benedict has died at the age of 95. in a statement saying the pope has to wake early this morning. his funeral will be held on january 5th in st. peters square, presided over by pope francis, the man who became the leader of the catholic church, after benedict resigned from the role in 2013. joining us now is nbc's foreign correspondent, claudio la bungle at the vatican. claudio, what can we expect here in the next several days? >> hey, lindsey. we'll, if attic in just issued some new guidelines in the last 20 minutes. what's going to happen is until the january, that remains of emeritus benedict will remain behind me, where he will receive no visitors and no official prayers, but then, on the morning, in the morning on monday, the body will be moved inside st. peters basilica to give the npc the chance to give their last farewell.

now, an interesting fact is that the prefect of rome today, italian media expects during those days between that and the future, tearing the, fifth next thursday, he expects about 60,000 people to come down for that occasion. compare that to the more than 4 million pilgrims who came down for the funeral of the last pope who died, who was, of course, john paul the second. then on thursday, the vatican said that the funeral wouldn't be held in the morning, in st. peters square. you will be presided by pope francis, again, the first time in modern times we know that a pope has presided over another. then, the body will be buried in the vatican grotto, which is a tumult near st. peters to me, below st. peters basilica, and an interesting fact about that is that is where john paul the second was buried before he was moved to the final resting

place inside st. peters basilica. >> claudio, i want to ask you here. have you been able to chat with anybody? what is the lasting legacy you feel people will be remembering most over these next few days? >> well, benedict 16 had an interesting -- he became pope in an interesting time. he has followed the footsteps of a very popular pope as john paul the second, and then he would sandwich return him and pope francis, another very popular pope. benedict was known as a theological. he was very humble. he was very simple, and that is, why, actually the head of the vatican press office said the funeral will also be kind of simple, sober, and so forth. so, it is kind of not really so remembered as other probes. this morning, when we were in st. peters square, we found out that we were asking people what they thought about the fact

that pope benedict xvi died, and several people didn't know who he was, and many didn't know he was dead. other people said they were very sorrowful. he has a lasting legacy of someone who will be remembered as a great theologian. also, as someone who paved the way for the possibility for a pope to resign in modern times, and if you think that pope francis has said it was a great gesture, an act of humility, and amble, a humble act that he could follow, if he feels that his health prevents him, pope francis, i'm talking, about to continue about his ministry. recently pope francis said right after he was elected, he resigned that resignation letter that he handed to the secretary of state in the vatican who said he was going to use this if, my health, for any reason, prevents me to continue that pontificate. that's probably the reasons legacy that pope emeritus benedict xvi will leave the world. lindsey? >> all right, claudio lavanga,

thank you. another notable death overnight, barbara walters, legendary journalist and pioneering tv news broadcaster, died friday at the age of 93. walters made history in 1976 when she became the first female to anchor a network evening news program. in a career that spanned six decades, she became one of television's most prominent interviewers, sitting down with an array of presidents, world leaders, and hollywood stars. her death was confirmed by her representative, sidney barber, who said walter side quote, peacefully in her home, surrounded by loved ones. burrow went on to describe walters as a quote, trail blazers, not only four female journalists, but for all women. all right, some other news now on capitol hill, with a new gear comes a new period of a divided government. as republicans are set to take control of the house on january 3rd. the party is already facing mounting challenges. house minority leader kevin mccarthy is struggling to

secure the 218 votes he needs to become speaker. setting a backdrop for what could be the first multi ballot speaker battle in 100 years. mccarthy can only afford to lose four votes, and those majors margins might be on his silence piling up on congressman-elect but george santos. he had lunches for to mccarthy. now, democrats are calling on santa suit resigned before sworn in on to say, before it was revealed he lied on his resume. details about's education, work history, ethnic background, and faith. he has not responded to nbc's request for comment, but he has apologized and admitted to quote, embellishing his resume. joining me now is jasmine roth she, executive director of swing left, and lucy caldwell, back with, us political strategist and campaign shuttered for joe walsh's 2016 campaign, presidential campaign. lucy, the new york times here with new reporting that over the course of his campaign, santos spent $30,000 on hotels,

