good morning, everybody. i'm yasmin vossoughian with you for the second hour. cond state to decide that , the donald trump is ineligible to apar on the 2024 ballot. will it last? and could other states soon follow? israeli forces saying, quote, they failed in its mission, when they accidentally shot and killed three hostages held in gaza. the damning new report, what it could mean for the war and the efforts to free the remaining hostages. and later on, i'm going to speak to the mayor of denver about the migrant crisis, thousands of immigrants sheltering in the mile high city after being sent from texas. the new calls from democratic mayors for the federal government to do more. hi, everybody. good to see you. we're continuing to follow the decision in maine that will have major implications for the 2024 election and the supreme court.

maine secretary of state shannon bellows deciding to remove former president donald trump from the primary ballot there. bellows, addressing the decision last night on msnbc. >> i was duty bound to follow maine law, to ensure that candidates, all the candidates who appear on the primary ballot are qualified for the office they seek. >> but across the country, california secretary of state deciding to keep trump on the official ballot and in oregon, a decision in a similar case is expected soon as well. want to bring in nbc news justice reporter ryan reilly and former assistant d.a. catherine christian, also an msnbc legal analyst. ryan, start things off for us, if you will, we got colorado, michigan, potential oregon, heard from california, maine as well.

parse through california along with maine, what broke overnight. >> yes, i think that with maine the main difference is between the colorado case, the colorado case is something that was decided by justices, right, by the supreme court itself, where as this was a decision made by a figure who was appointed by political figures. this is a little bit of a different sort of scenario and i think the pushback on that is probably going to be a bit stronger than it was even to the colorado supreme court decision where they're making a decision based upon, you know, the -- based upon a judicial filing, this is a situation where you have a figure making this decision on her own. all this is going to make its way to the supreme court and this is where it is ultimately going to put pressure on the court to make calls on a lot of these cases. it is going to highlight the issue continually going into the 2024 campaign and republican candidates will be i think forced more to address some of the actual conduct that donald trump committed that day, where as right now they sort of have

been able to avoid a lot of the january 6th talk and the inconvenient truth of what happened that day. so, i think this could end up being a lot of pressure on those -- on the figures to talk more about this because it is going to be this constant news subject and close looks and continuing ongoing news coverage of what actually happened on >> catherine, let me read for you part of the decision from the secretary of state. she said i do not reach this nclusion lightly. i am mdf that no secretary of state has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on section 3 of the 14th amendment. i am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection. my duty under maine's election laws when presented with a section 336 challenge is to ensure that candidates who appear on the ballot are qualified for the office they seek. react to this for me specifically along with what it

opens her up to, especially as ryan was speaking to, secretary of state deciding this on her own as he put it, when it comes to the appeal. >> well, it is -- ryan is correct. colorado, it was the supreme court of colorado. they made the decision, a group of justices. michigan, it was a court process. in maine, it is just one person who is appointed. but, that's maine law. in maine, voters can petition to remove someone from the ballot. they did so here. and the secretary of state is empowered to do what she did. so, you can argue should she have removed him, should she have said no, i'm empowered, but i'm going to let the courts decide that, but she was following maine law. that's the process in maine, which is why it is so imperative that the united states supreme court weigh in. you will have chaos if the republicans choose donald trump to be their nominee, that, you

know, some states have him on the ballot, some states do not. so the united states supreme court will weigh in. this is what they're there for. this is a constitutional issue. interpreting what section 3 of the 14th amendment means when it talks about disqualifying people who have engaged in insurrection from office. does the president -- is that the office? you also have the president's defenders, whose lawyers who have said correctly that 91 felony counts in four different jurisdictions, the former president has been charged with, not one has been insurrection. but on the other hand, section 3 of the 14th amendment doesn't say you need to be charged with or convicted of it. so, the supreme court has to weigh in and provide some clarity here for the whole country. >> so, scotus has to weigh in. the question is when. right 5th, super tuesday, a lot of decisions have to be made. are they going to weigh in during the primary calendar? are they going to weigh in before the general election?

