less than a week into winter and snowfall records are already being shattered. one city declares a weather emergency as the east coast braces for a possible new year's snowstorm plus the latest, russia continues to insert itself into the north korean crisis, lecturing over its rec rick. even as the u.s. takes knew actions and new scrutiny into that infamous meeting at trump tower, a new report is connecting the dots as the russian investigation continues to heat up. good morning, everyone, it's wednesday, december 27ing.

i'm ayman mojedean. the winter blast is leaving places buried in snow. for places used to getting fresh powder, residents are screaming enough as the snow continues to fall. nbc news' ron allen has more. >> reporter: it's one for the history books, a record breaking snowstorm in erie, pennsylvania, now declared a disaster emergency. >> i wouldn't even go out in this stuff. >> reporter: nearly 57 inches in two days. conditions so hazardous the airport is still closed. >> i have been swiefk on vending machine food. >> dead rewalsh is stuck there. >> they keep cancelling the flights, now i can't get home. >> reporter: they are burying cars, big trucks, having trouble getting through. >> i'm sitting here in the passenger's seat t. closer we get to erie, the worse the

conditions get. >> from buffalo, new york, through wind swept pape to kansas city, missouri the snow is creating headaches for anyone trying to travel. >> icy roads, more than 40 accidents there today. four dead in a crash in abilene, kansas. slick roads there may be to blame. in massachusetts, workers scrambling to plow snow off the runways and deice roads at logan airport. this plane skidded after landing in boston. no wonder, here's what christmas day looked leak and sounded like there. if you listen closely, they also got some rare thunder snow. no snow, but bitter cold in the wendy city. >> it is freezing. we were pa little shocked. >> temperatures so low that you can see steam over the chicago river. same on lake superior and that is what drives these lake effect snowstorms. they happen when cold air passes of the lake waters.

that water evaporates and cools as it blows away, dumping snow nearby. deadly cold nearby in the plain states. wind chill advisories in effect for more than 47 million. hardest hit with below zero, james town, north dakota, woodruff, with it. all right. the weather conditions continue to worsen, particularly in the northeast. let's bring in bonnie schneider, meteorologist, to help us know what we are exactly dealing with here. >> it's that cold air, back in a minuteerly cold. look at these numbers, below zeros. not even the 20s. it's 20 below zero. so 47 million americans are under a wind chill warning or advisory right now. this is a dangerous situation, for anyone that spends some time outside, just a few minutes you can sustain injury due to the

cold. let's look at around why we have the coldest air, loo nick james town, the wind chill is negative 21. we also have a negative 19 wind chill in chicago, where the actual temperature is a mere negative 3. in washington, d.c., are you right at freezing. it feels like it's 26 degrees. memphis feeling like it's 14. lake effect snow. we talk about erie, pennsylvania, shattering a record. well, unfortunately, more snow is coming up for erie. we have lake effect advisories. i will talk about this lake effect snow machine, when it will shut off and the people will be getting a break. we will be talking about that and where that's headed. >> we know with the weather, all impact it is having on travel is creating headache for torts. bonn fisnyder, thanks for that let's turn now to the latest on the crisis with, if. russia's top lip diplomat, sergei lavrov, told his

counterpart yesterday, secretary of state tillerson to back off quote washington's aggressive rhetoric. that's according to russian foreign ministry, which accused the u.s. for lateral tensions him they say talks should be more at the forefront of the u.s. strategy, instead of increased sanctions him speaking of that, the u.s. treasury department yesterday issued new sanctions against two top senior north korean officials, they are believed to be involved if developing weapons of pass destruction. the move follows last friday's sanctioning 16 individuals, including those same two men. meanwhile, a new report says one of the north korean soldier was defected to south korea was found to have anti-bodies to anthrax in his system. he was either exposed or vaccinated. it comes amidst concern pyongyang is developing biological weapons, something