$40,000 on air fare, $14,000 on car services, which they pointed out, it's not typical of a newly elected congressman. as someone who is running a campaign, what did you make of this? >> well, i think one of the hardest things to understand about the santos campaign is how he had so much of this money to spend on this. it is sort of unimaginable, especially in a district like that, that is not a district that is large, we are you would need to fly from one corner of the state to another or were you could possibly justify that kind of but lodging expenses. why would your symptoms not be spending that kind of money on, seiko tv efforts, or paid advertising, or the other types of expenses we might see in a typical campaign? what i think is most odd is so much of this money that came into the george santos campaign came from santos himself. he was a self funded candidate in many ways to the tune of

almost 1 million dollars. one of the big questions is, where did that money you can come from? >> yasmin, kevin riccardi has previously touted santos's election to congress as contributing to the largest republican jewish caucus in 21 years, but now that u.s. coalition has condemned santos for misrepresenting his heritage. how damaging is mccarthy and other republican leadership silence on this? >> thank you. first of all, so much for having the on today, lindsey. it's outrageous that kevin mccarthy and other republican leaders have not come out strong against what santos, the many, many lives santos has made over the course of his entire campaign and continues to be making. but what we see here is what we see time and time again, which is republican leaders, at all levels of the party, are faced off and with a chance to fight for the american people, to stand up strong for

accountability, for transparency, and instead, time and time again, they side with grifters, they side with liars, and they side with extremists. santos is one example of that. i think what is really, really troubling is kevin mccarthy is not just silent here, he is silence against the extremism of his party time and time again. again, this is one really awful example. >> lucy, the clock really is ticking for mccarthy to get those 218 votes he needs for speaker. how do you think this will play out? do you think, in order to get but more conservative wing of his party to sign on, that means he will have to appease them or even, throughout the term of the congress, again, we are putting that court before the horse here, let's say he strays from more conservative values. do they threaten to oust him? >> i think we are going into a republican congress that is going to be very fractured. we already see. that we see that in reaction to the george santos episode. you see congresswoman like nancy mace out of south carolina saying this guy is

agree just, this cannot stand. then, other people, like marjorie taylor greene, who now, apparently, is in favor with kevin mccarthy, saying george santos should be given another chance, and it is very unfair, and he can prove himself, many people in that wing of the party are saying santos can prove himself and clean his slates by voting for lower taxes and deregulation. really, you can't make the soft up. i think for mccarthy, whether or not he gets through and becomes house speaker next week, or whether we go to a multi hundred ballots kind of scenario where as florida man matt gates says, maybe we'll have a speaker before the cherry blossoms come out in spring. we will see that kevin mccarthy will be running for speaker every day, every week, every avenue he is on the house floor. that is why he has made the concessions to people like marjorie taylor greene. so, i think that is not going to result in a new, compassionate republican party that is doing anything good,

that is back to the kind of -- it's not going to be a republican party that is going to the center, but it is the case that kevin mccarthy, even if he does get through and gets through asked speaker quickly, he is going to be on the chopping block every day of the next congressional session. >> yes, congressman hakeem jeffries spoke about the rift in the republican party. let's listen. >> the leadership situation is in chaos. marjorie taylor greene is fighting with lauren boebert. george santos appears to be starring in the sequel to catch me if you can. it's not even january 3rd. the circus has already come to town. chaos, crisis, confusion, and craziness. >> what does this say here, yasmin, about how democrats will approach than the republican house majority? >> you know, i think leader jeffries is exactly right. it is total chaos in the

republican caucus, that's not just in reaction to what is happening with kevin mccarthy, what happened with george santos, this is also what's been happening over the course of the entire election cycle. republicans are completely lost at sea because their party has been co-opted by extremists. what i have not seen from kevin mccarthy's any effort to show how he is going to be leading for the american people, how he is going to be leading the republican party to actually get things done, and the contrast is so clear that it's not just democrats who have seen that, it is independent voters who supported democrats at historic levels this past election cycle. that is because they know democrats have a track record, even in a narrow majority, of actually getting things done for the american people. not just in bold, progressive legislation, but also in bipartisan legislation. leading that fight, and also, i don't see any chance, as lizzy said, kevin mccarthy is so afraid of his own shadow, i don't see any way he is going

