battle, i guess she did have earon's fighting spirit, to pull through all of that. so thank god for that. >> that is all for this edition after "dateline." i'm craig melvin, thank you for watching. good morning. i'm dara brown in new york at msnbc headquarters. it is 7:00 on the east and 4:00 out west and here is what is happening. cutting ties and raising questions what a source told nbc news about former national security adviser michael flynn and the russia probe. person of the year or not. president trump is saying thanks any way to time magazine. and the first daughter's club sends a message to the tabloids about leaving malia obama alone. and new this morning, another jab in the sparring between president trump and time magazine over the person of the year distinction. first the president tweeted time

magazine called to say that i was probably going to be named man, person, like person of the year like last year but i had to agree to an interview and a major shoot. i said probably is no good and took a pass. thanks any way. time magazine fired back on twitter saying the president is incorrect about how we choose person of the year. time does not comment on our choice until publication, which is december 6th. meanwhile, the white house is down playing a new development in a russia investigation on whether ousted national security adviser michael flynn has cut a deal with robert mueller. kristen welker has more. >> reporter: while president trump hit the links with tiger woods in florida, the cloud of the russia investigation is growing. a source familiar with the legal proceedings tells nbc news a lawyer for the president's ousted national security adviser michael online notified the president's team they would no

lo nger share information. the change reported by the new york times so signal a significant shift in flynn's cooperation with robert mueller. >> what might it indicate. >> it could mean that he's cooperating with prosecutors. on the other hand, it might just mean he's negotiating with them. or trying to secure some favorable plea deal. in order to do that, though, he's going to have to demonstrate to prosecutors that he has some valuable information. >> reporter: the white house is down playing the very many one officialing telling nbc news, even if flynn is cooperating with mueller there is no concern at the white house that flynn will implicate. the president mr. trump's former campaign manager, cory lewandowski. >> there is no liability because he didn't collude with russia in any way shape or form. >> this month nbc news reported that federal investigators have enough information to bring charges in the flynn investigation and under scrutiny for his foreign lobbying work

involving russia and turkey and fired after just 24 days on the job. although later in an interview with lester, president trump praised flynn. >> he's in my opinion a very good person. >> that is kristen welker reporting. and let's bring in gabby moren and jonathan allen, reporter for nbc news digital. great to have you both. jonathan, what are you hear being how the white house and others in president's trump's inner circle are processing this news about flynn. >> there is great reporting from kristen welker, i think the message that we're mostly hearing out of the white house and from allies like cory lewandowski is they are not worried about the president being implicated. i'm not sure whatt -- what else they would say. their argument is that he didn't do anything and the idea that implicate is at odds with what the president has done.

kristen has reported there is -- at least one person close to the white house that said there is some concern about this. i think the big picture is what we're seeing is the splitting or dividing of the interests of people who are involved in this. so the president's interests are not the same as michael flynn's interest and may not be the same of his own interest or jared kushner's interest or when you see the legal defense teams say we can't cooperate because their clients have different interests. >> and gabby what are you hear being this, with hope hicks now in the spotlight. >> there is a growing concern about these staff interviews that are taking place between mueller and former and current white house officials. and i do think that there is some concern among white house staff over this deal with flynn. flynn's lawyers had been in contact with the white house counsel and lawyers for president trump, kind of sharing details of the ongoing

investigation with them and suddenly cut those ties and said they will no longer be able to share that information, which typically in previous investigations is signal that perhaps he's other coordinated with mueller, cooperating with him or has cut a deal. and i do think that although they feel he cannot implicate him knowingly, perhaps there is something that mike flynn would say, whether it would involve t the comey firing, that took place during the campaign or the transition or the early days of the administration that might get the president in trouble on the obstruction of justice or something unrelated that hasn't been reported yet. >> and we'll have to see how that unfolds. and donald trump jr. saying they are serving up nothing burgers and telling his critics to bring it on. is this a coping mechanism for

him? it. >> maybe. i'm not that any lawyer in the country would advise their client to good on twitter and sort of poke the special counsel bear. this is not behavior that is typical of somebody who is perhaps under investigation, obviously donald trump jr. has talked to the senate judiciary committee and others have interest in him. so he's not doing himself any favors. >> and gabby, how do you think that the white house insiders are now reacting to president trump's sparking a feud with time magazine and do you think that they could ignore that kind of stuff? >> well, president trump has always had a pen chant to comment on these types of things and i do think that it is comical on the surface but it is part of a growing concern that he isn't focused on the policy priorities that his administration has and he isn't focused on advancing his agenda, instead he wants to be in the middle of pop culture and be the commentator and chief and that

