right now on msnbc, reports on christmas day, intensifying military operations in israel. prime minister benjamin netanyahu vowing to continue fighting until victory over hamas despite growing calls to scale back.

what it means for the next phase of the war, plus the message from the pope about the war in the holy land. then, lost and found, putin's number one critic, alexei navalny located in an arctic prison, putting an end to the mystery of his whereabouts. and christmas in camp david, how president biden is spending the holiday, plus the first lady on how the white house decked the halls for the season. and finally, you may be dreaming of a white christmas, but you probably won't get it this year. just 1% of the nation is expected to see snowfall, so who will get that christmas wish? hello, it's 10:00 a.m. eastern, i'm jessica layton in new york city. we begin overseas in gaza where israel is intensifying its operations on the ground until

victory over hamas is reached. benjamin netanyahu saying it has no choice but to continue to fight. pope francis commenting on the war saying the message of jesus' birth, what is the latest inside gaza. >> reporter: let's start with the prime minister who has been visiting with troops in the northern part of gaza and telling them, and i'm reading from what he said here, the war continues until the end, until they are finished. no less than that. we're seeing that resolve today on the battlefield where things have intensified to the south. troops continue to look for command and control centers there, as well as the underground tunnel network. intense fighting, intense air strikes. at one point, we were told the idf has killed a senior hamas

leader in the region during an air strike. they have not identified who that may be. the hamas-run palestinian health ministry says that at least 70 were killed inside a refugee camp during one of those strikes. the idf says that they are right now investigating and reviewing reports of an incident. >> and jay, the w.h.o. said yesterday that it witnessed acute hunger inside gaza. we have heard reports of severe dehydration and people quite literally starving in the streets. how dire is the situation from what you're seeing? >> reporter: there are humanitarian agencies who told us they have never seen the scope of what is happening as far as starvation and dehydration inside of gaza. we know that at least a quarter of the population there, close to 600,000 are classified as starving right now. most eating less than one meal a day, and many going several days

without any food at all. drinking water terribly difficult to find at this point. and the lack of nutrition is leading to weakened immune systems and illness, spreading across gaza as well. for the first time since this war began, a lot of those who are working, the humanitarian workers on the ground are saying it's not only the bullets and bombs, but starvation that is killing people in gaza. >> food and water, basic human necessities that are lacking there. jay gray, thank you. let's now bring in msnbc military analyst colonel jack jacobs and former deputy assistant secretary of state, joel rubin. great to have you both with us this morning. israel is intensifying military operations. now the u.s. telling them to scale back the orientations. does this surprise you? >> no, it's important for israel that it gets rid of hamas, but this is not something that could be done over a very short period

of time. as we've discussed before, this is extremely difficult. there are civilians there. noncombatants have to be avoided. it's hard to go through urban terrain like this with all the rubble and eliminate hamas, and still maintain the capability to distinguish between combatants and non-combatants. this is labor intensive and time intensive, and it's not going to end soon. and then in the end what happens about administering the area, these are difficult questions that have no answers at the moment. and the positions of the -- both the combatants on the one hand, and observers on the other is not surprising at all, jessica. >> and joel, i want to go to you, what will the global response to these intensifies israeli military operations look like? >> well, jessica, the response right now is getting more intense. diplomatic end game is being

caught. many allies of israel as well are leaning in. egypt, for example, just put forward a proposal talking about not just a hostage release trade and short-term cease fire but actual big picture, post conflict questions about how to govern gaza, and they're working on that and have shared that. for israel they have to think about this that they're waging wars as if there's no peace. definitely important and crucial for their security. they need to wage peace as if there's no war. they need to start thinking about the end game. it's coming. the pressure is coming. we saw the biden team support israel and the u.n. the other day, and also support an international resolution calling on more humanitarian assistance. this is not going to be a never ending military operation for israel. there will need to be a day after and that pressure is rising as we speak. >> and we know that according to them, that day after doesn't come until, quote, victory over

hamas, and colonel, i want to go back to you. what does that victory even look like, and what in your estimation could possibly be the time line. >> well, it's a fair question. it's difficult to ascertain exactly what that means for israel, netanyahu in particular, it means the destruction of hamas. it's one of those things that's fleeting at best. it's interesting to recollect an observation by colin powell said many years ago, you break it, you fix it. once you own it, you then have to repair it. this costs money, it costs time. a drain on israel's economy. and it will require the assistance of the arab nations both physically, financially on the one hand, but also administratively on the other, who is going to administer these areas. the united states has suggested it should be the palestinian authority.

