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police have pictures of his face. a law enforcement official telling msnbc a suspect has still not been identified after the ceo of the nation's largest private insurer was gunned down. with investigators combing through dozens of surveillance videos that they hope will help them crack the case. we'll have the latest new leads on the gunman's identity. and words that joe biden could be preparing to take his pardon power to a new level, issuing blanket pardons against trump's most prominent critics after trump's picks for the justice department and fbi threatened retaliation against them. the debate happening right now inside the white house. the stunning revival of notre dame cathedral, set to reopen 5 1/2 years after a devastating fire, with president-elect trump among the invited guests as world leaders pivot away from joe biden. we start today with new

clues about what the new york city shooting suspect was doing before and half the daytime ambush that killed a ceo. police are working a ton of new images coming in over the last 24 hours. >> reporter: police say these clear photos of a person of interest were taken at a hostile where he stayed ten days before the murder. and a wave of new videos of this shot, with a man leaving a subway station around 6:15 a.m. to this footage time stamped 6:19 of what looks like the same person bending over near a pile of trash near the site of the shooting. police are investigate thing video taken right before 7:00 a.m. that shows a man 30 blocks 15 minutes after the murder happened biking near central park, this time with no backpack. >> and as sam brock mentioned, the timeline indicates the suspect may have been in the

city as long as ten days be fr the attack. law enforcement officials say they believe the shooter may have ridden a bus late last month to new york, a bus that ridge originated in atlanta. police are working with greyho gea name. i want to bring in priscilla thompson who has been reporting on this. and tom winter joins us with jim cavanaugh, an msnbc terrorism analyst. tom, take us plus the big break so far. it seems to be the image, his face from the hostile where nbc news learned the so-called person of interest took down his mask to perhaps flirt or have a conversation with a woman behind the desk. what more do we know about the clues investigators are chasing? >> that's right, andrea. that is correct, that is our understanding he took the mask down momentarily in the one you're probably just about to

see, there it is, him smiling and looking at an individual. yes, definitely a huge clue in this case, because what they were able to do is take that photo and they were able to do the type of forensic and computer work that the nypd is capable of doing to track him to that location just outside the port authority where he got off of that bus from atlanta. so that was really important, because it establishes when he came into the city, and it establishes a bit more of the timeline. now, the timeline of this is going to be critical. to that ending, they uncovered dozens upon dozens of videos that have this individual in it, and they circulated that around within law enforcement circles of a number of images of this individual, and they're using that to really piece together what has he been up to do try to determine is there anything that gives them a clue as far as who this individual is. now, just at least in the last couple of minutes, i checked in on this issue. there is still no identification

on this person. they're still trying to run that down and check that out, but obviously, they're following a ton of leads, andrea. you can imagine the tips coming in now that his face is out there is something that is certainly hopefully going to get them along the right path to finding out who this person is, and from there, they can make an arrest. >> priscilla, what are you hearing from the police? how confident are they that they might be closing in on this suspect? it's been three days. >> reporter: well, the line that we're hearing from police is that this investigation remains ongoing. as tom said, they have not publicly identified as a suspect, december pitd spite so evidence that would be identifiable, like those photo where is you see his full face, and also the water bottle and the protein bars that were dumped by the alleged suspect here. but it does not appear that they have been able to come up with

anything in naming anyone or identifying someone. and also, that bus ticket, which could potentially lead to a trail of who may have paid for that ticket and could again be a point where they're able to identify someone. but at this point, police have not held a presser on this since wednesday morning, shortly after this brazen attack happened. and what we heard from mayor eric adams this morning is that they are probably not going to be saying much, because they don't want to jeopardize anything in this investigation. but he says that the police are sifting through a lot of information, but that we may not hear from them again until there is a big break in this case or the suspect in this case is arrested. andrea? >> and jim cavanaugh, "the new york times" has called the suspect a shrewd and elusive operator. do you agree with that? because he clearly made some mistakes. he took down his mask, he abandoned the shell casings, he went into the starbucks, he dropped a water bottle.

