a warning for president trump, a top democratic on the senate intel committee is cautioning any effort to fire special counsel robber mueller would be a abuse of fire. avoiding a government shutdown. lawmakers have until friday at midnight to strike a deal. 14 people injured in australia. after a car drove into a crowd of pedestrians. police believe it was a deliberate act. motivation remains unclear.

good morning, everyone. dwri dividing line. called for partnership between special counsel and robert mueller. while other side are seeking to take on boj leadership. later to be interviewed behind closed doors by the house oversight committee today. this after eight hours of testimony at the house intelligence committee lasted until 10:00 p.m. on tuesday evening. mri report co-reports on secret meetings by a house of group republicans focused on corruption and bias in the upper ranks of the justice department and fbi. led by devin nunez of california, effort to build a case that senior leaders improperly and perhaps criminally mishandled the contents of a dossier on alleged ties between president trump and russia. now, this is according to four people familiar with their plans. >> they say the group is relying on the same documents and

testimony provided by top obama administration officials, grilled as part of the intelligence committee russia probe. republicans and the group's suspect the fbi and doj have worked either to hurt trump or aide his former campaign rival, hillary clinton. they reportedly hope to release a report early next year detailing concerns. this as the senate intel committee vice chairman democrat mark warner made impassioned three on the senate floor in support of bob mueller. >> recent days, the president said he is not considering removing special counsel mueller. the president's track record on this front is a source of concern.

congress must make it clear that firing the special counsel or issuing a pardon don of special witness is unacceptable and would have immediate and significant consequences. >> fbi association which represents thousands of current and former released a statement. it reads in part, controversies of the day fade by the sworn duty of special agents endure. focused on protecting the constitution and public. their work should be recognized, not denigrated. >> remains to be seen whether president trump can sign $1.5 trillion tax law into bill before christmas. signing could come as early as tomorrow. only if congress waves the spending cuts that come with it. has to do with pay as you go act of 2010. says if congress enacts deficit increasing legislation before it adjourns for the calendar year, automatic across the board cuts

will be triggered the following january. writes in the case of this tax bill, they would include a $25 billion cut to medicare as well as cuts to customs and border protection. agricultural subsidies and student loans. absent a signs, the prosecute welcomed members of congress to the white house for a celebration. >> it's been an amazing experience. i have to tell you. hasn't been done in 34 years. actually really hasn't been done because we broke every record. it's the largest, i always say the most massive. it's the largest tax cut in the history of our country. and reform, but tax cut. >> amid the celebration of the tax bill, president trump also took a moment to enjoy another policy win for administration. >> i hate to say this, but we essentially repealed obamacare because we got rid of the

individual mandate which was terrible. >> so despite is the self congratulation over the health law individual manmandate, it d not mean the entire law is being overturned. in fact tax bill leaves most other vital parts of the law intact. insurance exchanges such as health care are still in place. helped cover 15 million people remains in place in the states that opted to expand the program and according to congressional budget office, despite the mandate, insurance markets likely to remain stable and lower enrollment total expected. >> one potential obstacle to passing a spending bill has been eliminated. republican senator lamar aaron hicks and susan collins have

asked not to consider aaron hicks hard line conservatives in the house have rejected. they say that will offer the bill early next year. congress is said to leave washington for the christmas break without funding the children's health program that serves nine million kids. senators alexander and collins revealed thad chip, which expired, won't be authorized by the new year. as we mentioned a moment ago, time is run reasonable degree out on capitol hill to avoid a government shutdown by friday's midnight deadline. pushing to pass another stopgap funding bill to help the government through january. meeting at 5:00 p.m. today as both sides are eager to make a deal, putting off big policy

fights until the new year. however minority leader nancy pelosi sent a letter yesterday urging house democrats to vote against the spending bill if it does not address the party's priorities. house and democratic leadership has continued to exist on parody. should include funding for opioids, and support for the dream act. unless we see respect for values and priorities, continue to urge a strong no on the continuing resolution. joining us from sarasota, florida, breaking news for the washington examiner. melissa quinn. good to have you with us once again. talk about the tax reform. how it's been spun on both sides. got the republicans arguing this is going to help the party. can't wait to get out and sell it to the american people and midterms of 2018. especially when they think voters are going to start seeing money hit their bank account. on the other hand, you see democrats saying they can't wait