the palestinian authority is held in very poor repute by almost everybody, including those in gaza. so the end game is going to be a long time coming. first the destruction of hamas, but to prevent hamas from reoccurring, to administer the area to the benefit of everybody in the area is going to require a great deal of assistance from nation states who have up until now been sitting on the sidelines, jessica. >> and joel, netanyahu's wife, sarah, sent a letter to pope francis and other world leaders this weekend, and she's asking for their help in releasing the hostages held by hamas right now. where do those hostage negotiations stand right now, and what needs to happen in order for a pause to occur again? >> yeah, the hostage negotiations right now are really frozen, certainly as we discussed, egypt getting in the middle, looking for a way, meeting with the leaders of

hamas interlocketers. both integral to the previous hostage release. it is frozen, and sort of a dynamic where which hostages and what would be released. would it be the women first and children first, and what about the remaining men who are there. this is a major sticking point for israel, and i can't emphasize this enough that for israel, both on a military level, to be able to have an effective offensive against hamas, but also is very concerned about killing hostages underground, that's a hindrance and politically inside of israel, the pressure is high for prime minister netanyahu to find a way out. we have found a diplomatic deal, a secure release of hostages, that's the best way forward. the talks are frozen right now, and that's very concerning about whether or not we're going to

see their future released. without a doubt, their release is paramount for the israeli people and netanyahu making that appeal. it's not a surprise, looking for mediators who can bring it to an outcome that's crucial. >> and joel, i want to get your take on something that happened shortly before we came on the air this morning. a putin critic, alexei navalny has been located in an arctic prison. from you i want to know how was he off the grid for so long, and are you surprised where he's been found? >> where's alexei now, he's so afraid of alexei navalny, he's a strong leader for opposition voices inside russia but what he represents is the russian people do not like vladimir putin, and trying to hide navalny is putting a band-aid on a broken wound that keeps festering for

vladimir putin, and he's afraid of navalny, hiding him in siberia. cutting him off from the world, and he's still fearful of this one individual. it demonstrates the brittleness of putin's leadership, and representatives say he's physically fine. hopefully he'll get freedom soon, and truly be able to challenge vladimir putin and help the russian people get out from under this gulag regime they have in moscow. >> the band-aid on the open wound, i love that analogy. colonel jack jacobs, thank you so much. the birthplace of baby jesus. nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel is showing us how the safe holy place is handling the holiday this year as the region is plagued by war. >> reporter: the christian faithful believe a star guided the three wise men to bethlehem, carrying gifts of gold,

frankincense and mur for the newborn christ. this year, the wisemen would find the town closed. christmas celebrations are cancelled by the mayor and churches in solidarity with the 2.3 million people of gaza. in manger square, there's no tree nor lights. instead, a crest shows baby jesus in a destroyed building to represent the victims in gaza. bethlehem is in the west bank. the people here are palestinians. gaza is only 50 miles away. richard, a palestinian christian owns one of the biggest stores in bethlehem. >> a lot of your carvings are obvious scenes of the nativity scene. >> this is what represents bethlehem, where the story starts. >> reporter: he said he would normally see ten bus loads of visitors during the holiday

season. when's the last time you've seen any customers? >> on the 6th of october, the day before the war. and on the 7th up to today. it's zero business. >> reporter: at his home, we met his wife and daughters. no wreath or presents this year, 9-year-old sophia says the holiday isn't about toys anyway. >> we didn't even decorate anything because of the war and innocent people are dying, and i feel so bad for them. >> so no present for you? >> no. >> reporter: does that bother you? >> no. children in gaza, they don't get gifts or anything because of the war. >> reporter: at the heart of bethlehem is the church of the nativity, but pass through the door of humility now, and you'll find almost no one. we met reverend mmetri. >> do you have a christmas message for our viewers? >> my christmas message is jesus

