a nbc news exclusive. president-elect trump sitting down with our kristen welker, and expanding on the wide-ranging agenda for his second term. what he's saying about trade, immigration and january 6. after years of a devastating civil war, a transfer of power in syria. we have a full report on what led to the stunning end of the assad regime and what the u.s. is saying about the latest upheaval in the middle east. the only thing more lucrative than holiday shopping, the returns. we're live on cnbc with how retailers could see a record-number of holid refunds. a change of scenery. making his big decision, trading one new york team for another, new details for juan soto. d hundreds descend on notre dame for the first sunday mass since that devastating fire. jay gray is live from paris with

more on the storic cathedral's major comeback on this monday, december 9th. "early today" starts right now. good monday morning to you. i'm jessica layton, and we begin this morning with a nbc news exclusive. president-elect donald trump sitting down for his first broadcast interview since winning reelection. while speaking with nbc's kristen welker, mr. trump would not commit to keeping the u.s. in the nato alliance. and he said it's possible ukraine will not receive the same level of aid from the u.s., but that he's actively trying to end that war. nbc's chris pollone joins me now. chris, good morning. donald trump also talked about domestic policy, like his plans for possible mass deportations. >> reporter: yeah, jessica. that's right. good morning. mr. trump explained that his program would begin with people who have criminal histories. but he insists the u.s. has to deport everyone who's entered the country illegally and vows to end the right, enumerated in the constitution that says

anyone born in the u.s. is a u.s. citizen, even if their parents are undocumented or in the country illegally. >> you promise to end birthright citizenship on day one, is that still your plan? >> yeah, absolutely. we can, through executive action. i was going to do it through executive action, but then we had to fix covid first, to b honest with you. we have to end it. >> reporter: welker pressed the president-elect on his plans to impose tariffs on mexico, canada and china, and whether or not americans will see higher prices. >> economists of all stripes say that ultimately, consumers pay the price. >> yeah. >> of tariffs. >> i don't believe it. >> can you guarantee american families won't pay more? >> i can't guarantee anything. i can't guarantee tomorrow. but i can say that if you look at my, just pre-covid, we had

the greatest economy in the history of our country. in tariffs, we had in hundreds of billionons of dolrs and had no inflation. >> reporter: mr. trump spoke about considering pardons for people who participated in the january 6 riots, saying this would be a day-one priority. >> i want to look at everything. we're going to look at individual cases. >> everyone. >> yeah. >> okay. >> but i'm going to be acting very quickly. >> within your first 100 days? first day? >> first day. >> first day these people have been, what, three, four years. >> reporter: without specifying a charge, the president-elect said he believes the lawmakers who served on the january 6 committee investigating that attack, he said they're the ones who belong in jail, but he said that he would not direct the justice department to arrest them. jessica? >> all right, chris pollone, live from d.c. this morning, thank you. breaking news out of the middle east. the syrian government has been toppled along with dictator

bashar al assad. over the weekend, rebel groups took over major cities in that stunning offensive, finally marching into damascus on sunday, while sear while syri mostly fled or defected. >> reporter: bashar al assad and his family are now in moscow, and there's talk that they might be getting asylum there. this is a massive paradigm shift not just for syria but for the entire middle east. there was talk back on october 7 from the israelis, from the united states, saying that the response to hamas' terror attack on october 7 would reshape or redraw the middle east. despite more than a year of conflict throughout the region, that hasn't happened yet really until now. and now we're seeing a break in the assad regime, more than 50 years of rule by bashar al assad and his father that has terrorized syrians and countries like where i am now in lebanon throughout their civil war and even before that. but now we're not really out of

the woods. the united states has launched strikes against 75 targets that they say are affiliated with the islamic state. they say trying to prevent islamic state and other radical islamist groups from reconstituting themselves within the chaos of what syria has become, we've also seen israelis launching their strikes against targets in damascus and other places. so we're seeing a lot of these other countries in the region trying to take advantage of the chaos and shore up their positions and to prevent more unsavory characters from those of the assad regime, al qaeda or islamic state from taking over. there is a very, very brief moment of uncertainty and optimism. whether that carries into next week, next month is yet to be seen. a federal lawsuit is accusing star rapper jay z of raping a

