thank you all for staying with us. i'm alex witt. we're following some pretty dig story this is hour as we have breaking news to share after more than a month of fear and frustration in idaho, law enforcement officials tell nbc news a 28-year-old male has been taken into custody in connection with the murders of four college students. we have also more details from donald trump's tax returns.

we'll have the latest reporting and analysis in moments for you. also this hour, new covid concerns on multiple fronts with another spike in china and a new sub variant here at home. we continue to cover that major development. the arrest in connection to the murder case involving four university of idaho students. nbc news can confirm the person in custody is that man right there. 28-year-old bryan kohberger. this is according to court records and four law enforcement officials confirming that to nbc news. he's being held in pennsylvania. he's at the prison there. police in moscow, idaho v announced a 4:00 p.m. eastern press conference to provide apt update on this case, but the moscow police department is not yet confirming the arrest. let's bring in correspondent steve patterson for the latest. it's been an hour since we have been getting this. anything new in the last hour? >> reporter: just the timeline. we'll have that press conference

from moscow police later on today. we should learn a the lot more about the suspect with them announcing the arrest, the primary department that's been on this there's a 3:30 extradition hearing scheduled to be in monroe county. we'll know more about his future across state lines. all we know is that name. bryan kohbrger, 28 years old, believed to have some tie with idaho. the scene of thousands and thousands of miles away from northern pennsylvania near the poconos. and obviously, police still making that connection there along with the fbi who assisted as we though in the investigation. but this has been going on for six to seven week nous. the families had been waiting for anything as far as answers. they have been waiting for anything as far as more details. so to have all of this happen all at once, a bit of a surprise. police weren't releasing any

information that they had anybody targeted let alone a suspect now in custody. all of this is coming out. we should know more a little bit on today at that press conference in just a few hours. and we'll bring that to you. right now, families are looking for justice and they maybe able to get it. that's the feeling in idaho. >> let's hope they are able to. this on behalf of many agency ises to bring us to this point. thank you for staying on the breaking news. let's go to the breaking news we have been following throughout this day. the release of six years of former president trump's tax returns. reporters are sifting through the redactions to learn some new details that expand on last week's summary. joining me now is capitol hill correspondent allie raffa, and lisa reuben, thank you for being here. people have been combing over these pages. what are we learning?

>> reporter: we have our own trustee team of readers helping us sift through thousands of pages of records from these tax returns between the years 2015 and 2020. there are some newsy nuggets that have come out of these tax returns when you think of what the focuses have been for lawmakers and tax experts looking at these and seeking these out for the past couple years. on things like possible foreign bank accounts by formerer president trump. something trump for his part has admitted to. the records show he has several throughout the time period between 2015 and 2020. in england, ireland, china, on charitable donations. they didn't report any charitable donations in the year 2020. a big difference from past tax returns, where they have had hefty donations reported. on income offset, his 2020 tax return shows his income was

almost completely offset by losses. so still a lot more to glean from these documents, but there's been no shortage of reaction from the former president himself and house republicans. the former president reacting in a statement saying in part, the radical left democrats have weaponized everything. but remember that is a dangerous two-way street. this is only made possible because of party line vote in the ways and means committee allowing for these returns to be released. the top republican on that committee is speaking out against this also calling this a regrettable stain on behalf of the committee. he says democrats will come to regret it. that's from republican congressman kevin brady. democrats are sticking to their guns saying this is all part of a larger effort to reform the country's tax system. so the back and forth really only just beginning. >> that's for sure. thank you for that.

