fbi's assistant director struggled before congress to that very question. sam brock, nbc news. back to you. >> such a mystery. we'll stay on top of that one.n and that's going to do it for us today. thank you for joining us. i'll yosee you back here tomorr bsame time, same place, and dot forget you can catch our show ch online, around the clock, on you tube and other platforms. i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. jose diaz-balart picks up our coverage right now. ♪♪ good morning, 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific, i'm jose diaz-balart. acwe begin this very busy hour with the news out of the nation's top law enforcement agency sending shock waves through washington. fbi director chris wray announcing his resignation. >> after weeks of careful thought, i've decided the right thing for the bureau is for me

to serve until the end of the current administration in january and then step down. in my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important in how we do our work. >> president-elect trump celebrating the news on social media calling it, quote, a great day for america as it will end the weaponization of what has become known as the united states department of justice. just days ago in an exclusive interview with kristen welker, trump had this to say about the fbi director. >> sir, are you going to fire the current fbi director, christopher wray, who you appointed? >> well, i can't say i'm thrilled with him. he invaded my home. i'm suing the country over it. he invaded mar-a-lago. >> and trump's pick to lead the

fbi upon his return to the white house, kash patel had this to say about the news of wray stepping down. >> we look forward to a smooth transition, and i'll be ready to go on day one.n the senators have been wonderful, and i look forward to earning their trust and confidence through the process and restoring law and order and integrity to the fbi. thank you. >> joining us now, nbc's ken dilanian and ryan nobles, also with us, frank figliuzzi, former assistant director for counter intelligence at asthe fbi. a ken, good morning. what are you learning about what was behind this decision? >> good morning, jose. chris wray said it pretty explicitly, he said it was the best thing for the bureau to keep the bureau out of the political fray, heand to unpack that a little more.a al debate the people surrounding chris essentially force donald trump to fire him. before serving his full ten-year term by donald trump. and that's only hitwas

for cause. one side was advising wray he should do that.ay people are still saying that. in the end, event for the fbi.t donald trump would say a lot of nasty things about chris wray and the bureau and firing chris wray. i amean, he's saying mean thin about chris wray as it is. less so. it's not as high profile. and so at the end of the day, chris wray decided that the better course was to agree to resign and clear the way for donald trump's achoice to be t next fbi director. >> yeah, i mean, when wray steps down on the 20th of january, who's going to be in charge of the fbi until a new director is confirmed? >> it's a great question. we are told that the current deputy, paul abbate, a counter terrorism expert will become the acting director on january 20th when christopher wray resigns. now, the thing about paul abate, he was instrumental in the decision to search donald trump's home in mar-a-lago. he's not going to like him any

more than he likes christopher wray. to install a different acting director, he would have to comply with a federal law withat gives him very narrow choices.ow it would have to be somebody senate confirmed or a senior level in the fbi. he can't just put anybody he wants in to replace paul abbate if that is his choice in january. >> frank, and ken kind of alluded a little bit to this, but wray's been in, what, seven years into a ten-year term, but with the new incoming administration, is it normal for an fbi director to exit at this juncture? >> this is highly abnormal, as ken said. this is only, you know, a director leaving before the end of dihis ten-year term has only happened once. that was william sessions, and that was considered gross misconduct on his part. look, it's a sad day when an fbi director feels compelled to leave before ctthe end of his established term because an incoming president-elect doesn't like inhim for doing his job.

and wray's cardinal sins were disimply hunkering down, allowi investigative processes to take place, whether it was the russia investigation, whether it was the iasearch of mar-a-lago, and think a really big cardinal sin in trump's eyes was going to the hill and wray saying january 6th was an act of domestic terror. this is the ultimate act of politicizing the fbi. it's not coming from the fbi. omit's coming from donald trumpr >> yeah, i mean, and i'm just wondering, frank, the history of the fbi, the fact that it's only been relatively recent in our history for an fbi director to serve a ten-year period, the history of the pfbi has had fb directors and i'm thinking of hoover, that far went past the ten-year mark. >> that was hoover, 40 years. in fact, the joke at that time in washington is if you have

seen one fbi director, you've seen them all.e he was the only one, and he helped form the fbi, and it was because of the abuses of the hoover era that we decided as a nation we only want an fbi director to go ten years, and then we want the fbi director to straddle administrations, to rastay above the political fray i'm hevery concerned this sets precedent that the fbi director now becomes some kind of sopolitical appointment as oppod to a solid law enforcement institutional appointment, and of course i'm gravely concerned about the future of the bureau. we mentioned the abuses of hoover. kash patel is semaking all of t same noises about pursuing the media, pursuing the political enemies of donald trump. so lots of anxiety at the fbi, and rightfully so. >> and, you know, hoover was for a great part of that 40 years, a power among himself unique. ryan, what's the reaction been on capitol hill to wray's exit?

