♪♪ good to be with you. i'm katy tur and welcome back to the 1990s when the two most dominant news generas in los angeles, celebrity and crime, collided to make one super story. the brutal murder of nicole brown simpson and ron goldman. and the main suspect, o.j. simpson, a man who embodied the promise of los angeles, everybody knew him. he was a heisman trophy winner at usc, nfl hero, and hollywood superstar. so beloved people would cheer him when he walked into restaurants. but all of that changed in 1994. starting with the bizarre slow speed pursuit. o.j. in the backseat of a white bronco, allegedly holding a gun to his head, followed by a parade of lapd cop cars and a helicopter capturing it all from the sky. from there, what became known as the trial of the century, an

11-month spectacle that pitted o.j.'s highly paid all star legal team, johnny cochran and the famous, if it don't fit, you must acquit line, against a floundering team of city prosecutors and a tarnished lapd. happening just two years after the l.a. riots and the acquittal of a group of white officers who were caught on camera beating up rodney king, he made a lasting if not so flattering impact on the city, the legal system and the news business. o.j. simpson dead today at the age of 76. joining us now, nbc news senior investigative legal correspondent cynthia mcfadden. she covered the trial. long time columnist for the los angeles time, pat morrison, she covered l.a. during the time and the civil trial, and cofounder of los angeles news service and one of the journalists who followed the bronco from the

sky, marieka, who also happens to be my mom. why does this loom so large? >> part of it is people who were alive at the time participated. 95 million people watched television, watched that bronco case, and then because lance decided cameras were allowed in the courtroom, everyone got to play along. people followed the trial. people would discuss the testimony of the day at dinner. it became embedded in the culture, and i think in addition to celebrity and crime, you can add money and power and race in that courtroom, and i think we still feel the legacy of all of it today. >> what is o.j.'s legacy? >> you know, it's so hard in so many ways because the beginning of his life was that of a greek god. he rose from poverty. >> it was a cinderella story. >> yeah, and cinderella didn't turn out so well. i've said over the day-to-day,

being acquitted is not the same thing as being free. o.j. simpson was never free after that verdict. and his life spiralled downhill afterwards. >> it did change him fundamentally. it changed los angeles. mom, you covered it from the sky. talk to me about what it was like to have these two story lines collide, cynthia will say it's three or four, but you covered celebrity, you covered crime, then all of a sudden happening right in front of your eyes is o.j. simpson, leading the lapd on a slow speed pursuit? >> it was surreal is the best i can put it. like you said, it was the collision of both a crime story and a celebrity story, which had really never happened before, and we were right there on top of it. and we had the eyes basically of the world on us at that time. it was amazing. >> when you looked out and, again, you were hanging out of a

helicopter, looking through a view finder watching. you guys were the first one to find o.j. on the slow speed pursuit, what struck you as you were witnessing this? >> what struck me at the beginning was just that it was happening at all, that it was such a slow pursuit. we didn't really know what was going to happen, and then when so many people got, there was enough time for so many people to know what was happening and to go to overpasses and to drive by and scream go o.j., and it became such a spectacle. it was, as i said, it was surreal. >> and you didn't quite know what was going to happen. to bring us back to that moment, i mean, you guys were covering car chases almost on a daily basis, and they usually ended in pretty dramatic ways? >> exactly. we were really concerned, would he speed up, would he crash, and at one point they said he had a gun to his head, so we didn't know what was going on inside

the car. at one point, we flew down to about 70 feet and i tried to get a look in the window of the car with the long lens on the camera, but the windows were tinted and you really continue see inside. so we didn't know. all we knew is what we were hearing from the traffic between people calling from the car into various other friends and neighbors. >> and, mom, i was struck by something i heard you talk about today that i didn't really realize. i didn't realize that the tension, the turmoil between o.j. and nicole brown simpson wasn't public. what was it like for the public to find out that o.j. was the suspect in this, again, very brutal murder? >> that's right. unlike today, the lapd, police in general would not report domestic violence as long as the victim didn't want to report. and we had found out because we knew people in lapd and that district that the lapd had been to o.j.'s house numerous times