to be able to wrangle his caucus together, let alone do anything bipartisan. >> we'll have to leave it there for right now. jasmine -- and lucy tranche, eager to talk to you. still to come, there are big name key witnesses in a batch of interview transcripts. the january six committee just released those this week. we are going to take a look at the committee's work, after the break. break.

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committee has released what's likely to be its last wave of witness interview transcripts. these witnesses include son-in-law jared kushner, who testify to the committee in march. the transcript reveals emails kushner provided the committee, including one from then trump aide dance giving no who claimed trump wanted to trademark the phrase rigged election days after he lost in 2020. another key witness in these transcripts is ginni thomas,

wife of supreme court justice clarence thomas. she had been pressing chief of just -- to overturn the election. thomas told the committee she now regrets her texts to meadows, claiming it was an emotional time for her. the january 6th committee set to end their work next week as the do congress is sworn in. msnbc's katie -- takes a look back at the work done by the committee this year. >> what happened on january 6th 2021 played live and and and it it across all networks at the same time. meaning all of us saw the same thing. trump mobs beating a police officers, vandalizing the u.s. capitol, ransacking the floors of the senate, free ethnical spin or imagination. but that was then, and by 2022, the events of that day have gotten fuzzier. muddied up bipartisanship. and the january 6th committee, made up of seven democrats and two prominent republicans, made it their task to sharpen the

country's memory and to prove who was to blame. >> you will never ever take back -- you have to be strong. >> usa! usa! >> in nine televised hearings, the january six committee set out to make their case. >> president trump summoned the mob, assemble the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. >> using recorded depositions from the people who were there, donald trump's own team. >> there were suggestions by, i believe it was mayor giuliani, to go declare victory and say we won outright. >> it was far too early to be making any calls like that. >> what they were proposing i thought was nuts. >> his own aides and advisers. >> he said that people are voting, indians are getting paid to vote. told him flat out that much of the information is false.

>> his note and cabinet members and his own family. >> i made it clear i did not agree with the idea of saying the election was stolen and putting out this stuff, which i told the president was bs. >> i respect attorney general barr. i accepted what he was saying. >> all describing what happened in their own words and making it clear that right from the beginning, donald trump was told the truth. >> if he really believes this stuff he has lost contact with -- he's become detached from reality. >> donald trump was so adamant about staying in power, the committee showed he would try to overturn the election. >> the only way we are going to lose this election is if the election is rigged. remember that. >> he tried to do it through lawsuits. 61 cases lost, half thrown out. >> in no instance did a court find that the charges of fraud

were real. >> he tried to do it through pressure on the states, leaning on officials. >> so look, all i want to do is this. i want to find 11,780 votes. >> there were no votes to find. that was an accurate count that had been certified. >> i told president trump he would not do anything illegal. >> i did, both times. >> and spreading lies about individual election workers. >> there is no where i feel safe, nowhere. do you know how it feels to have the president of the united states target you? >> when neither the states nor the courts would ban it, he tried to do it through doj. >> he responded very quickly and said, well, just asking you to do it was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the republican congressman. >> demanding the election be

declared a fraud, pushing to seize voting machines and trying to install a loyal a.g.. >> did every assistant attorney general you spoke to as you said agreed to resign? >> all without hesitation said they would resign. >> with time running out, trump tried his vice president, demanding he refused to certify the election on january six. >> mike pence, i hope you are going to signed up for the good of our constitution and for the good of our country. if you are not, i'm going to be very disappointed in you, i will tell you right now. >> and when vice president pence officially refused, the committee argued trump tried to do it by unleashing his masses. >> we are going to walk down, and i will be there with you. >> in a protest, the panel said trump knew it would get out of hand. >> the confidential informant from the proud boys told the fbi the proud boys would have killed mike pence if given a chance. >> i'm hearing reports that pence gave.