to run against it because they're convinced it's so unpopular and largely viewed as a tax break for the wealthy. not the promise trump campaigned on. who is right here. >> good morning, i think that depends on who you asked. just like you mentioned. republicans say that even though 44% of americans and that's according to a morning counsel poll accomplished on tuesday. they believe public opinion will change. once they start seeing more money coming through the paychecks. democrats view this as boom to the wealthy and corporations. what's interesting is republican lawmakers certainly got a huge boost yesterday when we saw a number of companies, comcast, at&t. boeing, wells fargo, all come out and announce they're going to be awarding their employees $1,000 bonuses, and plan to raise their minimum wages to $15 an hour in some cases once

president trump signs the tax bill. so i think when you think about the action of those companies, that certainly plays well for republicans. >> so in the midst of the tax bill, let's talk about the spending bill as well. they go hand in hand. seems now they've gotten the tax bill passed, when it comes to spending, republicans are having a tough time finding money for major programs. ayman was talking about earlier, child's health and disaster aide as well. how much of this could overhaul or overshadow the win they made on tax reform as they see it. >> that's the warning that some moderate republicans are issuing to their colleagues, which is that, look, we just took this huge victory lap at the white house with president trump on this tax bill. let's not be stupid and have that be overshadowed by a government shutdown. both parties, republicans and democrats are very wary of

shutting down the government. and want to avoid being blamed for a government shutdown. although republicans met yesterday at 5:00 p.m. in the capitol to sort of chart out the path forward. didn't walk away with an agreement. seems at this point, republicans are very much aware if they do allow a government shutdown, could overshadow efforts earlier this week. >> that is for sure. melissa quinn, we're going to talk to you again at the bottom of the hour. want to get to breaking news out of australia. a truck has crashed into a group of people in melbourne. happened around 4:40 p.m. local time. police believe it was a deliberate act. do not know the motivation and not yet calling it a terrorist attack. 14 people injured. several critically. luckily no reports of fatales. a preschool aged child is one of the people injured. driver was arrested at the scene in addition to another man there.

paramedics could be seen after the crash. holding tarps over several of them. one witness said the driver blue through a red light at high speed. another witness say she saw people flying everywhere. horrific story. second time in five weeks, north korean soldier has defected to south korea. crossed this morning around 8:04 local time. after being detected by the south with surveillance equipment that cut through heavy fog. south korean officials tell nbc news that border guards broadcasted warning messages and fired 20 shots at north korean troops searching for the soldiers. soon after the gunfire was heard coming from the north, but no damage was found in the south. no shots fired at the defects soldier which follows the mid november defection of another soldier which this dramatic u.n.

video shows. south korean official says two north korean civilians found in a fishing boat off south korea's coast also say they are defecting. according to news agency, 15 north koreans, including four soldiers, have defected to the south this year. compared to one soldier and four civilians louisia s last year. single vote victory ended with a tie. believe it or not. could come down to luck of the draw. national debate. memphis becomes the latest city to remove confederate statutes in the dead of the night. those stories and a check on the weather when we come back. the morning walk was so peaceful.

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the virginia house race is

now a tie. the ruling came after the republicans questioned this blot wi ballot after two bubbles filled in. gives 11608 votes each. under virginia law, board of elections will now choose the lawyer. likely pull names out of a hat to determine who wins the seat. the law also states that the loser of the drawing may petition for a recount. if simons wins, virginia's legislature would be evenly split, ending 17 years. >> could you imagine if that happened in the republican race. >> seriously. why can't they just have the election over. i feel like that's the fair thing to do. cardinal bernard former boston archbishop who resigned over the sex scandal that rocked the church passed away in rome at the age of 86.

