fbi report? what is actually going to be revealed? in there? that will be really important for republican senators who are uncomfortable with him, who aren't happy about him, and feel like he is being shoved down their throats basically. >> we'll be watching that from capitol hill this week. former aid, the white house and state department, elise jordan, thank you. >> thanks to all of you for getting up early with us on this monday morning. morning joe starts right now. good morning. and welcome morning joe. it's monday, december 16th. we have a lot to get to this morning. including what's been called the ongoing pressure campaign from the president-elect's team and allies to get controversial cabinet picks confirmed.

trump's selection to lead america's intelligence agencies seems to be having a more difficult time winning over lawmakers. we'll dig into all of this. also ahead, we'll go through the diplomatic developments out of the middle east as u.s. officials are now in direct contact with the syrian rebel group that ousted bashar al assad and the latest reporting on these drone sightings that are spreading across several states. the criticism to the federal government's response. >> i mean, come on. jonathan lemire, you'll tell us what's at the bottom of this. because i don't know. there seems to be a lot of panic out there. you have elected leaders going, look at all the drones. they're pointing up at orion. so it's interesting.

form e governor hogan of maryland identified what were drones. they were just constellation. >> elise, there's this crazy back and forth. pretty insane. >> typical government, though, if they can put out a coherent, honest message about what's going on, but the fact of the matter is they seem like they just don't know. >> we didn't get a career answer from the white house podium last week. one of the lawmakers senator andy kim of new jersey went out with patrols trying to find out. he says the more he's looked at it and talked to aviation experts they're just airplanes and not any sort of -- >> why is he the only elected

official saying yes, i'm looking into it. >> wall street journal has an editorial on this how this might be playing into the lack of faith of government institutions. we'll see. we'll cover this and ask all the right questions. with us, the president emeritus -- >> drones or ufos. >> look at this. we got the guy who will know. retired four-star navy admiral and drone follower and ufo watcher, james stavridis. admiral, what's going on over the skies of new jersey. >> the army-navy, which will be forever known as the navy-army game. let's dive right in, as some

trump's cabinet picks work to win over members of congress. senator tillis warning that the pressure campaign to push through nominees could backfire. speaking on fox news yesterday senator tillis criticized those threatening to fund primary challengers. >> what's amazing is, how people, we're not even in the new administration and we haven't seen the background checks, i know the administration is sending our way, so there's a lot of information that needs to be gathered and these folks who are making primary challengers, more like political opportunist than members of the political party. lot of this is third parties that are making money from fund-raising campaigns to put some ads in there. here's what i would tell them if

they really support president trump's nominees they should stand down and let the nominees win on their own merits. members are not really swayed by these, if anything they could create a structural problem for future nominees if they overreach. kash patel who i'm working with because he's on my committee of jurisdiction will enjoy solid republican support, i think pete hegseth will have to go to committee and answer some questions about organizational experience, some of his past marriages, those sort of things, all of that is fair game when you're running for a cabinet or sub cabinet position. >> senator susan collins who has expressed concerns with so much trump's picks was asked about the pressure campaign last week. >> the pressure campaign from the trump allies to try to get you to tow the line on these

nominees, is it effective? >> no, i've taken many, many difficult votes over the years that i have served in the senate. >> actually thom tillis, so many people, whether it's here or on social media, so many people are out there it's the grift. hey, we're fighting for your side, contribute here. it's just, unfortunately that's just part of the grift that's out there. but in this case, especially when you're dealing with the senate and donald trump isn't even president yet and there are all these threats flying around, we're going to this or that. i mean, you're talking about four senators, you probably lost lisa murkowski on most of them. what do you think about thom

tillis' remarks that this could backfire. >> both things are true, senators are annoyed by it. ton of pressure. unprecedented in transition of power for people running ads. to putting money into pacs to do just that. it's annoying to the senators. at the same time, it's effective. look at what happened to joni ernst, she was so supposed to the defense nominee, she was making cryptic statements publicly about her opposition, she gets pummelled on x and in conservative media, a lot of money is spent back home, suddenly she said, wait a second, maybe this can work. the pressure campaign isn't going to abade. the senators that want to stay around for a long time they're persuadable. they do want to endear

themselves with the president-elect. and so, i think that the dynamic is going to be only intensified because there are several nominees you talked about a ton on this show, senators, when you talk to them privately have deep reservations they might hold those deep reservations, plug their nose, whatever, i want to go with the president because i don't want the consequences. >> senator tillis there, something pretty shocking, the republicans are going to be okay with kash patel, a guy who has promised to throw journalists in jail. full stop here again, there was a "the new york times" article, because republicans have some problems with the fbi, then, yes, kash patel may be the guy -- there are a thousand people you could put in to actually clean up the fbi, to overhaul the parts of the fbi that need to be overhauled, that

doesn't have an enemies list, thom tillis, of 60, 62 people and hasn't promised to go after them in power and hasn't said, yes, we'll go out and we're going to throw members of the press in jail. yet, thom tillis, a republican. that's shocking. that again, you know, they're still looking at hegseth and they should. i've heard like you still some problems there. tulsii gabbard had a terrible week last week. but kash patel, yeah, you know what, the fbi has done some things that are wrong, so you're going to put somebody in who has an enemies list of over 60 people he's going after and he's going to arrest members of the media who didn't follow aing on with donald trump's 2020 stop the steal conspiracy campaign.

all right, are the republicans really going to allow the next fbi director to be a person who's said that, who's done that? >> to this point, patel has benefited for the spotlight being elsewhere. gaetz, hegseth and tulsii gabbard. the republicans, signaling their opposition to some, i can do that for so many of these candidates and patel has flown under the radar. robert f. kennedy jr. goes to the hill today and he'll rightly take a lot of the spotlight there, because patel has quietly gone through this process, met with a lot of republicans. there are republicans and democrats, too, might be changes needed at the fbi. patel isn't an agent of reform but an agent of retribution. he channels what donald trump wants. it's simply whatever donald trump wants him to do and he has

an enemies list of his own in his book. he wrote it out, as well as someone who's going to take his cues for months now he wants to have retribution against, whether it's members of his first min administration, lawmakers, members of the media, patel has shown no hesitation in signaling his support for that. to this moment, republicans on the hill seem okay with it. >> he's promised to do it. he's promised. not signaled, promised to do it. what does this say to other countries aross the globe, to the markets about the rule of market? our stock market is the envy of the world, there's a reason why people are leaving the london stock exchange and coming to the united states, there's a reason why businesses from all over the world are coming to the united states, it's the rule of law, you don't have to worry about

things moving and changing and the rules and the laws changing depending on who's in office. somebody like kash patel who said i have an enemies list of 62 people, i promise you i'm going arrest journalists i'm going to get them criminally or civilly whatever it takes. that's orban. >> it's destabilizing. >> let's look at their economies. i wonder how that would work for the united states of america, once that happened, the first time. >> two thoughts, rule of law is the proverbal oxygen of an society and the economy, you don't notice it's missing until it's missing. so, it is. it's essential, foundational. second of all, if you were the fbi you got enough real challenges on your hand, we still have terrorism to deal

with, more terrorism going on in syria. corruption issues. i think the fbi has its hands full without going after journalists. >> had experience on how to do all of these things. >> that's one of the common threads here, with this, with hegseth and others, put aside character issues, it's a question of whether or not they have the necessary background. >> by the way, no member of the senate thinks that pete hegseth has what it takes to run the biggest, most powerful, most complicated bureaucarcy, no republican in the senate believes that. how does he get 50 votes? >> i understand the personal character issues. what i think these hearings

should be about whether this person has the qualifications, the background, experience. yes, the judgment, i get it to do these big powerful jobs. >> this incoming president who's self-interested and to him a strong economy is the definition of strength to him and i think the point that you've made is one of the more important ones how does this ultimately impact the success of donald trump and the strength of donald trump if destabilization of the rule of law whether it's through the department of defense or the fbi, hurts the economy ultimately, that's not good for the incoming president. >> it's terrible for the economy, it's terrible for the stock market. >> it's terrible for america. >> terrible for america, terrible for democracy. something we tried to say throughout the campaign on this show. okay, yes, yes, this is a challenge to american democracy

and also a challenge to american capitalism. if you destabilize constitutional norms and the rule of law. >> pete hegseth's lack of experience for a position as significant as defense secretary is raising questions about his views on the u.s. military and its role at home and abroad. peter bergen, from cnn, went through hegseth's book, the war on warriors, that was published in june. bergen writes an old mix of slogans and unsupported assertions about the purportedly marxist and woke u.s. military. it has few facts to back up its claims. bergen continues, hegseth spends a chapter on his -- of his book on dumping on the trans troops in the u.s. military as he portrays a key plank of the

pentagon's reportedly woke agenda. hegseth's writings about trans troops is a sizable red herring even a high-end -- 1.5% of service members are trans members. silent on the big issues that a future secretary of defense might have to face, possibly chinese invading the taiwan. the military may have to mobilize against u.s. citizens in a civil war. >> here it is. >> that comes from his 2020 book, american crusade, in it hegseth writes, america will decline and die. a national divorce will ensue. outnumbered freedom lovers will fight back. the military and police, both bastons of freedom-loving patriots will be forced to make a choice. it will not be good. yes, there will be some form of

civil war. in another section, hegseth writes that our present moment is much like the 11th-century. we don't want to fight. but like our fellow christians 1,000 years ago, we must. arm yourself. metaphorically, intellectually, our fight is not with guns, yet. >> admiral, there are so many things that are so -- it's early in the morning, going to give moms and dads across the east coast a break, so crazy, but what's so disturbing especially for those concerned about the implementation of the insurrection act, you have a guy here in a book that's saying america's on decline and dying, that's a lie, that's a total

absolute lie, our military is stronger than at any time. our economy, the envy of the world. i was overseas this weekend, i can tell you everybody wringing their hands, asking why they can't be more like america. our allies across europe just, just looking at our strength economically right now and just beyond themselves. america, economically stronger than it's been in such a long time relative to the rest of the world. we have a guy who wants to be the head of the doj talking about america dying, america collapsing, america in the 11th century, this is the crusades, there's going to be a civil war, the military and the police are going to take up arms against its own people. what do you say to the

republican senators and the democratic senators that are going to have to vote on this nominee? >> i'm going to pick up three threads, one is the personal character issues, i think those are very, very important. i think more to follow on that, as the fbi report comes out. i thought significant that secretary designate hegseth indicated supposedly to lindsey graham he's going to allow the women who he allegedly sexually assaulted to be free of her nondisclosure, all of that is going to come out, character matters. number two, what you just unpackaged, joe, it's the policy questions, it's agree with your assessment. one that didn't come out vividly there, it's his comments about women, women in combat, women in the armed forces, he's trying to

walk back from that, but the gist of his commentary thus far has been women are not additive to the mission of the department of defense. look i commanded thousands of women in combat starting in 1993. when i was captain of a destroyer with a crew that had both men and women. i commanded women under my command in afghanistan. women at the naval academy, we talked about the army/navy game, 22 guys on the field. 8,000 people in the stands from annapolis and west point, one-third of them are women. so, that basket of policy issues both the ones you described and i want to hear from him, full-throated support of women. you can't man 100% of the force

with 50% of the population. that's a recruiting challenge no one will overtake. >> elise, joni ernst, who understands about women in combat, sexual abuse, a nominee to vote against, is she going to fold on this regarding the protection of women in and out of uniform because of a couple of ads are run against her. >> what could he say -- >> nothing he can do to unsay what he's said. 60% of the u.s. military, women. i have been em bided with female marines who have been under fire. women in combat handle it fine. the fact that we want this retro grade throwback i don't get the

balance -- >> to the 11th century. >> the crusades. >> they want to go back to the 1950s. he wants to go back to the 11th century. >> i don't get it. on one hand, our tech is so outdated, then you have defense nominee who wants to go back to the crusades. it makes no sense. we'll take a 90-minute break. we'll check in with ryan nobles. the attorney general of texas is suing a new york doctor for prescribing the abortion pill to a north texas woman, we'll talk about the implications of this new lawsuit and the legal battle it sets up between two states. plus nbc's matt bradley joins us from damascus with an inside look at the drug lab in syria that helped fund assad's regime.

morning joe is back in 90 seconds. g joe is back in 90 seconds.

time now for a look at other headlines. a former fbi informant is now admitting he made up a claim that president biden and his son hunter accepted millions of dollars in bribes from ukraine. alexander smirnoff is now pleading guilty to a range of federal charges back in 2020, he spread the brazen lie that the owner of the ukrainian energy

company burisma had arranged to pay $5 million in bribes to both president biden and his son. the claim was leaked to republicans who made the lie the centerpiece of their now-defunct effort to impeach the president. anyone else covering this? >> they kept saying the lies would go. they would call the lies smoke. there's smoke about this. it leads back to joe biden. >> now has admitted to making up the whole thing or international fugitive. >> right. >> with these deep, deep credibility issues. but that didn't matter. >> republicans didn't care. >> didn't care. it didn't look good. have the hearings with explicit

efforts to politically damage the president. governor desantis is facing a choice in florida, either appoint donald trump's daughter in law to the u.s. senate or risk the potential backlash from maga republicans. lara has expressed interest in replacing senator marco rubio. according to washington post the president-elect himself has communicated that as well. desantis is considering his future, too including a possible administration role in the senate in 2026 or another run for president. we'll be following that and the wall street journal reports apple is planning a series of major iphone design changes in a new bid to revive growth, people familiar with the company's plans tell the journal that starting next year apple plans to introduce an iphone that will be thinner than the current models, is that better? those same people said the company is also planning to

unveil a foldable iphone. okay, can we talk, thinner, like, i guess the young people will love it. but i like a walking typewriter. >> you like the foldable? >> no. i need to see and it needs to be substantial and these cases are a joke and on top of it if you change the plug again, it's over. that's such a ripoff. you have ripped off billions of people. >> let's turn back to discussions we were having before the break on donald trump's campaign picks. ryan nobles joins us now. ryan, kind of hard to follow all this. you never really know what the senators are thinking, they'll say one thing, we'll let the process move forward which means they're going to let gravity take care of itself, hopefully on hegseth, but it does appear that last week tulsii gabbard had a pretty rough week, tell us

about it. >> reporter: yeah, i think you're right, joe, one thing for sure, there aren't going to be any early exits for these nominees. no matt gaetz in this crop. they have to let this process play itself out, let the hearings take place, background checks take place, and then if other things pop up along that process, if the hearing process becomes a disaster for any of these nominees perhaps that could be the situation that forces some of them out of this particular effort to win confirmation. you know, tulsi gabbard's situation is a unique one, the problems that she has with many of these senators are national security ones, the ones that can't necessarily be diskissed in an open setting. how her hearing could potentially take place, she would appear in front of the intelligence committee as she's

up to become the director of national al intelligence. they may be something to do with these meetings, the meetings she had in syria with assad. questions about her past statements on russia, they may want to ask in classified setting, something that the public isn't privy to and make or break her nomination as a result. these meetings she's had they haven't gotten good answers about her past statements or meetings she's had. there are a number of different ways this process could play itself out. there are so many of these controversial nominees, but there are also so many no votes that each one of these senators can take and still allow their political future to be preserved, you have to imagine that all of them get through, one or two sacrificial lamb that

the senate is willing to take on. they're trying to figure out right now who among this group is worth extending political capital on to deny them taking these important positions. >> ryan, thank you very much. one of those is going to be tulsi gabbard, i can't believe there aren't people in the intel committee trying to build out the committee to allow tulsi get through. especially after the events in syria. >> she has secret information or classified information about syria, it's kind of late, assad is living outside of moscow. you immediate to ask her about classified test, test her on her general knowledge on international relations, i think the depth or lack thereof will become clear. >> jim, as i said earlier, i had a busy weekend talking to

business and political leaders in new york and london. they all have the same question -- who's going to be in control in trump's inner circle, because that's going to move on tariffs, on how immigration is going to be carried out, that's how a thousand different policy questions are going to be asked and you have actually a report on this, and it is the divide and this is, again, this is what vexed business leaders on both sides of the atlantic leaders, thought leaders on both sides of the atlantic, who's going to have the ears the most, the creators or the destroyers? >> joe, you understand trump's mind as well as anyone, there's intention. the creators the folks named to economic jobs, the energy jobs, the a.i. jobs, where they feel

like they can juice economic growth, try to keep jobless rates low, and keep the stock market soaring, if he does that he feels like he'll have a very successful presidency, he'd be popular and he'd get what he wants out of the white house. but at the same time, all the people you talked about earlier, all these people who are up for cabinet jobs who are controversial they would fall into that destroyer category and those are people who brought in specifically because of their loyalty, partly to do retribution, partly to gut the very agency they're put in charge of, you'll see these wild swings between the two of them. tying all of your stories together, think about the drones in the sky, right now, a ton of people sitting on x who think it's ufos, the iranians are ready to wage war on america.