if pence caved, we will drag mother figures through the street. >> -- the united states of america. >> hang mike pence! >> i have heard the president say something to the effect of, i don't effing care that they have weapons, they are not here to hurt me, take the effing mags away, let my people in, they can watch to the capitol from here. >> and even planned to join. >> the president reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel. mr. engel grabbed his arm, said, sir, you need to take your hand off the steering wheel. we are going back to the west wing. we are not going to the capital. mr. trump then used his free hand to lunge towards bobby engle. >> back at the white house, the committee showed how donald trump stayed silent, and moved by the images of bloody police.

the gallows erected on the lawn, the police from republican lawmakers to say something and you something. >> mister president, you have got to stop this. >> i heard my phone ringing, turn the shower off, saw leader mccarthy, who i had a good relationship with. he told me it was getting really ugly at the capitol, to please, anything you can do to help, i would appreciate it. >> i talked to the president. i called him. i think we need to make a statement. make sure that we can calm individuals down. >> unmoved for 187 minutes, until 4:17 pm. >> i know your pain. i know you are hurt. we had an election that was stolen from us. i know how you feel, but go home and go home in peace. >> in the end, vice chair liz cheney said president trump knew the patriotism of his supporters and he knew the

loyalty he inspired. he preyed on that loyalty, turning the love of country into a weapon against our capitol and our constitution. >> what happens when the president disregards the courts rulings as illegitimate? when he disregards the rule of law? that, my fellow citizens, breaks our republic. >> during the committee's final meeting, the unanimously voted to make for criminal referrals to the doj for the former president, inciting an insurrection, obstructing an official government proceeding, making false statements, and defrauding the united states. the investigation is now in the hands of special counsel jack smith. hands of>> our thanks to katie r that report. coming up, ringing in the new year. we will take you to times square, where preparations continue for tonight's a big party. stay with us.

>> well, we are still counting down to midnight here in the u.s.. it's already 2023 for our friends in australia. check out this colorful fireworks display over sydney harbor just a short time ago. with 13 hours to go until the clock strikes 12 on the east coast, preparations are underway in times square. tens of thousands of attendees are hoping to catch a glimpse of the famous ball drop. despite rain, people are already lighting up, vying to secure their spot before the clock strikes midnight. joining us now from times square is nbc news correspondent kathy park. kathy, give us a preview of what we can expect tonight. >> hey there, lindsey. yeah, so, we are, as you said, hours away from ringing in the new year in the middle of times square, probably one of the most iconic new year's eve

celebrations in the world. but covid restrictions have been lifted. there are nine this year. we are anticipating some pretty large crowds. you can probably see the cars backing up behind me. obviously, with those crowds come heightened security. we are anticipating roughly 1 million people later on this evening. officials have put up the barricades, certainly a lot of roadblocks in the area already. revelers heading to this area are told they need to pack lightly. they are not allowed to bring large bags, backpacks, and umbrellas are off limits as well, even though, right now, we are seeing the rain. it's only going to pick up later on this evening. these are all the security measures in place. the festivities really start to kick off later on this evening. that's when we will have some performances by duran duran, eva max, just to name a few. chelsea cutler also part of that group as well. of course, everyone will be waiting for that ball drop at 11:59 pm. with that ball drop, that

confetti. 3000 pounds of confetti will be scattered throughout times square. i have been out here pretty much all morning, all of yesterday as well. a lot of folks from all across the country. they are really looking forward to tonight, regardless of the rain they want to reset in 2023 and check off this bucket list item, to be in times square on new year's eve, lindsey. >> yeah. you have the rain to contend with this year. i can hear the drivers behind you, cathy. already a little miffed at this closure you were talking about. kathy parker, thanks to you and your crew, appreciate it. taking a look back at some of 2022's major events, from that big slap at the oscars, remember that, so in a new era for the british monarchy. ♪ what will you change? ♪ will you make something better? ♪ will you create something entirely new?

