tomorrow night when we have another very special guest, trump campaign manager kellyanne conway will be here tomorrow. seriously. that's tomorrow. this morning, the manhu manhupthunt is intensifying for the prime suspect in this week's deadly attack in berlin. we're learning new details about the man who police say was under surveillance for month. and in north carolina, the effort to repeal the bathroom biel has fallen apart. now both sides of the aisle are pointing fingers and casting blame. plus, donald trump weighs in on one of his most controversial campaign statements, the muslim ban. he says recent attacks have proven him right. ♪

good morning. it's thursday, december 22nd. i'm halle jackson alongside louis beurgdorf in new york. the manhunt is intensifying for the suspect in the berlin attack this week. he lived mostly in berlin, but officials say he was very mobile. he used aliases. german police labeled him a potential risk. they had monitored him for months. he was set to be deported after his asylum request was denied back in june. that was held up because he didn't have identity papers. those papers, by the way, arr e arrived from tunisia this week, just days after the attack. a man claiming to be a brother of amri's tells nbc news he spoke with him five days and and that he was in germany, but he didn't know what he was doing there. nbc news correspondent hans nichols is joining us from

berlin with the latest. talk us through this. are police any closer to tracking this man down? >> reporter: well, potentially. what we have this morning is there were raids in the city of dortmund, two apartments there. german police, authorities here, the federal prosecuting office is warning us against saying there were any arrests there. they're simply confirming there are raids. here's what we know. we're starting to piece a little more of amri's time in berlin. it was in march that he was under surveillance. he started to get under surveillance because he attempted -- there's suspicion of a burglary to have weapons to take out some sort of attack. he's under surveillance. he's here in berlin. he's associated with basically petty crimes, a bar fight, potentially selling drugs. at a certain point in september, they couldn't even, after an extension, they could not have additional

surveillance. the trail went cold in september. they didn't have enough of a case, enough evidence to prosecute him. they worked on trying to deport him. as we know now, tunisian authorities denied he was a cent citizen. he eventually got his passport. it arrived in germany yesterday. >> hans, thank you very much. we're going to see you coming up on "morning joe." and halle, lawmakers in north carolina have failed to repeal the controversial legislation known as the bathroom bill signed by governor pat mccrory back in march. the bill requires people to use the public restroom that match the sex listed on their birth certificate regardless of gender identity after months of protest and economic backlash, the governor called a special session to rescind the law. for hours, the effort to overturn the bill was stalemated by partisan bickering.

members of the audience began chanting "shame." the failure of the repeal vote led to finger pointing. governor mccrory claimed democrats sabotaged the repeal and governor-elect roy cooper accused the republican-led legislature of failing to fulfill their promise. >> i'm disappointed we have yet to remove the stain on the reputation of our great state that is around this country and around the world. >> governor-elect cooper went on to say he would continue working with republican leaders to repeal the law. now to the latest on the deadly explosion at one of mexico's best-known fireworks markets. you remember the video. officials are still trying to figure out what caused that unbelievable series of blasts. it all occurred in the city of tultepec just north of mexico city. 33 people are confirmed dead.

one 13-year-old boy who had burned to more than 35% of his body was sent to shriners children's hospital here in our country, galveston, texas. they want top send several more kids here as well. this is just the latest in a line of several fireworks disasters in mexico, including two in this same town. one of those even happened at the same market, leaving more than 100 people hurt. >> just a terrible story, halle. shocking video there. all right. president-elect donald trump took a quick couple of questions from reporters yesterday, talking about the terror threat but not being tight lipped about whether he will institute a registry or travel ban on the members of the muslim religion. >> what's going on is terrible. in fact, we have intelligence here right now, what's going on is terrible. >> has it caused you to rethink or re-evaluate your plans to create a muslim registry or ban muslims into the united states.