how do you see this playing out? >> well, remember, the maine and the colorado orders are on hold because of the appellate process. so, this is going into effect immediately. there is already, you know, appeals in colorado. the voters who brought the action, the gop, president trump -- former president trump's defense attorneys, attorneys have said they are going to appeal the maine. i do foresee because march 5th is around the corner that the supreme court will weigh in as one by one the states come back with their decisions, either court decision or secretary of state. they will weigh in. they have the ability to do so. this is something they can't punt. they have to. this is about democracy and who will be on the ballot and who will not be. and this is a constitutional issue. this is what they do. >> ryan, five days to appeal this decision. we know in colorado the republican party in colorado appealed the decision there.

what are we hearing from trump camp when it comes to these appeals? >> they have gone on the attack against this individual already. i say the thing we have seen in the colorado case is that there is a flood of threats against those justices after that decision was made. and you have to wonder if that's going to be the same thing in maine. i would suspect that it will be because she is sort of out there now and this is a target that, you know, donald trump has -- the trump campaign has put on her over the decision. so, i mean, this is -- when you see this time and time again, whenever donald trump faces a legal setback, there are threats against the individuals he blames for that and individuals he says are responsible for that. so, when he attacks these individuals, that's what you expect to see. we see in the jack smith case, that went up, talking about the gag order on trump, and the appellate court there, they talked about this pattern that happens. every time there is a setback for donald trump politically, you end up with a lot of threats flooding into the people he's going after.

i would expect to see that eventually here. >> ryan reilly, thank you. catherine christian, thank you as well. happy early new year's to you both. new york's times square, party preparations, they are under way and there is a lot to be done before the countdown. the city is expecting a million people to watch the ball drop, setting up crowd with street closures. and this new year's comes with added security as they prepare for possible demonstrations over the israel-hamas war. antonia hylton is in times square for us to talk more about this. they got double duty to say the least. they're going to have to be dealing with times square revelers there to celebrate the new year and possible obviously demonstrators there in protest of the israel-hamas war. how are things looking? how are they preparing? >> reporter: hey, yasmin. well, all of what you described there is right. and revelers who are planning to take part in the festivities in new york city, they should be

prepared to see a larger than usual police presence and security perimeter that stretches for several avenues here in the heart of new york city. and that's all in an effort to keep that crowd of about a million people safe given all of the challenges that are facing this city and all of the other major cities frankly around the country making similar preparations right now. that's because there are two issues, two factors at hand here. the first is the likelihood of protests as you mentioned. already since october 7th, new york city has seen hundreds of protests in connection with the war. just days ago on christmas, six protesters were arrested in front of rockefeller center. officials think it is very likely that some kind of action is going to be taking place here, given the number of people here and the opportunity to have your message, your voice heard, right? and then there is a second distinct more frightening frankly threat, which is the possibility of lone actor violence. that's something the fbi and dhs have been warning about. that for anyone who may have

been here in new york city or been watching the news around this time last year, three officers were attacked by a man with a machete in times square last year. so, it is that kind of lone actor potentially extremist violence that has police officers here in new york city concerned. it is sort of those two forces, potential disruption that comes with protests and potential violence that has them adding all this added layer of security. but, the important thing to know, there is no confirmed or credible threat right now. so there is a different thing between knowing or thinking a threat is imminently going to happen and the idea that we're generally seeing a heightened threat level. if you're planning to be here, know the party is going to continue as planned. >> the party always continues, antonia, as you well know in new york city. with that, i know they were trying out some confetti earlier, testing the confetti that falls when the ball drops. i think we have -- look at that. so you can be in times square,

really feeling the confetti as we welcome 2024, which antonio just felt i'm sure during the testing period. thank you, my friend. happy early new year's to you. coming up next, everybody, the israeli military acknowledging it caused unintended harm to civilians this week in gaza. what that admission means as israel faces growing pressure to scale back its ground campaign. nikki haley in damage control mode after she initially failed to say slavery caused the civil war. is her cleanup working? we're back in 60 seconds. is her cleanup working we're back in 60 seconds (mom) a better plan to save is verizon! (vo) that's right! plans start at $25 per line guaranteed for 3 years. only on verizon. ♪ students... students of any age, from anywhere. students in a new kind of classroom. ♪ using our technology to power different ways of learning.

