prepared to act and flee when the situation presented itself. all of those hostages, chris, unharmed. all of them reunited with family over the weekend. we did hear from the family of that gunman who released a statement saying they believe that it was -- it was the gunman's brother who said that he believes his brother suffered from mental illness and that there was nothing he could have said or have done to have told his brother to surrender whenever he was inside that synagogue on saturday, chris? >> joyce, let's talk about that security training that morgan just mentioned. the rabbi and his congregation apparently went through various phases of training. i mean, look, it's a horrifying commentary on anti-semitism in this country that that training is needed, but bottom line is it may have saved lives this weekend. >> the training is incredibly important and, chris, i think the first thing we have to acknowledge here is that the fbi teams that respond to these situations and work on hostage release are incredibly skilled and the good outcome here is due in large part to their very skillful work, but the training also plays a role. it's a sad reality of modern life in america that jewish communities pay for this, provide this and incorporate it into their way of life. so many facets of our society are dominated by active shooter training and we need to have that in businesses and on universities, but having it in places of worship is, i think, particularly sobering and yet after the shooting in pittsburgh in 2018 that resulted in 11 deaths, in 2019 in poway, california, and an entire series of events in faith-based communities, including mother emanuel church in south carolina and wisconsin, this is increasingly a reality in the faith-based community. >> i also want to bring in tom winter who is covering the investigation for nbc. tom, i want to talk a little bit about the gunman, we mentioned his two sons were arrested in in the uk. what do we know about all of them? >> the manchester uk police department is looking into these two individuals, his two sons, as you said, chris, a police department which unfortunately has a lot of hands on experience when it comes to terrorism. of course, that's where the ariana grande concert was that was blown up in an act of terror that killed a number of individuals there. it's important to remember, i think, that these two have not been charged. the fbi has said that the two -- rather that the gunman and hostage taker on saturday acted alone, and there are many differences between the american and british legal systems, particularly the legal processes that is never more especially true when it comes to terrorism where they have wide latitude to take individuals into custody for the purposes of questioning them and then never charging. i mentioned the ariana grande concert bombing, people were arrested and taken into custody, they were ultimately never charged in that investigation. it's something that is typically not done here in the united states because of the laws that we have. so we'll wait and see today just what the authorities uncover there. of course, we want to hear more about the social media that this individual may have had, their presence, any prior statements that they could have had and also i have questions as to why a foreign national who arrived here just several weeks ago was so easily able to get a gun. obviously this could have been a more deadly outcome on saturday, chris. >> so much more to this investigation. joyce, what can you tell us about the woman who the gunman was apparently focused on, because i understand that you actually talked to her lawyer? >> so aafia siddiqui and i spoke with prosecutors in the southern district of new york, chris, who prosecute this had case, but she was someone who was brought to this country to face charges that while being questioned overseas by u.s. military and fbi forces she was able to access a firearm, she shot at them, she was ultimately convicted of attempted murder and assault against u.s. military and law enforcement personnel. she's in prison for 68 years. her charges were enhanced with what's called the terrorism enhancement, a recognition that she was motivated as part of the global terror effort against americans. so the reality is that she has become sort of a cause celeb in certain parts of the world and there have been ongoing protests over her incarceration. this was, of course, an extreme situation where this person -- and we don't know if he had any sort of relationship with her. her lawyers were very quick to say that she did not support his actions, was not involved in any way. so as tom has said, there is a lot of detail that we still need to know about this situation. >> thanks to all of you getting us going on this martin luther king day. tom, morgan, joyce, appreciate you all. now to the weather and all i can say is batten down the hatches. a powerful winter storm izzy now making its way east dumping snow and bringing gusty winds to an area stretching from west virginia all the way up to maine. and that's after it brought a heavy dose of dangerous weather to the southern u.s. over the weekend. at one point more than an inch of snow an hour fell on georgia, tennessee, virginia and the carolinas. nbc is in pittsburgh for us this morning. emily, winter wonderland, but also a nightmare for a lot of folks. what's it like there? >> reporter: hey, well, really a barrage of elements we're facing. snow, wind, sleet and ice. you might be able to make out the ice partially frozen allegheny river behind me there. in terms of snowfall totals, some steep numbers