plans for later are sparking outrage. nbc an tompson has more. challenging the forgiveness. >> i hope the gates of hell are open wide to welcome him. >> little mercy seen as the face of clergy-penite. >> furious he will be given a fun roll with a blessing by pope francis. >> the pope is honoring him and saying it's okay to abuse children. >> i would prefer to see him tied to a cross and burned instead. during 18 years in

moved. >> to all those who have suffered from my shortcomings and mistakes, i once again apologize. >> father gym majim marten, say world will be watching the pope's actions. >> i think they're trying to do the standard procedure, you know, for cardinal law and in other ways send signals that he's not as respected as other cardinals. >> such as the pope's unusually short two sentence statement about his death. a man with a legacy of wounds that have yet to heal. >> all right. that was anne thompson reporting. memphis is the latest city to remove confederate statutes over a sweeping debate. the statutes of con fedry president jefferson davis and kkk member were cleared from two city parks. happened within hours of a city council vote to sell the parks to a nonprofit organization. the parks were sold for less than marketed value. skirted state law prohibiting

removal of monuments on public land. came as prepares to commemorate the 50th anniversary of assassination of martin luther king junior killed visiting that city. little bit of snow moving through the midwestern part of the country. colorado going to get hit with a little dusting. >> heading for the northeast on friday. storm is going to affect a lot of people. let's start where it is now. out in the mountain areas of wyoming, colorado. also areas of colorado. utah hasn't had a lot of snow. the range desperately needed it. picked up snow yesterday and last night. just for kpcomparison, only 34 inches of snow this season in utah. jackson hole has had 124 inches of snow this season. we'll tell you more about yasmin's holiday travel plans after the weather forecast. if you haven't figured it out yet. >> i'll do it for yasmin. >> see. he'll be kind for me.

>> let's bring in the rest. this storm is going to move across the crown tountry today. little snow. travel plans, driving today on 80 or 90 across the midwest. that's where the snow will break out. going to with light. tomorrow. see the snow breaking out during the morning hours. northern portions of vermont and. the problem is it's going to ice up on top of that with freezing rain on friday night after warmer air moves in. messy for your travels friday in new england and heavy rain. then on saturday, that rainy weather is here on the east coast. so looks like by the time we get to christmas, a lot of that will clear out. going to be a little messy friday and saturday on the east coast. >> good news. >> tell bill. >> yasmin is so excited. literally wore her ski goggles into work this morning. >> no, i didn't. why would i wear my ski goggles

into work. >> fake news. >> exactly. thank you very much. still ahead, james harden and the rockets look to protect the 14 game win streak while chapel hill, shocker for the defending national champs. sports is next. this is a power plant. this is tim barckholtz. that's me! this is something he is researching at exxonmobil: using fuel cells to capture carbon emissions at power plants. this is the potential. reducing co2 emissions by up to 90%... while also producing more power. this could be big. energy lives here. the moment a fish is pulled out from the water, it's a race against time. and keeping it in the right conditions is the best way to get that fish to your plate safely.

bacteria can multiply to high enough levels that even cooking it will not destroy all of them. it's definitely the most important thing in my business. how fresh is the fish? where it comes from? how it gets here. the more i know, the better. sometimes the product arrives and the cold chain has been interrupted, and we need to be able to identify where in the cold chain that occurred. we took our world class network and we developed devices to track environmental conditions. this device allows people to understand what's happening not only with the location of that asset, but also if it's too hot, if it's too cold, if it's been dropped... it's completely unique. we ship fish, beef, poultry, vaccines, insulin. this is about monitoring and protecting everything we ship.

i catch all this amazing, beautiful fish and then once it's out of my hands, i have no control over what happens to it. if you have a sensor that can keep track of your product, it keeps everybody kind of honest that way. it's really all about the network. you are looking at trillions of transactions a year. not too many companies in the world can even scale to that type of volume. who knew a tiny sensor could help keep the food chain safe? food has to be fresh. it's that simple. welcome back. time now for sports. rockets versus lakers.

here comes james harden with the up and under. and the foul. harden pulled in 51 points on the night. the lakers other rooky gets the ball and finishes with the layup. lakers go onto win this one. 122-116. snapping the 14 game winning streak. chris paul left the game in the fourth quarter with strained left leg. status is uncertainly for the game friday against the clippers. turning to college hoops. north carolina tar heels squared off against the unknown terriers last night. why are we showing you the highlights. you're about to find out. cameron jackson blocked on the drive. the ball goes to guard. fletcher mcgee. finishing with the scoop, giving the terriers 34-33 lead. later on the steal to wide open jackson slams it home. now up by 11.

