good morning. tit title tighter security across the u.s. the latest on the travel situation and an update on potential weather problems. a u.n. security council votes is highlighting major foreign policy differences between the obama administration and president-elect trump. and with fewer than four weeks left in his presidency, a look at braum's legacy, what he achieved and left unfinished. we begin with winter weather creating a holiday headache for millions of travelers this weekend. including the minnesota vikings. last night the football team's plan skidded off the runway after safely landing at a wisconsin airport.

members of the vikings going up against the packers this morning posted videos as they were removed from the jet in a fire basket. one writing, cross this one off the bucket list. fortunately no injuries were reported. how will the weather impact your holiday travel? let's go to bonnie. >> good morning. unfortunately we have a storm brewing. on time for christmas, watching for plenty of rain through las vegas and arizona at this hour. it's the beginning of a storm ramping up with strong winds in southern california. a lot of rain in san diego and los angeles this morning, and the heavy snow building in the sierra. as the low works north and west, this is going to produce a blizzard. we're look agent blinding conditions with snow and wind for rapid city, bringing us cold air. changing conditions for minneapolis. freezing change over to rain. treacherous travel for northern minnesota. there's also severe storms we're watching in the center of the

country. with snow south north and west, we'll be watching for heavy amounts into utah and colorado. and then thunderstorms will gusty winds. that could be damaging for those of you that are out and about. thunderstorms risks through christmas night into nebraska, kansas, oklahoma. not the best weekend for travel. if you're driving in the carolinas or virginia, looking at heavy rain changing to snow as you head north. new york city just rain only. and then upstate some light snow into northern new england. not accumulating to much more of a knnuisance for thosedriving. watch out for heavy rain in. las vegas the rain right now. and christmas morning freezing rain and wind in minneapolis. >> pack our patience. thank you.

now to security concerns this holiday weekend. expect to see plenty of this. tighter security after federal authorities warned of threats by isis sympathizers calling for attacks on churches and religious gatherings. the call did not come from isis itself. and law enforcement agencies typically ramp up security this time of year. this will be an increased police presence this weekend elsewhere. including in times square. let's go to morgan hatford live right there now. >> this is the first holiday season the nw pd hypd has an el unit in case there's any active or potential shooters in this area. especially areas that are packed heavily with tourists. that has people out and about this holiday season really on high alert and some of them feeling afraid. take a listen. heavy guns and police barricades. not the type of holiday

ornaments you'd expect to see around the tree. >> we've seen the cops carrying assault rives. >> just a little extra alert, i think. keeping an extra eye on your kids and bags. >> reporter: this week's attack on a berlin marketplace left 12 people dead. a fresh reminder to major cities across the world on holiday alert. in london more police patrolling the palace. >> the policemen are everywhere. >> reporter: while australian authorities charged four suspects for allegedly plotting a christmas day attack. >> it is a time of happiness and joy. these terrorists sought to disrupt it. they have been thwarted. they are in custody. >> reporter: here at home it's as much about prevention as it is response. in boston and philadelphia, more police have been assigned to patrol holiday sites since the berlin attack while the fbi currently investigates claims

about attacks against churches. >> it did not come can from isis. most isis sources online have no idea what this is or where it came from. so it's by no means official. >> reporter: in new york security lined audiotape at the st. patrick's cathedral. greater police presence routine during the holidays and this year a specially trained unit armed with guns to protect against potential shooters. >> you can't protect every place all the time or you protect nothing. we do analysis of high visibility locations, high travel locations, and then we protect them. >> reporter: it's important to remember that isis itself has made similar calls for attacks in the past, and nothing materialized. that's why experts are still trying to determine the credibility of that particular call for attack. again by someone who was an isis supporter, and not necessarily the group itself. meanwhile, and regardless of where people are, people across the country are advised to be extra alert this holiday season.

