expensive items and check the prices. look at multiple retailers and use price tracking toys. i lime i like camel, camel, camel to make sure you're getting the best deals, crocs or anything. >> wink, wink. what is on your wish list? >> i could use another pair of crocs, actually. new jibbitz. >> all right. look out for the stocking stuffers, brian, thank you. that's going do it for us today. thank you so much for joining us as always. i'll be back tomorrow, same time, same place. you can catch us online on youtube and other platforms. and we'll see you then. i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. we have -- by the way, at noon, don't forget to check out this interview with andrea mitchell, debra tice, the mother of austin tice, who went missing in syria 12 years ago, will be talking with andrea again, that's at noon eastern. i'll see you tomorrow. jose diaz-balart picks up our coverage right now.

good morning. 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart. and we begin with a story that has become an all too familiar part of american life. today, a community in madison, wisconsin, is in mourning after police say a teacher and a teen student were killed in a small christian school when a 15-year-old female student opened fire in a study hall classroom yesterday. police say six others were hurt, including two students who were still in critical condition at this hour. officials say the shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene. a group of medics on the police force were in training for just this type of scenario just three miles away and were able to quickly get to the school. here is some of what authorities had to say.

>> at 10:57 a.m., a second grade student called 911 to report a shooting had occurred at school. let that soak in for a minute. a second grade student called 911 at 10:57 a.m. to report a shooting at school. >> joining us now nbc's kathy park in madison, wisconsin and frank figliuzzi, an msnbc national security analyst. kathy what is the situation of those who were injured in this shooting? >> reporter: jose, good morning to you. certainly another tragic day for another american city. as far as the victims go, we know the death toll still stands at two, among the dead includes a teenage student as well as a teacher, six others were

injured. two students are still fighting for their lives in critical condition. but we do know that two were released overnight. we don't have their -- the names of the victims, but we anticipate learning more about them today when officials offer up another press conference. jose? >> and kathy, meanwhile, do we have any update on what the investigation is looking like at this hour? >> reporter: so, jose, as you mentioned, this is a small private christian school, k through 12. and they have about 420 students. and they were just days away from christmas break being released for christmas break and now as you can see behind me, this is an active crime scene. the shooter came in, just before -- the shooter came in just before 11:00 in the morning yesterday, killing that teacher as well as a student, injuring several others. as you described the shooter

earlier, jose, a 15-year-old girl. we know she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound as she was being transported to the hospital, a gun, a handgun was recovered at the scene. shots were fired, we're told in a classroom during study hall. there were students of all different grades at that time. there was a second-grader who called in reporting the emergency, the active shooter. and then just three miles away, officials were actually training for this very event when this became a reality. but as far as the investigation goes, we know that there was a large law enforcement presence at the shooter's home yesterday. s.w.a.t., local and federal agencies were on site. there was a point when a neighbor nearby heard flashbangs as authorities moved in and got the all clear roughly 45 minutes later. authorities are saying that the shooter's parents are cooperating, we know that the father was questioned

extensively for several hours yesterday, but as far as a motive goes, it is still unclear at this point. there is a document that is circulating online that authorities are currently reviewing. but they're also looking at the shooter's digital footprint leading up to this shotting. still a lot of questions, but once again, another update expected later on this afternoon, but as you can imagine, jose, this community is still reeling from this tragedy and a lot of resources are being pulled together to help the families who are affected. jose? >> kathy park, thank you very much. frank, so many questions here and just something that is becoming all too common, unfortunately, in our country. and i'm just thinking, frank, where do investigators go from here? it is particularly important, i think, that this person was currently, we believe, a student at that school. so, you know, when we're talking about hardening schools, et cetera, how do you deal with a person who is currently a student? what are the questions that

investigators have at this hour? >> yeah, so obviously since the shooter is deceased, this is not about building a case for prosecution. but rather it is about answering the questions of why and how. so, for example, you mentioned the student's status as an active member of that school community, did that play into this? she clearly chose to act out in the school. why? why that location? looking at whether there was bullying, whether there was an ongoing dispute with the school or teacher or students. did she shoot randomly or target the people she was shooting in this small study hall environment? and, you know, some of that will be interviewing students and that's easier said than done when you're talking about a second- second-grader, a 7-year-old who was a witness to this? you got to have people trained in, you know, nontraumatically interviewing a 7-year-old who may have witnessed this horrible