>> reporter: it's really along s partisan lines, jose, which probably doesn't come after much a surprise. there were several republicans calling for wray to do exactly this even before he made this decision, but there are quite a few democrats who are raising alarm s bells about the precede this could possibly abset. that's very interesting when you take into account that christopher wray was appointed by donald trump, and it's now democrats rushing to his defense. listen to inwhat some of them h to say as this news broke yesterday? >> i do have concerns when you have someone as conservative as former attorney general bill fobarr saying over my dead body. those were his words, not mine, when he was asked to put him in a job. i have concerns just because of his agenda that he has expressed in the past, revenge, and i just don't think that's what we need right now. >> would you consider kash patel, you know, he's talking about -- >> i don't know enough about

him. but it kseems like he's going ikhave his 53 votes, so he's gog to be that guy, but i'm going to have that conversation. >> reporter: and so that was the democratic senators responding to the prosecute of kash patel taking christopher wray's place. there are a number of skeptical democrats, but john fetterman making the point, at this point, it looks like patel has enough votes for confirmation. we're early in the process to determine whether or not he will ultimately become desuccessful when that time comes around in early january. jose. >> ryan, i'm wondering, senatorn fetterman has been outspoken on some of the picks that donald trump has put forth? >> reporter: yeah, he has. and fetterman is actually going to meet today with pete hegseth, he's togoing to be the first democrat to meet with pete hegseth.he fetterman, among any of the democrats has really been the

one most open to the idea of at least finding a way to support some of these trump nominees. even the ones that would fall into the more controversial category that most democrats have no interest in supporting whatsoever. so he's definitely a wild card in this process. you know, you could even see a potential scenario where some of these candidates may not get all of the ayrepublican votes but maybe someone like fetterman or someone else casts a vote as a democrat in support of some of these nominees. i think the particular one as we see robert f. kennedy jr. nomination process crop up, you know, that may not necessarily fall along partisan lines. p there are some wild cards in this process, jose. while we do expect most of the confirmation process to be partisan, there may be surprises. >> what do we know about cash kash patel, president-elect trump's pick. >> he said he was going to

restore law and order and integrity to the fbi. most people who work at the fbi don't think that's a thing that needs to happen, they are already acting with integrity. he has been an articulate accuser of the fbi, saying it's been taken over by a deep state conspiracy that's been weaponized, politicized. in terms of his background, he was a house staffer on the intelligence committee, began criticizing the russia investigation. he had mid level jobs in the trump administration and the intelligence community. there's nothing in his background tythat remotely approaches anyone who has ever led the nation's premiere law enforcement agency before. that's an issue. but the other issue really is what mess promised to do at the fbi. he's promised to use it to go after enemies. he said he would close the headquarters and turn it into a community of the n deep state. that's more rhetorical than reality. there's concern about people of all political stripes about someone like this leading the most important law enforcement agency in the country, jose.

>> ken dilanian, ryan nobles, and frank figliuzzi, thank you all so very much. we turn now to breaking news out of washington, as well, president biden commuted the sentences of 1,500 nonviolent offenders and pardoned 39 others. it's the biggest number of commutations and clemencies granted in one day. joining me now is mike memoli. what do we know about who was parted and who had their sentenced commuted? >> reporter: i'll start with the second category because the 1,500 individuals who are having their sentences commuted are part of a group of 13,000 individuals who have had a form of clemency before as a result of the pandemic. you'll remember there was concern ofabout covid-19 spreadg in prisons and so as part of legislation that was signed into law by then president donald trump, some of these individuals were allowed to be transferred out of prisons into home confinement. they o already had to meet certn criteria, including people who