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people have been killed in gaza. the death toll continuing to rise as israel carries out new strikes including in rafah where people are seen searching through the rubble of a house that was hit in an israeli strike earlier today. the u.n. saying within the last few days, around 100,000 people in gaza have fled south to rafah, as israeli forces push deeper into central gaza. want to bring in josh lederman from tel aviv to talk us through more on what we're hearing from on the ground there. josh, if you will, walk us through it, what happened there in the last 24 or so? >> reporter: well, yasmin, it has been pretty rare in the course of this war for the israeli military to admit mistakes in the way it executed this war. but over the last 24 hours, we have heard from israel acknowledging fault on several points. both in terms of that friendly fire incident you mentioned, three hostages that were shot earlier this month by israeli troops with investigation concluding the shooting should not have taken place. and that those deaths could have

been prevented, but also israel's military acknowledging that in an air strike on christmas eve on the central gaza al maghazi refugee camp, that civilians were likely killed. the military saying they were targeting hamas, but that an investigation concluded that they also struck with their fighter jets nearby buildings where civilians were, the military saying they regret that, they're trying to learn lessons from it. but it comes as we are learning that one of those hostages believed to be in the gaza strip, 7-year-old ju 70-year-ol weinstein is dead. she was killed in the terror attacks and brought to gaza as a hostage. the prime minister here, benjamin netanyahu, has been trying to reassure the families of these hostages that he is on top of this, he's still working to get -- bring them home, holding a meeting with them last night, where he said, look, we're in talks, via the egyptians and the qataris, these

talks are ongoing, but he would not give any details about it. but the prime minister also meeting with his war cabinet last night for a meeting i was told by an israeli official was going to focus on what is going to come the day after hamas. it turns out a large part of the agenda for that meeting has been postponed instead until tuesday, when there will be a wider cabinet meeting, really setting the stage for that visit that we are reporting that secretary of state antony blinken will be paying to israel in the coming week or so. the fifth visit he paid to israel since the war began. putting pressure on israel to explain what it sees for gaza after the war and making sure israel is not planning any kind of a long-term occupation, yasmin. >> josh lederman, thank you. a lot to digest there, appreciate it. want to bring in admiral james stavridis, nbc news chief international correspondent. good to talk to youagain.

we spoke earlier today. i want to tal about this "ne york times" report first. and the admission from the idf. let me read for you from the military saying and i quote a preliminary investigation revealed that additional buildings near the targets were also hit which likely caused unintended harm to additional uninvolved civilians. when you vicinity national community, when you have the united states, when you have actors, allies, urging you to move from this phase of this war, where 20,000 plus according to the health ministry have died at the hands of israeli strikes, two more targeted strikes, is this yet more evidence that now is the time? >> 100% correct. and many of us have been pushing our israeli colleagues very, very hard publicly, privately. i think it really is the moment

when the administration, our administration needs to go very public. i think that you'll see secretary of state blinken do that. he's been there once, twice, three times, four times. this is the fifth time with the same message the israelis have got to move away from these wide area bombing runs and get into far more precision-guided strikes using drones, targeted ammunitions, and above all, using their own foot soldiers. that's the most precise thing on a battlefield. israel has to begin immediately to move in this direction. it is way past time. >> when i speak with representative spokespeople for the idf, when i speak to people close to netanyahu, advisers to netanyahu, they always argue over the numbers. they always argue over the numbers that we're getting from

za health ministry, which i understand. but i want to read for you from "the new york times" this. experts say that even a conservative reading of the casualty figures reported from gaza shows that the pace of death during israel's campaign has few precedents in this century. admiral, you've been at war. hearing that, what does that mean to you? >> it means that these are unintended and i believe that by the israelis, but they are unacceptable. and in addition to whatever the correct number is of collateral damage deaths from bombing campaigns, you and i both know looking at the footage of these massive population moves, millions of people on foot, out of fuel, no transportation,