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away, let's go ahead and take a look back at the year that was. here's nbc's joe fire to break down this while the year. >> the headlines that defined 2022 were seismic and historic. europe's largest armed conflict since world war ii. a supreme court decision that overturned more than four decades of precedent. the death of a monarch who had reigned for 70 years.

yet, in its earliest days, 2022 seemed more like a copycat, making the worst qualities of the two previous year's. >> new staggering covid numbers, daily cases surpassing 1 million. >> as the new year began, our fight with covid stubbornly raged on. >> a lot of people are really sick. >> the rapidly spreading omicron variant killing 60,000 americans in january. with time, the pandemic did loosen its grip. >> the transportation security administration no longer enforces the federal mandate requiring masks on u.s. airports and on board aircrafts. >> as mask mandates -- >> we are so happy. >> new threats emerged. >> growing concern about another virus called monkeypox. >> monkeypox, flu, the respiratory virus rsv. >> it's a serious illness. you know, with him being this young.

>> overseas, it was a different battle that rattled the world. in february, russia stormed into ukraine with high expectations, only to be met by a resilient for. it's inspiring leader, president zelenskyy, refused to flee. those strikes pushed ukrainians to bomb shelters into the country's swollen borders. >> you can hear the families, they've come with all their belongings. people are hugging and saying goodbye and not sure if they will ever come back. >> millions of ukrainians suddenly became refugees. but as the year progressed, ukraine's military took back land that had been lost just months earlier. steady progress in a long war, now entering the dark days of winter. in america, winter storms in

early. >> we've seen over 50 inches of snow and under 24 hours. >> record breaking snow storms dumped nearly seven feet of snow on to buffalo region. in florida, hurricane ian pummeled the coast with winds that reached 155 miles an hour. >> it can't withstand this kind of stuff. >> just shy of a category five. >> these cars were nicely parked. they are floating freely now. >> florida's deadliest hurricane since 1935. gun violence continue to devastate communities across the nation with hundreds of mass shootings. >> we all ran to the back. he was shooting at the -- >> ten were killed in a supermarket in buffalo, seven in a fourth of july parade in highland park, illinois. five were murdered in an lgbtq nightclub in colorado springs, and at an elementary school in uvalde, texas. >> can you tell the police to

come to my room? >> i reveal ready told them to get to the room -- >> 19 young children, two teachers lost their lives to a teenage gunman who ravaged their campus. >> how did he get in there? >> adding to their grief, questions over law enforcement's delayed response. >> hands off! >> emotions were high across the country when, in june, the supreme court overturned roe v. wade. >> i feel like i got punched in the stomach this morning. >> for some, there was anger and fear. >> we are not going to be treated as second class citizens. >> for others, it was a celebratory moment decades in the making. >> amazing victory. >> back to life has been vindicated. the voiceless are finally given a voice. >> abortion was one of many

issues dominating politics in 2022. so was inflation, which reached 40 year highs. >> in every aspect, it's tired. your wages don't go up any higher. >> in the spring and summer months, the national average for gas sort. >> president biden's approval rating dropped, despite that democrats were able to fend off a red wave during the midterms. nbc news is now projecting that democrats will maintain control of the senate. >> holding the senate and narrowly losing the house. the elections wake, speaker nancy pelosi announced she was stepping down from leadership. just weeks after her husband was attacked in their home. >> for me, the hours come for a new generation to lead the democratic caucus that i so deeply respect. >> the dust from the midterms was still lingering in the air. the 2024 campaign began. >> in order to make america great and glorious again, i am

tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the united states. >> former president donald trump declared his candidacy, running again amid a laundry list of investigations. that includes a rate of his mar-a-lago estate, the fbi seized thousands of documents, some marked classified. back in washington, the house committee investigating the january 6th insurrection held televised hearings, one of the star witnesses, a 25-year-old former trump white house aide named cassidy hutchinson. >> he didn't look at from his phone and said something to be effective, there's a lot going on, cass. i don't know, things might get real, real bad on january 6th. >> in london, queen elizabeth celebrated her platinum jubilee, marking 70 years on the throne. her june appearances at the buckingham palace balcony flanked by family, including