already, 9 inches in parts of western pennsylvania, as you move up towards buffalo, new york, those numbers are going to be closer to a foot of snow. you might be able to make out the snow is still falling, so these numbers are going to increase throughout the day and it's really making it difficult for crews, the pace of the snowfall, sometimes 4 inches an hour making it, again, difficult for crews to clean up to stay -- to keep up with the pace of the snowfall. again, also that ice that i mentioned as well. the other thing that you're going to notice when you step outside in the northeast are some pretty strong winds. here in pittsburgh we could see 35 mile an hour wind gusts, every once in awhile you will see the snow picked up by those wind gusts, but in other parts along the coast from new york, new jersey, all the way up through maine, those gusts could approach 65 miles an hour and the major concern with that is the possibility to topple power lines. already about 200,000 americans are without power. keep in mind this is amid frigid temperatures. we've seen and we've been talking about this storm system for days, it started in the northern plains, made its way down into the south before coming up to the northeast, but, chris, no relief yet. >> emilie ikeda, thank you, and thank you for being put out there for us. take a look at this, satellite images of an underwater volcano erupting about 40 miles from the capital of tonga. that's in the south pacific. new zealand and australia are sending surveillance flights now to tonga to assess the damage but local officials report that the country has been coated with volcanic ash and that a tsunami caused by the eruption, quote, it caused significant damage. the international red cross says up to 80,000 people may be impacted. and up next, early signs that omicron fueled covid-19 surge is starting to ease up in some areas. why doctors say certain states, though, should still brace for the worst. plus we're watching the hill closely this morning with lawmakers still at an impasse on voting rights. why it may be time for democrats to change the subject. why it may be time i don't know. i think they look good, man. mm, smooth. to change the subject. uh, they are a little tight. like, too tight? 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>> chris, i think a majority of the country will continue to see increasing cases and we could see daily cases topping a million. they've probably really are at over a million because of underreporting, we don't have the actual numbers, but that puts us as a nation kind of going through omicron surges in various parts of the country until the end of the month and then, of course, it doesn't mean that it declines to zero, chris. february will be a rough month, too, as hospital cases trail the actual positives. >> so as we're talking about omicron pushing hospitals, heidi, we have mother than two dozen states including maryland and virginia who are really having trouble keeping up with the patient load, and there's also some controversy involving an executive order by the just sworn in virginia governor. tell us about that. >> reporter: chris, a new executive order from the virginia governor banning mask mandates in schools. we have seen this in other gop-run states. what makes this different, chris, is it it comes amid the biggest surge yet in cases and positivity rates in virginia, comes as kid hospitalizations are up and there are severe staffing shortages in schools. so some of the biggest districts already saying, no dice, we are not going to abide by this. at the same time the new virginia governor also agreeing that we needed an emergency order to staff up at hospitals because here is what we're seeing, both in virginia and in maryland, where i am at the laurel medical center, that they're having a real hard time dealing with this surge. what they've done here is they've devoted three floors to this facility here in laurel only for covid patients to deal with the overflow, chris, and secondly this is a problem that probably there is not enough attention on at this time but people need to know, stop abusing the emergency room for covid testing. this is what doctors are telling us we're seeing a lot of people come into the emergency room simply to get tested for covid. they created here is drive-thru testing site staffed in part by the national guard, chris. doctors i speak with say, look, we expected a post-holiday surge, but there are some things that we just could not prepare for with this omicron variant. take a listen. >> we were expecting it, we were prepared for it. i think what happened that no one could have -- could have predicted was how quickly the omicron variant spreads. it spreads so quickly. >> reporter: and another thing, chris, that dr. hall wants all americans to know is that the vast majority of the patients in here who may be on oxygen, who are isolated from their family and frankly scared, they are unvaccinated, chris. >> and we keep saying that. people seem to still not get the message sometimes. so, dr. patel, look, i want to talk about this virginia, you know, push back by big school districts saying, look, governor, you can say all you want that people don't have to wear masks. we're making our folks inside the schools wear masks. here we go. politics of this, continuing to put more stress on an incredibly stressful situation. so, dr. patel, look, we know a lot of people are in the mode of we have to live with the virus, but are schools the place to live with it right now? >> no, they're the absolute last place to live with them, especially if we want