this is not -- and he was staying in a hostile with roommates. he doesn't seem like a highly paid assassin. >> i give a little pushback on that assessment. i think he's a rank amateur. he did almost everything wrong. you know, after a careful viewing of the shooting, if you watch it very slowly, his gun, he fires a shot and mr. thompson, and strikes him in the leg, i believe. he stumbled, but the gun jams immediately. it jams after the first round, and the killer then reaches down and works the slide, works the slide a couple of times, fires again, and the gun jams again. and then he racks the slide and slaps the top of the slide a couple of times and walks toward the victim and shoots a third

time. as he's walking away, he's still fooling away. it's not that the gun jammed once during this series of rounds, it jammed after the first shot, and after every shot. as you point out, he showed his face. he's too clever by half. he thinks he's going to evade the detectives but he's not going to evade them. the nypd has great detectives and atf, our agents work with them every day for years. great relationship with them. i'm sure they're with the detectives now, because when you have a silencer, you also have a federal crime, likely here on local possession of that weapon. it could be interstate transportation of firearms with the intent to commit a felony. all types of federal violations that atf can help them with, with leads and manpower and surveillance, and if they need stuff in atlanta. we've got a whole division in atlanta. stores of agents down there, and

they can -- nypd can lock in with them and see what we can dig out. so they're going to catch this guy. all these flubs he made, if they have any dna or fingerprint, once they get his face up, i recommend they up that reward and blast it out more. i really think he's going to be a guy that did a lot of preop rational surveillance. maybe each at the conference since he was in new york a week before, the detectives found. he might have within the conference, he probably was on that street. he might have followed the victim into his other hotel across the street. so surveillance from the hotels internally, the lobbies, this guy's on camera. his face is going to be shown, and i think, if you know this guy, andrea, if you saw these pictures, you can identify him. so he's going to be identified, they're going to find him and catch him. it's not going to be too long, either. >> let's talk about the weapon

for a moment. that is a big factor, the silencer that he used, because according to "the new york times," and you can help me with that, they're not that easy to get. they say that purchasing one requires submitting fingerprints, a photograph, underground background check. take me through all of that and how that might help, tracing the silencer might pin point the suspect. >> it traces back in a nutshell back this the days when atf started as the bureau of prohibition, and congress passed the national firearms act and outlawed silences, and submachine guns. so from that day forward in 1934, you had to register a silencer with atf before you could get it. you had to submit your photograph, a background check, and then you could obtain the weapon. that's still the law today. so you have to go through

process, and atf has to have all of your personal information, which is all on file in washington, d.c. that said, rarely do people with registered silencers rarely ever commit murders. i mean, over my 33 years with atf, i only remember just a few, and i remember a couple we didn't catch who we did know use their registered silencers in murders and weren't able to catch them. but there are millions of them out there now, and people who own them legally, the gun sportsman elect to shoot with them, they rarely use them in crimes. they can also be obtained illegally on the illicit market, like a ghost silencer that can be manufactured. this guy has so much trouble keeping this gun into battery, that he's probably affixed something like a ghost silencer on the front of it. what happens is that the slide will jam on the back of the silencer, because when it goes

back from the explosion of the cartridge, it has to go fully forward into battery. if it's screwed on too tight, the gun can hit the back of the silencer. and if he's using what we call subsonic ammunition to reduce the report of the weapon, in addition to the silencer, that can prevent the slide from going back far enough to bring the next round in. so very amateurish. the first round he jams. the second round. he jams on every round. this guy is too clever by half. he's watch today many movies. he's not a criminal, and he's not going to be good at evading the nypd. they'll be wrapping him up soon. it will be interesting to see if he has any confederates with him, as well. >> all good points. thank you for all your expertise. pardon power.

new reporting how joe biden may move to protect top trump critics from retribution. and do elon musk and vivek ramaswamy have a naughty and nice list? what we're hearing after their closed door meetings with republican lawmakers. stay with us. republican lawmakes stay with us in a parade. everyone customize and save hundreds on car insurance with liberty mutual. customize and sa— (balloon doug pops & deflates) and then i wake up. and you have this dream every night? yeah, every night! hmm... i see. (limu squawks) only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ hi, my name is damian clark. if you have both medicare and medicaid, i have some really encouraging news that you'll definitely want to hear. depending on the plans available in your area, you may be eligible to get extra benefits with a humana medicare advantage dual-eligible