with domestic disturbance calls, and they had even moved both nicole and his former ex-wife out of the house temporarily, but it never made the news, and as far as the rest of the public knew, he was the o.j. that you saw in the hertz commercials, and he was just a celebrity and a really nice guy. and i think it was a real shock to everyone that how could someone that had that reputation be accused of something so horrendous. >> pat, cynthia was saying, 95 million people watched that car chase. so many more watched the trial. everybody had an opinion of it, everybody in los angeles had an opinion of it, talk to me about how it took over the city. >> well, we lived that. cynthia mentioned greek god, i think greek tragedy was the overlay there because this brought into question everything that was going on in the city at the time. as you noted two years before, we had the rodney king riots which were triggered by the

acquittal of lapd officers in the beating of rodney king. and so what went around came around in a way. the evidence was not compelling for a lot of people in the o.j. simpson case, but at the same time, there was a sense of payback. you learn so much about los angeles. where was the trial going to be. was it going to be on the west side where o.j. and his rich celebrity friends lived? was it going to be downtown in the grittier, more mixed urban part of los angeles, who was going to be on the jury, and every night, if you went to dinner, you came home, the first question is what happened today? and you knew because you watched it. it was wall paper on television, all day, every day. >> for more than a year. >> to put it starkly, was the jury going to be white or black, and what was that going to mean? >> exactly. those choices made by the district attorney's office had a great deal perhaps in governing what the outcome of the trial was. and subsequently, as you remember, we had the civil trial where more evidence turned up and o.j. was found liable for

these murders and fined more than $30 million for killing nicole and ron, and the questions of domestic abuse, as your mother says, was really off the books and the cops called o.j. simpson juice. they knew him, they knew his house. he may have done some fundraisers, and all of a sudden this was the man they were supposed to arrest, and so the reputation of the lapd, which had taken a beating literally two years before, was now on the line again, and this time it wasn't going to happen again. >> yeah, let's talk about the trial itself, cynthia. there was a few bomb shell moments. i mean, there was obviously johnny cochran with the glove, but there were the moments where on cross-examination, one of the lapd officers, investigators was found to have very frequently used a pretty bad racial slur. >> right. and that became explosive in the courtroom for obvious reasons. there was a tape of some of the things, this is mark fuhrman you're referring to, one of the

investigators and they had a tape, and lance eto's wife, she was mentioned and it became a side show. the judge couldn't rule on the tape, and would the jury hear it. the reason this thing took, it was eight months of trial, two months of jury selection. the reason it took so long is there were a lot of things that the jury never knew anything about that were happening as the sort of side show of all of it. and, yeah, there were certainly -- >> it changed the legal system. him allowing cameras in the courtroom changed things. >> it did. and, you know, listen, there were enormous pressures brought to bear on everyone in that courtroom, of course. >> everybody came out of there changed. everybody involved in the o.j. saga, in one way or another changed. some of them, not for the better. in some ways, i'm a believer of cameras in the courtroom, it's a public trial, and i think it's important that the public get to see. yet i would be hard pressed to

say that in this particular trial, the way the participants behaved was definitely changed by the camera. people were playing to the camera. the defense did a better job of that than the prosecution. >> let's talk about, mom, the way it changed the media. what was this like? what was the news business like before the o.j. chase and the o.j. trial, and what was it like after? >> well, right off the bat, when we first started covering pursuits, it was very unusual to break into programming to show a pursuit, and of course now it's done all the time. and also we had a difference between network tv and local tv. and the pursuit started during the local tv program, and it went to the network, and they actually moved over to the network, and also everybody watched pretty much the same thing. they all watched either abc, cbs or nbc, maybe cnn, but there wasn't a lot of places to get

your news and it was an event that everybody watched at the same time, so between that and then the trial of course was just insane, the amount of coverage that they had, and how it became the only thing anybody was watching, it seemed like, at least in los angeles, anyway. >> and really, juiced the 24 hours news cycle, juiced reality tv as news, making news somewhat more entertaining. >> it spawned an entire -- we have had several docuseries around it as well. >> you can argue a straight line from the o.j. case to the way we cover the trump campaign. i've made that argument a few times in a few of my books. one last question, this one for you, pat, i think what's striking here is the way o.j. died. he died at the age of 76 from cancer, surrounded by family, very unlike the way that ron goldman and nicole brown simpson died. >> the contrast could not be more marked. and through the rest of his