president-elect saying maybe we should just shoot them down. you talk about hegseth as defense secretary worrying about a woke military or worrying about trans in the military. the biggest topic, the military needs to worry about, the next defense secretary has to worry about is drones, or it's related drones, how do you move as quickly as possible to a type of warfare that's waged in space with satellites, with drones, with new technologies, less dependent on boots on the ground, much more dependent on getting the best and the brightest in the government to figure out how do we take this advantage over china, we have a big lead over them on ships and a lot of the thinking that goes into a.i., how do we make sure our military is more dominant in

the next generation. we have an enormous advantage going in. >> you talk about, like this trans issue, again, like, zero.5% of the military right now trans. if that and yet this is his obsession, we have a possible world war breaking out in the middle east, we have a possible world war breaking out in eastern europe with troops down there. this is something that i've picked up overseas, the obsession, we're not talking about the drones over jersey, we're talking about the drones over the front, between the ukrainians and the russians, the things i heard this weekend about what those drones are doing and how far advanced they're moving is nothing short of extraordinary, it's making so

many defense systems almost obsolete right now, jim, and you're exactly right, obsess on that not the 11th century crusades, we obsess on bringing some order to the middle east and not on .5% of who's in the military right now, we get left behind by people who don't know how to run the pentagon. it's astounding. i'll say, this is one of the things that i kept hearing over and over again. you guys are ahead of all of us. are you going to be focusing on the 11th century, civil war, that's the question that was repeatedly asked. >> yeah, i mean, it's a legitimate question to ask, for any dogging of america during the campaign or doing it in

books it just defies the logic on the ground. we have so built-in advantages right now. on the good side, pentagon focusing on what it needs to focus on, really smart entrepreneurs like elon musk thinking about government and trying to apply some of their mindshare to it, having some of the smartest people who built these technologies thinking about it and advising the president could be a net very positive thing if you structure your administration to make sure you're focusing on how to make the advantages we have bigger and better. that's what success for the country would be. when you get into grievance or retribution, that's the type of stuff that rattles markets, world leaders or maybe the public. the public will see this. the public doesn't want people jailing reporters, it doesn't

want to defy institutional norms >> it's important to remember the market is at 45,000 right now. you have people who believe, like, for instance, warren buffet, that's overvalued. you have top leaders, hedge fund leaders starting to take their money out of the markets, because they fear the volatility coming up, that's why when you start talking about having these people ill equipped, these people seeking retribution, these people who aren't up to the task, you start -- and i will say, tariffs, too. there's going to be a real battle i think internally over tariffs, because donald trump doesn't want to see this stock market, which many people already believe is artificially inflated drop 10% in a day, trust me where it's sitting

right now if the moves are wrong it's going to drop 10%, last night ft dropped an article, they're going to slow down interest rate cuts, because they fear the inflationary pressures of the incoming administration. now i will say, he's put somebody that the street really respects in treasury. he's got some other people smart people around there. they can manage this. i have the feeling that the message is going to be steady as she goes -- >> simmer down. >> wishing for the good old days. i'm dead serious of joe biden's 45,000 dow industrial. >> that article is really important, consensus that the inflationary pressures are going to grow, sets up a clash between the chairman of the federal reserve and the new president and also something investors and

others won't want to see. >> there you go. jim, thank you very much. >> thank you, jim. go packers, man, they're looking good. one more note about president-elect trump's picks he announced over the weekend richard grenell as the special missions envoy. "the new york times" describes grenell this way, a loyalist known for unbridled social media attacks on mr. trump's perceived critics and many others. he led a sham bollic effort to challenge the 2020 election results in nevada after mr. trump's loss there and he has ied for a diplomatic job in the new administration. >> right after donald trump was elected the possibility of rick grenell being secretary of

state, this obviously not what he was looking for, what happened? >> yeah, there was -- grenell openly campaigned. he did serve in the first min administration, he was a loyalist during the four years that trump was out of office. he was social media attack dog to say the least. he wanted a high-profile job. reporting out there about he denies being personally involved, grenell, even though steve bannon and other influential figures in maga world wanted him to get a top position. let's move to the fall of assad in syria, exposing the luxury lifestyle of the country's former dictator and the brutal system set up in his

prisons. a syrian drug lab that helped fuel the assad regime. let's bring in matt bradley who joins us live from damascus. matt, you went inside the lab, what did you find? >> reporter: yeah, mika, another signal of one of the pillars of this regime fallen, in these 14-year-long civil war there was no foreign currency that the regime could use to prop itself up. they didn't have any cash and they needed drugs to give to their soldiers, this was not only fueling the fight financially but also psychologically, a really sinister move and flooded the entire region with its multiple wars with drugs. here's our report. throughout syria celebrations for the fall of assad and the pillars that once propped up his regime. like this factory on the

outskirts of damascus. the old regime took it over and turned it into a factory for narcotics. the economy collapsed during its 14-year-long civil war. this is captagon, it would be just as much at home at a night club as on a battlefield. a remember field commander told me this industry destroyed a whole generation so assad could earn as much money as possible. all right, he's saying all of this is ready for export. this is captagon. it's hidden inside this fake box to basically transport what looks like wires, but it's all drugs. fueling the assad's regime narco state. he's just returned from exile

abroad. now that he's back he plans on developing the factory again, turning it to making snacks. guys, here's the thing that factory owner we just spoke with he'll have to rebuild everything, everything he has is gone, and we're seeing that all over this country, but everybody is still smiling and that's what's so remarkable being here for the past week, everybody here is ecstatic about this new regime and this new syria despite the fact that there's signs of ruin and destruction everywhere we look. it's remarkable. >> thank you so much. admiral, so many different reports this weekend about what's going on in syria. i'd love for you to give your

insights. >> i hear echoes of my own past here, which is as nato commander i led the intervention in libya and when gadhafi was finally taken down by his people, there were jubilation, smiles for weeks, for a few months, now libya remains a very iled place. put me down in the skeptical but hopeful category. what we ought to do in the united states what are our interests there, number one, let's get rid of these weapons of mass destruction, notably chemical that bashar al assad still has. number two, preventing the rise of another islamic state. this is pretty fertile ground.

there's still remnants of the islamic state. and then third, and finally, our allies in the region, we got both israel with a border, turkey, a nato border on the knot up there, these are our interests, so we ought to do and i think we're doing it pretty well right now is get the international community engaged, get our interagencies working together. you need state and treasury and all of that not just defense. joe, you need public/private cooperation. okay, we're not going to make captagon, we want to go back to making potato chips, that's a public/private enterprise, our obviously companies aren't going to rush into syria at this point, hardly, but over time

there's got to be private sector engagement if you're going to put that economy on a good footing and keep the smile on the face of the syrian people. >> richard, the admiral outlined what they need to do in the region. secretary of state blinken is in the region now. competing interests. israel will have a say. iran wants a say. turkey wants a say. how do you see this structure put in place. >> i'm skeptical. benign government ruling over syria, problematic government or probably multiple places of autonomy, the kurds, the israelis, certain other groups, isis will come in places. u.s. should do the kind of things they're doing. the bigger issue for the united states isn't in syria, limited

upside, i'd say focusing on iran, right now iran is on its heels. doesn't have a nuclear program that -- >> you think iran is rushing toward a nuclear program, the weakest they've been since 1979. >> we want to stop it ideally diplomatically. if need be, militarily. limited things you can do. if you look at the history of syria since its creation there was a division. the idea that we'll put humpty dumpty together again and make it switzerland. >> not going to happen. admiral, we talked about drones over ukraine, let's talk about drones over the swamps of jersey, are they real, airplanes or just constellations in the

sky? >> this is exactly the right question. last night i did a little thought experiment, i spent a lifetime on bridge scanning the horizon. i went outside at night with a pair of binoculars and looked up, what i came up with, four things that kind of looked like they might be drones but after watching and listening another quality, one was a commercial airliner, one was a navy helicopter, we got a navy base nearby, one was the star of venus, which i mistook for movement. one kind of flickered behind a tree and went away, probably a airplane landing at a small airport. color me skeptical, if we're facing a major threat from drones. the question is, what do you do about this conversation that's

evolving? you need to combine some intelligence, as in getting out and monitoring, who's buying drones, where are they buying them, are people on social networks talking about operating drones. we need that interagency cooperation just like we do in syria, we're not going to solve the drone problem with just the local police, you need local police, you need state, you need the department of defense can provide technology, fbi, it's got to be an interagency effort to bring it all together. final thought going back to jim's riff on drones, it's not just drones it's unmanned vehicles of all kinds. satellites under the ocean, in

the sky, it's cyber, a.i., it's special forces, that's the future of warfare, controlling the drones is kind of the edge of that. >> admiral james stavridis, thank you very much. okay, coming up, we go through the biggest headlines from across the nfl and the team he says is now clearly the best in the league. "morning joe" is back in a moment. ng joe" is back in a moment at bombas we make the most comfortable sock in the history of feet so comfortable you'll wish you had more vist bombas.com and get 20% off your first order if you have generalized myasthenia gravis, picture what life could look like with... vyvgart hytrulo, a subcutaneous injection that takes about 30 to 90 seconds. for one thing, could it mean more time for you?

vyvgart hytrulo can improve daily abilities and reduce muscle weakness with a treatment plan that's personalized to you. do not use vyvgart hytrulo if you have a serious allergy to any of its ingredients. it can cause serious allergic reactions like trouble breathing and decrease in blood pressure leading to fainting and allergic reactions such as rashes, swelling under the skin, shortness of breath, and hives. the most common side effects are respiratory and urinary tract infections, headache, and injection site reactions. it may increase the risk of infusion-related reactions and infection. tell your doctor if you have a history of infections or symptoms of an infection. talk to your neurologist about vyvgart hytrulo for gmg and picture your life in motion.

i used to leak urine when i coughed, laughed or exercised. i couldn't even enjoy playing with my kids. i leaked too. i just assumed it was normal. then we learned about bulkamid - an fda-approved, non-drug solution for our condition. it really works, and it lasts for years. it's been the best thing we've done for our families. visit findrealrelief.com to find an expert physician near you. ask if bulkamid is right for you and discuss potential risks. results and experiences may vary. move beyond the leaks. there he is. wherever i go they always ask “where's waldo?” ah, you found me. never “who's waldo?” sometimes it takes someone who really knows you to make you feel seen. gifts that say i get you. etsy has it.

this week on chewy, shop and get a $30 egift card to use on treats they want, toys they love or food they devour. at prices everyone feels jolly about. for low prices for holidays with pets, there's chewy. fjon hamm: at st. jude, there's one thing that makes us all family-- finding cures, saving children. one in five kids in the us still won't survive cancer. join our st. jude family. we need you. please donate now. z's bakery is looking to add a pizza oven, arissa's hair salon wants to expand their space, and steve's t-shirt shop wants to bring on more help. with the comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee, they can think more about possibilities for their business and not the cost of their internet. it's five years of gig-speeds and advanced security. all from the company with 99.9% network reliability. get the 5-year price lock guarantee, now back for a limited time. powering five years of savings. powering possibilities™. (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.

empty backfield once again. daniels, looking. moving to his left. under pressure. stays on his feet. now, he throws toward the end zone. it's caught for a touchdown! jackson looking deep down the field. wide open at the 10, at the 5, bateman gets in. touchdown, baltimore! couple of big plays on third down on this drive. end zone, lamb adjusts in a fitting way for this drive to end. looking deep, burrow, he's got higgins, touchdown, cincinnati! deep for adams. he's got adams, adams is going to take it into the end zone for

a jets touchdown. >> or use the quarterback run game. >> mitchell, a double pass, that one is intercepted! it's bonito. empty set. blitz coming. mayfield out to the left. throws on the move for mike evans who gets loose. down the sideline, mike evans. it's a touchdown for tampa bay. second and four, staying on the ground, nice cut. cook taking off -- he actually almost got stopped, but he's going home for the touchdown. third and five. love, putting it up top toward the back of to end zone. touchdown! what a catch for dobbs. touchdown, green bay. some of the biggest touchdowns across the nfl right now. let's bring in pablo torre.

yesterday, just classic games. >> separation sunday. >> it really was. you had of course the steelers and the eagles. and then you had the bills and -- >> the lions. >> pulling it out with the lions. we teased that you were going to tell us who the best team in the nfl was, who is it in. >> the buffalo bills, this has been a pretty easy race for the lions to win up until this game. the lions unlike the chiefs, here are the contenders in the nfl. chiefs have the best record but they keep by winning. the lions and the bills come in, i have the lions, because they've been incredible in the toughest division and josh allen, again, nobody has scored more touchdowns on the ground, through the air in the same game than this gentleman right here. they keep on winning these

