breaking news this morning on velshi, a former pope benedict

has died at the age of 95. we will have a live report from the vatican in just a moment. plus, new year and even more legal troubles for the former president of the united states after decades of flying under the radar -- was 2022 the year that accountability finally caught up to donald trump? plus, the halls of congress will be crawling with election deniers in 2023. with a divided republican party set to take over the house, you can put democracy at the bottom of the gop agenda. good morning. it is saturday, december 31st,

new years eve. i am mehdi hasan, sitting in for my friend ali velshi this morning. not only is today the last day of the year, it also marks the official end of the january 6th committee. it's a series of blockbuster public hearings dominated the news this year with its many revelations about donald trump's desperate and anti-democratic attempts to cling on to power. the committee repeatedly made the case that trump was culpable and liable for the insurrection. last week, its members voted to issue for criminal referrals against donald trump. those hearings were only the start of a very bad six months for the twice impeached disgraced ex president. since the hearings began in the summer, fbi agents were treated dozens of -- including many highly classified documents which prompted the justice department to launch a second criminal investigation into donald trump on top of the one regarding january 6th. his finances have been under intense scrutiny by different

entities. earlier this month, the trump organization was convicted on 17 counts related to tax fraud following an investigation by the manhattan district attorney's office. just yesterday, the house ways and means committee released six years worth of trump's tax imports to the american public after a four year legal battle. the returns provided further proof that trump is not quite the self-made billionaire he has made himself out to be, nor does he pay his fair share in taxes. in 2016 and 2017, he only paid 750,000 each year and in 2020 he paid nothing at all. his financial losses piled up or so he said. trump's political influence also continued to weigh in this fall as many of his handpicked candidates failed to get elected. his third run for the presidency got off to a historically awful start after he invited nick fuentes to dine with him at mar-a-lago. at the end of 2022, donald

trump was politically weaker than he has been for a long time. he perhaps was more vulnerable to a gop primary challenge. the many ongoing investigations involving him have shattered the idea that these -- they have emboldened his opponents both inside and outside of the republican party. although the january six committee's work has come to an end, the other investigations will stretch into the new year as well the scrutiny over his businesses and his taxes and his ongoing ties to far-right extremists. the big question this morning on this new year's eve is that -- will 2023 actually finally really be the year that donald trump is held accountable? joining me now is a columnist for the daily beast and author of the book go back to where you came from, another helpful recommendations on how to become american. thank you for coming on the show this morning. i know that you have expressed skepticism that trump will ever be held accountable for any of

his transgressions. looking back on everything that has happened in just the past six months and how things have rapidly developed, and a chance you have changed your mind? >> no. trump is a wealthy white man, a president, the leader of the republican party. i have history as my guide. we have richard nixon who had a pretty lucrative career after he left office. he wrote a book, to travel the world. we have ronald reagan. we have the architect of the war on terror you and i grew up during that era. we know how many of them lie to the american public, possibly committed war crimes. we have donald trump. based on your intro, he has committed so many crimes. i will add one more. potential tampering with an election -- investigating what trump and his allies did to find the votes. we have him on tape. when you see that he took the documents for mar-a-lago, he tampered or try to tamper with

the election. multiple crimes in new york -- as fled guilty. allen weissenberg and -- this 800 page report came out showing him to be the architect of the january 6th violent inter insurrection. he's doing pretty well right now. he selling nfts and eating a steak at mar-a-lago. i believe he will be indicted. however, i don't think he will spend a day in jail. i would love to be wrong. if i'm wrong, i will eat on your show or alleys show. >> in -- the problem with donald trump, as you said, it's not to see is a rich white men. he has a history of dodging accountability. he's also a man who makes threats whenever the walls are closing in. we saw that recently when he talked about his people being angry if he was indicted. he said it would, quote, lead to horrible things for so many people. it's amazing that we have this

former president who is accused of multiple crimes. that in itself is not enough. we have his mob boss mentality in response to the accusations. >> yes, it is also terrorism. and word that more people will get snow in 2023. trump and the right-wing ecosystem, the use and abuse of mass media to target specific individuals and institutions repeatedly, which them results and random but statistically probable acts of violence. so, when trump went against law enforcement after the raid at mar-a-lago where they found evidence that he had stolen highly classified documents from the united states and lied to them. guess what happened, he started attacking law enforcement. guess what happened a week later? met one of his many followers decided to attack law enforcement, decided to attack the fbi office in ohio and they were killed, and they won the darwin award because they thought they could take on the fbi office, attack on poll workers, attack on the media, attack on medical