was born to bring peace to this world, and the ball is in our court. we are all invited to be peacemakers, nice peace talkers. it's time for peacemaking. >> reporter: below the alter is the grotto, the spot where tradition says jesus was born. pilgrims can wait up to four hours for a glimpse of this. we were alone to witness the rituals that have continued uninterrupted. christmas isn't cancelled but no one is in the mood here for a celebration. not even for jesus' birthday. richard engel, nbc news, bethlehem. >> richard engel, thank you. when we're back in 60 seconds, how the president and first lady are celebrating christmas at camp david this

morning. plus, you may be dreaming of a white christmas. only a fraction of the country would see one. the latest on this disappointing december trend. and a little later, pressure is mounting for congress to strike a border deal. we'll check the pulse on capitol hill, can lawmakers get the deal done in early january. lots more to come this morning, so keep it right here on msnbc. . only on verizon. my frequent heartburn had me taking antacid after antacid all day long but with prilosec otc just one pill a day blocks heartburn for a full 24 hours. for one and done heartburn relief, prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. whenever you're hungry, there's a deal on the subway app. buy one footlong, get one 50% off in the subway app today. now that's a deal worth celebrating. man, what are you doing?! get it before it's gone on the subway app. ♪♪ liberty mutual customized my car insurance

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wonderland. what has been happening there and what is on the president's agenda today? >> reporter: good morning, it's a spectacular set up they do in the white house around the holidays. the theme that the first lady chose is magic, wonder and joy, and i got to tell you, i was in the east wing and was able to see the decorations that had been put up in there. it is this fantastical display of christmas themes, beautiful decorations. we know there are 30,000 ornaments in the white house this christmas. 98 christmas trees across the complex. 140,000 plus lights on all the different settings and trees and wreaths around the white house. 300 volunteers across the country, bringing the first lady's vision to life and creating this wonderland, as you said, inside the white house. as far as the first family goes and the president's plans, we know on saturday, the president left along with several family members. the first lady met them at camp david in the maryland mountains outside washington here. this is really the presidential

retreat. it's a private time for the president to spend the holiday with his family. we just saw the one image you see on the screen which was tweeted by the president, he and the first lady talking to the children where santa claus was going. we don't normally have a press corps that travels with the president when he goes to camp david. we won't likely see a lot of images there. we did hear the first lady talk about traditions the biden family has. she did several interviews with local tv stations. i want you to hear some of what she said. >> we have our own charlie brown tree. i put all the kids ornaments from when they were little, everything that they made i saved throughout the years. we do our own tree. that's the tree we will actually be doing at camp david. and joe mixes up snow with the hand mixer, and puts the tinsel on, and if we put it on

incorrectly, he won't let us put it on. everything has to be perfect. >> reporter: grandpa gets to direct what happens around the christmas tree. the president did tweet this morning, a simple, merry christmas, america. the one thing missing this morning across nearly every square mile of the midwest and northeast is snow. a white christmas is starting to feel like a thing of the past for many americans. we get that story from nbc meteorologist angie lassman. >> oh, the weather outside is not exactly what many were hoping for. >> just hoping for a white christmas. >> i would love to see a white christmas. >> my goodness, it's been a while. >> people on the east coast dreaming of a white christmas are disappointed again this year. there are no major snowstorms forecast for the holidays. some cities may be 30 to 40 degrees warmer than last christmas. chicago, cleveland, and columbus, ohio, have seen their

odds of a white christmas plummet to noaa. chicago has seen the chances drop from 41% to 34%, and cleveland's chances from 43% to 40%. this year, many of the locations used to a white christmas like the upper midwest, and great lakes are racking up warm temperatures rather than inches f snow. >> winters are not like when i was a kid back in the '70s. no blizzard of '78 or anything like that. >> reporter: 3.6 million people could get a christmas this year. that's 1% of the country. >> where is the snow? >> i don't know, what do i look like. al roker. >> reporter: some northern and mountain locations like the rockies, cascades and sierra may enjoy a picture perfect christmas day. for it will be more warm and wet than white. >> you sit there and hope and

white, and maybe there will be a few flurries coming down. >> angie lassman, thank you for that report. coming up, team trump's late night christmas eve legal filing. what it could mean for the future of jack smith's federal election interference case against the former president. you're watching msnbc. vapori. every day, more dog people are deciding it's time for a fresh approach to pet food. developed with vets. made from real meat and veggies. portioned for your dog. and delivered right to your door. it's smarter, healthier pet food.

