this is the planning effect. good morning. 10:00 a.m. eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart. the nation pauses today to remember the life and legacy of civil rights leader dr. martin luther king jr. members of his family are in the nation's capitol to make another push for voting rights legislation. as the senate is set to make what may be a futile effort to push those bills through. we'll talk with democratic texas congresswoman, shelia jackson lee about what comes next. meantime, we're learning more about the gunman who held several people hostage in a texas synagogue for nearly 12 hours. on the eastern seaboard, an messy start to the week for tens of millions of people as a winter storm brings heavy snow, ice, rain, and wind to the region. and a former haitian senator is arrested in connection with last year's assassination of the country's former president. we'll take a closer look at the deteriorating situation on the ground in haiti. and we begin with the fight for voting rights, as the nation marks martin luther king jr. day. right now, hundreds of activists, including members of dr. king's family, are about to begin a march aimed at pressuring the senate to act on voting rights. senators will be debating voting rights legislation tomorrow, even though democrats do not have the votes to advance those bills or change senate rules to move them forward. despite that, house majority whip jim clyburn says he doesn't believe the bills are dead. >> we're on life support, you know, but john lewis and others did not give up after the 64 civil rights act. that's why we got the 65 voter suppression voting rights act. so that's why we're not giving up. we plan to win. because if people of goodwill are going to break their silence and help us win this battle. >> and with me now, jeff bennett, chief washington correspondent for the pbs "newshour" and an msnbc political contributor, cliff albright, co-founder of the black voters matter fund. and nbc news reporter gary grumbach at the martin luther king jr. peace walk in washington. gary, what message are members of dr. king's family and others participating in this march, hoping to send lawmakers? >> hey, there, jose. yeah, we've heard the chants throughout the morning. what do they want, voting rights. when do they want them? now, ideally, this week. what we're seeing here is thought of as a day of action, and not a day off, as with many schools closed, banks closed, activists view this as a day on. and they'll be marching across the frederick douglas bridge here in washington. this is not necessarily viewed as a march on washington, as much as it is as a march through washington, through the communities that these folks believe would benefit from a voting rights bill the most. so what does this mean? they talk about the idea of no legislation -- no celebration without legislation. so they're calling for a national standard when it comes to voting rights. they're calling for getting big money out of politics. and striking down some of the hurdles that they believe 19 states have put in across the country, when it comes to voting rights. we spoke to a number of folks out here today, including the former chief of staff to representative john lewis, who said he's been fighting this for decades and he plans to continue. >> mr. lewis once said, you know, this isn't the fight of a day, a week, or a month. this is the fight of a lifetime. and this is something that we continue to have to do. and you know, old man like me, with 61 out here, you know, it's just important to let people like you know that this is something that we will have to fight every day, this is something that will never end, like bob marley once said, the people on the other side who are trying to take your rights away aren't taking a day off. why should you? >> now, the john lewis voting rights bill did pass the house last week, it does face an uphill battle in the senate because of road blocks, to in particular, kyrsten sinema and joe manchin. jose? >> thanks more that. and jeff, president biden made a big appeal for voting rights last week, traveling to capitol hill to meet with senate democrats, but those efforts appear to have failed, as the votes aren't there to either advance the legislation or change senate rules to allow it to pass by a simple majority. so where does this leave president biden and democrats? >> well, you heard president biden talk to reporters last week, and he pointed to the history of significant voting rights legislation. he said the history is such that what happens typically is that lawmakers fail on the first effort to move these kind of laws across -- move these kind of bills across the finish line, but we always go back a second time. the challenge though, jose, right now, is that there really is no plan "b." there's no significant plan "b." and this week, we expect the senate majority leader chuck schumer to force show votes, basically have a showdown on the senate floor, to have all of the senators on the record. but as you mentioned, that effort is expected to fail. and so so much of the attention is sort of rightly focused on democrats, given that democrats control all of the levers of power, but there are also those 50 republican senators, too, who have objected to any significant voting rights legislation, have been though back in 2006, the john lewis voting rights act passed unanimously. every republican senator at the time voted in support of that bill becoming law. and after 2013, when the supreme court really cut