suspected by the community they described the fbi tainted and very dishonest, a group supporting retired workers has seen a surge in do nations. the fbi agents association said yesterday it had received more than $140 now. in do faeg from more than 2,000 donors in the month of december alone. this money will sends the children of deceased agents to college and help fbi families in need. over the weekend, the editor of the legal news website called for donations on behalf of andrew mccabe and james baker after congressional republicans and the president criticized both men. now this as some republicans continue their attacks on the fbi, including congressman frances of florida in this exchange on msnbc. watch this. >> i'm very concerned that the

doj and fbi, whether you want to call it deep state or what are off the rails when you look at what that strzok guy was texting the orr talking about the clinton op research people and this mccabe wife takes $600,000 from clinton-related source while he's running for state senator. >> well, congressman, you just called the fbi tapped doj off the rails. fundamentally, how is that something that you are okay with talking about here, how does that not sort of undermine the work that these agencies are doing? >> i think the american people have very high standards for our government agencies and to see people like these examples -- >> those aforementioned examples are nerve racking to me, it undermined my confidence that the agency don't respect the constitution and will not put the ends before the means. i would like to see the

directors in those agencies purging and saying, look, we have a lot of great agents, great lawyers here, those are the people i want the american people to see, know the good works are being done, not the people who are kind of the deep state. >> language like that, congressman, purge, purge the department of justice? >> well, i think that mr. strozic could be purged, sure. >> from the washington examiner, steve nelson, glad to have with us. we see the president backed by congressional republicans, loo take interview you saw with representative frances roony. these attacks on the fbi, increasingly lauren, purge, tainted, where does this battle actually go from here? are we looking at an all out partisan war over the fbi in 2018? is this what it will come down to in. >> it certainly is a political issue. supporters of president trump

point to various issues of conflicts of interest at the fbi whereas defenders say president trump's very strong attack on the fbi is really unfair and an attack on all bureau personnel. so it has become a significant issue and is likely to continue with to be. >> i want to ask you about the latest tax bill, for republicans for the white house. it remains unpopular with voters, according to some of the latest polling. we know the republicans are keen on trying to sell it to them. they say once the money hits their bank accounts, people will understand what this is about. democrats say they're eager to use it for a campaign issue for 2018. what itself the republican game plan here? is there concern this could help them going into the mid-terms? >> well, before leaving for christmasization if florida, president trump was asked in the oval office whether he planned to go on the road and start campaigning for the tax reform

as being a major accomplishment and a good thing. and he said, no, i don't plan to campaign for this. once people get more pay connection in february. this will sell itself. whether or not that is the case and polls turn around becomes more popular and remains to be seen. president trump at the very least indicated confidence that this will be a problem that resolves itself. >> looking ahead into when the want 18, let's talk about some of the big issues that you think congress is going to attack on, when we look at what they wanted to tackle on 2017, not a lot of success under their belt. what is the likelihood we will see things leak infrastructure, it seems by some suggestions another stab at health care? >> well, infrastructure is something that's certainly being prioritized by the white house. president trump and his aides say this is something where there should be bipartisan support, significant democratic backing for this. it's something that where that seems conceivable, whether or

not it actually will play out remains to be seen. also the level of support from conservative republicans concerned about driving up the national debt. >> that will be something to watch. >> don't forgive with he had infrastructure watch this year. we didn't see much more movement on that as well. we will see you later in the show. stick around. a few report sheds more light on what the congressional probes are asking ability the trump tower meeting and top campaign advisers, including donald trump jr., palm manafort and jared kushner. nay report the house and senate intelligence have interviewed a u.s. citizen born in the republic of georgia hvmt. a june 3rd, 2016 e-mail from another representative publicist problem goldston said putin allie presented the official documents and information that

would incriminate hillary clinton. he cites four unnamed sources familiar with that manner who said kavaladze whether he was at the meeting. he attended a meeting in 2013 with trump and trump sr. as they celebrated the agreement to hold that year's miss universe pageant in moscow. now his attorney says he attended the 2013 dinner but did not set up the trump tower meeting quote, no one has ever told me they have any interest in him other than as a witness three major cities filed a lawsuit with the department of defense over failure for members disqualified from owning guns. the associated press reports new york city, philadelphia and san francisco are all seeking an injunction in judicial oversight of the dod on the patz t. move

