about to be hit with up to 5 to 10 feet. blizzards already clogging roads and causing accidents as the country continues to cope with the wild late winter weather. and we know that later today, texas governor greg abbott will be in the texas panhandle, sharing how the state plans to help these communities pick up these charred pieces. in the meantime, more than 100 firefighters expected to arrive here in this state today, a very welcome sight. that came from president biden over the last 24 hours. ana? >> morgan chesky, thank you. stay safe. and that does it for us this hour. thank you for being here. i'll be back at noon eastern today, filling in for andrea mitchell. until then, i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. jose diaz-balart picks up our coverage right now. good morning.

it is 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart. right now a federal judge in florida is holding a hearing on several key issues related to former president trump's classified documents case, including when to start the trial. the former president is attending the hearing in fort pierce about 130 miles north of miami. he's his remaining rival nikki haley said she thinks all his legal problems should be dealt with before the election. >> i think all of the cases should be dealt with before november. we need to know what's going to happen before it happen -- before the presidency happens, because after that, should he become president, i don't think any of it will get. over 500 miles away, a judge will hear closing arguments this afternoon in a motion to disqualify fulton county district attorney fani willis from prosecuting the case 6r789. with us to talk more about all of this, msnbc national

correspondent yasmin vossoughian outside the federal courthouse in fort pierce, florida. msnbc legal contributor katie phang in atlanta, also host of the katie phang show noon on saturdays. and msnbc legal correspondent lisa rubin. what has been happening so far in that classified documents case hearing? >> reporter: so, we know the former president is inside the courtroom right now, jose. that's all we know. we saw him entering around 9:30 or so this morning. there is no technology, phones or computers allowed inside the courtroom. so we're having to try and portion together what is actually happening inside. as soon as i get a note from the folks inside, i'll relay it to you. let's talk about what is likely to happen today. a couple of things we're looking at here. a potential date for this trial to begin. the juror questionnaire which are handed in by both sides, the former president's attorneys and the prosecutors in this case, jack smith, and his attorneys as well, along with some of the

motions especially filed by the former president. the dates proposed by jack smith is july 8th. donald trump's attorney proposing august 12th saying this thing should not go on even before the election and making the argument for that. eileen kent has indicated that that date will likely not stick because the amount of discovery that trump's attorneys are going to have to go through. when it comes to questions, i thought it was important we talk about this, there is some crossovers that were submitted when it came to the questionnaire. what bumper stickers do you have on your car, and then some differences between what jack smith is submitting when it comes to a jury questionnaire, versus what is being submitted by trump's attorneys. trump's attorneys want to know who you voted for, for instance, in the 2020 election. did you vote? jack smith and his attorneys wanting to know, for instance, do you feel as if trump won the election or who won the election? and i think that's interesting because as i look around here,

there is a lot of donald trump supporters sitting around me right now. one of the big flags says trump won, save america. so you think about that, and apply it to the jury pool right now that this trial is looking at and why that question for jack smith and his team will be pertinent. let's talk about the dates and possible crossover here. we know, jose, judge juan marshawn in new york had collaboration with tanya chutkan, judge chutkan in d.c. when it came to choosing march 25th. we know the d.c. trial is on hold waiting for a decision from the supreme court, the hearing, that public hearing that will go forward on april 22nd. we wonder if there is going to be collaboration between this judge aileen cannon and the three other judges in the other cases when the date will be set. and/or will she say today because of this immunity motion that the former president's

attorneys filed last week that now stands in front of the supreme court, will they indefinitely put this trial on hold until they get a decision from the supreme court? and if she doesn't and chooses the end of the summer, could that then push any chance of a d.c. trial going forward beyond the election? because they will interact with each other or overlap with each other. those are some things we're watching for today. and the big news that comes out of this will be the date, if a date is set for this trial, jose. >> so many overlapping potentially overlapping issues in florida, in d.c., in new york. it just seems like what are the key things you're looking for from today's hearing in florida specifically? >> well, jose, i think it is tempting to talk about the jury questionnaire and the different questions that each side wants to be asked. as yasmin noted, before we get to the question of a trial, the thing i'm most interested in