are medically vulnerable, who had been convicted of nonviolent or nonterrorism-related offenses and had a year of a clean record while in prison, so what the president is now doing is taking individuals who were already in home confinement and who in their view have demonstrated a commitment to rehabilitation, being reunited with their families is wiping clean the sentences. the 39 individuals who have received full pardons, we don't know who these individuals are. the white house says they are all people who had been convicted of nonviolentsnonviol offenses, many drug related offenses g and showed a commitmt to improving their lives. the president is talking about america is built on the promise of possibility and second chances. he's also indicating in his statement this is only the start of more to come abefore the en of his term. >> mike memoli, thank you very much. appreciate it. in 90 seconds, nbc news has just learned about president-elect ltrump's invitation to the leader of the

chinese regime to attend the inauguration. plus, new forensic evidence the nypd says it uncovered against the man accused of killing unitedhealthcare ceo. and later, growing concerns in the night sky. dozens of mysterious drones some reportedly as large as suvs have been spotted que esta you're watching diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. ow that years after i'm gone this guy will be he's melting! oh jeez... nooo... oh gaa... only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪

-bye honey. -(groans) morning breath, huh. dr. garcia? wooo. ♪♪ that's millions of bacteria growing overnight. crest pro-health helps prevent oral health issues before they start. i'm so much fresher. crest. (agent) we've always said never sell a house in the winter. that's not true. i'm so much fresher. with opendoor, you can skip the showings and get a real cash offer. you are disguising my voice, right? (director) ahhh, of course. (agent with altered voice) foof, just checking. (vo) it's true. opendoor makes selling easy, in any season.

14 past the hour, new today, president-elect trump's inauguration is beginning to take shape as nbc news learns he has invited china's leader, xi jinping to his inauguration. joining me now, nbc's garrett haake and brian cheung. what do we know about trump's decision to invite the chinese leader? it sounds like this is an idea that may have occurred to him as recently as this past weekend when he was in france for the reopening of notre dame, surrounded by other world leaders. he says he has talked to other folks there, and he thinks this could be an opportunity to kind of unite the world by coming to his inauguration. listen to what he said just a short time ago when he was asked about this on the floor. >> i just got back and it was something really beautiful, and a lot of world leaders, we had about 80 world leaders, different countries, and they were all coming together. they all wanted to meet us, and meet me as representative of the

u.s. i was even thinking about inviting certain people to the inauguration, and some people say, that's a little risky, isn't it. and i said, maybe it is. we'll see. we'll see what happens. but we like to take little chances, but that's not a bad chance. >> in another interview with his incoming press secretary, we have learned she has not yet accepted or we don't know whether or not she has accepted the ing press secretary. we might be finding out more names on the invitation list in the hours come sglg ing. >> and there's a january 6th defendant on the list as well? >> someone convicted of crimes related to january 6th who has now had his lawyer with the help of some members of the utah delegation, write a letter to the judge that he should be able to come to washington, d.c. to attend the inauguration as a guest of one of these members of congress. the president-elect has talked about providing some kind of clemency or pardons to a number

of people who were arrested or were charged or convicted in some cases of crimes related to january 6th. jose, i wouldn't be surprised if we hear more about these kind of invitations coming from lawmakers and other folks close to trump as we get closer to inauguration day as well. >> and, brian, you're at the new york stock exchange where this morning president-elect rang the opening bell, celebrate being named "time's," person of the year. you actually got a chance to speak with him? >> the president-elect speaking here at the new york stock exchange, and ringing the bell at 9:30 this morning to open the markets. obviously the stock market has been enormously important to the president who has made a name of himself off of wall street and big business. now, when it came to his announcement on being named "time's" person of the year, he had an interview, where he talked about kitchen table issues for americans, the rising cost of grocery prices. he did say basically once prices rise, it's very hard to bring

them back down, which does suggest that the president has this acknowledge of the fact that, yes, inflation is still very much pinching american wallets, but you can't really deflate the economy because in many cases if you have deflation, that usually coincides with a recession in this congress. ceos on the floor, multiple here spotted from goldman sachs, from target as well. they are likely excited about the prospects of lower taxes and lower regulation under the next president. however they have a little bit of concern, the broad business community, about tariffs, and i did ask the president in a brief interview whether or not he saw day one as the time to implement those tariffs. take a listen to our exchange. when it comes to tariffs, would you plement them on day one? >> we want fairness from other countries. we're not going to be treated fairly, and we're going to get fairness. >> you're going to be finding out is what he said. so really not necessarily any stort