>> you have done detailed reporting on the tax story all along. big picture when you examine all you have learned. what are the the major take aways. >> i think the take aways are the same you have seen. this is the businesses he creates and runs on his own typically lose tens of millions of dollars a year. he has to infuse those businesses with money from other sources. and through the course of his life. they have been half a billion dollars today. money he got from entertainment source, about another half a billion and $300 million from businesses that he sort of forced into. but businesses that he runs is tougher. we really saw that and he's just released documents. it will say that one positive year he had in this window, he

reported $25 million. all of that came from property that he inherited from his father when he sold that year. $25 million when he's in the white house in the '70s. and it was reduced by some losses on his business and also sales of property by businesses that he reason himself. he lost a million dollars bailing his son out of a failed effort to build prefab homes in south carolina those are the big take aways that you continue to see in the documents. >> that's absolutely fascinating. get to you, lisa, with regard to the trump international hotel there in d.c. there was all sorts of questions about the extent to which the clause was not being adhered to.

did that serve as a moneymakerer for him? >> it did not. it was a horrible loser. you can see in 2020, the hotel in d.c. reported a loss of $16 million what you can't see is the return that we had that showed when he was losing that money in prior years, he had to infuse $9 to $8 million of other sources to keep that afloat. that's missing here. >> legally speaking, anything from what we have seen here today or over the last week that donald trump should be worried

about? are there areas that need to be examined even further? >> there are a few of them. and "the new york times" deserves a lot of credit for honing this on some of them. one is the $21 million donation he made of a portion of his property at the seven springs estate. that has already been called into question as an improper evaluation by the attorney general and is part of the $250 million lawsuit that she has going on against the trump organization. but now according to the times, the irs is taking a a look at that too. was that a proper deduction for the trumps to take in 2015. that's the taxable year in which they claim to have made that $21 million donation of land. one of the other problems for the trumps that you see here is also write offs of consulting fees. that total, i believe, $26 million in all across a number of taxable years, "the new york times" is reporting indicates that the irs was afraid to touch that. both because they didn't have the resources and because they

were afraid of former president trump ask his representatives and in rocking the boat of newly established relationships with them. it seemed that the irs is going to take another look at that as well. >> do you think that it is possible that everything we have learned does do what lisa has indicated, it pushes the irs to more heavily scrutinized future tax submissions to avoid the criticism they are seeing today? >> from some level, but that was one of the interesting things from the report last week was that the irs wasn't actively auditing donald trump. they had paused a lot of that because they got a $72 million refund and it hadn't been resolved. they were in a holding pattern. then there were meetings within a few days after we published

those stories and talked about launching the audits and getting them going and made contact with donald trump. but again, it's really they have one auditor assigned to look at this vast enterprise. "the new york times" had three of us ask we're not auditors working on this for years. and they only expanded that to three after we published our story and began a more in-depth look at things. but we were not looking at all 500 businesses. they acknowledged they didn't have the resources and the time to do that. they were going to pick five or six and a few issues of those that they thought the numbers were big enough where if it went against him, it would have a material effect on the taxes he paid. it's disturbing how this has been looked at. >> allie, you mentioned the head of the ways and means committee respond. any other republicans responding to the tax release? >> reporter: there are some republicans echoing what kevin

brady said, calling this a dus appointment saying that this really opens up pandora's box and sets the precedent for anyone's tax returns to eventually be called on to be publicly released. something that republicans were staunchly opposed to and during the vote. it's going to be interesting to see what happens with that legislation that passed in the house last week to be able to prevent that from happening again to give more funding to the irsim resources to the irs. that was passed by democrats. so it's going to be interesting to see where that goes over the next two years. >> al thank you all so much. tomorrow is new year's eve. and final preparations are up for the bug celebration in times square. in just this last hour, we saw officials test the ball drop and release a new security details.

this is the first year of times square festivities with no covid restrictions. the event is expected at full capacity with an estimated 1 million people set to pack into that area. mock them is kathy park joining us from times square. i see the pens. they are beginning to get set up. walk us through what we can expect tomorrow. >> happy new year to you. wooers hours we're hours away from rinsing in 2023. we're at full capacity. we're looking at close to a million people in the times square area and a billion people will be tuning in for the ball drop. but this is a big contrast from years past. and the height of the pandemic, the streets of new york city, times square, practically empty and only a select few frontline workers were invited to take in a celebration. but starting tomorrow around

