i was so struck seeing jimmy carter wheeled in and seeing him there to say good-bye to the love of his life. >> well, and jimmy carter's been trying to stay alive to take care of her. to be a caretaker. when you have dementia, you forget things and he's been fighting for his own life, really trying to outlive her trying to take care of her. he's greatly diminished. i always hoped he would make it to his 100th birthday, which would be october 21st, 2024. it's going to be hard living without her. he can barely remember his life when she wasn't at his side. >> what did you make of the tributes pouring in today and just the memories from her loved ones? >> you know, they used to have the nickname, the steel magnolia. i got to know her quite well and didn't know the steely side. she was very protective of their family and legacy, but she was a real community spirited person. it does come out of her christian faith. she was the ultimate good samaritan. but her love of people and life and good cooking. getting to know the details of anybody that lived in america's georgia, really sumter for that matter. they've lived in the same house since 1960. a small ranch house. they didn't need more. they never wanted to make money on corporate boards. i did a book and talked to a lot of donors to the carter center. people you wouldn't expect that would give money there and i said why? why are you giving money to jimmy and rosalynn carter and the answer was that they balance the books. they're frugal. when they travel, they would stay at a hostile or maybe at a smaller kind of inn. they didn't need the four seasons and all the pomp and circumstance. and they lived really missionary lives. rosalynn carter's case, mental illness, you know, was her big cause but as her son, jack, was mentioning, she was first laid did of georgia and united states when rock and roll, drugs, you know, famously willie nelson had smoked marijuana at the white house and she had three teenage boys. so she really was early on connecting addiction, also, and she became great friends with betty ford. really her closest friend of all former first ladies was betty ford and jimmy carter who had defeated gerald ford's closest friend became gerald ford. carter gave the eulogy at ford's funeral. they also loved the outdoors. north georgia fly fishing. butterfly watching and helping the leading global conservationists. it's something they shared. they were happier i think in a rural, pastoral or woodland setting than they were in any building in atlanta. >> let's bring in blaine alexander. i was struck earlier you mentioned there were a bunch of people who showed up. it was a private ceremony. aired publicly, but there were a number of georgians who came to say their last good-bye. >> reporter: and that's something that really has stuck with me throughout this entire kind of three-day tribute we've seen. we're on day two. right now, we're on the campus of emory university in atlanta and as i look past the cameras, that crowd is still there through this entire 90-minute ceremony. grown a little bit. i'm still seeing people watch the motorcade come and go. it's not something we're just seeing in atlanta. we saw in plains, georgia. in americus, georgia. at the carter center yesterday, i was there and there were people arriving by the bus load. there was no parking anywhere in the vicinity so people had to park off site, hop on a bus and come over to pay their tributes. we saw steady streams of buses coming in for hours on top of people who just came on foot and walked up. i really think that speaks to just the magnitude, the impact that former first lady rosalynn carter had. certainly on people in general, but even especially here in the state of georgia. there's a strong pride here that this is the state that birthed this first lady. that really sent her to washington and the fact she was so approachable in their life after the white house. when you think about the fact that she came back to georgia, served here for some 40 year, lived here and people saw her all the time. i think when we watch the service today, one of the things that stood out to me, yes, there were many somber moments. many moments that would move many people to tears, but there were also points where we heard strong, robust laughter. there were anecdotes from her grandson, jason carter for instance, recalling when his grandparents were on the kiss cam at the braves game and how popular that was and how that stayed with them for so long. let's listen. >> most viral moment was when they were at the baseball game and the braves put them on the kiss cam. and just like today, i mean, people were crying at the braves game, you know? but we, we heard about it for years. it's amazing. but in my family, we all experienced those more private love stories. she was my grandmother. first and she was like everyone else's grandmother in a lot of ways. she was a rock for our family and that's true, but in many ways, as chip said, an adventurer. a voyager. a mountain climber. >> reporter: and so that was just one story among so many. i think the other thing when people look back on this memorial service today, you're going to remember the words of the carter's daughter. amy carter. who spoke of course about the love story that her parents shared. but she said because her father, the former president, was not able to speak, she was going to read one of his letters that he had written to rosalynn carter some 75 years ago when he was serving and that was certainly something that brought many people to tears. >> yeah, their love story is enviable. it's just, i mean, it's cliche, one for the record books, but it's true. thank you very much. let's go to jonathan, author of jimmy carter, a life. she was mentioning the impact she had on so many lives. i'm struck by impact in the sense that oftentimes you didn't know the impact that she had because you grew up thinking that that was the way things always were. i came of age really understanding politics and government when hillary clinton was first lady and she was obviously very involved. it seemed normal to me that she would be as involved as she was and the prototype, the model, was really rosalynn carter. >> that's right. i think people assume the model was eleanor roosevelt. she made a big contribution, wrote a newspaper column, held press conferences, but it was really rosalynn carter who revolutionized the office of the position of first lady. it's not an office. and she professionalized the east wing staff and she was one of her husband's most influential, maybe single most influential