thing. the social media, the computer, the devices, all of this will be gone through. and, of course, the question remains where did she get the pistol? and we heard kind of in implications from the chief that maybe we should not assume that she got it from her parents, from the house. and if that's not true, then where, and so atf is very expert at trying to track this. it is not easy. but trying to track that serial number from the manufacturer to the hands of this young lady. >> now, there is so many questions. you know, trying to determine a motive and certainly if there is, as kathy points out, although not confirmed yet, like document that this person may have written up. those are important issues to look at, but i'm wondering, you know, it is a 15-year-old with a handgun in school, just a couple of days before the christmas

celebration break. it's normally -- there is a little bit of a pattern in these -- in these people that shows that they're going through some difficult times or issues. it is, you know, do you think the issue of red flags, was there any flag mentioned in this? >> indeed, because if we don't learn from these tragedies, then they're wasted on us. if we don't get better at something. i'm a strong advocate, jose, of incorporating training in a school environment for not only faculty and counselors, but even in an age appropriate way for fell ow classmates to understan the warning signs and indicators that someone near them is on the pathway to violence. we got to get better at that. and only way to do that is to learn from these episodes. so, yeah -- signs of this. so what were the signs.

and the fbi -- a threat assessment center based at quantico, virginia. they study all these types of shootings and they'll be helping with, hey, that was leakage of a grievance, right there, that's where she said what sounded like i'm going to harm myself or others. they'll be looking at that. it is rare that there is no clues or indicators, particularly with a teenager. >> yeah, i'm just thinking, parkland shooting or even the uvalde shooting, there were very many signs, in the case of the parkland shooter that he was having some issues. and, you know, police were called many times. they decided to not, you know, act more aggressively than maybe -- couldn't because of the law. in the case of the uvalde shooter, the 18-year-old, there was some indication that he was going -- he was deteriorating. i'm wondering, it is so unusual or is it not that it is a

15-year-old girl in this case? >> oh, you're right if you think this is rare. it is. the studies show that we're talking low single ditht gits, than 5% of all school shootings over the last decade or two involve female shooters. that's another thing that will cause the law enforcement specialists to really dig in and study this. and does this represent a trend? are the numbers going up with regard to female shooters? even when you go beyond the school environment, mass shootings generally in society, the number is still in the low single digits for female shooters. >> frank figliuzzi, thank you very much. and, of course, we're thinking of the -- of the families that have been affected by this. the people that lost their lives, young people, clinging to life, and fighting for life right now. frank, thank you. i very much appreciate it. >> sure. turning now to breaking news out of moscow, ukraine this morning is taking responsibility

for the killing of a russian general, the head of russia's chemical, radiological and biology wall weapons in moscow. this is video captured of the general and his aide walking out of a residential building. you see the explosion. the bomb was remotely detonated. just yesterday, ukrainian court charged this general igor kirillov in using banned weapons in the war with ukraine. joining us now is hala gorani and mark polymeropoulos from the cia and nbc news national security intelligence analyst. this is really kind of significant. what happened here? >> reporter: very significant. this is a very high level officer in moscow and basically the ukrainians have taken the war to the heart of the russian capital with that remotely detonated bomb that was hidden, we understand, in a scooter. so igor kirillov, a 53,

54-year-old, born in 1970, is the head of that unit that you mentioned there, weapons of mass destruction, biological and nuclear warfare. and the ukrainians are saying essentially his unit participated in that russian invasion of ukraine in 2022 and was responsible for causing a lot of damage and deaths inside of ukraine and that they considered, therefore, this lieutenant general to be a legitimate target. now, we haven't had reaction from the ministry of defense, but we had an outpouring of condolence messages from various politicians and agencies inside of russia. as far as ukraine is concerned, as i mentioned, they're saying this is a legitimate target, this is somebody who was deeply involved in the war effort inside of ukraine after the invasion of 2022. it is a very bold move. this is something that is going to resonate with residents of moscow. and across russia as well.