6:00 p.m. is when the festivities will kick into high gear. the ball will be raised and 11:59 it will be lowered. we're told that there's about 3,000 pounds of confetti that will be scattered throughout the area. but fortunately, the weather is supposed to be mild. but there are some security precautions they will be putting in place. no umbrellas are allowed, no public bedrooms in the area. so once you're in the area, be prepared to stay here. because you have to go in the back of the line to come back in. but at 1:30 this afternoon, we're supposed to get a press briefing on how they are going to be managing the crowds this year, but i have to say the spirit is pretty high. had a chance to talk to some visitors across the country they are looking forward to ringing in 2023 and kind of checking off this bucket list item but ringing in the new year in the middle of time square. >> definitely appreciate the energy with which you have brought the story. and i have done it once, but it was definitely a one and done.

that's just me. thank you much. how will new year's eve look for folks across the country? the weather forecast we're going to get now from angie lassman. what can we expect? >> i also did it once and one and done is good. i'm with you on that. the good news for folks heading out there, it's going to be warm. you heard temperatures will be in the 50s for the eastern half of the country. 60s for some. down through the south, the 70s. you can see your saturday forecast, 71 degrees for a high. it gets warmer on sunday a 75. upper 40s for saturday in indianapolis. in the 50s by sunday. so really we're stuck in the warm pattern here for anybody east of the rockies. you'll see temperatures well above normal for this time of year. if you're out and about in boston on saturday, we hit 57 degrees. moral of the story, that's the good news that comes. the bad news is that the eastern half of the country specifically

the east coast is going to get in on some rain. that includes folks that will head out to times square to celebrate. you can see why. this system that's working from west to east continues to track into places like the northeast and strechg into parts of the tennessee valley into tomorrow. this brings rain to the northeast and then new england as we get into sunday. this means that we could be dealing with some rain as people are out and about trying to celebrate ahead of midnight and beyond midnight we could see the rain wrapping up in places in western new york, but still you'll want to pack the poncho if you're heading to times square. out west you're not in the clear. more rain and snow and wind all is going to be things you'll have to deal with here for your new year's eve forecast. we could look at some flood risks with anywhere from 3 to 5 inches of rain possible for central to northern california. the flip side, that's great for the drought. this is great for the reservoirs and skiing. but it will cause a couple trouble spot when is it comes to travel through the new year's

eve weekend and new year's day. the middle section of the country will be warm and i don't think anyone is complaining. >> that's good. you mentioned skiing here. my friends at mammoth mountain will be thrilled thank you. we're still combing through the trump tax returns and we'll bring in a house ways and means kmeet member to discuss details. keep it here for that. plus new health warnings heading into the new year. what you need to know about the new covid strain causing hospitalizations. and as 2022 winds down, we're looking back on a major year for soccer fans and players around the world. the incredible life and legacy of the global face of the sportd pele is ahead. you're watching msnbc. pele is ahead. you're watching msnbc. will you? ♪ what will you change? ♪ will you make something better? ♪ will you create something entirely new?

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starting january 5th the u.s. will require a negative covid test for anyone flying in from china. and other countries are now following suit with similar policies to test and monitor travelers. the number of cases in china exploded after the country abruptly eased its zero covid approach. joining me now is ali arusi. how is china reacting? >> good afternoon. china has said that criticism of their covid statistics are groundless and they have played down the risk of new variants.

china's foreign minister said covid rules should only be instated based on a scientific basis and he's accused western countries and the media of overhyping the situation and blowing it out of proportion. he says that the covid situation in china right now is predictable and under control. but the u.s. and many other countries remain deeply skeptical. they accuse china of a lock of transparency and vastly inadequate data. and interestingly, on chinese social media, the reaction has been very mixed. some people have accused the west of of being racist with the new restrictions while others in china are saying they are very much in proportion given how strict china's policy has been up until recently. and there's a difference in what we're getting out of china and other organizations. analysis coming out of the

uk-based health department data firm. they are estimating 9,000 people are day are dying and you compare that to china statistics as of december 7th when they made that return on their policy, they have only had ten deaths. by january 13th, it's probably going to reach a peak in china when you could see over 3.5 million new cases a day. so that's a huge goal from china and what we're hearing from the west. experts in the west are also saying that international travel restrictions are just not enough and what a waste need to be tested to track the virus adequately. >> those stats are stunning. thank you for sharing them. i'm going to pick up on that as we have health experts warning a new strain is causing a rise in