professionals. attack on law enforcement, attack on political rivals nancy and paul pelosi. and, oh, yes, the january 6th violent insurrection with led to the deaths of so many people. he knew about it, he had no problem with them having weapons. he encouraged it, and we know from cassidy hutchinson's testimony, according to her testimony she was the aid of mark meadows, he wanted to go and join them, and at the last second the secret service decided to divert him away from it. so, this is a man that told the proud boys to stand back and stand by when he was given a softball in the 2020 presidential debate to condemn white supremacy. he did not do, it what did he say? stand back, stand by, they said gotcha, greenlight, and i helped orchestrate this violent insurrection. what do you think is going to happen in 2023? >> well, let's talk about 2023, on the one hand he is certainly not going to be in prison even if he is indicted because the trial will take a fair amount of time, whether he ever goes

to prison is an open question, let's talk about a year from now. and of 2023 as we are sitting here at the end of 2022, politically is he a weaker man? is he a more damaged political brand? is he facing challenges from a ron desantis or any other republican who fancies their chances against him in the primary? given he is clearly, clearly not the candidate he was in 2016 or even 2020. >> he is the weekend golden calf of maga, for sure, but you and i have had this conversation before, and everyone was promoting ron desantis, especially republicans, especially republican donors, they are trying to make one desantis into a thing, and maga just isn't into him. if you look at the latest polls guess who is the king of maga? guess who they overwhelmingly still support as the leader at the presidential candidate? more than the republican party in 2020? for donald trump. so, i will believe it when i see it, i will believe it when british actually takes out julius cesar. but, right now it is still

trump. after everything we just talked about and the fact he dined with a white supremacist, and the fact he said let's terminate the constitution, way still seeing maga, that is another one, you just casually forget he said we should terminate the constitution republicans were like, well, nobody is perfect. >> terminate the constitution, on the constitution, one last quick question, we got a bunch of new interview transcripts from the january six committee on friday, and those of us who said right-wing activists ginni thomas was referring to her husband, supreme court justice clarence thomas what she mentioned talking to her best friend have now been vindicated, thomas in the interview transcript admits as much. how an earth can justice thomas continue to roll up any cases involving donald trump on the 2020 election? >> it is good to be a frightening extremist in the black robe and it is good to be the spouse of a white stream white wing extremist we can promote all these conspiracy theories, help all the

individuals try to overturn our constitution, because there will be no accountability and nothing will happen to you. that is what we are seeing with janine and clarence thomas. >> thank you for your time this morning, we are going to see you again later in the show, don't go anywhere. still to come, former pope benedict, the first pontiff to retire in nearly 600 years has died at the age of 95, we will head to the vatican next. plus, more than six weeks after four college dunes were slain and idaho, and arrest is being made but the public is still desperate for more answers. the latest from moscow, idaho, next. next

>> breaking just hours ago, the vatican confirmed for pulp and it of 95. earlier this week the viking announced with the health of the pope americas has declined because of his age.

nearly ten years after he stood down because of his ailing health. pope benedict charted a new course for the papacy when he chose to retire in 2013, every other pope since the 15th century had led the catholic church until their death. nbc's molly hunter joins us now live from vatican. molly, what do we know but the funeral services? this is somewhat uncharted territory because the vatican has not had to plan a funeral for a former pope in nearly six centuries. >> yeah, hasn't had a plan one in nearly six centuries and certainly did not release any kind of detailed funeral plans for the press or anyone else in the days leading up to his death, as we saw with brad's queen elizabeth, which was the most recent high-profile death that was meticulously planned. this, of course, has been planned behind closed doors. we understand the benedict would have had a very strong hand in planning not only his final days, just like he did his retirement, but also his funeral and his burial, so what we know from the office and

they held a press conference just about an hour and a half ago, this is the pope merit as will start by lying in state on monday, in st. peter's basilica to allow the faithful to say their final goodbye. his funeral will then take place outside, right behind me in st. peters square, 9:30 in the morning local time on thursday, january 5th, this was expected but the current pope, pope francis will preside over the funeral mass, this is what is extraordinary to see a current pope burying and presiding over a funeral of a former pope, no word yet on whether it will be a state funeral. we know because it will be in st. peters square it will likely be open to the public, people will come and pay their respects. all we know from the press office is that it will be in the mode of simplicity, as where his wishes. it is also a moment for the church, at some vatican watchers day, to really take stock of his legacy and start normalizing the retirement of a pontiff. of course, one benedict stepped back in 2013 it was shocking, but, now his legacy will not only be as an intellectual, as