40-ish high-scoring games. >> two thoughts on this, the lions' defense decimated by injuries. one might wonder if the eagles have caught them atop the nfc. josh allen is the mvp. their offense is extraordinary, teams like this, built to simply outscore the other team, we have to win games 40-35, they tend not to win in january. >> yeah, the counter to that, there's may be one or two teams where i feel good about their defense. so much of this season has been mediocre. when we talked about the story of this season, it's that the cliche in the nfl, any given sunday, this season the reason the bills are so fantastic is because they have a guy in josh allen who just feels, at the peak of their problems mahomes

doesn't feel like that >> now injured. >> the battle of the keystone state. steelers, eagles. two teams in top form. the eagles this year not doing what they did last year, they're not collapsing, they're hanging in there. >> franchise record ten straight wins without some ricketiness. jalen hurts, joe, you remember him from his days at alabama. >> i do. >> a.j. brown, wide receiver, said i need the ball more. this again was a team atop the nfc east quite comfortably, they come in, they come in against the pittsburgh steelers and we know what the steelers do, they make life hard for teams. they win very comfortably, this was an enormous indicator in a football swing state as well, okay, maybe these eagles are to be considered a real, real contender. >> you know, it's funny, i

think, jonathan, we'll have to go back and look at our picks the lions and the chiefs, now maybe the lions and the chiefs, but maybe the eagles and the bills. we have four really good teams right now. >> yeah, i think that's right. i wouldn't count out the steelers. they missed their best receiver. impressive that philly could win after getting a rare sub par game from saquon barkley. >> another statement in the sunday night football game. the packers go to seattle, tough place to play. seahawks won five in a row and they just dominated from the go. run the ball, run, the ball, win the game. >> the hardest tough in the

the packers come in and it looks easy. it looks really easy. it looks -- remarkably so. >> can we talk about the nfc north? who would have ever guessed you have got the bears -- the bear at 4-9 but you have got the lions, 11-2. you got the vikings 11-2 on a win streak. and then you got the packers 10- 3. looking great. i mean, that is -- that is the division. >> it's as impressive a division as i can remember in modern football. >> exactly. >> the vikings just clinched by the way a postseason berth because of -- that darnold. sam darnold is somehow now in the conversation for do we need to give that guy a ton of money? because he's piloted this team but the playoffs yeah, you have three teams that are all going to be there. >> let's talk about two teams that have underperformed terribly this year. one, the 49ers. who the continue to underperform. shocking 6-8. just shocking 6- 8. but the dallas cowboys, we -- we of course turned it on in

my household because we wanted to see bryce shaun who had been playing great. he didn't have a chance to set up because man, micah parsons and the cowboys actually looked like we thought they were going to look all year. they -- i mean, their defensive line was explosive. >> i like to imagine you just like monitoring bryce young on sunday just to make sure he's okay like he's your kid studying abroad. is he doing all right? this time. >> why don't we just stop? he's done very well for the last five weeks. >> he has done so much -- >> really well. >> no one embodied the moral victory quite like bryce young. not a lot of wins. but you are like man, he's making something out of himself and i say that, joe, because this game -- >> he looks good. >> he looked good. well, the cowboys, you just embodied what cowboys' fans have been yelling at their television. it's why they lead the country in tvs thrown out of windows. >> right. >> mica parsons is one of the great defensive players. dak prescott was one of the great quarterbacks when healthy. this is the great brand in

american sports and finally, against the panthers, against bryce young, they looked like it for a glimmering shimmering brief sunday. >> finally let's just talk about the giants. how bad can they get? >> they have the number one overall draft pick. so richard hoss wherever you are, take heart in that. but it's bad. it's bad. i mean, look, what'd they say? it's always darkest before it's pitch black. yeah. yeah. i think -- we might be in the chairman mao phase of the nfl season for the giants and by the way rewarded by a bit of socialism with the nfl draft. the worst get the best. it's a delight. >> okay. thank you pablo. the latest episode of his podcast -- today i am. available now, pablo torres, thank you and always good to see you. >> see you on wednesday. let's sneak in a quick break, still ahead we're going to dig into the new battle over able says to abortion health care -- access to abortion health care after attorney general of texas ken paxton sued the new york attorney

general for mailing abortion pills to his state. nbc's lisa rubin talks about what this means. we've got a lot to talk about. "morning joe" will be right back.

it's time. yes, the time has come for a fresh approach to dog food. everyday, more dog people are deciding it's time to quit the kibble and feed their dogs fresh food from the farmer's dog. made by vets and delivered right to your door precisely portioned for your dog's needs. it's an idea whose time has come. ♪♪ ♪ 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. ♪ okay everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. yay - woo hoo! ensure, with 27 vitamins and minerals, nutrients for immune health. and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. (♪♪) (intercom) t minus 10... (janet) so much space! that open kitchen! with 30 grams of protein. (tanya) ...definitely the one! (ethan) but how can you sell your house when we're

stuck on a space station for months???!!! (brian) opendoor gives you the flexibility to sell and buy on your timeline. (janet) nice! (intercom) flightdeck, see you at the house warming.

a lawyer working with robert f. kennedy jr. petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine. because it ain't christmas without some tiny times.

>> donald trump's pick for health and human services secretary robert f. kennedy jr. will meet with senators on capitol hill this week coming just days after senate minority leader mitch mcconnell issued a statement defending the polio vaccine. in what appears to be a warning to rfk jr. >> here we are. here we are. we've got a guy running -- that wants to run the dod. >> yeah. >> talking about taking america back to the 11th century. >> yeah. >> and starting a civil war and we've got somebody who wants to run hhs that has senators who had polio. having to defend the polio vaccine. thompson o-maer again i understand there's so many things that are incoming and it's sort of this fire hose. but you got to take one at a time. but it is very easy to take your eye if you are looking at hegseth and all the terrible things he's done. like we have not even seen rfk

on the hill yet. and now, this is -- this is all going to come flooding in. >> yeah it is and the reason why mcconnell was moved to post that. i know from personal experiences of course there was reporting in the "new york times" last week that rfk's top advisor is someone who has suggested he wants the fda to revoke approval of the polio vaccine. jonas salk one of the greaten sections of the last century -- inventions of the last century and that man is vetting potential aides to kennedy and also interestingly not just mcdonnell. john cornyn shared a story from the "new york times" that just lists these are the developments that america has made because of development of vaccines. like noticing the progress of all these vaccines and what a difference that's made in everyone's lives. i think as kennedy moves to the hill today a lot of scrutiny about these beliefs that he has. which to your point, will compete with the questions that are already out there about hegseth and gabbard patel and

the like. >> joining the conversation we have nbc news and msnbc political analyst former prosecutor claire mccaskill joins us and conservative attorney george conway joins us. republican senator thom tillis of north carolina is warning the so-called pressure campaign being waged by the trump's tran six team could backfire. speaking on fox news yesterday, he criticized those who arethreatening to fund primary challenges against republican senators who have been critical of trump's picks. >> what is amazing to me is how people. we're not even in the new administration. and we're -- we have not even seen the background checks which i know the administration is sending our way. but there's a lot of information that needs to be gathered and these folks who are making primary challenges and running ads they seem more like political opportunists than me than thoughtful members

of the republican party. lot of this are a third parties that are making money from the fundraising campaigns to put some ads in there. but double digit percentages are going into their pockets. here's what i would tell them. if they really support president trump's nominees, they should stand down and let the nominees win on their own merits and i think most of them will. members are not really swayed by these. if anything, they could create a structural problem for future nominees if they overreach. cash patel who i'm working with because he's on my committee of jurisdiction is going to enjoy solid republican support on the senate floor and coming out of the committee. i think pete hegseth is going to have to go to committee and answer some questions about organizational experience and some of his past marriages and those sorts of things. all of that is fair game when you are running for a cabinet or sub cabinet position. >> all right, there's a lot to

-- to talk about there. we're going to just put to the side for one minute the kash patel has quote solid republican support, a man who wants to run the fbi. >> maybe he does. >> with enemies' list of over -- over 60 people. and the promise of throwing members of the media into jail. but in these days, we leave that here for a minute. and we'll get back to it. >> put it over there. >> but j-mart to you first. politico report also -- i read yesterday talking about how some republican senators are not really pleased with this pressure campaign. when you start looking at the math and you realize that lisa murkowski cannot be threatened by a republican primary since she already lost one. said screw you guys i'm going home like cartman and ended up winning as an independent. then you have mitch mcconnell. lame duck. brings up the most important

point here. donald trump is in his second and last term. >> right. >> what do they always say about a united states' senator when he looks or she looks in the mirror? who do they see? >> the next president. >> the next president. so i'm not being glib here. >> right. >> somebody's thinking all right. wait a second. am i going to be strapped with pete hegseth when things go really bad? with our military. and am i going to be strapped with kash patel when he arrests liz cheney? it blows up in everybody's face and the republican party and it ends up making liz cheney the next president of the united states? am i going to be strapped with rf k and having to run around, explaining why i supported a guy who is against the polio vaccine? i mean, these are -- there are so many things. when you think you are some

stupid outside group that you can run over senators, who serve six year terms, like -- i'll just say, if your dave mccormick in pennsylvania and you won this year, you can run for president in four years. >> right. >> you are from pennsylvania. >> yeah. >> are you going to surround yourself with a bunch of looney tunes that are going to humiliate you so you can't even run four years? things change like this. we all know that. talk about it, talk about what you have heard and talk about what thom tillis is saying that these pressure campaigns are going to end up actually blowing up in their own faces. >> reporter: well, he's returning one brush back with another. to put it in baseball terms. he's sending a message to the groups and to president trump his inner circle that this is not effective. that actually you could anger folks who otherwise were going to be winnable votes. and he's trying to make the case that he who by the way is

up in 2026, is not going to respond to these kind of pressure campaigns. he is example a.. but he and bill cassidy from louisiana, kind of in the same bucket. people who have been trump skeptical or more in the past, who are facing 2026 re- elections and are probably going to face a primary on their right. what do people like that do? but joe, you make an important point. which is, there's a whole nother crew of senators who are not up again until '28 or 2030 or like mitch mcconnell they're never going to face the voters again. >> claire mccaskill you of course very familiar with the upper chamber and its members. what's your read on this and simply the state of play with some of trump's more controversial selections there? >> so it just takes four. let's just remember that. it takes four. so if lisa and murkowski -- i think joe's analysis is spot

on. she's already done this. they've tried before to take her out and didn't work. susan collins can't win in maine. if she accepts all these nominees even if she were to run again. mitch mcconnell is not running again. okay, you are the three right there. so for the controversial nominees, you just need one more and doesn't have to be the same one on each one. they can spread it around. it could be, you know, tillis on gabbard and it could be you know a member of the intelligence committee on gabbard. it could be a lot of different things. and these hearings are going to be important because it's going to set a more strong narrative for the american people about the shortcomings of these nominees. it is -- and by the way, i mean, i'd be curious with j- mart thinks but i don't think this is a lock that tom tilliest is running again. you know, cassidy voted against -- voted to convict trump. so -- >> right. >> you have got -- you know,

you have got players here and then there's others. you know, i mean, joni ernst may have folded on hegseth but there's other people on the armed services committee that may not. >> claire, really -- we don't know that yet. she backed off and said i'm going to let this go through the process. but as you and i both know, you can say stuff like that to buy some political space. and hope that gravity stops you from having to take the vote that you will end up taking at the end. >> correct. >> joe. >> correct, by the way, furiously behind the scenes, furiously behind the scenes, republican senators are working to try to convince trump that some of these people should -- but this is really -- they're hitting a brick wall because trump doesn't ever believe in saying he made a mistake. ever. under any circumstances. >> hey, joe to answer claire's question real fast. there's two other names i would give you. one i actually wrote about last week, last john cornyn who ran

for leader and lost against john thune last month who is in cycle in 2026 and facing a tough primary for yes maybe against ken paxton the ag of texas. for losing the leader race. tom cotton from arkansas said no. i'm taking the gavel of intel. he was denied and john cornyn was denied the consolation prize after losing for -- for a leader of the party. i raise all that because he may not run again in 2026. after being denied those two slots. he'd be a free agent and lastly, todd young who claire knows well. is -- he's from indiana up again in 2028 and never endorsed trump this year. never endorsed trump this year. and i think he's someone to watch especially on national security. he went to annapolis and former marine and he is somebody who's an internationalist. i think he's going to have a hard time with these national security picks. >> yeah. such a great point. i mean, you have cassidy who's

already voted to impeach donald trump. and todd young a guy who is about as serious on national defense as anybody. i just -- i could be wrong. i have been surprised before but i would be shocked if he supported pete hegseth to run the pentagon. knowing how seriously todd young takes it. but again, you know, maybe this -- tape will be shown after he stands on the floor and says that he's the greatest, you know, military mind since george washington. but cassidy -- young, mitch mcconnell. lisa murkowski. they're all lining up and i did want to say though. george, let's just stop here for a second. >> okay. >> because the thing that -- the thing that we've learned about donald trump is, he floods the zone. >> correct. >> and by flooding the zone, you numb people. now what we've tried to do here is try to take it one at a time. right? we talked about gaetz and we're talking about hegseth. robert kennedy jr. 's next. you go one at a time and you

focus instead of going all over the place. we also talked about kash patel. but there's so much out there. >> right. >> that you just let john cornyn say. you know, republicans really concerned about -- where the fbi has been going. so they're good with patel. just as a matter of course, a guy who has said here's my enemies' list i'm going after. a guy who has said to camera, let's run it if you got it. to camera. we're going to arrest journalists and we're going to get them. we don't know if we can get civilly or criminally. but however we can get journalists we're going to get journalists. that you talk about -- we were talking before you came on about donald trump and markets. things like that will make a lot of london firms go, all right, maybe we're not leaving

london after all. america's got some bad -- i'm sorry. there's no other wo bad [ bleep ] going down. [ laughter ] the stock market and i want to repeat it. >> that's true. >> over and over again. because i heard it -- i have said london this weekend. i heard it in new york on thursday. and at a meeting of some of the top business leaders in the world. >> uh-huh. >> they're really worried. the stock market is inflated and it's at record highs. the u.s. economy. the numbers are going great regardless of what republicans said on the campaign trail. and everybody understands this could change overnight. >> plans for interest rates are changing. >> interest rates -- last night. the ft reports. they're going to slow down on interest rates because they believe donald trump's economic policies are too inflationary. you know, we could be looking back a year from now and people

will be going oh, wow. the biden economy, that looked pretty good. if -- if you don't keep your head down and if you make one reckless choice after another. and let's just start with the guy who's responsible for what allows investment to come here. the rule of law and a guy that has already promised he's going to start jailing people all over the government and the press. >> yeah. i mean it's absolutely right. i mean, this is the thing that i mean -- it was something that probably should have been emphasized more over the past year. is people want to come to the -- the immigration problem that we have, there's a problem, is because people want to come here. people want to come here because it's safe and secure. people want to come here because the economy is healthy. because of the rule of law. and if you start threatening that, you know, you are running the risk of human and financial capital flight. and that's -- that's a huge danger and a guy -- you know, i mean, we talk about flooding

the zone here. none of these picks that we've been talking ant, they should have all been -- about. they should have all been nonstarters in a normal world and instead now we're talking about can they pick off one senator to add to three? and rotate and take turns to shoot one or more of them down and it's like -- it's dicey. >> but listen, let's be straight. for republican senators to say oh they're against everybody. no, that's not the case. we have had people on here saying the treasury picks really good. the street loves that guy. you know, i have been very critical of marco rubio in the past for many things he said. but when he was picked assecretary of state, i said cold war your, i'm good with that. there are a lot of people that donald trump has selected that democrats and members of the media have gone, okay, that's within the guardrails but there are four or five that are just absolute disasters for america and for the incoming

administration. >> absolutely. i mean, this is -- this is -- these are the kind of things people that -- there will be consequences i mean, rfk jr. , you know, president and patel. is it really going to look good when they start trying to actually persecute people who just dissent? is it going -- are they really going to be able to do some of the things in a manner that is not going to drag the administration down? >> the economy down. >> and the economy down. absolutely. >> all right. >> the markets down. >> well, one thing i'm wondering too, trump is going to be so aggressive with executive orders immediately. how much is he going to be able to do? you are a constitutional lawyer. right off the get-go. >> i mean, look, he's already talking about doing things that he does not have the power to do. the voa director. okay. i was like looking at that and saying interesting, i didn't know that was a direct presidential appointment and looking at the statute it takes ten seconds in the statute to see there's a chain -- he

doesn't have direct control over the voa. now he may get what he wants anyway. but -- but it's like okay that doesn't work. doge and whatever that is. does not exist. and to the extent it is ever made to exist, has to comply with various -- with various statutory provisions that i don't know. maybe they have a plan for doing that. i don't know. and it's like -- you know, the thing is, one of the things we know about donald trump is he shops around for advice. he goes from lawyer to lawyer to say, can i do this? i want to do this. and one lawyer will say no. well, that one is gone. those people are gone. the don mcgahns are gone. and so -- you know, he's going to be -- trying to do things that he may you know, end up -- i think probably will -- end up losing. he didn't do all that well in the supreme court when he was president. >> right. right. jonathan martin, final thoughts, what are you looking at this week? is this rf k jr. 's week? going to be talking about brain

worms and making polio great again? >> well, i think rfk is going to be under the gun to disavow some of the more extreme views he has especially on vaccines. here's why. joe, trump will see the coverage find it looney tunes and get annoyed about it and send the word he's got to walk it back. you know this. so much of trump is driven by his watching the coverage. not liking how stuff is presented. and getting annoyed by it and tweeting about it or conveying a message privately. >> jonathan, also, rfk actually runs -- square in the face of what donald trump's greatest achievement as president was. >> right. >> which is -- operation warp speed. which he has not talked about in the past. he's beginning to talk about now. so is he really going to stand by a guy that's going after vaccines when i predict, when

it's all over. the first room in his presidential like library will probably be operation warp speed. >> the two most consequential are overturning roe and operation warp speed. for very different reasons but that's the legacy right there joe, of trump won. no question about it. >> politico's jonathan martin thank you this morning and george conway, thank you as well. good to have you on and still ahead on "morning joe" -- a fight over access to the abortion pill crosses state lines as the attorney general of texas sues a doctor in new rk. so what does its mean -- it mean now when republicans argue that abortion should be left to the states? that conversation is next on "morning joe."