sort of clarity whether or not he plans to impose the tariffs on day one or if they would be a negotiating stick as they were in the first administration. the first round on tariffs in china was over a year into the first term. whether or not he would leverage that and implement that, that would have a day one impact on the business community remains an open question, but again, a lot of excitement here on the stock exchange floor this morning as people were chanting usa, usa as the president-elect rang the bell here in new york city. jose. >> i mean, brian, the care and stick approach that president in his first administration, including not only the tariff threats to china but mexico as well, and it was in the case of mexico, very successful, just the threat changed policy. brian cheung and garrett haake, thank you so very much. appreciate it. up next, the evidence authorities say puts the man suspected of killing the unitedhealthcare ceo at the scene of the crime. plus, new details about

these huge mysterious drones that are being spotted in parts of the northeast for almost a month now. look at this, i mean, this is real. what is it? we'll look into it next. it we'll look into it next. hi, i'm susan lucci. you may know me from my many years on television. i never thought about heart disease until i had my own heart event. i felt this slight pressure on my chest, just slight. i thought, oh, it's nothing. it'll go away. i didn't get it. i did not get it. but, a few days later, while shopping at a boutique, that pressure returned much stronger. it felt like an elephant pressing on my chest. i had a 90% blockage in my main artery and a 75% blockage in the adjacent artery.

i was rushed into surgery where i received two stents in my arteries, stents developed through research funded by the american heart association. those stents saved my life. that's why i'm in front of you today, asking you to join me in supporting the american heart association by becoming a monthly donor. call now or go to helpheart.org. for only $19 a month, just $0.63 a day, you can help fund the next medical breakthrough, get the next person trained in cpr, the next hospital certified in high quality cardiovascular care. i'm so grateful to the american heart association. their research helped save my life. i can enjoy life with my children, my grandchildren and my friends. heart disease is america's number one killer, and your support now can help save your life or the life of someone you love. give $19 a month with your credit card

and we'll send you this special t-shirt that you can wear to show that you are helping save lives. please listen to your heart. the only reason i'm here today is because i did. so please call the number on your screen or go to helpheart.org now. join me as a monthly donor today and help save even more lives. thank you. whoa! how'd you get your teeth so white? you gotta use the right toothpaste!

dr. c?! ♪♪ not all toothpastes whiten the same. crest 3d white removes 100% more stains for a noticeably whiter smile. new personal best. crest. where can nfl fans get a great deal that turns christmas day into game day? x marks the spot. the nfl is streaming christmas day games exclusively on netflix, and you don't want to miss a moment. gather round the game because nothing says holidays like family and football. now xfinity customers can add streamsaver including netflix, peacock, and apple tv+ for just $15 a month. stuff your stockings with tons of entertainment and tons of savings. bring on the good (ominous music). (bubbles rising) (diver exhaling) (music intensifies) (diver yells) (shark roars) - whoa. (driver gasps) (car tires screech) (pedestrian gasps) (both panting)

(gentle breeze) - [announcer] eyes forward. don't drive distracted. 24 past the hour. new developments into the investigation of the fatal shooting of unitedhealthcare ceo brian thompson. just in the last hour, nbc news

learned of a new petition filed by suspect luigi mangione in which he says he is being illegally imprisoned. this as investigators say they have recovered a notebook from mangione where he allegedly details plans to target a ceo at a conference writing that a gun was preferable to a bomb so others wouldn't be harmed. joining us now, nbc's valerie castro, outsides prison where the suspect is being held in pennsylvania, and curt burkhalter, a retired nypd professor, and now a law professor. valerie, what does this petition say, and what else are we learning this morning? >> reporter: good to be with you, jose, that petition is for a writ of habeas corpus, essentially it seems as though his defense attorney is arguing that he's been unlawfully detained or imprisoned illegally, saying there is not enough evidence to continue holding mangione here in pennsylvania, arguing that he should have been given some sort of bail.

he is currently being held without bail, and his attorney indicated that he was not very happy with that decision by the judge. so this will potentially lead to some sort of court hearing, although that hasn't been scheduled just yet. the nypd announcing yesterday that they do believe there is enough evidence in this case linking mangione to the scene of the crime. they say the gun that he was found to have been carrying when he was arrested in altoona, pennsylvania, matches shell casings that were found at the scene of the shooting. and police also mentioned finger prints that were found from a recovered water bottle and protein bar wrappers that were discarded. those were purchased at a starbucks on the day of the shooting, very close to the scene, and they say the finger prints on the discarded items do match mangione's fingerprints. nypd gathering more evidence and certainly comfortable enough in putting it out there to say that he is so far linked to the shooting in midtown manhattan. jose. >> kirk, i want your thoughts on