today is whether judge cannon sets a trial date at all. both sides were ordered to propose pretrial schedules and trial dates. and trump's team complied with that, but grudgingly, if you read the submission that they filed last night at around 6:00 p.m. they essentially say, we respect the court's order and as such, we're going to tell you that we think april 12th is an appropriate day to try former president trump and one of his co-defendants, carlos de oliveira. but they then continue to give her a litany of reasons why no trial date should be scheduled in this year at all. and so it is all but an invitation for judge cannon to say, i don't think we should schedule a trial right now, in large part because the question of presidential immunity is on the table. donald trump has moved to dismiss the indictment in the mar-a-lago documents case before judge cannon on grounds of presidential immunity as he did in judge chutkan's case and their argument is that that not only protects the former

president from liability and culpability in that case, but it should insulate him from the burdens of trial to begin with, that he shouldn't even have to go through pretrial proceedings on the account of his immunity argument. >> so, how does that whole immunity issue, the call for it in this florida one, now that the supreme court agreed to deal with it, how does that affect in any way this case or -- and the other one? >> i think it is possible that judge cannon can say she needs guidance from the supreme court before deciding when and if a trial is appropriate. one possibility is that we come out of today's hearing with the entire case on ice because as i just said donald trump's argument is that presidential immunity means he shouldn't have to participate in pretrial proceedings at all. that's why judge chutkan, who was desirous of going forward, stayed her case because there

was case law in her circuit that said while presidential immunity was on appeal, it wasn't appropriate to force the former president to go through those pretrial proceedings. if judge cannon sets a trial date at all, i'll be surprised and looking to see whether that leaves any room for judge chutkan to try her case before the election, should the supreme court side with judge chutkan in the d.c. circuit, jose. >> let's turn our focus from fort pierce to atlanta. what can we expect from today's closing arguments in georgia? >> reporter: you're going to hear from the state and the defense. the biggest question is whether or not judge mcafee is already going into the arguments today, with his mind leading one way or another, in terms of whether or not the burden has been met by the defense to disqualify district attorney fani willis in georgia. there has to be an actual interest, it cannot be speculative or theoretical.

the case should have been folk ousing on whether or not there was a financial benefit to fani willis because her boyfriend nathan wade was appointed prosecutor. terrence bradley ceding more than 400 text messages to a defense attorney on the other side, ashley merchant, she represents michael roman. as a result of the text messages, roman is the one who filed the motion to disqualify fani willis, and now we're going into the area of what is perjury committed by wade and willis when they swore under oath that their relationship began after wade was appointed special prosecutor. there should be about 15 minutes apportioned for these oral arguments. remember, there is several defendants on the side of the defense. so judge mcafee will afford them the opportunity to be heard. but there is also the issue of nathan wade's cell phone records, they were pulled by steve sadow, the lawyer for donald trump.

their admissibility will be addressed today. the cell phone records according to the defense indicating that wade and willis spent time that suggests there was more going on other than just friendship. both have testified under oath that, yes, wade went to willis' condo during that period of time and more importantly, no, nothing happened and i think really at the end of the day, judge mcafee has only the ability to rely on the evidence that has been submitted, expecting written ruling, jose, do not expect him to rule from the bench today. i would say anywhere from a week to two weeks to afford the judge the opportunity to assess all of the evidence and then issue a written ruling in this case. >> so, lisa, what could that ruling be? what are the options that the judge is going to be weighing? what are the possible outcomes we could be seeing? >> let's start with the first one, jose. katie mentioned that there is some evidence that both sides would like to bring to judge mcafee's attention, even though