>> all right. morgan, thank you. now to politics. since yesterday morning the phrase nuclear arms race sparked nationwide anxiety and it all started on twitter. on friday in an off camera interview trump was asked to clarify remarks about expanding the nation's nuclear capabilities. >> the president-elect told you what? >> let it be an arms race. we will outmatch them at every pass. >> and outlast them all? >> and outlast them all. >> vladimir putin said on friday the kremlin is not looking for an arms race but is trying to build arms capable of penetrating missile defenses. joining me now from palm beach is kelly o'donnell. kelly, trump's media team spent friday morning trying to clarify the use of the term nuclear arms race. what is the latest from the trump team? >> reporter: well, because it is christmas eve, it has been

relatively quiet. there are no new statements, no new tweets from donald trump today. but you're right. his top advisors did try to sort of reassure concerns raised by his tweet that has been one of the challenges in trump world where the president-elect uses his seemingly favorite form of communication to put out a statement to try to provoke interest or thoughts or stir up controversy, but the limitations of twitter also make it hard for nuance to come through. and so his advisors, kellyanne conway, sean spicer who will go to the trump white house were saying that the president-elect is not saying there should be a greater supply of weapons or a runup of additional competition on nuclear weaponry, but rather a modernization which would be within the sort of agreement that exists. that is not what donald trump told our colleague or the way his tweet was perceived by many. it's a situation where we see

the president-elect stirring the pot a bit and then seeing if the dust will settle. we also saw him weighing in on an issue related to israel at the united nations where the president-elect and the obama administration came down on two very different sides. a divide between the president and president in waiting over israel. >> the united states did not vote in favor of the resolution. >> reporter: friday when the united nations voted to rebuke israel, the current ambassador to the u.n. told the world the obama administration would not get involved, skipping the vote. less than an hour later, donald trump sent his own message on twitter. as to the u.n., things will be different after january 20th. but some experts caution trump to wait his turn. >> now we have the very difficult situation of two people speaking for the united states. reporter: in palm beach, mixing work and play. trump made no official

appearances in florida, but did not need to be seen to be heard. on foreign policy, trump's team released a congratulatory message from russia's president. trump described as a nice letter from vladimir putin. his thoughts are so correct. putin for his part referred to trump as his excellence si and encouraged improved u.s. russia relations. there's bold comments that con dra tra dikt years of u.s. policy. trump tweeted the united states must strengthen and expand its nuclear capability. some experts express concerns that trump is making pronouncements before taking office. >> it doesn't bode well for dealing with serious issues, whether it's nuclear weapons, syria, what have you. >> reporter: saturday he played his first round of golf since the election with tiger woods.

a tweeted photo showed trump's granddaughter on the links too. >> reporter: a little irony that was that he was golfing with tiger woods. it was trump who used the star power of tiger woods to say president obama has played more golf than woods. a criticism of obama on twitter back during the campaign saying that the president should be more focussed on issues. of course the president-elect is getting back to his past time on the links as well. >> i remember that. kelly o'donnell, thank you, and merry christmas. joining me now are mark thompson, rebecca sindbrind, and katherine mayhueward. >> katherine, i'll start with you. friday morning shortly after morning joe reported an arms race comment. matt lauer asked sean spicer for clarification.

take a listen and then we'll talk. >> if there's going to be an arms race. >> there's not going to be. here's the point. he's going to ensure that other countries get the message that he's not going to sit back and allow it. what's going to happen is they will come to their senses and we will be just fine. >> what's your take? how should the media, if you will, cover discrepancies like this? >> i think it's tempting to overread trump's tweets because that seems to be the place he's communicating most directly and the place he's communicating most frequently, but the effort to parse each and every word might lead us to think there's more settle and definitive policy change choice than there is. i think he was saying i'm going to be tough. that's what people like to hear from him. i don't think it gives us information about what his foreign policy is going to do when he's in office. >> the fact that we're talking about foreign policy and connecting it with twitter and a tweet from our future president,