i used to leak urine when i coughed, laughed or exercised. i couldn't even enjoy playing with my kids. i leaked too. i just assumed it was normal. then we learned about bulkamid. an fda approved non-drug solution for our condition. it really works, and it lasts for years. it's been the best thing we've done for our families. call 800-983-0000 to arrange an appointment with an expert physician to determine if bulkamid is right for you. results and experiences may vary.

do your dry eyes still feel gritty, rough, or tired? with miebo, eyes can feel ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ miebo is the only prescription dry eye drop that forms a protective layer for the number one cause of dry eye: too much tear evaporation. for relief that's ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ remove contact lenses before using miebo. wait at least 30 minutes before putting them back in. eye redness and blurred vision may occur. what does treating dry eye differently feel like? ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ for relief that feels ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ ask your eye doctor about prescription miebo. asthma. does it have you missing out on what you love with who you love? it's time to get back out there with fasenra. fasenra is an add-on treatment for eosinophilic asthma that is taken once every 8 weeks and can also be taken conveniently at home.

fasenra helps prevent asthma attacks. most patients did not have an attack in the first year. fasenra is proven to help you breathe better so you can get back to doing day-to-day activities. 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 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. get back to better breathing. get back to what you've missed. ask your doctor about fasenra, the only asthma treatment taken once every 8 weeks. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. (♪♪) ♪♪ imagine checking your own heart with medical precision from anywhere. introducing kardiamobile 6l. the fda cleared ekg that provides six times more heart data than any smartwatch, and it detects three of

the most common arrhythmias in just 30s, including atrial fibrillation, bradycardia, and tachycardia. check your heart with the most advanced personal ekg outside the hospital. get one for just $99 this holiday season. don't wait. this offer won't last.

a new lawsuit is challenging doctors' authority to prescribe the abortion pill via tele-medicine or through the mail. for patients in states with strict abortion bans. texas attorney general ken paxton is suing a new york doctor for allegedly prescribing abortion inducing drugs to a woman in texas.

let's bring in former litigator and msnbc legal correspondent lisa rubin. okay. so -- what's going on here and what is this pushing the envelope on and what's the legislation or the ultimate agreement that lawmakers need to come up with to fix this problem? >> well, i think let's start with what -- how did we get here? so the lawsuit in question here was brought by texas. not only after a texas woman got an abortion pill from a new york physician and self-induced an abortion using that medication. but then had complications. and the way that this manifests in a lawsuit with ken paxton is because the boyfriend or partner of this woman did not know that she had taken abortion medication and she did not tell her partner and only after he had to take her to the doctor for follow-up care did he learn it. based on the language of the complaint, i think it's probably safe to assume that he is sort of the informant here and the person who went to ken paxton's office to enable this test litigation to take place.

>> wow. >> it is a dangerous place to think about american women being. not only in a situation where they lack access to abortion medication that is legalized by the fda, but where they can literally fear enforcement mechanisms against their doctors brought in part by the people in their lives who should be closest to them and most empathetic to them. >> claire mccaskill jump in. tele-medicine is a pretty normal thing. did the doctor in new york break the law? >> ken paxton is not as interested in that mika, as he is in getting the headline. what he's really doing here -- this is what happened. in texas, they have tried to say that some of the women who have bled out in parking lots and bathrooms, that these procedures could have occurred under the law. it was the doctor's fault for not doing them. well, but this is what he's

doing. he's trying to scare everyone in america from providing basic care to women. this is a scare lawsuit. this is to put every lawyer who advises doctors in a tele- medicine world that they are in danger. i doubt this lawsuit will be successful ultimately especially if it goes all the way up. lisa may disagree with me on that. but really the damage that's being done here is the narrative he's building. that you can't even go online and get legal, safe health care when you want to make a decision about your body. >> lisa, maybe i'm in fantasy land here. but 35 or so days left of the biden administration, what could they do with executive orders to -- at least tie this up in the courts and have women just at least have a grace

period or health care? >> it's an interesting question that you ask there because really what we're facing here is a clash of state's laws right? there's states like texas that forbid abortion and they forbid doctors and other states who are not licensed to practice in texas from basically directing the medical services in texas through tele-medicine and also forbid abortion inducing medication. at the same time we've got 18 states like new york that have these so-called shield laws that protect in-state providers who provide tele-medicine abortion services from being prosecuted or even investigated even serving subpoenas for example from these states like texas. what biden could do, i suppose, is to say that states like new york that have shield laws, that those shield laws are consistent with the fda's allowing mifepristone to be prescribed and that they are entitled to do so. but could that executive order be revoked in a hot second? absolutely. and i think one of the failures

if you can call it that of the department of justice under biden is a failure to litigate this question of if the fda authorizes a drug to be prescribed. shouldn't that mean that drug is legal across all # states and territory -- 50 states and territories of the united states? and they didn't do that. instead we got caught up in a battle with mifepristone that ended in the supreme court saying the people that brought the lawsuit don't have standing. sort of still back at square one about the legality of mifepristone but also whether states can regulate who's entitled to take a federally approved drug for abortion purposes. >> what a mess. and what is going to happen to this -- this woman? >> well, i think the woman at this point is healthy. at least, you know, again, assuming drug -- drawing on assumptions from the language of the complaint. it seems the woman survived and she did have an abortion. is she being prosecuted or investigated? no. but will she be perhaps an unwitting participant in this

lawsuit if it comes to that? very likely. >> ooh, wow. msnbc legal correspondent lieu is a rubin. thank you very much. >> so do i. thank you. coming up, democratic congressman jim costa of california will join us straight ahead to discuss the trump transition and how the president-elect's mass deportation proposal could impact the economy. "morning joe" will be right back. rate from 20% to more than 80% within the us. but that means one in five children still won't survive. and every kid in this family is our kid, so we won't stop until no child dies of cancer. because that's what you do for family. this holiday season, join our st. jude family. we need you. please donate now.

most people call leaffilter when their gutters are clogged and they notice one of the many issues that can bring. sometimes it's the smell of mildew when water has seeped into the interior walls. or maybe they've spotted mold in the attic. but most often it's the more obvious signs of damage like rotten soffit, fascia, or water pooling near their foundation. you can get ahead of costly damage by protecting your home's gutters today. we're in your neighborhood and ready to help. schedule your free gutter inspection today, call 833 leaffilter, or visit leaffilter.com dexcom g7 is one of the easiest ways to take better control of your diabetes.

this small wearable replaces fingersticks, lowers a1c, and it's covered by medicare. not managing your diabetes really affects your health for the future. the older you get, the more complications you're gonna see. i knew i couldn't ignore my diabetes anymore because it was causing my eyesight to go bad. for my patients, getting on dexcom g7 is the biggest eye opener they've ever had. i couldn't believe how easy it was. this small wearable sends my glucose numbers right to my phone or my receiver. with just a glance i can see if i'm going high, low, or steady. so, i can make quick decisions in the moment. now, i'm a superstar. my a1c is 5.7. my a1c has never been lower. no other cgm system is more affordable for medicare patients than dexcom g7. don't wait! call now, and talk to a real person. if you're living with hiv, imagine being good to go without daily hiv pills.

♪♪ good to go binge-watch. ♪♪ good to go out even later. ♪♪ with cabenuva, there's no pausing for daily hiv pills. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete, long-acting hiv treatment you can get every other month. it's two injections from a healthcare provider, as few as 6 times a year. don't take cabenuva if you're allergic to its ingredients, or taking certain medicines, that may interact. serious side effects include allergic reactions or rash, post-injection reactions, liver problems, and depression. if these occur, get medical help right away. tell your doctor about your medicines or supplements, medical conditions, liver or kidney problems, mental health, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. the most common side effect is injection site reaction ♪♪ with cabenuva, you're good to go. without daily hiv pills. talk to your doctor about switching.

class dismissed. without daily hiv pills. don't sit in courses you've already taken. class dismissed. at university of phoenix, could save time by transferring prior eligible college credits. plus there's a transfer scholarship that could help you save money. earn your degree at university of phoenix.

with just over a month before donald trump takes office, some of his allies are beginning to worry the president-elect may actually water down one of his biggest campaign promises. to carry out the largest mass deportation in u.s. history. according to the "wall street journal," trump's hardline immigration backers have noticed a retrenchment from the president and his incoming border czar tom toman. quote in the weeks since the election and even in some rally speeches toward the end of the campaign. trump and his incoming advisors have alluded to a mass removal effort of immigrants with a criminal record. a far narrower set of people than the 15 million to 20 million trump pledged to deport earlier in the year. this isn't going to be neighborhood sweeps and military vehicles going through the city homan said in an interview following a meeting

with new york city mayor eric adams. homan continued, president trump and myself have committed that this is going to be a targeted enforcement operation. >> okay. let's talk reality for a minute. jonathan la mere and we discussed this yesterday on the phone after this came out and trump supporters are like oh my gosh he's not going to deport -- you can't. it's impossible. no. it is literally -- there is -- there's that operation. not feasible. it's not possible. and, you know, the fact is in the first term, with all that donald trump did, all the chaos we saw on television, he did not deport as many people as barack obama did when barack obama was president. the reason why? it's hard to deport people. it takes -- >> it's expensive. >> it takes money, it takes

judges, it takes -- logistical operations like -- if they get the hardened criminals. if they get a million hardened criminals out, that's going to be like a full time job. so the people say oh you need to get 15 million, 16 million. they are going to happen. first of all, secondly you wanted to destroy a lot of american businesses and i say this as a guy -- >> talk to the next guest about that. >> who said for 30 years, i don't think the first thing you should do when you come to the united states of america is break the law by coming here illegally. so that's where i have come from for 30 years. and even i understand you are not going to deport this many people. and then on top of that, donald trump actually listens to the business community who is saying what separates us from countries in europe that are dying and china that has a demographic bomb going off right now, is we have immigrants that actually run

our small by -- that help us run our small businesses and factories and et cetera, et cetera. ohio, iowa, michigan, wisconsin, pennsylvania. they depend on immigrants. so again, i do this like long wind up because there's what's said on the campaign trail and then there's what's possible. and the reason why tom homan is talking about we're going to get the hardened criminals is first of all, it's politically. it's what democrats will agree with also. but secondly, that's what's possible right now. >> right. and -- in terms of resources and finances and manpower, it would be extraordinarily difficult and impossible to do what trump had promiseddened the campaign trail particularly when you have some local and state -- municipalities and jurisdictions saying they won't cooperate. also the real risk of protests in the street were this to happen. there's a lot here including the concerns from the business community so on that, let's bring in democratic congressman jim costa of california he is running to be the ranking

member on the house agricultural committee. the election for that post will be held tomorrow. congressman, good to see you this morning. the impact of immigrants of migrants here on the agriculture industry in the united states. let's start right there. certainly joe just ticked through bunch of states that are impacted by this. perhaps none more so than california and its farms. >> you are absolutely right jonathan and joe i couldn't agree more. as a third generation farmer and my grandparents came to the country ill literal. the fact of the matter the two to three undocumented people in california, we believe that over half of them involved in agriculture. that work force is absolutely essential. the bottom line is, is that farmers in california care about a reliable work force. they care about fair trade. and they care about water and with the possibility of a tariff war beginning with mexico and canada, give us a break. i mean, this is not going to

help the farm economy. >> congressman, i'm curious -- yeah. congressman, i'm curious about what's going on with the cr this week and aid to farmers. you know, obviously red america is rural america. obviously the farmers of america depend greatly on federal dollars. there's no bigger government handout in the world than the money that we provide farmers as their safety and security financially. always that has been paired with food security measures for the disadvantaged in the country and those two went together to try to get the political support for both. are they going to try to put farm aid in the cr in order to bypass the ability to protect food security for the disadvantaged in america? >> well, i hope not but senator, you are absolutely correct. the farm bill as you know is one of the more bipartisan piece of legislation we've done historically. this is my fourth farm bill

reauthorization and it's the safety net. not only for the 47 million americans who are food insecure, but our children who benefit from the school lunch and breakfast program, women infants and children, and farmersranchers journey men and women and farm workers who frankly are a part of that safety net that put food on america's dinner table every night. and it's overlooked. i sure hope that we will come together here in the next day or two to the point of your question, to pass a cr and that maintains a continued spending at the current levels on the farm programs that are essential to 12 titles that you listed and on top of that, we've got to try to make sure that the inflation reduction act which we've offered to the republicans over the weekend, is built into the package. it's $14 billion and farmers are using that money wisely. >> congressman, let's just go back to the intersection of what you -- the tariffs and

then the labor supply. if donald trump -- if he deported maybe 10% of california's laborers with the farm work force, whbe the practical impact in conjunction with tariffs too? >> well, i can't give you a precise number but i think it would be devastating. the bottom line is that 44% of california's agriculture is exported. okay? so -- tariff is a tax on american consumers. and it's a tax on american producers. farmers and manufacturers. and -- and so we're still having lingering effects from the last time we reengaged in a tariff war with china. and the previous administration, the incoming administration, tried to cushion that for farmers by borrowing money from the commodity credit conservation to minimize the impacts. but clearly, specialty crops don't benefit from that and those markets are critical to american farmers, ranchers and

dairymen and then you remove a vital supply of labor. some of the hardest working people you have ever met in your life. i know i did that work from the time i was 10 until my early 20s and we have a real problem in ag country. >> you know the thing is, there are things that are easy to say on the campaign trail but you start digging into this. and you realize you are going to be hurting family farmers. you are going to be hurting family businesses. you are going to be hurting family restaurants, small businesses entrepreneurs. it's people that are running like small to mid-sized factories. >> it comes back to the economy every time. >> it does. all of this comes back to the economy. so again, when there are people that are angry because they're only talking about getting the hardened criminals out of the united states, you get much beyond that, you really start messing with family farmers, family businesses, people that run family restaurants. i mean, that hits main street usa. >> democratic congressman jim costa of california. running to be ranking member of

the house agriculture committee. thank you very much for coming on the show. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. >> take care. claire thank you as well as always and up next we'll tell you which city senior citizens are moving to faster than anywhere else in the country. "morning joe" is coming right back. (husband) we just want to have enough money for retirement. (wife) and travel to visit our grandchildren. (fisher investments) i understand. that's why at fisher investments we start by getting to know each other. so i can learn about your family, lifestyle, goals and needs, allowing us to tailor your portfolio. (wife) what about commission- based products? (fisher investments) we don't sell those. we're a fiduciary, obligated to act in your best interest. (husband) so how do your management fees work? (fisher investments) we have a transparent fee, structured so we do better when you do better. at fisher investments, we're clearly different. my moderate to severe ulcerative colitis symptoms kept me... out of the picture. now i have skyrizi. ♪ keeping my plans, i'm feeling free. ♪

♪ control of my uc means everything to me. ♪ ♪♪ ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ now, i'm back in the picture. skyrizi helps deliver relief, repair, and remission in uc. feel significant symptom relief at 4 weeks, including fewer bowel movements and less bleeding. skyrizi is proven to help visibly repair colon lining damage, and help people achieve remission at 12 weeks and 1 year. don't use if allergic. serious allergic reactions, before treatment, get checked for infections and tb. tell your doctor about any flu-like symptoms, or vaccines. liver problems leading to hospitalization may occur when treated for uc. take control of your uc. ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ ask your gastroenterologist about skyrizi.