>> hey, you've known my plans all along, and it's -- they've provb to be right, 100% correct. what's happening is disgraceful. >> in the wake of san bernardino attack one year ago, then-candidate trump called for a total and complete shut down of muslims entering the united states. later in the campaign, trump stopped talking about a muslim ban and said he preferred the term extreme vetting. he also endorsed the idea of creating a database of muslims, which the transition has recently denied. yesterday, the president-elect seemed unfamiliar with the statement the transition put out in his name on monday saying about the truck attack in berlin, quote, isis and other islamist terrorists continually slaughter christians in their communities and places of worship as part of their global jihad. >> your comments about the truck attack in berlin being against christians, do you think that this might -- >> say it again. what? >> your, your -- the attack in

berlin being an attack against christians. >> well, who said that? when was that said? >> i think -- i believe you said it in a press release. >> so go ahead. >> so i'm wondering how this might affect relations -- >> that's an attack on humanity. that's an attack on humanity. it's got to be stopped. >> president-elect trump also said he had spoken with president obama on monday. donald trump also met at that same location with a couple ceos who he's basically ridiculed in public lately over what he's calling their high price tags in contracts with the federal government. but yesterday, he welcomed the ceos of boeing and lockheed. trump has criticized the cost of lockheed's new f-35 jets. as for boeing, the president-elect said costs for air force one were out of control and suggested the order be canceled. after the meeting, both trump and meullenberg seemed

optimistic. >> we're all focused on the same thing here. we want to make sure we give our war fighters the best capability in the world and that we do it in a way that's affordable for air taxpayers. his business headset around that is excellent. we did talk about air force one. the same focus here, on making sure we get the best capability, make sure the president's secure and that we protect national security and that we do it affordably. >> we want to get costs down, costs. primarily the f-35, we're trying to get the cost down. it's a program that is very, very expensive. >> are there security concessions from lockheed martin? >> we're going to see. it's just the beginning. it's a dance. it's a little bit of a dance. but we're going to get the costs down, and we're going to get it done beautifully. these are great people. these are amazing people. >> houston didn't come talk to cameras after her meeting but issued a statement saying she

appreciated the opportunity to talk about the f-35 program and about cutting costs with the president-elect. in a statement yesterday, the trump transition team announced the formation of the white house national trade council with its mission being, quote, to advise the president on innovative strategies in trade negotiations, coordinate with other agencies to assess u.s. manufacturing capabilities, and the defense industrial base, and help match unemployed american workers with new opportunities in the skilled manufacturing sector. now, the new office will be led by economists and uc irvine professor peter navarro, whose critical views of china have been influential on trump. navarro is the writer and director of the 2012 documentary "death by china," which argues that big corporations and the american government allow china to get the benefits of global trade and advocates for growing manufacturing in the u.s. more recently, navarro has written about china as a military threat, questioning the country's build up in his 2015 book "crouching tiger." the transition says the knewnew

created council will work with the security council among others to promote economic strength. during the campaign, donald trump mentioned one person's name dozens, maybe hundreds of times as his ideal negotiator. within the last 24 hours, it's been announced that billionaire investor carl icahn has agreed to an outside role with the trump administration. he's going to be a special adviser to the president on overhauling federal regulations. icahn, as you know, is a wall street maverick. he's known trump a while, dating back to those atlantic city casino days. the 80-year-old has resisted an official role in government until now. >> i know the toughest guys and the smartest guys in the world. carl icahn called me. carl icahn's a great guy, very successful. if i put carl icahn in charge of trade with china, believe me, believe me, we do great. >> there's also some new reporting about people who are

not trump's ideal candidates for administration jobs. you got to read this new "washington post" piece. it basically says the president-elect wants his administration figures to look the part. it's about presentation, about swagger and demeanor, the piece says. quote, several of trump's socials said they thought john bolton's brush-like mustache was one of the factors that handicapped the bombastic candidate for secretary of state. i can't think of anyone that's really close to donald that has a beard that he likes. >> got to watch out for that facial hair. all right. less than ten days from 2017, but it's just 1,412 days from the next presidential election. i don't even want to think about that. on the democratic side, the clear front runner is someone you've probably never heard of. quote, someone entirely new is the candidate that excites most democrats in the race for their next nominee. about two-thirds of the