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pard ons for trump critics, according to two sources familiar who say there are some big names being discussed. kelly o'donnell is live at the white house. who could be on this list? >> reporter: there are certainly some notable people who might be in the cross hairs of retribution as described as those aligned with president-elect trump. think of people like senator-elect adam schiff. dr. anthony fauci, who worked in this white house for many, many years, across multiple presidencies and administrations, and certainly worked closely advising president trump when he was in office. liz cheney who, of course, was in republican leadership in the house and then was one of the primary voices on the january

6th committee and has been a prominent critic of president trump and tried in many ways to prevent his return to the white house. and then you think of some of the comments made by military figures like general milley. so part of the thinking here, as our reporting indicates and other outlets have done this, as well, is that joe biden is engaged in conversations with his senior team, talking about what would preemptive pardons look like, who should be considered. but there is not yet consensus how this would work, who would be involved. so therefore, there is no proposal at this point to present to the president for his consideration ultimately. but the conversations are happening, and in part, it is because of rhetoric that has been very clear and public from president-elect and many of the people he has named to his incoming cabinet. recently, and over time, talking about plans for retribution, talking about wanting to go

after those who were viewed as political adversaries. so that's the thinking behind it. they also tell us there is a robust process going on right now for the more traditional pardons and commutations in the criminal justice realm where there has been a penalty paid, and the president would be considering a range of those actions using his presidential power there. that's a different category, but expect to see more of that rolling out, as well. andrea? >> and kelly, this would be enormously controversial. some of the people who have been named, like adam schiff, senator-elect schiff from california says he doesn't think it was a good idea, he wouldn't want a pardon, understandably. but there are some people that the white house feels could be bankrupted by this and have their lives ruined if they are targeted. we already saw just the other day cash patel sending the

lawyer for a whistleblower who had been a homeland security detail to vice president pence's covid task force and became a public critic, and threatening her because of things she had said on this network. >> reporter: one of the things that people may not realize is long before it ever gets to a criminal charge being filed, if you are called before congress, if you are engaged in any way in an investigation, the people we're talking about do hire lawyers. sometimes it is government staffers at a lower level who don't have, you know, personal wealth to cover legal bills. legal bills, can, in fact, and often do bankrupt people in this process. so it is, in part, a way to protect them from the entire process. not just implying that there could be any criminal conduct for which they would need a pardon, but to prevent the attempts to pull them into that

system. because all of that, when you see people in the video that we show and they're walking into a hearing room surrounded by lawyers, everybody is getting paid. so that is one element of it. it's upheaval in people's lives, that kind of thing. so that's part of what this administration is looking at. are there people who they believe don't deserve being put through that, but they could protect, but you're right, not everyone wants it. there are risks of it looking like there is some admission when there is not. so really, trying to understand how to do this in a way that would be -- to serve the aims that the administration would consider without causing more trouble. andrea? >> kelly o'donnell, we really appreciate your reporting. thank you. republican lawmakers are pulling the curtain back on their closed door meetings with elon musk and vivek ramaswamy and their plans to slash and burn $2 trillion from the federal bureaucracy after trump takes office. >> elon and vivek ramaswamy

talked about having a naughty list and a nice list for members of congress and senators, and how we vote and how we're spending the american people's money. >> it was a good vibe. but the problem is in that room. the members have got to have the guts to pull the trigger. >> the taxpayer is going to be the big winner, because they'll see a more efficient government out of this whole process. >> elon musk and vivek ramaswamy, who have been tasked to run doge left the hill yesterday saying the day was good and important. they might come back in january, but this time include democrats in their talks. joining us now, nbc's julie serkin from capitol hill. and mark mckinnen, and jonathan capehart. julie, first, what are we learning out of their talks on the hill? because just cutting $2 trillion out of the budget, there's

plenty of reporting from budget experts who looked at this and looked at what is discretionary, and we're talking out of $2 trillion, really $500 billion, and that includes such important high priorities as the health care for our veterans. not something that would be easily cut. >> reporter: no, andrea, none of these cut also be easy. that's why you do have some republicans that are skeptical what elon musk and his doge effort could achieve. $2 trillion is almost the entire annual budget. so that is a lot of money and a lot of cuts if you don't get into those mandatory programs like social security. that is something that republicans up here that trump on the campaign trail said they don't want to touch, but that is also something that musk has said, conservatives said is really the biggest piece of the pie here. aside from that, there's other proposals on the table, making federal workers return to the