advisers. on any decision, she was in the room. people might go, she wasn't elected to anything, but neither was the national security adviser or the secretary of state. her advice was so sound. he didn't always take it, but it was so sound and she was so widely respected and she was so formidable that nobody resented it and you know, in writing my book, i couldn't find a single person who had anything harsh to say about her. which is extraordinarily unusual. it wasn't true of her husband, but it was true of rosalynn carter. and when she shared those letters that he wrote from sea, those love letters, which i published for the first time, i was, you could have knocked me over when i first read those. and then amy later told me that she kept them in a drawer right next to her wherever she went. she didn't want to be too far away from those letters. when you listen to the one that amy read and the others are similar, you can understand why. >> remarkable relationship. how is president jimmy carter doing? we saw him. he looks frail. he looks old. he's up there. he's been in hospice for some months. how is his health? >> he doesn't have any under lying condition he's dying of, but he decided mostly because he didn't want to be apart from rosalynn in the hospital, when he got out of the hospital in february, he said to his family, i'm not going back there. i'm never going to be in the hospital again. that's when he entered hospice. now, his family doesn't honestly think that he will last all that long. without rosalynn. >> it's going to be very difficult. you spend 77 years of your life with somebody to suddenly find them gone. jonathan alter, thank you very much for being here. again, your book, his very best, jimmy carter, a life, is a wonderful read. you get a whole lot of context and historical perspective from where we are right now, so it's worthwhile. thank you very much. coming up, the latest in the pause in the fighting between israel, hamas. a new group of hostages has just been released. we'll tell you who they are in 60 seconds. released. we'll tell you who they are in 60 seconds ♪ today, my friend you did it, you did it, you did it... ♪ centrum silver is now clinically shown to support cognitive health in older adults. it's one more step towards taking charge of your health. so every day, you can say, ♪ youuu did it! ♪ with centrum silver. why didn't we do this last year? before you were preventing migraine with qulipta®? and look at me now. you'll never truly forget migraine, but zero-migraine days are possible. don't take if allergic to qulipta®. most common side effects are nausea, constipation, and sleepiness. qulipta®. the forget-you-get migraine medicine™. as of now, excuse me, ten more hostages have now been released on he first day of the two-day exnsion. they range in from 84 to 17 years old. torr, at least ten more are expected to be exchanged. at happens after that is being negotiated. bill burns is in qatar right now trying to convince israel and hamas to extend the truce until all hostages are freed. that would include a number of americans. as of right now, senior administration official tells me the u.s. believes two more american women are hostage somewhere in gaza. it's just not clear who could have them. while much of the focus though has been on those freed, there's also an intense push according to the white house, to get more aid into gaza. the u.s. says it's sending three c-17s full of supplies to cross over the rafah border including medicine, food, and winter weather gear. it is an increasingly critical moment as the w.h.o. now warns spreading decide could kill as many gazans as the missiles have. there's also as always, the critical question of what happens next. does this temporary cse fire become permanent? with each day, the pressure builds on both and israel. then what happens after that if israel doesn't ane hamas? do the palestinians? polling which first appeared in reign affairs magazine before october 7 shows palestinians i the west bank and gaza were frustrated with hamas. with the vast majority of gazans saying hamas wasn't responsive to the needs of its people and there was no way to express that disappointment. in fact, more than half of gazans favored a two state solution which raises another critical question. who do they blame for the war after october 7th? hamas or israel? in other words, has the bombardment pushed them closer to hamas or further away? joining us now from tel aviv, nbc news correspondent, erin mcloughlin and here with me, eamon. erin, just got another batch of hostages back. who were they and who have the israelis released? >> reporter: 11 hostages and two foreign nationals has been released as part of the first day of the cease fire extension agreement. rafah having been transferred fras t the international red cross. they are with the iaeli military and will be flown to five different israepitals for medical treatment. they'll have an opportunity to bedith their families. we also know the oldest of the hostages released is 85 years old. she helped found the kibbutz where a quarter of that kibbutz on october 7th was either kidnapped or killed. all of those released yesterday were from kibbutz near az. the leader of the kibbutz saying, calling really, for the remaining hostages in gaza in full to be released but the question being how long will the cease fire last and that is an open question. >> let's talk about what is going to happen tomorrow then what could happen after that. i know bill burns is in qatar right now. what is he trying to do and what sort of, how is he being heard? >> it's important to note also the director of mehsud is in doha as well. it's a trilateral meeting. an the purpose of the meeting as i understand it from speaking to sources as well as nbc news is reporting is they are now talking about what happens after this two day truce extension expires. it ends tomorrow and part of the extension was because hamas had been saying they did not have all the hostages. they needed to gather more, consolidate them. once they were able to prove and provide evidence to qatar as the intermediary that they have more hostages to release, the truce was extended. now we're waiting to see if there are more hostages they can go find. we'll get a better sense of that by tomorrow. whether or not the truce is extended, but even if that specific part of women and children, there are no more hostages, the negotiation is beginning to define new parameters which could include the elderly or women serving in the military because hamas has kind of left soldiers away