we're now talking about actions on the border area s, right on the russian side border of ukraine, but deep into the russian state. and ukrainians of course are in the next few weeks waiting for what will president-elect donald trump's taking -- the fact he's going to be taking office soon, will it mean for u.s. support of the ukrainian effort against russia militarily as that war grinds on, jose. >> hala gorani, thank you very much. mark, hala was saying is this an extremely bold move. indeed it was. ukrainian security service sources say that a scooter laced with explosives was detonated, killing these two people and in the streets of moscow. how did ukraine pull this off, and how bold of a move was it? >> so, jose, you know, hala is right, there is an extraordinary operation. this is called a high value

target op, a fine, fix and finish mission. what is amazing is this entails ukrainians having recruited sources, not only inside of russia, inside of moscow, that's an agent network. that's individuals who would carry out surveillance with a pattern of life of the target, who would then employ the explosive and call the target out. that is really an extraordinary breach of what many consider a denied area. and this is going to be deeply embarrassing to vladimir putin. absolutely humiliated the russian security services because it shows ukraine has this reach, not just into russia, but into the heart of moscow and against high value targets. really an impressive operation, in my business. but something i think that will resonate very deeply within the russian national security infrastructure. >> and, mark, so the fact that it was essentially a glorified ied, that's essentially what this was, right? and even though what i think what makes it extremely significant is, as you say, it was in a denied area.

what do you mean by a denied area? and how difficult is it to get something like an ied into a denied area? >> right. there is thousands of russian security personnel in moscow. denied area means there is a pervasive, you know, security state that watches everyone's moves, whether it is camera systems, whether it is informants, and for western intelligence services and for ukrainians as well, this is an area that is very difficult to operate. so, by recruiting sources inside, who can operate there, that shows a level of penetration of russian security that i think is something that is quite noteworthy. as you noted, they actually have to not only observe the target, but have to smuggle in the explosives, then detonate it. this was apparently detonated remotely in a scooter, but that means individuals on the ground. i think there is going to be a severe counterintelligence operation, heads will roll as well. and the last piece is we are going to see as hala noted there

has been a ferocious reaction from the russians. there will be some retaliation, probably unfortunately in the form of strikes in ukraine against civilian targets. >> and, you know, what can ukraine expect? is it, mark, that a retaliation of this magnitude would include more than just increased missile strikes on what they have unfortunately been doing for years now, which is destroying parts of the, you know, civilian infrastructure in ukraine, but could it lead to maybe some targeting, pinpoint attacks on ukrainian leaders? >> so, you know, the russians have tried, but the ukrainians, of course, their security services are very good. i think no doubt vladimir putin and his security apparatus would like to do this, but they have not been able to. i think the default mechanism will be just kind of more mass casualty events against the ukrainians. but let's also note one thing as

well is that ukrainians, you know, have been very worried, of course, with the incoming trump administration, what they're going to do about the flagging european support. this operation will be celebrated inside of ukraine. there is going to be some satisfaction they're still in the fight. i think that psychological piece is going to be quite important. >> so, what does that tell you, if anything, of the -- what was the nkvdv, the soviet system, and what has become the russian interior control and monitoring system? >> so, you know, they're good, but maybe not that good and that the ukrainians are able to penetrate them is amazing. this is the first, you know, the most senior russian military official, security official, killed. the ukrainians have struck before several years ago. they took a shot at a russian propagandist, ended up killing his daughter. it shows this all pervasive security state in moscow might

not be as all mighty and all powerful as we think. that is going to resonate inside russia, resonate inside the russian security apparatus because they now know that no one is safe. >> yeah, and remember also they were able to get a drone into very near the kremlin. marc polymeropoulos, a pleasure to see you. thank you for your time. up next, president-elect donald trump is suing a major pollster over polling that came out three days before the election. we'll look into that. and also, no public safety threat. that's the message, again, from the white house, just this morning, about the whole drone situation. there have been sightings all over the place. we're looking at a month now of sightings and several states. plus, what gop senators are saying about their meetings with rfk, president-elect trump's choice to head the nation's healthcare system. we're back in 90 seconds. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. s you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. w. most toothpastes quit working in minutes.

but crest pro-health's antibacterial fluoride protects all day. so it stops cavities before they start... crest. your record label is taking off. but so is your sound engineer. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. our advanced matching helps find talented candidates, so you can connect with them fast. visit indeed.com/hire i love crowds, if you can believe it. so you can connect 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. 19 past the hour. breaking this morning, president-elect donald trump has filed a lawsuit against iowa pollster ann selzer and the des moines register, accusing them of consumer fraud. the suit is seeking accountability for brazen election interference over a poll released on the 2nd of november that found that vice president harris was up 3 points in iowa.