democrats agreed. now, the "usa today" suffolk university poll finds 44% of democrats are excited about bernie sanders or vice president joe biden running. 34% are excited for elizabeth warren. 23% say another run by hillary clinton excites them. the poll also found that 62% of democrats found that clinton should not run again. the government says obamacare enrollment is up over last year, and that's even with higher premiums, fewer options, and those threats of repeal. according to the department of health and human services, 2 million new customers have signed up for coverage under the affordable care act. with some 4 million customers returning, the administration says more than 6 million americans will be covered come january 1st. but as you know, it is still not clear what the law's future will be. the president-elect and republicans in congress have pledged to repeal and replace it. replace it with what and how soon? well, republicans are still trying to figure that out. but the president-elect said he wanted to keep parts of the bill that covers pre-existing

conditions and that popular provision that lets young adults, kids up to the age of 26, stay on their parent's policies up until then. yesterday the democratic governor's association fired off a letter to house speaker paul ryan, warning that a repeal would be, quote, a financial and health disaster. the percentage of uninsured americans hit a record low in the first quarter of this year. just 8.6%. that is the first time the uninsured rate has fallen below 9%. we've got a lot more for you still ahead. like a dangerous moment caught on a bus surveillance camera in california. look at this. what investigators are saying about that explosion right behind one of the passengers. plus, former cleveland cavaliers player matthew dellavedova gets mobbed by his old teammates, and he gets an early christmas present. we're going to have those stories and a check on the weather when we come right back. ♪

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welcome back. the u.s. state department is pushing back after the kremlin claimed yesterday that diplomatic dialogue between russia and the u.s. has frozen. the kremlin spokesman told a state-sponsored news agency that the u.s. and russia don't communicate with one another, or if they do, it's just minimal. he said the kremlin expects donald trump's administration to take a, quote, fresher and more constructive approach, although he did caution against excessive optimism. so the state department very quickly hit back against the kremlin's claims, pointing out secretary of state john kerry just talked with the russian foreign minister as recently as tuesday. >> i don't know what to make of his comments. i think you should ask him what he means by his comments. from our perspective, there's no break in the dialogue. communications are not froze. that's not the way we would describe it. that doesn't mean that we agree on everything.

it doesn't mean there isn't tension between the united states and russia on a range of issues. >> that's state department spokesman john kirby, who went on to say russia and the u.s. have an important diplomatic relationship. a california man is recovering this morning after a dangerous moment on board a city bus in fresno. surveillance video caught the moment a small explosion took place. it doesn't actually look that small. according to investigators, the man had a battery powered e-cigarette in his pocket, which exploded and caused the blast. first responders say the man escaped with minor burns to his hand and his high. according to the associated press, there were roughly 60 people injured by exploding e-cigarettes last year. >> that is scary. you carry around that stuff right in your pocket. thanks. let's get a check on your weather with nbc meteorologist bill karins. spoiler alert, it is cold. >> it's still a little chilly. we're tracking a little snow this morning, a little coating. the kids will be excited about this. not fun. it's not enough to cancel school or anything like that. you're going to have to dust it

off and drive in it across much of upstate new york and areas of southern new hampshire. we've avoided it for the most part in connecticut. a little bit is now beginning to pop up. that's one storm. that's like an inch or less in most areas. this is a bigger deal. a lot of heavy rain this morning. southern california, phoenix to flagstaff doesn't get a lot of rain like this that often, but it's been pouring. in the higher elevations in new mexico, that's where a little snow is mixing in. rainfall amounts throughout the day today from phoenix to flagstaff over here through southern arizona, that's a good half inch to an inch, even an inch and a half, which is a significant rainfall for the desert areas of the southwest. let's track this storm. where's it heading next? already winter storm warnings in areas of the mountains of colorado. winter weather advisories in areas of northern new mexico. we have a little bit of wet weather we're going to deal with here. by 8:00 p.m., mountain snow. the rain continues to track across the country. this is going to be a fast-moving system. it's not a big, huge storm.