is something that has gotten him into hot water previously and i know that time is now pushing back on this saying that the way that president trump has portrayed the series of events is inaccurate and so i think that there -- this will be an ongoing feud and i'm sure it will overshadow tax reform heading into next week. >> and the push back was rather quick. jonathan, what is your take on that? >> i think that it is interesting and indicative of the president's sort of desire here, which is to be in the middle of the news. if gow back through the history of times man of the year or person of the year, it is not in the -- an award for the best person of the year, just the biggest biggest newsmaker. so there are people that have done positive things or -- but what is true they were the most important person in the news and i think president trump wants people to know that time is interested in him. i'm not sure how they could not be interested in him. whether or not he would win person of the year. >> interesting. thank you. and gabby, i want to turn to the

white house handling of the roy moore allegations because kellyanne conway is facing an ethics investigation for discouraging alabamans for voting for doug jones in an interview this week. it is a clear indication of where president trump and the white house now stand on these allegations? >> well if you recall about a week ago kaeellyanne conway mad an appearance on fox and friends single-dig -- and said it would be better to have moore than doug jones and the president echoed that days later when he was speaking to reporters before departing from mar-a-largo. so i think that is the stance of the white house. whether or not they want to say that it is the official position is up for question. but i do think that that is -- what this administration has been saying so far. they would prefer to see roy moore, somebody under scrutiny for sexually assaulted a number of young girls in alabama in the senate than a democrat. somebody who would likely vote against a lot of the president's

policy priorities and most of his agenda. >> and jonathan, what is the latest on the impact that this is happening in the race down in alabama? >> this is a really hard race to poll. it seems fluid. i was in alabama a week or so ago and i think there are a lot of republicans there who are trying to figure out what to do. is it that they ignore these allegations and vote for roy moore or stay home and in some cases do they vote for doug jones because they think this is too much to bear and i think we're going to see over the next couple of weeks how that breaks. but moore is certainly fighting hard and doug jones is fighting hard and this is a much more competitive race than anyone expected in alabama. >> it might come down to the wire. gabby, on thanksgiving senator al franken apologized again for his sexually inappropriate behavior and said to speak with reporters tomorrow. do you know anything more about tomorrow's event and might it be part of his strategy as the ethics investigation gets underway. >> well i think he has to be careful because this

investigation is going to get underway soon. but i imagine that this is just going to be another position where he -- or another press conference where he makes an apology and takes questions about the allegations and reiterated that he has no intention of stepping down from his senate seat. which is something that has put democrats in a peculiar position because they've been calling for roy moore to be expelled from the senate if he is elected. they've been in -- having conversations about the validity of number of the sexual assault allegations against al franken and now a member of the party is facing criticisms and accusations. and so if he doesn't want to step down and has no intention of resigning, this is something that democrats are going to have to answer for in the coming weeks. >> gabby and jonathan stick around because in a few minutes i'll ask you about the confusion after the head of a government consumer watchdog group calls it quits and two people are named as interim directors.

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breaking news in egypt, the number of people reported dead after a mosque attack has risen. overnight the death toll went up to over 3 hup people dead, including 27 children. nbc's bill neely is in cairo, egypt for us. and good morning. what is the latest on this tragedy? >> reporter: good morning, dara. as you say the death toll rising all of the time. it is just over 24 hours since this attack took place. the death toll now put at 305. and as you say 27 children. truly horrific, not just the worst terror attack but one of the worst ever in the middle east. it is a day of mourning here.

but also of military response. with war planes bombing what are described as terrorist targets. fire at a mosque, a massacre without mercy and mayhem after egypt's deadly terror attack. even ambulances targeted outside and inside more than 300 people dead. murdered as they prayed. nearly all were men, but there were dozens of children among the dead and injured. more than a hundred wounded. hundreds more traumatized. this morning relatives took bodies away for a burial and entire families were killed. after militants singled out the mosque in the town of al abed, 200 miles from cairo. a suicide bomber detonating inside of the mosque. then a gunman perhaps dozen of them and four off-road vehicles opening fire both inside and out on worshipers. even by the deadly standards of

the middle east, this was a ruthless attack. >> islamic militants have been conducting attacks in the sinai but a attack against a mosque crosses a new threshold. >> the mosque is in sinai province, now a war zone that isis is trying to take over. two years ago in the skies over sign i-isis brought down a plane killing 224. this year isis has attacked dozens of christians. including inside of a church. a tax egypt security forces seem unable to stop. president trump condemned the horrible and cowardly terrorist attack. egypt's presidencisy said it makes it more determined. and he sent in bombers, war planes destroying vehicles said to of been used in the attack and bombing what the military

claim are terrorists in mountain hideouts. in egypt today, deep shock at the massacre of so many civilians at worship. inside of a holy place by islamist gunman. well there has been no formal claim of responsibility but no one here is in any doubt that the group responsible is the sinai affiliate of isis. so a manhunt here today. three days of mourning but a long-term problem for egypt's president sisi. he standed for stability and security. there is neither here. dara. >> bill neely reporting live from egypt. thank you so much. let's get reaction from the white house and nbc's kelly o'donnell is in west palm beach florida where the president is spending thanksgiving weekend. kelly, good morning. president trump tweeted that he called the president of egypt and any sense of what came out of that conversation? >> well what is interesting about the trump white house, when you are looking at an