trump ultimately won the state by 13 points. his lawyers argue the poll constitutes, quote, election interfering fiction. joining us is catherine christian, she is an nbc news legal analyst. always great seeing you, catherine. thank you for being with us. what are the merits of the lawsuit and what is it based on? >> there are no merits, quite frankly. when you file a lawsuit, you have to say, you were damaged in some way. your reputation, your physical health, your mental health, you had monetary damages. this is only way you can say this probably a nuisance suit or a way to send a message. this poll was wrong. there were many polls that were wrong. there is no indication the pollster or the des moines register did something intentionally. what was the harm to donald trump? he won. he won iowa and he won the presidency. so, this is probably a message lawsuit, whatever message president-elect trump is trying to send. >> what could or in just a generic general statement, what

could someone who files a lawsuit like this have to prove and have to show? >> have to show there was some damage. they're saying there was consumer fraud, that the pollster intentionally tried to basically trick the iowa electorate into believing that vice president harris was leading and therefore people would not come out and vote for donald trump. well, of course, people did come out and vote for donald trump and he won by 13 points. >> he did. >> this lawsuit could be dismissed as frivolous or could move forward. >> and turning to another update, a judge overseeing the hush money case has rejected his request to have the commission thrown out. what do we know about this? >> well, there was -- there was another pending motion to dismiss the indictment. this was a motion to set aside the verdict based on the supreme court decision saying that donald trump had immunity for certain acts. and judge merchan said i'm not setting aside this verdict because i believe the evidence that came into trial, hope hicks specifically, her testimony

about communication she made when she was working for donald trump in the white house, really did not relate to an official act, it related to private conduct. and even if any official act evidence did come in, judge merchan said it was harmless error because there was so much other overwhelming evidence of guilt. >> so what does that mean as far as that case going forward? >> well, the defendant, trump, can appeal. some people have had it wrong. you cannot appeal now. he has to wait until he's sentenced. in new york,happens and he'll try to move it and i believe the appellate division in new york will deny that, what is called an article 78 appeal. >> the president-elect just reacted to this decision, saying on truth social, quote, in a completely illegal psychotic order, the deeply conflicted corrupt biased and incompetent acting justice juan merchan has disrespected the united states supreme court and its historic decision on immunity.

how much of the supreme court's decision on immunity is this case based on? >> it is based on judge merchan interprets the decision to say, for these -- this case, he didn't get any immunity. and i expect we will see this case again probably in the supreme court. but, the case is still not over in that there is another motion that donald trump filed to dismiss the indictment and we're waiting for judge merchan to decide that motion. >> so, this was revealed yesterday, i guess, that trump has another pending argument about jury misconduct? >> that's a new one. >> that's separate. >> that's separate. that should have been filed before as part of his -- what is called 330 motion to set aside the verdict. that's a new allegation. they're going to do -- donald trump and his lawyers are going to do everything they can to make sure he's not sentenced before inauguration day. >> and so that's essentially -- i'm wondering, because there are so many, you know, motions and

countermotions and decisions, so, what -- as it stands right now, juan merchan is going to have -- >> he's got to decide whether or not he's going to dismiss the indictment on a separate issue. they filed a motion to dismiss, now he's president-elect, so therefore you have to dismiss the indictment. and then he has to determine if he doesn't dismiss the indictment, will he sentence donald trump before inauguration day? donald trump's lawyers are going to do everything possible to make sure that doesn't happen. >> thank you for clearing that up. there is a lot of issues that only you help us with clarity on. i appreciate that. thanks. up next, new developments in the mystery of the flying objects in our skies. what the latest is on it. people are still seeing all kinds of things up in the sky. plus, time is running out to avert a shutdown, a government shutdown. yes, why lawmakers may miss friday's deadline, even if there is a spending agreement. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. t. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc.

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. ♪ only pay for what you need. have you always had trouble with your weight? same. discover the power of wegovy®. with wegovy®, i lost 35 pounds. and some lost over 46 pounds. and i'm keeping the weight off. i'm reducing my risk. wegovy® is the only weight-management medicine proven to reduce risk of major cardiovascular events such as death, heart attack, or stroke in adults with known heart disease and obesity. don't use wegovy® with semaglutide or glp-1 medicines, or in children under 12. don't take if you or your family had mtc, men 2, or if allergic to it. tell your provider if you plan to have surgery or a procedure, are breastfeeding, pregnant, or plan to be.

stop taking and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or any of these allergic reactions. serious side effects may include pancreas inflammation and gallbladder problems. call your prescriber if you have any of these symptoms. wegovy® may cause low blood sugar in people with diabetes, especially if you take medicines to treat diabetes. call your prescriber about vision changes, if you feel your heart racing while at rest, or if you have mental changes. depression or thoughts of suicide may occur. common side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, stomach pain, flu, or upset, headache, feeling tired, dizzy, or bloated, gas, and heartburn. some side effects lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. with wegovy®, i'm losing weight, i'm keeping it off, and i'm lowering my cv risk. ask your prescriber about wegovy®.