evidence has really already closed. there are these cell phone records and cell phone location data that steve sadow wants to admit. if judge mcafee decides those are appropriate to look at, we might be looking at a little bit longer period of time before he makes an eventual decision. but eventually he will come to a decision that either fani willis needs to be disqualified because there is a conflict of interest here, or there isn't. i tend to believe that even if there is a problem with fani willis and nathan wade's veracity there that there isn't a disqualifying interest here. where it leaves us is the case would likely stay with the fulton county's d.a. office, but if he finds that they were not credible and that they lied on the stand, the consequences for them personally would be ethical ones and ones that would be referred to at least the georgia state bar and they may have

problems beyond that too. so we may end up with a d.a.'s office that retains the case, and a d.a. and her special prosecutor that have individual problems that go far beyond this case, jose. >> and, katie, things changed when that affidavit was submitted. >> reporter: nathan wade submitted an affidavit in support of the state's opposition to this motion to disqualify. but the affidavit in and of itself, you know, was corroborated by wade's sworn testimony. and that really kind of bears some essence. they are members of the georgia state bar. when you heard judge mcafee and assessing the credibility of all these witnesses, you ask yourself what is the motivation to lie? there is uncontriverted evidence that they are no longer dating.

i think the defense seized on the opportunity to dive into the salaciousness of somebody's personal life because they think that's going to be enough to disqualify fani willis. but judge mcafee is new to the bench, but not new to the law. if he looks at just the evidence thus far, in my opinion, it is not enough to disqualify her. >> yasmin vossoughian, katie phang and lisa rubin, thank you very much for being with us this morning. coming up, global leaders condemn a deadly incident in gaza as more than 100 palestinians were killed waiting for food trucks. we'll ask an idf spokesman how this could have happened. plus, mourners risk their lives to attend the funeral of a top putin critic aleei navalny. and duelling trips to the southern border. we'll talk to former texas congressman beto o'rourke and get his take on the visits.

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or college, since you like to get schooled. that's a pretty good burn, right? 14 past the hour. this morning, world leaders were condemning thursday's deadly incident that according to palestinian officials left more than 100 people dead in gaza city as they waited for humanitarian aid. the secretary-general of the united nations and the president of france are calling for an independent investigation. in the wake of that incident, the biden administration is attempting to salvage a potential cease-fire deal according to multiple u.s. officials, but privately there is growing concern in the white house that the deal could stall. joining us from tel aviv is nbc's raf sanchez. thank you. what more are you learning about what happened yesterday? >> reporter: well, palestinian officials say nearly 200 people were killed across gaza yesterday. the vast majority of them in that single bloody incident in

gaza city where israeli forces allegedly opened fire on a crowd of people, waiting at an aid distribution point. that is an accusation israel denies. this morning, more fallout after the deadly incident in gaza, where dozens of palestinians were killed waiting for food trucks. our cameras were there shortly before 4:00 a.m., as crowds gathered in gaza city, hoping for a single bag of flour. what happened next is in dispute. a palestinian eyewitness tells nbc news israeli forces opened fire at the crowd before the trucks arrived. in this video from the scene, gunfire can be heard. more than 100 people were killed and 700 wounded according to the health ministry in hamas-run gaza. hospitals flooded with gunshot victims. we went to get food and flour, and they started shooting us, this man says.

israel telling a different story, saying many were killed in a stampede near the trucks as people surged around the aid, as seen in this drone footage. they say their forces only opened fire later, at a specific group that was moving toward troops in a threatening way. do you have any evidence to support this claim that this crowd posed a threat to israeli troops. >> if you approach armed soldiers in a war zone and there is a threat and they fire warning shots in the air, best thing do is to turn around and walk away. >> reporter: it is not clear how they were killed. gaza residents have been desperate for food. the u.n. warning of famine. including for children like musa, at 6 months, he's barely older than this war. doctors say eight other children have died of malnourishment this week at this hospital alone. a u.s. official says the administration is considering