what you make of the evidence that's been revealed so far. the whole issue of this whole gun. we remember that in the first hours after the shooting in the city, in new york city, authorities said that they were able to get back six either shell -- three shell casings and three unused bullets. isn't that forensically speaking when you find a gun a quick process? >> yes, it pretty much is. i mean, this is very strong evidence. we already know that the bullets that were recovered at the scene, i believe those that were not used match the weapon that he had on him when he was arrested in pennsylvania. so also his fingerprints are at the scene from the water bottle. there's a lot that connects him to the scene, and absolutely not. he is innocent until presumed guilty. the prosecution has to prove all of the elements of the crime,

which a major part is placing him at the scene of the crime. >> with this much video evidence, i mean, i guess you have to confirm and tie, right, that video of the person who actually pulled the trigger killing this gentleman to the person who is now in custody. but there seems to be a lot of video evidence here. >> yes, there certainly is, and that's the type of everyday that also puts him at the scene of the crime and leads him away from the scene of the crime and where he was apprehended. this video evidence is also going to be important should he claim that he is not guilty by reason of insanity. to be brief, one has to show that -- or they would have to prove that they did not understand the nature and consequences of the actions by what he was doing wrong by a mental disease or defect.

when someone leaves the scene of the crime, why does one do so, because they know that they are going to be chased by the authorities, so all of this evidence is extremely important, juries like to see all the loose ends tied up and there is a lot of evidence that's mounting against him at this particular point in time. >> as a retired nypd detective, how did you see those five days that actually passed between the crime being carried out and then this person being spotted by not police officers but rather someone who worked at mcdonald's and someone who was at the mcdonald's? >> so what we saw was very interesting, jose. that's a great question. what we saw was the face of law enforcement, the scrubbing of all types of video data and other types of social media data and so forth, in order to trace someone's foot steps. this enabled the police department, the authorities to

put out all of these photographs of this individual. there came a point where i just honestly believed that someone was going to notice him. i was actually surprised that someone did not notify the authorities a little bit earlier, meaning a friend or family member. but once that was done, it was pretty certain he was going to be captured. like i said, this is the face of modern law enforcement. these technological investigative steps are really important and we see how effective they are. >> and meanwhile, authorities claim they have seen pages of writings from this suspect, what do his words reveal about his state of mind? >> reporter: yeah, jose, initially we heard about a three-page handwritten document attributed to mangione, but since then, two senior law enforcement officials associated with the case confirm a notebook found when he was arrested, with various writings, seeming to target a ceo. one of those writings saying,

what do you do, you whack the ceo at the parasitic convention. it's targeted, precise and the preference of using a gun versus something like a bomb or some sort of explosive that would have the potential to kill more people besides the intended target. jose. >> valerie castro, and kirk burkhalter, thank you so much. up next, unidentified flying objects, drones, they have been flying over parts of the country for almost a month now, and the big question is what are authorities doing about this? >> are you telling me in this day and age, somebody can fly drones of this size, the size of a car if not bigger, and we have no idea who's doing it? g it

when i hear cancer, i hear death sentence. every 15 seconds, someone will hear the words, “you have cancer.” at the american cancer society, we're here... to help people through their entire journey. and today, we're asking for your support. your gift helps fund important research that saves lives. [bell ringing montage] i owe it all to the american cancer society... ♪♪ we can't do this without you. donate today. have you ever considered getting a walk-in tub? well, look no further. we can't do this without you. proudly made in tennessee, a safe step walk-in tub is the best in it's class. the ultra-low easy step helps keep you safe from having to climb over those high walled tubs, allowing you to age gracefully in the home you love.

and now, back by popular demand, for a limited time, when you purchase your brand-new safe step walk-in tub, you'll receive a free shower package! yes! a free shower package, and if you call today, you'll also receive $1600 off. now you can enjoy the best of both worlds. the therapeutic benefits of a warm, soothing bath, that can help increase mobility, relieve pain, boost energy, and even improve sleep. or, if you prefer, you can take a refreshing shower all in one product! call now! they get it. they know how it works. and most importantly, it works for them. i don't have any anxiety about money anymore. i don't have to worry about a mortgage payment every month. it allowed me to live in my home and not have to make payments. if you're 62 or older and own your home,

you could access a portion of your equity to improve your lifestyle. a reverse mortgage loan can eliminate your monthly mortgage payments and put tax-free cash in your pocket. it was the best thing i've ever done. really? yes without a doubt. these folks know, finance of america can show you how a reverse mortgage loan uses your built-up home equity to give you tax-free cash. it's a good thing! so look, why don't you get the facts like these folks did and see if a reverse mortgage could work for you. call finance of america and get your free, info kit. call this number. ♪ i'm gonna hold you forever... ♪ ♪ i'll be there... ♪ ♪ you don't... ♪ ♪ you don't have to worry... ♪

