joining me tonight, and national security and law enforcement reporter at the washington post, jeff bennett, and leeann caldwell. welcome to you all. thanks so much for being here. dublin, i went to start with you. seditious conspiracy is not a charge we hear often but it is the most serious charge related to january 6 so far. what do you know about why the department of justice brought the specific charges against these specific people more than one year after the attack? >> we know this is a question that justice department prosecutors have been wrestling with for at least nine months. when you look at the law, it makes it illegal to conspire to take down the u.s. government, to act to try to prevent the enforcement or execution of u.s. laws. it is in some ways good description of what happened on january 6 but it is so rarely used because lawmakers and prosecutors are afraid it could be over used or abused if it became a regular thing, and the judges are not big fans either. here they finally decided to go for it in large part because their understanding of what the oath keepers did that

jeff bennett has the report. jeff: election workers in texas report hundreds of applications for mail in ballots are being rejected. one of the early effects of the state's new republican-backed voting law, requiring either a partial social security number or a driver's license number on their ballot applications. that number has to match what is on their original voter registration. the problem is most people do not remember what form of id they initially provided, especially older voters who registered decades ago that is not the only thing causing confusion, says jessica, and editorial director. ssica: people are not used to filling out the forms and they fill them out incorrectly and then there is a problem where the voter role in texas is missing some information from voters. if they write down the incorrect number that is missing by accident, or because they don't know which one or it is missing, their registration will be automatically rejected. jeff: the problem that could have been prevented. guest: the

but this is a smart targeted surgical whether. >> jeff bennett, good to see you back on our air. let's talk a little bit about what the committee knows. again, these invitations, these letters of. invitation to give you some of the story. we know that the national archives have started passing material to the january six committee. we don't know with that materially is or what they have so far. but the information that the january six committee already has. where do you think this puts us in its work? >> i will tell you this. looking through that letter, we certainly know that ivanka trump figures prominently in other people's testimony. we also know the speaking to the trump sitting in the dining room. doing nothing but and folding it on television. we knew the remarks from the former white house press secretary. saying that president trump sat before that big flat screen. gleefully winding parts of live tv coverage. i was particularly struck by ivanka trump's statement. in the letter from the committee making no mention of the rally happening on the ellipse. before donald trump

. >> joining me now, jeff bennett, chief washington correspondent for for pbs "newshour" and an nbc political contributor and an admired friend. jeff, what do we expect to hear from the president in atlanta this week? >> it's great to be with you, jose. to put this moment into context, democrats in the white house and democrats on capitol hill are using the mlk day holiday next week to propel this push for national voting rights legislation. so this will actually the second major speech that president biden has delivered on voting rights, following that speech he gave this past summer in philadelphia. and at the time, he described it as the most significant test of our democracy since the civil war. since that time, though, there have been critics of his, supporters of his, but who have criticized him for saying that, you know, the way that he has sort of messaged and even acted on this issue of voting rights hasn't been consistent and commensurate with this existential threat, as he dribs describes it. basically, they say, the walk has not matched the aggressive talk. all of that is supposed

well let's ask our sunday night panel with us now, jeff bennett, the washington chief and washington correspondent for pbs news hour. he's also an msnbc political contributor. he's brown, a communist and editor for msnbc daily. and the ceo of the new georgia project. great to have all three of you with us, he's, i'll begin with you. how do you see this week playing out for democrats? is there any hope, political hope for chuck schumer to pull this off? >> i mean, it was just one of the two. it wasn't just rome asked jim or kyrsten sinema. there's more leverage that chuck schumer and the rest of the democrats could possibly have against them. but given that it's two of them, given that they're so far apart in policy on everything but the filibuster. until this point, they've been trying to pass the build back better act, the giant piece of legislation that is supposed to be the cornerstone of president biden's economic agenda. but that sideline, that turn to voting rights, given how far apart sinema and manchin are on that, bill they will need their vote if they are appeared to bring

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 th

david, i know you two were listening, watching jeff bennett's report. what do you make of what's happened in texas and the aftermath of their tightening of election laws? >> i think it's really important to send election clerks to jail for six months. that part of the bill strikes me as completely crazy. the overall principle of the thing that you should voter i.d. in person or by mail, that doesn't strike me as crazy, that strikes me as something 80% of americans support, it strikes me as something that happens in countries all around in the world, germany, france, israel, democracies all around the world have voter i.d. last summer, there were 2 million registered voters who did not have the proper numbers on the voter roles, so when they sent in their applications for mail it came back rejected and, so, that's just bureaucratic incompetence, something i think they're trying to fix. but the question is is this suppression, which we've just heard answered twice, and given the law about the clerks, you would have to think some nefarious motive is going

jeff bennett has a remembrance. >> reporter: sydnee portcc transformed black characters portrayed on screen indicating the first black actor to win an academy award for best lead performance. for more on his life i am joined by jaclyn stewart, the chief artistic and programming officer for the new academy museum of motion pictures in l.a. she's a professor of film and media studies at the university of chicago. the host of silent sunday nights on turner classic movies. it's great to have you. >> sidney poirier was dignified and regal and elegant. before we talk about his cinematic legacy help us understand his journey to stardom. he was born in the bahamas before moving to harlem and facing the hardscrabble life of an actor. >> you really did struggle to become an actor. it wasn't something obvious given his impoverished background in the bahamas. it is gratifying to see the ways he took all those hardships he faced working odd jobs in new york trying to find a way he would receive his professional vision. it's a miraculous story at the level of how he entered the theater and then be