dropping aid by air, a tactic used this week used by jordan. the white house growing increasingly concerned about the -- and president biden says yesterday's killing will only complicate what is already a complicated effort to reach a cease-fire deal, a deal he says is no longer likely by monday. jose, earlier today we saw families of some of those israeli hostages gathering outside a u.s. embassy building here in tel aviv, urging the administration to keep putting pressure on the israeli government to go back to the negotiating table and to make a deal. jose? >> raf sanchez in tel aviv, thank you very much. joining us now is lieutenant colonel richard heck, spokesperson for the israeli defense forces. thank you very much for being with us this morning. just want to start with can you clarify did israeli forces open fire on civilians waiting for aid on thursday? >> so, thank you for having me. this is not the case. and, again, you -- i'll just

jump on to what raf sanchez said. we did not intentionally open fire on the mob that basically tried to reach this truck. this is a tragic event, where you can see from the footage we released that the people that came looking for food, there was a stampede, very, very tragic, but we did not open fire on -- you can see this now, running in the background, we did not open fire on the crowd during that event. there was one specific event at the end of the convoy where our soldiers, some of the crowd approached our soldiers, they felt threatened and they fired shots. we take the numbers with a pinch of salt, where from this tragic stampede. >> so, let's -- what would

qualify as nonlethal shots being fired? and i'm just thinking, if we take any of the evidence that seems to be being put forward by different video sources, we're looking at that al jazeera video that says people were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds. that's not a stampede wound. that's a gunshot wound. and what exactly is nonlethal fire? >> nonlethal fire is when we were securing the convoy and in order to facilitate the movement of food to the north. we're in a war. this is a combat zone. the soldiers are, again, we're losing soldiers every day in this fight, we're aware of the humanitarian condition in the north. again, no lethal fire when we are securing the convoy, people came to our soldiers, they felt threatened, they would maybe

take nonlethal shot to try to distance them. we're looking into this event. the numbers coming out from the hamas health agency with a pinch of salt, we're looking into this, we're aware of the severe event, and we're taking it very, very seriously. >> the u.n. and france are both mounting an independent investigation into what happened. will israel support this? >> we do not need any other country to launch investigations. we have the means and the will to do this ourselves. and, again, i want to remind everyone here, this is a war zone, we're doing everything we can, we're trying to facilitate other ideas, raff mentioned it before, things from the air, and we're still fighting this -- to dismantle hamas. if hamas lays down their weapons and bring the hostages back to israel, in a minute.

>> and so, where do you from the israeli, from the idf perspective, go from here as far as trying to determine what israel had as far as responsibility in this incident or not? >> well, you know, i'm very aware of international law and there was people saying once you're occupying an area, you have to make sure that food is there. we do not want to occupy the gaza strip. we want to dismantle hamas. we're not fighting the palestinian people who hamas has taken as a human shield. and i will keep repeating that sentence. that is a tragedy and cynical use of hamas and the people. we're doing everything we can to move food and there is an issue here with distribution, not with the quantity or the amount of food going in, the distribution to the north is the challenge and that's what we're trying to facilitate and come up with

creative ideas to get food up north to the people. >> and right now there are a million civilians in rafah with israel's deadline of march 10th for a potential invasion there. how does what happened yesterday play a role in maybe disrupting talks, for example, on the hostages that are still being held by hamas? >> i'm a military man and, again, i will tell you that we're also very, very attentive to the voices and the concerns about the 1.4 people. my prime minister said we will not act aggressively in that area without finding a solution for the civilian population there. we did it in the north. and we can do it also in the south. i would just mention to you that we did a specific event in

rafah, which was a special forces raid to save two of our hostages inside rafah. >> well, lieutenant colonel richard heck, thank you for being with us this morning. i appreciate your time. >> thank you very much. up next, why the widow of putin critic aleei navalny did not attend his funeral this morning in moscow. thousands of people turned out. we'll talk to you about that. it is incredible images coming out of russia. plus, the texas wildfires scorching an area large enough to stretch from new york to philadelphia. and why they could actually be getting worse. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. g. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. power e*trade's award-winning trading app makes trading easier. with its customizable options chain, easy-to-use tools and paper trading to help sharpen your skills, you can stay on top of the market from wherever you are. e*trade from morgan stanley.