to do everything possible to keep schools open in person. let's be clear, teachers, students, staff, faculty, parents, everyone is united in doing what we have to do to keep schools safe but that does involve wearing masks. each in the 12 to 18 or 5 to 11-year-old age range we still have very low vaccination rates. vaccines are not perfect in the sense that they don't prevent you from getting infected but as you just heard from heidi and we're seeing in clinics and hospitals around the country, they really do prevent that severe illness and you don't want to be that statistic. i'm speaking directly to the adults in households, children even relative to adults may have milder illness but no reason to experiment with children being sick and out of school because that happens when they get covid and, number two, think about the ripple effect, they can become chains in transmission to someone who is going to visit that hospital in laurel, maryland, and can't go in because they test positive. think about just kind of what's happening and it just seems ludicrous declaring a public health emergency and also getting rid of the one very thing that we could all do to keep children safe inside a school. >> dr. kavita patel, heidi przybyla, thank you very much. coming up as we remember the life and legacy of martin luther king jr. we're keeping a close eye on the nation's capitol because that's where lawmakers are dealing with the latest road block on voting rights, a major deadline missed. why are democrats pushing debate on a vote they know they're going to lose? 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[copy machine printing] ♪ ♪ who would've thought printing... could lead to growing trees. ♪ this morning we're remembering civil rights a con martin luther king jr. and while we honor his legacy we're keeping an eye on washington where a voting rights march is set to start less than an hour from now. a recent poll shows voting reform has strong majority support across the country, but lawmakers in washington are struck at a crossroads. the president saying he's unsure he can get it done. senate majority leader chuck schumer says the chamber will start debating the bills tomorrow, but right now he doesn't have the votes, with senators joe manchin and kyrsten sinema not willing to change the rules to get it done. house majority whip jim clyburn saying all democrats need to get on board. >> people tell me they are for this legislation, but they are against the processes that we need to get the legislation, then i don't think you are on the right side of history. we see which side people are on. >> let's go straight to sahil kapur on capitol hill, also with us punchbowl news co-founder jake sherman. sahil, i understand now that they're going to start talking about this tomorrow but not voting on t is that right? i mean, look, chuck schumer needs every democrat on board and he doesn't have it. >> reporter: that's exactly right, chris. the senate is expected to start debating this tomorrow, it's unlikely they will have a vote but they may be able to bring this up and at least begin the conversation on the senate floor about voting rights. now, the crucial thing here is democrats can debate this under a brochure they've done in conjunction with the house with a simple majority. they do have a majority of the senate on board for the freedom to vote act and the john lewis voting rights advancement act but they will need 60 votes on the back end to break a republican filibuster. they do not have a path of getting there. why are democrats putting this up if they know they're going to fail? i asked that question to a senior democratic aide and the answer is this is what the caucus wants. the reality is chuck schumer is caught between two conflicting objectives, does he pull this vote which is what they actually do when they don't have the votes or does he feel the weight of history and feel like he has to do something extraordinary because in his view and in the view of white house and in the view of most democrats this is an existential moment for the survival of democracy, the president talked about a slip into autocracy, totalitarianism is a word he used. democrats aren't willing to let this go without a fight and they feel a need to show their voting base that this they fought and did everything possible. what happens after this fails? i want to play something mitt romney said about the prospect of bipartisan support on "meet the press." >> this election reform bill that the president has been pushing, i never got a call on that from the white house. there was no negotiation, bringing republicans and democrats together to try to come up with something that would meet bipartisan interest. >> reporter: now, that's likely to be the next beat. after this goes down there is real bipartisan hope for getting something narrow done on the electoral count act of 1887, clarifying the procedures, the power of the vice president, making clear that he or she does not have the power to unilaterally refuse to count electoral votes and some changes around the edges of congress' role. their power is a ministerial role and shouldn't be playing fact finder, judge and jury when it comes to counting electoral votes. >> jake, obviously it's no surprise that there are a lot of democrats who are very frustrated with joe manchin and kyrsten sinema. the way strategist james carville sees it, democrats have been whining too much, focusing on things they can't get done rather than talking more about the things they've accomplished. do you sense anything within the democratic leadership or leading democrats