walking up and down the gaza strip. it is simply not acceptable. so, israel has to, as we talked about, go to this targeted approach, they need to go after these tunnels, they can do that in a very targeted fashion. they can't simply bomb their way to victory here. and i continue to advocate this strongly. i know the administration is and i say this as someone who worked with the israelis for decades, spent four years with military to military leadership, while i was supreme allied commander of nato, this must stop. and i think over the next couple of weeks you're going to see the israelis dial it back. that's way too late for so many of the palestinians. >> admiral, i got a big question for you to finish it all off. it is what to do with iran. you got iran feeding hamas, you got iran feeding hezbollah, you got iran feeding the houthis, 22

attacks since october 19th, iran feeding rebels in syria as well. that's the center, right, that's the crux of what is happening. >> absolutely correct. and i think that light is going on particularly as these attacks against not only u.s. military forces, i mean, missiles raining down on our destroyers at sea, on our troops, we still have a thousand troops, thousands of troops in iraq and in syria. iran is also disrupting global commerce and i think going after their proxies is going to be insufficient. but that's certainly step one. we need to be more aggressive in responding to these attacks, i start with the houthi bases, along the north arabian sea and the indian ocean. if that doesn't get iran's attention, we are going to

ultimately need to be very direct with iran militarily. i don't think we're there yet. no one wants to see this widen into a regional war. but if iran does not pull back, on all of the fronts you describe, the u.s. is going to get pulled into this. we need to avoid that if at all possible. >> admiral james stavridis, thank you. coming up, denver mayor mike johnston calls on the biden administration to do more as migrants are bussed to cities around the country. he'll join me next. bussed to c around the country he'll join me next (mom) a better plan to save is verizon! (vo) that's right! plans start at $25 per line guaranteed for 3 years. only on verizon. there's challenges, and i love overcoming challenges. ♪ when better money habits® content first started coming out, it expanded what i could do for special olympics athletes with developmental needs.

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all right, this morning we're getting a fresh look at the mounting cracks in our immigration system. new numbers from syracuse university showing the amount of pending u.s. immigration cases reached its highest number ever. over 3 million that have not yet been resolved. it is coming as democratic mayors are sounding the alarm calling for more federal assistance as the number of migrants bussed from the border state of texas keeps growing. the mayor of denver announcing new restrictions on when those buses can arrive. want to bring in now denver mayor mike johnston. thank you for joining us on this. appreciate it. >> thank you so much for having me. >> can you give me first a sense of what's happening in your city? >> yeah, right now denver is ground zero for america's migrant crisis. we are the single largest

recipient city of migrants of any city per capita right now. on a night like tonight, we have more than 4200 migrants in shelter around the city and county of denver. we're working hard to help them be successful, but i think we're seeing this as a clear example of a system that doesn't work. what is frustrating is we know there is a way to make this system work and we think with action from the congress there is actually a quick and successful resolution to make sure the cou is successful and we don't have the humanitarian crisis we have rinow. >> let me read for you a statement from the white house on this, released earlier today. sinc beginning of the nistration, the biden admisttion, dhs, fema, have provided communities supporting recently arrived noncitizens throughout the nation with more than $1illi in grant funding through the emergency food and shelter program, and we continue to collaborate directly with chicago, denver and new york city as they work toelcome recently arrived migrants. and we continue to urge congress

to approve our supplemental request, establish lasting and sustainable solutions to fix our broken immigration system and they go on a little bit more. have you had collaboration with the federal government on this? >> we have had a lot of collaboration with white house and with the biden administration and they have taken some very important steps that have made this much easier for us. very courageous step they took to allow venezuelans who arrived before july 31st to get work authorization. they're pushing for the right set of solutions in the federal supplemental budget. we need congress to act. that's where it is stuck. that federal supplemental includes the resources our cities need. it includes the resources that would allow us to increase the speed of adjudicating these asylum claims. the backlog often means people might have to wait three or four years for an asylum case to be heard. we have asked them to and they proposed the capacity to resolve those cases in 30 days if they can get more judges at the