a scholar, as pope for eight years, but also someone who maybe paved the way for future popes, whether it is francis or popes in the future to do this, i think there will now be a conversation about if a pope retires, what will that it'll be? what will that person, where will that person where we'll epperson live and how involved with that retired puppy in religious life? >> and be seen as foreign correspondent molly hunter at that, again thank you so much for your boarding. a suspect has been taken into custody in the idaho murder investigation that has captivated the nation. six weeks ago, early in the morning on november the 14th four students from the university of idaho were found slain in their homes just off campus in a small college town. kayleigh gonzales and madison logan, bill 21 years old, and ethan chapman and sonic novant were stabbed multiple times according to police, yesterday police arrested a 28 year old man in pennsylvania. he is charged with four counts

of first degree murder, his arrest is a long-awaited development as fear and anxiety, have understandably, permeated both the university and the greater community in the weeks since the attack nbc news westpond a david griffin joins us from idaho, finally an arrest but there is still a lot of questions the public wants answers to, what have we learned about the suspect so far? >> well, mehdi, we know that investigators, or at least law enforcement sources tell nbc news that it was dna that was key in linking him to these murders, exactly how they got that dna is still yet to be revealed, we know that the 28-year-old was arrested yesterday in pennsylvania, and right now they are waiting to extradite him back to idaho, investigators tell us they have galactic more than 19,000 tips and conducted more than 300 interviews, but this investigation is not over. they are still hoping that

people in this community, or people who live in pennsylvania, have information that can connect the dots as to why this happened. the lead prosecutor explained exactly what they're looking for. >> call the tip line, report anything you know about him to help the investigators, and eventually our office and the court system understand fully everything there is to know about not only the individual, but what happened and why. >> so, speaking of what happens next in this case, he is expected to be back in court on tuesday afternoon in pennsylvania, if he fights extradition, investigators telling it could be several weeks if not months if he is brought back here to idaho. mehdi? >> dana griffin in moscow, idaho, thank you for your reporting. 2022 just might go down as one of the worst years for democracy in the modern history

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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 just days before the new year the results of the last election of the 2022 midterm cycle are finally being announced. a recount has confirmed that democrat chris mays has run the race for attorney general in arizona against one of the closest elections in the state's history. it came down to a mere 280 votes, and with this democratic party victory we can officially say that republican election deniers running statewide in battleground states have lost all of their races this year. however, however, there are at

least 150 election myers who did get elected to the house of representatives. helping republicans clinch the majority. this new republican party will be interesting to watch, scary to watch, at the moment it cannot even agree on the house speaker. a columnist for the daily beast is back with me, also joining us is jason stanley, professor of philosophy at yale university, and the author of how fascism works, and with a professor of history from and what you and author of the lucid newsletter focused on threats to democracy. jason, let me start with, you on the one hand in 2022 democracy was saved in the key swing states, the carry lakes and doug mastriano and mark fictions all lost. but, on the other hand gop election players about take control of the house. what does the future hold for american democracy in your view? >> i think what we are going to see is what i would call increased organization, happening. not just when the house of representatives but from figures like ron desantis.

we have seen the targeting a public institutions like public schools, astroturf tack on public schools, i expect the tactics that -- wields with such efficiency will come here, they will be targeting private universities as he did with central european university and targeting endowments in federal funding, and more tactics of the sort that rhonda santa ceos with disney. targeting private companies. so, that is one development. i also expect the structural effects of the supreme court, the far-right supreme court to bear down upon us in the coming years. >> ruth, is there a danger that the same democratic party and, quote unquote, liberal media which took so long to recognize the nature of the threat to democracy posed by the modern gop will now just get

complacent again because so many election deniers did lose at the state level in november? even though the front overall has not gone away? >> no, i think there has been an important lesson learned my most of the major papers, although the new york times continues to have headlines that make me scratch my head enough. but, no, i think that people understand that because 2024 will come up quickly, and it is very clear that the republican party is unrepentant about january 6th, there are certain people like marjorie taylor greene who would do it all again tomorrow and boast that she would have more arms there. so, i think people understand the threat that we face, the big question, the drama is, how, when one party in a bipartisan system exits democracy how do you govern? so, how are we going to govern with a third of the house being composed of election deniers? >> yeah, it is a very good