that suggests they're going to change strategy here? >> reporter: no, but nancy pelosi has said that as well. she's said that they need to start bragging more about what they've done, but, listen, i think what sahil said is right, is that the caucus, the senate democratic caucus, 48 members, want a vote in part, i would say, to shame joe manchin and kyrsten sinema for not wanting to get rid of the filibuster. i'd say that is a big part of this. but i don't see anything changing. i mean, for the basic fact that the democrats have control of all of washington and they've not been able to get voting rights done, they are stuck on the bbb, they have not been able to raise the minimum wage, there is a host of things they haven't been able to do, gun control, things of that nature, and they're frustrated, but the reality is when you have a 50-vote total in the senate there's not much you can get done. >> thanks to both of you for being with us on a holiday. i want to dig deeper into this and bring in new georgia project ceo, also maria teresa kumar. great to have both of you here. maria, at least 19 states have passed laws making it harder to vote just in the last year. i don't think we can say that enough. voting law changes in just 2021. organizations like yours have been working overtime, there's only so much you can do. what's your take on what's unfolding right now on capitol hill? >> i think one of the -- thank you so much for having this important conversation, chris. i want to, you know, underscore what you just said. 19 states have passed voting restrictions since 2021 -- i'm sorry, since 2020. meaning that even though in 2020 we had free and certified elections that were validated by all 50 states, there are states that are now trying to make it harder to vote because of the people who turned out. in 2020 we had a multicultural america that came out and said that they wanted to change the course of this country and now you have state republican-led legislators trying to make sure that young voters, black voters, brown voters, single women disproportionately who make up that multicultural america are restricted. so that vote that you cast in 2020 may not be eligible in 2022 because of these restrictions. it's imperative that the federal government get their act together and pass universal voting laws, meaning that regardless of your creed or color, you can cast that vote safely and without intimidation and that it counts. so right now the fact that senator schumer is coming in for a conversation and trying to get everybody on record of why they oppose or support the voting rights bill is very important. and i have to say the fact that mitt romney seems to be saying that he is open to these conversations is a good thing because we also know that the senator from alaska is also open to these conversations because she co-sponsored the john lewis act. this should be a bipartisan issue because what we're talking about is not democrat versus republican? in this case we're talking about little d democracy. how do we make sure that the functioning, the underpinnings, the things that no one wants to talk about, that the elections are counted fairly, that there's the right voting equipment, that people are able to cast their vote without intimidation, the mechanics of it, that is what this freedom to vote act is trying to address, making sure that we can do so. so if there are republicans that are open to having these conversations, they should absolutely be a bipartisan issue. >> and no action, obviously, is a victory for folks who want to restrict voting rights and who have had so much success on the state level. what are democrats doing on the state level? how do they need to balance -- is there a balance between the fight in individual states and what we're seeing on capitol hill? >> i think that there absolutely needs to be a balance between what's happening on the state level and on the federal level because that is where the attacks are happening, on both levels. what i will say is if balance is meant to be -- you know, we should be trying to find common cause with republicans, i think that we may be beyond that moment right now. we can be forgiven for firefighters not being able to find common cause with arsonists and this current version of the republican party is trying to burn down the house of american democracy and we have to be serious about that. there is no path forward for build back better, there is no path forward for immigration reform or the raising of the minimum wage or any of the domestic or foreign policy priorities for the biden/harris administration if we are not able to secure the right to vote, period, point-blank. >> i was going to say one of the things we saw in 2020, and this is quantified, right, was that black voters in particular waited for hours to vote. hours. and now democrats are struggling to protect those rights. look at this. average wait time after 7:00 p.m. in georgia 51 minutes in polling places that were more than 90% nonwhite versus six minutes in majority white polling places. what's going to happen if nothing changes between now and november? >> we will have chaos. as maria trees say just explained to us these anti-voting bills have already passed in 19 states, they've sbn introduced in 49 states. the republicans in georgia are not just -- they are not done, right? despite the trash that was contained in senate bill 202 in 2001 we have come back at this legislative session trying to get rid of drop boxes, et cetera. the governor signed an awful map into law that will bind our hands for the next decade if we don't pass the john