life, o.j. had somewhere in his mind how his obituary would read, would it be heisman trophy winner? would it be television and movie actor, or would it be this, a man who was acquitted of, found liable for the murders of his ex-wife and a friend of theirs. i think that's what you're seeing right now. this is a split screen life that o.j. lived and for all the people who watched and for all the people who lived through it, both of those aspects are unforgettable. >> there was also a custody battle after it, and whether the children, his children with nicole brown simpson could stay with him after he was accused of murder, or whether they would go to the nicole brown simpson family. i just want to read the goldman family statement on o.j.'s death today. they write, the only thing i have to say is it's just further reminder of ron being gone all these years. it's no great loss to the world. it's a further reminder of ron's

being gone. >> ladies, thank you very much. coming up, what's happening right now in one deep red state that could further limit access to abortion. and to further complicate the 2024 election for republicans. what we just learned about donald trump's upcoming hush money trial, and who we could see on the stand. we've got a potential witness list. >> and what federal prosecutors just announced about the case against shohei ohtani's interpreter, accused of stealing $16 million and placing thousands of bets. $16 million and placing thousands of bets. my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis held me back... now with skyrizi, i'm all in with clearer skin. ♪ things are getting clearer...♪ ( ♪♪ ) ♪ i feel free... ♪ ♪ to bear my skin, yeah that's all me. ♪ ♪ nothing is everything ♪ ( ♪♪) with skyrizi, 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months.

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. donald trump is trying to have it all on abortion, taking credit for overturning roe v. wade, but then saying it was never really about abortion but states rights. d now he's saying the state of arizona is wrong when it came to its abortion ruling and that 1860s law banning abortions. that makes it clear the former president is worried abortion is a political loser for republicans and potentially his presidential campaign, and it's not just what's happening in arizona, as we will get to more in a moment because it was fiery yesterday. it's also what's happening in iowa, where the state of iowa is debating a heart beat bill. joining us now, nbc news correspondent shaq brewster. explain what's happening in iowa?

>> reporter: these arguments are happening as we speak, katy, in front of the state supreme court, and it's over that fetal heart beat bill as it's called, and whether or not it could be enacted. you have different arguments taking pace. planned parenthood is essentially asking the state supreme court to slow down. they're saying that the district court simply put a pause on this six-week abortion ban so it can review the merits, and they're asking the state supreme court to send it back to the district court. meanwhile, the iowa state government essentially is arguing that this law should be enacted and that the court should get out of the way, and let the state enact it. what does this law do. it was passed in july 2023, you see it bans abortion after cardiac activity is detected. that's usually about six weeks of pregnancy and before many women know they are pregnant. it does include exceptions for rape, incest, fetal abnormalities or if a mother's life is at risk, but you have doctors and abortion providers in the state saying that those

exceptions are not all they're cracked up to be. essentially they're saying many doctors because of how the law is written wouldn't know when they're able to step in to protect a woman's life. if this law is enforced and you have it there on your screen right now, it will be another state in this region to see abortion rights and access restricted since the overturning of roe. that's definitely a point that has been made not just in front of the court but also outside of the court where you have many demonstrators saying that they want this law to be continually blocked. >> shaquille brewster, what's it going to do in the state of iowa in this presidential election. the uproar on the house floor in arizona, where gop leaders blocked attempts to block out the civil war era abortion ban. what it means for 2024 and for women in arizona as people out there figure out what in the world is going on. a lot of contrary story lines. don't go anywhere. y lines. don't gony awhere. dims my light like a migraine.

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i move that we recess immediately. >> you've heard the secondary motion. i heard a second. >> second. . >> all in favor of that motion vote aye. all opposed vote no. ayes have it. >> shame on you. shame on you. shame on you. hold the vote.