♪ (animatronic santa) ho, ho, ho! (vo) time to move? make it easy with opendoor. sell your home in any season, for any reason. (animatronic santa) look at me! i am festive! the virus that causes shingles is sleeping... in 99% of people over 50. it's lying dormant, waiting...

and could reactivate. shingles strikes as a painful, blistering rash that can last for weeks. and it could wake at any time. think you're not at risk for shingles? it's time to wake up. because shingles could wake up in you. if you're over 50, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about shingles prevention. ♪♪ singlecare has lower prices on all my prescriptions than if i used my insurance. now i only use the singlecare app which is completely free. millions of people on medicare, just like me, use singlecare every month and you can too! just go to singlecare.com, search for your prescription and show the coupon to your pharmacist. it's that simple. not to mention- free! visit singlecare.com or download the free app and start saving today.

a look at some of the other stories making headlines. abc has settled a defamation lawsuit with donald trump. he sued the network after anchor george stephanopoulos claimed trump had been found liable for - writer i ching carol. he was found liable for sexual abuse. on saturday, abc issued a statement apologizing for the remark and announced it has agreed to give $50 million toward trump's yet to be built presidential library. the network will also pay $1 million in legal fees. our former house speaker nancy pelosi is recovering from hip placement surgery after suffering a fall in luxembourg. she was there as part of the congressional delegation attending a ceremony honoring the 80th anniversary of the battle of the bulge. she was taken by medevac to an

american medical center in germany where the operation was conducted. we wish her the best, a speedy recovery. older americans moving to myrtle beach, south carolina faster than anywhere else in the nation. between 2020 and 2023 the area of the country's fastest growing population of adults age 65 and older up 25% according to the u.s. census bureau. do you remember the miracle over myrtle beach? i am just saying that was a bad day. the wall street journal reports the city's location as a halfway point between new york city and miami holds great appeal as it does it's weather with average highs of 88 degrees in july and 56 in january. the journal also notes it has all the amenities of a vacation destination including a great

beach. >> we were on a plane flying over myrtle beach and, there was smoke filling the cabin. we did an emergency landing. >> there are a lot of things you do not want while you are flying but smoke - the pilot was so calm. as you can tell, we have some smoke. we will be landing in a few minutes. >> in myrtle beach. >> we were down on the ground in like 30 seconds. still ahead on morning joe, donald trump and the

satellites. the pressure - questionable altercation. one republican senator morning those - saying those efforts could backfire. could backfire. time's running out to save on your move with pods. book by december 16 to save up to 25% off your upcoming move. with no deposit now and no surprise costs later. don't miss out! book now with code gift25 at pods.com life, diabetes, there's no slowing down. each day is a unique blend of people to see and things to do. that's why you choose glucerna to help manage blood sugar response. uniquely designed with carbsteady. glucerna. bring on the day.

i used to leak urine when i coughed, laughed or exercised. i couldn't even enjoy playing with my kids. i leaked too. i just assumed it was normal. then we learned about bulkamid. an fda approved non-drug solution for our condition. it really works, and it lasts for years. it's been the best thing we've done for our families. call 800-983-0000 to arrange an appointment with an expert physician to determine if bulkamid is right for you. results and experiences may vary. what if your mobile network wasn't determine if bulkamid is right for you. just built to work out here... ...but was designed differently to also give you blazing fast wifi where you are most of the time? reliable 5g, plus wifi speeds up to a gig where you need it most. xfinity mobile. xfinity internet customers, ask how to get a free 5g phone and a second unlimited line free for a year.

donald trump has been name time's person of the year because no person on earth has taken up more of our time. welcome to morning joe. we have a lot to get to this morning, including what is being called the ongoing pressure campaign from donald

trump's team and his allies to get controversial cabinet picks confirmed. meanwhile, defense secretary nominee pete hegseth appears to have swayed some senators but trump's selection to lead america's intelligence agencies seems to have a more difficult time winning over lawmakers. also we will go through the diplomatic developments out of the middle east as u.s. officials are in direct contact with the syrian rebel group that ousted asaad. we will also talk about the drone sightings and the criticism of the american government. >> you are going to tell us what is at the bottom of this. there seems to be a lot of panic out there. you have elected leaders going look at all of the drones.

they are pointing up at orion. it is interesting. >> former governor larry hogan identified this weekend what he identified as drones but people identified on social media what he was posting as just a constellation. >> typical government if they could just put out a coherent, honest message about what is going on. the fact of the matter, they seem like they do not know. were they know and are not willing to pass that information over to the public. >> we did not get a clear answer last week. one of the lawmakers, new senator andy kim of new jersey who went out with patrols tried to figure out, he's calling for more clarity from government. he thinks most of these things are just airplanes and not any

sort of - >> good for him why is he the only elected official out there saying i am actively doing something. >> the wall street journal has an editorial talking about how it might be playing into the lack of faith in government institutions. we will see this and ask all the right questions. here is the president emeritus of the council of foreign relations. are these drones or ufos? >> idols may only two cases - traces. - are those my only to choices? >> what is going on up there over the skies? >> i was watching the army navy game which will now be called for ever the navy army game. >> cofounder and ceo of access

is with us as well. great team to start off the week. let's dive in as some of donald trump's - republican senator thom tillis is saying the pressure campaign to push through nominees could backfire. speaking on fox news yesterday, the senator criticized those threatening to fund primary challenges against republican senators who have been critical of trump's pics. >> what is amazing to me is how people, we are not even in the new administration, we have not even seen the background checks which i know the administration is sending our way. there is a lot of information that needs to be gathered. a lot of these people, they seem more like political opportunists then thoughtful members of the republican party. a lot of these are third parties that are making money from the fundraising campaigns

to put ads in there but, double digit percentages going into their pockets. if they really support trump's nominees, they should stand down and let the nominees win on their own merits. members are not really swayed by these. if anything, they could create a structural problem for future nominees. - on my committee of jurisdiction will enjoy solid publican support on the senate floor. i think pete hegseth will have to go to committee and answer questions about organizational experience. some of his past marriages, those sorts of things. all of that is fair game when you're running for a cabinet or subcabinet position. >> senator susan collins has expressed concern over some of the choices was asked about the pressure campaign last week.

>> what you think about the pressure campaign from the trump allies to try to get you to toe the line on the nominees. is it effective? >> no, i have taken many difficult votes over the years that i have been - in the senate. >> actually thom tillis is correct. whether it is here or on social media so many people out there, it is the graphs. they want to say hey, we are fighting for your site, contribute here. that is part of the greatest, unfortunately - grist unfortunately. there are all of these threats flying around and we will get them and shove it down their throat and this and that. you are talking about four senators. you probably lost lisa murkowski and mitch mcconnell.

susan collins perhaps. what do you think about the remarks by thom tillis this could backfire? i think both things are true. senators are annoyed by it. there is a pressure, unprecedented in a transition of power. it is annoying to the senators. at the same time, it is effective look it would happen with jodi ernst in iowa. she was so opposed to the defense secretary nominee she was telling her colleagues about it making not even very cryptic statements about her opposition. then she gets pummeled on conservative media. a lot of money gets spent back home and that she has to say wait a second, maybe this could work after all. i think the pressure campaign will not abate. a lot of senators, they are persuadable when the pressure

comes. they do fear a well-funded primary challenge. they want to injure themselves with the president elect. i think the dynamic will be intensified there are several nominees that are controversial that senators, when you talk to them rightly have deep reservations about it they might hold those, like their nose and say whatever i want to go with the president as i do not want the consequences. >> we just heard something from thom tillis, pretty shocking. he said most republicans will be okay with kash patel. a guy who has promised to throw journalist in jail. there was a new york times article that said because republicans had problems with the fbi yes, kash patel is maybe the guy. there are 1000 people you could put in to actually cleanup the

fbi. to overhaul the parts of the fbi that needs to be overhauled that does not have an enemies list. love like 60 or 62 people. and has not promised to go after them in power. and has not said yes we are going to go out and we are going to throw members of the press in jail. and yet thom tillis is like yeah, - that is shocking. that again, they are still looking at pete hegseth and they should and i have heard like you, still problems for him. jose gabbard - but kash patel is like oh, you know what? the fbi has done some things that are wrong so you will put somebody in that again has an enemies list over 60 people he says he is going after and says he is going to arrest members of the media that did not

follow along with donald trump's 2020 stop the steel conspiracy campaign. are republicans really going to allow the next fbi director to be a person who has said that, who has done that. >> to this point, kash patel has benefited from the spotlight being elsewhere. and republicans even not having taken a vote yet, if the signal their opposition - and kash patel has flown under the radar. because robert kennedy junior goes to the hill today and he will rightly take a lot of the spotlight. so kash patel has quietly gone through the process. there are republicans and democrats who feel like there might be changes needed at the fbi but kash patel is not an agent of reform, he is an agent of retribution. he is in that job because he

channels with donald trump once. no ideology of his own simply whatever donald trump wants him to do. he has an enemies list of his own. he wrote it out. as well as someone who will take his cues, four months he wants to have retribution against. whether that is members of his first administration, lawmakers members of the january 6 committee or members of the media. and kash patel has shown no hesitation in signaling his support for that. at this moment, republicans on the hill seem okay with it. >> he has promised to do it. i can say not only what does this say to other countries across the globe, what does this say about the markets about the rule of law. there is a reason why our stock market and economy are the envy of the world. there is a reason why people are leaving the london stock exchange and coming to the

united states. there is a reason why businesses from all over the world are coming to the united states. it is a rule of law. you do not have to worry about things moving and changing and the rules of the laws changing depending on who is in office. some like kash patel who said i have an enemies list of 62 people and, i promise you, i'm going to arrest journalists and i will get them criminally or civilly, whatever it takes. that is what putin has said he is going to do. let's look at their economies. i wonder how that would work for the united states of america once that happened the first time. >> the rule of law is the proverbial occident of a society and oxygen. you do not notice it is missing until it's missing by which point, it is a little bit late. it is essential and foundational. second, if you were the fbi director you have enough real

challenges on your hands. we still have terrorism, indeed we could have more, given what is going on in syria potentially. last i checked, we have serious crime problems in this country. corruption issues. i would think the director of the fbi has his hands full without going after journalists. >> wouldn't you want somebody in the fbi who actually had experience on how to do all of these things? >> i think that is one of the common threats with this, with pete hegseth. it is just the question of whether they have a necessary background. these are anonymous management jobs. >> there is no member of the senate that things pete hegseth has what it takes to run the biggest, most powerful, most complicated, most byzantine bureaucracy on planet earth. nobody, no republican in the senate believes that. how does he get 50 votes? >> to me that is what the

hearings need to be about. i understand the personal character issues. what i think the hearings should be out is whether the person has a qualification, the background, the experience. yes, the judgment, to do big, important powerful jobs. >> if you are thinking like this incoming president who is often self-interested. to him a strong economy is the definition of strength to him. i think the point you dismayed, how did this ultimately impact the success and strength of donald trump if destabilization of the rule of law, whether it is through the department of defense or the fbi hurts the economy ultimately that is not good for the incoming president. >> it is terrible for the economy terrible for the stock market. >> terrible for america. >> terrible for democracy. it is something we tried to say throughout the campaign. he said yes, it is a challenge

to american democracy. it is also a challenge to american capitalism. >> pete hegseth's lack of experience is raising question about his views on the u.s. military and its role at home and abroad. we went through his book, the war on warriors which was published in june. he writes the book is an odd mix of slogans and unsupported assertions about the purportedly marxist and woke u.s. military. it is 228 pages long and has no footnotes and few facts to back up its claims. he continues pete hegseth spends a chapter of his book on dumping on the trans troops in

the u.s. military whom he portrays as a key plank of the pentagon's purportedly woke agenda. he points out that the writings about trans troops is a sizable red hearing. even using a high-end estimate to only about .5% of servicemembers are trans people. the book is also silent on the big issues that a future secretary of defense might have to face. such as the chinese possibly invading taiwan. meanwhile the new republic outlines the prediction that the military might have to mobilize against u.s. citizens in a civil war. that comes from his 2020 book. american crusade. in it, pete hegseth writes, america will decline and die. a national divorce will ensue. outnumbered freedom lovers will fight back. the military and police, both bastions of freedom loving

patriots will be forced to make a choice. it will not be good, yes, there will be some form of civil war. in another section, pete hegseth writes our present moment is much like the 11 century. we do not want to fight but like our fellow christians, 1000 years ago, we must. arm yourself metaphorically, intellectually, physically. our fight is not with guns yet. >> there are so many things that are so, it is early in the morning i'm going to give moms and dads across the east coast a break, that are so crazy. what is so disturbing, especially for those concerned about the implementation of the insurrection act. you have a guy in a book that is saying that america is on

the decline and dying, that is a lie. our military is stronger, our economy, the envy of the world. i was overseas this weekend. i can tell you everybody wringing their hands asking why they can't be more like america. our allies across europe just looking at our strength economically right now. and just beyond themselves. america, economically stronger than it has been in such a long time yet we have a guy that wants to be the head of the d.o.t. talking about america dying, collapsing, this is the crusades. there will be a civil war. the military and the police are going to take up arms against

his own people. what do you say to the republican senators and democratic senators that will have to vote on this nominee? >> one is the personal character issues. i think those are very important. i think more to follow on that as the fbi report comes out. significant that pete hegseth indicated, supposedly to lindsey graham he will allow the woman who he allegedly sexually assaulted to be free of her non-disclosure. all of that will come out. character matters. what you just unpacked, the policy questions. i agree with your assessment of all of that. i want to add one that did not come out vividly there.

his comments about women. women in combat, women in the armed forces. he is trying to kind of walk back from that but his comments so far is women and are not additive to the department of defense. thousands of women - when i was captain of a destroyer with a crew that had both men and women. i have commanded women in carrier strike groups under my command in afghanistan and u.s. southern command. women at the naval academy, we talk about the army-navy game. there are 22 guys on the field there are 8000 people in the stands from annapolis and west point. one third of them are women. that basket of policy issues both the one you describe and i want to hear from him, full throated support for women in

combat and in the military. that is the reality. you cannot populate 100% of the force with 50% of the population. that is a recruiting challenge nobody will overtake. l overtak my moderate to severe crohn's symptoms kept me out of the picture. now i have skyrizi. ♪ i've got places to go and i'm feeling free. ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me. ♪ ♪ control is everything to me.♪ and now i'm back in the picture. feel significant symptom relief at 4 weeks with skyrizi, including less abdominal pain and fewer bowel movements.

skyrizi helped visibly improve damage of the intestinal lining. and with skyrizi, many were in remission at 12 weeks, at 1 year, and even at 2 years. don't use if allergic. serious allergic reactions, increased infections, or lower ability to fight them may occur. before treatment, get checked for infections and tb. tell your doctor about any flu-like symptoms or vaccines. liver problems leading to hospitalization may occur when treated for crohn's. now's the time to take control of your crohn's. ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ ask your doctor about skyrizi, the #1 prescribed biologic in crohn's disease. i was out on a delivery, when i came across a snake. fedex presents tall tales of true deliveries our battle was legendary.

maybe now my friends will believe me. we did this for one delivery, see what we can do for your business. fedex. let's turn back to discussions we were having before the break on donald trump's cabinet pics. it is hard to follow all of this because you never really know exactly what the senators are thinking. they will say one thing like we will let the process move forward which means they will let gravity take care of itself. it does appear last week, tulsi gabbard had a pretty rough week. >> i think you are right. the one thing i know for sure is that i am being told they will not be anymore early exits. senators seem resigned to the idea they have to let the

process play itself out. they have to let the hearings and background checks take place. if other things pop up along the process, if the hearing process becomes a disaster for any of these nominees, perhaps that could be the situation that forces some of them out of this particular effort to win confirmation. tulsi gabbard's situation is unique in that the problems she has with many senators our national security once. once that cannot necessarily be discussed in an open setting. i've been wondering how her hearing, potentially take place. she would appear in front of the intelligence committee as she is up to become the director of national intelligence. they may want to talk to her about classified information. there may be something having to do with these meetings the meetings she had in syria.

questions about her past statements on russia they may want to ask in a classified setting. that may be something the public is not privy to or it could neither make or break her nomination as a result. we are being told the meetings she has had they have not gotten good answers to a lot of the questions senators have had about her past statements. there are a number of different ways this process could play out. there are so many of these controversial nominees but there are also so many no boats that each one of the senators can take and allow their political future to be preserved. you have to imagine most of all of them get through and there may be only one or two more sacrificial lambs the senate is willing to take on and they are trying to figure out who is worth extending political capital on to deny them. them.