lewis voting rights act. this is a crisis moment and when we head towards the november midterms, again, it's not just georgia, it's not just deep south states, it's not just red states. we are talking about wisconsin right now, we are talking about north carolina, new hampshire, right, in 2022. this year new anti-democratic, anti-voting bills that have been introduced. yes, while i do believe that the president and congressional democrats have missed their best opportunity to protect american democracy in this moment from descending into totalitarianism it is not their only opportunity. even if the vote fails tomorrow that we absolutely need to bring it back because that is how important it is. and happy mlk day. >> happy mlk day. an important conversation. i want to thank both of you for taking the time on this holiday to talk about it. we are not done, by the way, because up next we are going to stay on voting rights and we are going to focus in on arizona. the former president pushing his election lies in that state on saturday. we will explain why he and both state and local officials there could make 2022 more chaotic than 2020. 2 more chaotic th 2an020. psoriasis really messes with you. try. hope. fail. i felt defeated. the pain, the stares. no one should suffer like that. i said, enough. i started cosentyx®. five years clear. four years clear. five years and counting. cosentyx works fast. for clear skin that can last. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections some serious, and a lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. tell your doctor if your crohn's disease symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur. best move i ever made. i feel so much better. see me. ask your dermatologist about cosentyx. ♪[music]♪ at aetna® we're shifting medicare coverage ask your dermatologist into high gear with benefits you may be eligible for when you turn 65. benefits that may include a $0 monthly plan premium. telehealth emergency coverage while you travel an over-the-counter allowance plus dental, vision, and hearing because the right medicare plan should help you feel...yeah, like that. aetna medicare advantage plans call today to learn more. i've been telling everyone... the secret to great teeth is having healthy gums. crest advanced gum restore. detoxifies below the gumline... and restores by helping heal gums in as little as 7 days. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. voting rights and this morning we're focused on a state that matters big time, arizona. right now it doesn't look like democrats will be able to get voting reform passed, but offer the weekend we saw activists, including martin luther king's mily members, march in phoenix to rally support. on that very same day former president trump held a campaign-style rally focused on his lies about the election and it could be a preview of what's to come as more candidates who are running on those very lies want to control elections themselves. vaughn hillyard is on the ground in phoenix, also brahm resnik a political anchor and reporter for 12 news who knows arizona politics as well as anyone. vaughn, you covered the trump rally, we've known he has a tight grip on the fop but from what you saw, heard, experienced what is this looking like it's going to mean for the midterms? >> reporter: good morning, chris, to you and bram. this was trump's 2022 kickoff and he will be hitting the road more ahead. let's be clear about what he's doing, he is galvanizing support for candidates who are loyal to him and his 2020 election conspiracies. take a look at this, a little look at what trump's stronghold on his party looks like now. donald trump's political party making it clear he demands belief in his alternate history and commands loyalty for the future. >> and in 2024 we are going to take back the white house. >> reporter: trump's rally in arizona a spectacle of loyalists. >> folks, this is our 1776 moment. >> we will get our country back. >> reporter: focused almost solely on trump's indignation over 2020. >> who won the election? you're right, trump won. >> reporter: and his false claims of mass fraud. >> we know they rigged the machines. >> reporter: these claims have no merit, but the embrace of the conspiracy theory is the centerpiece of who trump welcomes into his political party. >> what do we want? indictment. when do we want them? >> reporter: but this is 2022 and trump is fighting for his power back, now in the state that has been a barometer for that power. in july 2015 he held his first mega rally with thousands here burks in the last three years joe biden, mark kelly and kyrsten sinema all won the state and it's why he's back now. >> welcome to arizona, mr. president. >> reporter: he is trying to lift up a supporting cast running in 2022, individuals who could help him in 2024, including kari lake a one-time well-known news anchor here, she's now trump's pick for governor. >> anybody who was involved in that corrupt, shady, shotty election of 2020, lock them up. >> reporter: and this is mark fincham, he was outside the capitol on the day of the insurrection and is trump's pick for secretary of state. >> with all the evidence we have the arizona election should be decertified. >> reporter: in arizona the governor and secretary of state must both certify their state's election results, meaning in 2024 if biden were to win again republicans could potentially keep arizona's electoral college votes from going to washington, d.c. mark fincham doesn't dpo do interviews. >> you're fake news, get away from me. >> reporter: if he wins he would be the one overseeing