strong winds, and brutal temperatures, new england's deep freeze seeing its coldest christmas eve high temps since 1975 new jersey had its coldest day friday in nearly four years. central park's high just 15 degrees. and this morning, buffalo still reeling from a historic blizzard >> devastating it is going to a war zone. >> reporter: overnight, western new york's death toll climbing nationwide, now nearly 50 deaths blamed on the past week's winter weather. >> some were found in cars and some were found actually in the street snowbanks. >> reporter: new york's governor deploying the national guard, staying state police have been involved with over 500 rescues, even helping deliver a baby. first responders also needing help >> when we're supposed to be celebrating all the joys of the holiday season, there are people that will be making arrangements for funerals for family members.

>> reporter: but christmas in buffalo did come with some unexpected holiday hope -- on friday a bus full of korean tourists heading for niagara falls got stuck outside their buffalo area home. >> i said come on in everybody because you're going to be here for a while. >> reporter: without hesitating the couple welcomed ten strangers in for two nights sharing homemade korean food and the bills game with new friends. you might have saved those people's lives what do you think of that? >> i feel very grateful we were able to help them because it could have been a very terrible outcome. and i feel like we made ten extra family members >> reporter: meanwhile, the bills themselves digging out when they got back from chicago. now millions waking up to another frigid day as the northwest braces for more heavy rain, ice, and mountain snow >> some signs of warmth amid

this terrible storm. now to the travel chaos that's still unfolding, thousands of flights canceled over the weekend and the ripple effects are still being felt today nbc news correspondent shaquille brewster is at chicago's o'hare international airport this morning with the very latest shaq, good morning how bad is it out there? >> reporter: good morning. well, if anyone is planning to hit the airport today and you have holiday cheer still left in you, hold on to it tight because those travel troubles are continuing all v already this morning, and we have new numbers, approaching 1,600 cancellations, nearly 1,700 delays today alone yesterday here at chicago o'hare, one in every three flights were delayed, so airlines are playing catch-up as we're approaching what experts call the worst travel of the year christmas may be over, but this morning the travel chaos is still here >> christmas nightmare >> reporter: passengers stuck in limbo as that brutal winter storm puts travel plans on ice

>> we had been stuck for a good 18 hours now >> reporter: on christmas day alone, thousands of flights were canceled that's on top of the nearly 3,500 scrapped christmas eve, all sending frustration sky-high across the country >> i don't know what to do the only flights are way too expensive and we're stuck. people keep trying to help us. >> reporter: from alaska airlines canceling all main flights out of portland on saturday to a complete shutdown at buffalo international, now extended to tomorrow the airports with the most delays on christmas day, denver and chicago o'hare, both pushing back departure times on more than 500 flights combined. and in atlanta alone, an arctic blast causing nearly 300 cancellations into and out of hartsfield-jackson international. the travel headaches all leaving delayed passengers without much holiday cheer. >> i'm very sad because by the time i reach home it's going to

be nighttime and christmas dinner is going to be over >> reporter: some forced to abandon travel plans all together >> i'm grateful we're fine and everything, but i don't get to see my grandparents. >> reporter: for those who did make it to their holiday destinations, the focus is now on the return home as americans embark on one of the busiest travel weeks of the year, even for drivers. aaa expects heavy traffic on december 27th and 28th and on january 2nd. as millions who hit the roads and skies for christmas look to get back home before the new year and unfortunately, we're being told that it will likely take days to recover, for airlines to rebound from this travel chaos we know that when flights are canceled people usually have to be rebooked. that's happening as airlines are trying to keep up with the travel schedule that they have already. look, guys, the biggest thing we're hearing, you've heard it before, if you are flying today,

show up early and be ready to be patient. back to you. >> nbc's shaquille brewster live from o'hare international airport, chicago look at the crowds behind him. thank you, shaq. >> you see this. >> that is extraordinary it looks like about 1.5 million people there in that one terminal thank you for that let's see if the weather will complicate people's efforts today to try to get home and bring in meteorologist angie lassman with the forecast. do we see signs of relief? >> there are signs of relief when it comes to temperatures in the east, when it comes to precipitation in the east, but a bit of a mess towards the west coast. i'll show you that in a moment but satellite and radar, we currently still are seeing some of these intense snow bands, lake-effect know sbanlds that are just hovering over places like buffalo they of course don't need any more snow after already receiving well over four feet and seeing snow drifts up to 16 feet we're continuing to watch that anywhere downwind of the lakes,