rie rachel maddow spoke to kellyanne conway about it friday night. >> i think what i'm trying to get is a lot of people are hiding under bed right now, it doesn't seem like he knows what he's talking about. >> that's not fair. >> how can you make policy on twitter? >> he's not making policy on twitter. >> announcing it on twitter is a big deal. >> he said our capability. i think we're you're getting a little too far ahead of ourselves saying he's making and making policy in a way he did not intend. >> okay. the president making policy happens whenever the president speaks on a national security matter. >> what's your take on that? the fact that he's talking about national security whether it's twitter or not, shouldn't the media take it as an official form of communication? >> these are words coming from the incoming president of the united states. twitter is not a venue that's noted for nuance. donald trump is not something noted for nuance, but in

diplomacy, everything has an effect. this is the issue. the incoming president doesn't necessarily seem to now how his words will land. this is not an arena where he's had a lot of experience. you're seeing donald trump debating his team. he's saying he means one thing. his team says he means something else, and he comes out and says i meant that first thing. right now it's just a question. after the inauguration people are going to want to know where the president of the united states stands. >> it's a good point. it's new territory for the media as well. you see him tweet and he talks about foreign policy. we're going to talk about it. >> yeah, and i think it's very concerning, because it's a possibility even rumors that tweets could replace the daily white house press briefings. >> there is a fear. >> and not to mention the fact that he is not behaving as most

president-elects have. ronald reagan didn't even say let's begin bombing in five minutes while he was president-elect. he waited until he was president to make that crazy statement. trump is just doing everything as if he's in the office. >> there's another piece of this on fox news friday. sean spicer should asked if president obama should consult before he talks about it. >> he's the president-elect. he doesn't need to check with people. we respect the fact that there's one president at a time. but this president is not going to sit back and just wait for things to happen. he's going to get things done. >> again bucking tradition. usually there's one president at a time. and there's another piece of this on twitter. a lot of people believe he appears to pressure president obama on the u.n. resolution on israel. it seems like he's very busy but we have a president right now in office. >> and there is historical precedent for there to be

consultation. even during the campaign there's been history where if there was a foreign policy issue or crisis or an incumbent president and the other party had a nominee. it happened with president bush and clinton. he would call bill clinton and say that you need to know this, and we need to be on the same page. it was a courtesy call. trump isn't consulting with anything, and obama has said he would make himself available to trump. we're seeing evangelicals have elected someone who an christmas weekend is talking about not a warm christmas but a war, a nuclear war around christmas time. >> i'm going to bring in katherine. on thursday president-elect trump says someone incorrectly stated that the phrase drain the swamp was no longer being used by me. actually, we will always be trying to drain the swamp. and then the day before newt gingrich made this comment about the popular campaign phrase.

>> you say you've been working on these issues. others might say you've been working in the swamp to use donald trump's language. >> i'm told he now says he was cute but he doesn't want to use it anymore. >> gingrich later said he goofed but how are there major messaging discrepancies here? >> i think the idea, again, is that we're overreading the detailed analysis here. and i think obviously the incoming president should consult with the previous president, but the fact is if donald trump was putting forward a radically different policy than president obama's policies, which was actually good which struck me as a dramatic improvement over obama's policies, i would say go for it. you've won the election, make it clear what you're going to do. that isn't what i'm seeing here, and this crisscross messaging and newt gingrich as mouthpiece to the president-elect doesn't really strike me as the correct way to do it. it's not a content, though, that we're focusing on.

it's the medium, and i think there is a distinction. >> good conversation, guys. mark, rebecca, and katherine. thank you for talking with me. and merry christmas eve. >> thank you. >> also at this hour, beloved "star wars" actress carrie fisher suffered a heart attack on a flight from london to lax on friday night. many of her fans and former co-stars are tweeting messages of support as she recovers. we'll bring you t latest on her condition as we learn more. next, a look back at the obama legacy. ♪ as soon as i became a parent i changed as a person, drastically. ♪ i tried hard to quit smoking. ♪ but when we brought our daughter home that was it. ♪ now i have nicoderm cq. the nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release technology helps prevent your urge to smoke all day.