sofia vergara: in this family, we don't fight over the bill. we just take care of it. families never receive a bill from st. jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food. join our st. jude family. we need you. please donate now. did you know, sweat from stress is actually smellier than other kinds of sweat? that's why i use secret clinical antiperspirant. it works on sweat from: stress, heat and activity. it provides 3x stress sweat protection. secret works. [♪♪]

jen b asks, "how can i get fast download speeds while out and about?" jen, we've engineered xfinity mobile with wifi speeds up to a gig, so you can download and do much more all at once. it's an idea that's quite attractive.

or... another word... -fashionable? i was gonna say- "popular! you're gonna be pop-uuuu-larrr!" can you do defying gravity?! yeah, get my harness. buy one line of unlimited, get one free for a year with xfinity mobile. and see “wicked,” in theaters now. 29 past the hour. this morning, there are growing questions over the mysterious drone sightings along the eastern u.s. as the pentagon reiterates that there is no indication of, quote, malicious activity. here's what white house national security communications adviser james kirby said just this morning. >> right now, our assessment leads us to conclude that these are lawful and legal aviation

activities, manned and unmanned drones and civil aviation aircraft or commercial aircraft. >> so let's talk about drones because, you know, there are these little baby drones, you can see that one. this is like a toy drone that is as small as you can have. and that drone, you know, you can fly it for a couple of minutes, again, this is really, really small. but then there, you know, these drones which are really popular and these are, like, the under 249 gram drones, you don't have to be registered with the faa. can i catch that? no. but these aren't the drones we're talking about. we're talking about drones that some people say are as large as a small car. joining us now, nbc's maya eglin and jamie jacobs, executive director of oklahoma aerospace institute for research and education and a professor at

oklahoma state university. so, maya, let's begin with this whole issue. more and more drones, again, not like this. >> right. >> the huge ones. more and more drones being sighted and more and more questions are being asked. what is the latest on that? >> the latest we have is from john kirby on the "today" show, he reiterated there is no active threat to the american public at this time. most of what people are reporting are actually commercial drones, military drones, police drones, some of them could be recreational drones as well. he said the fbi had over 5,000 reports of these drone sightings, only 100 of those reports have actually led to further investigations. so he really wanted to put some calm to the american public saying there is not much to worry about. josh gottheimer still concerned. here's some of what he had to say. >> there are postings of sightings all over the internet, some of them true and others,

i'm concerned, are being sted by others to scare people. that's why i'm setting up on my website, a new page, where people from new jersey can share information on tips on their latest drone sightings. >> gottheimer also really trying to encourage an effort to create an air traffic control system for drones specifically. so we'll be monitoring that as well. >> jamie, let's talk about this. look, drones are a part of life, fortunately or unfortunately. we have been seeing proliferation of these under 249 drones and so any others. what do you think has been happening in the past three weeks? what are people seeing? >> well, i think it really just comes to the point that, you know, people have a really hard time identifying things that they see in the night sky. and drones, just like any other aircraft, have navigation lights on board. and it is really difficult to determine a sense of scale, both distance and size of the vehicle, when you're looking at

it particularly at night. these are mostly misidentifications from everything we have seen. it is hard for professionals to identify the difference between a drone and an aircraft during the evening. >> yeah, okay. but, so, correct me if i'm wrong, because if you do fly drones, you know, over 249 grams, you do have to register, even under 249, the faa is happy to register it and, you know, when you fly any size drone, you still have to go on and essentially ask for a flight plan. isn't it -- is it impossible for the faa to track these larger drones that may be up there for more than ten minutes? >> yeah, it is really difficult because the systems are very small and like you mentioned, you know, a drone pilot that is operating under faa guidelines should have both registered their drone, should have remote i.d. on board that allows it to

be tracked but should also be a licensed part 107 or private pilot. and so many of these cases are not malicious, they're just careless actors. people have gone out, bought a drone off -- from best buy or amazon and out flying it at night without realizing really what is going on. and then you kind of pile on. people start mentioning on social media, and, some of the drone operators said, hey, i think i'll join in on the fun and see what i can do to stir the pot. >> yeah, and then there is, of course, the concern of maybe this is all part of a movement, something that starts like that. but that maybe malicious actors could join in and what is the white house asking congress to do about this? >> so we saw this joint statement with several federal organizations today, the dod, fbi, posted on the faa's website today. it says in part, they're asking congress to expand existing counterdrone authorities and help identify threats. so really trying to push