incident like this, which has a global impact and really long-term diplomatic issues, you see two very different sets of responses. a formal response, what is described as i read out of the call between the president and the president of egypt. where that went through the different levels of review. before it was published. and it describes the tone of the call from the president to president al si si and conveying a shared partnership and then the twitter feed is a more casual and shoot from the hip donald trump who talks about thoseesh use but also links to his own agenda for what is happening inside of the united states. so a terror attack in egypt may not have any direct impact on his policies domestically but he finds that link. for example, he calls it a -- a horrific and cowardly act so he does speak in that predictable tone but also said it is a sign of needing policies like a border wall or the travel ban.

that not involving egypt but for his domestic political audience and as a sign that if there is terrorism elsewhere in the world, he has a responsibility to try to protect the united states. so you get these two very different tracks on how the u.s. government responds. the formal sort of diplomatic sense through the official statement from the president, and the white house, and then through the twitter feed, a much more casual and yet reflective of the president's thinking on these issues when he talks about what he would like to see done and his connection reaching out to the president of egypt. dara. >> kelly o'donnell live in florida, thank you so much for that report. and tax bill wrangling, the maneuver that lies ahead on capitol hill to get the bill passed next week. (door bell rings) you're drew brees?! i'm sorry to bother you, but my car broke down and i'd really appreciate a ride to the stadium. yes! ...but, no, i have to stay here and wait for a package. i thought anybody who rooted for me would have fedex delivery manager. that way you can sign for your packages remotely and even customize your delivery time. (car alarm beeps)

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now back to politics and a bit of confusion about who was in charge of the consumer financial protection bureau. president trump last night appointed nick mulvaney from the

management and budget to serve as the acting director. coming hours after richard cordray officials redesigned. warren tweeted the dodd frank bill is clear. the deputy director becomes acting director. trump can't override that. let's bring back gabby moore and jonathan allen. and gabby, nick mulvaney running both of these agencies. how is that allowed to work? >> well first of all, poor nick mulvaney has a ton on his plate considering both of roles he's likely to play but the trump administration signaled early on they want to hollow out this agency. they didn't think that it was doing a good job or that it was really carrying out what they would like to be doing under this administration and so i think that was the primary reason and putting nick mulvaney in this role as interim director but it is causing controversy

because there are conflicting statueutes here. one that directors that the director of the cfpb could appoint a acting director but another that allows the president to apoint somebody to fill a vacancy permitting that they are -- if they are actually confirmed by the senate in order to fill that vacancy during the interim. so there is a question here of who is going to play this role going forward until we have a permanent director and i'm eager to see how this plays out. >> interesting. and jonathan, what is mulvaney's history with respect to the consumer financial protection bureau because wasn't he a critic in the past. >> not just a critic rkt he called it a sad sick joke and he wanted wanted to rein in or dismantle the agency and now he will be in charge. i think we could pull back the camera a little bit, but not literally and just see what interests are here.

richard cordray head of the cfpb is interested in running for the governor of ohio and allowing president trump to name a successor and dismantle it. that will get him hit by rivals for the democratic gubernatorial nomination in ohio. he puts in a replacement and said i'm allowed to name the replacement and set up a clash and a fight with the trump administration and i think that will happen. not to say that he doesn't believe that mick mulvaney shouldn't be the director but it is interesting to see how it plays out legally. you saw in elizabeth warren's tweeting say that it is clear -- the law is clear, it says an absence is filled by a deputy director and this may come down to a question of whether richard cordray leaving that job open is an absence or a vacancy. >> which is interesting for 2018. gabby, i want to turn to the tax fight because the president is heading to the capitol hill to

meet with senate republicans on tuesday and so what should we expect out of this meeting? >> i think they are in the final push for tax reform and they want to get this done by christmas which is the dead line that the president has set for congressional republicans. and there is still a the of details of the tax bill that need to be worked out before they bring it to a vote. so they are still talking about the corporate rate, whether they want to leave it at 20% or raise it by a couple percentage points or half a percent point and they are still looking at the child tax credit and a number of the other features of the tax bill. whether they want to consolidate the income tax brackets. and so there is questions and stake ho stakeholders and interest groups lobbying for different things that complicates it and on top of that it doesn't look like they have the votes among republicans, forget democrats for right now, but just among the republican party to get this through the senate. >> gabby, i have to wrap.

did mitch mcconnell have the votes. >> not yet. >> great to have you here on saturday morning. thank you. and that will do it for me. i'm dara brown. thank you for watching at the top of the hour hugh hewitt but first it is your business with j.j. ramberg. ( ♪ ) more people shop online for the holidays than ever before. (clapping) and the united states postal service delivers more of those purchases to homes

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