the state's 2024 election. >> sir, what is your goal as secretary of state? why should folks trust that you would certify the 2024 election. >> we want fair elections. >> they hate that we love our freedoms, liberty. >> reporter: another speaker paul gosar, the congressman who helped lead the effort in congress to object to joe biden being certified the winner. this photo i took of gosar mingling with proud boys in 2020, members of that same extremist nationalist group here again this weekend at trump's rally. thousands of trump true believers parroting trump's conspiracies. >> he won the election? >> the supreme court has rejected the challenges in every swing state. >> it's a farce. >> i feel like we were robbed, the country was robbed. >> so when you saw the insurrectionists. >> i don't like to call them this. >> reporter: are you going to vote in 2022. >> yes, i am. >> reporter: do you normally vote in the midterm elections? >> this is the first time. >> reporter: as his party takes on 2022. >> a great red wave is begin gabe gutierrez to begin right near in arizona and it's going to sweep across this country. >> reporter: 2022 is key for donald trump, especially here in arizona after his last -- not only to prove candidates like him can win here, but also if need be come 2024 if he were to potentially lose and looking to undermine his own election here in a state like this, well, it would be helpful to him to have some key allies in the positions of secretary of state or governor here in the state of arizona. chris? >> bram, you know this state inside and out and i think it's worth reminding people that when they did the recount there was a discrepancy of a couple hundred votes for 261, i'm not remembering the number exactly, but in joe biden's favor, no the in donald trump's favor. so looking at what we saw over the weekend, where does that leave things for 2022 and the democrats? >> the democrats hard to say. i think the focus right now here is on the election laws coming up before our legislature. one thing i want to bring to folks' attention that maybe didn't get enough attention, but the election review done by senate republicans has proved to be itself a fake. it has been disproved over and over and very recently, the beginning of january, the maricopa county board, a republican-controlled board that oversees the elections in one of the largest election jurisdictions in the country came out with a point by point refutation of 75 or so claims made by senate republicans election review. it's a very important document and when it comes to new election laws it will likely weigh heavily on the minds of just a few republicans in the state legislature and those few republicans are all that you would need to block any new election laws. remember, our republican legislature, the house and the senate, each chamber has just a one-vote majority of republicans. so it's not that easy to pass new election laws here and the maricopa county board which oversees the elections says they are ready. >> once again, a fascinating state to watch. bram, thank you for getting up early for us, vaughn hillyard, appreciate your great reporting as well. coming up, djokovic out. the tennis superstar booted from australia, but could his unvaccinated status keep him from the next major as well? 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[♪♪] if you have diabetes, it's important to have confidence in the nutritional drink you choose. try boost glucose control®. it's clinically shown to help manage blood sugar levels and contains high quality protein to help manage hunger and support muscle health. try boost® today. this morning, novakdjokovic is back in serbia. barred from playing in the australian open after a federal court upheld the immigration minister's decision to cancel his visa for the second time. djokovic is unvaccinated, but attempted to enter the country with a medical exemption. this morning with the tournament already underway, he'll have no chance to defend his title or get a chance to win a record 21st career grand slam men's single's titles. i want to bring in nbc's matt bradley in london and tennis legend and nbc sports broadcaster, mary carillo, legend! so matt, we just heard some new information this morning from france. what's next for novak djokovic. >> yeah, that latest information from france, it was kind of a, you know, shooting back from france, saying that basically djokovic won't be exempt, be allowed in france unless he decides to get vaccinated. that's for the rules and guarantors in may. whether or not that actually happens has been unclear. there's been a lot of back and forth on this to put it mildly, the state of australia accepted djokovic, allowed him in, and they pulled his visa and they threatened to deport him. they put him in detention. and a couple of days later, a judge let him out of detention. he was out continue court training. and another court pulled his visa again. and we just heard from scott morrison, who's the prime minister of australia. he was very involved in all of this, you know, normally, this ban should last for another three years. but djokovic may be allowed to compete next year. according to scott morrison. now, all of this remains unclear. the whole thing, chris, whether you agree with the mandate, you know, mandating people to get vaccines or not, whether you think that this is too much forcing them, it doesn't really matter. the fact is that public relations around this was a nightmare from the beginning. chris? >> yeah, and mary, i mean, if i may say so facetiously, i was shocked to see that your good friend, john mcenroe