comes after last month's shooting at a church, a member had not beening a only iffed, discovering several instance of other people reporting from the system, now, the defense department has not commented specifically on the lawsuit. but a pentagon spokesperson said they are working to refine their policies with military leaders still ahead, surprise, surprise that fiercely contested virginia house race lands in a lawsuit. i think a lot of people pediatric thad one. we will have a lot more at the center of it all. plus, much more on our big story this morning the freezing temperatures and record-breaking snowfall. we'll tell you what to expect and where. and congressman sheila jackson speaks out of being accused of taking a passenger's first class seat what she suspects is behind the incident..

>> all right, following up on the race for control of the virginia house of delegates that ended in a stunning tied vote. you may remember that. the tie brakener which the winning candidate's name would be drawn from an antique pitcher believe it or not was going to be held this morning. now the virginia board of elections put that on hold, democrat shelley simmons says the disputed bal lot i should say that tied the vote never should have actually been counted. simons is expected to file the legal paperwork today that the action sets up never ending recounts the board postponed the drawing because quote drawing names is an action of last resort. before the 2017 election, republicans had a 66-34 advantage. as it currently stands, they control 50 seats t. democrats have 49 with this race still to be decided. >> and utah's orrin hatch the

longest serving republican in the senate had an awkwarder action with the largest newspaper this week as the salt lake tribune ran a christmas day editorial naming hatch the benefit of the year. the editorial was no honor, quote it has everything to do with his pardoning dismantling two moums and passing an i don't have haul of the nation's tax code and utter lack of integrity that rises from his unquenchable thirst for power. patch's spokesperson appeared to be doing damage control claiming he was tongue in cheek and his twitter account retweeted a message from the salt lake republican party who said hatch should be man of the year because of his work on suicide prevention. >> let that be a reminder to everyone to read the article. don't just read the headlines and retweet, folks

congress woman sheila jacksonic spook out about the airline incident grabbing headlines in the past couple days t. 63-year-old accuses the airline of bumping her from hurt first class seat to make room for the congress woman. however, united airlines says the passenger cancelled her flight and that the houston democrat was then upgrade. united airlines says simons was placed in the economy section and given a $500 travel couch i voucher t. congress woman says she observed a disruption of someone walking back and forth and the woman added photo, the way the individual continued to act appeared to be upon reflection because i was an african-american woman, simons zooens denies acism w racism wa involved and asked for nothing out of the ordinary they had to open warming stations after a power outage

left 40,000 people out in the cold. temperatures were barely in double digits. cleveland power blamed a fire station. utility leader tweeted this photo of a plane out transformer identifying it as the source of the issue. we are told power to most of the west side has since been restored w. that, let's bring in meerlgsz bonnie schneider the bearer of bad news, we have more cold and snow, bonnie. >> you are right, louis, i haid hate to be the bearer of bad news the wind chills are negative 30, negative 20, dangerous to be outside, as this cold air this arctic plunge continues to work its way as far south as tennessee, we're feeling temperatures that are 20 or 30 degrees below where they should be this time of the year. right now in chicago, it is negative 3. the wind chill is cold in memphis. looking ahead, we're likely to see this col air continue.