still dealing with the lake-effect snow just be mindful of that here as we go through the next day or so we'll eventually see those lighten up that clipper system, that's what's bringing snow to parts of the tennessee valley and apartments of the midwest. this is not likely to interrupt any more travel. this is more of a theme setter, an inch, look kind of pretty, doesn't interrupt travel all that much. then we turn our attention to the next system out of canada, impact folks in the upper peninsula along lake superior, a couple inches of snow so be prepared for that if you live if places like marquette. temperature-wise, improvements are on the way look at salt lake city, 50 degrees. that is 11 degrees above normal for this time of year. and this is only the start of that warming trend, and we are not leaving the east out of this we're also going to see some warmer conditions for folks in places like cincinnati, buffalo, st. louis going to be at 50 degrees tomorrow some minor improvements over the short term really tomorrow and beyond as we get closer to

friday, temperatures close to 60 in lexington, nearing 70 in nashville on saturday. so that's the big story as far as our temperatures are concerned. now we go to the west coast where you see that next pacific storm working onshore. this is going to be problematic for bringing heavy amounts of rain to folks along the west coast, so from seattle down to san francisco as we go through the day today, you'll likely see that heavy rain working onshore. we need it in california so it will be beneficial to some extent, but those burn scars will be problematic for flooding concerns >> angie lass mank, man, thank u mike barnicle, some tough stories emerging from this storm. we know there are lives lost, people still stranded, unable to see loved ones, but some real moments of warmth too. i home you're hunkering down today, and i know you, like me, no grinch, touched by a moment of christmas cheer, and i assume your heart was as warm as mine

was about that story out of buffalo where that bus full of southern californian tourists welcomed into a complete stranger's home and fed for days >> you know, jonathan, it's everyone's ultimate nightmare being stuck in an airport and having to sleep overnight in an airport, your flights are canceled, you can't get home or you can't get to where you're going to see loved ones or whatever and today is a different day here where i am in mav maa because i'm surrounded by the benefits of good weather the sun is out it's a balmy 20, 21 degrees, refreshingly different from what it was a few days ago, but you are absolutely right the ultimate good samaritan story out of buffalo, new york, where culture and language differences meant nothing to that couple from buffalo who invited i think 10 or 11 members of a korean group here from korea visiting the united states en route to niagara falls, the bus gets stuck in an

incomprehensible snowstorm that hit buffalo again, and they are invited into a home to partake of christmas in america, smiles on all their faces as we see right there. it's what we need. it's what we need more of. >> so much partisan rancor in people, things like they're at each other's throats constantly, that story just reminds you what's good about america, the fundamental goodness that i want to believe, and i believe, is still there. >> but speaking of partisan rancor, those same dangers below freezing temperatures were what migrants from texas faced when they arrived on christmas eve at the home of vice president kamala harris in washington, once again arranged by texas governor, republican greg abbott three buses from texas dropped off about 140 people outside the u.s. nhl observatory on saturday immigration activists called the incident particularly cruel because there were young

children and babies among those dropped off, and many migrants lacked shoes and other clothing in these bitter temperatures the migrant solidarity mutual aid network as well as other groups picked up the migrants and brought them to shelter where is they received food and warm clothes the group is also help manager of the arrivals find transportation to reach their final destinations joining us now live from the white house is nbc news correspondent josh letterman the white house is reacting to this move by governor abbott tell us what they're saying. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, jonathan, the white house blasting governor abbott for that move over the weekend calling it a cruel, dangerous, and shameful stunt white house spokesman hassan saying the texas authorities did not engage in any coordination with federal or local authorities, essentially giving them a heads up these migrants would be coming so people could prepare to accept them the white house saying they'll