congress to set up a new task force potentially, or pass laws that grant more authorities to not only the federal government, but the local entities that are involved in these investigations as well. >> i just don't know how much more stuff you need regulations and authorities and investigating counsels, this stuff is registered. there is a way to find out if they are car-sized things, you should be able to figure it out. i'm wondering, jamie, how big can drones be and, you know, we're talking about commercial, military, et cetera, for the majority of people, how big can a drone be? >> yeah, most of these operations are going to be 55 pounds and below. you need special permission to be able to go much larger than that. 55 pounds is still really large for a drone. and i doubt most of these are even within that particular scale. when we're talking about things such as advanced air mobility or urban mobility, we're really now talking about things that will carry people and they will be,

you know, the size of small cars to be able to do that. now, the threat still exists. and, you know, we don't have a great way to track these really small drones, so if you are a malicious actor, and this is one of the reasons why it goes back that these are careless, first thing you do is turn off your navigation lights, so you couldn't be seen and it would be hard to spot you at nighttime if you don't have your lights on board. but there is risk and we have to be aware of that that there is a potential threat. i just don't think that's the case. >> true, but if you create confusion, by turning all the lights and blanketing the area, then that is a way of maybe getting, you know, the ones without lights as well under the, you know, confusion that is created by so many of these questions. maya and jamey, thank you very much. i have a collection of all baby drones but these, you can't see this at night. doesn't have any lights. and this one, you know --

>> you can hold it in your hand. >> there it goes. >> next, what rfk jr. is telling senators on the hill about his controversial stance on vaccines, and while some doctors are skeptical about rfk jr. taking on the next role, our next guest, a doctor himself, says kennedy could be key in turning around the obesity crisis in our country. we'll speak with him next. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. t. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. years. we're so glad we got bulkamid. call this number, today. get your bladder back. (cough cough) (sneeze) (♪♪) new alka-seltzer plus cold or flu fizzy chews. chew. fizz. feel better fast. no water needed. new alka-seltzer plus fizzychews.

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. [children playing] hey guys, come on! time to eat. time to eat. i don't want this. i want corndogs! [children chanting] corndogs! corndogs! corndogs! ♪♪ i need another corndog! my name is brayden. i was five years old when i came to st. jude. i'll try and shorten down the story. so i've been having these headaches that wouldn't go away. my mom, she was just crying. what they said, your son has brain cancer. it was your worst fear coming to life.

watching your child grow up is the dream of every parent. you can join the battle to save the lives of kids like brayden, by supporting st. jude children's research hospital . families never receive a bill from st. jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food, so they can focus on helping their child live . what they have done for me, my son, my family-- i'm sorry, yeah. life is a gift, especially for a child battling cancer. call or go online and help save another lives of children like brayden. now, i'm 11 years old. we were actually doing the checkup for my brain. and they saw something in my throat. it's thyroid cancer. it was heartbreaking to find out that he has cancer again. but we knew who we had behind us.

it just gives me hope. you can make a difference. join with your credit or debit card for only $19 a month. and we'll send you this st. jude t-shirt. without st. jude or its donors, we would have been in a bad place. these kids, they've done nothing wrong in the world. finding a cure for childhood cancer, it means everything. help st. jude give kids with cancer a chance. [audio logo] ♪ [music] i could lock up every door ♪ help st. jude give kids with cancer a chance. ♪ check again just so i'm sure ♪ ♪ watch ziggy from the plane ♪ ♪ ♪ my garage i could open ♪ ♪ while i'm hiking in wyoming ♪ ♪ if my home just had a brain ♪

42 past the hour. congress has won big task left on its to do list before lawmakers head home for the holidays, avert a government shutdown before friday's midnight deadline, but with no text of a bill, time seems to be running out. mike johnson gave a status update. >> cr is coming together. bipartisan work is ongoing. we're almost there. we worked really hard to achieve consensus on a bill that funds the government into march of next year, march 14, and that date was chosen because it coincides with the calendars of the house and the senate and makes sense for us to get the appropriations done. >> with us now, jake sherman, co-founder of punch bowl news and msnbc contributor. jake, great seeing you. cr until march. looks like -- sounds like it is good, but friday midnight is right around the corner. >> yeah. listen, jose, we deal with this, you and i have talked about this going back many years, these