even by the time we get through christmas eve by noon, there's a line of showers through tennessee, up through virginia, right through the mid-atlantic region, maybe a little bit of wintry mix in areas of new england. maybe a coating of snow to make things look a little extra pretty. as far as the snow forecast goes, there's two storms. there's the one we're dealing with i just showed you and another one comes on to the west coast. this first storm brings mostly snow to areas of the higher mountains in the central rockies. the second storm is much more widespread. this is the one we're going to deal with on saturday, christmas eve, and then on christmas day. we could have blizzard conditions in this area from rapid city to bismarck. very dangerous travel is possible on christmas day. this would be 9 to 12 inches of snow. windchills will probably be about negative 15 with winds gusting to 30 miles an hour. if anyone has a chance of getting stuck in their houses on christmas day, it would be up there in the dakotas. everyone else in ski country will be enjoying fresh powder. >> dreaming of a white christmas and good powder. >> you want a white christmas,

but i don't know if you want a blizzard. >> thank you very much, bill. appreciate it. still ahead, in college basketball, duke guard grayson allen gets fouled for tripping an a potent. seems it is not the first time. louis is going to explain next in sports.

you got it! what do you think? if you're going to wish, wish big at the lexus december to remember sales event get up to $2500 customer cash on select 2016 and 2017 models for these terms. see your lexus dealer. welcome back. time now for sports, where the college football bowl season is upon us. the byu cougars can claim a second poinsettia bowl trophy

after their three-point win against the wyoming cowboys last night. the cougars, with a lot of help from running back jamal williams. byu quarterback ran for a score and also threw for one. a circus catch in the third quarter hauled in by a receiver in the end zone after being tipped by several defenders. what a catch. despite a late rally by wyoming, which trailed by 17 in the fourth quarter before scoring twice, byu hangs on for the 24-21 victory. great game there. all right. turning now to college basketball. the tenth ranked louisville hosting number six kentucky in the battle for the bluegrass state. the cardinals falling off their top ten status in the ap poll. some key baskets in the final seconds. louisville outlasts kentucky 73-70. and to greensboro, north

carolina. grayson allen earns a technical foul for tripping an opposing player late in the first half of last night's matchup against elon. intentionally tripping an opposing player seems bad enough, but it's the third time in the last year allen's done it. he was benched for the remainder of the half and did not start the second. he returned to the game with about 16 minutes remaining. after the game, he showed remorse for the move in a very tearful apology. take a look at this. >> i made a really bad play. i'm sorry to him, santa ana. sorry to the official, who have to call that. sorry to the team. that's selfish and taking away from them. i'm not proud of it. >> that seemed pretty sincere there. finally, to the nba and the

cleveland cavaliers received their championship rings before hosting the bucs last night. the cavs did not forget the contributions of matthew dellavedova during last year's historic finals run. he's since been traded to milwaukee, but that didn't stop his former teammates from mobbing him as he received his championship bling. as for the game, the cavs beat the bucs 113-102. >> not bad. those rings, louis. i don't know. >> yeah, they're pretty nice. >> i think you'd look good in one. >> i'd like one. >> thank you, louis. still ahead, more evacuations in aleppo, as the city already ripped apart by war gets hit with a rare snowstorm. plus, more on the latest in berlin, where raids are happening to find the man believed to be responsible for this week's attack. a live report from germany, next. (man) my dad and i have the same eyes.

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♪ hi there. welcome back. i'm halle jackson along with louis burgdorf here in new york. it's the bottom of the hour. let's start with the morning's top stories. even the lawmakers in north carolina met specifically to try to repeal the state's so-called bathroom bill. that deal ended up falling apart late yesterday. the law requires people to use public restrooms that match the gender listed on their birth certificate. critics say that discriminates against the transgender community. the passage of the law led to major backlash. yesterday's special session aimed at rolling the law back, but lawmakers end the the day