border to do that. i think they're pushing in the right direction. we need more work authorization, more federal support, and we need a plan for coordinated entry of arrivals to make sure they're successful in our cities. the administration understands that. we only need congress to act to make sure this takes place. >> how would the money be used on the ground day to day in denver? >> yeah, for us, first about shelter, about getting folks when they first arrived into hotels or shelter sites, around feeding them, helping them get access to the legal support they need for work authorization. it is about applying for housing and finding housing, securing housing, first month rent or a deposit. but it is about feeding, about housing, and about staffing to support them in a successful transition. and the great news is we know this works. we know how to do it. we welcome more than 35,000 migrants to denver and 97, 98% of them successfully found housing and work. the challenge is the numbers increase, and those folks come without work authorization, it

becomes harder and harder. we think if we have work authorize, we have federal dollars, we have a coordinated entry plan this is a really solvable problem. >> mayor mike johnston, thank you. appreciate it. coming up, claire fight her comments. nikki haley address the backlash over her civil war remarks. is it enough? the political fallout over trump's removal from the ballot in maine. you're watching msnbc. s removal in maine you're watching msnbc. it works after your detergent to fight deep odors 3 times better than detergent alone. i love that. try new tide fabric rinse. (dad) it's our phone bill... i lovwe pay for things that we don't need. (mom) that's a bit dramatic. (dad) we must tighten our belts! (mom) a better plan to save is verizon! (vo) that's right! plans start at $25 per line guaranteed for 3 years. only on verizon. new emergen-c crystals pop and fizz when you throw them back. and who doesn't love a good throwback? [sfx: video game]

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we're following breaking news out of ohio, the state's republican governor has just vetoed a bill that would have restricted both transition-related care for minors and transgender girls participation on schools sports teams. prior to the veto, the governor saying this, we're dealing with children who are going through a challenging time, families that are going through a challenging time, i want the best i can to get it right. the republican-controlled ohio general assembly can override the veto, but need a three-fifths majority to do so. let's talk about the presidential race this morning. republican presidential candidate nikki haley was in new hampshire as she tries to clean up after failing to mention slavery when asked about the civil war. after intense backlash, haley was -- has since acknowledged slavery was a cause of the civil war, but that exchange with an iowa voter opened up her campaign to criticism from the rest of the field. want to bring in now ashley

etienne, former communications director for kamala harris and matthew dowd, an msnbc contributor. ashley, i'll start with you. nikki haley is continuing to walk back her comments. she says, of course i knew slavery started the civil war, of course i knew that. do you think that is enough what she is doing? and do you think it is going to make a dent in her support? >> no, i don't think it is enough. what this exposes in my opinion is her lack of moral clarity. the fact that even in any of her responses i haven't heard her say slavery was immoral and reprehensible. and she's trying to serve all masters, running scared of the maga base, she's trying to make all sides happy and that's actually impossible here. so, i think, you know, for nikki haley, this is going to be a

problem for her, the reality is people wanted to distinguish her from donald trump and it is that lack of clarity on where she stands that has people continuing to ask who is nikki haley and is she the best alternative to donald trump? >> it is interesting you say that. matthew, chris christie essentially saying, listen, nikki haley is not done. former president criticizing her saying she is not a smart person, he says she's a smart person. but what she failed to do here is not do the right thing because she is worried about losing, for instance, the maga trump vote. she's worried about not being able to gain, i should say, the maga trump vote and what about the independent voter, right? is she losing kind of any glimpses of getting something like that by saying this? >> i actually think chris christie is right and i would add she lacks the courage to say what the truth is. that's what it fundamentally is about. i think she has put herself in this position where she can't be

authentic, she doesn't feel she can be authentic to herself, and she comes from south carolina. and she went through the confederate flag controversy. and south carolina was the first state to secede from the union and one of the founding members of the confedconfederacy. she knows the history of all that. because white supremacists occupy a huge part of the republican base, especially in places like south carolina, not necessarily in new hampshire, she gets herself in this bind where she can't be authentic an she doesn't want to be awe thent authentic to herself, she doesn't want to offend anybody. one, i think as was previously said, it affects the republican base because they look at her, she's not being authentic, she can't be strong enough, she's not courageous. even if they might agree with her, they will look at her differently. and 40 or 45% of the votes in the republican primary in new hampshire will be independent and this does nothing to help it.