situations. and they always seem to get it done or most of the time get it done. but as you note, they are really pushing the envelope here. it is tuesday, midday, we still haven't seen text. this could mean the house won't vote on this until thursday night is my guess. that's what mike johnson seems to indicate to me last night. at that point he thought we would see text last night. the big drama here is that democrats appear to have exacted a lot of concessions from mike johnson. they have gotten a lot of provisions in this legislation, which, again, is not out yet. we don't know exactly what they've gotten but everything from trade to just a whole host of provisions that democrats were asking for and the reason for that, quite frankly, is because mike johnson pushed for direct economic assistance to farmers. that was something that republicans had been pushing for, the president-elect had been pushing for, this direct

assistance to farmers. and, number one, democrats don't like it. number two, they need democratic votes. republicans will need democratic votes to get this across the finish line and to get it across the finish line this week before the government shuts down. >> thursday, if it is thursday night, and then there is the time it needs to be, you know, given to both the house and the senate then. what is that looking like? remember, last time there was a cr until midnight, they did it 24 hours after of the midnight session had passed. >> we could see that happening again. technically the government isn't put into shutdown over a weekend if there is a bill moving through congress. the administration has wide purview over when to put the government into an official shutdown. i expect the senate will move quickly with this once they get it, but can they do it in one day? that remains to be seen. that's a fficult task. i don't anticipate a long lapse in government funding.

we see jet fumes, people smell the jet fumes, want to get home for christmas, it is the weekend before christmas, people want to get home. >> jake, indiana congressman smarts posted on x yesterday she will remain a registered republican, but will not sit on committees or participate in the caucus until she sees the republican leadership in congress is governing. what is that all about? >> who knows? we broke this story yesterday, i still don't really know what it means. i don't know what she's going to be doing if it is not for being on committees and going to republican party meetings. she won't have much of a say on anything. won't have any say in committee business, won't have any say in developing strategy. the truth is, i'll end with this, she tried to get on the ways and means committee, that important tax writing committee and she fell short and i think she's pretty upset by that. >> jake sherman on capitol hill, thank you very much. appreciate it. up next, rfk jr. back on the hill today answering questions from senators. we have new reaction to his

stances on polio vaccine and a whole lot more. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. oe you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. ♪vapocooooool♪ woah. dayquil vapocool. the vaporizing daytime, coughing, aching, stuffy head, power through your day, medicine. when i hear cancer, i hear death sentence. every 15 seconds, someone will hear the words, “you have cancer.” at the american cancer society, we're here... to help people through their entire journey. and today, we're asking for your support. your gift helps fund important research that saves lives. [bell ringing montage] i owe it all to the american cancer society... ♪♪ we can't do this without you. donate today.

(realtor) we've been telling clients it's nearly impossible we can't do this without you. to sell a home in winter. not true - i just help them sell directly to opendoor. it's hassle free. wait - this isn't going on the internet, is it? oh... (vo) it's true. opendoor makes selling easy in any season.

our right to reproductive health care is being stolen from us. i can't believe this is the world we live in, where we're losing the freedom to control our own bodies. we need your support now more than ever. go online, call, or scan this code, with your $19 monthly gift. and we'll send you this "care. no matter what" t-shirt. it is your right to have safe health care. that's it. go online, call, or scan right now. 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. 49 past the hour. president-elect donald trump's controversial pick to head the health and human services department robert f. kennedy jr. is back on capitol hill for another day of meetings with senators. it comes as he faces some questions about his own support for the polio vaccine and his ties to a lawyer who asked the

fda to revoke its approval of the vaccine. >> mr. kennedy, what is your position on the polio vaccine? >> do you mind repeating what you said previously about the polio vaccine? >> do you support it? >> yeah -- >> and just a short time ago, louisiana republican senator john kennedy, who is not related to rfk jr., spoke out about that reporting. >> he should fire his lawyer, the one that petitioned the fda to get rid of the polio vaccine. he should call him up, his lawyer, call his lawyer up and say, look, man, stop dipping into your ketamine stash. polio vaccine has saved hundreds and hundreds of millions of lives in the world. >> joining us now, nbc's vaughn hillyard in west palm beach, florida, near mar-a-lago. good morning. yesterday, donald trump made a point during his news conference

to try to ease people's concerns about rfk jr. what did he have to say? >> reporter: right. this was a line of questioning that the president-elect faced, understanding that if robert f. kennedy jr. were to be confirmed to the post of top hhs, which oversees nih, cdc, the fda, that would fall under the discretion of kennedy. that's where trump was asked specifically about the position on vaccines and whether he stood by the vaccine skepticism that let's be very clear for that image that you just saw of kennedy up on capitol hill, walking stoically and silently to meet with republican senators, he has been all but quiet about his position on vaccines for the last 30 years. that's where i want to let you hear from the president-elect about the man who hes is is pu.