point because governments, they are not interested in governing, that is clear from the modern gop. lots of investigation but not much governing, are you as worried about what will happen in 2024 now as you were at the start of the year, or are you less worried or more worried? >> i think all of us should be extremely worried about the rise of this radicalized and weaponize movement that is the gop, that is not interested in democracy but minority rule, and rule by any means necessary. donald trump is still the leader of the party, like you mentioned in the top, majority of republican elected officials are now election deniers, they just openly promote the big why, and they are rewarded for it. we were told that donald trump will be reigned in 2016, that the republican establishment will rein him in. they brushed before him, i give you kevin mccarthy and ted cruz. 2018 after the midterm lost they will learn a lesson, do an audit, no, you had the january

six insurrection, after the insurrection were like no they will rein him in, now you have the violent insurrectionists, people who supported that like marjorie taylor greene as the power, as the base of the gop. and the rise, and this is what really worries me. i want to focus on it really briefly. the rise a political virus and the rise of terrorism in the united states promoted not just by the right wing but right-wing media focusing on poll workers, law enforcement, educators, doctors, especially the lgbt, especially transgender community, and using the transgender community if you want to trojan horse violence against the rest of us, that is what i'm really worried about and i think, unfortunately, you are going to see a rise of 2023. >>re g jason, the gop is back in power again, at least in the house of representatives. there will be a fair bit of normalizing of them again by the media. in your view, is it fair to describe the modern gop and this neo-fascist or proto-fascist or semi fascist?

>> there certainly is within the modern gop as the scapegoating of lgbt -- a fascist movement rising. to talk about this as some kind of european thing is a confusion since fascism is jim crow with the foreign accent. we have multiple native far-right extremist movements. christian nationalism, a sort of heritage of jim crow. we have an anti democratic business establishment. this is a grouping which is going to bring people to vote for an authoritarian party. that is what we have. that's what the modern gop is

increasingly looking like. i think sami fascism, fascism, neo-fascism, these are accurate descriptions. we need to drop top of populism, drop these misleading descriptions which hide what we are actually facing. >> a populist movement led by a man who did not pay any taxes. >> exactly. >> ruth, jason mentioned the supreme court earlier in the segment. you have the supreme court case being decided right now, more versus harper, which could give gop-controlled -- the power to ignore the will of voters come 2024 and to send electricity c4 donald trump even if a democrat has won their states. double talk, ruth, enough about the threat to democracy posed by the radical right and illegitimate supreme court majority? >> we don't. the basic and politicizing institutions is one of the hallmarks of authoritarianism.

it's called autocratic capture when you capture the judiciary, and what better body to captured on the supreme court? it has been acting in a very rogue fashion, especially justice thomas who you -- will go back on january 6th. his wife is very caught up in conspiring to overthrow the government. he refuses to -- when a party exits democracy, all of the norms of professional ethics like you would recuse yourself go out the window. this leads to a kind of free-for-all him doubling down and barreling through and doing what you need to do to establish minority aryan white christian rule. >> yes. on the subject of minority christian rule, let's talk about the gop in congress. they actually won the popular

vote, according to the numbers. let's talk about what this new republican majority can do, we'll do, who it will be led by. it can't even decide who should be the speaker. kevin mccarthy doesn't have the votes. you have marjorie taylor greene and on his behalf, fighting with lauren boebert. it's kind of crazy. the dems have morphed into republicans in disarray. >> we are witnessing the end result of what happens when you nurture a radicalize movement and you think you can control it. the analogy have given us at the monster has escaped and turned on the masters, right? donald trump and -- even marjorie taylor greene, who i refer to us kevin mccarthy's boss, her support for kevin mccarthy might not be enough to give him what he has shamelessly done the -- heated of austrian bargain.

he did all of this to get house leadership. it might be steve scalise. you're dealing with extremists fighting with extremists to be more extremist accordions remissed base. i say this without any hyperbole. you're dealing with folks who are in the republican party. how does a democracy sustain itself in one of the two political parties is committed to radicalization, extremism, conspiracy theories, white supremacy, political violence, and allows people like viktor orban of hungry, who see him and his backsliding democracy in hungary as a model that reveres maloney in italy, a fascist with lipstick, right? they revere individuals who don't care about the democratic process. this is where why -- we should have -- [inaudible] we have our eyes wide open even though democrats are still in the white house, even the republicans should have had a red wave and had a ripple. this is why we should be even more vigilant looking forward to 2023 in 2024, >> quick last

question to you, jason, based on what -- you have started a history of fascist movements. is this actually a good sign if republicans are fighting with each other that they will take themselves down and the antidemocratic tendencies down? >> i honestly think we can't rely on the republicans to take themselves down. >> there. >> what is happening is that extremism is increasingly being viewed as authenticity among republicans. they are asking each other on to be more and more extremist. the more extremist republicans are being represented is the more authentic ones. this is sort of a fascist spiral which is going to lead to advocating political violence, being comfortable with it, encouraging it, embracing conspiracy theories. all of these things we will

see. we will see struggle on this way to this destination. the destination should be clear and we should be eyes wide open about where the gop is headed. >> do not go anywhere. we're going to take a quick break. i want to talk to you about the latest start by texas governor greg abbott who is once again using human beings as political pawns. that's not very question of him. stay with us. not very question o him. stay with us stay with us the unknown is not empty.