up by one after the tar heels have a little bit of a run. beats north carolina press finding mcgee. finishing the layup and with the upset of the year so far. they bring down unc 79-75. unbelievab unbelievable. and switching gears, newly filed lawsuit claims usa gymnastics tried to silence kayla ma rony from making public accusations about being molested by former doctor naser nassar. wanted to sign a settlement agreement. in a statement the organization said the concept of confidentiality was initiated by her attorney at the time of the settlement. now ma rony's suit alleges it insisted on confidentiality so it could further shield from scrutiny the true nature of the

horrific abuse of minors. now wants the settlement overturned as unlawful and sue the organization. nassar and former employer, michigan state university. . still ahead. republican tax plan headed to the president's desk. what's in the bill and how it will affect americans across the country. still continue to follow melbourne australia where a car drove into a group of pedestrians. going to get a live report coming up next. from scandalous romance, to ridiculous plot twists. (gasping) son? dad! we also know you can avoid drama

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tom stories. democratic on the senate intel committee is sending a stern warning to president trump against firing special counsel mueller. delivered the warning from the senate floor yesterday telling the president that growing calls by the allies to remove mueller is irresponsible and reckless. also said attempts to fire mueller or pardon anyone charged in the investigation would lead to a constitutional crisis. a three judge panel in virginia determined one vote victory is now actually a tie. the ruling came after republicans challenged a

questionable ballot that was later determined to be a vote for the incumbent. under virginia law, the board of elections will now choose the winner by lot. which means they will likely pull names out of a hat to determine who wins the seat. >> the clock is ticking for congress to avoid a government shutdown by friday's midnight deadline. republicans pushing to pass another stopgap spending bill that would fund the government through january. house republicans are expected to meet at 5:00 p.m. today to determine how to proceed, however minority leader nancy pelosi sent a letter yesterday urging house democrats to vote against the spending bill if it does not address the party's priorities. >> president trump and republicans are celebrating following the passage of the gop's bill ushering in the first overhaul of country's tax system in decades. mark as political victory for president and republicans after nearly a year in control with little to show for it. >> what exactly is in the new tax bill and how is it going to affect your paycheck. nbc national correspondent peter

alexander dug through the legislation and has all the details. >> president trump has been promising it for months. >> we want to give you the middle eastern people a giant tax cut for christmas. >> what are you getting? lower taxes for eight and ten americans including most middle and lower class families. >> someone self employed, this is a much needed tax relief for small business. >> individual tax cuts expire after eight years. corporate tax cut from 31 is apartment. individual health care mandate erased entirely in 2019. without the mandate, 13 million more americans will be uninsured in ten years. fears his premiums wills sky rocket. >> my costs are going to more than double what they were last year. >> for all its advertised benefits doubling the standard deduction and increasing the tax credit to 2,000 unwrapping the bill may also bring surprises.

the mortgage interest deduction for new home loans will be capped at $750,000. already a homeowner, you can still duct all of the interest. also new the bill limits state and local tax deductions to $10,000. hitting taxpayers in high tax states like california, new jersey, and new york. in chicago, some are rushing to prepare next year's taxes. about that promise the tax code will be so simple you'll be able to file on a form like a postcard. >> i didn't know i was going to be given a prop. >> many experts say that's unlikely for this 500 page tax cut bill. >> thanks to peter alexander for that report. governor of puerto rico is warning that the republican tax plan would be a serious set back for island's economic recovery in the wake of hurricane irma. under the plan, companies would be treated the same same as though operating outside of the u.s., subjecting to 12.5 tax on intellectual property income.