13-year-old girl in the year 2000, allegedly along with sean "diddy" combs. the anonymous accuser says the assault happened after she was driven to an mtv after party and given a drink that made her feel woozy and light-headed, according to the lawsuit. jaz, whose real name is shawn carter fired back in statement calling a pre-litigation demand letter he received a blackmail attempt, accusing lawyer tony busby of engaging in unprofessional behavior, saying these allegations are so heinous in nature that i implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one. referring to the demand letter, busby responded on x, saying, quote, the victim never demanded a penny, instead, she only sought a confidential mediation and that they will let the filing speak for itself and will litigate the facts in court. busby has filed several lawsuits in recent months against combs, accusing him of assault and

rape. legal representatives for combs called the suits shameless publicity stunts designed to extract payments from celebrities. the manhunt continues this morning for the person of interest in that fatal shooting of unitedhealthcare ceo brian thompson. the nypd releasing these new images of a man wearing a mask inside what looks to be a new york city taxi, and then outside, walking alongside the vehicle. authorities beeve the man may have left the state after taking a cab to a bus station close to the george washington bridge. meanwhile, two law enforcement sources say the nypd scubaeam has searched the waters of central park for evidence, including the gun used to kill thompson. a senior law enforcement official also says police searched two other areas near the george washington bridge. so far, none of those searches yielded the weapon. police have not yet released a possible motive. police are also chase ago mystery in the sky over new york and new jersey.

questions are growing about car-sized drones spotted overhead. authorities are on a high-tech hunt to track them down. george solis has the latest. >> they're looping around the area. >> reporter: the investigation into reports of small car-sized drones hovering over new york and new jersey is deepening. >> it's slowing down. >> reporter: authorities in toms river, new jersey launching their own drone offensive for a closer look. their eye in the skycap touring one of the drones in motion. you're not targeting them or going after them so to speak, is there a methodology or reason why? >> we just want to know what it is. the way it was explained, they're about four feet. and it looks like it's a fixed-wing type craft. what concerns us mostly is that at this point, nobody's seen any of these units taking off or landing. >> this is a significant threat to u.s. national security. >> reporter: retired four-star general and nbc news analyst

barry mccaffrey says there's good reason why local han federal agencies are treading carefully. >> when you see something of this capacity, you wonder why it would be needed. what are they doing? it implies a heavy payload and a heavy payload would be either something dangerous, a bomb, but, in this case, surveillance of some sort of >> it's back again. same spot as last night. >> reporter: meanwhile, more sightings of the large drones continue to proliferate social media. this new jersey resident capturing these images on saturday. >> coming right above my house. >> reporter: the fbi not commenting on the drone activity to nbc news but setting up a tip line for people to report any sightings. >> it's moving really fast now. >> reporter: growing concern as the mystery in the sky continues. george solis, nbc news, toms river, new jersey. >> what else is oing on in the sky? snow is taking aim for the plains. but, on the east coast, it will

be rain. michelle grossman is tracking all of this in the forecast. michelle, good morning. >> could be a lot of rain, too. especially along the gulf coast today and tomorrow. we have a risk for flooding, flash flooding as well. notice today, it's soggy from the southeast to new england. could see wintry mix, snow in portions of new england. wind blowing in the upper plains. we're dry throughout most of the west, pacific northwest down to the southwest. notice wednesday, though. we're looking at rain tomorrow as well in the northeast, the mid atlantic down to the southeast. once again, we are looking at rain falling, it will be heavy at times. where you see the brighter colors is where we're expecting heavy rain. this will be good for the drought. could see thunderstorms on the southern end of this, on the northern end, we could see a wintry mess. and back behind this cold air working in, we're going to seat lake ut we

looking at the chance for heavy rain, especially along the gulf coast. 71 in montgomery. and that's your monday forecast. >> all right, michelle, thank you. >> sure. coming up, juan soto is heading to the mets with the biggest contract in sports sty. >>t first we're taking a look at what home buyers might expect in 2025. ut? try new align yogurt coated probiotic fruit bites. with a delicious apple and blueberry-flavored fruit center and yogurt coating, each bite is infused with added probiotics, to help promote a healthy digestive system every day. plus, they're packaged in individually-wrapped pouches, for daily digestive support on the go. look for new align yogurt coated probiotic fruit bites online and in the digestive care aisle of your local retailer.

brand power, helping you buy better. home is a warm and fuzzy feeling. experience the comfort of home wherever you go with the familiar, long-lasting freshness and cuddly softness of snuggle. snuggle. the comfort of home. [♪♪] did you know, there's a detergent that gets your dishes up to 100% clean, even in an older dishwasher? try cascade platinum plus. for sparkling clean dishes even on the toughest jobs. just scrape, load and you're done. switch to cascade platinum plus. we are back now with what aspiring home buyers can look for in 2025. but first, holiday returns are costing retailers billions. and this year could hit a new record. let's bring in cnbc's karen gilchrist with all those details. karen, good morning. >> hey, there jessica. good morning. yes, it feels like we were all