35 past the hour. sorry about that. i was looking at something, but there's a growing mystery in our skies where dozens of drones have been spotted hovering over homes, businesses and a military base. joining us now from mine hill township in new jersey, nbc's sam brock. sam, exactly what is going on here? i mean, what do officials know about these objects, and what are they doing about it? >> reporter: well, officials here know virtually nothing about the objects, jose, which is why there's so much frustration. this has been virtually every single night for about a month. giant drones in the sky. the fbi is investigating but so far has not been able to provide

congress, jose, with an explanation as to what's behind it. the pentagon did weigh in knocking down a theory from a local congressman that it's actually an iranian mothership. >> there's another one. >> reporter: for almost a month, swarms of drones the size of small cars have been spotted over parts of new jersey, alarming local residents. >> i look to my left and i see two big drones. they were propeller driven, going very slowly. >> reporter: and unnerving lawmakers who say they popped up in at least ten counties. the issue prompting a meeting wednesday, attended by roughly 100 play mayors and state representatives. >> are you telling me that in america somebody can start flying drones and we have no clue what's going on? >> reporter: garden state leaders say they are confounded by the federal government's response. >> we don't see concern for public safety. >> reporter: according to

assembly woman dawn fantasia, the drones are large, 6 feet in diameter, there have been sightings from dusk to 11:00 p.m. the lights are usually turned off making detection difficult and most sightings are in unrestricted airspace. more concerning, military officials say they have documented at least 11 unauthorized drone incursions over nearby arsenal. and president trump's bedminster golf club is in the air, leading to hard questioning for the fbi on capitol hill. >> what is going on in new jersey? >> we do not attribute that to an individual or a group yet. we're investigating, but i don't have an answer of who's responsible for that. >> reporter: after one new jersey congressman speculated this on fox news. >> iran launched a mothership, probably about a month ago, that contains these drones. >> reporter: the pentagon immediately knocking that theory down and saying there's no evidence of foreign influence. >> there's no so-called mother

ship launching drones towards the united states. >> reporter: local police have been launching their own drones into the sky to give chase. so far, the mysterious drones continue to elude them. so, jose, the mayor here in this township says that these drones have beacons that are supposed to be transmitting signals, but in this case, the beacons are deactivated and that is a violation of the laws. that's part of the problem. we're also getting new information out just at this hour that both new jersey and new york senators are now calling on the fbi, the faa , and the department of homeland security to hold a briefing as soon as possible. jose. >> yeah, i mean, sam, if this has been going on for weeks and it was interesting because when this congressman said it was from some iranian mothership, but then the fbi on capitol hill said, no, that's not it, but we just don't know what it is, so is it that it's not something confirmed or it's that they have no idea what these things are?

>> reporter: if the federal government knows what it is, then they certainly aren't disclosing it. what was so strange about the testimony for the assistant director of the fbi, how do you know it's not for the public. he said, we don't think it is but we're always aware about concerns posed by foreign entities, bad actors, we don't think it's that, but we can't explain what it actually is. there's a peak level of frustration among state lawmakers, local police departments, even members of the federal government clearly as you have chuck schumer and kyrsten gillibrand calling on the federal government to hold a briefing to educate everyone on what's going on. why can't they apprehend something when there is a drone in the sky. it has to come down at some point. heroes are huge drones. ass local mayor said, we're not talking about small objects. some are as big as cars. how can you not track it down and figure out where it's coming

from. that's where we are. >> sam brock, thank you very much, really appreciate it. up next, why firefighters could have the upper hand in battling the ve wildfire in malibu. the unimaginable acts of torture and brutality behind the assad regime. we'll speak to a man who was held in syria's most brutal prison for three years. his story next. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. yeah, it absorbs grease five times faster. even replaces multiple cleaning products. ooh, those suds got game. dawn powerwash. the better grease getter. asthma. does it have you missing out on what you love, with who you love? get back to better breathing with fasenra, an add-on treatment for eosinophilic asthma taken once every 8 weeks. fasenra is not for sudden breathing problems. serious allergic reactions may occur. get help for swelling of your face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. don't stop your asthma treatments without talking with your doctor. tell your doctor if your asthma worsens or you have a parasitic infection. headache and sore throat may occur.