>> i think he's going to be much less radical than you would think. i think he's got a very open mind or i wouldn't have put him there. he'll be very much less radical, but there are problems. i mean, we don't do as well as a lot of other nations and those nations use nothing. and we're going to find out what those problems are. >> reporter: of course, the question here is for kennedy, with the cdc nominee, dave weldon, a long time questioner of -- like kennedy of the preservatives in vaccines that he has claimed repeatedly were linked to autism, which runs counter to peer reviewed scientific research of the last decades, whether he would use these offices to try to slow down the authorization, for instance, of updated vaccines or new vaccines. right, in the case of the covid vaccines, there were multiple occasions in 2020 and 2021 in which kennedy pushed back on the emergency authorization of several vaccines.

so there is some questions undoubtedly that kennedy is now facing in these meetings about how he would seek to use the fda and the cdc. >> vaughn hillyard, thank you very much. with us now to talk more about this is dr. robert pearl, former ceo of the permanente medical group. great seeing you. thank you for being with us. so rfk jr. is being brought in by the president-elect to be a change agent for the industry. what do you think of his selection? >> well, let me start by saying i've never met robert kennedy jr. and i have not had a chance to talk to him about it. but what i can read about his vaccine positions is extremely unscientific. polio is an example, used to kill or paralyze half a million people around the globe each year. a year in which 3,000 people died in new york city alone. i have aunt, great aunt, who died from measles prior to the

vaccine. these vaccines have made major advancements and anyone who believes they cause autism or they are not health generating needs to review the literature and see all the research that has been done. there is not any credible evidence of that. at the same time -- >> i'm sorry, doctor, i want to ask you, because there is a difference, is there not, in the type of vaccines that are used? so what has been used to deal with measles and with polio was one type of vaccine, and then there are other types of vaccines that vaughn was talking about these preservatives in vaccines. are there different types of vaccines? >> there are different types of vaccines. polio is a good example. two vaccines in the past. one using dead virus, one using live virus. we no longer use the live virus, that's an example of different kinds of vaccines.

the preservatives preserve the vaccine and that's a different question. that's a different class of vaccines. and, of course, we have the -- the mrna vaccines, which are completely different, the ones for covid, which used a scientific process, and not the actual virus itself. so, yes, there is a lost variation among vaccines and the fda does a very good job of testing these, demonstrating the safety. polio is a great example. it has been eradicated everywhere except for three nations in this world. and the result has been remarkable for the health of our population. people forget that these childhood diseases killed and maimed so many people. we have forgotten it because they have been gone, but i'm very afraid, particularly as new viruses come along, mpox now coming out of africa, we have the avian flu sitting in cattle

that could mutate and go to humans and i believe we do need to have a very aggressive vaccine approach in order to save hundreds of thousands if not millions of american live s in the future should a problem erupt. >> i'm wondering, what is the difference between a vaccine that has been proven and utilized for in some cases decades and then an experimental vaccine when they say it is an experimental vaccine, is that a different kind of product than one that has been utilized for decades? >> all an experimental vaccine means is it is new and still being tested. covid is a great example. we didn't have that virus, so there was no reason to have a vaccine against that. each vaccine is specific to the particular organism, that's how it is created. and the fda has a very rigorous process of testing experimental

vaccines. new vaccines, as it does with every drug that is submitted for evaluation and approval. but these other vaccines, the polio vaccine, the measles vaccine, these have been used for decades, with tremendous safety and we have documentation of the millions of lives that have been saved. >> dr. robert pearl, thank you for being with us. i appreciate it. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. you can reach me on social media, jd balart and watch clips from our show at youtube at msnbc.com/jdb. thank you for the privilege of your time. up next, andrea mitchell talks to debra tice, the mother of austin tice, who was taken captive in syria more than ten years ago. andrea mitchell picks things up after this quick break. mitchel after this quick break ...that stayed clear, even at 5 years. serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections may occur. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection,

flu-like symptoms or if you need a vaccine. emerge with clear skin. ask your doctor about tremfya®. ♪♪ z's bakery is looking to add a pizza oven, about tremfya®. 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™. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," ukraine is claiming responsibility for the shocking bombing death of a top russian military general inside moscow. the latest escalation as president-elect trump pushes