work with anyone, democrats or republicans, on real solutions on this immigration issue, but calling these busloads of migrants being essentially dumped on kamala harris' doorstep political games that the white house says accomplish nothing and only put lives in danger and of course, jonathan, these migrants arriving over the weekend come as the administration is bracing for an even bigger potential surge of migrants if and when that title 42 policy used during covid to quickly return many migrants who have crossed the border illegally, once that policy may come to an end with the supreme court now taking a look at whether to allow that policy to stay in place, as many republican-led states want, or to lift it the white house has said that it should be lifted but had asked the supreme court for a few more days to start to work on this transition as the administration is conceding that if and when that policy goes away, there is going to be a real surge at the

border, that it's going to be very difficult for authorities down there to really deal with >> it too 482 and the border just one issue the white house is grappling with right now. also the $1.7 trillion omnibus government funding bill which is on its way to the president's desk the spending package that boosts military funding, rewrites the electoral count act, and provides aid to ukraine passed in the house on friday the final vote largely fell along party lines with only eight republicans voting in favor and just one democrat voting against cortez writing in part this, "i campaigned on a promise to my constituents to pose additional expansion and funding for i.c.e. and davis, particularly in the absence of long-overdue immigration reform for that reason, as well as the dramatic increase in defense spending which xeelds even

president biden's request, i voted no on today's omnibus bill that bill is the last act of the house democratic majority as republicans will take over in the new year house minority leader kevin mccarthy slammed the spending bill as a, quote, slap in the face to every american that voted. but president biden praised the package in a statement from the white house saying, "this bill is further proof that republicans and democrats can come together to deliver for the american people, and i'm looking forward to continued bipartisan progress in the year ahead." and the ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskiy who last week gave historic speech to lawmakers in washington thanked congress for the $45 billion in additional funding for his country that's included in the bill we know the president will sign this bill in a matter of days, but preview for us some of the looming funding battles ahead as the republicans are about to take control of the house. >> reporter: yeah. there's no question that the

white house goes into this coming year feeling like they have really claimed a series of victories and legislative accomplishments, jonathan, with chuck schumer calling it the most productive legislative period since lbj or perhaps even since the new deal some 90 or so years ago, and notably the biden administration was able to do a lot of that without blowing up the filibuster as a lot of democrats had thought was going to be necessary to be able to get his major accomplishments through in the last couple of years. and i think we'll probably see that history come back to us the next time there's a push for filibuster reform, whichever party is in the minority, saying, look, in the past, democrat with a very, very slim majority were able to get through some of their top pr priorities to essentially roll republicans on a lot of those issues and there's no reason to further av erode the rights of the minority ll be republicans in control

of the house, not like the house will be sending all of these biden priorities as past bills over to the senate to be passed. instead, the issue really is going to be the house and the white house officials that i'm speaking with feel even a little more optimistic about the way things will go in the senate given that they will have a very slightly larger but still larger majority there that they feel may help them particularly when it comes to, for example, some of their confirmations for their nominations with white house officials even looking at some of the nominations that had kind of stalled out last year such as eric garcetti, the former l.a. mayor, nominated to be u.s. ambassador to india. they may take a look at some of those candidates and renominating them, putting them forward again, now that they'll have one additional vote in the senate but certainly they realize with house republicans in control, the legislative accomplishments are probably not going to be as prolific as they were this yeerp

and certainly white house officials are also staffing up, getting prepared for that onslaught of oversight that will be coming as house republicans expected to ramp up all kinds of investigations into the biden administration >> more challenging days ahead, but to that point, the omnibus caps off a year of major legislative achievements for the democrats. these are five of the most significant bills passed and signed into law this year. there's the inflation reduction act signed into law in august, which aims to combat climate change with nearly $370 billion earmarked for clean energy funding of cars, homes, and businesses it seeks to lower prescription drug costs including a $35 capper month on insulin for medicare beneficiaries it also sets aside funding for communities heavily affected by climate change issues. also a few days ago the electoral count reform act was passed as part of the omnibus package, revising the 1887 electoral count act to make