- the only thing that survived that witch-hunt was arnold the pig. >> the latest on the guilty plea. straight ahead on morning joe. . ♪ 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. ♪ as americans,

there's one thing we can all agree on. the promise of our constitution and the hope that liberty and justice is for all people. but here's the truth. attacks on our constitutional rights, yours and mine are greater than they've ever been. the right for all to vote. reproductive rights. the rights of immigrant families. the right to equal justice for black, brown and lgbtq+ folks. the time to act to protect our rights is now. that's why i'm hoping you'll join me today in supporting the american civil liberties union. it's easy to make a difference. just call or go online now and become an aclu guardian of liberty. all it takes is just $19 a month. only $0.63 a day. your monthly support will make you part of the movement to protect the rights of all people, including the fundamental right to vote. states are passing laws that would suppress the right to vote. we are going backwards.

but the aclu can't do this important work without the support of people like you. you can help ensure liberty and justice for all and make sure that every vote is counted. so please call the aclu now or go to my aclu.org and join us. when you use your credit card, you'll receive this special we the people t-shirt and much more. to show you're a part of the movement to protect the rights guaranteed to all of us by the us constitution. we protect everyone's rights, the freedom of religion, the freedom of expression, racial justice, lgbtq rights, the rights of the disabled. we are here for everyone. it is more important than ever to take a stand. so please join us today. because we the people means all the people, including you. so call now or go online to my aclu.org to become a guardian of liberty. ♪♪

it's gonna be okay. ♪♪ hi. mom, when are you coming home? they're relying on her. they really need me here. we're relying on you. ♪♪ please donate.

as i said earlier, i had a busy weekend talking to business and political leaders in new york and london. they all have the same question. who is going to be in control in trump's inner circle? that will move on tariffs, that is how immigration will be carried out. 1000 different policy questions will be asked. you have actually a report on this. it is the divide. again, this is what has vexed business leaders on both sides of the olympics, political leaders, thought leaders. who is going to have his ear

the most? the creators or the destroyers? >> you understand his mind as well as anyone. i think the creators are the folks you are seeing named two economic jobs, energy jobs, a.i. jobs where they feel they can choose economic growth, try to keep jobless rates low and keep the stock markets rising. if he does that he feels like he will have a successful presidency, he will be popular and get what he wants out of the white house. all the people you talked about earlier, these people up for cabinet jobs are controversial they would fall into the destroyer category. people brought in specifically because of their loyalty partly to do retribution partly to got the agency they are being put in charge of. that is why you have such jarring moments with trump. you will see wild swings

between the two of them. think about the drones in the sky. you have a ton of people sitting on x who think that it is ufos or the iranians ready to wage war on america. others paying no attention to it. the president elect saying maybe we should just shoot them down. then we talk about pete hegseth worrying about a woke military or trans in the military. really the biggest topic, that the military needs to worry about is drones. related to drones. it is how do you move as quickly as possible to a type of warfare that is waged in space with satellites and drones and new technologies. less dependent on boots on the ground. more dependent on getting the best and the brightest into

government to figure out how do we make an advantage over china. how do we make sure our military is even more dominant in the next generation. when you get bogged down in the little things, you lose sight of the big picture, we have an enormous advantage going in. >> you talk about this trans issue. again, 0.5% of the military right now trans. if that. and yet this is his obsession? we have a possible world war breaking out in the middle east. we have a possible world war breaking out in eastern europe with north korean troops down there. i want to follow up on something you said. this is something i picked up overseas. the obsession, we are not talking about the drones over jersey. we are talking about the drones

over the front between the ukrainians and russians. the things i heard this weekend about what those drones are doing and how far advanced they are moving is nothing short of extraordinary. it is making so many defense systems almost obsolete. you are exactly right. we either obsess on that. not the 11th century crusades. we either obsess on bringing order to the middle east and not on 0.5% of who is in the military right now. or we get left behind by people who do not know how to run the pentagon. it is astounding. i will say, this is one of the things that i kept hearing over and over again. you guys are ahead of all of us. but the world is moving on. are you really going to be focusing on the 11th century?

on civil war? that is the question that was repeatedly asked. >> it is a legitimate question. it does go to but you said. for any dogging of america during the campaign, it defies logic on the ground. we have so many built in advantages right now. on the good side if you can get the pentagon focused on what it needs to focus on i think it is a good thing you have smart entrepreneurs thinking about government and trying to apply some of their mind share to it. having the smartest people who understand these technologies thinking about it and advising the president could be a net positive thing if you focus on how to make advantages we have bigger and bolder so we create a bigger gap between us and china. that is what success for the country would be but when you

get into grievance or retribution that is the type of stuff that does rattle markets, it does rattle maybe the public. maybe the public is too disoriented. the public does not want people jailing reporters. it does not want you doing things that defy institutional norms so we will see how it plays out. plays out. with dexcom g7, managing your diabetes just got easier. so, what's your glucose number right now? good thing you don't need to fingerstick. how's all that food affect your glucose? oh, the answers on your phone. what if you're heading low at night? [phone beeps] wow, it can alert you?! and you can even track your goals. manage your diabetes with confidence with dexcom g7. the most accurate cgm. ♪♪

learn more at dexcom.com i used to leak urine when i coughed, laughed or exercised. i couldn't even enjoy playing with my kids. i leaked too. i just assumed it was normal. then we learned about bulkamid. an fda approved non-drug solution for our condition. it really works, and it lasts for years. it's been the best thing we've done for our families. call 800-983-0000 to arrange an appointment with an expert physician to determine if bulkamid is right for you. results and experiences may vary. determine if bulkamid is right for you. speaker 1: at st. jude, there's one thing that makes us all family-- finding cures, saving children. speaker 2: in this family, families never receive a bill from st. jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food. speaker 3: one in five kids in the us

still won't survive cancer. speaker 4: in this family, we won't stop until no child dies from cancer. speaker 2: this holiday season, join our st. jude family. we need you. please donate now. when i was a kid, my mom would always put harry & david pears in our stockings. and if you got that gold one, it was like you had won christmas. my grandmother started it and now it's a tradition that i get to pass on to my

kids. and that means a lot.

let's move to the fall of asaad in syria exposing the luxury lifestyle of the country's former dictator and the brutal torture system set up in his presence. we are getting a look inside to a syrian drug lab that helped fuel the asaad regime.

let's bring in matt bradley who joins us live from damascus. you went inside the lab, what did you find? >> reporter: just another signal of one of the pillars of the regime having fallen. in this 14 year long civil war, there was no foreign currency the regime could use it to prop itself up. this is what must throughout the country. they didn't have cash and - fueling the fight financially but also psychologically. a sinister move that flooded the entire region with drugs. throughout syria, celebrations of the fall of asaad in the pillars that once brought up his regime. like this factory on the outside of damascus. it wasn't so long ago this factory was making potato chips and then the regime to get over

making it a factory for narcotics. as the economy collapsed, the asaad regime relied on drugs as a source of foreign currency. this is like methamphetamine it would just be as much at home at a nightclub then a battlefield. the commander told us that this industry destroyed an entire generation just so asaad could earn as much money as possible. he says all of this is ready for export. this is hidden inside this fake box to basically transport what looks like wires but it is all drugs fueling the asaad regime's state. the original owner of the factory just returned. now that he is back he is planning on developing the factory again and turn it into

what it did before which was making chips, chocolates and snacks. here is the thing. the factory owner just spoke with will have to rebuild everything. everything he has is gone. we are seeing that all over this country but, everyone is still smiling. that is what is so markable, everybody here ecstatic about this new regime and new syria despite the fact there are signs of ruin and destruction everywhere we look. so many different reports this weekend about what is going on in syria. i would love for you to give a short inside. it seems to be a balance, hope in the streets and warnings from the survivors of arab spring and the blowback after that a decade or so ago saying it will end badly. where are you? >> i hear echoes of my own past

here which is as nato commander, i led the intervention in libya. and when moammar qaddafi was finally taken down by his people there was jubilation, smiles for weeks, for a few months. now libya remains a roiled place kind of pulled apart. put me down in the skeptical but hopeful category. i think what we ought to do in the united states is look at what are our interests there? let's get rid of the weapons of mass destruction, notably chemical that asaad has still kicking around in that country. preventing the rise of another islamic state. this is pretty fertile ground. nature abhors a vacuum. geopolitics really abhors a vacuum. there are still remnants of the islamic state. and third, our allies in the region. we have both israel with the

border and turkey, a nato ally, that is a nato order on the north. those are our interests. what we should do, and i think we are doing it pretty well is get the international community engaged. international, get our inner agency working together. you cannot solve this one with just the department of defense. you need state and treachery and all of that. third and finally, you need public and private cooperation. okay now we are not going to make amphetamines, we want to go back to making potato chips. that is a public private enterprise. obviously companies will not rush into syria at this point, hardly. over time, there has to be private sector engagement if you are going to put the economy on a good footing and keep a smile on the face of the

syrian people. >> you just heard the admiral outline what be u.s. needs to do in the region. u.s. officials have started to talk to the rebel government but, there are competing interests. israel will want a say, i run want a say. - i ran will want a say. >> the idea you will have a benign government that rules over all of syria, that would make you a cockeyed optimist. or likely to have a problematic government or probably, notable places of autonomy. the kurds, the israelis will have their space, turkey has their forces. isis will come back in places. for the foreseeable future syria seems more realistic. the u.s. should do the kinds of things they are doing but the biggest issues for united states are not in syria. i would say focusing on iran. how do we liken the idea that

they do not have a nuclear program that is meaningful. >> do you think they are rushing toward a nuclear program giving that they are at their weakest since 1979? >> they have been moving gradually toward it over the last few months but what we want to do is stop it. also we still have the problem with gaza, the hostages and so forth. there are limited things you can do. look at the history of syria, since its creation it had divisions. an artificial construct of the french after world war i. the idea that we are going to make syria switzerland is a bit idealistic. coming up a look at stories making headlines including a new iphone that brings back a feature from some of the earliest cell phones. ell phone

time for a look at some of the other headlines making news. a former fbi informant is admitting he made of a claim that asaad and his son hunter - president joe biden and his son hunter - pleading guilty to a range of federal charges. back in 2020, she spread the brazen lie that the owner of ukrainian energy company - had arranged to pay $5 million in bribes to both president biden and his son. the claim was leaked to republicans who made the lie the centerpiece of their now defunct effort to impeach the president. >> arnold the pig tried to tell comber over and over again. >> anyone else covering this? >> they kept saying the lies would come and they would call the lies smoke.

everybody kept lying so there is smoke about this. it all leads back to joe biden getting a payoff. they were lies. their key witnesses will be someone who has now admitted to making up the entire thing or international fugitives. they were never able to provide evidence but that did not matter. >> republicans did not care. >> they never cared. then they had the hearings with explicit efforts to politically damage the president. governor ron desantis is facing a problem in florida. either point donald trump's daughter-in-law to u.s. senate or risk backlash from republicans. laura trump has expressed interest in replacing marco rubio who is set to become secretary of state. ron desantis is considering his future too. including a possible administration role. the senate in 2026 or even

another run for president. we will follow that and the wall street journal reports apple is imposing a series of major iphone changes in a new bid to revive growth. people familiar with the plans tell the journal that starting next year apple plans to introduce an iphone that will be thinner than the current models. those same people said the company is planning to unveil a foldable iphone. the development in the middle east have left i run in - i ran in a difficult position. we will talk more about that in our fourth hour of morning joe.

♪♪ it's gonna be okay. ♪♪ hi. mom, when are you coming home? they're relying on her. they really need me here. we're relying on you. ♪♪ please donate. (agent) we've always said never sell a house in the winter. that's not true. ♪♪ 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. 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 love crowds, if you can believe it. ah, you found me. you found me. there he is. but wherever i go it's always “where's waldo?” are you wally? yeah. yeah i am. never “who's waldo?” sometimes it takes someone who really knows you to make you feel seen. gifts that say i get you. etsy has it.

♪♪ ♪♪ welcome back to "morning joe." i mean, come on, if you're going to show a shot of l.a., even an ugly, nondescript shot of lax,

play some jackson brown, baby! here we are! i don't know, '72, nobody cares, but me, but i do care. welcome back to "morning joe." it's 6:00 a.m. on the west coast, 9:00 a.m. in the east, as you can tell by my rambling nature, mika is not on the show. >> buckle up. >> we can talk about whatever we want to talk about. what does everyone want to talk about first? everybody's got their opinions. i've got mine. everybody's got their opinions, but let's see, you're a man of the cloth, we'll go to you last for assurance. what's your take? what's your take on the drones? because because, elise, we're skeptical about these drones and we think it's madness right now, but the libertarian in you that does not trust the government, that's

your default setting. you think they're hiding something, right? >> i don't like the idea of the government being able to take a drone into my backyard to see if i'm doing illegal construction, et cetera -- >> do you often do illegal construction? >> sometimes i'm building. i build a lot in the backyard and just the casual interference offends me and it's probably something like that that might be benign, but they won't tell us about that, adrian. >> i want to go back to this illegal government construction in your backyard. are these reason essays? i'm saying -- i've never heard this, but we all live in our little -- our information bubbles and is that, like, the libertarian information bubble, the illegal construction drones that the government -- >> it's the government interference and probably more

of a sag harbor south hampton urban legend. maybe a little, you know, might be a little more close to home and in holly springs i don't have the problem. >> i was going say, this is not a meridian, mississippi, problem. you just put the shed out back. adrian, the drone hunt. >> i think americans have always been obsessed is there life on another planet. there are people working in government, john podesta, my former boss is notoriously obsessed with is there alien life out there? i think there is a fascination among americans, some americans, is there something out there? which is why this has sort of taken hold, but didn't governor hogan say something and there was speculation that it might be the airplane or consolation? >> and also andy kim, no, not the pop singer from the 1970s saying rock me gently, but andy kim, the congressman. >> soon to be senator.