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farewell address. according to nbc's chicago affiliate the speech will take place on january 10th. for more on the president's legacy. i'm joined by jason johnson. good morning to you. >> good morning. merry christmas. >> merry christmas. if donald trump comes in and undoes everything president obama accomplished. what will that mean for his legacy? >> the best way to understand the legacy is kind of like a sandwich. barack obama's presidency is sandwiched between unpopular president bush, and trump. unless trump turns into a great fantastic paradise, obama will probably look better and better in hindsight because of the man that followed him. >> is there anything the president can do now to protect

his legacy from trump? he's mentioned it before. i remember during the campaign he talked to his supporters about protecting his legacy. it's certainly on his mind. >> right. well, one of the best things he could do to protect his legacy is make sure what he created was too complicated to destroy. we can talk about the affordable care act. the affordable care act, they're smart people. it's like a game of jenga. you can't pull out pieces without everything falling apart. the republicans have realized already that they can't just keep keeping your children on until 26 or preexisting conditions without other parts of the law. so obama's greatest legislative achievement is probably going to be one of the hardest things for republicans to dismantle. >> take a look at the numbers. according to a poll, 49% say he'll be remembered as a good or great president. 25% say he'll be seen as a fair

president. and 23% say he'll be remembered as a failed president. granted, we don't have the leisure of time, but how do you think history will remember obama? >> i think in 50 years when everybody has their obama care and it's a basic term, i think in 25 years when we look at an america where of right now 40 of americans under the age of 15 are not white, obama will be seen as a social change dm this country. look, it doesn't mean everything he did was perfect informal everything reagan did or bush or clinton doesn't perfect, but i think when you have this presidency, which was relatively scandal free followed by someone who lost the electoral college by 3 million votes has white supremacists and trss as part of his administration, it's unlikely obama's legacy won't appear to be greater. no one's legacy is seen as vacuum. it's compared by who follows you. it looks like he's followed by

someone who's going to make him look better. >> 24% of respondents think the affordable care act is his greatest achievement. 27% say it's his greatest failure. where do you think it ranks as far as his achievements? there are a lot of people watching who are probably screaming at the tvecause they don't think it's an achievement. what do you think? >> i think it's adequate. the law did some good things. it increased health care coverage for millions of americans. but it didn't do a lot about costs. now we have these discussions now where should we do something about how much medicine costs or the coverage? there are plenty of things that need to be fixed but long term, it actually brought it into public discourse. people know more about their health care today than they have in history, and they can hold their politicians more accountable. obama's lacy with the latino community is a mixed bag.

he the african american community, lots of people got job but african american unemployment and criminal justice, he was not bold enough. we'll be deciphering and digging through his legacy for a long time. right now it seems fairly positive. it would have been more positive if he was followed by hillary clinton if she enforced what he set forward. >> we have to do this conversation in 50 years and make a date. >> i'll be here. >> all right. thank you jason. >> bye bye. >> coming up next, shoppers opening their wallets for holiday gifts and what it's telling us about the state of the economy.

it's christmas eve which means crunch time for last minute shoppers. if this is you, it's me too. you're not alone. according to national retail federation, about 20 % of consumers wait until the last

day of christmas to cross things off their list. the shoppers will boost what's expected to be a strong holiday season for u.s. retailers. total sales up to $630 billion for the holiday season. let's bring in ron, good morning to you. i'll admit last night i started a shopping. i was at a target in new york city. it was packed. i will never procast nate ever again. >> i have one more thing to do, and i'm going to regret it. >> holiday hopping or retailers, that they relying on holiday shopping? >> it's 20% of their annual sales. it's a big deal. it's both a combination of bricks and mortar and online. online should do about $117 billion. it's a pretty big and important part of the selling year. >> i will tell you i've noticed my bar for what's considered a bargain is really high. talk about what retailers have

to do to entice us to make the purchases. >> today there will be deep discounting. online you'll get things delivered up until midnight and many stores are staying open until 9:00 or so. in some cases stores are going 40 % off sales. if you're running around at the last minute, very typically you do get those steals and deals going into the final few hours of today. >> can you talk about how the current state of the economy is influencing how people are shopping this year? >> it's not a bad year. unemployment is at 4 .6%. consumer sentiment at an 11 year high. when you look really at the broad economy, it's actually consistently strong and possibly strengthening as we go into 2 6 2016. a 3.7% increase in holiday sales is almost double what we've seen in the last couple of years. people are feeling reasonably good and with the markets on fire, housing prices going up,

