chaos and dysfunction within the white house during trump s time in office. plus, transportation secretary pete buttigieg is threatening major penalties for southwest airlines amid a massive number of cancellations and delays. we ll have the latest on the seemingly never-ending travel troubles. and president biden signs a massive $1.7 trillion government spending bill into law. capping off a year of big wins for the white house. good morning. and welcome to way too early. on this friday, december 30th. the penultimate day of 2022. i m jonathan lemire. thanks for starting your day us with. we ll begin with a newly-released batch of deposition transcripts from the january 6th house committee from some key witnesses, including members of former president donald trump s inner circle. and that includes former white house communications director alyssa farah griffin, she spoke to the january 6th house panel back on april 15th, describing her tenure at the white house as quo
the man who was bin laden s number two in al-qaeda, the man who took over as al-qaeda s leader after bin laden was killed by u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s. the string of attacks and murders attributed to ayman al-zawahiri is stomach turning. he was the ideological mastermind behind the term of al-qaeda and groups like that towards indiscriminate mass murder of civilians anywhere including muslims all in the name of islamic piety. and how he got there now looking back at it seemed like a straight shot, but if you sort of dropped in on him at any time in his biography you wouldn t have known he was going there. by the time he was 15 years old he was a committed radical who wanted to try to impose islamic theocracy by force. he formed his first terrorist cell when he was all of 15 years old. when islamic militants did assassinate egypt s president at a military parade in 1991 ayman al-zawahiri was one of hundreds islamic radicals tried and imprisoned for that crime. he was tortured for ye
plus, the latest on house speaker nancy pelosi and taiwan. the uncertain visit is straining an already tense relationship between the united states and china. and a texas man gets the longest prison sentence to date tied to the capitol attack, but his daughters want someone else locked up, too. good morning, and welcome to way too early, on this tuesday, august 2nd. i m jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us. after decades on the run, the top leader of al qaeda has finally been taken off the battlefield. ayman al zawahiri was killed this last weekend by a cia drone while standing on a balcony in downtown kabul, second in command to osama bin laden during the september 11th attacks, and became the top leader when the united states killed bin laden in 2011. a senior administration official tells nbc news that the strike was so precise, none of his family inside the home were killed. in a rare evening address last night, president biden still isolating from covid said j
speaker. at home we re watching a major test of former president trump s influence over the republican party. in the five states where voters are headed to the polls today to vote in primary elections, all eyes will be on the slate of candidates who the former president endorsed and have embraced the big lie that the 2020 election was stolen. will that message resonate with republican primary voters? today will also be a big test for these three house republicans who were among the ten who voted to impeach the former president. will they survive after taking a critical stand? one of today s biggest tests will happen in kansas where abortion rights are on the ballot for the first time since the supreme court overturned roe v. wade. we ll have the latest into the massive implications of that vote. let s get right into it with nbc s steve kornacki at the big board. steve, what are you looking for this morning? a couple things, jose, you touched on. i think this referendum in
during a call with house gop leader kevin mccarthy while the capitol was under siege on january 6th along with congressman the three had been facing trump s wrat. republicans in two of those states, arizona and wisconsin, set to make their picks for statewide offices in the next few weeks. arizona today and wisconsin next tuesday. amid a rift between donald trump and mike pence that dates back to january 6th. the washington post reports, quote, two gubernatorial candidates in arizona and wisconsin backed by trump will face-off this month against those endorsed by former vice president mike pence. who split with trump after refusing pressure to reject the results of the 2020 presidential race. but make no mistake, this year s republican primaries have been shaped in large part by who donald trump is endorsing. and competition for his endorsement took a surreal turn last night when trump endorsed eric in the missouri primary. just eric, no last name, you know, like beyonce