clear the vice president cannot discount electoral votes the bill is designed to prevent competing slates of electors and will simplify state certifications of elections. in june, the safer communities act passed thanks to significant bipartisan effort. the bill includes grants for states to incorporate red-flag laws into the process of to firearms it bolsters the background check process for 18- to 21-year-olds and attempts to close the so-called boyfriend loophole the chips and science act, which passed last summer, marked a huge win for the president's first term, designed to keep america ahead of china in the global market. it invests $280 billion in american semiconductor manufacturing and research and development. it also provides tax breaks for the production of electronic chips. earlier this month, the respect for marriage act passed, signed in an emotional ceremony on the white house south lawn, the bill forces the government and individual states to recognize

legally performed same-sex marriages and to ensure full benefits regardless of the couple's sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin at least president biden came to office and was not shy about embracing comparisons to lbj, to fdr, with big, sweeping, ambitious legislative agendas. he, though, came into office with something they didn't have, only very narrow advantage in congress, and yet that's a pretty remarkable run. >> president biden maybe set expectations a little high with those comparisons, but these are some significant achievements, and i have to say that anything happened with gun control is amazing when you consider how much opposition there's been for so many years. so just for the improved background checks to be passed, that's great so, mike barnicle, i would ask you, what do you think is the biggest achievement of the biden administration legislatively so

far? >> elise, a little truth in packaging here, i know the president, i like the president. that is a very significant list of accomplishments that we just listed, you and jonathan i think right now the principle goal of to the biden administration is to survive the onslaught of investigations and counterattacks from the incoming republican majority. but at the end of the day, he does all of this, he gets all of this done in addition, in addition to holding together a coalition fighting russia in ukraine. those are two incredible accomplishments by the president of the united states and figure this thing -- on the other side of the aisle, and we just referred to it, one of the potentially leading republican candidates perhaps for president of the united states, the existing governor of texas, greg abbott, who once presided over true incompetence in texas and allowed the power grid to fail

during the course of a very cold winter a few years ago, his idea of achievement is to bus people to washington, d.c., in freezing weather and risk their lives standing outside the vice president's home, vice presidential mansion on massachusetts avenue in washington, d.c. that's what we're talking about here we're talking about cruelty versus competence. the republican proven cruelty and the president's proven competence and, josh, i'm wondering at the white house what are they going to do, do you think, in terms of using this record to further enhance the achievements of the president of the united states do they talk about itenough internally are they going to talk about it enough externally? >> reporter: one of the things they're focused on is fact the legislative achievements have not been concentrated on one narrow area where they were able to find some rare agreement with

republicans or mod cats but instead, look at that list that jonathan was laying out. you have major legislative wins on the economy, with the chips act, with the inflation reduction act, these massive investments in our economy you have the social issues you have the codification of gay marriage from coast to coast you've got those steps on gun control that elise was talking about. then you also have democracy protection, something that has been really one of the driving causes of this administration with those reforms to the electoral count act that were just pass in the the last few days and certainly one of the ways that that has changed the conversation here at the white house is that they feel like that list has really pulled the rug under from -- out from under the kind of murmurders within the democratic party about whether president biden should step aside for the 2024 race, whether he doesn't really have the juice to be able to do this again. they really feel like they are heading into this one of the

strongest democratic records that anyone alive certainly can remember and that they feel like that positions them to really hit the ground running in the next couple of years as they gear up for that re-election, which of course president biden has not officially pulled the trigger on but certainly everyone around him as the presidents is having those discussions with his family over the holiday season feels like it is more likely than it was a few months ago, not less likely that the president will seek re-election in part as a result of some of these legislative achievements and also global national security achievements such as keeping that russia coalition together as you were just describing. >> nbc's josh lederman from the white house. thank you for your reporting this morning coming up on "morning joe," we'll have the latest on the war in ukraine where the fighting most certainly did not stop for the holiday. this as vladimir putin claims he's ready to negotiate. we'll bring you the latest on that and also ahead this hour,

the biggest star of the 20th century. a never-before-seen look at the life, legacy, and influence of elizabeth taylor