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appealonhristmas eve, asking that court to toss special counsel jack smith's federal election interference case. his lawyers argue that, under our system of separated powers, the judicial branch cannot sit in judgment over a president's official acts. controversial.is not they also writ before any single prosecutor can ask a court to sit in judgment of the president's conduct, congress must have approved of it by impeaching and convincing that president. that did not happen here, president trump has absolute immunity. joining us to talk about this is former prosecutor and msnbc legal analyst, charles coleman. republican strategist, and msnbc political analyst, susan del percio, and democratic strategist, and former clinton adviser, guy l. smith. this move by trump's lawyers was not exactly unexpected but did anything jump out to you about this new filing?

>> one of the things that continues to puzzle me about trump's legal defense team in terms of the immunity argument is they aren't leaving room to craft that some things are subject to presidential immunity. and some are not. they are going for a home run, and trying to swing at the fences, all acts undertaken by a president while sitting in office are subject to presidential immunity, and i think that's a bad approach. they're not giving the court a modicum to have a compromise. they might be able to find some degree of success. they aren't doing that. they're going pretty much in a binary model, zero su it all goes. it's all immune. i don't think that's the appropriate way to attack this sort of problem or legal issue. >> i wonder if you were surprised that the supreme court did not agree to hear this case right now and does that give you any indication how the court will rule if and when it does

get that appeal? >> it doesn't surprise me. at the end of the day, what we're talking about is the supreme court doing things in the order they're supposed to be done. you have cases that are supposed to be heard on appeal by the u.s. court of appeals in whatever district or circuit that is. and that's why the courts exist. they exist for a reason. they exist because there's an order to things. they don't want to set the precedent of being able to bypass whatever the circuit court of appeals is and go to the supreme court, even in a case unprecedent, with an issue as hotly contested as these are. you have an order of things, and you don't want to break the precedent. there's nothing that stops the court of appeals from accelerating their review, and the supreme court accelerating its review and decision on the matter but to go out of order and skip over the entire circuit in the court of appeals would be unprecedented and in this case, as the supreme court decided, unwarranted. i want to turn to another

case we expect the supreme court to hear. colorado just handed trump a political gift by taking him off the primary ballot. in your new op-ed for msnbc.com, you write it's a political gift for president biden in the long run. how so? >> because trump supporters, the people that this court case will incite, if you will, are already with trump. they voted for trump in 2016. they voted for trump in 2020. and they're going to vote again for trump in 2024. what's happening now is that we're having a conversation about democracy. and that's what's on the line. even from what charles mentioned about the last case we discussed, donald trump thinks that no matter what he does when he is president, he is immune from. that's the language of a dictator. he said he's only going to be a dictator for one day. but according to him, he can be a dictator for a year.

that kind of messaging will definitely be appealing to those trump voters, especially the republicans and right leaning independents that supported biden in 2020. and maybe wanting to sit out this election. i think that belief in democracy and patriotism is enough to get them back to the polls. >> i want to ask you about this case as well. it's looking like it will likely end up in the u.s. supreme court. what will be the political fallout if the justices do side with colorado? >> well, i think they will, and all of these republican candidates saying, oh, this is a miscarriage of democracy for what the colorado court did. well, hello, the court system and the constitution were put in place by democracy. it is democracy in action. and i think they will rule to keep him off the ballot, and