without coming to an agreement. the obama administration says more than 6 million americans are now enrolled in the affordable health care act. 2 million new customers have enrolled. 4 million decided to re-enroll. it's not clear what the future of the law will be. and at least 33 people are now confirmed dead in that fireworks explosion near mexico city. officials are still trying to figure out what set off this series of huge explosions. look at that. dozens of people are still in the hospital, several in very serious condition, louis. and turning back to that massive manhunt under way across europe for 24-year-old ani anis amri, who is expected to be behind that deadly truck attack at a christmas market in berlin. several overnight raids have been held, but so far he's eluded capture. joining us with the latest is matt bradley. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning,

louis. what we're hearing now is several raids, as you just mentioned, that have occurred across germany. federal prosecutors have said many of them occurred in dortmund, near the border with the netherlands. according to german media, that's where the suspect actually lived for a little while and where he made some jihadi connections. he's had run-ins with the police in three countries, tunisia, germany, italy, almost all of which were for petty crimes, drug dealing, alcohol abuse. nothing that would necessary lead anyone to believe that he was a jihadi or a potential terrorist, not until recently, not until he came to germany and in europe. that's when, according to "the new york times" this morning, he actually appeared on a u.s. no-fly list. he's one of several hundred people who are people of suspicion for the german authorities. that's what's causing so much embarrassment here, especially for angela merkel, the chancellor of germany.

not only was this suspect under surveillance at the time that he actually launched this attack, but he was someone who had been detained and someone who had been marked for deportation. germany authorities are trying to discover what exactly allowed this man to escape their grasp, not only to evade capture, but to actually launch another terrorist attack. so there's evidence coming in, and a lot of this is changing as this is going on, but the political ramifications are going to be very strong. so just this election coming up next year, where angela merkel is going to be fighting for her political life as she fighting for her fourth term. louis? >> nbc's matt bradley following a fluid and scary situation in berlin. thanks so much. and louis, president-elect donald trump talked terror in a quick q&a with reporters yesterday. when he was asked if he would still put in place a registry or travel ban, he didn't give a

direct answer. listen. >> what's going on is terrible. in fact, we have intelligence here right now. what's going on is terrible. >> has it caused you to rethink your plans to create a muslim ban? >> you know my plans all along. and i've been proven to be right, 100% correct. what's happening is disgraceful. >> remember, after the san bernardino terror attack a year ago now, then-candidate trump called for a total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the united states. later in the campaign, you know, trump stopped talking about the muslim ban, saying he preferred the term extreme vetting. the u.s. state department is pushing back after the kremlin claimed yesterday diplomatic dialogue between russia and the u.s. has frozen. a spokesman for vladimir putin says there's some hope president-elect donald trump will be able to improve the relationship between the two countries. nbc's cynthia mcfadden has the details. >> reporter: it may not be the

cold war, but there is a freeze sweeping u.s./russian relations, at least according to the russians. dialogue with the u.s. is frozen on almost all levels, says vladimir putin's spokesperson today. we're not communicating with each other or just doing the bare minimum of that. but the obama administration pushed back hard on that. the state department noting john kerry spoke to the russian foreign minister -- >> i don't know exactly what to make of that comment. obviously we don't agree and have issues with russia on a variety of issues, but dialogue has not been broken. >> reporter: at the pentagon, touting discussions with the russians on syria. so why would the russians paint such a dark picture? >> they're preparing for president trump and his administration. they want to contrast the moment now with what they expect to be a better set of circumstances. >> reporter: mcfaul says relations with russia are more strained than they have been in the last several decades.

>> there is a lot of mistrust in u.s./russian relations. i would say principally because of what russia has done. they've annexed crimea. they've supported separatists in ukraine. they are fighting a war to support assad in syria, and then punctuating it all they've interfered in our presidential elections. of course americans should distrust the russians right now, and it's incumbent upon the kremlin to change that dynamic moving forward. >> that was nbc's cynthia mcfadden reporting. let's go to syria, where after years of fighting, the battle of aleppo is nearing an end. the international committee of the red cross reports that the last remaining civilians and rebel fighters will be evacuated within the next few hours, paving the way for the assad regime to take complete control of the ruined city. and it couldn't have happened a moment too soon, as heavy snow has started to blanket much of the area. meanwhile, the united nations has voted to set up a team to