that's one of the reasons why the lack effect snow machine not shutting off totals snowfall, 4-feet. you heard the record snow in erie, pennsylvania, the most ever. more snow ahead for erie. the good news is a change in direction of the winds will eventually calm things down by the end of today. that is good. north of atlanta, we're getting a little wintry mix, which is always big news in the south. it's not going to be the last time this year where that wintry mix threat exists. in fact, watch as this storm works its way across the plains and the mid-westing triggering some snow and reenforce tack colder air behind it. we're likely, potentially to see wet weather and make some wintry weather in the south towards the end of the week. here's a look at the temperatures for thursday. they are not getting any warmer. as we get to friday morning, your wind chill is at a peer 5 degrees t. cold air is sticking around for the we belong. >> yeah, definitely for folks

that think the snow is a dangerous backdrop. those are dangerous conditions. still ahead, privacy versus security. changes at disney resore in the weak of the las vegas massacre. >>

welcome back. time now for sports. we begin in the nba. the sundays hosting the grizzlies in phoenix, a tied game with less than a second remaining in regulation. >> don't discount the lob.

exactly what they do. over the top. they say score the basket. >> that's game time t. sundays vendor lobs off the inbound pass to tyson chandler who finishes with an alley-oop plan him phoenix wins that one 99-97 the announcers calming that one. meanwhile the nba admits officials missed several counts on the minutes over the cavaliers on christmas day, failing to miss lebron james and three key drive while his team trailed with 25 seconds left to play. they questioned monday's officiating over the game, sparking controversy over the cleveland loss. a clear foul on that one let's go across the pond to premier league football, where tottenham recorded a 5-2 when against south hampton, boxing day victory was fueled by harry

kane in his second hat trick in four days as he becomes the highest scorer in a calendar year in premier league history. he likely surpassed messi and ronaldo on europe's top live leaks for competitions and a pretty unbelievable achievement. >> no doubt about that. he's on fire t. question a lot of premier farngs especially tottenham fans whether or not tottenham will keep him or sell him to a bigger european club. he seon fire, this is the best chance to try to make a penny off him. >> they are building a few stadium, we'll see if they hang on to him. >> thanks for that, louis. the white house says a portion of the neary 200-year-old magnolia tree planted by andrew jackson on the south grounds will be removed because it is weak and poses a safety risk a. spokesperson for melania trump says the first lady reviewed reports about the tree's condition before deciding the fate and asked that wood be

preserved and seedlings be available to possibly plant a few one, according to white house historical association. jackson had it planted back in 1835. all right, still ahead the secrets comings and goings of the trump cabinet, a report claims some members are shielding their schedules from public view, possibly in violation of the freedom of information act. we'll tell you more about that. stay with us.

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bottom of the hour. let's start with the morning's top stories for you a. bitter arctic blast is putting a deep freeze on much of the country and leaving some parts buried in snow. if erie, pennsylvania, 53 inches of fresh powder have fallen, making it the greatest total in history. many streets are impassable, forces have city to call an emergency virginia's board of elects is putting on hold to select a winner of that tied race for the seat of the house of delegates by randomly drawing one of the two candidate's names out of an antique picture. democrat says the incumbent david yancey never should have been counted. simons is expected to file the legal paperwork today and no new date for the lottery has been set yet, three major cities have filed a lawsuit over failure to report service members

disqualified from owning guns through the national backgrounds check system. new york city, san francisco are seeking an injunction in the judicial oversight on the matter t. move comes after last month's mass shooting by a former air force member. turning now to the korean peninsula, russia says it's time for north korea and the united states to sit down and begin negotiations with the yes, ma'am lynn acting as a mediator. >> reporter: in the drama with north korea, a new twist this one produced by putin, moscow is now offering to insert itself. quote, russia is ready if both sides need it and want it, says the spokesman for the russian president. >> russia does not carry a lot of weight in this realm, but it would be to his advantage, particularly with a presidential election coming up to be seen as

an international statesman. >> reporter: vladimir putin, has been pushing for talks soon. a message his foreign minister replicated to secretary of state rex tillerson. >> this should be resolved through diplomatic means. >> reporter: what are the chances that will actually happen? after all, just this weekend, north korea called new sanctions agints an act of war t. u.s. slapped its own sanctions on two leaders of pyongyang's ballistic missile program. even so, a new south korean report predicts the north will push for diplomatic discussions in 2018, potentially eyeing an olympicize size opening if february f. north korea backs off its tough talk and missile tests who ill the world watches the winter games that could mean movement. maybe not much. >> if we were to get to goes, i suspect the first talks would be talks about talks. >> thanks to halle jackson for