out the heart of the voting rights act, the supreme court invited congress to come back and rewrite portions of that law. that right now is what democrats are trying to do. one of the questions that republicans have to answer is, why they see it as not being in their best interests to really cement foundation of voting rights in this country. and so as that's happening, yes, you do have this effort sort of driven by democrats, but again, there really is no process right now to get either the freedom to vote act or the john lewis reauthorization across the finish line. >> and jeff, i guess the other question is, what changed between then and now, for them to say, not interested now? >> well, a couple of things. one, you have members of the republican party who are using as cover donald trump's big lie about the election that he lost, suggesting that there was significant fraud in elections when there was none. and the other is turnout. for whatever reason, there are those republicans who have accepted as fact, that when more people turn out at the polls, the worse republicans do. that's not always the case. one can look to what happened in the virginia gubernatorial race, when glenn youngkin won that race and turnout was higher. there is this sort of false notion that when black and brown voters turn out if big numbers, that that's worse for republicans. and so that is what is really driving and animating some of these suppressive and subversive laws at the state level. 19 states, 34 laws so far, and that number is expected to grow in this election year, jose. >> so, cliff, if jeff is saying there really isn't a plan "b," if it doesn't work, where does the fight for voting rights go from here. >> it's really honestly too soon to be talking about if the plan doesn't work, this is actually essentially what we believe part of the reason kyrsten sinema and senator manchin through the statements they make, is to discourage people from moving forward with the process. the process hasn't even really started yet, because they came up with this message between the houses in order to have a debate without filibuster, which is something that dr. king asked for in 1963, but without filibuster to have the debate, that debate hasn't happened. so senator sinema will have to do more than just give a speech on the floor. she'll have to engage in an debate with her colleagues to fully explain her decision on why she doesn't support moving forward on filibuster reforms. and we believe that as the president said, that those who don't, that they're essentially siding not only with george wallace and bill connor, but also siding with the slow-motion insurrection that we've seen since january 6th. so the process has to play itself out. we believe that there's a full debate that we'll be able to pass this legislation. that's why we're out here doing this march. that's why we have people doing the hunger strike. that's why we have people at the capitol doing non-civil disobedience in the spirit of senator king. let's not forget that a few months ago in the summer, all of these corporations signed letters saying that they were going to support federal legislation. now would be a good time for them to do that. so what i'm saying is that we believe in due season, we should reach, this battle is not over yet. >> and cliff, i so thank you for your time for being wh me this morning. jeff bennett and gary grumbach, thank you, as well, for being with me. now to the latest on the coronavirus pandemic. and a stark warning from the u.s. surgeon general, who says the worst days of this surge are still to come. >> so we shouldn't expect a national peak in the next coming days. the next few weeks will be tough. >> on the west coast, emergency rooms are reaching crisis levels amid the nation's highest cases. and in the east, where omicron first spread, cases are slowing down, but hospitalizations are still rising. joining me now, nbc's heidi przybyla and dr. ramirez, managing director at opportunity labs. heidi, let's start with you. what's the situation in maryland? >> yeah, jose, it's probably easiest to put it in market terms, there's a supply problem in the nation's hospital system. you've got less staff, because people are having to quarantine because they're sick or they're just testing positive, and you've got more patients coming in. not just covid positive, but people who have just regular conditions, coming in to be treated. and then the issue that doesn't get enough attention, jose, is people flooding the ers, just to get covid tests. we're seeing this here in other places, so here's what they're doing. here, they've created an overflow facility here, where you've got three floors in this facility, that are devoted only to treating covid patients, and then a week ago, jose, they also created a testing drivethrough site here to try to alleviate some of the pressure on those ers, where people are coming in, when they shouldn't, just to get tested. so doctors i speak with, jose, say they were expecting this post-holiday surge, but really not expecting some other things and just weren't prepared for about omicron. take a listen. >> so we were expecting it, we were prepared for it. i think what happened that no one could have predicted was how quickly the omicron variant spread. it is hard. it is hard. like with anything, if it just goes on for too long, you know, there is covid fatigue. so we're doing as much as we can to try to keep up the morale. >> reporter: so a few more things the doctor wanted people to