hold the vote. hold the vote. >> hold the vote, they're arguing. arizona's house floor got ugly last night as democratic lawmakers chanted shame, shame, shame, when republicans stone walled two attempts to repeal the state's civil war ban on almost all abortions. nbc's correspondent dana griffin has the details. >> reporter: arizona republican lawmakers were successful at stopping a special rule that could have potentially banned this 1864 law. lawmakers will likely try again starting on wednesday, when they are back in session. this issue is galvanizing people in arizona saying they are going to take the fight all the way to the november election. there is now an effort to get signatures so that an initiative will make it on the ballot, which will codify reproductive rights and the access to abortions here in the state. right now, this ban has not gone into effect because it takes

about 60 days. right now, the lower courts are dealing with the potential challenges to this rule before it actually goes into law. that would ban nearly all abortions in the state of arizona, except if it were to affect the life of the mother. that could take effect in about 60 days, when it comes to november. we have spoken to so many people who say this is galvanizing them. they are now in a position to make their voices heard, and they want this to end up on the november ballot to where they can protect reproductive right s and the right to have an abortion in the state. we have talked to so many people, some say the state supreme court got the decision right. others say they want to amend the constitution so that this does not reflect 1864 but 2024. back to you. >> a lot has changed in the past 120 years. more than that, actually. 160 years.

joining us now, nbc news who's correspondent, monica alba, and author of "dollars for life," mary ziegler. ladies, thank you. i want to play a little bit from arizona voters, women, who are talking about this ruling. let's listen. >> i can't imagine women who are going to be in situations and can't get the care they need. >> i'm 69, so we got a lot of rights during my lifetime. the government tried to step in and change things too. the 1800s is on the surface ridiculous, but it's very hurtful to a lot of people. >> yeah, i mean, the state wasn't a state back then, and there was a grand total in the population of 9,000 people at best, potentially just 6,000 people. monica, the white house is obviously using abortion as a major campaign issue. what are they saying about this? >> reporter: exactly, katy.

they view abortion as the issue that will be the most mobilizing and the most motivating for voters in november, and that's because of what they've seen from special elections, special ballot measures, the 2022 midterm elections, and you see the reaction to something like what happened on tuesday with the civil war era ruling, the biden campaign says that all of that is confirmed. this is really a moment where they want to seize on this anger from people about how could you revert to something like this, and they want to really capitalize on it, and that is why you saw them on monday after former president trump put out a video with his own changing and evolving abortion stance, they responded to that quickly. tuesday, the abortion ruling came down, and now they are announcing a seven-figure ad buy in arizona that is going to targ women, young voters, and latino voters in the state. the president in the new ad that you're seeing play on the screen

specifically frames this as an issue of losing your freedoms and if donald trump is reelected, what other freedoms will he come after. that's a question the president poses before vowing, i will fight like hell to get your freedom back. this is really an instance, katy, where there have been a lot of really key moments in the post dobbs era. this is the time where i think over the course of the last week or so, the biden campaign has acted the fastest in terms of trying to jump in on this and go on offense, and that's why you're going to see the vice president in a political campaign event in tucson where she is expected to really go after donald trump and brand him as responsible for overturning roe v. wade, which he often takes credit for all on his own. >> monica alba, thank you very much, sounds like there's a protest in lafayette square right below you. thank you very much again. mary, let's talk about the ramifications here. biden saying that donald trump and the republicans are putting women's lives at risk.

it might sound like hyperbole, but what we keep hearing is that when doctors don't have a clear idea of what it means when a woman's life is at risk, they push it up to the very edge, when a woman's life is actually in severe danger or when it's in danger of making it so she can't have kids again. when we're talking about arizona, it would seem like a pretty easy decision to roll back this outrage for the republican legislature, a republican legislature, by the way, which already put in a -- i think it's a fifteen week ban, we're going to leave the ban in place, repeal the civil war era ban. what's going on? >> i think arizona, it's also worth remembering, passed a personhood law in 2021, the most sweeping in the nation. so arizona republicans have, i think, a debt or feel they have a debt to the antiabortion movement, and reverting to a

15-week ban quite simply for antiabortion voters isn't good enough. i think you see arizona republicans sort of between a rock and a hard place. they're deathly afraid of alienating these base voters, where their position is deeply unpopular and potentially -- >> the a.g. said she's not going to prosecute. what if there's a new a.g. in a few years. what would the statute of limitations be, could they be held accountable for the abortion six years, seven years from now if there's a new a.g.? >> there are statutes of limitations that are more than a few years. county prosecutors could pursue charges under the law even if the state a.g. is not going to. it's worth emphasizing