hospitalizations in the u.s. the cdc reports omicron sub variant now accounts for more than half of covid cases in the northeast and 18% nationwide. but new cdc data shows it's projected to make up to 40% of all cases. joining me now is global initiatives at the university of pennsylvania dr. emanuel. good to see you. let's get right into this one. this new sub variant, what do we know about it and how should we be protecting ourselves? is it any differently than the way we have done for three years? >> it is spreading rapidly. so you know it has an evolutionary comparative advantage to the other major strains circulating. as far as protection, we're back to the same things we have always been back to. wearing a good mask when you're in public and around other people. if you're having a gathering,

have people testing and make sure that people are negative. and then getting the booster will help. it protects you from hospitalization and death. and that's very, very important. we shouldn't play pretend that the vaccine is going to protect us from getting covid, but it is going to protect you from serious problems. and you think the fact that so few people have gotten the new variant is worrisome is. that gives good protection against some of these strains. >> it does. 15% of us have gotten that particular booster. there are americans who have moved on, tired of wearing masks. they have had covid. they have recovered from it. what doo you say to those who remain skeptical of boosters and vaccinations in general as their reasoning for not getting one? they are like, i don't want to get that. i'm not sure it's good for me.

>> there are side effects. compare to getting a serious covid infection, especially if you're older and you have comorse budty, those people should definitely be getting the booster. and be getting the vaccine. it's really important people do it. part of the problem is we have oversold it as preventing covid. it's not going to prevent covid. we shouldn't pretend that. things that pretend covid are masking and good indoor air quality. it's been a long three years. it doesn't mean we can let our guard down. the last thing we should do is pretend like there's no covid. we're still having 350 deaths a day here in the united states. and this past week, 41,000 people admitted to the hospital

with covid. that doesn't translate into being past covid. >> not at all. in the time i have left, i want to focus on away you recently wrote about how vaccine fatigue seems to vaed to other shots and includes the flu and measles. measles and polio had been eradicated. where do things stand now? are you concerned about a rise in other preventable illnesses? >> part of the problem is that people have because of covid didn't go to the doctor and get the vaccines for their children. it's mainly children here we're talking about. and we have other countries the rate has gone up. and the main decline, the reason for the decline is we give parents excuses like rlks excuse, personal feelings, we have delayed because of covid and not enforce our rules that kids need to get vaccines.

if we got rid of the excuses, the way mississippi has, west virginia has, new york, california, we could increase the number of children vaccinated. if we enforce the rules that you have to have it go to school or a child care center, we can get back to where we were before covid, which was among the absolute best countries in the world in terms of childhood vaccinations. these aren't complicated. and it turns out that more than 70% of americans, whether they actually endorse childhood vaxs nations because they keep kids safe and save the country money from hospitalizations and other complications. >> thank you so much for sharing your expertise. we appreciate it. >> have a good new year. >> a healthy one as well. tomorrow is dr. fauci's last day as the head of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases after half a

century of public service. fauci, who just turned 82 and is the top infectious disease expert, has been the institute's director since 1984. fauci's retirement will hark the end of his prom nebt innocent role in the white house he became a household name during the response to the covid-19 pandemic. we wish him well with our thanks. trump's taxes finally released to the account. we're live outside trump tower. and early rection from the committee that released those taxes. congressman brendon boyle is here, after the break. here, after the break. a blood test helped show my asthma is driven by eosinophils, which nucala helps reduce. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. nucala is not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection.

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the getting an update on the breaking news around the rest of the 28-year-old man in the murder of four university of idaho college students about seven weeks ago. that is the prime suspect there. bryan kohberger is listed as a person of interest, but he has been charged now on a warrant from the moscow, idaho, police for murder in the first degree. what we know is that he was arrested some 2,000 mile was in

monroe county, pennsylvania. he sits right now in the monroe county prison waiting an extradition hearing about 3:30 p.m. eastern time. that's scheduled. there will be a news conference at 4:00 p.m. eastern time from the police in moscow, idaho. but once again, charges of murder in the first degree have been applied to him. that's the reason for his arrest. that being bryan kohberger, 28 years old. we're piecing together the news as we get it. we'll continue doing so here on msnbc. former president trump react ing to the house democrats releasing six years of his tax returns days before they officially lose their majority in congress. >> if you look at what they have done, it's so sad for our country. it's nothing but another deranged political witch hunt, which has been going on from the day i came down the escalator in trump tower.