know. please, stop using the ers to get your covid test. and that the vast majority of the people who are in this facility, shay, are unvaccinated. we're at a point where their personal freedoms and their voices not to get the vaccine are impacting everybody else, because other peoples treatments are being affected, and we're seeing many nurses, she said, because of the burnout this year, just not renewing their licenses. jose? >> so, heidi, so there are no massive testing sites where you are? i mean, are all the testing sites essentially hospitals? >> reporter: they've created testing sites, but people aren't going to those testing sites. if they have symptoms, perhaps coming to the emergency room. luckily, they've created this drive-through testing site here, however, jose, so they've brought in the national guard to help staff that. and that is aalleviating pressure here, but more generally where they don't have these sites married to the hospital, the doctors want people to know that you should seek out an actual testing site rather than just running to the er for your test. >> yeah. and dr. ramirez, if the peak of this surge is yet to come, what will it look like and when will it come? >> well, it looks like we're probably in store for something that's probably a little more rounded than what we saw in south africa and maybe even what we're seeing in london. i think the mantra has been that this is going to be a very sharp peak. it's going to be up and come down right away. but what we're seeing here in the united states are sort of rolling peaks. so, you know, as the governor said, things seem to be slowing down a little bit in new york, philadelphia, even the major metropolitan areas around d.c. but in the sort of more rural parts of america, we're seeing that case counts are still accelerating upwards. and people have to remember that the geographic landmass of the united states is much, much larger than south africa. obviously, much larger than london. so we don't have that tight population concentration that we have in those areas. so we're likely to see something that's a little longer duration than we saw in those countries. so i think we're probably a few weeks off from really turning the corner here across the united states. >> and doctor, starting wednesday this week, americans can order four free at-home tests for their households. four tests per household, is that going to make a difference? >> well, you're making a good point, jose. and i'll also point out, that even after you order those tests, it's probably going to be seven to ten days before those tests arrive. i think nobody knows exactly what's around the corner. it's likely there are some areas that will be past the peak of omicron and significantly improve by the time those tests become available. but in other parts of the country, there still may be a significant demand. if folks remember, tests were not in hot demand just a few weeks ago before omicron came on. so i'm not sure they'll make a big difference for this particular surge, but they will go a long way in helping with whatever else lies around the corner. >> and important to say with these antigen tests, you need to take two, right? one, let's say, today, and another one 48 hours later. >> you're absolutely right, jose. so there is some evidence that some of the rapid antigen tests are not as sensitive or at least they miss some of the positive results in the first 36 hours. when a lot of these tests were first approved, they were approved under an authorization that required people to check three separate tests two to three days apart. that's a good practice to use again here. because folks need to know that some of these antigen tests miss those very earliest cases, but if you check twice, it's much more likely you'll pick yourself up if you're positive. >> dr. mario ramirez and heidi przybyla, thank you so much for being with me this morning. coming up, texas congresswoman shelia jackson lee joins us to talk about what's next for voting rights. and we're learning more about that terrifying hostage standoff at a synagogue outside dallas. we're live on the ground in texas with the very latest. we'll also get reaction from the rabbi from the tree of life synagogue, the scene of a mass shooting almost four years ago. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. a. well, he may have friends, but he rides alone. that's jeremy, right there! we're literally riding together. he gets touchy when you talk about his lack of friends. can you help me out here? 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(vo) yep, it's our best plan ever. verizon is going ultra, so you can too. 20 past the hour. right now, an investigation is underway into saturday's hours-long standoff at a texas synagogue where a rabbi and three members of his congregation were held hostage. this morning, the rabbi addressed the terrifying ordeal and a moment when he saw an opportunity to escape. >> i asked -- made sure that the two gentlemen who were still with me, that they were -- that they were ready to go. the exit wasn't too far away. i told them to go. i threw a chair at the gunman and i headed for the door. and all three of us were able to get out without even a shot being fired. >> amazing. joining me now are nbc news correspondents sam brock, who is in colleyville texas and nbc news investigations correspondent, tom winter. sam, what are you hearing from the colleyville community? >> reporter: the community, like the rabbi right now, is in a state of shock. there's still a