it is the only way even though i think it is a lottery number possibility, it is the only possibility she has to appeal to a huge chunk of those. she put herself in a double-edged bind and she will dwindle support as it moves forward among those independents. >> i want to switch gears while i have you. i want to talk, if we can, about what has taken place overnight, the breaking news when it came to the former president being moved from the ballot in maine by the secretary of state there, but kept on the ballot in california. i'll go to you first. we're hearing about california, we heard about michigan, colorado, maine. when you think about this, the uncertainty as we head into the primary season calendar, how much is this going to play into that uncertainty, right, where people know where they stand. >> yeah, i mean, i think, you know there is a lot of unanswered questions and you've pointed out many of them, but here is the thing i applaud those states. this is a test of our democracy.

whether or not that document, the constitution means anything to us as a nation any longer. and it is very clear that if you attack the nation, via insurrection, you're unfit to run the country. so the only recourse in this matter is through the courts. a applaud those states. the other good thing for the democratic party is it continues -- this effort continues to remind the american public of the damage donald trump has done to the country and puts a spotlight on his continued threat to the nation. he's on trial for the most egregious crimes against the nation, trying to steal an election and insinuating an insurrection. so, really the choices before the gop primary voters, will thin to allow donald trump to make a mockery of our democracy or stand up for the constitution and put the constitution ahead of the president? but i applaud the states. the dam feels like it is going to break. donald trump is no goliath.

it is going to take a lot of effort, a lot of rocks thrown at him to take him down. and i think this is one of those efforts. >> so, matthew there are a lot of trump critics that worry this will boost his support. we saw his support boosted after the first indictment, the second indictment, the third, the fourth, imagining, wondering if this is going to do the same. where are you on this? >> i think you -- wherever the political result shouldn't influence what doing the right thing in whatever context you are. whatever the political result. i think the political result is going to be donald trump is going to be bolstered by this as we saw in the indictments, as we have seen anytime donald trump is attacked or criticized, the gop base solidifies around him. my hope in all of this is that the u.s. supreme court steps in and brings this clarity in all of this because i don't think it serves anybody's purposes as all in this for donald trump to use this as a bat to bash people and

say i'm being offended, i'm being offended. i hope soon the supreme court steps in and provides clarity for what the 14th amendment means and how to then enforce what the 14th amendment means. >> matthew dowd, ashley etienne, thank you, both. happy early new year to you both as well. a campaign slogan for a candidate in north carolina is clear eyes, full heart, can't win. so why is she running? the point she's trying to make about our elections next. you're watching msnbc. to make about our elections next you're watching msnbc. (mom) a better plan to save is verizon! (vo) that's right! plans start at $25 per line guaranteed for 3 years. only on verizon.

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welcome back. recently redrawn district maps in north carolina are not only spurring lawsuits from voting activists, but also inspiring long shot candidates to get in the race, even if just to remind voters about the importance to participate in elections. gary grumbach joins with us more. give us your new reporting on the democrat that is reportedly running but not expecting to win in a deep red trump district. >> north carolina, like many other states, lets its legislature redraw district lines based on the population changes. but right now republicans control both chambers of the state's general assembly and the state's supreme court. and political experts are saying the lines were drawn this year in a more partisan advantage republican way than in years prior. we're seeing this impact on all levels.

three democratic members of congress from north carolina have already said they will not run for re-election. but, of course, all politics is local. and that's where kate barr comes in. she's a democrat running for state senate. a few months ago, a safe blue district in a davidson area north of charlotte. now it is very likely to end up in republican hands because of the newly drawn lines. barr's campaign slogan is clear eyes, full heart, can't win. and she's asking people not to donate to her campaign. she's doing this all to make a point about gerrymandering. >> when there is only one name on the ballot, then basically that representative doesn't have to come home and make the case to keep their job. so, now at least my opponent has to come home and tell us why she deserves to stay in office. >> so what if you win? >> i love that hypothetical, oh, so, much and i wish i could represent this district. it won't happen. >> it is not just partisan