what will happen is all the republicans that we've just been talking about will say, oh, it's terrible, it's terrible, and it will be off the ballot in a whole bunch of states and he'll lose. even if he's on the ballots, he'll lose because all of the republicans that are for trump, it's only half of the republicans, and all republicans are only 30% of the entire e lek -- electorate. the people supporting trump, that 17%. you can't win a national election with 17%. the media does not report the detail of the polls. all they do is say biden and trump. they're moving left of center, we saw it in the midterms. that's before you get to things like abortion where the republicans have their hats handed to them like ohio. so trump's going to lose no

matter what. >> susan, i want to go back to you. let's turn to the developments this past week in michigan. the detroit news reported new details about a 2020 phone call that was recorded of then president trump and rnc chair, ronna mcdaniel, pressuring two election officials not to certify the presidential election results in the state's largest county there. nbc news has not heard those recordings. do you think warning independents and republican voters about the threat trump poses to democracy will change any minds here? >> it's not that it will change so many minds, it's those undecideds who need to be motivated to vote. it's a common narrative now. it doesn't need to be hammered home every time. it just needs to be threaded through the fabric of the biden campaign, and have these

messages, this is what they do. ronna mcdaniel basically said we'll cover for you, we'll get you a lawyer. she knew something was wrong, and i'm pretty sure she'll probably be a witness in one case or another now. more importantly, this is what the republican party is putting forward and that narrative is something that can hopefully turn out owes republicans that slowed up for biden in 2020. >> charles coleman, susan del percio, and guy l. smith, thank you all for being here today. still to come, from alec murdaugh to the murders in idaho, we're taking a look back at crimes that shocked the nation, and the trials that captivated millions in 2023. plus, the latest on the christmas eve mall shooting in colorado that killed one person and injured two more. keep it right here. keep it right here there is a lot of information out there.

hamas slaughtered more than 1200 innocent people, holds innocent hostages, and raped countless innocent women. and now hamas is trying to hide sexual violence against women. they don't want those women to be able to talk about what happened to them stand with palestinians and israelis for basic human rights. stand for all women. the right age for neutrogena® retinol? that's whenever you want it to be. it has derm-proven retinol that targets vital cell turnover, evens skin tone, and smooths fine lines. with visible results in just one week. neutrogena® retinol

as the year comes to a close, we're looking back at the stories that made the biggest waves, and in 2023, america's mind was on major crimes from the trial of a notorious southern lawyer turned convicted family killer, and the mysterious murders of four university of idaho students in the middle of the night, to breakthroughs that solved cold cases. this year, crime stories have horrified and captivated america. date line's keith morrison has more. >> disturbing new details coming

to light in the alec murdaugh trial. >> the killings of four university of idaho students. >> rex heuermann accused of being the gilgo beach killer. >> every year across this great land, there are crimes that draw our attention, stories from which we can simply not look away. this year was no exception. in january, all eyes turned to a south carolina courtroom for one of the biggest trials in decades. once powerful attorney alec murdaugh stood accused of killing his wife and son. >> going to reach the inescapable conclusion that alec murdered maggie and paul, he was the storm. >> he didn't do it. >> the case hinged on one key piece of evidence, a cell phone video that proved alec lied about where he was when the murders took place. >> come here. >> alec himself took the stand for two days of riveting testimony. and admitted he hadn't told the truth about that night.

>> oh, what a tangled web we weave. but he said he was not a killer. >> are you a family annihilator? >> a family annihilator, did i shoot my wife and son? >> yes. >> no. >> do you think putting him on the stand hurt their case? >> i don't think it helped him. >> it took three hours for the jury to convict him. >> i sentence you to a term for the rest of your natural life. this year also brought us face to face with the man who police say committed acts of unspeakable horror in idaho. bryan kohberger has been charged with stabbing to death four college students in the middle of the night. >> the maximum penalty for this offense is death and/or imprisonment for life. do you understand. >> yes. >> victim katie goncalves heartbroken parents were there to watch him. >> if he'd indeed the person, i feel no mercy should be given to him. >> police say dna ties kohberger