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welcome back the war in ukraine did not pause for the christmas holiday. with a deadly russian attack hitting a key city on christmas eve. still, many ukrainians found ways to celebrate with loved ones amid the hardships. nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley has the latest. >> reporter: in a state-run tv interview released sunday afternoon, russian president vladimir putin saying russia is ready for talks to end the war in ukraine it's not the first time putin has offered to negotiate and ukrainian officials have already dismissed the offer as not serious. his offer comes as russia's

attacks on ukraine continued on christmas day. after air strikes at the southern ukrainian city of kherson on christmas over, killing 10 people and wounding 55 more. ukraine's president urging his people to keep the faith "we will celebrate our holidays asalways and smile and be happy. this family is doing just that, cooking over gas camping stove are you celebrating christmas in spite of putin >> i would say yes he wants to ruin our holidays, so some holidays at least for us just like kherson. >> reporter: from the front lines to the home front, christmas carries on russian bombs leveled this house outside kyiv last christmas at this time you were making christmas dinner here "yes, we were decorating the christmas tree here with hand made toys. "now they live in a prefab modular home next door, their

christmas tree smaller than they're used to. her 7-year-old grandson let me decorate it with him david's parents told me david was disstraugts when his home was destroyed. "it was tough for us to accept what happened, much less to explain it to david. the boys on the front are always front of mind. vitaly's brother is deployed as a military cook. he's busy cooking christmas dinner for his comrades. "are you guys in a good mood?" "they are. even though they're not at home, they're in a good mood a bit of christmas spirit even as this war rages on >> our thanks to nbc's matt bradley for that report. the war in ukraine is the focus of a harrowing first-person can't available now in "the new yorker," a journalist details his time with volunteers who

would execute recon issues on the front lines while trying to avoid surveillance and attack. luke, your latest piece "trapped in the trenches on ukraine's battlefields," drone surveillance makes it almost impossible to maneuver give us a sense of what the day-to-day life is like, what you saw embedded with this group. >> well, it's incredibly difficult and brutal and dangerous. and the ukrainians who are holding the line on the eastern front where i was have had to endure great hardship for months at a time, sometimes without respite. i was with an international reconnaissance team that consisted of two americans, two new zealanders, and a german, and they were pushing forward from the front line trenches into the no man's land,

oftentimes at night, using tree lines for cover to probe the gray zone and identify the forward most russian positions for ukrainians to target with artillery. so that was obviously even more dangerous and risky, and many of their comrades had been injured and killed, and the same goes obviously for their ukrainian counterparts >> speaking of danger, luke, in your piece you recount a close encounter while pinned down in a ukrainian village. the code names of the soldiers you were with, you asked doc asked herring to locate the russian tank it's coming about ten degrees to the left, he said. i got to wait for this to sub side to run out and grab the drone. another strike near the house made doc's response inaudible. i gotta get that drone

it was pitch black in the cellar even with three of us sitting with knees drawn up, the fourth personcould only fit standing next to the ladder downward, herring barked, though there was nowhere farther down to go. i bowed my head as three successive impacts left a ringing in my ears we'll be repall right boys, hern said he sparkled his lighter and held the flame under his face to show us he was smiling. at first i was annoyed at what seemed like a juvenile display of bravado then i realized that herring was trying to put the photographer and me at ease i feel said, he said, as half a dozen more shells detonated outside. elise jordan, impossible to imagine how dangerous and harrowing this was >> i'm so glad that you're safe. this was an incredible dangerous embed for you to go on, and you went with this group of international volunteers but the

ukrainian military obviously is aranging em beds the way the pentagon would do for the press corps. canyou talk about those international volunteers how many did you meet? this was a small team of five, but do you have a sense of how many international volunteers are in ukraine fighting for the ukrainian cause? and how long have they been there? what kind of duration are they staying and fighting in these really tough, dangerous conditions >> well, at the very beginning of the invasion, zelenskyy, the president of ukraine, put out a call for international volunteers to help the war effort and according to the foreign minister, about 20,000 individuals from 52 different countries responded. now, since then, that number has dramatically fallen. i think a lot of foreigners who initially went to ukraine and volunteered to fight weren't really prepared for what the