>> he's already senator. i've got to keep up with these things, but -- so, but didn't he fly around in plains and he found out that for the most part if you look at -- if you look at the reportings and everything else, it seems that a lot of them may be commercial aircraft, small aircraft. >> he was at the forefront of this saying the government needs to be more transparent and he did his own investigation with local and state authorities and afterwards posted an update saying he believed the vast majority were commercial aircraft, flights coming out of newark, that it was nothing untoward or suspicious, but again, just a moment to say there needs to be more clarity here. >> you're a man of the cloth, tell us, what say you, rev? >> a lot of the reaction is based on who you're talking to and the environment. i preached at a church in

brooklyn yesterday and a lady told me on the way out you see those things in the air these are the last days and the angels are getting ready for us -- >> by the way, for people that don't go to the churches we go to and pittsburgh pirates lose in 1972, and they say these are signs of the final days like a thief in the night. >> the pirates lost two out of three games, sir. it's '72 and then in '75, 40 years the generation may not pass, so it will be 1988, 40 years after. so just for you all at home that don't go to baptist churches. we've been hearing this. >> every day of our life we've heard this. >> and i'm not saying it ain't coming, but rev, like a thief in the night. >> not a drone in the air. >> not a drone in the air, a thief in the night. we've always been under

surveillance. that's new. i think that at the end of the day that it's something to be concerned about, but not panic about. you know, i will say, the concern comes with commercial aircraft, right? i mean, you already have in new york one of the busiest airspaces in america. so if idiots are getting big, commercial drones and flying them around out there, that's a real problem, that said, if we had the wisdom and the insight of david french and i did not use that, i did not mind it for all it was worth, and i would be doing a grave disservice, so david french, what say you? is this -- is this, like, revelation, are these the end times or is this just mow, larry and curly with the commercial or are there private drones in jersey? >> look, i'm open to anything. i want to meet the aliens as

much as the next person, but i think this is mainly commercial aircraft and like venus. so a huge amount of this has been debunked, but there's some stuff that we don't know yet. >> right. >> i'm open, but i think it's mainly like american airlines flights into newark. >> that's what the admiral said earlier that he went out and had binoculars and he was listening and he was watching and he said, one ended up being a private aircraft and one ended up being venus that he thought was moving. i mean, you look up there long enough you can see anything. david, let's talk about your latest new york times column titled biden has a pair of gifts for trump sending donald trump a series of foreign policy wins in the middle east and in europe and this really follows up with what we were saying earlier that it's really easy for people to trash the biden economy, but people will look back four or five years from now and they'll

see the numbers and say they're great and also the whole, you know, 20% of republicans say the economy is going well and 80% say it's going bad. those numbers have completely reversed now and now republicans are saying happy days are here again with the economy and democrats are saying we're in a new depression. so, yeah, it seems to me that the challenge for donald trump and the administration is, in some ways, do no harm. i mean, do no harm on tariffs that are going to be inflationary. do no harm on a monetary approximately policy that's going to be too inflationary and because we saw last night the ft reporting that the fed is about to slow down the rate cuts because they're afraid that donald trump's tariffs and tax policies are going to be inflationary. yeah. you know, look, there is a major do no harm component here

especially in the middle east. i've not supported everything that the biden administration has done. i thought the biden administration was a little bit timid in some areas. however, it was directionally correct and in being directionally correction it means that iks ran is weaker th it's been in a long time and they've been strong on the battlefield and taking huge losses and facing an economic crisis right now. in some of the most dangerous spots in the world, the american enemies have been substantially weakened, especially in the middle east and so trump is walking into this scenario where he has some real opportunities, but if he doesn't play this correctly, he can, for example, throw vladimir putin a lifeline exactly at the time when he needs it most. so there are real opportunities here, but also major risks. >> the columnist e.j. dion has a column in "the washington post" with the headline, progress

lives should defend biden to protect their future. >> the problem with progressives and democrats in the coming months will not be fining a new electoral strategy, a far more pressing imperative it's to prevent donald trump's victory the course he set for the country which was broadly correct. the truth about the biden economy should not be lost in the meier ire of political defed it would make it easier to defend the legacy. it's vital to battling against a right ward turn in economic policy. nicole hemmer argues this defense is equally important to preventing resignation from the left. one close election, she says, should not be misinterpreted as a mandate for abandoning pro-wokker or pro-union approaches or a strong drill

approximately see. policy. it's not just about him, it's about the future. ed a adrien, it does seem like right now in the aftermath of the vice president's defeat, a lot of democrats are running away with what the white house did over four years even though those inside the west wing are confident that history will regard them favorably and what is the challenge here for democrats. how do you navigate this? >> a couple of things. number one, we have to reflect on the fact that president biden, it wasn't the first four years and it was the first 18 to 19 months passed four major economic bills and we talked about this last week in the show, joe upon can you imagine where the economy would be with the rescue plan and make sure that we could reduce inflation as much as we possibly could and you look at where the u.s. inflation numbers are compared to the other industrialized nations. we were doing far better off during covid and you can't say that to voters and that's the

bottom line. >> that was so important, adrienne, i've been talking about and went overseas this weekend and talked to a lot of business leaders and talked to a lot of political leaders. they're all talking about, basically about the u.s. economic miracle. they're all -- i've got to say, they're all downbeat. >> yeah. >> because they're kind of asking how do we get here? when you guys have in america because that gulf is widening between american prosperity and i'll just say it, the eu and britain's downturn, and my god, i mean, you look at what's happening in france. you look at what's happening in germany. >> yeah. everybody in london this weekend were laughing and let's get this straight. italy is the most stable democracy over there and greece is one of the most stable economies. things have flipped upside down, but china is in an economic mess. you go around the world, and i

know people now will be all -- biden's had this horrible term, et cetera, et cetera. i remember when i got elected in '94 everybody was looking back and wait a second. george h.w. bush was supposed to have such a horrible economy. the economy was turning around, his fourth quarter with the election had been two months later he would have won. >> right. we don't have to wait. i understand there are people that were struggling with gas prices and people struggling with groceries, but these numbers, two, three, four years from now will have a lot of people looking back scratching their head going -- wait a second. what? what? why were people saying the economy was bad? and as david french said, russia's at its weakest than it's been in a generation. e iran is at its weakest since 1979. hezbollah is destroyed and

hamas, pretty uch destroyed and that woulhave never happened without joe biden and they're all messy situations and one side didn't want him to go, but the balancing act there has left donald trump and the administration coming in as david said, a foreign policy with some incredible opportunities and economically again, somebody inside there's got to say, don't rock the boat too much. >> that's right. donald trump, just like he inherited president obama's strong economy and he willic herity the biden strong economy because he used capital to get some of these bipartisan bills passed. look at the chips and science act and i worked at the health department and helped implement that and a lot will happen under president trump's administration as long as he doesn't do anything to dismantle it. the bottom line is this. president biden got a lot done,

historic achievements and we as democrats have got to do a better job of communicating with working class voters and i understand inflation is high and i understand grocery prices are high and gas prices, we are working to lower the prices. it's not the fault of one politician or one elected official, it was the collective fault of democrats across the board that we just have a problem trying to connect the dots of the policies we're passing and we have to figure out how to square that and how to get back on track with the people that are the foundation of the democratic party. >> and a guy from your home state, bill clinton. >> pretty good at that. >> he's pretty darn good at that, i never understood why democratic politicians didn't have a ban that said wwbd, what would bubba do? because when i asked him about the election, rev, he said -- and i brought it up, i was

talking about democracy, i was talking about violent rhetoric, i was talking with fascist rhetoric and i was talking about things that bothered me that i was worried about, but he basically said, joe, we have people that were worried about gas prices and we have people that were worried about other things like that. they never got to where you were worried about and bill clinton said you've got to meet them where they are. >> you've got to meet them where they are. you have to address their concerns and then raise the other economic issues. you can't go macro without dealing with the microconcerns, but at the same time i think that the democratic party and the progressives need to really do a better job at amplifying what biden did because if they don't, i agree with the times column, that if they don't they are also dislodging themselves to be able to come in in the mid-term elections and other

things. joe biden did some very solid things, traps formative things and i was telling fellow civil rights leaders. black unemployment is lower than it's been in decades. he appointed more black women as federal judges than the history of this country. he just gave clemency for 15 people this never happened, and 39 pardon. i want to see marilyn moseley with a pardon, but if nobody's talking about this we would let donald trump dictate the narrative that this was all four years of failure. we made more progress for working class people and communities of color under biden, not everything we wanted and noter inially nearly every we wanted and we had an election

by less than 2%. >> 1% of the popular vote. less than 1% in wisconsin, about 1.2% in michigan, about 1.5% in pennsylvania, and that's the difference in the election. so this idea that everybody's fighting everybody rid now and everyone is screaming and everyone is looking at joe biden as a failure when the fact is you just said it, unemployment, long-term unemployment lower than at any time in 40 years. as you said, black unemployment, lower than it's been in a generation. the u.s. dollar, stronger than it's been in 50 years over the biden term. you look at the stock market, something that donald trump and a lot of the supporters look at all the time, higher than its ever been in u.s. history.

we are the envy of the world comingly. i heard it this past weekend. i'd been hearing it for six months now. they would kill to have our inflation rate right now. it's a little hotter. it's not down at 2%, but we're doing so much better than europe. they're in a total mass there, china is -- is struggling through deflation. they don't know what they're doing. so, i mean, get a paper bag, breathe into it and understand this, that several years from now people are going to look back on joe biden's record, they're going to look back at -- by the way, this wasn't planned. we were talking about drone, enwhere it came from, but it's about time we talk about and more bipartisan legislation was passed in the biden administration than at any time in a generation, and guess what?

progressives were mocking him, they were ridiculing him and they were saying old man, those days are past. don't talk to republicans. you can't deal with them and people that supported donald trump and were hard right were saying don't deal with joe biden, it will never happen. guess what? it happened. one bipartisan piece of legislation after another and again, the economy and as david french, as you pointed out, also more opportunities on the world stage. yes for chaos, but also more opportunities for peace, more opportunities for historic generational breakthroughs than ever before which really leads me to a question about let's just talk about two of my -- we can talk about kash patel with his enemies list and saying that he's going to throw reporters in jail, but let's talk about while we're on national security and that's what you are writing

about, pete hegseth and tulsi gabbard. now i hear tulsi gabbard has had a terrible week last week. she's going to have a terrible week this week and a terrible week next week because you can't be an apologist for both aside and vladimir putin and get through the republican senate. you and i, we may have problems with our former parties and we may have problems with a lot of things that we have done, but you and i both agree there are a hell of a lot of republicans in the senate that are serious about the intelligence community and our intelligence communities and our series about the dod. that's why i think in the end i do think that the only responsible thing to do is hold the line against these two picks, and i keep hearing and jonathan keeps hearing five, maybe six republicans are no goes on those two picks. >> you know, i think that's possible and look, their responsibility here and their constitutional responsibility is not to just yield to whatever donald trump wants here.

they have an advice and consent responsibility for a reason and, look, the tulsi gabbard situation, i think the fall of arc sad assad and vladimir putin and the judgment, her foreign policy judgment again and again, she's backing the wrong horse here that she's mistaking the aggression of authoritarianism for the strength of authoritarianism and they're not the same thing. her judgment is off, her wisdom is off. she's obviously not qualified for this position given the present national security situation and pete hegseth, i'm sorry, you know, look, we should respect his service overseas. he has served his country honorably as have thousands and thousands and thousand of other americans since 9/11, and look, honestly, you can find 10 thuz

people living in washington, d.c., than hegseth and have far fewer skeletons in their closet. this is an ideological pick for an ideological witch hunt and that is not what we need in the united states rate now. especially as you said there are so many opportunities there, but also so many dangers. david french, as always, thank you so much. go big blue. how is kentucky looking this year? >> it's a good team, joe. it's a very good team. only one loss so far, so i have hope. >> okay. >> always hoping. >> adrian el rod, arkansas basketball? >> we're doing great. we have joe calipari, we played in madison square garden. we're on a roll. go, hogs. >> thank you for being with us, and i just want to follow up. your reporting echoed what we've

been hearing this morning about especially tulsi gabbard, a tough week. she's probably not going to get through, but hegseth also, yeah, they're doing the pr game, but man, he still has a hill to climb. i mean, the evidence was right there on saturday that trump felt the need to bring pete hegseth and tulsi gabbard with him to the army-navy game. they feel better about hegseth now than two weeks ago, but as of this weekend coming, he does not have the votes just yet. could things change? gabbard, i am told, had a really rough week talking to senators and today robert f. kennedy, jr., peaks his pick? oh! a return to normalcy. >> make polio great again and we will look for that in the coming days and let's look at other stories making headlines this woman. the woman who accused three

university lacrosse player of raping her in 2006 is admitting she made up the story. crystal, quote, made up a story that wasn't true about the white players where she was hired to perform as a stripper. she goes on to say she did so because she wanted validation from people and not from god. the north carolina correctional institution for women where she is incarcerated for fatally stabbing her boyfriend in 2011. the former duke players were declared innocent in 2007 after her story fell apart under legal scrutiny. elsewhere, elon musk's net worth has grown by almost $200 billion this year with the majority of that increase, more than 170 billion coming since election day. does the ceo spend at least $277 million backing donald trump's campaign for president?

shares of tesla have been trading 70% higher since election day. musk is now worth about $442 billion. finally, cell phones are increasingly fueling and intensifying brawls in schools across the country which then often sparks new cycles of cyber bullying and violence. an important "new york times" in-depth report found a pattern of middle high school students exploiting phones and social mead why to arrange, provoke, capture and spread footage of brutal beatings among their peers. in several cases, students later died from the injuries. the paper notes that technology has increasingly fostered and amplified every stage at the aggression and affects school district it is both large and small, and in some cases has overwhelmed the schools creating a number of lawsuits and an exodus of teachers.