>> antoniahillton is outside trump tower. >> reporter: he was ready with the reaction just minutes after this trove of documents came out this morning around 9:00 a.m. and in that video, not only was he complaining about the democrats' actions and this committee releasing these documents, which has been the culmination of years of legal battles and debate going back to when he was a candidate running for the 2016 election. but he also said in that video, he bisically made a warning to democrats that with republicans set to talk over the house soon, he was recommending that those republican lawmakers now turn the microscope over to president biden and to his family members, essentially in retaliation. he released a statement to nbc news. i want to read a bit of that. president trump said in a statement, democrats should have never done it, the supreme court

should have never approved it, and it's going to lead to horrible things for so many people. the trump tax returns show how proudly successful i have been. what i found interesting about that is that in a statement he's saying this release is a violation, which is something we have been hearing that this is a violation of his privacy and it sets a bad precedent and it's not a full picture, and then in the other breath, saying that these documents just reveal what i have told you all along that i'm an excellent businessman with complicated finances who have created jobs for people. what we see is 2016 and 201, he paid only $750 in federal income tax. had in 2020 he paid zero dollars. these numbers are surprising for folk who is assumed that president trump was a billionaire, whose businesses were still booming and quite successful this the years he was

running for and became president. some other major questions people have been digging into today, as reporters and tax experts continue to read these documents, are questions about his charitable donations and his presidential salary. in 2020, he didn't donate his presidential salary so this is giving us a fuller picture of him and the health of his businesses and also just the veracity, the truth behind the image that he's cultivated for himself for years now. >> absolutely. thank you for that summary. let's move on with that topic with brendon boyle who serves on the ways and means committee. welcome so a lot of time and effort went into the committee obtaining this report. give me your key take aways. >> thanks for having me. there are several i refer to the joint committee on taxation, which is a nonpartisan arm of congress. what they found this their report, which is also been made

public and there's a numb of red flags. first, the irs was not doing its job. it's supposed to audit the tax returns of every president every single year and they were not doing that. our effort on exposing the tax returns uncoffered the irs' failure. number two, the fact that if you look at the six years worth of returns, we're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars of unsubstantiated deductions, both in terms of alleged charitable contributions as well as alleged losses. there are also sorts of sole proprietorships that have no revenue at all, only losses. what exactly is going on there. so those are three that i just mentioned really off the top of my head. they cry out for a further real audit to take place. and i personally believe that we should follow up with the irs and find out why they weren't

doing their job. >> may i ask you specifically to that question. does the irs at least have an explanation by saying we were underfunded that we didn't have the resources we needed to take on the tax analysis. an audit of something of this nature because your ways and means committee. there's been $80 million afforded to the beef up the staffing to allow them to better audit taxpayers. >> if that's their justification, they haven't offered it to us. on that point about the underfunding of the irs, they are at 50% of where they were about a decade ago.

to help constituents who have not had their returns processed. there's been a progress for my constituents and the constituents of many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, but then also so you can have the audits take place. those are in the top 1% and the top 1% of the top 1%. they have very complex returns. so what we find out is the irs finds it easy to audit the returns of middle class and working class wage earners, but too often are not showing the same sort of attention toward those in the well-connected. what i would sayis the fact that donald trump, someone of his wealth paid $750 in taxes in a couple of those years, paid zero in 2020, it further shows that the system is rigged against middle class, working-class americans. there's one set of rules for