ask your doctor if fasenra is right for you.

you know what you don't see in psoriasis commercials? the thousands of real people who go undiagnosed. people whose psoriasis can look very different depending on their skin tone. as the makers of tremfya®, we understand that everybody's moderate to severe plaque psoriasis doesn't look the same. so, we undertook a first-of-its-kind study of plaque psoriasis in every skin tone. like hers and his and yours. serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections may occur. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms or if you need a vaccine. ask your dermatologist about tremfya®. ♪ ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ 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. ♪

45 past the hour, an american man feared missing has been found. the man says he's travis timerman, and claims he was detained earlier this year after traveling into syria on foot. hope still remains that american journalist austin tyse who has been missing for 12 years could be found. this morning, antony blinken addressed the efforts to locate tyce. >> no update, except to say that every single day we are working to find him and to bring him home, making sure that the word is out to everyone that this is a priority for the united states. >> joining us now from damascus, syria, is nbc's matt bradley. you spoke with this american. what did he tell you and in what condition was he? >> reporter: this was remarkable. it was just a total shock to see this man so far away from missouri where he said he had come, and where he actually had been reported missing earlier

this year. he was last seen in budapest, according to authority there is, and then he disappeared. you know, we were surrounded in this scrum of people, and he told me about this long and strange journey he took from the states to a prison in syria that according to the syrians that found him that he walked out of barefoot. here's what mr. timerman told me. >> i was in prison for seven months. after that i entered a syrian border illegally. i crossed the mountains between lebanon and syria, and i was living in that mountain for three days and three nights without food or water. i was seen by a border guard, and then that's when i was arrested. i was sent to a syrian prison. >> reporter: and i got to tell you, jose, the syrian people who had found him and shared his story on social media described

him as an american journalist or a writer so when i went in there, i said, i'm an american journalist, and he said i'm not a journalist. i'm a pilgrim. he said he was called by the lord to cross the border on a pilgrimage to damascus. he was reading scripture, and he was pelled. i asked why was he compelled to do this, and he basically said he had learned about this from reading the scripture. this is a really unique, very strange scenario. obviously it's totally different from everything we have seen. he said that he was very well treated in prison. he was well fed. he got water. his only real complaint, jose, was that he didn't get to use the bathroom as much as he wanted to. but that was it. this is, again, standing totally separate from what we have heard from so many others, hundreds of thousands, really, who have been tortured, who have been abused, who have been starved and in many cases, executed.

jose. >> matt bradley in damascus, thank you so much. i want us to meet omar al shagri who spent a year in one of syria's most horrendous prisons. he's director at detainee affairs. thank you so much for being with us today. you know, your experience in those prisons in syria is really indicative of what tens of thousands of syrians had to suffer for a half century under the rule of assad family, and you are, in your family's case, what happened? >> i was 15 years old when the revolution started in syria. i had no understanding of politics, freedom, democracy, or anything, and i just found myself on the street joining thousands of people asking for freedom, even though it didn't mean that much for me at that time, as a 15-year-old boy, and then i saw the intelligence as much as shooting people, and they shot a friend of mine next to me, and they arrested me.

and i was taken to prison. and i was tortured and then suddenly they were asking me questions, how many officers have you killed. and no officers died, and obviously i didn't kill anyone. i was 15 years old. then i was tortured to give a false confession that i killed officers and so on. and i questioned why would you force me to say something that you know that i didn't do. however, i was released two days later to be arrested later. again, three years, as i spent three years in prison, and those prisons are places -- are places where they not only torture you physically from pulling out your nails to breaking your bones to burning you with cigarettes or lighters. they tortured me psychologically, by forcing you to torture your loved ones and forcing them to torture you, and sometimes coming to your room, and asking us as cell mates to choose one of us to be executed

tomorrow. imagine anyone getting out of this place is the luckiest man on this planet. >> how are you the luckiest man on this planet, how were you able to get out of that, and how is it that so many tens of thousands of your countrymen didn't have that luck? >> i have the most incredible strong, smart, intelligent mother that has managed to reach the people who were in power, so she managed to bribe the head of the prison, and even the execution guards. i was smuggled on my day of execution. what they did is someone was supposed to be released and i was supposed to be executed. i was taken out in his name. my mom didn't know exactly how i would be smuggled, but she was required to pay the money to get me out, and that's how i got out. so technically i was not informed that i would be released or anything. i was informed that i would be