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towards the night before christmas and texas governor greg abbott tweeted, merry christmas, texas. made a hopeful promise of our savior's birth bring comfort and joy to you and your family's. unless you are a migrant in central about -- he dumped about three buses including babies in young children near vice president kamala harris's residence in washington, d.c. in freezing temperatures on christmas eve. that cruelty was not a coincidence, it was the point, as the saying goes. it is not sound very christian, does it? back with me now i have my three guests. ruth, the evangelical christians on the right often ask, what would jesus do? i'm peter jesus wouldn't do what greg abbott did and would be condemning abbots cruelty and in humanity. >> yeah, abbott is not

authoritarian. authoritarian is not only obsessed with control in bodies and nonwhite bodies, but they take pleasure and feel powerful in controlling and showing their power over the vulnerable. that is not a very christian message. this is the mentality that leads to those actions. they don't care about human life. i would add that we have been talking in the last segment about the gop's ties with far-right parties around the world. i read in the italian press that georgia maloney, the neo-fascist prime minister of italy, is shipping migrants to democratic control areas of italy. the gop is an exporter of these inhumane tactics. >> yes indeed. you and i are not questions. i am often stunned at what right-wing question voters, especially right white

requesting voters, will tolerate from there supposedly question political leaders in this country. >> yet, in the last segment, jason mentioned question optional-ism, which has not been talked about enough. it was one of the major factors in the violent insurrection into our constitution and democracy. christian nationalism, which i believe is the religion of maga and the right wing, does not worship god. it does not worshippers jesus. it warships white supremacy. what we are seeing is cruelty in the name of white supremacy in order to legitimize their violence against people of color, against anyone who they see as threats. greg abbott and ron desantis are barely following their base. they realize that cruelty and white supremacy are rewarded by the gop base. they are trying to be the next trump, maybe. this is what is happening. abbott and desantis are kind of tit-for-tat be more and more extreme. he represents desantis and --

they're showing the base nationally, look, we are the leaders. we are authentic. we're going to take over after trump. we're going to do trumpism but better, less reckless, more refined. what better way than to attack the most low of society, the ones who don't have any power, human beings, maybe. men, women, and children who are immigrants. we dump some of the freezing cold weather in front of the vp's house. that was theater for them. that is what made them celebrate christmas while the rest of us -- jesus, a profit we both revered, helped people like this find homes and shelter. their religion is not christianity. it's white supremacy. >> it is also sadism to do that at anytime, particularly christmas. you talk about organization in the last segment.

viktor orban has done this in hungary. >> we have to look at great replacement theory as the censure structuring of these actions. great replacement theory is the core of german fascism, of nazism. mein kampf and -- talked over and over again about jews making immigration laws easy so that immigrants kin flow in and reckless the arians. this legitimates mass violence against migrant communities. the heart of american great placement theory is white christian nationalism. that is the structure of what we are seeing. the fear is supposedly that non whites, non-christians can be brought in and non-americans can be brought in to replace the true americans. this is the legitimized mass

violence that many of us have for years been warning about when you -- it legitimize a state violence against minority communities. >> ruth, quick last question to you. i mean, politics and ideology aside, just in terms of human nature, what have these stones done to society, the degradation of our collective morality? >> one political leaders do these things, it sets an example. it tells people -- well, first of all, it tells people who want careers in the gop that they will be rewarded for being inhumane. we've already seen when a party is making itself into an extremist entity like the gop. the type of people who come in and are encouraged to have careers are extremists? that's why we have oath keepers as the gop and prominence. people who believe that violence is the way you do

politics and that the week deserve to be exploited. >> yes, it is a truly depressing statement. thank you for your analysis and for being outspoken on this issue. in 2022, the u.s. experienced 15 climate disasters which cost in excess of a billion dollars each. i look back at the year of extreme weather events next. year of extreme weheatr events next. extreme weheatr events next.