police presence outside of this congregation. anytime you're talking about a house of worship, places where people are coming to pray, there's a sense of protection that's absolutely punctured. and the people right now are trying to process that emotion. with respect to the interview with the rabbi this morning, a ton of information that was unveiled from his perspective on how this all happened. rabbi charlie describing observing an escalating tension, jose, in that tenth hour of standoffs. he feels like the suspect in this case was not getting what he wanted and that the rabbi had to act, so he says that he waited until akram was in a compromised position or a less-guarded position, ushered the other congregantcongregante the fire door, picked up a chair and threw it at akram without a single shot being fired. for a day plus we've been wondering, how did this all happen? that's a piece of the puzzle we're getting from his perspective. there are still questions about whether akram fired first or police fired upon him. we do not have details from the fbi on that. another interesting nugget to all of this. akram had come to the snag, knocked on the door, the rabbi thought he was in distress, took him in, they shared tea, it wasn't until they were praying that he heard a click from the back of the building, turned around, and akram had taken out the weapon. i spoke with the woman who lives nearby here, lisa grossman, who describes being incredibly moved by what happened in pittsburgh back in 2019, that massacre, and now seeing something like that playing out in her neighborhood. she had to evacuate, jose. here's how she's describing her processing of emotions right now. >> it's sad, because we feel like we're in a little bubble here. but we're really not. so aed by of a surprise, but not completely unexpected. >> jose, in the immediate aftermath of the standoff ending the fbi had characterized it as singularly focused, akram, on one issue, which was the releasing of a federal prisoner who was convicted back in 2010 for trying to murder u.s. security personnel. the fbi has since changed its stance on that and now says that the jewish community here was, in fact, targeted. jose? >> and tom, what can you tell us about the investigation? where does it stand this morning? >> well, as far as the investigation into this suspect, in some ways, it's pretty much over. because he's deceased, of course. but there are a couple of questions this morning that we're trying to get some more answers to and no doubt authorities are, as well. first off is what's going on in the uk. we know that the two teenage sons of the hostage taker were, in fact, arrested by authorities there in manchester, england. that doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to be charged. under british law and rules and their legal process and their system, particularly, when it comes to terrorism offenses, you're allowed to take somebody into custody and make an arrest at a lower bar than what we might have here, as far as taking that step. so we saw following the ariana grande concert, it's the same police organization that is investigating this and has taken in these two teenage sons into custody. a number of individuals brought in at that point arrested, but eventually not charged. so we'll have to see what happens. and of course, the fbi, jose, has said that the hostage taker acted alone in texas on saturday. so that's the first thing. the second thing is, how was he able to get that weapon? we've heard from not only from the rabbi himself, but also from law enforcement that he had a gun. we have heard and are still trying to confirm that a round may have gone out of accidentally, may have fired a round accidentally. how did he get that? typically, somebody who comes into the country, based on our understanding of his passport and how he came into the country would not be allowed to purchase a weapon. so a couple of questions still remaining, but overall, i think this investigation is very clear as to what happened here. >> and todd, do we know more about the gunman? >> yeah win mean, i think that's going to be the question. did he have any sort of -- and there's no indication at this point, did he have any sort of derogatory information on him, that's kind of law enforcement speak for was this person on any sort of watch list, had they raised any questions about him in the past. we haven't yet seen a social media profile, but our understanding is that he was not somebody who was previously known to law enforcement, either in the uk or in the u.s., but obviously, these things take time to go through. it takes time to comb through their own files as well as comb through social media accounts to see if he's said anything in the past that may have been cause for concern for families or relatives, obviously, as to whether or not these individual had these type of violent tendencies and planned to do what he did on saturday. >> tom winter and sam brock, thank you so very much for being with me this morning. joining me now is rabbi jeffrey myers, the head of the tree of life synagogue in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, where 11 people were killed in a mass shooting in 2018, in what was america's deadliest anti-semitic attack. rabbi, thank you for being with me this morning. what's your reaction to this weekend's standoff? what are you hearing from your congregation that lived through its own tragedy? >> i would say that we, too, were re-traumatized by this -- my immediate reaction upon hearing this