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28 past the hour. we have breaking news from florida where we're getting details of what's happening inside the courtroom at the trump classified documents hearing. back with us, msnbc's yasmin vossoughian outside the courthouse. what are we learning? >> reporter: so, it is a lot of what we had suspected. i'm going keep looking down at my phone. we're getting notes in. and talking about specifically the date here. and this is july 8th, that's the date proposed by the government, arguing july 8th is when this trial should move forward. the former president's trumps saying no, and arguing in fact that this trial should go forward after the election, talking about the march 25th

date and the hush money case is moving forward, saying the former president is going to be in court every single day. that's a criminal case. donald trump has to be in court every single day for that case. he'll likely be in court for six weeks after march 25th. so the former president's attorneys are arguing, since he'll be in court for that trial the entire time, the case should not move forward this summer in july 8th when prosecution is proposing. and proposing instead after the election. they also go on to talk about this need for an evidentiary hearing, which essentially presenting evidence, testimony, between the lawyers, that goes on the record before the official start of the trial, this is something that the prosecution, the government does not want. something the former president's attorneys does in fact want, this is would essentially set the date back for the trial. and so trump's attorneys are arguing this evidentiary hearing should go forward in july, instead of the official start of

the trial date, judge aileen cannon is hearing arguments for that now as well. they'll be taking a lunch break at one point in the next 30 minutes or so to get more notes from inside the courtroom then. the focus so far this morning has been on that trial date. likely being moved, by the way, again, reiterating this, from may 20th, where it was initially set, later on. we'll see where that date falls. >> yasmin vossoughian, thank you for that update. appreciate it. now to russia, where today the family and supporters of russian opposition leader alexei navalny said their final good-byes during a funeral service two weeks after he ied in a russian penal colony. thousands of mourners outside the church chanting russia will be free and navalny's name, all under the heaviest of police presence. joining us now is keir simmons. how it things unfold today and just the fact there were people

outside to begin with, even if they didn't say anything, but hundreds of them, maybe thousands of them on the route and then they were screaming his name, it is just so -- it is such an extraordinary act of strength. >> it really is. because as you watch the images, you look at the images, remember, that every one of those people could be arrested, okay, could be fined, but easily, though, the charges against them could be escalated, we estimate to 15 years in jail at the highest sentence. so, it is an act of defiance by those people. there are a lot more people clearly just looking at the pictures on the streets than even the organizers were estimating earlier today when they said they were just over a thousand outside of the church. they have been along the streets throwing flowers and chanting as you say, and really has been a day, jose, of extraordinary images, the kinds of images that

honestly 24 hours ago we weren't sure we would see. the crowds are principle in that. but also the picture of navalny in an open -- ambassadors including the u.s. ambassador there at the service. the picture of his mother kissing his forehead for the last time before his face is covered at the burial site. and then clearly emotional as he's lowered into the ground. the images of -- by alexei navalny supporters -- streaming aspects of the event that have been clearly filmed by people on cell phones. all of this really is a picture of the kind of opposition, ultimately what it is going to be telling the kremlin is if they thought that by killing

alexei navalny they were going to put an end to this, then they were wrong. while at the same time, of course, we're two weeks away from president putin being re-elected. big speech yesterday showed on enormous screens around moscow, the kremlin strength is as dominant as ever or certainly president putin is now very much the only candidate in a way that maybe we wouldn't have seen in previous elections where other people were allowed to stand. alexei navalny's wife and widow julia putting out a statement on x, an incredibly emotional statement, saying i don't know how i will live without you, but i will try to make you proud up there. so she, too, vowing to continue the fight as alexei navalny supporters see it. the kremlin spokesman asked today what he has to say for navalny's family says no, we don't have anything to say to them. >> people spoke to loudly for

him. keir simmons, thank you so very much. appreciate it. >> you bet. coming up, the justice department calls it one of the most serious infiltrations of u.s. government in history. a former u.s. ambassador now pleading guilty to spying for cuba. presidential face-off at the border as the front runners pointed fingers over the humanitarian crisis. talk to former texas congressman beto o'rourke next. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. congressman, great to see you. we'll chat in just a minute. con. we'll chat in just a minute. ul n trigger migraine attacks too. that's why my go to is nurtec odt. it's the only migraine medication that can treat and prevent my attacks all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec. allergic reactions can occur even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion and stomach pain. now i'm in control. with nurtec odt i can treat a migraine attack and prevent one. talk to your doctor about nurtec today.