physicians have spent decades training to become doctors, and getting their medical licenses. there is no medical language that's easy for physicians to parse. i don't think the state a.g.'s promise is going to be enough. we have also seen that these laws have had knock on effects for other people seeking obstetric and gynecological care. a lot of physicians don't want to be faced with the question of treating a patient with a very serious medical condition, and going to jail, right, and so many of them don't work in those states anymore. one of the most clear examples being idaho, which is one of the few states that will have a law as extreme as enforced in arizona. >> donald trump is very wishy

washy on this, at least he's trying to be. he's taking credit for installing the justices who overturned roe v. wade. there was a big promise during the campaign. he said he was going to do it, and he did do it. and he's taken credit saying it's a beautiful thing that they were able to stop abortions from happening. but then he's also now trying to claim that this was never about abortion. this was about states rights. he's trying to have all sides of the issue. what does that tell you? >> it tells you that he knows his position is potentially unpopular. we also have this sort of weird kind of two campaigns that are happening where you have former trump officials saying trump is going to revive another civil war era law, and treat that as a ban, trump saying he's for states rights and not answering if he's going to use the come stock act or not. voters are left with no answers about what he's going to do. i don't know what he's going to do. he could use the comstock act or not. even the possibility is

something voters will have to consider when they go to the polls in november. >> mary ziegler, thank you very much for joining us. and who could be taking the stand in donald trump's hush money trial, and what it might mean for donald trump's case? we have the witness list next. . . ♪ things are looking up, i've got symptom relief. ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me. ♪ ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ feel significant symptom relief at 4 weeks with skyrizi, including less abdominal pain and fewer bowel movements. skyrizi is the first il-23 inhibitor that can deliver remission and visibly improve damage of the intestinal lining. and the majority of people experienced long-lasting remission at one year. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to. liver problems may occur in crohn's disease. ♪ now's the time to ask your gastroenterologist

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donald trump's hush money trial begins on monday, and nbc has obtained a list of potential witnesses, including hope hick asks stormy daniels, david

pecker, and karen mcdougal, and maybe even donald trump himself. nbc news national correspondent yasmin vossoughian walks us through what led donald trump to this courtroom and what to expect on monday. >> reporter: on august 21st, 2018, michael cohen, donald trump's former fixer pled guilty to eight counts in manhattan federal court. cohen alleged in a court of law donald trump directed him to make illegal payments to influence the 2016 election. >> he worked to pay money to silence two women who had information that he believed would be detrimental to the 2016 campaign. >> reporter: those two women, adult film star stormy daniels and playboy play mate karen mcdougal were at the center of hush money payments by michael cohen, ahead of the 2016 election. >> women and more women like me matter. >> reporter: cohen paid $130,000 to stormy daniels and karen mcdougal got $150,000 from the

"national enquirer," a deal trump's fixer cohen said he orchestrated himself on behalf of donald trump and the trump organization. donald trump and the organization deny those allegations. >> do you know about the $130,000 payment to stormy daniels? >> reporter: manhattan district attorney cy vance began investigating those payments. he eventually subpoenaed eight years of trump's tax returns. the fight went all the way to the supreme court before cy vance got the documents in 2021. the manhattan district attorney now is in possession of former president donald trump's tax returns. >> reporter: they turned their attention to allen weisselberg. >> this guy is the ultimate service provider. he has been working for the trump family for decades. if you crack the service providers, you can crack the case. >> reporter: and when weisselberg refused to testify against the former president, prosecutors announced charges against the trump organization and the cfo. they both plead not guilty.

>> 15 counts for a range of charges from larceny to tax evasion to falsifying records. it shows the d.a. here meant business during this multiyear probe. >> reporter: in january of 2022, a new manhattan d.a., alvin bragg is sworn in, with speculation over whether he will pursue charges. but on april 7th, 2022, he releases a statement saying in part, the investigation continues. in august of 2022, allen weisselberg pleas guilty and agrees to testify against the trump organization, and four months later, the trump organization is convicted, found guilty of tax fraud, and eventually alvin bragg calls a new grand jury. >> we finally got answers on the political, financial, legal, moral, public corruption scandal. >> reporter: and in march of 2023, trump posts on truth social of an imminent arrest. and while the arrest on that day did not happen, on march 30th, 2023, mr. trump was indicted on