says this could prompt drug and medical device manufacturers to leave the island territory. now vowing to shake up next year's midterm elections. u.s. citizens living in puerto rico have no vote in congress. the governor reportedly plans to mobilize the 5.3 people living on the island that have a vote. according to politico, believes he can sway district votes in 14 states. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is offering insight as when lawmakers may take up a deal dealing with young undocumented immigrants. in a statement confirmed reports that a bipartisan group of senators were taking parts in negotiations with the trump administration focusing on tackling border security, including addressing the program known as daca. program would allow roughly 2.1 immigrants to stay in the united states legally. commenting on daca, mitch mcconnell says if negotiators reach an agreement by the tend of january, i will bring it to the senate floor for a free

standing vote. i encourage those working on such legislation to develop a compromise to be wildly supported by both political parties and actually become law. fellow republican senator jeff flake working on a daca deal spoke with casey hunt about getting a vote on the matter. check this out. >> my preference would have been to get it done before the holiday. made the kids wait for long enough. some of them are timing out now. on march 5, all of them will time out. i would have liked to get it done before the end of the year. certainly wanted to get a commitment to do it in january. we've got to have runway between when we take up the bill and the deadline march 5. >> what is it that these families are telling you when they reach out to you. >> they're worried. they worry about the increasing number of deportation. if that isn't the case, that's the perception. these kids have given their addresses to the government. they know where they are and can be easily found.

they worry they'll be separated from their families. >> so let's talk about this. back with us from sarasota florida. breaking news examiner, melissa quinn. really dealing with people's lives here. a lot of people nervous about what could or could not happen if they do not deal with daca. also immigration on the docket as well. that being kicked down the road until january. how big of a deal is this going to be come the elections in 2018 if they don't figure out a solution for both daca and immigration. >> this is going to be a big deal for both republicans and democrats for different reasons. for republicans, a number of trump voters really want to see republicans in congress and the president as well follow through on that long repeated promise to build a wall across the southern border between the u.s. and mexico. they want to see that as part of immigration bill as well that's going be negotiated potentially with legal protections for

dreamers. democrats want legal protection enshrined into law. a lot of democratic voters on the other hand are going to be encouraging representatives in congress to take action on that. if neither side is successful in those efforts, there's going be good senses for both parties in congress depending on which way the legislation goes. >> let me ask you quickly about obamacare. the president is claiming that they've essentially revealed the affordable care act yesterday in his comments after or i should say during that tax bill ceremony at the white house by killing the individual mandate, but that's not actually accurate. where does health care policy go from here. >> yes, you're right. just what they did yesterday was just zero out the fine for the individual mandate. there are a number of aspects of the health care law that are still in place. it seems like president trump is sort of signaling to congress that he is ready to move on. he actually said back when he decided to pull funding for the cost sharing reduction subsidies

that obamacare was dead and republicans and the white house have killed it. obviously trump is going to be rolling out his infrastructure package next month. and i think that is definitely going to signal that the white house at this point in time isn't really planning on anymore action from republicans, but republicans promise voters in 2016 that they would repeal obamacare. and that is something they said needed to be done in 2017. they needed to deliver on that promise. whether or not they follow through with what the white house is doing, we'll have to see. >> may just try to sell what president trump said yesterday, the optics of repealing. we dealt with it. we fulfilled campaign promises here. >> while i have you, you reported on president trump's announcement of ten more judicial nominations yesterday. obviously this is coming after a record breaking week for most federal appeals court judges confirmed in first year in office. although with all this happening, we did see some nominees withdraw from lack of

qualifications. has the administration learned its lesson on vetting when it comes to these nominations. >> the administration said that just the fact they had to withdraw the nominations of three u.s. district court nominees really is par for the course in terms of president trump's predecessors. it's interesting when president trump allegedly spoke with senator john kennedy a republican for louisiana who is really the one who grilled matthew peterson during his confirmation hearing and sort of gave him the green light to continue with that similar line of questions for future trump judicial nominees and said if we send you someone who is not qualified, we want you to weed that guy out. we want you to question him really hard. sarah sanders told reporters earlier this week that you know, matthew peterson was just not the right man for the job and they're always looking for the best and brightest to name to the federal bench. >> that's an interesting way to spin it when he had zero experience whatsoever. >> melissa quinn, thank you.