that report. president trump tweeted on christmas it was back to work tomorrow while he spent another day at his florida resort of mar-a-lago. he spent a day on the golf course with senator david purdue of georgia and two pga pros, bryson dechambeau and dana quigley while ivanka trump was in a photo with her sister and posted photos of adviser jared kushner fishing with their son they report the president sent one-third of his term in office, nearly 40 days at his golf course in new jersey and 40 days in palm beach, his current ten-day vacation, the president tweeted yesterday evening how business is looking really good for next year with quote our tax cut bill, which is now actually a law and earlier in the morning, he tweeted about fox news reportedly alleging the fbi cannot after all this time verify claims in the dossier of

russia, trump collusion, fbi tainted, excuse me the president added, they use this crooked hillary pile of gore badge as the basis forrer going aft goin trump campaign a number of trump cabinets appear to keep their schedules a secret. they found eight routinely declined to release information on their planned schedules or travels. >> that marks break from the policies under former president's obaub baum and bush, politico says agriculture, labor, education, provide the schedules of tear secretaries only spore radically or with very few details. it notes the treasury department only began releasing weekly schedules for secretary stephen mnuchin last month. six cabinet departments don't release appointment calendars works show who theiring iss met with, what they discussed and where they traveled. that would be a professional

violation of the freedom of informationing a, which says that agencies must make their records promptly available to any person t. environmental protection agency released some details, only after watchdog groups sued them. politico notes that e head scott pruett has seen an especially large amount of criticism over concealing meetings withs bes he's supposed to regulate. now prosecu pruitt made regulations on auto, manufacturing industries, peet's frequently with leaders of those sectors. that's according to three months of calendar records american management oversight managed to get through a court order. the white house reporter for stephen nelson, great to have you back with us. is there a sense in washington that the administration's cabinet members are more secretive than previous administrations, when you see reports leike this?

>> reporter: well, in this case as you mentioned the e is particularly criticized for meeting with industry representatives or a foreign country that might want to do energy business with the united states, but there are other actions, of course, where there is an issue with access. the education departments, secretary devos' infamous for going places and they find out after it happens or while it's happening. there are other agencies that we'll people don't pay a whole lot of attention. there was recently a marijuana protest done in the urban development office where people were handing out free joints to staffers and no one knew it was happening, no one covers it. so there will always be a battle for access and attention over transparencies, so that is nothing new. >> interesting. let me ask you about this piece, it's a warning from, i should say a warning to president trump from former texas congressman ron paul.

tell us what he said. what that's all about? >> certainly, congressman paul is worried the current economic boom may not be such a great thing that it may belie things with the economy caused by inflation and personal and corporate debt and ron paul who, of course, ran for president in 2008 and 2012 and had a huge following, he says if the economy does poorly before theic election, president trump can see a strong challenger, perhaps a libertarian. >> let's ask about the democratic side. there was some speculation the democratic side in 2020 could look a lot like the 2016 republican side when you had like 17 possible candidates. are we likely to see that many democrats fielded in the democratic list? >> reporter: well, there is certainly no front runner so that kaets it is possible we could see that mad scramble. it is possible there could be a more establishment candidate that emerges, perhaps senator

kamala harris running, getting a lot of the backing of the nature party big wigs, perhaps we'll have a bernie sander's style insurgent candidacy from perhaps congress woman gab ber. we have a long shot contender, congressman dulaney my from maryland. it could be leak the republicans the last time or like the democrats again. >> we know that with 2018 around the corner, we will have an impact out of those elections as well, stephen nelson in washington for us this morning, thank you, steven. >> thank you passengers that took off from los angeles international airport on a flight to tokyo again will attempt the trip again this morning, this after the plane was turned around four hours into the flight because a passenger boarded the wrong plane. the airline told cnbc in a statement that after the cabin crew became aware of the unauthorized passenger, they returned to looks where the