34 counts. days later, in a manhattan courthouse, he was arraigned. he's pled not guilty. >> charging a former president of the united states for the first time in history on a basis that every single pundit and legal analyst said there is no case. there's no case. >> reporter: joining us now, nbc news national correspondent yasmin vossoughian. so, yasmin, quite a lot to get here. >> four to six weeks we're looking at for this trial. donald trump is going to be in court every single day. we cannot overstate the historic nature, the presumptive nominee of the republican party, the former president of the united states in a criminal trial. it is incredible to think about. the thing that i'm going to be watching, and i'll be interested to see what lisa has to say as well, because i know you have her coming up next. michael cohen, the star witness from the prosecution. do you remember the judgment from judge engoron, when it came

down, we were reading through the judgment, right, and he talked about the credibility of michael cohen. he addressed that specifically in that judgment. i'm wondering if this jury thinkings the same thing about michael cohen. >> he said just because you've been caught in a lie once, doesn't mean you can't tell the truth in other situations. >> exactly. >> yasmin vossoughian, thank you very much. joining us as promised, msnbc legal correspondent, lisa rubin, i want to talk about the witness list. who do we have on it? any surprises? >> i mean, i think the biggest surprise is not a surprise necessarily to someone like me who has been following the trial closely, it's madeline wester house, trump's personal secretary in the white house for two years, and then she left, somewhat unceremoniously, after having an off the record dinner with reporters where she got a little bit too talkative about trump's relationships with his daughters. she left not of her own volition. why is she in this trial, that centers upon the hush money

payments to stormy daniels. it's theoretically because she put paperwork in front of donald trump that has to do with the cover up and the crime here. >> what sort of paperwork? >> it could be checks, e-mails, documentation, of for example the legal invoices that are among those things alleged to be the false business documents here at the heart of the felony charges. we're not sure exactly what it is. i'll remind you in october of 2017, one of the checks to michael cohen to reimburse him for the payments was signed by one donald j. trump. in october of 2017, as you well know, donald trump was in the white house. so where was he when he signed that check, and who put it in front of him? i don't think he whipped out a checkbook from his back pocket when you're sitting in the back office. is she the witness that's going to put that all together? maybe. >> let me ask you about stormy daniels, the trump team is trying to take a hit at her credibility, saying she's not a victim in this. does it matter whether she's a victim in this?

is that what's at heart of d.a. bragg's charges? >> whether or not the relations between stormy daniels and donald trump were con sen chul -- consensual. what's really at issue here is did they pay her? were they concerned about what story she could tell, not whether the relationship, in fact, happened, but did they pay her, and then did they essentially use business documents to cover up what was an illegally campaign contribution. >> the trial starts on monday, we're going to start with jury selection, that should take a little time at least. donald trump is trying to argue immunity. that was shut down by judge merchan. >> he's not trying to argue immunity in the same way as judge chutkan's case. because he was president, when he issued communications, tweets from the white house, those are official acts and therefore, including them among the

evidence is precluded by presidential immunity. >> what about signing a check while president, does that make him immune in his mind? >> not clear. not part of what he argued in the motion papers from what i remember. could that be part of their argument? it sure could be. >> lisa rubin, thank you very much, and coming up, what hamas is saying today that could put cease fire negotiations on the line. egotiations on the ne (tony hawk) skating for over 45 years has taken a toll on my body. i take qunol turmeric because it helps with healthy joints and inflammation support. why qunol? it has superior absorption compared to regular turmeric. qunol. the brand i trust. but st. jude has gotten us through it. st. jude is hope for every child diagnosed with cancer because the research is being shared all over the world. (bobby) my store and my design business? we're exploding. but my old internet, was not letting me run the show. so, we switched to verizon business internet. they have business grade internet, nationwide.

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tells "the new york times" they do not have enough living hostages who met the criteria for a cease fire deal with israel. hamas says some of those hostages are quote, under the rubble with our people. as negotiations remain deadlocked, fears of a wider regional war are growing. iran is vowing to quote, punish israel for the strike on the consulate in syria. president biden says the united states will give israel ironclad support in the face of iran. joining us now, nbc news international correspondent hala gorani. what's israeli saying publicly about the hostages? >> reporter: well, katy, from the beginning, really, the israeli government has said they want all of their hostages out, and that is a pre-condition for any cease fire. as you mentioned, there are reports in the "new york times" and elsewhere that hamas simply might not have the number of hostages required to meet the terms of this deal, to meet the terms of what would be a humanitarian release. now, there could be many reasons