was, oh, no, not again. >> yeah, it's so many different emotions, i imagine, rabbi, when you hear something like this happening. the rabbi of beth israel congregation credits security training for helping him and other hostages survive saturday's incident. talk to us about the dangers jewish americans face. it's a very real danger. >> once again, jewish americans, many are afraid to enter their houses of worship to pray because of what just happened in colleyville. and to that extent, that's a failure of america. shame on america for creating an environment where an entire community is afraid for their own existence. america has to step up big to be able to say that we are a place that does value life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and the expressions of religious freedom. so far, america is not succeeding in those promises and our sacred documents. >> rabbi, how do you, and i guess, i'm just asking for your wisdom on this, but how do we process this? >> i would like to think that the actions of one individual does not reflect an entire group of people. nor does it reflect what is out there in society in general. some may think it naive to think, as anne frank wrote in her diary, i believe, in the goodness of people in general, my experiences over the past three and a half years have taught me that most people in the world are good, decent people and are appalled by these sorts of actions. that gives me reassurance. and i share that reassurance with everyonecolleyville. because this didn't just impact a synagogue, this impacted an entire community. an entire community is traumatized by that. and to let them know that you are not alone, that there are far more good people on this planet than there are people who are out to do evil. that should reassure us. it's hard to think of that right now, because the squeaky wheel gets the greatest noise. but think of it like an 18-wheeler. there are 18 wheels. one squeaky wheel will not be greater than the other 17 wheels. >> yeah. to throw our lot with the good, right, rabbi? always think of the need for good. rabbi jeffrey myers, thank you so much for being with me this morning. i so appreciate your time. >> thank you, jose. a live look at the march in honor of martin luther king jr. in washington, d.c., as we celebrate mlk day, the fight for voting rights is all the more urgent. congresswoman shelia jackson lee joins us with what she expects to happen with voting rights legislation this week. congresswoman, it's always a pleasure to see you this morning. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" and we'll be right back. ching "jose diaz-balart reports" and we'll diaz-balart reports" and we'll be right back. dliving with metastatic breast bcancer means being relentless. because every day matters. and having more of them is possible with verzenio. the only one of its kind proven to help you live significantly longer when taken with fulvestrant, regardless of menopause status. verzenio + fulvestrant is for hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer that has progressed after hormone therapy. diarrhea is common, may be severe, or cause dehydration or infection. at the first sign, call your doctor start an anti-diarrheal and drink fluids. before taking verzenio, tell your doctor about any fever, chills, or other signs of infection. verzenio may cause low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infection that can lead to death. life-threatening lung inflammation can occur. tell your doctor about any new or worsening trouble breathing, cough, or chest pain. serious liver problems can happen. symptoms include fatigue, appetite loss, stomach pain and bleeding or bruising. blood clots that can lead to death have occurred. tell your doctor if you have pain or swelling in your arms or legs, shortness of breath, chest pain, and rapid breathing or heart rate, or if you're nursing, pregnant or plan to be. every day matters. and i want more of them. ask your doctor about everyday verzenio. lactaid is 100% real milk, just without the lactose. so you can enjoy it even if you're sensitive to dairy. so anyone who says lactaid isn't real milk is also saying mabel here isn't a real cow. and she really hates that. mabel herealeve-x. real cow. it's fast, powerful long-lasting relief with a revolutionary, rollerball design. because with the right pain reliever... life opens up. aleve it... and see what's possible. 34 past the hour. voting rights will take center stage on capitol hill this week, as senators will return to the capitol tomorrow to begin debate on legislation to protect voting rights. but right now, senate democrats do not have the votes to advance those bills or change senate rules to pass them by a simple majority. with me now to talk about this is texas democratic congresswoman, shelia jackson lee. congresswoman, it is always a pleasure to see you. thank you for being with me this morning. we've already been seeing the impact of new voting restrictions in your home state. i mean, "the texas tribune" reports hundreds of applications for mail-in ballots for the march 1st primary have been rejected because local election officials could match either a driver's license or social security number, as required by stricter rules put into place last year. it's not clear if people's whose applications were injected will have time to fix the issue. what is going on in texas? >> well, it's so good to be with you on this very special day. and so let me say happy martin luther king jr. federal holiday. his