to the murders, as does a car kohberger was seen driving here that was also captured on security video near the crime scene. >> all rise. >> the judge has entered a not guilty plea on kohberger's behalf. the victims' family and friends now wait for a jury to decide his fate. >> it hurts. they should still be here, you know. >> we wake up knowing that we have reached justice for natalie. >> 2023 saw the end of a near 20-year mystery. the disappearance of alabama team natalee holloway in aruba, the source of so much pain for her mother beth who spoke to "dateline." >> that's the daily torture. >> vandersloot, long suspected of killing natalie was extradited to the u.s. today, charged with trying to extort her family, and as part of a

plea deal, he agreed to confess. >> i'm actually with natalie walking along the beach. >> when she resisted his sexual advances, he hit her in the head with a cinder block. and then. i walk up to about my knees into the ocean and i push her off into the sea. >> it's been a very long and painful journey, but we finally got the answers we have been searching for for all of these years. >> rex, did you do it? >> another year's long saga took a stunning turn this summer. when police announced they had discovered the item of the long island serial killer. >> rex heuermann, i'm an architect, i'm an architectural consultant. >> police arrested 59-year-old father of two, rex heuermann outside his manhattan office. few who knew him could believe it. >> completely bone chilling. >> if this is true, he has lied to us. >> i mean, he was just a normal guy. >> in july, heuermann was charged with murdering three women along gilgo beach, and

police said he was strongly suspected of killing a fourth. he pleaded not guilty. >> a trial is still a long way off. are you confident that rex heuermann will spend the rest of his life behind bars? >> if you ask me, i'm sure he'll never see the light of day again. >> keith morrison "dateline," nbc. >> keith morrison, thank you and right now we're following a christmas eve mall shooting that killed one person in colorado last night. colorado springs police responded to report of gunfire at citadel mall moments before service scheduled to close. it started as a fistfight and escalated when the gunfire broke out. two people are recovering in the hospital, two are critically injured. police say it was not an active shooter situation, and right now there is no ongoing threat. still to come here, the surge of congressional retirements and departures happening ahead of the next session of congress. what it means for that electoral

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kids moving back in after college. ♪ finally we can eat. ♪ you know you make me wanna...♪ and then we looked around and said, wait a minute, this isn't even our stroller! (laughing) you live with your parents, but you own a house in the metaverse? mhm. cool...i don't get it. here's to getting financially ready for anything! and here's to being single and ready to mingle. who's ready to cha-cha?! ♪ yeah, yeah ♪ congress may be home for the holiday, but negotiations on a sweeping border and foreign aid deal for ukraine and israel continue. custom and border protection reports nearly a quarter million migrants crossing the u.s. southern border last month with expectations that december numbers could be even higher. joining me now to talk about this is nbc capitol hill

julie tsirkin and jackie alemany, good to have you both this morning. julie, i'll start with you. we know pressure has been mounting for congress to strike a border deal. is there any hope, optimism that they can land on something in early january? >> hey, merry christmas. they are still negotiating over this holiday break. they took some time off to celebrate the holiday, but i'm told the three senate negotiator from the republican, democrat, and independent side will get right back to work come wednesday in the hopes that they can strike some kind of framework to get all of the sticking points ironed out so they have a product when the senate comes back in early january, and then of course the republican-led house need to be able to accept whatever they've negotiated and that's one of the biggest issues here. they still are far apart on issues concerning parole. republicans want to limit or restrict entirely the administration's ability to unilaterally grant humanitarian parole to migrants from latin and south america, but also to

refugees from ukraine, afghanistan, other places experiencing war and hardship right now. that still remains a large gap between republicans and democrats, and this all comes as speaker mike johnson is pressuring democrats, pressuring the biden administration to go further in their direction. some of those provisions that his members might want are untenable from the democratic-led senate, untenable for progressive and hispanic lawmakers who have been putting pressure on the other side for the biden administration to not to aid to ukraine. foreign aid that needs to be unlocked only if immigration reform passes. so there is a lot on the line. not a lot of days left on the calendar to make it happen, jessica. >> jacqui, we know that 45 house members, and 23 democrats and 12 republicans have announced they are retiring or leaving the chamber to run for other offices. how does this play into the makeup of congress next year? does either party get an edge