office is one of them. joni ernst, who is leading the doge caucus in the senate, said maybe it is selling some federal buildings. but none of these specifics were outlined in the meetings. senator john thune told us this is an effort joef overdue, they want to make sure they can get it going. they just want to make sure that money is spent wisely. i want you to listen to what republicans had to say coming out of that hour-long meeting with musk yesterday. watch. >> we're going to go line by line here and see what can be done now. it will take a lot of work to go through it. we already have a lot of ideas. >> members brought their policy descriptions, areas that they feel are the low hanging fruit. >> what we want to do is hold each other accountable. we're getting behind president trump's agenda to secure the

border, and to cut spending. we've got to reduce it. it is not efficient. >> reporter: here's one thing that appropriators are drawing the line on, giving away the power of the purse that congress has to the executive branch, to the administration. i talked to susan collins yesterday, who is the incoming top republican appropriator in the senate, and she said that is a redline for her. andrea? >> indeed. and jonathan, when margorie taylor greene talks about having a naughty and nice list, first of all, this department doesn't exist. second of all, there are budget laws, and they think there's a lot that's discretionary. but they're talking -- vivek talked the other day about money authorized but not appropriated. but that is money congress has control over. it can't be done by executive order very easily. line item vetoes and other

things have established the supreme court decisions on that. and there's really only $500 billion in this pot, and that includes head start, maybe they would want to go after that, it goes against all data on the value of the early childhood education. but veteran's health care? >> it all sounds like wishful thinking. i'm now old enough to remember when al gore, when he had his -- empowered by president clinton, to look at government efficiency. but that was something where he looked through, worked with congress. they came up with plans and ideas. we got some things through. the problem with margorie taylor greene talking about naughty and nice lists, it's cute for the christmas season. but you're talking about real money and real people's lives. and good luck with congress getting through some of these line by line things that they're talking about, especially a

congress that speaker johnson's incoming majority that is going to be a zero seat majority, meaning he can't lose anyone. you tell me that stlsh there arg to be republican members of congress who suddenly get concerned about what they're hearing coming out of washington, about a favorite program or favorite entitlement that could be on the chopping block? i don't see how this is going to lead to anything that president-elect trump says it's going to lead to. i feel like this is a blue ribbon commission that will produce some sort of report, and it will go on the shelf where all blue ribbon commission reports have gone. >> in fact, mark mckinnen, first of all, there's a little thing like the trump tax cut, which did contribute to the deficit, and the "inflation reduction act," which also did, and the

covid response added a lot of government spending. but are they not going to reauthorize the tax cuts they say they will reauthorize, and, you know, we just talked about al gore. i covered the grace commission in the ronald reagan white house, and the data show that the deficit grew more and, you know, jobs, government jobs grew more under republicans than under democratic administrations. >> that's right. jonathan mentioned the gore commission, he mentioned the grace commission. this has been a narrative as far back as i can remember doing campaigns, particularly from republicans talking about how are we going to pay for stuff? by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse. the grace commission is a great example. that was under reagan in 1982. 150 members of people like musk and like vivek came in, all the experts to cut the waste, fraud,

and abuse, and after a considerable amount of work and resources spent, zero recommendations were adopted after a couple of years and 150 people working on it. i'm glad it's happening, because this narrative continues to be out there. the only way to eliminate the narrative is go through the process and they're going to come up and say well, a lot of this budget is not only very needed, it's useful and very popular. and it's going to be very difficult to cut. but they're going to have to go through this process in order to prove it. >> i want to get both of you to turn to some of these supposed nominees. they're not yet nominated, but we know that pete hegseth's attorneys says he's beginning to fill out the fbi forms. so that is one step towards back ground checks required for confirmation hearings. the president-elect did come out today for the first time on social media in a couple of days

with an endorsement, strong endorsement, and erin haik is reporting for us that the vibe seems to have turned, that they are coming more to his defense, but they're still talking, mark, about a possible desantis fallback option and some other names, as well. >> well, listen, i'm looking at ault the reporting. what i've heard from my sources, and it looks increasingly like hegseth may make it through, even though desantis would be a great option, just in a shakespearean way it resolves all those issues between trump and desantis, it would give trump a senate nominee and laura trump and desantis at the pentagon, which makes a lot of sense. it seems like he might be a good secretary. but it's unclear. it appears increasingly like hegseth will go through, and boy, if that happens, it just -- it reaffirms the power of the maga threat of primarying people like joni ernst and others, and