taken to execution. and i was taken to execution. i was placed on the ground, and they loaded, aimed, and they shot, and i didn't know that i didn't die. i thought i died and ended up in heaven because it didn't hurt, and later on, i came to understand when i woke up and stood and saw tree for the first time and color for the first time after so many years, i realized that they didn't shoot me, and then i met my mom who i was smuggled to, and she informed me that i was smuggled out of prison by mark execution. >> among the hundreds of thousands of people was a symbol of the opposition too, and was oppressed by the assad regime, thousands came out for his funeral. what does he represent? >> he was a friend of me, and he represented the struggle that

syrians have been going through for so many years. he represents most importantly how disappointing the world has been in responding to what's happening in syria. jose, we have been bombed for 14 years. we have been killed for 14 years. starved, tortured, we have been bombed with chemical weapons for 14 years, and the world did nothing to help, nothing. nothing of any significant was done to help the syrian people in 14 years. and we have live streamed everything, and even the guards who were torturing us were releasing some of the videos of torture. so there's enough evidence to convict any regime of these miserable crimes, and yet the world did nothing, and he felt the disappointment, he was at the u.s. congress, the white house, he talked to politicians, he hoped they would do something to change what was happening in syria, and they did nothing. he felt disappointed that he was lured by the regime to return

back to syria, and he returned and he was tortured to death. the first time he was tor -- tortured, they broke him mentally. he returned to europe and felt the west didn't care, and he went back to syria, and they was killed and tortured. >> just a horrible reality. you know, he who is quiet permits, and there has been so much quiet, and there has been so much permissibility to what has been going on there, and these regimes that are family-based and they give generation to generation power as if it were a farm is the most putrid, horrendous reality that unfortunately we have been able to witness, not only in syria, but in many other regimes around the world that depend on silence to continue. omar, thank you so much for

being with us. really appreciate it. we'll be right back. we'll be right back.

jen b asks, "how can i get fast download speeds while out and about?" jen, we've engineered xfinity mobile with wifi speeds up to a gig, so you can download and do much more all at once. it's an idea that's quite attractive. or... another word... -fashionable? i was gonna say- "popular! you're gonna be pop-uuuu-larrr!" can you do defying gravity?! yeah, get my harness. buy one line of unlimited, get one free for a year with xfinity mobile. and see “wicked,” in theaters now.

57 past the hour this morning, thousands of people in southern california remain evacuated as crews battle a wildfire raging through malibu. joining us from zuma beach, nbc's dana griffin. good morning, what's the latest today? >> reporter: jose, good morning to you, well, the good news is the santa ana winds have died down, replaced by that on shore breeze. that is bringing much needed humidity to the area. it's really helping firefighters tackle the flames here. right now, the fire is at 4,000 acres burned. 7% contained. that may sound like a small number, but in fire speak, it's

actually really great. no major active flames showing right now. they are trying to get the blaze fully out. thousands were forced to evacuate, included celebrities like dick van dyke, his ring camera captured neighbors helping him to a waiting suv because he tried to put out some of the flames behind his home. i sat down with him for a minute. listen to what he told me about that experience. >> it was coming from over the hill. you could see it. and oh, my god, and we got out of here. i was trying to crawl to the car. i have exhausted myself. i couldn't get up. and three neighbors came and carried me out and came back and put out a little fire in the guest house and saved me. >> reporter: wow. so he is praising those neighbors and the firefighters for preserving his home. he's lived in that home for some 40 years, and he's just extremely grateful to be alive. now, when it comes back to the

fire, officials say it could take a number of days for it to be fully out. they are still trying to determine a cause of the fire, and again, some 4,000 acres have burned. evacuees are wanting to know when they will be able to be let back in. officials say you've got to wait for them to give the all clear. jose. >> dana griffin in zuma beach, california, thank you very much. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. reach me on social media media @jdbalart, and watch clips of our show on you tube. thank you for the privilege of your time. the great andrea mitchell picks up with more news right now. and right now on andrea mitchell reports, fallout today from fbi director chris wray's decision to resign by january 20th, as president-elect trump's controversial choice of kash patel to replace him looks over the agency. i'll get reaction