just talking about black friday and cyber monday, but now it's all about buyer's remorse. this is a suggestion that returns are going to total $890 billion this year. that's around 17% of all retail sales and up from 15% this year with the spike especially happening around this holiday shopping period. now this is according to new research from the national retail federation, and it suggests that shoppers are increasingly looking for free returns when they seek out retailers. this is for about three quarters of shoppers. and while some retailers are looking to up their returns in infrastructure, we're also seeing others actually clamping down on free returns, as they see this huge spike in returns to their stores. now, elsewhere, forecasts are in for the housing market in 2025. and a few things to look out for are a flattening of rents but

tentially an increase in properties, price rises of around 4%. this is returning to pre-pandemic levels and also mortgages averaging around 6.8%. so we'll be expecting a little bit more bumpiness and volatility going forward as the outlook for interest rates remains slightly unclear. still to come on "early today," all the action from nfl week 14. and juan soto choosing to spend his time helping the less-fortunate. it's a joke. but we have tela-breaking details on where the superstar slugger is going right after this. might keep us stuck on the couch. no way. ♪♪ if you have postmenopausal osteoporosis, and are at high risk for fracture, you can do more than just slow bone loss. you can build new bone in 12 months with evenity®. evenity® is proven to significantly reduce spine fracture risk. she said the evenity® she's taking builds new bone.

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waiting. firing. touchdown! >> the chargers were looking to deny the chiefs a division title on sunday night football. l.a. took a late lead against the defending champs with a

third quarter scoring surge and stifling defense, but patrick mahomes manages to find travis kelce to set up the walkoff field goal which kicker matthew wright delivered in dramatic fashion. >> for the chiefs. and right on the upright and in for the division! >> kc continues their division champion era with their ninth straight afc west crown, 19-17. i was awake for this. i was freaking out when the kicker took his spot. i have a soft spot for kickers and punters, and wow, they just cannot be stopped. >> i feel like it's the hardest position on that field. >> i do, too. >> kudos to him for doing that. >> absolutely. early in the day, kirk cousins returned to minnesota where he spent six seasons wearing purple. sam darnold had a career day with five touchdowns and 347 yards, while cousins suffered

his fourth straight outing, throwing zero touchdowns. nothing could compare to the offensive explosion in the hollywood hills. the rams faced off against the bills in what ended up being the highest-scoring game in the nfl season. josh allen made history, but not even history could stop matthew stafford and the rams. l.a. ends the bills' seven-game win streak with a statement victory, 44-42. >> no lack of scoring there. >> no. >> if you're not awake you will be after this music we have to pump you up under the highlights. breaking overnight, the juan soto sweepstakes is over, and his new home, just a subway ride away. espn reporting late sunday that the superstar outfielder is signing with the new york mets on a massive 15-year, $765

million deal. that's the largest contract in sports history. soto heads to queens after one season in the bronx as a yankee where he helped lead the bombers to their first world series in 15 years. the mets, by the way made the unexpected playoff run themselves, one that ended shy of the fall classic. move over, shohei ohtani, we have a new chief in town with the most money in a baseball contract. >> adding soto to the mix, it's going to be exciting. >> i would rather see him go to the mets than red sox. the mega millionis reaching new heights. how much the jackpot has grown.

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over the weekend in paris, a new era egan for the legendary notre dame cathedral, as it reopened after a devastating fire back in 2019. nbc's jay gray is live from paris. jay, good morning. i need to know what it was like to hear those bells ringing again. >> reporter: good morning, jessica. just an amazing, amazing thing to hear those bells, to hear the grand organ. lines started forming outside the cathedral before sun rise here today, the excitement surrounding the reopening of notre dame fueled by what was a historic weekend. [ bells tolling ] >> reporter: the solememn toll the ancient bells. the haunting moan of the organ, announcing the return of notre dame. >> it's a symbol of paris, of

course, but a symbol of humanity and kindness all over the world. >> reporter: the iconic church ravaged by fire five years ago, craftsman and architects, many of those heroes honored with a standing ovation that lasted several minutes. as they take their place in the cathedral they brought back to life. >> such an amazing, amazing structure. so the flying buttresses and gargoyles. >> reporter: dignitaries and heads of state gathered for the openining ceremony, including first lady dr. jill biden and president-elect donald trump. sunday morning. paris archbishop leads the first mass since the fire, joined by nearly 170 bishops from france

and around the world and 2500 invited guests. a special moment during the service, the blessing of a new bronze altar. then, sunday evening, the first mass opened to the public. the faithful finally returning to worship inside the pristine, refurbished cathedral. yeah, now next week notre dame will extend the visiting hours until 10:30 at night, jessica. they expect 40,000 or more each day to tour the refurbished cathedral. >> oh, how i would love to be there, jay. great work. so jealous of you on that assignment. thank you. and thank you for watching "early today." i'm jessica leighton. have areat g m