is among the people saying this is a gross overreaction. i take it you don't agree with johnny mac? >> no, respectfully, i think john didn't have his facts straight. i mean, the fact is that novak djokovic, he thought he was entering the australian open, he thought he was entering the country. he couldn't get into the country, because it was -- the paperwork wasn't good enough. he said -- we talked about this before, chris, back in april of 2020, djokovic said that he wouldn't want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to travel, but then he said, fit becomes compulsory, what will happen? i'll have to make a decision. now he's got to make a decision, because he wouldn't be allowed to play tennis this country or in england. it sounds like france has decided to knuckle down and keep him out of there. this is a guy who is one of the all-time greats and i think this could have a shattering impact on his place tennis history if he doesn't get jabbed. it's frustrating for someone who like me who really enjoys watching this guy play that he's created so much chaos and so -- it's not just his fault. i blame tennis australia, the politics, the serbian president got involved in this. djokovic's father said that -- what did he say? i liken the ruling to an assassination attempt, 50 bullets in novak's chest. that did not happen. then he said that was one of novak's fans who said that. i think it exposed what it's like for asylum seekers in australia. fairly draconian conditions. so hopefully that's the good that will come out of this. but novak tried to -- there's a loophole in this he was trying to get through and he was trying to be allowed to get through by tennis australia. it didn't work. the guy's not playing. and nine of his 20 major titles came on theeah, and he's going a country where he is idolized and so is unlikely to hear from people who are saying, come on. we want you playing at the french open. having said that, i do want to ask you about a friend of your. tennis icon, somebody we all loved to watch play for so many years and, you know, chrissy everett has announced officially that she was diagnosed with stage i ovarian cancer. have you spoken to her? >> i've texted chrissy and he's she's a great friend of mine. i first watched her play at the u.s. open, receives 16 years old and made her way into the semifinals and that was the first time i realized that you don't have to be a grown-up to be great. she is classy, she's smart, she's funny, she's body -- everything that i believe in in a person. and i know she'll fight hard. she's just taken her first of six chemotherapies. she's wonderful. i hope for the best. she is covering the australian open, at times. and i hope she's going to be okay. a lot of crazy news in tennis and that was very sad news. i think she'll do all right. >> we all know she's a fighter. that's for sure. >> yep. yep. >> i have good feelings about that. it's so good to see you, mary carillo. i would love to see you in person one of these days. maybe back at that great italian restaurant in paris, who knows? >> let's go back! >> mary carillo, thank you so much. matt bradley, as well. that's going to wrap up this hour. i'm chris jansing in for stephanie ruhle. jose diaz-balart will pick up our coverage right after a quick break. z-balart will pick up our coverage right after a quick our coverage right after a quick break. and remove the waste that weighs you down. our coverage right after a quick break. it also helps lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. so you can feel lighter and more energetic metamucil. support your daily digestive health. and try metamucil fiber thins. a great tasting and easy way to start your day. my mental health was much better. my mind was in a good place. but my body was telling a different story. i felt all people saw were my uncontrolled movements. some mental health meds can cause tardive dyskinesia, or td, and it's unlikely to improve without treatment. ingrezza is a prescription medicine to treat adults with td movements in the face and body. it's the only treatment for td that's one pill, once-daily, with or without food. ingrezza 80 mg is proven to reduce td movements in 7 out of 10 people. people taking ingrezza can stay on their current dose of most mental health meds. don't take ingrezza if you're allergic to any of its ingredients. ingrezza may cause serious side effects, including sleepiness. don't drive, operate heavy machinery, or do other dangerous activities until you know how ingrezza affects you. other serious side effects include potential heart rhythm problems and abnormal movements. it's nice people focus more on me. ask your doctor about ingrezza, #1 prescribed for td. learn how you could pay as little as zero dollars at ingrezza.com. ♪ i see trees of green ♪ ♪ red roses too ♪ ♪ i see them bloom ♪ ♪ for me and you ♪ ♪ and i think to myself ♪ ♪ what a wonderful world ♪ a rich life is about more than just money. that's why at vanguard, you're more than just an investor, you're an owner so you can build a future for those you love. vanguard. become an owner. inner voice (kombucha brewer): i'm dramatically holding this bottle, so the light hits it just right, and people think... wow... ...he knows what he's doing... ...when i'm actually pretty lost with my payroll taxes. intuit quickbooks helps you manage your payroll taxes. cheers. 100% accurate payroll tax calculations guaranteed. at fidelity, your dedicated advisor will help you create a comprehensive wealth plan for your full financial picture. with the right balance of risk and reward. so you can enjoy more of...this.