most people, and then there's a different set of rules for the very elite. that's wrong and needs to be changed. >> last question. any appetite legislatively to do something that will prevent big money donors and financial leaders from using the tax code to submit returns that are kind of similar to the former president's? >> i'd say two things. we did just pass last week in the house of representatives on one of the last session days, a law to mandate the irs due what it saids it was doing all these years and that is carrying out the audits of presidents and vice presidents. that's number one. but number two, we should have a law requiring a certain percentage of audits for those who were in the top 1% in had this country. too often as appointed out, we see working class americans put through the ringer in terms of

audits while the top 1% and the top one tenth of 1% are able to skate by even though they have obvious red flags. that's a systemic problem that can only be fixed through legislation. >> happy new year to you. thank you for your time. illinois' plan to become the first state in the country to ban cash bail is in limbo. more on that from chicago, next. more on that from chicago, next. y'all wayfair has just what you need for your home. is that glitter? this table is on its last leg. y'all need this. you're kelly clarkson! a whole new look for a whole lot less. ahhh! -you're kelly clarkson! i am... and you need this. i love it! are we in a wayfair commercial? maybe. personal sauna. ok i need that. ahhhhh! ♪ wayfair, you've got just what i need ♪ love you. have a good day, behave yourself.

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in helping hungry kids or go online to ♪ ♪ you've done the hard part. you quit smoking. now do the easy part and get scanned for lung cancer. if you smoked, you may still be at risk, but early detection could save your life. talk to your doctor and learn more at savedbythescan.org the state of illinois plans to become the first in the country to ban cash bail, but it's been put in jeopardy after a county judge ruled that the cash bail section of the law was unconstitutional. the law was set to go into effect at the start of the new year and is intended to help those who cannot afford to post bail giving them a chance to prove their innocence from outside of a jail cell. shaq brewster sat down with the illinois attorney general to

discuss the last-minute challenge to this law. >> as soon as we have an appealable order, we'll be taking this to our state supreme court to make sure that there's an even playing field throughout the state and it's recognized as a law of the land throughout the state of illinois. >> for more on this, shaq is joining me now. welcome, my trend. walk us through what's going on here and what has to happen for this law to take effect. >> hi there. a judge's ruling put this law into question in some of the more conservative areas of the state part of that lawsuit. but in the more populous areas like cook county, officials say they are going to plow ahead with the elimination of cash bail. this was a law that was passed in the months after george floyd's murder. it was seen as a major civil rights and criminal justice victory, but it was also a political liability for democrats in this state, but in a couple days, it's set to become a reality.

>> reporter: as crime-focused ads flooded the air waves this fall, a sweeping new law in illinois took center stage in conservative messaging. >> didn't illinois just pass some new law? >> reporter: illinois attempting to become the first state in the country to abolish cash bail. if the law survives legal challenges, those accused of crimes will no longer need to pay a $amount to be released. instead, judges will determine detention based on if the person poses a threat. eliminating the wealth-base advantage. >> in 35 years that i have been a prosecutor, this is probably the biggest change in the criminal justice system that i have ever seen. >> reporter: dupage county states attorney robert berlin was used in ads attacking the law. >> we're going to have violent criminals out on the street. >> reporter: he and other states attorneys secured changes signed into law this month. . >> i was a vocal ritz critic

back then, but with this amendment, that's changed everything. judges have the tools to detain violent criminals, to detain defendant who is are likely to commit other offenses and put the community at risk. >> reporter: the chief public defender has been opposed to the existing bail system for years. >> we're moving to a system that's more serious, a system that's more informed and a sl that's fair and just. >> reporter: a government report shows that more than 60% of defendants are detained pretrial because they can't afford to post bail. the report findings stark racial and gender dispariies with young black men over 50% more likely to be detained than white defendants. >> if you look at the jail population, it's much more reflective of who has access to money as opposed to who has been determined to be a risk of flight or risk of public safety. >> reporter: during the height of the pandemic in 2020, trey dozer spent three months in a

chicago jail when he couldn't post bond. >> the anxiety and the fear of just knowing with every passing day when i'm in jail, the rest of my life is basically fall ago part. it's in free falls because of the situation in which i was seeing as a misunderstanding. >> reporter: after his partner's tiktok post about their experience went viral -- >> he was forced to ration. and the last time he went missing he was confused and accidentally opened a lady's car door and police on the street assumed he was stealing the car. >> reporter: the bail projects stepped in to help pay the $10,000 required to secure his release. >> the new law would have given somebody the opportunity to actually look at the real true circumstances of my situation and my arrest. >> do you think without the financial assistance from the bail project you would still be in jail right now?