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37 past the hour. new developments as immigration is center stage in the 2024 race for the white house. president biden and former president trump appeared yesterday at pretty much the same time, roughly 300 miles from each other, along the u.s. southern border in texas. both front-runners presented very different messages on immigration, which is a top issue among voters. nbc news senior white house correspondent gabe gutierrez has the very latest. >> reporter: there has been a significant shift in this race. former president trump has always taken a hard-line on immigration, and overnight he once again said migrants were poisoning the u.s. but president biden is now also tackling the issue head on. this morning, immigration front and center in the 2024 campaign after a dramatic split screen in texas, with president biden and former president trump visiting the southern border about 300

miles apart at the same time. >> show a little spine. >> reporter: the current president in brownsville, texas, blasting house republicans for torpedoing a bipartisan border security bill at mr. trump's urging. but also, offering this olive branch to the former president. >> join me, or i'll join you, in telling congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill. we can do it together. >> reporter: the republican front-runner in eagle pass, texas, blaming the biden administration for their record-breaking influx of migrants. >> our country is being poisoned. we're being poisoned. >> reporter: and pointing to the recent high profile crimes committed by migrants including the murder of laken riley. >> we will say it and we will remember it. >> reporter: a review of available data shows crime has actually dipped in cities that received the most migrants. still a recent poll shows mr. trump holds a 35 point lead over

mr. biden among registered voters when it comes to which candidate would better handle the border. while mr. biden holds a 17 point lead on treating immigrants humanely. here at the bus station, we met migrant families. the children were tired. the parents were worried. >> these are people's lives. these are people's futures that we're basically playing with or using as a pawn and we should never use that for political gain. >> reporter: adding to the border battle in texas, a federal judge temporarily blocked a controversial law here. it would have aloud local police to arrest and deport migrants suspected of being in the state illegally. the governor says he with ill appeal and the case could end up in the u.s. supreme court. thank you for that report. for more on this, joining us now

is former texas congressman and 2020 presidential candidate beto o'rourke. great seeing you always. i appreciate your time. i'm thinking, what is your reaction to what we heard from both trump and president biden yesterday? >> well, those comments are a reminder of what a disaster his presidency was for the border. it was chaos. it was cruelty. it was kids in cages. it was family separation, it was a muslim ban, and, jose, as we heard, he's also talking about immigrants poisoning the blood of america. that's something you could have expected from adolf hitler in the 1930s, not something we should expect from our president today. on biden's behalf, on his part, i'm glad he came to brownsville. i'm glad he's drawing the distinction with president trump. but there is one more very important thing that he can do. i hope he will. that is to remind this country that we did not become the world's superpower, leading

economically, politically, democratically, without immigrants, immigrants have made this country great. and immigrants are going to be the source of our greatness going forward. we have a chance to seize the initiative. and remind america that if we can provide legal pathways for people to come to this country the right way, to work some of the millions of jobs that we're unable to fill, to strengthen our communities and as the report makes clear, to make them safer by their very presence, we'll be that much more successful and that much greater. i think we all have an opportunity as we support president biden to push him in that direction and remind him that while the polls are important, the president has an ability to shape those polls by reminding us who we are at our best. >> there is an undeniable fact, that there is a humanitarian crisis, it is at the border, but also affecting cities across the country. maybe tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions

more people clearly, if they could, would be making the journey towards the united states to try and receive asylum. i'm wondering, with those facts being the facts on the ground, it is easy to talk politics, but where is the focus on the men and women and children, the people behind all of this? what is a policy that could be implemented now for what has already happened and what may happen in the future? >> we could, for example, today open up more asylum appointments. they want to do so the right and legal way, but there is not a legal path open to them right now. you can imagine if you are a young mother with a very young child, and you've been waiting days, weeks, months, to come here and get an asylum

appointment and you can't, you might consider crossing in between those ports of entry and risking your life and your child's life to get into this country because you know to go back to your home country might mean the end of your child's life and your life. so, let's give folks more legal options to do this. this ensures there is safety for the migrants and there is a legal path for people to come here to this country, and to do it the right way. also i look forward to president biden and his secretary of state making the americas their number one foreign policy priority. if we're trying to address this issue at the border, it is almost too late. we need to convene the countries of this hemisphere and make sure everyone is shouldering their burden fairly and we're addressing the root causes of this. very important that joe biden win re-election, so that in his second term he can make comprehensive immigration reform his number one priority. if we fail to do that, you and i will be having this conversation next year and the year that

follows, and out into infinity. we need to have a president who can seize the initiative, solve this problem, and i believe that joe biden can, but it helps when we push him do the right thing. >> beto o'rourke, thank you very much. it is always a pleasure to see you. >> thank you, jose. up next, why senator john cornyn says he's already campaigning hard in his bid to succeed mitch mcconnell as republican leader in the senate. plus the new warning from the national weather service as a wildfire continues to spread in texas. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. eg better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need... ...without the stuff you don't. so, here's to now. boost. breathing claritin clear is like... (♪♪) is he? confidently walking 8 long haired dogs

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an area bigger than rhode island. and now it is spreading across oklahoma. nbc's morgan chesky joins us from canadian, texas, where a woman was killed in the fires yesterday. what are you seeing there today? >> reporter: yeah, jose, tragic scene, we're now able to see just how powerful this firestorm was when it made it way through here on tuesday and into wednesday. the flames may be out at least in this area for now, but that lingering smell of smoke just goes to show the extent of the losses here. i'm standing in front of one of the dozens of homes that were just incinerated in just a few minutes here in canadian. you mentioned those fires in oklahoma as well, jose. there is a series of blazes all across the panhandle and now into oklahoma, but that largest one, the smokehouse creek, that is the one that is proven to be the most deadly, killing that 83-year-old woman in her home and we're hearing, jose, another woman was killed when she stopped in her truck and was overcome by a fast-moving fire.

the son of one of the victims had this to say about this incredible loss. take a listen. >> the wind was going 60-mile-an-hour and fires were starting all over the county from the power lines sparking together. it got over into the neighborhood where my mom was, before i had a chance to get over there to get her out. they had already blocked the roads off. >> reporter: so, where does the fire fight go from here? the texas a&m forest service positioned crews on the yornlg north side of the smokehouse creek fire to protect vulnerable communities. should there be a shift in wind here, jose, that could open up a whole new fire front and that is why when they look ahead to this weekend forecast of hotter temperatures and high winds, no one is breathing easy here.

jose? >> morgan chesky, thank you so very much. back in washington, president biden is expected to sign today a short-term government funding bill to avoid a partial government shutdown. yesterday, the lawmakers bought themselves a little bit more time to fund the government, but the first new funding deadline is now just a week away. joining us now is co-founder of punch bowl news, jake sherman, also an msnbc contributor. jake, so this is a band-aid on top of a band-aid to cover another band-aid. it looks as though things are okay as of right now, but the battle over government funding isn't over. is the first -- lit the first salvo, i would say. what happened is they kicked government funding deadlines, instead of march 1st and march 8th, to march 8th and march 22nd. march 8th is the easy deadline, that includes the interior bill, energy and water bill, military construction, veteran affairs, a number of bills that are non-controversial. then you have a week off.