for that. obviously it is an active war zone, lots of devastation across the gaza strip, and hamas operatives having to move farther and farther south. some of the hostages are elderly. they may have required medicine. they may have been ill. we really don't have answers as to what exactly might have happened to some of the remaining hostages. over 130 of those who were taken on october 7th still inside the territory, dead or alive. and this is, of course, complicating matters. what's also complicating matters,ing matters is that the israeli military killed three of the sons of the political leader of hamas. this is not something that's going to make any negotiation with hamas representatives any easier at this stage. >> what's it like with the threat of iran looming in the threat of israel? >> reporter: the threat of iran,

it's a war of words so far. thankfully, i'm sure that's coming as some relief to the people in the region, but there was that attack on the consular building in the syrian capital in damascus killing two top commanders. iran is vowing retaliation. intelligence officials are telling nbc that the targets are likely to be intelligence targets or military targets ask not civilian targets, but israel is saying if you strike our territory, we'll strike your territory. that would in some way have to involve an american response. president biden was clear and said if iran attacks israel, our support is ironclad. it would be an open question as to how the u.s. would respond. it would turn it into a big worrying regional conflict. >> thank you very much. coming up next, a major update in the investigation into

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visit xfinitymobile.com to learn more. doc? what first seemed like a betting scandal sounds now like a tale of betrayal. federal prosecutors announced today that the interpreter for the los angeles dodgers player shohei ohtani is being charged with bank fraud. he's accused of stealing $16 million from ohtani by lying to the bank and impersonating ohtani while placing thousands of sports bets. joining us now is investigative reporter mike smith is. it's good to have you. i think there were a lot of questions swirling as this happened about what ohtani knew about these bets. because initially, there was an exla nation from the interpreter that ohtani was well aware of

what he was doing. >> yeah. from the beginning here, there's been these questions. is this a betting scandal, or is it a story of betrayal? and what we have today is an almost 40-page criminal complaint that shows that the interpreterer over a four-year period of time basically used the money coming in from ohtani's salary as a baseball player to fund his gambling, placing millions and millions and millions of dollars in bets and not being a very successful gambler at that. what the u.s. attorney said today and what the question in sports has been is what did ohtani know about this? what involvement did he have? and what we learned from the u.s. attorney today that they say to the best of their knowledge, ohtani had no idea that this was going on. ohtani himself was not betting. ohtani is truly the victim here

this this case. in terms of the other important sports questions, the u.s. attorney said that the interpreter, to the best of their knowledge, had not gambled on baseball. that would be another major question here because if there were accusations that someone who was in the dugout was betting on baseball, it calls into question what information they had, how were they using it, and what were they doing. so for baseball, this is a huge sigh of relief. for ohtani, it's an incredible story of betrayal, where an interpreter essentially took advantage of the fact that ohtani, that he let this man into his life. the interpreter had access to his checking account and did this. >> they don't want another pete rose. the reason this is such a giant story is not only are they gambling or was he gambling on baseball, but it had to do with

the highest paid player in baseball, perhaps the star of the entire league. all of the hopes and dreams of the dodgers are resting on the shoulders of shohei ohtani. explin the significance of this story within that relatement. >> i actually think it's even bigger than that. baseball has thought to be relevant as football has become dominant in this country. ohtani is a game changer for baseball because he's a star at a level that they may not have had since maybe babe ruth. people follow him and are interested if him in a way that they are not in other baseball stars. so this is not just the best player in baseball or the best player on the dodgers. this is someone that gives baseball cultural relevance to the point that in a story of betrayal, we're here talking about it on cable television. and while this was a very scary thing for baseball because it did raise the prospect of another pete rose-like

situation, ultimately, the fact that shohei ohtani is so popular and has done something in being a pitcher and hitter that fans have never seen before has elevated baseball to a place they have always wanted to be. baseball would never admit it. maybe as much as i'm saying here, but football is just so dominant. er they are always playing catch up to football. >> but he's a global superstar, a global superstar in a way that a lot of baseball players are not. also, he has such a private life. there's so little to know about him. much of what's going on in thiz head, what he's doing off the field is somewhat of a mystery. "deadline: white house" starts right now. hi, everyone. it's 4:00