that this is going to be the loyalty test now, whether or not you support donald trump's nominees. listen, aside the allegations of women problems and alcohol problems, how about just the problems that he had running two fairly small nonprofits and from the reporting i read, just ran them into the ground, couldn't manage that, much less the largest expenditure in the federal government. >> jonathan, nbc counted at least six and possibly more republican senators who are against saying that they were voting against, but the pressure can build. >> right. and the idea that donald trump has come out in favor of pete hegseth on his social media site, they're just words. he is with hegseth until he is not. and it's very telling that hegseth is now filling out the fbi forms, with all the attacks on the fbi, the one thing that

could give trump some cover is an fbi report. and republicans on the hill, an fbi report that corroborates a lot of the reporting, maybe some things that we don't know, and as we all know, if pete hegseth is asked about these things and he lies, that's a problem, lying to the fbi. >> although the things we thought were problems with people being appointed to sensitive positions sometimes aren't. >> correct. >> jonathan, thank you. nice to see you. >> nice to see you, too. >> and thanks very much to mark and julie. coming up, the political turmoil in france as emmanuel macron prepares to welcome donald trump to the big reopening of notre dame's cathedral. we go live to paris, coming up next. g up next again and again, and again. ♪far-xi-ga♪ ♪far-xi-ga♪

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france's iconic notre dame cathedral will reopen this weekend, 5 1/2 years after a devastating fire, almost destroyed it. among the world leaders slated to attend the opening ceremony will be president-elect trump. in his first foreign trip since winning the election, he was invited by france's president emmanuel macron, who is leading a country in political chaos, after far right and far left forces joined forces to collapse

his government. so vaughn, first to you. what can you tell us about trump's visit and his long and sometimes rocky relationship with macron primarily over nato and ukraine. >> reporter: right. much like the comeback cathedral behind us, this is a comeback president and a comeback relationship for macron and donald trump, who if you go back to at the time this burned in 2019, it was about the time that donald trump was threatening to impose tariffs on french wines imported to the united states in retaliation for what he said was unfair digital sales tax that the french president macron was putting on. so this for donald trump is going to be his first international trip since winning last move's election, and for him, it is a testment about the long standing relationship that these two men have, at a

perilous time for the french president. his government collapsing just this week. the prime minister resigning just over 24 hours ago, and at a point in time which he has expressed openly concerns about an additional trade war and about even further tariffs that donald trump threatened to impose on all eu goods imported into the united states. but also serious question marks about the united states' commitment under the trump administration to continuing to provide funding and aid to ukraine in its defense against russia's aggression, at a time that the nato alliance is questioning the extent to which donald trump will remain committed to the cause , and france has been on the strong lines maintaining a strong relationship with president zelenskyy. joe biden was invited to attend, he declined. jill biden will be here in attendance, but donald trump will be alongside the likes of the presidents of italy, the

kings of jordan and morocco. prince william will be here, as well. additional dignitaries and other foreign leaders are expected to attend this ceremony. donald trump will be flying in from new york tomorrow for the ceremony and will be here tomorrow evening before making his way inside the actual cathedral with the bells welcoming folks back into the cathedral for the first time in five years, andrea. >> and kelly, in 2019, macron vowed he would reopen notre dame by the end of this year, he did it. it was really a remarkable accomplishment. you've been covering it. this could be a victory lap, but it doesn't seem that way with his government collapsing, his own term doesn't end until 2027, but his power is gridlocked with what is going on in the national assembly. >> reporter: yeah, he should be able to celebrate this moment. he'll try to put a good face on it with all the mp tomorrow.