from these movements? >> yeah, thank you. merry christmas. as we, know democrats just need five seats to regain control of the house in 2024. every retirement that we're hearing about is extremely crucial. every seat matters here, as republicans try to hang on to their very tenuous majority. so far there are 23 democrats and 12 republicans who have announced, in totality, that they are retiring or leaving the chamber. this is really big if you have been stalking the halls of congress this year and listening to complaints from both sides on how unproductive they've been the session. but the house republicans i think face an uphill battle as we're going to 2024. when they have largely struggle to fund the government going into 2024, this constant government shutdown that they've been kicking the can down the road. on now, are struggling, and having this interparty battle, over how much to fund our

global allies when it comes to some of the conflicts that were seen across the globe, from ukraine to israel, and gaza. again, as julie noted, to aid packages that congress have yet to approve because of the internal house republican fighting that has been raging on. it is only likely to continue as speaker johnson enters this new year. >> we know a major to do less when they get back in early january. this congress being called one of the least productive congresses in u.s. history. julie tsirkin and jackie alemany, thank you so much for joining us this morning. coming up after the break, inside the heartwarming effort to make sure kids with incarcerated parents can get gifts from their loved ones this holiday season. then, coming up a little later in our next hour, msnbc reports an early preview of the weather that could impact your holiday travel. how to avoid getting stuck out on those roads. you're watching msnbc reports. c reports.

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♪ i love you always, forever ♪ ♪ near and far, closer together ♪ ♪ everywhere i will be with you ♪ ♪ everything i will do for you ♪ ♪ i love you always, forever ♪ ♪ near and far, closer together ♪ ♪ everywhere ♪ ♪ i will be with you ♪ as families gather around their trees to unwrap gifts, there are one and a half million children across the country waking up with their parents behind bars. for those parents, christmas shopping can be restricted to the few items available in a prison commissary. nbc's shaquille brewster has a look inside the effort to ensure those christmas wishes can still come true. >> for ten-year-old bliss, it's

a good day. >> i'm so happy. >> a brand-new art set for christmas. >> i've never had this many paint colors. >> a gift from liz's dad who isn't there in person, but for, liz he's there in spirit. >> i can't believe that he remembered i like this. it's been so long. >> like hundreds of other children gathered for this angel tree christmas party in waterloo, iowa, liz and her brother jackson have a parent who's incarcerated. listen jackson's case, their father has been in prison for six years. there are estimated 1.5 million children in the u.s. who have a parent serving time. inmates with children typically struggle to give christmas presents, sometimes shopping for gifts at the prison commissary. >> we've seen parents that have held on to toothpaste, toothbrush's, hair combs. >> got it.

>> that's why angel tree was launched. operated by prison fellowship, it is a national holiday themed program that pairs prisoners who are parents with local volunteers who help fulfill their children's christmas wish lists. for many families, the program is a critical source of connection, and it often difficult time of the year. >> the kids need this. like they haven't seen their dad in a long time. >> pastor q is a co organizer of the annual angel tree party in waterloo. he knows firsthand what incarceration can do to a family. that 19 years old, he robbed the store, and was sentenced to seven years in prison. he left behind a girlfriend and a three year old daughter. pastor q says angel tree unable to him to stay connected with his daughter during the holidays. >> when a person goes to prison, in many ways the family goes to prison with them. there's a loss of income, stability. >> now plastic he was working to pay it forward. throwing the annual christmas party for hundreds who share the common bonds of

incarcerated loved one. it's a party with pancakes, face painting, and an opportunity for kids to write notes to their incarcerated parents. florence -- their grandfather is serving a 50 year sentence. now she's working to raise eight grandchildren and she's grateful that angel tree helps lighten the load of sourcing christmas gifts. >> angel tree is the best to give gifts to your loved ones. >> gathered for christmas, the families are reminded, they're not alone. for moment, they get to be ahead. they're not just a kid without a parent in the house. there are a kid who has received to present from their parent. >> shaquille brewster, nbc news. >> shock brewster, thank you. we have a lot to cover in our second hour of msnbc reports. this morning. let's get right to it.