>> yes, i do. >> and the safety act was not just about the elimination of cash bail. there are also many police accountability and reform measures in that law like a ban on choke holds, new training standards for officers statewide. those issues were thot part of the lawsuit. so they will be in effect january 1st throughout the state. >> quite a story. thank you so much. 2022 was the year soccer was celebrated across the u.s. and around the world. we're looking back at the year's biggest moments from an electrifying world cup to some of the legends that we lost. more on that, next. me of the legends tt hawe lost. more on that, next what will you do? ♪ what will you change? ♪ will you make something better? ♪ will you create something entirely new? ♪ our dell technologies advisors provide you with the tools and expertise you need to do incredible things.

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we're at the end of a banner year for international soccer, some very sad news, the brazilian legend known as perform ele died yesterday at the age of 82. he led his country to victory in three different world cups, in 1958, 1962, and 1970, all the while becoming the global face of the sport, and helping to popularize what he called the beautiful game throughout the world. let's discuss this with glen crooks, who is the host of sirius xm-fc. glen, welcome.

tell me what it was that made pele so unique. >> there was the way he played, first of all. but what was interesting about the americans, like myself, who maybe grew up in a town where there was very little soccer, and certainly no televised soccer, we didn't really ever see him play until he joined the cosmos. santos, he won ten championships, there he never moved to europe to play, he was a hero there, and finally, we got a chance to see him when he made his american debut in 1975, on randalls island in queens. 18,000 in a place that is normally holding only 5 or 6,000, crammed into that spot. and you could just see how adored he was worldwide. and it was a lot about it, the way he played the game. how creative, he was, what he did on the dribble, and this guy was butchered throughout his career, because the only way really to knock get beat by pele was to foul him quite heavily.

a great goal scorer. 64 goals for the cosmos. >> pretty incredible legacy. how big of a loss is this for the sport? >> well, it's huge. and because his arrival in the states, what it really stimulated was more boys and then girls playing the game on the youth level. his impact, and i think it really hit him, alex, it was 1977, it was a playoff game at giants stadium, was playing for the cosmos against fort lauderdale, 77,000-plus were at giants stadium. it was the largest crowd they ever watched, a sporting event at giants stadium or a soccer game, he cried after the match and he said i don't know why i'm paying other than it's now the time where he understood why coming to america was so important, because he really didn't want to at first, he was finally talked into it, got a massive contract, came to the cosmos, and he changed the course of soccer in our country. >> he did. it's been a year, as you know,

of so many highs for the sport, and concluding with the world cup there in qatar, which saw argentina in a truly epic final match against france. we also saw another major loss in the death of soccer journalist grant wahl in qatar, there is a photo of the two of you together there. how about his loss? what does that mean for the sport? >> well, grant was there in the early stages of presenting the stories of the game to people like myself. again, there wasn't much available. nothing on tv. practically nothing on tv. and very little written about the game. so he had the opportunity at sports illustrated to tell wonderful stories about the games, both domestic and international, and that passion that he showed in his writing really set a lot of things in motion a lot of people enjoyed what he wrote about the game, and he was helpful to not just the men's game but the women's game as well. >> he was indeed. you're helpful as well to

helping usion understand what is behind these two significant losses. happy new year to you, thank you. >> that does it for me, everybody. i wish you a happy new year as well. i will see you again tomorrow on "alex witt reports" noon to 2:00 p.m. on msnbc. meantime, yamiche alcindor picks up our coverage next. stay tuned. overage next stay tuned re, a cold is not just a cold. coricidin is the #1 doctor recommended cold and flu brand. specially designed for people with high blood pressure. be there for life's best moments. trust coricidin.

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good to be with you. i'm yamiche alcindor. and there is