passenger got off the plane and the rest of the passengers hit them with peanuts. can you imagine how annoying that might be, you spend eight hours on that flight to do at this time next day? >> wow. >> how do you get on the wrong flight to tokyo? >> all the security measures, you would think the guy on the flight would say this is taking longer than it should be i was going to san francisco. it's all water out here. thanks, louis still ahead, if youty your electricity is bad, think again. the bill one woman received from keeping her lights on. >> that is real, folks. >> that and a check on the forecast and the brutally check of the forecast and the country. is woarm weather on the way? probably not if you ask me. but i don't know.

honey, i think i know what's wrong. >> one pennsylvania woman got the shock of her life. pun intend, when she checked her latest elect trek bill. shelves not a part of the gris wald family there. that's because her provider pen elect build her for $284 billion, that is with a b. lucky for her the entire amount isn't due until november 2018. so she can actually make those payments over the next 12 months, the minimum payment this month coming out to a mere 28 grand t. erie native told the local paper her eyes nearly popped out of her head. she wondered if perhaps she put up her christmas lets wrong. of course the bill was an error

and quickly fixed to the correct amount of only $284 bucks. >> that's when you got to get warren buffet on speed die. i need a loan. >> exactly. >> another holiday story in seattle, a notorious holiday gift was responsible for temporarily halth a ferry service t. bomb squad was called after a suspicious package was found under a tree in the waiting area. apparently it was the only gift, after a full investigation, it was found the package was a simple fruit cake. it is unclear where it was left at the ferry or it was abandoned or meant for terminal workers. i hope it tasted good and was eaten. you don't want to waste a fruit cake. let's get a check on your weather now with nbc meteorologist bonn bonnie schne. you are the bearer of bad news. >> you say that, the cold's arctic air is plunging southward. that's why the numbers are in the negative numbers, not the

single digit the double digits him it feels like it's neg live 19 in chicago and the northern plains, it feels leak it's negative 20. >> that cold air continues to be a problem with the wind chill of 14 degrees in memphis, tennessee, it's interesting to know we are dealing with wintry weather there, we have to deal with sex-to-ten inches, that doesn't include erie him we had a record snowfall. so more snowfall continues there. here's what i was talking about for those driving across northern mississippi, alabama or north georgia a. little glaze, a wintry mix. it's probably not going to be the last time this season we see that. we are watching for the tomorrow system. this will impact so many in the final days of this year. it's likely to bring snow to chicago and eventually snow to the south and the galaxy. so something to keep a watch on

as we go forward. speaking of keeping watch, those cold temperatures are headed this way in the feast. by the time we get to friday the wind chill in new york city 5 degrees. >> the safety steps one home is taking in the weak of that las vegas shooting spree. plus the new rules regarding your tacks, a lot of americans looking to maximize saving, everyone is asking whether you should pay your taxes before the new year or after. 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.

welcome back. guests at disney's grand nevadaian polynesian and contemporary resorts say the hotel property will no longer find guests with "do not disturb" science, replacing them with "room occupied" instead. they hope to ensure safety and the signage allows hotel staff to enter the room for any purpose after one time a day. new security measures are believed to be in response to the deadly shoot tag left 58 dead and injured hundreds. disney has not addressed why the changes were made. new tax law versus many americans wondering what it will mean for them, filing tear returns in the new year one is to pay next year's taxes before the end of this year?