bennett. everybody, welcome. ken, justice breyer said he is going to step down as soon as a successor is named. what can you tell us about the shoes that joe biden is trying to fill with his next appointment? >> size 15 jumbo intellectual shoes, katy. what a civics lesson we got. i saw a poll today that only a fifth of americans were aware about justice breyer enough to have a tribute to him. at the same time, referencing civil war from the gettysburg address, a little bit of a warning. and so, look, he's a force, right? i mean 27 years on the bench. more than 40 as a jurist. was a centrist pragmatist. it is exciing what comes next. the american public will get the chance to see -- to look at the records of and examine the personalities of some very interesting people. one of the people mentioned who is a d.c. appeals court judge right now, a former public defender. i don't think that's ever happened before on the supreme court. jerry michelle childs in south carolina went to the university of

. >> all right, hayes, brown, jeff bennett, thank you so much for joining us this evening, appreciate it. >>> oathkeepers charged with seditious conspiracy, why this is so significant to the january 6 investigation next. but first, richard louie here with the headlines. >>> some of the stories this hour, breaking news update on the texas synagog investigation, senior law enforcement official telling msnbc new two teenagers detained in south manchester in england, sons of malik fazel achram, fbi identified as gunman for the hostage situation. according to this official, suspect was in touch with his sons at some point during the situation on saturday. >>> officials in japan and south korea warning at least one suspected ballistic missile launched from north korea this weekend, this evening rather. fourth rocket volley since the start of january, north korea ramping up tests of new potentially nuclear capable missiles to overwhelm missile defenses in the region. and a tsunami threat following massive volcano eruption on saturday, begun to recede, erupted near the nation of tonga creatin

judy: jeff bennett reporting on this news conference today. thanks very much. geoff: sure. ♪ judy: -- stephanie: i am stephanie sy with newshour west. we will return to the full program after the latest headlines. the biden administration is making 400 million n95 masks available to the public for free starting next week. today's announcement said they'll be available at pharmacies and community health centers. and, new mexico became the first to ask national guard troops to serve as substitute teachers to keep schools open. u.s. supreme court justices sonia sotomayor and neil gorsuch are denying a reported rift over wearing a mask. today, in a rare statement, they said, quote, it is false. while we may sometimes disagree about the law, we are warm colleagues and friends. the justices specifically denied that soda mayor, a diabetic, -- sotomayor, a diabetic, gorsuch to mask up. npr reported that she joined oral arguments remotely because gorsuch was not masked. npr said it stands by its story democrats in the u.s. senate pushed again this evening for voting r

the newshour's jeff bennett begins our coverage. >> president biden and justice stephen breyer together at the white house today to announce priors retirement from the supreme court. >> were here today to express the nation's gratitude to justice stephen breyer for his remarkable career in public service. geoff: breyer served more than 27 years on the nation's highest court, a career he called challenging and meaningful in a letter informing the president of his intent to retire at the end of the court's term. >>t's a kind of miracle when you sit ere and see all of those people in front of you, people that are so different in what they think. and yet they have decided to help solve their major differences under law. geoff: the announcement gives president biden an opportunity to deliver on a key campaign promise nominating an african , american woman to the supreme court. pres. biden: while i have been studying candidates' backgrounds and writings, i have made no decision, except one. the person i will nominate will be someone of extraordinary qualifications, character, experience, and

i want to report -- i want to relate this report from jeff bennett of nbc treating about retiring supreme court justice stephen breyer. the president and justice breyer are said to appear at the white house today as you notice his retirement. a source confirming that. we will keep you updated on that coverage. we will go first to lake orion, michigan. go ahead with your comments. caller: i understand the gentleman is a warrior and knows his war. it is amazing that when reagan agreed to staff the push port eastern europe, he agreed with all of that. this gentleman probably gets a big check or pension from some defense fund. what we have to do is have a constant cold war to suck the money out of the taxpayer so we cannot do anything at home for the betterment of the american people. all of papers i read say ukraine is bankrupt. putin does not want ukraine, putin is faced with the cuban missile crisis 2020 to -- missile crisis 2022. we are putting stuff on his border and threatening him and he would expect him to respond like putin putting missiles in mexico and canada. host: thank you for t

so, hello, jeff, let's talk about what the president had to say. what kind of assessment is he giving himself? >> well, the president, judy, in talking about the past year said that it has been one of challenges but, as he put it, one of enormous progress, the president citing the pace of covid vaccinations, rising wages, also an uptick in job growth. but he said in assessing the administration's setbacks of his first year in office that he failed to fully grasp the level of republican pushback he would encounter. take a look at this. >> i did not anticipate that there would be such a stalwart effort to make sure that the most important thing was that president biden didn't get anything done. think about this-- what are republicans for? what are they for? name me one thing they're for? and so, the problem here is that, i think what's happened, what i have to do is a change of tactic, if you will. i have to make clear to the american people, what we are for. we pass a lot! we pass a lot of things, that people don't even understand what's all in it,