look into alleged human rights abuses during the country's civil war. and a top officer in the air force is issuing a stark warning of a dangerous shortfall and active service members, saying thousands more are needed just to meet its security duties. speaking with "usa today," general david gold fine says active duty member totals need to increase by 30,000 from its current level of 317,000 to about 350,000. under the current plan, that level is only slated to grow to 321,000. general gold fine cites threats including isis, russia's involvement in syria, and china's militarization of the south china sea for the bigger expansion, which would take an estimated five to six years and an additional $3 billion a year on top of the air force's $151 billion budget. still ahead, we're going to tell you who beat out beyonce and adele to become the ap's entertainer of the year. who beats beyonce?

plus, mystery solved. why those military planes were circling new york city last week. and the most talked about and inspiring jeopardy run since ken jennings comes to end a. how the game show honored one of its most memorable contestants. and the remarkable recovery of zion harvey. the first child ever to receive a double hand transplant. the surgery was more than a year ago. remember this kid? wait until you see how he's doing now. it's unbelievable. back in a minute. david.

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welcome back. police here in new york city have identified the man who they say snatched $1.6 million worth of gold flakes off an armored truck in broad daylight. police are pointing to 53-year-old julio navello as their suspect. they say he goes by different aliases and has a criminal

record and took off for orlando after the heist. now they think he's hiding out around los angeles. surveillance video shows him allegedly hanging around the truck. you can see him there before grabbing the nearly 90-pound bucket of gold. it is literally a bucket of gold. then walking away. that is the definition of brazen. >> there's usually at least one guard there with his hand on his gun. >> he's like this with the bucket. it's wild. >> where was the security? that's like a setup, right? >> $1.6 million of gold flakes. >> i don't know. i'd take the gold. i don't know where i'd go. as far as the forecast goes today, we are watching the heavy rain in california. we did get one really impressive piece of video in. we get these really cold air masses in the winter. you see a lot of people running outside with the boiling water and throwing it up in the air and it evaporates quickly and condenses into cool clouds. the same thing happened in

yellowstone with old faithful. how beautiful is this with the crystal clear blue skies? just immediately evaporates it and creates a cool cloud. check that off the bucket list. got to go see that. as far as the snowfall, people still dreaming of a white christmas. you have a little bit of light snow this morning in areas of new england. that'll probably be gone by the time christmas arrives. it's really the mountains it of the west that will be the bull's eye. eventually the mountains in utah as we go through saturday. two shots of snow in the mountains of colorado. telluride will be one of those great places, aspen too. then the dakotas, that's the problem for christmas day. for today, there's some showers and snow showers through areas of new england early today. we are going to be watching as far as friday goes, the storm moving into the west. this is the bigger of the two storms. that's the one that's going to cause all the problems in california friday. notice at the east coast, you're clear as could be come friday. by the time we get to christmas eve, this storm moves into the

inner mountain west. heavy snow, gusty winds. out ahead of it, it's pumping pretty warm air. there's not too much concern with any ice or snow threat in the middle of the country. it's only in the rockies. also f you're going to try to get those last-inn errands done on christmas eve, you will have light rain around on i-95. that'll be gone by about 4:00 to 5:00 on christmas eve. then for christmas day, this storm in the west here will move into the middle of the country. it gets stronger. this could be a spring-like storm. we could have severe thunderstorms on christmas day in oklahoma and also dallas. oklahoma city, tulsa, dallas, watch out. that forecast could christmas day for severe weather possible. the backside is where we're going to get that blizzard in the dakotas. how cool was that video from yellowstone? >> i like that geyser. if you ever get out there, unbelievable. >> have you been? >> i went with my father. >> no one ever regrets if. the associated press just released its pick for

entertainer of the year. it's tony award winner for lynn manuel miranda. his hit broadway show "hamilton" won 11 tonys, including best original score and best musical. this year miranda beat celebs like adele, the rock, and even beyonce. on a somber note, "jeopardy" host alex trebek offered a tribute to be a recent contestant who lost her battle with colon cancer. she died eight days before her first episode aired. she had a six-game winning streak in which she won more than $100,000. at the show's end, trebek gave his tribute. >> for the past six jeopardy programs, you folks have been getting to know the talented champion cindy stowell. appearing on our show was the fulfillment of a life-long