stephanie goss talks to expert to find the answer. >> reporter: the phone in montclair new jersey at the tax collector's office doesn't normally ring much this time of year is there it's our time to time stuff away and get ready for the upcoming year, today has been very crazy, it's been an ever revolving door. >> property owners are in something of a panic. a know-it-all relative at the holiday trabl probably told them, pre pay the property taxes to save money before the new tax law kicks in. >> our accountant said you should do it and do it be every the ends of the year. >> it can't hurt as long as have you the cash and continue do it. >> the new law limits property tax detux in 2018. homeowners in high tax cities that prepare before the end of 2017 may save money, may because it depends on a number of factors him something accountant matt meyer had to explain to his chicago area clients in a deluge

of panicked phone calls. >> it'sry deck lus, tax season started a month early. you know, usually in the month of december we're going on vacation, we're taking it easy. >> if not this year, he hasn't his team are spending their time explaining the new law. >> it means something for every ting i single person a. tax bill was to simplify things, it hasn't. >> reporter: many taxpayers realize the change won't be a factor. they'll see the full impact come 2019, for anyone looking to make pre payments on property tacks, they need to check in with the tax collector in their home towns, in mont claire the office will be opened on saturday. >> our thanks to stephanie goss on that report. the gop tax is sparking a landmark shift in philanthropy and where do nations end up.

what's the main concern of these charities within it comes to receiving all this money? >> yes, louis, exactly t. main concern is less people will be eligible for a charitable tax deductions. now, one study predicts that the donations next year can fall by as much as $13 billion a. drop of 94 u four-and-a-half% the rest of this year and the hardest hit will be social service agencies and religious organizations. now a number of organization versus stepped up and expressed concerns. they include the salvation army and catholic bishops, who put up kill the tax reform up on their website. >> this holiday season was a struggle for retail markets. can we expect it to carry over to 2018 or is it just around the holidays that their numbers are strong? >> yes, it's been a pump per month, mastercard shown the shoppers in the u.s. have spent over $800 billion in the month

of november and december. that's an increase about 4.9% year on year. now, i should also tell you the retail sector does stand to benefit the most from the corporate tax deduction, because the sector was paying the highest amount of corporate tax prior to the tax reform bill. so note the consumer discretionary has been one of the best performing sectors in the s&p. the consumer discretion has seen a best performance this quarter since 2013. overall, however, u.s. industries have suffered with technology feeasing thanks to t down side, one of the biggest performerss was aquius. back to you, louis. >> all right. thanks so much coming up next on morning joe, more on the numbers of attacks on the fbi, with some in the

marty now suggesting it's time to quote purge officials, plus nbc chief foreign apairs correspondent, andrea my opinion el will have the latest, telling secretary of state rex tillerson to back off, what his call could mean between the rift between washington and moscow. "morning joe," just moments awa

away.. >> all right. before we toss it over to "morning joe," let's get a look at the stores ahead. >> we start with a look on tap with president trump. halle jackson has that from beautiful west palm beach, florida. good morning. >> reporter: hey there, louis, good morning to you. this morning, all quiet on the west palm front. although you never know what's happening on twitter and when president trump might make some news, his schedule is fairly quiet, including a round of golf yesterday with david purdue, the president is talking tacks a. lot of people are trying to physical out what this new tax bill, now tack law will mean for them. you also have big developments happening overseas.

the u.n. putting sanctions on north korea even middle of potential talks between the u.s. and pyongyang, for now, back to you in new york. >> all right. thanks to halle jackson for that report meanwhile, a former interview with president obama and prince harry, the prince interviewed the former commander in chief back in december for the bbc radio for us today program, it covered topics, including mr. obama's take on the day he left office and his hopes for his post-presidential life. >> and preparations for new year's eve celebrations continue today the famous waterford triangles will be installed on the ball if time's square. it's covered with more than 2600 crystal triangles. >> you have a price tag on that? >> i don't know. >> that discuss it fdoe that do.

it's time for "morning joe". >> good morning, joe and mika have the morning off, i'm willie. we have former aide to george w. bush, elise jordan, we have rick tyler, former fbi special agent and contributor clint watts and national contributor carol lee. good morning, everybody, welcome. >> good morning, sam. >> all right. this month the president of the united states described the fbi as tainted and dishonest and said its reputation is in tatters. at the same time current and fbi workers has seen a surge if do nations t. association said yesterday it's received more than $140,000 in donations from more than 2,000 donors in dece