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weather disaster, the deadly blizzard in buffalo, new york putting the cap on a year of multi billion dollar climate catastrophe is around the world. record heat in london, intense flooding in the midwest, wildfires, snow storms, hurricanes, and more. dylan dryer takes a look at how climate change made for wild

weather swings this year and how it is shrinking one crucial body of water. >> 2022, a violent year of climate and weather extremes from heat waves and drought to catastrophic flooding and hurricanes. the impacts were reverberating around the globe. so far this year, 15 billion dollar weather disasters hit the u.s.. according to noaa, the national atmospheric and atmospheric association, the final count yet to be tallied. the first disaster came in the spring when warmer temperatures fueled deadly tornado outbreaks in as many weeks. this is gone more than 200 reported tornadoes across more than a dozen states. >> all your hard work has just gone up in the air. >> in the west, sections of yellowstone national park were devastated by destructive flash floods. roads were washed away. the park was closed to the public for the first time in three decades.

climate change caused the atmosphere to be warmer and wetter, making conditions right for these types of events. >> it was very surprising how quickly it came. >> this summer was a story of extremes. europe had its most intense heat wave in recorded history. london set a historic all-time high of 104 degrees. back in the u.s., six 1000-year floods occurred in the span of five weeks in july and august. places like st. louis, dallas, and eastern kentucky deluge with 8 to 15 inches of rain in just 24 hours. death valley received its entire year's worth of rain in just three hours. the footprint of climate change leaving its mark across the entire u.s.. part of the west baked in the most severe heat ever recorded in the month of september. >> i've never dealt with something this hot before. >> nearly 300 weather stations

hit their hottest temperatures in places like salt lake city, reno, and sacramento. meanwhile, already extreme drought conditions in the region worsened. lake mead's water level plunged to its lowest yet. the bureau of reclamation declared a tier two water shortage for the first time ever, hoping to avert a water crisis. after a slow start to the hurricane season, category four iain roared ashore in southwest florida with winds topping 150 miles per hour. that ties for the fifth strongest hurricane ever to strike the united states. neighborhoods in fort myers and naples were left in ruins. warmer waters are acting as jet fuel, causing the storms to rapidly intensify. just as the season was coming to a close, category one nicole became the first november hurricane to make landfall in nearly 40 years. scientists attribute this to warmer sea surface temperatures, three and a half degrees above average. >> nicole is the nail in the

coffin for daytona beach. iain came in it at all of this damage and nicole is just putting us away. >> in upstate new york, a massive november snowstorm we wrote the history books, varying neighborhoods and even the bills stadium under eight inches of snow. >> there is nothing in the store. you can't get a loaf of bread or anything. >> finally, with eerie similarity to last year, a series of deadly cool season tornadoes ripped through the south. more than 100 reported over two weeks across seven states between thanksgiving and christmas. >> my house is just gone. >> the november twisters were part of a massive weeklong cross-country storm that dropped four feet of snow in the west, brought blinding blizzard conditions to the upper midwest, and dozens of tornadoes to the south. >> a historic and deadly bomb cyclone crippled half the country over the holidays, bringing with it plummeting temperatures, blizzard conditions lasting nearly 40

hours, and 50 inches of snow. the storm pushed the city of buffalo into the record books. it is the city's snowiest start to the season ever, at least 100 inches and counting. dylan dreyer, nbc news. thanks to erdogan for that. we'll be right back. thanks to erdogan for that we'll be right back. we'll be right back. is refreshing their catering with easy-order platters and lunchboxes perfect for any party. pool parties... tailgates... holiday parties... even retirement parties. man, i love parties. subway keeps refreshing and refreshing (classical piano music) man, i love parties. - [reporter] one of the deadliest mass shootings in us history at pulse nightclub in orlando. - [barbara] walking into the building for the first time after the shooting, it was crippling, but it had to be preserved. if you are an ally of this community, speak out. there are more of us together than apart. it is the power of love in its rawest form. (classical piano music)

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anthony fauci's last day as the director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases. for decades, dr. fauci served as the nation's top infectious disease expert, leading the country through several national health crises, including the aids epidemic, the ebola outbreak, and the coronavirus pandemic. he plans to keep busy. it is the end of an era. coming up in the next, our covid hospitalizations are on the rise as we head into another year of the pandemic. plus, you might have feared on a resume before, but i bet you've never padded won so much that the feds open an investigation into you. that is coming up next in another hour of velshi which starts right now. good morning. it's saturday, december 31st. it is not i am in the east,