pentagon confirmed yesterday the united states has multiple ground operations in yemen. first time under the trump administration acknowledged that u.s. military operations are taking place in that country which also targets isis and al qaeda in the peninsula. says america has conducted more than 120 strikes in yemen this year alone. you may recall days after president trump took the oath of office, navy seal was killed after a controversial raid in yemen. comes after war between saudi arabia and iran being waged predominantly in that country. also facing a epidemic and on the brink of massive famine. a truck plowed into a group of people crossing the intersection. the driver along with another individual has been arrested. >> at this stage, we believe it

was a deliberate act. can i repeat that. at this stage, we believe it is a deliberate act. however, we do not know the motivation and still early stages of the investigation. >> joining us now, live from london, chief global correspondent bill neely. good to talk to you this morning. what more are we learning about this incident and also the motivation possible. >> good morning. it is a rapidly developing story. in fact the australian police are holding a news conference as a speak. happened at the very start of the evening, rush hour. right in the center of the second biggest city. probably the biggest and busiest intersection in the melbourne, a deliberate act, police say. terrif terrifying, but they still can't say it was terrorism. as you see the scene, pedestrians mowed down by a man who say intentions were to injure or kill. they say it was no accident. high speed collision. white car plowing into pedestrians. witnesses say the driver simply

accelerated through a red light and rammed into 50 or 60 people who were crossing that road. 14 injured. several critically. deliberate say the police, but they don't know the motivation. now the australian newspaper, just within the last few minutes, has suggested that this is not terrorism. they say that australia's counterterrorism police have no record of this man who was arrested at the scene. a second man was also arrested at the scene. they are suggesting the australian newspaper, anyway, that he has a drug problem. that he was addicted to a drug called ice. now interestingly, it's the second time in melbourne that something like this has happened. in january a man plowed into a group of people. he was a drug addict. no suggestion or links to terrorism there. as i say, this is rapidly developing and a news conference is on right as we speak. we'll bring you details of that when we get it.

>> very scary scene there. happening way too often. >> regardless of the motivation, everyone is on edge when they sigh this happens. that freaks everyone out. still ahead, senator al franken revealing when he'll officially step down from office over sexual misconduct allegation nch ta allegation. talk about being in the right place at the right time. there to catch volcano eruption. and a check on the forecast when we come back. another day at the office. why do you put up with it?

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al franken after a stream of sexual misconduct allegation. in a facebook post plans to spend the last few days delivering final speeches on a number of issues. tina smith will fill the seat. scheduled to be sworn in january 3. let's get a check on the weather with bill karins. bill, to yasmin's delight,

there's a lot of snow in the midwest on the ski reports right now. that weather is going to make its way to new england and cause travel issues. >> make everyone in the northeast happy. >> to my delight. everyone else is going to have travel issues. >> as long as yasmin can get there, that's all we care about. >> talk about the impacts in the northeast. friday is when the storm starts. this is how the map looks this time tomorrow morning. 7:00 a.m. the apply is the snow. freezing rain starting to break out in central pennsylvania. go through the day, snow is pretty much confined to northern portions of new england. north wards and just rain friday evening from boston southward. the pink in the middle is where we're going to get icy weather. in anticipation, winter weather advisory. little portion of massachusetts. probably be expanded during the day today. 2-4 inches of snow.

snow changing to sleet or freezing rain. going to be snow and then a crunch on top of it. driving, that's not worst-case scenario. worse if you get ice first and snow on top of it. snowfall map. sunday by the way. a lot of heavy snow in areas of montana. yellowstone. just a little bit of light snow in ohio valley. michigan, and here's the snow with event as we go through friday and friday night. 4-8 inches in the mountains. lower elevations right around 2-4 inches. i think the only issue is going to be the with ice. hartford could get a quarter inch of ice. >> bill, a british photographer has captured stunning images of volcanic eruption in ecuador. it's really cool. began spewing ash and lava earlier in month. british volcano photographer and his colleague captured the

rumblings. first recorded activity since 2002 when a huge eruption occurred with no warning. undergoing another explosive phase with gas and lava spewing from the top of the volcano. >> how far away do you think they were to get some of those images. >> looks to be quite a distance. >> that would be terrifying, i would say if i was that photographer. >> the still pictures are going to be just as dramatic. >> the time lapse is incredible. >> wow. >> thanks for that. still ahead, more on the republican tax bill and how employees at two major companies are already set to benefit from it. more trouble for chipotle as stock gets hammered. come on chipotle. details on that. and other stories driving your business day. [ mouse clicks, keyboard clacking ] [ mouse clicking ] [ keyboard clacking ] [ mouse clicking ] [ keyboard clacking ]