but it's been a very difficult week for president macron here in france. his parliament is deadlocked, they can't pass a budget. the reason the prime minister was brought down is because he was trying to force through a spending plan for the government, using constitutional powers and not taking it to the vote because he simply couldn't get enough votes behind him. president macron took a gamble earlier this year by calling early parliamentary elections, and he lost that gamble and now has a deadlocked parliament and is struggling to get anything done. and the people, as well as some parties, turning against him. tomorrow, there is meant to be a very grand ceremony starting at 7:00. a big film will be played, celebrating the people who made this incredible feat happen, helped to rebuild notre dame. president macron will make a speech and will be presiding over these celebrations with the archbishop of paris, who will

then knock three times on the doors of notre dame with the choir of notre dame singing back at him before the doors fully open, the guests enter, and the world once again gets to see what an incredible feat has been accomplished here. but no doubt, while people here in france are very poud of what has happened here at notre dame, many are not at all happy with president macron or with the government. >> yeah. you know, it's just so extraordinary that this has been accomplished, but michael, during trump's first term, macron, as the associated press put it, trying to develop personal relationship, we see the pictures there. that was bastille day ceremony. you'll remember that president trump, in his first white house term, was so impressed with the parade, the military parade, that he came back and wanted a parade like that on pennsylvania

avenue and was told that he couldn't have tanks because they would collapse the asphalt. >> that's right, andrea. an nforgettable moment from trump's first term. macron learned early something a lot of world leaders that are going to be practicing that flattery will get you everywhere. you know, macron is one of many world leaders who have deep disagreements with president trump. you know, i have little doubt that privately he would have liked to see kamala harris win the election. i haven't been told that directly, but i think it's safe to infer it. but like a lot of european leaders who don't welcome trump's return, i think they feel like they have no choice but to flatter him, embrace him, treat him essentially like royalty, because trump's response to that, he's very ego driven, and we're starting to see this happen around the

world. you know, i'm thinking of the south korean president, who has been in the news because of that sort of inept declaration of martial law. but before that little fiasco, the presidential office in seoul let it be known that the south korean president was working on his golf game, dusting off his golf clubs. he hadn't played in years, but he was getting ready to it will the links with trump. so all around the world these leaders are getting ready to stroke trump's ego. he's very smart about this, this is a great stage craft and notre dame is, of course, a giant, iconic landmark known around the world. it's large in scale. it's a huge deal. the reopening will be a huge deal. it's the kind of event and setting that trump is absolutely going to love. so i think it's a smart move by macron, even if he is going to be biting his tongue about his true feelings. >> michael, i want to ask you about opposition mounting to

tulsi gabbard taking over the intelligence community. you've got this extraordinary letter from so many former generals, diplomats, high-ranking generals and admirals, as well as ambassadors from all over the world, arguing that she's inexperienced, but particularly concerned about her secret visits to bashar al assad, the dictator in syria, who is beleaguered, as well as her public pronouncements echoing vladamir putin's propaganda about ukraine. >> absolutely, andrea. she is -- if she were confirmed, she would be the head of the entire intelligence community. that job is not as famous as the cia director, but the cia director actually reports to the director of national intelligence. she would be sitting atop the pyramid of all america's intelligence agencies. and, you know, i think the biggest concern probably involves russia and her access

to american intelligence, a lot of which, you know, one of our highest intelligence targets right now, intelligence competitions has to deal with the competition for influence with moscow, and i think that's a source of enormous concern. but the fact that syria is back in the headlines, lends a new urgency to this. i think it's bad for her nomination, because it reminds people, and makes vivid again the fact that she was, you know, essentially taking the side of bashar al assad in the civil war. now, let's be clear, and i'll wrap up, it's a very complicated situation and the rebel forces have real bad guys with them, but to go and meet with assad particularly to endorse his claim that the rebel forces had essentially used chemical weapons on themselves and assad had not used them, despite the findings of the united nations, the united states, a lot of other independent sources, that's just very hard for people

to figure out. so that syria is back in the headlines will make this more of an uphill fight for them. >> he had they have been nerve people, which is horrific. thanks to all of you. my colleague, kristen welker, will sit down with president-elect donald trump, his first tv broad cast interview since winning the election. watch all that sunday on "meet the press" on nbc. still ahead, a deadly arctic blast bringing dangerous travel conditions to the northeast. winter doesn't even start for two more weeks. winter doesn't even start for two more weeks of liste rine. it kills 99.9% of bad breath germs for five times more cleaning power than brushing and flossing alone. get a next level clean... ahhhhh with listerine. feel the whoa!