you're seeing a fair amount of consumer confidence. >> i'll ask this with no answer in sight. is there a chicken and egg thing here where if i'm at home and i hear people are shopping, this is a good time, i'll go out and shop? does the political and economic outlook make a difference? >> yeah. psychologically all these things are important. when the market is doing better and home sales are better, people feed off of both euphoria and despair. at the depths of the crisis in 2009 people thought the economy would never get better. we're not where people feel it will never fall, but they're confident enough to maintain spending and have a decent year. i think there's some optimism around what the economy looks like in 2017. the market could go to new all time highs. that breeds a certain amount of confidence. we're not at the complacency stage, but there's enough confidence for people to feel

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here are the latest headlines we're following. tunisian security forces have arrested three suspected militants. one of the salesmen believed to be am ri's nephew. >> the u.s. declined to vote yesterday on a u.n. resolution demanding israel stop building settlements in palestinian territory. president-elect trump publicly announced his opposition to the resolution which eventually passed with 14 votes in favor. joining me on the latest international news is a former fbi intelligence operative.

malcolm nans, and nina, professor of international affairs and associate dean at the news school. good morning. malcolm, we've learned that at least one of these three new people taken into custody was communicating with amri through the telegram act. that's the same app the paris attackers used. >> they're very hard to break, especially ones like telegram. they often have point to point encryption. that means unless you have that phone and you take that phone and you can break it out, that communication cannot be intercepted, and that's very difficult. some of the other apps disappear at the end of the communication. so you have no record of what's left there. isis prefers and isis supporters prefer the telegram act because of the encryption and the

nonpersistence of the record of the communications you have. that means you have to be monitoring that individual almost realtime in order to get any information out of it. >> that seems not impossible but if you think about the people trying to monitor, and can you talk about the kind of intelligence they're hoping to get from the people tied to amri? >> look, the bane of any intelligence work is production which is primarily link analysis. that means that you follow one target and you look who that person calls, and then you look who the subsequent people that person calls and build out, if you can think of homeland, a chart that sort of shows this crazy sort of architecture of who they're in contact with. the encryption, while you can't see it, you can see when someone initiates a call. intelligence is predictive analysis. you don't want to be reactionary and talking about this after it

happens. it's important for the intelligence community to be able to look at this stuff and if there's a target. the big question has always been you're watching someone in yemen and they call someone in new jersey. now it's become a big both legal and cultural issue. in many cases the cia doesn't want to hand it to the fbi. they don't want a burn a source. this is going to be one of the biggest problems for the u.s. as to how we bridge the gap. how do we rectify privacy and stopping terrorist attacks? it's going to be a big question to answer. >> it's a fair thought. and here's another hot topic today. let's talk about the u.s. and russia. president-elect trump is embracing putin as many people consider the fact that he's insulting hillary clinton and the democratic party. nina, i'll bring you in. is he playing into putin's hands with that rhetoric? >> he's been playing into putin's hands for over a year. it's not more than he has done already. but it's -- >> you know what it is? people have this picture of putin sitting back and saying

oh, yes, and -- >> and you know what? this is a correct picture. i was just in moscow and the russians are saying look at those fools and their democracy. absolutely. how could america lecture us on any development institutions, human rights, democracy, rhetoric when they just elected donald trump. he's such a fool. he's such a bully. that's what america deserves. and we're going to take advantage of it. and that's how russians feel about it. and now it's taking shape with letters from vladimir putin to donald trump with their exchange on potential nuclear armament and what not. i think this is going to be a very interesting world to unfold in the next four years. >> malcolm, she mentioned the letter. does putin's letter complicate things for their alleged interfeerninte interference for the election? >> i don't think there will be any accountability with the

regards of the russian hacking against the dnc or even violating the entirety of the u.s. electoral process. trump benefitted. he's going to shut down any investigation unless it starts to imply kate him or his campaign. however, nina is right. we are being played as fools by a spy master in chief, a former kgb officer, director of russian intelligence. he's laughing at his letters which stroke trump. his excellencexcellency. we haven't had a letter like that in the united states since king george ii. as long as trump is manipulated, russia and china will take the international markets and the united states will be relegated

to a third class country with atomic weapons. >> i have to wrap. we'll push the pause button and talk again. thank you for talking with me this morning. >> next, we'll switch gears a bit. we're talking about hatch-a-mals. kids are clambering for this. we'll talk about it coming up next. will your business be ready when growth presents itself? american express open cards can help you take on a new job,

