fair share. we need to get dark money, that's the hidden funding behind too many campaign contributions. we need to get it out of politics. we need to enact an 18-year time limit, term limit, time and term for the strongest ethics -- and strongest ethics reforms for our supreme court. we need to ban members of congress from trading stock while they're in congress. we need to amend the constitution and make clear no president, no president is immune from crimes that he or she commits while in office. the president's power is not absolute. it shouldn't be. in a democracy, there's another danger. that the concentration of power of wealth erodes a sense of unity and common purpose. it causes distrust and division. participating in our democracy

becomes exhausting and disillusioning. people don't feel like they have a fair shot. we have to stay engaged in the process. i know it's frustrating. a fair shot is what makes america america. everyone is entitled to a fair shot, not a guarantee, but just a fair shot. an even playing field. going as far as your hard work and talent can take you. we can never lose that essential truth and remain who we are. i have always believed -- i have told other world leaders, america will be defined by one word. possibilities. only in america can we believe anything is possible. like a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in scranton, pennsylvania, sitting behind this desk in the oval office as president of the united states. that's the magic of america. it all around us. upstairs in the residence of the

white house, i have walked by a painting of the statue of liberty i don't know how many times. in the painting, there are several workers climbing on the outstretched arm of the statue that holds the torch. reminds me every day i pass it of the story and soul of our nation and the power of the american people. there's a story of a veteran -- a veteran, a son of an immigrant, whose job was to climb that torch and polish the amber panes to rays of light could reach out as far as possible. he was known as the keeper of the flame. he once said of the statue of liberty, quote, speaks a silent, universal language, one of hope, that anyone who seeks and speaks freedom can understand. yes, we sway back and forth to stand the test of time.

a constant struggle, a short distance between peril and possibility. what i believe is the america of our dreams is always closer than we think. it's up to us to make our dreams come true. let me close by stating my gratitude to so many people. to the members of my administration, as well as public service and first responders across the country and around the world, thank you for stepping up to serve. to our service members and their families, it has been the highest honor of my life to lead you as commander. to kamala and her partner, the historic vice president. she and doug have become like family, to me family is everything. my deepest appreciation to my amazing first lady that's with

me in the oval today. for our entire family. you are the love of my life and the life of my love. my eternal thanks to you, the american people. after 50 years of public service, i give you my word, i still believe in the idea for which this nation stands. a nation where the strength of our institutions and the character of our people matter and must endure. now it's your turn to stand guard. may you all be the keeper of the flame. may you keep the faith. i love america. you love it, too. god bless you all. may god protect our troops. thank you for this great honor. >> president biden in his farewell address to the nation. listing off his many accomplishments, but starting with the one that he announced

today, which was the cease-fire deal between israel and hamas in gaza that will lead to the release of hostages and prisoners held by israel as well. let me bring in kristen welker. the remarks took a turn into some warnings about the future for this country. >> lester, you are right. i thought that was one of the biggest headlines here. let me remind our viewers. president biden saying an oligarchy is taking shape that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead. in some ways, this builds on the message, the themes we have heard from him that he is fighting for the soul of this nation. in other ways, this is really taking this argument to a whole other level, taking a shot clearly at elon musk and mark zuckerberg who have surrounded

themselves around president-elect donald trump saying social media has given up on fact checking, a clear reference to the fact that mark zuckerberg of meta said it will no longer fact check the dangers he warned that are potentially embedded in that type of a move, without mentioning any of these people by name. i think this was a speech for the history books, lester. this is a president delivering his final farewell address to the american people. yes, defending his legacy. but also with this very firm warning. it harkens back to what we heard from obama when he talked about the fragility of the american democracy before then president-elect trump was set to it take office for the first time. a similar theme that we are hearing from president biden here tonight. again, expanding on it. warning of a potential oligarchy, framing this around his hope that the state of our

democracy will remain strong in the future. >> thanks. briefly to peter alexander. describe the room, the oval office and this speech. >> reporter: to pull back the curtain, we are told by those in the room, there were a half dozen senior officials who were there with him, including his chief of staff, the first lady who he glanced over at at the end of his remarks, joined by the vice president and second gentleman there in the oval office, describing them he did like family just before the camera clicked on, jill biden said, you look good, joe. >> peter, thanks very much. that concludes this nbc news special report. more ahead in our streaming network nbc news now and online at nbcnews.com. tomorrow morning on "today." wednesday, everyone. the special

edition of the 5:00 news starts right now. thanks so much for joining me. i'm janelle wang. as you just saw, president biden spoke to the american public one last time. the president just delivered his farewell address. it's his fifth oval office address since taking office in 2021. the president reflected on his time in the white house, the incoming administration and the future of the nation, including a warning. i have no doubt that america is in a position to continue to succeed. that's why my farewell address tonight, i want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern. this is a dangerous constant, and that's a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra wealthy people. the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked. today, an oligarchy is taking shape in america of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally

threatens our entire democracy. the president did not mention any names or companies, but he also addressed the cease fire and hostage deal reached by israel and hamas. that deal happened after months of failed negotiations. the agreement is set to take effect on sunday. if it gets the expected final approval from the israeli cabinet. the deal stops 15 months of fighting in gaza and unfolds in three phases. in the first phase, 33 women, children and elderly and injured hostages are set to be released in exchange for palestinian prisoners. much-needed aid will also start flowing into gaza. later, israeli troops will withdraw to a border buffer zone and soldiers and other male hostages would be released. and i'm deeply satisfied this day has come. finally come. for the sake of the people of israel and the families waiting in agony,

and for the sake of the innocent people in gaza who suffered unimaginable devastation because of the war. the cease fire agreement is very similar to a proposal president biden first announced last spring. cautious optimism and a sense of relief tonight for those in the bay area who have been hoping for this ceasefire. as nbc bay area's marianne favro reports, many from both the bay area jewish and palestinian communities see this deal as a turning point in the conflict. as a result of the cease fire, the first hostages are expected to be released in the coming days. samer arabi with the arab resource and organizing center in san francisco is relieved. i personally know a number of people who have lost dozens and in some cases, over 100 family members in gaza from indiscriminate israeli bombing and violence. and so the idea that the people who remain there

might be, at least temporarily safe is a huge, huge sigh of relief for the many gazans that live in the bay area. but he says he's frustrated. a similar deal proposed last year wasn't accepted, saying he believes it would have saved huneds of lives. many in the jewish community embraced the ceasefire as a path toward peace, one that could also impact people in the bay area. we've seen a surge in anti-semitism, increased, increased divisiveness within and surrounding our jewish community, and having having a cease fire take place and having the hostages come home has been something that many, many in our community have hoped for a long time. but experts caution navigating the wks after the cease fire becomes official will be challenging. we will want to see, you know, how well israel

feels secure and how how much hamas will try to attempt to reassert, reassert control over the of the gaza territory. but for now, those who have fought tirelessly for a ceasefire say they're encouraged to learn their voices have finally been heard. marianne favro, nbc bay area news. in other local news, not wasting any time after just a week in office, san francisco's new mayor is rolling out his first legislation. it addresses one of his campaign promises fighting the city's fentanyl crisis. but it's already raising questions from some members of the board of supervisors. here's nbc bay area's sergio quintana. good morning, everybody. for one of mayor daniel lowery's first official news conferences since taking office, he was surrounded by leaders from the city's public safety agencies. the goal was to roll out his plan to address the city's fentanyl epidemic, and he's calling for

supervisors to quickly help him pass the legislation that will allow him to implement the plan. we have a crisis that needs the urgency. it demands urgency. and that's what you're seeing from my administration and everybody behind me. under the proposal, the mayor says he plans to coordinate city departments for enforcement and treatment. that includes creating more treatment facilities for fentanyl users. but in order to do that, he wants a freer hand in spending currently budgeted funding and the ability to seek out private funding. and he wants what his office calls a streamlined contracting process for nonprofits and other vendors that will provide these services. south of market. district supervisor matt dorsey is a sponsor of this newly introduced legislation. i think the job of identifying silos and breaking them down and surging resources effectively belongs in the executive, and i'm really encouraged by mayor lowery's leadership. but his proposal is already raising some questions from veterans of the board of

supervisors. this is supervisor shamann walton during yesterday's board meeting. during covid, we gave emergency powers to the mayor with the presence of a specific plan. right now, we have legislation that requests waiving process and allowing for swift decision making, but weon't have a plan in front of us. supervisor connie chan also raised concerns about the possibility that the proposal could weaken board oversight. mayor lowery says he will work with board members on their concerns, but insists he plans on moving forward with urgency. this is what i ran on. i got a mandate to deliver, and the first thing we talked about was public safety. second was the fentanyl. state of emergency. supervisor danny souder is one of the new members of the board, and the latest co-sponsor of the mayor's legislation. he understands some of his colleagues concerns. we've seen corruption in san francisco, and it is right to be aware of that. we're going to work to find that right balance. so there is adequate oversight, but that it doesn't slow us down

because the cost of slowing things down is lives. the mayor's plan was formally introduced to the board of supervisors yesterday. it still has to go through the board's legislative process, which could include amendments. in san francisco, sergio quintana, nbc, bay area news. right now, at 530, hoping to take advantage of more favorable weather. the work, though, that's still ahead for the crews battling the fires down in southern california. we investigate more problems with california's new 911 system. why a police chief who is struggling with it says it's too big and too important to fail. and sadness on a local high school campus today, after three students are killed in a car crash. the new details we're learning and how the school is trying to cope with this tragedy. the news at 530 starts right now. thanks so much for joining us. i'm janelle wang. and i'm raj mathai. a lot happening on this wednesday evening. let's start in southern