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millions of people across the great lakes and northeast are bracing for each more snow this weekend after days of freezing weather and blizzard-like conditions. the snowplows working overtime

in places like erie, pennsylvania, where they have already seen, get this, five feet of snow. nbc's erin mclaughlin has more. >> reporter: folks in erie, pennsylvania, are dealing with a fresh blast of blizzard-like weather. adding to the five feet of snow that has fallen in the last week. whiteout conditions and gusty winds across the great lakes, stopping people literally in their tracks. at lake erie, waves as high as 15 feet, slamming against the base of bicentennial tower. overnight, a foot of fresh lake-effect snow is expected to fall across new york state and parts of new england. officials urging caution, after at least two died while clearing snow in new york. even more widespread, the threat of intense wind gusts and fridge it cold. with some 35 million americans under high weather alerts overnight, and temperatures along the east coast plunging as much as 20 degrees below normal.

even triggering freeze warnings in florida and georgia. the winds so strong, it caused this truck to fold in half. >> it's been a crazy week or so. >> reporter: the onslaught of winter weather so intense, even some first responders needed help. a volunteer firehouse converted into an emergency warming center had to be evacuated as the roof buckled under the weight of the snow. >> if the firehouse collapses, we're out a whole bunch of resources. >> reporter: neighbors responded with shovels. how does it make you feel to show the community show up? >> makes me feel great. my phone has blown up the last two, three hours of people that want to help. >> reporter: in asheville, north carolina, where many are still displayed from the hurricane, temperatures dropping to 13 degrees today, with windchills near zero. erin mclaughlin, nbc news. for the final time, joe biden took part in the annual lighting of the national christmas tree in d.c. last

night. sharing with the crowd his holiday wish for the country. >> i wish for you and for the nation, now and always, that we continue to seek the light of liberty and love, kindness and compassion, dignity and decency. merry christmas, america! >> this tree lighting, the last part of the white house holiday transformation with years, the theme being a season of peace and light and the orations are spectacular. up next, the insurance company that will put time limits on anaesthesia. the quick backlash and what hand next. the quick backlash and whad next humana medicare advantage plans. carry this card and you could have the power to unlock benefits beyond

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with better nutrition, too. for us, it's eggs any style. as long as they're the best. eggland's best. as we've been reporting, we still don't know the motive behind the killing of a ceo at united health care, but it's sent a chill throughout the insurance industry, as many americans are voicing their frustrations over coverage denials. now, one insurer that has nothing to do with united health care is reversing course suddenly after facing major backlash for trying to cap payments for anaesthesia in the middle of only rations. anne thompson is following the story. anne, what happened, which insurer is involved, and how do you they think they can get away with this? >> reporter: the insurer is anthem blue cross, blue shield. what it wanted to do and

proposed this back in november, was to limit the time it would pay for anaesthesia care, put time limits on care, and wanted to do that in connecticut, new york, and missouri. now, as you can imagine, once this idea started to get some publicity, the backlash was furious. governor kathy hochul called it outrageous, and connecticut's controller, who controls the largest health plan in that state, basically said over my dead body. i also talked to some doctors, and one of them, dr. gregory lavit, who is a vascular birthmark birthmark surgeon here at new york, said it didn't make sense, because doctors, when they're operating, first of all, the surgeon controls how long the anaesthesia goes on, not the anesthesiologist, and secondly, the doctors are focused on the

patient, not the clock. here's what the doctor had to say. is this even workable in surgery? >> i don't see how this could be applied across the board. anesthesiologists do not control the amount of time they spend under anaesthesia. a well-trained surgeon has a step by step process for performing a surgery. it's not something that's time dependant, but technically dependant. >> reporter: now, in abandoning this policy, anthem issued a statement yesterday explaining why it reversed course. first of all, blaming what it called widespread misinformation about its policy. and then it went on to say that it was never -- it never was and never will be the policy of anthem blue cross, blue shield to not pay for medically necessary anaesthesia services. so it was -- when i talked to the state controller in connecticut yesterday, andrea, i

asked him what caused this reversal? he really said it was people speaking up, because people were just outraged at this idea. andrea? >> anne thompson, crazy business, isn't it? that does it for us this hour. my colleague peter alexander picks it up after this short break. after this short break. woah, limu! we're in a parade. everyone customize and save hundreds on car insurance with liberty mutual. customize and sa— (balloon doug pops & deflates) and then i wake up. and you have this dream every night? yeah, every night! hmm... i see. (limu squawks) only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

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