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busy parents to predict what kids want for the holidays. look. according to national retail federation this year's hot toys for girls included dolls and the hatching egg toy known as hatchimals. and for boys legos and anything "star wars" related. joining me now is marissa, senior editor of the toy

insider, a source for the most up to date incite on toys. >> i just started my shopping last night. i was at target and everything was picked over. i'm surprised you say now is a good time. tell me what we have here. >> it's never too late. you still have time. toys r us is staying open until midnight. they are stocked on certain things. we are talking a little bit about hatchimals. that's the hottest toy of the year. this is an egg that will really hatch. >> why is this all the rage? when i was a kid it was cabbage patch kids. >> think about the furby. this has the same level of interaction but it hatches. it's an amazing experience. >> once it hatches, that's it? >> then you get an interactive creature. you can hatch a little bird type thing. and you can take it from baby to toddler to kid. >> what about teens? >> all kids want the coolest tech like their parents.

this is the curio watch. it's a smart watch for kids. apps, activity trackers, calculat calculator. so much fun is in here. and if kids have them, they have connect to each other and play games or connect to a smart phone and send messages. >> i have two four-year-olds and a seven-year-old. will they leave my phone alone with that? some of the toys don't feel like a phone. >> this is not a phone. this is a real working smart device. it's amazing. >> and finally here. >> these are our e-kids i home speakers. there's an iron man blue tooth speaker. and headphones. >> i went to target. the location. everything pokemon related was gone. >> it's hard to find, but they're out there. >> what would be the best advice for getting the big toys. calling around? >> you should always call your

local retailers and see what they have in stock. go in. you may think you're looking for one thing but find out something else is on the shelf that your kid would love. >> i tweeted the fact that i was in target looking lost and everybody said go online. when i tried to go online, i miss the deadline for shipping. is it too late? >> it's not too late. if you're a prime member, you can do amazon prime now they're shipping tonight until 9:00. >> but certain toys? >> they have a good assortment. if you're buying for a kid you don't kw well, try to stick with something gender neutral. this is our space rocket with a launch site, and toys like these are a classic. >> what's your number one piece of advice? >> just make sure that you're buying something that's really interactive and engaging for kids. >> that's a good point. as opposed to sitting and watching. >> yeah. get something they get value out

of. >> thank you for coming in. coming up next "rogue one". we'll look at that and some of the other movies you might want to check out this weekend. [ sneezes ]

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. new films arriving in theaters, just in time for christmas, have something for everyone to enjoy this holiday weekend. "sing," the latest offering from animation studio illumination follows a group of animals as they compete in an "american idol" singing competition. it's cute. "sing" is projected to be big, raking in as much as $70 million through monday. but it will get some competition from sony pictures, sci-fi romance, "passengers" and "rogue one," still going strong after its opening last week. fandango's chris witherspoon joins us now with a preview of what's big this holiday weekend. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> let's start with "rogue one." tell me this, is this as big a

franchise as some of the other ones? >> the force is with "rogue one," our top seller right now on fandango and will continue to sell strong throughout the weekend. it sold already $200 million in its first week in theaters. supposed to make another $100 million by monday. a huge investment on disney's behalf to buy this franchise. and "star wars" in 2012, paying off. we did a survey, 62% planning to go back and see it again. i think the news of carry fisher is going to get these fans to stand in solidarity and come out and support the franchise. >> i was going to ask you about that. the timing of that. >> the timing is so sad, but i think for fans, they can go back and see the franchise and celebrate princess leia. >> and push for her recovery, for sure. >> let's talk about some of the smaller films, some of the sleeper hits that really, i'm hearing a lot of buzz about. >> you mentioned "passengers" and "assassin's crede" but