her seen stealing great grandson, prince louis, her final times on that storied perch. >> some sad, breaking news. queen elizabeth ii, britain's longest reigning monarch, has died. >> in september, the queen died at the age of 96. her son, charles, immediately ascended to the throne. >> as i stand before you today, i cannot help but feel the weight of history. >> for the uk, it was a year of transition with one prime minister resigning. >> i want you to know how sad i am to be giving up the best job in the world. >> then just weeks later, another. >> i am resigning as leader of the conservative party. >> three leaders in a single year. >> i will unite our country. >> change was on the minds of protesters in iran. they took to the streets angered by the death of a young woman who died after she was

arrested for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code. while in russia, american basketball star brittney griner spent most of 2022 behind bars. convicted on drug charges. >> very -- experienced. >> she was released in december in a prisoner swap. she was released in decembe in a prisoner swap the world gathered in beijing for the winter olympics, where snowboarding phenom chloe kim captured gold again. >> all right, opening ceremony. as the flying tomato came in for a final landing, shaun white route fired after barely missing the podium. >> this is i think my last round. >> this is it? >> i think so, yeah. >> another g.o.a.t., serena williams, seemed to step away from tennis after an emotional run at the u.s. open. but later, she proclaimed, i am not retiring. >> serena williams, who are

your best friends? >> her childhood story was featured in the movie king richard starring will smith, whose oscar win was overshadowed by this. >> the slap heard around the word old. smith later apologized for the moore -- stole the spotlight from other winners, including best picture -- and indeed drama about a deaf family. >> what the hell? >> big screen blockbusters came roaring out of the danger zone with tom cruise's top gun maverick topping a billion bucks at the worldwide box office. >> i want to manage expectations. >> twitter got a controversial new owner, elon musk, while a supreme court got a history making new justice, ketanji brown jackson. she replaced the retiree stephen breyer, becoming the first black woman to sit on the high court. >> in my family, it took just one generation to go from segregation to the supreme court of the united states. >> lift off of artemis one.

>> and nasa's artemis 1 finally went from earth to space. after the launch was called off a few times, the rocket took off in november, unmanned mission paving the way for astronauts to someday return to the moon. the dawn of a new era -- to a new year. >> our thanks to joe fryer for that year and report. up next, the most memorable pop culture moments of 20,022. find out if your favorite makes our next guest list. like this one! 50% off?! 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! i got this mountain bike for only $11. dealdash.com the fair and honest bidding site. this i-pad sold for less than $43. this kitchenaid mixer sold for

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at savedbythescan.org >> i don't have to tell you this. it was quite a year for entertainment, with covid restrictions easing and some blockbuster titles entertaining millions of fans nationwide. james cameron has done it again with a brand-new avatar, the way of water. grossing more than one billion dollars worldwide. it's now overtaken top gun

maverick as the number one international release of the year. joining us right now is chris witherspoon, founder and ceo of pop viewers, as well as an msnbc entertainment contributor. we want to talk about the blockbusters here, like avatar. are you surprised by its huge success? >> highlands,. listen, in many ways, this year was a huge test for the studios to see if people are ready to come from their couches, where they've been watching so many movies, oscar nominated movies, and actually go to theaters. i think it has proved people still want to go see movies in theaters. avatar the way of water, one of the most expensive movies ever made. 250 million dollar budget. it's doing really well, as you mentioned, across the one billion dollar mark. a lot of folks weren't sure it would work. i think people, this is one of those theatrical experiences that you want to go from the three d glasses and watching theater. 13 years in the making. by the way, there are two more avatar films coming out in 2024 and 2025. >> wow.