ambition for that lady. what you did no not know is when we taped these programs with her, she was suffering from stage four cancer. sadly on december 5th, cindy stowell passed away. from all of us here at jeopardy, our sincere condolences to her family and her friends. >> so touching and so tragic. stowell told the show's producers in her audition that she planned to donate any winnings to cancer research so that no one would have to go through what she went through. >> gives you chills. very touching tribute. an update now on the death of "growing pains" actor alan thicke. the los angeles coroner issued a death certificate yesterday. it said he died of a republicturepublic tu -- ruptured aorta. alan thicke was 69 years old. now an update on a story we've been following for more than a year. the remarkable recovery of zion harvey. you know him. he's the maryland boy who in 2015 became the first child ever to get a double hand transplant.

nbc's rehema ellis traveled to baltimore to check on his progress. >> reporter: for 9-year-old zion harvey, christmas came early this year. he got a puppy. one more gift in a year full of blessings, says his mother patty. >> this is like a fairy tale for me. my son got hands. i'm the richest woman in the world now. >> reporter: zion continues his remarkable progress, a year and a half since becoming the world's first child to have a double hand transplant. he lost them and both legs after an infection when he was a toddler. all the grueling therapy has paid off. >> the nerves from zion have grown into the transplanted part. even those fine muscles that are responsible for fine motor movements are now functioning. >> i'm learning how to do this. >> which is to pinch, like that? >> yep. >> that's great, zion. and there's something else.

i can even hear it. what else happened in your life? >> my voice changed. >> reporter: and former president bill clinton sent him a letter. >> what does it say about your mom? >> your mom is a warrior. hold on to her. >> reporter: patty has given zion her all, including one of her kidneys, even before his hand transplant. >> did you ever think twice? >> never. if he needed the other one, he could have it. >> reporter: patty and zion are writing a book about all they've endured. >> me and other people with prosthetics and disabilities have kind of a -- kind of like a relationship because we all have a story behind it. >> reporter: patty has a message for the season. >> this is the best christmas gift that you could ever give a person. become an organ donor. >> reporter: it's a gift of life, and now zion has the whole world in his hands.

>> it is so great to see zion doing so well. many thanks to nbc's rehema ellis. still ahead, to politics. donald trump finds a place for billionaire investor carl icahn. plus, wall street futures are in the red this morning with investors keeping their eye on the dow. will today be the day it hits 20,000? we have the stories driving the day in business, next. grade. technology is the only thing that really entertains us. i'm gonna use this picture on sketchbook, and i'm going to draw mustaches on you all. using the pen instead of fingers, it just feels more comfortable for me. be like, boop! it's gone. i like that only i can get into it and that it recognizes my fingerprint. our old tablet couldn't do that. it kind of makes you feel like you're your own person, which is a rare opportunity in my family. (laughter) ♪ ♪ get up to $2500 customer cash on

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welcome back. a new study finds far fewer teens smoked marijuana in

colorado after the state opened its recreational marijuana market. data from the national survey on drug use and health shows, look at this, a 12% drop in marijuana use among kids between the ages of 12 and 17. that's pretty significant, right? but if you look at the pot use for teens in colorado, it's still above the national average. marijuana use for adults in that state, by the way, has actually risen over that same time period. eight states have now legalized marijuana for recreational use, but it is, of course, still against federal law. just a reminder. >> that's right. all right. let's turn to business now. the dow's quest to breakthrough 20,000 failed to happen yesterday after coming in just within 15 points of that historic threshold. cnbc's nancy hungerford joins us from london. what is the reason it didn't breakthrough, and will it before the end of the year? >> well, louis, plenty of investors are holding out hope that we will hit 20,000 on the dow before christmas, but with just two days to go, it is too close to call. we're about 60 points within