"fences" and folks will be coming out to see those. i interviewed the cast of "hidden figures" and most of the women, kevin costner included, did not know about the stories of the black women in nasa. we have a clip of that we can play for the audience. >> let's do it. >> i hope that we will influence the next crop of s.t.e.m. enthusiasts, boys and girls. it's scary there has been a rapid decline of people of color in the s.t.e.m. programs, especially women. >> i'm hoping to give little girls a dream i never knew i was allowed to dream. >> hopefully now they can look to these women who had to overcome so many obstacles. these women didn't allow the sexism or racism or the opinions of the people around them to stop them from reaching and achieving their goals. >> this is one of those films where i can imagine years and years to come, students will have to watch in school to learn about, frankly, as it says, the

hidden figures, the women i didn't know existed. >> i didn't either. >> and "fences" denzel washington, viola davis, amazing. both will probably get oscar live. and a huge narrative twist from two years ago, the oscars with the white backlash. we're seeing the answer, hollywood getting it right and bringing the stories to the big screen. >> i interviewed the cast of "fences" this week on the "today" show and talked with denzel washington, one of the up and comers, joe dana depo. >> amazing. >> and another girl in the cast. it's interesting, because i was talking to my mom about it, and obviously so many people went to broadway to support the cast when viola davis was there and deny zel, and before that, jones. so a lot of people looking to the movie with great expectations. >> and i think it definitely delivers. it feels like a play in a lot of ways, but i think denzel washington really studied this play. he was in on broadway, won a tony award.

viola davis was his co star and he hand-picked and selected this cast to be in this film. and the audition stories i heard from the cast are hilarious. i interviewed them, as well. but he definitely brings the truth and authenticity to this movie and to the adaptation. >> final question on "fences." i actually wondered about that. you feel like you're watching a play. >> you do. >> there is a lot of dialogue. if it will translate and people will be ready for it? >> i think so many audiences -- black audiences, most importantly are familiar with "fences," didn't get a chance to see it on broadway. everyone can't come to new york and see it. they're going to celebrate the story of what the play is all about. so, yeah, i think they will digest it. >> if i were to ask you about the critics' darlings. >> "la la land", "fences," and for critics, "la la land", musical, emma stone, ryan gosling. you leave that film wanting to

dance and with the sound track. >> it's funny, i see the ads everywhere. and then i realize how many moes i haven't seen. therare so many that seem like they're going to be great. even "sing" seems cute. >> amazing, reese witherspoon, matthew mcconaughey. it's a cute film and not just for kids. >> it's funny, the crew on the "today" show was teasing me. it's not my tradition to see a movie on christmas, but a lot of families, that's what they do. so maybe we'll start a new tradition. >> and fandango. >> congratulations to you at fandango. chris witherspoon, thank you so much. >> this was fun. that does it for us. more coming up in the next hour. in fact, more news after the break. sometimes when brushing my gums bleed.

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here you go.picking up for kyle. you wouldn't put up with part of a pizza. um. something wrong? so when it comes to pain relievers, why put up with just part of a day? you want the whole thing? yes, yes! live whole. not part. aleve. good day. i'm sheinelle jones in new york and msnbc world headquarters. high noon in the east and 9:00 a.m. out west. now here's what's happening.

new aarrests in connection with the deadly truck attack in berlin. a relative of the accused terrorist. details in a live report. heightened security. new threats from isis on public places in the u.s. see what officials are doing to secure the homeland. at odds? the president-elect and the obama white house taking two different approaches on big issues. the latest on israel and a dramatic way. and christmas day blizzard. see where the worst of the weather is expected to hit as we move through the holiday weekend. we begin with breaking news in tunisia. new arrests in the aftermath of the attacks in berlin. officials say they arrested three people suspected of belonging to the same extremist group as anri, including his nephew. it claimed the lives of 12 people. he was killed in a shootout with police in italy friday