you are so right about the challenge of what can get people out. but intermit streaming, what are the movies or television shows that really resonated with people? i know you've mentioned before, you are a huge white lotus fan. i know that will be on your list. what else makes the cut? >> the white lotus, as you mentioned, but i think it's really the year of jennifer coolidge. you look over at netflix, they show the watcher, she was also on. it's based on something that really happened in new jersey. part of a true crime story. it did so well. also the series on netflix -- who would've thought all these years later, america, the world, would have been fascinated by jeffrey dahmer's story. that broke every record on netflix. the network side, abbott elementary, again, all these years we've been screaming so much content to see a network show -- do as well as it did is unheard of. so many breakout stars from that show. i'm so excited to see them

doing well. >> how was the year for streaming in general? >> overall, i think that if you think about the programming arms race we are in right now, lindsey, there is more content available to stream than ever before. with apple tv, with paramount plus, with hulu. i think we are in a place where a lot of these studios are throwing things against the wall and seeing what sticks. i think a lot of these players a lot of folks might not have thought will do so, like paramount plus, have really found their audience. streaming is the future of how we consume tv, and probably at some point, how we are going to see big movies a lap as well. >> we've got to talk about the akhter -- oscars slap. hard to believe that was this year. talk to me about sort of the lasting impacts of this moment. >> one, i think the oscars that will come out in march of 2023 will probably be one of the most viewed oscars ceremonies in a very long time. that slap, it was the slap

heard across the world, watched around the world, translated in several different languages. will smith, i think, we if he can rebound from this in the years to come. he has a feel not right now on apple tv, emancipation. a brilliant film not getting much love from critics. it was definitely overlooked by the golden globe body. he will be banned from attending the academy awards for the next ten years. oddly enough, he can still be nominated and can still win an oscar. he can win when this year. it's one of those moments i think is a very teachable moment in hollywood. i still think there is more to be said on will smith's behalf after what has been on his mind when that happened. >> let's talk about music here. beyoncé released a new album this year. taylor swift, vance crashed ticketmaster. they were trying to get tickets here. what were some of the highlights? >> i mean, this really was the year of the device. beyoncé's renaissance album came out in july. i broke all kinds of records for billboard. also the grammy nominations. she's leading the grammy

nominations. nine grammy knobs. she is tied right now with jay-z for the most nominated -- 88 nominations. what's interesting about beyoncé, you guys, beyoncé's leading the grammy names but has no music videos out. that has never happened really in the last 30 years of popular music, someone like beyoncé but she has said that she wants this album to be about the music. for the fans to think more about the music and not about the packaging. queen taylor swift also, as you mentioned, she did an incredible job this year launching this album. it came out, it broke a lot of records on billboard. she is the first female, the first artist, actually, female or male, to dominate the top ten spots on the billboard top 100. as you mentioned, we now know ticketmaster can be broken because she broke it when she announced her tour. people were waiting hours -- waiting in line in cues for over eight hours to get tickets. unheard of. >> on the year of the. i love it, chris. what are you most looking forward to in the new year? >> i think these award shows

should be very exciting. the golden globes in january, the grammys, the super bowl halftime show. rihanna in february. the oscars in march. this is some big film, folks have been waiting a long time. for the little mermaid live action remake, with hallie bailey, i'm so excited for that. the color purple, the movie coming out in december. it's based on the broadway musical. and then another big film, mission: impossible, seven, we've been waiting a long time for that to hit theaters. it will be out. a new harrison forward indiana jones movie. >> wait, mission impossible seven? we are up to seven? >> yes, it's finally come. it's been delayed for a very long time. mission impossible seven this year and mission eight next year. >> wow. chris witherspoon, it's always a pleasure to go through everything with you. we really appreciate your time. thank you so much. >> happy new year! >> happy new year! that's it for our show today. thank you for watching. stay tuned for more news with

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from msnbc world headquarters here in new york. and a happy new year's eve to everyone. welcome to alex witt reports. we begin this hour with some somber breaking news. the retired pope benedict the 16th died overnight at the age of 95. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the basilica there of the national shrine of immaculate conception in washington d.c. telling its bylaw 95 times this morning to can sum commemorate the passing of the pope benedict. pope benedict's health declined usage. he passed away early this morning at the vatican nearly ten years after suddenly