then you come back the week that ends with the 22nd and you have homeland security, defense, labor, hhs, some of the controversial bills. mike johnson executed a smart move. he didn't have bills ready. he was able to cobble together a majority of the house republican majority to kick the bills down the road and try to get a long-term spending deal. at this point, it's not long-term. it's march 1st, five months into the fiscal year. we are just getting started with fiscal year 2024. >> what is the one-week extension for? >> to get their act together, to be honest with you. they need to finish these bills. these are largely and hugely complicated bills. i would point out, back in the day, in the '80s and '90s, they spent all summer on appropriation bills, wrapped them up in july or august, and had them ready for the entire next year.

you didn't have to deal with crs or stopgaps or any of these things. you had them done. the bills were passed. you kind of dealt with it that way. remember, it's march. we will have to see the congress start on fiscal year 2025 spending pretty soon. anyhow, that's where we stand. a week off and you have the big defense bill and all those things. >> meanwhile, three men named john have been floated to replace mitch mcconnell as leader of the senate gop. one is john cornyn who is officially running. you wrote about his blitz to try to gain support. what are you learning? >> yeah. john cornyn is in the race, the first candidate in the race. he has the most to lose here. not in the leadership at all right now. trying to make a big bid. he was the majority whip during donald trump's tenure. he is running hard and running

quickly. usually, speed kills in these races. a lot of this will depend what happens in november, if donald trump wins the white house. >> jake sherman, thank you. >> thanks. up next, a former u.s. diplomat is pleading guilty to spying on the united states for cuba for 40 years. now he is being accused of being an accomplice in the death of a cuban dissident more than a decade ago. we will speak with his daughter about the legal action they are taking next. l action they are taking next. for severe eosinophilic asthma. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask an asthma specialist if nucala is right for you.

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55 past the hour. a major case the u.s. attorney calls one of the highest reaching and longest lasting infiltrations of the united states government by a foreign agent. yesterday, a former u.s. ambassador said he would plead guilty to charges of working as a secret agent for cuba for more than 40 years. joining us now the founder of cuba de cila. she's the daughter of an activist killed in a car crash in cuba. thank you. i know your mother filed a lawsuit yesterday accusing him of being an accomplice to your father's death. tell me how your family sees his involvement in this. >> that's correct. thank you so much for having me. the facts are the following.

the cuban regime was found responsible for the killing of my father after ten years of investigation. they released that one year ago. he has an agent of the cuban regime before, during and after my father's assassination. in that moment, he was the commander of the u.s. south command. he was influencing u.s. top officials and access in the most sensitive intelligence information of this country. yesterday, my father would have turned 72. my mother filed this lawsuit against this cuban spy for the same reasons. looking for the same she has been asking since his assassination. she wants to know the truth. she wants justice. she wants to stop impunity of the cuban regime and the

collaborators. >> this guy, 40 years plus spying for the cuban regime. this is not something that happened in the early days of the cold war with east germany and west germany. this is something that's happening -- it's 90 miles away from the united states. this guy did this for more than 40 years. >> that's right. that's why this is not just about my family. this is not just about my father's assassination. this is also on behalf -- this is also on all the victims of those regime, all the families that have been victims of the cuban regime and its collaborators. the cuban regime is not supporting cigars. it's perpetrating a regime that

repress the cuban people and that is threatening peace and stability in the region. >> you did mention that your father would have turned 72 years old yesterday. so many dreams, so many possible advances cut short. what are you thinking when you are thinking of him today? >> my father dedicated his life to freedom and democracy. he fought not only for the cuban people, but he fought also against a regime that is undermining that same freedom, that same democracy in the rest of the region. i truly believe we, all cubans, we deserve to know the truth. we deserve to know what this ex-diplomat turned cuban regime

puppet did to support repression in my country. i truly believe that the american people deserve to know what this spy did to undermine america's national security. >> for more than 40 years. thank you so much for being with us this morning. very much appreciate your time. >> thank you so much. that wraps up thehour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. thank you for the privilege of your time. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," donald trump's legal trials. the former president in federal court in florida where his lawyers and the special counsel's seem are debating when his classified documents should begin. what could be a blockbuster afternoon inside a georgia courthouse. time for closing ats