>> i have to ask. why in the world, why do we allow kids to have cell phones in school? a number of jurisdictions and los angeles have banned them. parents argue they need to get in touch with their parents. >> call the front office like they did when we were growing up. >> we completely agree. >> gotta talk to joey. joey, come to the front office. it's that simple. >> the phones should be in lockers for the day and you get them at dismissal. >> i don't think you need them at all. call the front office. >> the old-fashioned days, call the principal to reach your kid. >> i'm with the table on that one. >> could not agree more. >> and boy, did the principal call my parents time and time again, but it worked. >> she knew the number by heart. >> speed dial. >> no phones in school. >> speed dial back before they

had speed dial. >> exactly. >> mr. scarborough. coming up, ceos are mounting a campaign for donald trump's campaign threats. >> how is that working? so far the president-elect isn't budge, plus will the federal reserve take a more cautious approach to interest rate cuts over fears that trump's new policies will stoke higher inflation. cnbc's andrew ross sorkin joins us next to answer those questions and more. you're watching "morning joe." ." h medulloblastoma, a brain tumor. she chose to be treated closer to her twin sister. and thankfully, she is in remission today. st. jude's groundbreaking research in medulloblastoma has helped pediatric hospitals everywhere. st. jude is committed to finding cures and saving children. please donate now. liberty mutual customized my car insurance

so i saved hundreds. with the money i saved i thought i'd get a wax figure of myself. cool right? look at this craftmanship. i mean they even got my nostrils right. it's just nice to know that years after i'm gone this guy will be standing the test of ti... he's melting! oh jeez... nooo... oh gaa... only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ i used to leak urine when i coughed, laughed or exercised. i couldn't even enjoy playing with my kids. i leaked too. i just assumed it was normal. then we learned about bulkamid. an fda approved non-drug solution for our condition. it really works, and it lasts for years. it's been the best thing we've done for our families. call 800-983-0000 to arrange an appointment with an expert physician to determine if bulkamid is right for you. results and experiences may vary. if you're living with hiv,

imagine being good to go without daily hiv pills. ♪♪ good to go binge-watch. ♪♪ good to go out even later. ♪♪ with cabenuva, there's no pausing for daily hiv pills. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete, long-acting hiv treatment you can get every other month. it's two injections from a healthcare provider, as few as 6 times a year. don't take cabenuva if you're allergic to its ingredients, or taking certain medicines, that may interact. serious side effects include allergic reactions or rash, post-injection reactions, liver problems, and depression. if these occur, get medical help right away. tell your doctor about your medicines or supplements, medical conditions, liver or kidney problems, mental health, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. the most common side effect is injection site reaction ♪♪ with cabenuva, you're good to go. without daily hiv pills. talk to your doctor about switching.

z's bakery is looking to add a pizza oven, without daily hiv pills. arissa's hair salon wants to expand their space, and steve's t-shirt shop wants to bring on more help. with the comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee, they can think more about possibilities for their business and not the cost of their internet. it's five years of gig-speeds and advanced security. all from the company with 99.9% network reliability. get the 5-year price lock guarantee, now back for a limited time. powering five years of savings. powering possibilities™.

♪♪ ♪♪ look at this. atlanta, rem, it ain't athen, but it's pretty good. >> close enough. >> i just read there's a new biography with the band of going back to the old stuff. holds up. they're one of the best. >> i love them. i love them. do you have a favorite rem album? >> i have a soft spot for

monster, which is polarizing, but it's fitzpatrick. >> that's a good one. that's a good one. what about you? >> i love murmur. i love the old ones, but fable's just amazing. i was lucky because i know people don't want to hear this, i'm joking, mika is not here, so i can say it. the first time i listened to fables of the reconstruction i was driving back south towards florida, and i was going through the smoky mountains and there was fog all over the place, and i was listening to fables, and really just -- it fit the mood perfectly, and i still remember that, 872 years later. so fables are the reconnection. >> the power of music. it's the power of music, but you can remember the moment. you were in the car, you remember where you were. the relationships. >> i didn't have a cell phone, and also that was -- that was

still -- that was the beginning of the mtv era, but still, video hadn't ruined that for you. like, when you could hear music whether it was the beatles or rem with james brown and there wasn't this fixed video attached to the music and instead of thinking about, you know, when you hear a song about their image that they put up for you it was your image, driving through the smoky ntains or whatever your image was in high school or rev, your image, trying to get james brown out of places in one piece. like, that's -- i can't -- we can't talk on tv probably about what you're thinking about when you hear james brown songs. >> i was thinking about the things that went through backstage or stayed up in the studio all night. i'm not a musician. i'm like his surrogate son and

why do i have to be in the studio at 5:00 in the morning and i was remembering unpleasant night. >> but he was the hottest working man in show business. you visualized everything, until vid why came out you messed up everything and i was close to michael jackson, and i'm looking at the videos and that's want how it was. and my kids are, like, why don't you just shut up and let us enjoy the video. >> i would much rather have images of quincy. >> right. >> putting that all together. of course, as we know, andrew ross sorkin co-anchor of cnbc's "squawk box" and a guy in prep show when he started the show, he remembers the wiggles. that's a young guy. that didn't even get a snicker. i've been on for three and a

half hours. >> i know. >> i need some help up here? >> can i get an amen? can i get me some help up here? >> andrew, i've been talking this morning about -- and i bring it up because it's just fascinating about on thursday, i've got to be at an event and speak off the record to -- you know, the most powerful, some of the most powerful business people in new york, in america and the world, and over the weekend i got to speak to some of the same in britain and thought leaders, economic leaders and i just want to say, we in america, i know you understand this because you do this all the time. we in america cannot be ginn to understand how we are looked at with nothing short of awe from people across whether it's in

london, whether it's in paris, whether it's in beijing, wherever it is across the world, they are all sitting there and it's kind of, like, how do you guys do it? they were in awe of our economy, and i will say glam has set across the continent of europe right now and of course, it's even worse. china fighting deflaegs. what is it? ? i have my theories. >> i think there are a couple of things why we have this economy and we have a truly entrepreneurial economy. >> always been that way. >> it has been that way for a very, very, very long time and the question is can we keep that? i don't think it's predestined that this happens and there's this alchemy that we've had over the last century that's allowed this sort of dynamic economy to emerge the way it has and now, of course, it will be even more

open and las issez-faire and produce what folks want. one of the other reasons beyond china having its own issues and europe struggling and by the way -- by the way, that's a function of regulation. let's not dismiss that. >> overregulated. >> overregulated, but the other thing that they are now worried about is the tariff story, right? you sort of layer on tariffs on top of all of the other sort of challenges that they're facing and that makes everybody else's story a lot harder than our own. >> this is what we need to talk about next because tariffs are not only bad for them. >> bad for us, not only bad for canada. yesterday, financial times breaking the news. hey, you know whap?t? tariffs and the tax cuts and we are not going to cut as aggressively interest rates moving forward, and that really

does just underline what -- again, what i heard on both sides of the atlantic. this fear that they may rock the boat too much and mess up a really good thing with tariffs and with a monetary policy there. >> the federal reserve, they're likely to cut this week because they've sort of telegraphed that. if they don't do it, it will be hard. when i talked to jay pull at summit, he suggested pegger question. the begger point is what the ft are raise raising and what do they do in anticipation of policy that we don't know exists and one of the things that powell said is you can't really get ahead of something that hasn't happened yet. you almost have to wait and the problem with waiting is you can get behind. so how they sort of navigate that, i think will be the fundamental question for the

next six months. >> they don't know how much. i mean, everything's a bargain with trump. everything's a deal with trump. how much are these tariffs a threat to other countries to get in line, rate? so you can anticipate. >> you almost have to wait in which case, you will be behind no matter what. >> right. exactly. why china? why does it keep having the troubles that it has. >> china over invested. a decade ago there was a "60 minutes" piece where you had empty buildings going up and people said what are they doing? i do think that was a huge part of the story and then the other piece of the story, i think, longer term is going to be how much can they export? it's going to be an exporting business. having said that, they can be a remarkably, you know, growing country over time given just the

size and the scale of the country. they don't need to sell into it, they would like to sell it to the rest of the world. they don't need to, necessarily. >> we are starting to see protests and that's not something that happens so lightly there. the question is what happens in that -- is there going to be's total lockdown for folks. we auction caulked about com tore and it's a much more command and control country, so if you have a real pushback, what does that do to the whole situation? >> what are you looking at this week before i let you go? what are you following? >> tariffs, tariffs, tariffs, but the other side of the tariff story, which is what do the other companies do? tim cook in mar-a-lago and jeff bezos is coming down to mar-a-lago this week. >> is it all the same message on tariffs? don't do it? i think it's a little bit of that and it's a little bit of

help us with the regulation and we want to be your pal and friend because we need to call on you in six years or two years and it's putting your chips down now in hoping to get extra chips later. >> whether that work or not, i don't know. >> how much is driven by just the overriding fear that people like sam altman and so many people have on elon musk's influence. how much of that is driving these early meetings? >> so interestingly, you had sam altman, too, and jeff bezos both say that they felt pretty strongly that they did not believe that elon musk's relationship with trump was going to somehow hinder their business. >> do you believe that? because i don't want. >> i do think it's impossible for there not to be some kind of underlying worry that it would impact them in some way. >> right. >> whether it's as direct as that, i don't know, but -- look, this is the first time sam altman opened ai and they just donated money to the inaugural.

>> right. >> meta has never given money in their whole life to any president's inaugural. >> right. everybody is basically placing their bets now, again, hoping that they get some semiplans of credit for this later. >> by the way, sam altman, one million. elon musk, what? 287 million. exactly. >> yes. if it's that way. i will say this, though, and people may disagree with me on this, elon musk actually does like competition. you may think that's crazy for me to say, but he has never been somebody out there to try to hurt competitors. interestingly, even with the evs, he opened up his charging network to all of the automakers and he'd won the game, but similarly, he doesn't take them. if they create something you can use it. so -- there's a lot of nuances

around elon musk. >> we'll see. >> okay. >> thank you. >> that's what his biographer said. walter isaacson, when you went to talk to him you didn't know which one you were getting and there were seven or eight of them. >> all true. cnbc's andrew ross sorkin and coming up, we'll take a look at the new film, sing sing which tells the story of an incarcerated man. >> who helps people in prison develop critical life skills through the arts. oscar-nominated actor coleman domingo joins us live in studio to talk about the role that critics are talking about as one of the best movies of the year and andrew ross sorkin said -- >> i'm endorsing it. >> it will make you cry. "morning joe" back in a minute. hehe. chris! keke! ready tycoons?

it's go time! cash grab! keke, i won again? ow! daddy will be back soon. [cries] -ha ha! -boom! we're swimming in it now. -rent's due. -toodle-oo! busted! nothing beats playing with friends, except bankrupting friends. harry and david is small batch, gourmet, and delicious. so, of course they run out fast. whether you want to say, "thank you", "i love you", or just "happy holidays" - send something special, beautiful, and delicious. order your harry and david favorites now before they're gone.

this is a clemency hearing for your conviction, 25 to life. since you've been in custody you've been involved in the theater program. >> gentlemen, let's go! >> it's been a program that was established to help people to get in touch with their feelings and get rehabilitation. >> i am gladiator goliath. >> i'm prince hamlet. >> and it's turned into something that -- i don't know, ♪♪ ♪♪ >> what part do you play? >> from time to time, i do act, like we all do. >> so are you acting at all during this interview? >> that was a look at the film "sing sing." it stars academy award nominated and emmy award winning director coleman domingo in the retelling of the true story of a man in prison that new york's sing sing

correctional facility who then leads other incarcerated men in a theater program. the critically acclaimed film took the ground breaking step of having other sing sing prisoners in the program. he was nominated last week for his performance in sing sing and also works as executive producer on the film. congratulations on the nomination. thank you very much for being here. let's just start with that decision, the decision to have alums from the program be in the movie? >> it felt -- it felt right to have these men who have the lived experience, who actually went through this program. so it brings a certain authenticity and intensity to the work in a different way. i have to sort of lean into that as an actor and bring my performance to where they're living and help them -- help guide them to the cinematic space that i'm sure they're unfamiliar with, but i think we

created this beautiful hybrid because we get to tell this narrative and it's a 95-minute film, but there's something about it that feels very much like a documentary because you have people who actually have been through this program. >> and looks -- it looks so beautiful. of course, it was released this summer. it's released again and it can be released again, but it's not just a feel good story. >> no. >> i love the fact that for inmates that were a part of this program, the recidivism rate was 3% compared to 60% nationwide which reminds me we have this beautiful -- a beautiful, moving documentary that we talked about last week about young girls. >> yeah. >> that get to be with their fathers with the dance in prison. the recidivism rate was extraordinarily low also for fathers who participated in that. it's almost like give somebody a chance to connect with their

humanity and you will get the best out of them. >> that's exactly when we learned about these programs. a program like rehabilitation of the arts is they come together and doing theater games and all of these things that any one of us who have done theater games in junior high school or something you realize it helps build communication skills and you put yourself in someone else's shoes, and i think it's a thing that they would never offer before and the opportunity to put themselves in someone else's shoes. >> and you're playing the role of a man who said he was wrongly convicted of murder and served 25 years. >> yes. absolutely. i'm playing him, but also a lot of other and i'm representing a lot of other men and even women who have been wrongly accused of a crime. people think as we do know that not everyone who is in prison belongs in prison. >> right. >> this is someone who hung on to his humanity to be a jailhouse lawyer, advocating for others on the inside and being one of the founders of the

theater program that has had lasting effects on their communities as they exit those gates and they never come back. >> yeah. isn't it a part that we are showing that we're talking about human beings and some of them have made mistakes and some shouldn't be in jail and some should. i grew up in brownville, should folks should have been to jail and other folks who shouldn't. your commitment when you tell the stories. i remember you played rustin and you and i were at the met gala. i knew him as a kid, and talk about what this meant to you to be able to tell their story that these are human beings that deserve to be looked at differently and not just as we were saying, that when i was growing up it was called correctional facilities. now it's just detention centers and they don't need to be caged. they need to be given a chance. >> first of all, to sit here

with you, you're a man who has done so much for all of us, i think you've inspired me to make sure that i'm looking after not only human beings and i'm looking at black and brun men, as well and growing up in west philadelphia, i know the chances that many of us don't get and it comes back to just kindergarten. that means programs that are help supporting us to be fully realized human beings and programs like this is resetting folks on the inside saying they were never allowed the chance to play, to be, to have feelings and deconstruct all of the things that we're seeing or taught to be as black and brown men, to be wrong and to be hard and it's smashing all of that, inviting tenderness and inviting a new path. >> a lot of these guys say hey, if i had a program like this when i was 6 or 7 years old, maybe the choices that were made would not have been made. it's about doing that deep work, and i care deeply about it.

you know that everything that i did, if i can have an impact as an actor, director or producer, whatever way i'm in service. that's my service to the world, you know? >> coleman, you were executive producer, but you also practice what you preach. you had equal pay for everyone on this movie which really is very dynamic. >> thank you. i think that was the only way it could be done, and i think to know that these men were giving their stories, and i think they were trying to examine the many different ways how we do things in this industry, and i feel that this pay parity is pretty unprecedented including number one in the call sheet were paid the exact same rate and so we kept the overhead low and so when we have success we all benefit. i feel there are new and meaningful ways to examine that help us all feel validated in every single way. >> all right. thank you so much. it's beautiful. beautiful. it's great. we appreciate you being here. >> thank you. >> the movie "sing sing" will be

back in theaters nationwide starting january 17th, actor and executive producer coleman domingo, thank you so much and you can also catch coleman's new limited series "the madness" streaming now on netflix. that does it for us this morning. ana cabrera picks up the coverage in two minutes. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ my name's dan and i live here in san antonio, texas. i ran my own hvac business and now i'm retired. i'm not good being retired. i'm a pain in the neck. i like to be able to have a purpose. about three or four years ago, i felt like i was starting to slip. i saw the prevagen commercials. after a short amount of time taking prevagen, i started noticing a difference-- i stopped taking prevagen and i found myself slacking back so i jumped right back on it. i've been taking prevagen for about two years now, and i've found a huge difference. prevagen. at stores everywhere without a prescription.

where can nfl fans get a great deal that turns christmas day and i've found a huge difference. 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 stuff. xfinity.

right now on "ana cabrera reports." mystery in the skies. the federal government sending help to new jersey and new york after thousands of drone sightings, but are authorities giving any real answers about what's happening? plus, a grand jury indictment could come any day for luigi