reality of the combat would be like there it's much different even from afghanistan and in iraq. it's artillery and tank and french warfare, which most western soldiers even with significant combat experience have never really been through so there was a high rate of attrition over the first several months of the war, and those who remain, including the team i was with, have really been through the ringer and are incredibly brave and courageous and committed. we don't know exactly how many of them are still in the country because neither the ukrainian government nor the international legion releases those numbers, but there are teams on all of the fronts, and a lot of them are doing this very forward

reconnaissance work. >> mike barnicle >> luke, what we're looking at, these clips, this is not a movie that you were a part of. could you talk to the psychological effects of a culture, a society, in this case ukraine's, not afghanistan or iraq, this case it's ukraine, what happens when people, even soldiers, are under continuous impact, continucussive m pakts f arti artillery, the psychological impact of it, the fear you can sometimes taste? what did you witness and what do you feel now about that? >> unlike other kinds of warfare, counterinsurgency, urban combat, a lot of artillery and trench warfare comes down to chance and things that you as an individual soldier have no control over so it doesn't matter how elite

you are or how experienced you are, how much knowledge you have you have a very limited ability to leverage your skills as a fighter to improve your chances of survival because at the end of the day, the shell is either going to lands only you or it's not. so i think that has a very particular and specific psychological impact on the soldiers who are tasked with holding the front lines, especially in eastern ukraine. that is unlike anything, again, that western soldiers experienced in iraq or afghanistan. and many of the ukrainians don't have a choice. and so they have had to embrace a kind of fatalism, i think,

according to which they remain exposed to extreme, continue assistant, and prolonged danger and risk and not only that but continue to function and be efficient as soldiers so whereas myself and the photograper i was with, david, all we really had to do was just weather it, and that was tough enough, frankly, but the soldiers we were with and reporting on, they also have to work and conduct missions and remain cool-headed under that same pressure, which can be really paralyzing, even for short periods of time, and, again, these guys are dealing with it for months at a stretch. >> extraordinarily difficult, stories both marrowing and heroic this piece is online now for

"the new york erp," luke mogelson, thanks for your reporting. >> thank you it's been three years since we watched flames ungulf notre dame in paris. we'll get an update on where restoration efforts stand today. it's nice to unwind after a long week of telling people how liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need! (limu squawks) he's a natural. only pay for what you need. ♪liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty.♪ the unknown is not empty. it's a storm that crashes, and consumes, replacing thought with worry. but one thing can calm uncertainty. an answer. uncovered through exploration, teamwork, and innovation. an answer that leads to even more answers. mayo clinic.

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♪♪ welcome back this morning we have a rare look inside the reconstruction of the notre dame cathedral in paris, which is being rebuilt after a devastating fire nearly three years ago. nbc news foreign correspondent raf sanchez has the latest on the progress of restoring the historic landmark. >> reporter: day by day, stone by stone, the work of restoring the 800-year-old notre dame ourp lady of paris goes on. >> we begin to see the fruit of our work >> reporter: more than three years ago, a helpless world watched the famous cathedral consumed by flames craig was here for the aftermath. >> how much this cathedral means. >> now nbc news granted rare access to witness the reconstruction in progress okay suited, booted, ready to go.

after years of delicate work to secure the church, now restoration of the interior is finally under way. there are 1,200 tons of scaffolding in here, 15 stories high, leading up to where the spire will eventually be rebuilt. but within what is now this vast construction site, flashes of quiet beauty are starting to return in this row of painted chapel saints and angels painstakingly returned to their former brilliance by teams of crafts people incredible how vivid these colors are and here a completed wing offers a glimpse of the future, what the rest of the cathedral will look like when finished. all of paris watched the moment notre dame's iconic spire fell this is the roof where the spire once stood, now preparation under way to bring it back to life this is the hole in the cathedral creeling where the spire came crashing down these wooden hangers will be used to support new stone arches, and from here the spire

will rise once again at the head of the effort to restore notre dame, a former army general >> we will win now, war against the fire >> reporter: telling nbc news he will meet the goal of reopening the cathedral to worship in twourp, five years after the fire >> my eyes, my brain is ritch etted on 2024. >> reporter: a cathedral sacred to the world inching closer to rebirth. >> nbc's raf sanchez with that report still ahead here, a brand-new look at a hollywood icon that's next on "morning joe. finding perfect isn't rocket science. kitchen? sorted. hot tub, why not? and of course, puppy-friendly. we don't like to say perfect, but it's pretty perfect. booking.com, booking.yeah.