♪ good questions lead to good answers. our advisors can help you find both. talk to one today and see why we're bullish on the future. yours.

welcome back. hours after congress approved the tax plan, several companies announced bonuses and pay raises to thousands of their employees a. windfall will delve out more for corporation and those in the mild and work, class. is this convenient to our move or a trend we should expect as the bill becomes a law? >> reporter: i mean, it could be a pr move. let's take a step back, louis, overall arc lot of the industries that cited, the reduction to 21% will certainly

benefit a lot of those companies. one of them that was quick to announce it will hand out bonuses is at&t. they said they will pay $1,000 to its 200,000 employees and set aside $1 billion if expenditures. comcast, the owner of nbc said it will pay $1,000 to its 100,000 employees and will spend $50 billion over the next five years, they include feddics and boeing. so some companies do have good intentions, louis, but one company that's not doing very well over the last month is chipotle so shares in the restaurants have fallen more than 3% on news that a number of customers have reported symptoms such as vomth and nausea after eating at one of the restaurants in l.a. this raises a lot of questions about the food safety at the restaurant chain and public health officials are on

site investigating. >> one more for you here, apple confirmed a long-held conspiracy theory they slowed down older iphone models within they released newer phones, what's the explanation and how can iphone users avoid this happening on their phones. >> i can believe that story a. lot of people aren't happy. apple did admit yesterday they were slowing down the performance on older iphones to encourage people to upgrade to newer models. am said they did it for altruistic reasons so they wouldn't shut down unexpectedly. apple fans are a little outraged. the bigger picture is the tax bill will allow for ap to him bring back about $250 billion worth of cash on shore without paying any tax on it. so apple shares are unchanged. back to you. >> no wonder why my iphone 4 is so slow. >> c'mon, louis, maybe with that

comcast bonus of a thousand dollars you can get a few one. >> by the way, merry chiristmas. much more on "morning joe." the republicans have scored their latest victory what the legislation will mean for you and your finances. >> lawmakers turn their attention to keep the government up and running. joe and mika will talk about whether a deal will get done, including republican senators bob corker, and james lankford all weighing in, adam schiff also joins the conversation. "morning joe," everyone, moments awa

away. we lock at the day ahead, halle jackson has more on that, good morning. >> reporter: hey there, good morning to you. even as the president is still savoring this legislative accomplishment, the big one on the tax cut plan, getting ready to at some point in the coming days sign the bill into law. there is also another big

deadline congress is facing now, one to avoid a government shutdown, essentially at mid-fight when thursday, today, ticks owe into friday. >> that is going to be the bat tal we will be focusing on over the next 18 or so hours. because something needs to be done, frankly to get the loits back on. it seems like ain't ri at this point congress is going to punt to january, setting up real showdowns then. all of this, by the way, as the president continues to celebrate along with republicans the pass only of the gop tax bill. another busy day at the white house before the holiday, back to you. >> thank you for that report the united nations assembly is condemning president trump to move the embassy to jerusalem. u.s. foreign aide could hinge on country's voting on that vugs jeff sessions is set to speak at arlington national cemetery for the victims in the lockerbie bomb over scotland.

there were 189 americans among the dead. >> that does it for us on this thursday morning. "morning joe" starts right now. mr. president, i have to say that you are living up to every, everything i thought you would. >> exquisite presidential leadership, mr. president, thank you. >> you are one heck of a leader. >> president donald trump delivered! >> we would fought be standing here today if it wasn't for you. >> mr. president hasn't even been in office a year. >> this has been a year of extraordinary accomplishment for the trump administration. >> look at all the things he has been able get done. >> mr. trump has been making history since the first day of this administration. >> this is one of the great privileges of my life to stand here on the white house lawn with the president of the united states who i love and appreciate so much. >> thank you for your love for this country. >> and we're going to make this