gerrymandering. last week the north carolina nap filed a lawsuit accusing republicans of racial gerrymandering say the effect of the actions is to inequiably reduce the electoral influence of the black voters in north carolina in violation of the voting rights act and the united states constitution. and while the suit won't change the map in 2024, the hope for new maps to be drawn before the 2026 midterms. nbc news reached out to the republicans named in the lawsuit, with no response. >> gary grumbach, thank you. check out more of gary's reporting later on today at 4:00 p.m. eastern on "meet the press" now. next, a look back at the stars we lost this year. you're watching msnbc. stars we lost this year. you're watching msnbc. . once alexandra called me to let me know that bank of america had approved my loan... it was important to me. we not only just provide the financing piece, we do everything that we can to surround them with the right people.

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join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. welcome back. before we go, i want to take a moment to look back on the people that we lost in 2023. this year, we said good-bye do

groundbreaking names in politics and sports, in hollywood, and in the music world. here are just a few. ♪ good times ♪ ♪ this is it ♪ ♪♪ ♪ those were the days ♪ ♪♪ ♪ shining star ♪ ♪ no matter who you are ♪ ♪ shining bright to see ♪ ♪ what you could truly be ♪ >> my name is don shaft. freeze! ♪♪ ♪ shining star ♪ ♪ no matter who you are ♪ ♪ shining bright to see ♪ ♪ what you could truly be ♪

>> that was fun. >> you want to marry me? >> yeah. ♪ climbed board the dream-weaver train ♪ ♪ dream weaver ♪ ♪ i believe you can get me through the night ♪ ♪ dream weaver ♪ >> you know what a loser is? a real loser is somebody that is so afraid of not winning, they don't even try. ♪ you know you make me want to shout ♪ ♪ shout ♪ ♪ shout is not ♪♪ don't forget to say you will ♪

♪ say you will ♪ ♪ say you will ♪ ♪♪ ♪ say that you love me ♪ ♪ say that you need me ♪ ♪ say that you want me ♪ ♪ come on now ♪ ♪ come on now ♪ ♪ come on now ♪ ♪ come on now ♪ ♪ come on now ♪ ♪♪ >> the way i see it, if something makes you sad when it ends, it must have been pretty wonderful when it was happening. ♪♪ ♪ heading out to san francisco ♪ ♪ for the labor day weekend

show ♪ ♪ and honey, i didn't know ♪ ♪ that i would be missing you so ♪ ♪ come monday, it will be all right ♪ ♪ come monday, i will be holding you tight ♪ ♪ i spend four lonely days in a brown l.a. haze ♪ ♪ and i just want you back by my side ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> i meant to do that. ♪ come and knock on our door ♪ ♪ we're going to make our dreams come true ♪

♪ eight is enough to fill our lives with love ♪ >> bob barker! >> jerry, jerry, jerry! ♪♪ >> i want to say, it has been a pleasure to have worked alongside all of you. these have been the best years of my career. >> yes, he was some guy. ♪ it's ladies' night ♪ >> never forget a martini. ♪ oh, yes, it's ladies' night ♪ ♪♪

♪ simple the best, better than all the rest ♪ ♪ better than anyone ♪ ♪ than anyone i ever met ♪ ♪ i'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places ♪ ♪ that this heart of mine embraces ♪ ♪ all day through ♪ >> i just hope people think i did the best i could. that i was there and i did the best i could. ♪ i'll be looking at the moon, but i'll be seeing you ♪

♪♪ >> a beautiful way to reflect as we look ahead to the new year. that does it for me. have a happy and a safe new year. alex witt picks things up right now. a very good day to all of you. i'm alex witt here at msnbc world headquarters in new york city. political and legal battles are intensifying over the 2024 republican primary, as we inch closer to the first votes being cast. maine's secretary of state decided donald trump is constitutionally ineligible to appear on the state's primary ballot. it joins colorado in banning trump. on the other side of the country, california's secretary of state decided to keep trump on the ballot, as trump fights to stay on the ballot