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so suddenly. how it hurts how love can stab the heart. >> elizabeth taylor was one of the biggest stars of the 20th century. her tumultuous romance with richard burton launched paparazzi careers and marked the beginning of modern celebrity culture. she was the first actor to successfully break the million-dollar mark negotiating her role in "cleopatra" and championed film making in "who's afraid of virginia woolff? she took on the aids epidemic when few would and created an iconic business all while facing tremendous loss and waging her own battle with chronic pain and addiction. joining us now is "new york times" best-selling author kate anderson brower, out with the first authorized biography of the legend entitled "elizabeth taylor: the grit and glamour of an icon. i read the excerpt about

elizabeth in her years in washington and you forget she was married to senator john warner for a brief period and was riveted. you are a great historian, but you also weave beautiful stories. can you talk about some of what you uncovered about elizabeth taylor and how she fared in washington >> it was really because of john warn they're this book came together i got to know him. he was her sixth husband and i just thought what an incredible story to have a republican senator from virginia married to the most famous woman at the time. this is in the late '70s and he put me in touch with her family, who opened up this archive of diaries and letters, love letters between elizabethwt

of fellow stars. can you talk about what she felt like someone like marilyn monroe and what she thought about these stars. >> so she felt sorry for marilyn monroe elizabeth had a stage mother who was very controlling and kept her away from the casting couch. we have unfortunately come to know was dominating hollywood in the '50s, '60s and beyond. so she felt marilyn was a victim elizabeth was never a victim

she actually offered to walk off the set of cleopatra while marilyn was shooting her last film because of how marilyn was being treated by the studios she toad up for people she felt herself as an outsider. so she appreciated and empathized with other fellow outsiders. >> mike barnicle has a question now. >> kate, this will be hard for some people to understand. but for those of us of a certain age, the breakup between elizabeth and eddie fischer where she chose richard burton was a colossal story it exploded culturely, even politically. but certainly on the front pages of every newspaper in america for days on end. can you talk about that and how today it would be even perhaps

more explosive >> i mean, that's absolutely right. you can't overstate how famous the liz and dick show was, as it was known. they were the first major celebrity couple when she broke up -- well, it was said she broke up eddie fischer and debbie reynolds. when she went to khreupl "chree pat pat ra," she went to rome. that was the one shus she really did not like and they would call him edna behind his back. she was thought of as a home wrecker. she endured a lot of sexist name-calling there was even a member of congress that wanted to keep her out of the u.s it was kind of incredible. >> it's crazy. i look forward to reading the whole book, kate "elizabeth taylor the grit and glam of an icon. thank you so much. up next on "morning joe", what the latest mega millions

jackpot has climbed to the odds of winning. you won't want to miss that. that deal's so good we don't even need an eight-time all-star to tell you about it. wait what? get it before it's gone on the subway app!

the mega millions jackpot has climbed to $565 million after no ticket matched all six

numbers drawn last week. according to lottery officials, if somebody wins at the next drawing, the jackpot would then be the sixth largest prize in the 20-year history of the game. the next drawing, tomorrow night. the odds of winning, 1 in 302 million. >> definitely playing. judging from the airports today, even more so >> we saw the footage of o'hare airport. mike, it occurs to us, if you were to win and net that $565 million, you can almost cover the payroll of the new york mets >> all i have to say is 3, 6, 9, 15, 50, mega ball 27 >> there it is folks, you heard it hear folks thanks for joining us. we thank you as well hallie jackson picks up the coverage in just two minutes so to help you remember that liberty mutual customizes your home insurance, here's one that'll really take you back. wow! what'd you get, ryan? it's customized home insurance

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