from this first round of negotiation. so we're starting to get a better sense that the negotiations are focused around the new parameters for this new batch of hostages to be released. >> who have the israelis been releasing? >> palestinians they have detained. the number now is close, will be when this is done, close to 300. many of them children under the age of 18. many of them without charges. many of them held on charges of terrorism, which it is a very in the palestinian context, very obscure. sometimes it's as you know, minor as throwing stones. the israelis say no, many of these were people that were either accomplices to attempted murder or stabbing of israeli soldiers. but the process in which palestinians are detained has always come under a lot of scrutiny by human rights organizations. it's not due process. many of are held in detention for extended periods of time with no charges. many of them are being celebrated, welcomed by their relatives, family, community. >> i'm going to ask this the former israeli national security adviser, but i want to get your take on the poll i started the show with. palestinians not happy with hamas before october 7th. after this bombardment, what is your sense of who the palestinians, the gazans, are blaming? >> it's a really good question. it's hard for me here in new york to assess what people in gaza are feeling, but we are starting to hear from gazans themselves who are writing about this. there was a good piece in the ford by a palestinian who lives here in the united states and his family is in gaza. he said hamas have lost a lot of popularity in gaza in the run up to october 7th, but one of the things that has happened is that this military bombardment campaign is likely going get palestinians to view hamas once again as the face of resistance. not the government. part of that is because the concept of resistance, something the palestinians fundamentally believe in, is something they will rally behind. no matter the cost or perception of the violence they have endured. that does not mean they've approved or liked or accepted the way hamas had governed gaza or become extremely unpopular among the people there. >> it's a mindset misunderstanding a lot of people who don't understand where the palestinians heads could be at after this. it's been invaluable talking to you. thank you very much. and erin, thank you as well. joining us now, a senator from connecticut. richard blumenthal. he was among a group of senate democrats yesterday who met with senior idf officials. senator, thank you very much for joining us. what were senators trying to get out of the idf? >> i think what we look for from the idf was a commitment that there would be reduced civilian casualties. more precision and targeted approach in whatever military operations followed this pause and also a commitment to providing more humanitarian aid. enabling more food, fuel, water and other necessities to reach gaza as the administration is pressing them to do. and i would just say very importantly, it was a tough meeting with difficult questions and strong answers. but no doubt about the commitment to supporting israel. >> can you elaborate? how is it tough? >> it was tough because a number of my colleagues are raising questions about whether civilian casualties can be further reduced and whether israel is keeping its commitment made to me repeatedly from the time i visited israel right after the october 7th massacre. to me and colleagues and others by the war cabinet, by the military. so that literally we can have at the end of it all, a two state solution and faith in the result that palestinians will govern themselves but also that israel's security will be guaranteed. israel must win this war against a terrorist organization that is devoted solely and inclusively to destroy israel and annihilate the jewish people. >> after the meeting, where do you stand on a cease fire? are you hoping that this truce is extended indefinitely? that this leads to a permanent cease fire? or do you believe the israelis need to go back into gaza to root out hamas once again? >> i really believe and i hope that a pause can be extended. so that more hostages can be released so that more humanitarian aid can be provided so that more of the population in the south of gaza can find enclaves or areas where they can be safe. i hope that days, maybe even weeks, can be added to this pause. the israeli military, the idf, believes sincerely that they need to continue some military operations to dismantle hamas as a terrorist threat. and what i've urged is that they make stronger commitments to minimize civilian casualties and abide by those commitments. i am against a cease fire because hamas has stated repeatedly it won't abide by a cease fire. its highest leadership has said that israel can expect to see another october 7th type attack a second time, a third time, a fourth time. that's a direct quote from one of their leaders. i don't know how israel can have a cease fire with an organization whose sole mission is to destroy it and exterminate the jewish people. >> officials went farther than a second, third, and fourth. senator, thank you very much for joining us. and coming up, donald trump's request to subpoena the house january 6th committee was rejected. what the judge in this case said about trump's effort by shutting him down. plus, an nbc news exclusive. what a former girlfriend of the man accused of shooting three palestinian college students in vermont told police he did to her. but first, the message william burns has for his israeli counterpart. we are back in 60 seconds. i cou. we are back in 60 seconds. you'll definitely want to hear. depending on the plans available in your area, you may be eligible to get extra benefits with a humana medicare advantage dual-eligible special needs plan. all of these plans include a healthy options allowance, a monthly allowance to help pay for eligible groceries, utilities, rent, and over-the-counter items. the healthy options allowance is loaded onto a prepaid card each month. and whatever you don't spend, carries over from each month. other benefits on these plans include free rides to and from your medical appointments. and our large networks of doctors, hospitals and pharmacies. so, call the number on your screen now and ask about a humana medicare advantage dual-eligible special needs plan. humana. a more human way to healthcare. (christina) with verizon business unlimited, i get 5g, truly unlimited data, and unlimited hotspot data. so, no matter what, i'm running this kitchen. (vo) make the s