birthday was on saturday the 15th. but you have really highlighted and the intrusion on democracy. you know, elections are not about candidates. elections are about individuals having the ability to express their frustration, their love of democracy, their support, for their views and policies, and for the affirmation that they are an american and we live in a democracy. we're not dictated to, we're given the opportunity to choose someone of our choice, no matter what our political views are. and what is happening in texas is what we see as "i told you so." why hundreds or tens upon tens of state representatives left the state to stop this legislation, this dastardly legislation. i don't know if these persons will have the right or the ability to fix the issue, but hundreds of ballots are being thrown out or rejected, because it doesn't match the number. and the number is complicated. driver's license, many people don't drive. an i.d. number, some don't have that. even at this time in history. and then, a social security number. some people don't have it committed to memory. a lot of complications and the state system is fractured. it is not working. the secretary of state system is not working. so that speaks to the crucialty of moving on the legislation that is now moving to the united states senate, the freedom to vote act, and the john robert lewis act. i worked for the southern christian leadership conference. i had the privilege of walking into that same office that dr. martin luther king jr. did, jose williams, andrew young, and i can tell you the moment, the sense of responsibility weighs on my shoulders as it did when i walked into that office as much younger person. >> congresswoman, you wrote a letter to joe manchin asking him for support to suspend the filibuster. have you heard back from him? >> i have not except his office said that they were going to schedule us to talk. i spoke to joe manchin before. i thought i needed to bear both my soul and historical perspective. first of all, i asked him to rise to what i know is embedded in west virginians, and that is courage. and the reason why i know that is because west virginia left virginia, the state of virginia to avoid supporting slavery. west virginia was the beginning of the niagara moment, the beginning of the naacp, and west virginia put the first african-american woman in the state legislature in 1928. so i know the history, i know robert bird, the former senator, the late senator. i know what he did in the latter part of his life. yes, he was a member of the ku klux klan, but in the latter part of his life, he changed, and i know that he would understand better the idea that there is a moment in history when a simple rule, as i wrote in an op-ed piece in the "houston chronicle," a simple rule does not, if you will, supersede the constitutional value and stated right of the 15 th amendment of the right to vote. i wrote to him to ask him to live through what i live through. i lived through losing my district in 2021, when it was drawn into another district, two african-american members of the same district had never been done, because we did not have pre-clearance. and i had to fight and i must say that i drew upon outstanding leaders in our state legislature, as well as those who listened to us on the republican house side, to make a difference. but it was a fight and we're still fighting for the right kind of representation of hispanics and african-americans and asians in the state of texas. so what i would say to you is, that it is hurting people. the filibuster is hurgt people. and i think your views should understand, what the filibuster means is, they could start debating this bill on wednesday. someone could stand up and say, i'm going to filibuster. and they could leave and go to a sunny place in florida and sit there and never come back. and the filibuster is in place and it will stop the movement of legislation that is actually supporting democracy. and all we're asking for is that you have a rolling filibuster, a filibuster, a speaking filibuster, where you have to stay on the floor, or what i would prefer, a waiver that you waive it on constitutional issues and the right to vote is a constitutional issue. and i hope, just as this tragedy happened in the state of texas, any form of hate is hateful, anti-semitic and otherwise. we have to realize that it's the right kind of people in leadership that can stand up against hate, that can provide the security and safety for the jewish faith. it's democracy that surrounds them to keep them safe. it all ties together. >> yep. the arc of justice. and as the rabbi was telling us just a little bit ago, congresswoman, there are more good people than bad people on this planet. we just have to make sure that the good people's voices are the ones that are heard, that the solidarity is shared with all of us. congresswoman, on this very special day, i very much appreciate you being with me. thank you so much. >> thank you. we have to get the vote and we have to honor dr. martin luther king and his family. i intend to fight until we honor him and his life. >> congresswoman, thank. and on this martin luther king jr. day, we continue the voting rights conversation. next hour, my colleague, craig melvin will talk to grant lewis, brother of the late congressman, john lewis. coming up, a massive winter storm is running up the east coast, causing hundreds of car crashes, forcing thousands of flights to be canceled. we're live in pittsburgh, where they're already seeing more than 6 inches of snow. that's just overnight. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." f snow that's just overnight. you're watching "jose you're watching "jose azdi-balart reports. and screening for colon cancer. yep. the american cancer society recommends screening starting at age 45, instead of 50, since colon cancer is increasing in younger adults. i'm cologuard®. i'm convenient and find 92% of colon cancers... ...even in early stages. i'm for people 45 plus at average risk for colon cancer, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider if cologuard is right for you. ♪ limu emu ♪ and doug. we gotta tell people that liberty mutual customizes car insurance so you only pay for what you need, and we gotta do it fast. 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[limu emu squawks] he'll be back. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. ♪ narrator: on a faraway beach, the generation called "our greatest" saved the world from tyranny. in an office we know as "oval," a new-generation president faced down an imminent threat of nuclear war. on a bridge in selma, alabama, the preacher of his time marched us straight to passing voting rights for every american. at a gate in west berlin, a late-generation american president demanded an enemy superpower tear down a wall and liberate a continent. american generations answering the call of their time with american ideals. freedom. liberty. justice. for today's generation of leaders, the call has come again to protect our freedom to vote, to fortify our democracy by passing the freedom to vote act and the john lewis voting rights act because america - john lewis: we are not going back, we are going forward. 44 past the hour. thousands are without power, more than 3,000 flights are actually canceled around the northeast of the united states, all because of a winter storm, a dangerous storm that continues to make its way up the east coast. snow, sleet, and freezing rain covering much of the southeast yesterday, creating dangerous road conditions. in north carolina, two people were killed in a car crash. a tractor-trailer was left dangling from an overpass after it slid off an icy bridge. the storm now dumping snow in parts of the northeast. nbc's emilie ikeda joining us from the northeast. lots of snow where you are. what can we expect today? >> reporter: lots of snow is right. some folks in western pennsylvania will step out to find a foot on the ground. and that number is looking more like a foot and a half when you approach the western new york area. and what is so impressive and notable about this storm is the pace of the snowfall. four, sometimes even 5 inches of snow an hour recorded overnight. the other thing people are going to be noticing when they're stepping outside their doors in the northeast today, those winds. there are some pretty powerful winds. 35 miles an hour gusts. we are anticipating in the pittsburgh area. but that number will look more like 65-mile-an-hour wind gusts from new york and new jersey all the way up into maine. the big concern with those wind gusts are the potential to topple power lines. already roughly 200,000 americans on the east coast are in the dark today. and specifically, those carolina states have really been hit hard, about 30,000 in each state. and all of this amid frigid temperatures. jose? >> emilie ikeda, thank you so much. and now turning to headlines out west, an underwater volcano continues to erupt near tonga, crippling efforts to get supplies to the pacific island nation. the eruption -- and take a look at it, is sending waves crashing to shore. remarkable satellite video capturing the moment of eruption. two people drowning in peru from the high waves. with waves of up to 4 feet reported from california to alaska, damaging boat mariners and leading to multiple sea rescues. nbc's gaddy schwartz joins us from los angeles with the very latest. gadi, tsunami conditions are, well, unusual, but not unheard of for the coast. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, jose. fortunately, most of the tsunami's power was dissipated by the time it reached the west coast, but it was definitely a reminder of just how unpredictable nature can be, even something more than 5,000 miles away. it's looking like it dodged any significant damage, but with the bay area, there were several places that saw huge waves. and in berkeley, hundreds of people who lived in the marina boats as a precaution. and there were close calls we saw with people who didn't take those warnings seriously. a surfer was swept out and had to be saved by rescue swimmers who took him to a nearby sailboat. because coming back to shore was way too treacherous. and in alaska, jose, we're hearing this significanting report that people who lived there heard what sounded like a sonic boom at 3:30 in the morning, about seven hours after that volcano erupted, nearly 6,000 miles away. and it turns out, that was likely the pressure wave from the eruption, traveling at over 800 miles an hour, which just goes to show you how incredible that force was, jose. >> yeah, and gadi, we've seen those recent images of train tracks in california, littered with empty boxes. it's still going on. what's happening? >> reporter: that's right. this has been so infuriating for people not just here in l.a., but across the country. that's thousands and thousands of littered shipping boxes, so many addressed to homes across the country, stolen by crooks that are ransacking trains. and we're talking everything from covid tests to luxury handbags. boxes are scattered all over the place. and authorities say a lot of it is the work of organized criminals cracking open shipping containers and then sometimes even recruiting people who live on the streets to loot the insides for whatever they think is valuable. then loading it on to getaway cars near the tracks. and it's gotten so bad that a rep from the railroad says that about 90 cargo containers a day are getting broken into. and then on saturday, 17 train cars derailed in that exact same area. jose? >> yeah, i mean, this has been going on since november. and yet, it still happens. gadi schwartz reporting in the rain. thank you, my friend. good to see you. still ahead, new developments surrounding the assassination of haiti's president. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." you're watching "jose di-bazalart reports. time for a check of the headlines beyond our borders. authorities in southern mexico say they rescued 359 migrants packed into a trailer truck in a port city. look at the images. all these people were inside that one truck. they were squished in the one singular container. meanwhile in jamaica, police arrested a former senator. the suspect a political opponent of the party of haiti's late president. joining me now, gary pier pier, a journalist, and the founder of haitian times. gary, it's always a pleasure to see you. what does the political situation look like in haiti right now? >> right now i would say the political situation, i would say, is still fragile. but there is some movement. on the positive front. recently a group of civil society groups brokered a deal with some powerful lawmakers to come together and pave the way for a new government in 2023 to take over. so what will happen is that they will have a transition period. and then get a prime minister in place until elections are set up. now, we -- no dates have been put out. but that's somewhat positive to see that they are working toward a solution. >> yeah. and gary, when this police investigation into the president's assassination first started, there was some pushback and protest from people who didn't trust the investigation. is that still true? >> well, to some extent, yes. but the fbi as you know, is leading the investigation. and you've seen all of these suspects being apprehended overseas. most of the suspects that were in haiti fled haiti. the man hunt is actually international. you have joseph arrested in jamaica. you had another arrested i believe in the dominican republic and so was one of the suspects who was thought to be one of the financier of the assassination. >> yeah. according to some of the american immigration's lawyers association, the biden administration has deported more than 15,000 people to haiti, sending more than 300 there just last tuesday, including 131 children. what are the circumstances the people are seeing when they're being sent back to haiti? >> well, it's a daily occurrence, by the way, and they are coming to a place that is unstable. that's dangerous. and for most of them, they haven't been in haiti for years, so they don't even have a support structure when they go back to haiti. it's really a horrible situation. and then one that i think as disappointed a lot of us who supported biden. >> yeah. and the fact is as you say, it's happening over and over again. thank you for being with me. thank you for shining the light on something that needs to be told. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. thank you for the privilege of your time. craig melvin picks up with more news after a quick break. afterk it's a battle, you know. i'm going to be there. keytruda and chemotherapy meant treating my cancer with two different types of medicine. in a clinical trial, keytruda and chemotherapy was proven to help people live longer than chemotherapy alone. keytruda is used to treat more patients with advanced lung cancer than any other immunotherapy. keytruda may be used with certain chemotherapies as your first treatment if you have advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer and you do not have an abnormal “egfr” or “alk” gene. keytruda helps your immune system fight cancer, but can also cause your immune system to attack healthy parts of your body. this can happen during or after treatment and may be severe and lead to death. see your doctor right away if you have cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, diarrhea, severe stomach pain or tenderness, severe nausea or vomiting, headache, light sensitivity, eye problems, irregular heartbeat, extreme tiredness, constipation, dizziness or fainting, changes in appetite, thirst, or urine, confusion or memory problems, muscle pain or weakness, fever, rash, itching, or flushing. these are not all the possible side effects. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions including immune system problems, or if you've had an organ transplant, had or plan to have a stem cell transplant or have had radiation to your chest area or a nervous system condition. it feels good to be here for them. living longer is possible. it's tru. keytruda from merck. ask your doctor about keytruda. i recommend nature made vitamins, because i trust their quality. they were the first to be verified by usp, an independent organization that sets strict quality and purity standards. nature made. the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand. do you struggle with occasional nerve aches in your hands or feet? 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