that milestone. traders are telling me this is really a normal pullback when you look at a bit of a dip we got on wall street yesterday. any time you get this close to a major milestone, you do get investors taking part in some profit taking before we hit that level. i spoke to one investor on our show earlier this morning. he thinks it could still be done. a few key data points to watch today, u.s. jobless claims due and a gdp revision, which could move markets in either direction. always keep in mind that traffic will be lighter, lower volumes are expected, as some people head out for the holidays. elsewhere, president-elect donald trump isn't taking it easy on his holiday from his florida resort home, mar-a-lago. he's meeting with two ceos of companies he has publicly criticized on twitter recently. that's boeing and lockheed martin. he met with the boeing ceo specifically about the cost of the air force one project, which he said could cost around $4 billion. well, the ceo of boeing came out yesterday, said they will do it for less. the ceo of lockheed martin did

not comment to reporters after their meeting, but when it comes to the f-35 fighter jets that lockheed martin produces, donald trump sounded confident that talks would continue on bringing costs lower for that program. the lockheed martin ceo said in a statement that the talks were productive. louis? >> and nancy, it also looks like california has put the brakes on uber's self-driving cars. what are the implications from that? >> well, that's right. uber has pulled the plug on the autonomous vehicle program in san francisco because they've lost out in a battle with the california motor regulators who said that these cars did not carry the correct permits when it comes to what is required of driverless vehicles. uber had tried to fight back, saying their test driverless cars always have a driver on boa board, but that wasn't good enough. disappointment for uber there. >> nancy, thanks so much. this is a good one. google and amazon appear to be losing in the race for drone delivery dominance. here in the u.s. to 7-eleven.

the world's largest convenience store chain revealed yesterday it has delivered items to 77 customers in reno, nevada, since making its first delivery in july. amazon, on the other hand, just celebrated its first drone delivery by its prime air program last week. that was in the countryside of the united kingdom. these companies face a major hurdle here in the u.s. current faa regulations require drones to fly less than 400 feet and always remain in its operator's line of sight. so louis, i don't know if you saw this last week, but some folks here in new york got caught a little off guard when a big military plane was spotted circling manhattan. officials said at the time it was a routine training mission. it turns out there is more to this story. according to "the new york post," the c-130 transport plane and two choppers were on a practice run. why? well, they were testing how long it would take to get president-elect trump out of the city in case there was some kind

of attack. these reports also say the drill was meant to identify locations, mostly in central park, where a chopper could land to evacuate the president-elect from trump tower if needed. it's right next to the park. mystery solved. i'll tell you, that got a lot of folks talking last week. when we come back, a look at the stories happening in the day ahead. ♪ ♪ style lets you stand out from the herd. what's inside sets you apart. the cadillac escalade. enjoy our best offers of the year. there's a moment of truth. and now with victoza® a better moment of proof. victoza® lowers my a1c and blood sugar better than the leading branded pill,

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before we toss it over to "morning joe," let's get a check on the stories you'll be hearing about in the day ahead. the man accused of murdering his girlfriend's toddler last year is due in a boston courtroom. michael mccarthy is charged with the killing of the 2-year-old. she was known as baby doe before finally identified thanks to a composite image. the girl's mother has also been charged in her death. and a utah teen accused of opening fire inside his school is due in court. police say the 15-year-old took two guns to his school and fired one of them in a classroom before he was stopped by his parents. officials say they went to the school after noticing a change in their son's behavior and two missing guns from their home. pretty scary stuff there. >> sure is. that does it for us on "first

look." i'm halle jackson alongside louis burgdorf. see you tomorrow. for now, "morning joe" begins now. ♪ >> ho, ho, ho! >> >> do you hear it? good morning, everyone. it is thursday, december 22nd. let's play it a little bit. so nice. >> let's play it a little bit. >> it's going to make us happy. ♪ >> come on. that's not traditional. >> with us we have former treasury official and "morning joe" economic analyst steve rattner. i was going to make him sing. >> you don't want to do that. your 2 million viewers will disappear. >> chair of the african-american studies -- >> 2 million viewers? willie will tell you that you have to count armed forces radio. well over 87 million every morning armed forces radio. >> in washington, nbc political analyst, he will sing for