it's 10:00 a.m. eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific. we have breaking news as the beltway is bracing for the imminent release of the ethics report of the former congressman, matt gaetz. house ethics staffers will convene today. the panel was investigating sexual misconduct allegations against gaetz that included he paid for sex with underaged girls and prosecutes.

on wednesday gaetz preemptively rebutted the report posting in part, quote, in my single days i sent funds to women i dated and never had sexual conduct with somebody under 18. he added it's embarrassing and not criminal that i probably partied more than i should have in my younger life and i live a different life now. >> it's set to be released any minute now. >> yeah, we are furiously refreshing the ethics committee's website to see if and when that report will be released today. we expect it to be released at some point today, and exactly when is not clear. we know the house ethics committee voted in a rekret meeting a couple weeks ago to reverse course despite the fact

that gaetz already left congress and the fact that they have kind of a tradition, not necessarily a precedent, where they do not release reports on former members of congress. you will remember that gaetz stepped down from congress when he was asked to be the attorney general in donald trump's upcoming administration and he subsequently stepped down from being considered as the next attorney general and now is poised to become an anchor at a right wing news network. we saw gaetz rebutting some of the claims made in the ethics report as there have been draft reports, and we want to wait for the official report before revealing any information. when it comes out, we are expected to see the meat behind the allegations that have been

dogging gaetz in congress. there are accusations that he engaged in sex with an underaged girl, something he has vehemently denied and allegations that he paid for sex on a regular basis, and that's something he denies. and his conduct not only violated the ethics ruled, which are a bit more stringent than a criminal law would be, and members of the house of representatives are expected to be live up to be a standard greater than that of basic criminal law, but whether they discovered evidence they believe for him to be charged criminally, and gaetz reported to the fact that federal investigators conducted a lengthy investigation into him, and determined they did not want to proceed or prosecute him, and that doesn't mean they

exonerated him and it means they did not feel as though they could win a case in a court of law. we are waiting to see how all this plays out and we are waiting to seat evidence behind these accusations and what the ethics committee turned up over the course of the hreptly investigation and we will have to see when that report is released. >> you said there's a precedent where normally is the member is no longer in congress these reports don't get released and there's a strange chain of events when he was nominated to be trump's ag and then resigned almost immediately before waiting to see if he would be confirmed and the theory is he was doing that for this exact purpose. why do you think the ethics committee is doing a bit of an about-face and release this report or we think they are going to release the report at this time? >> i think there are a long list of reasons, and i believe based on what we have seen and what ethics committee have told us,

they will address that in the report and explain why they chose to do something that is a bit out of the ordinary. there's precedent. on a couple different occasions they released reports that were based on members of congress that already left, but it's not typical. normally they would only release reports when a member is a sitting member of congress. but this is a unique situation, for a number of reasons. first, there's so much time and attention that has been paid to matt gaetz' conduct while he was a member of congress. there's been the discourse of numerous news articles and in-depth news investigations, and he was subject of a criminal investigation, and there's a great deal of focus on it because he was picked to be a member of the trump administration and there's even

a chance he could be tapped for something in the administration, and over the weekend he teased the idea that he may consider running for the soon-to-be vacant senate seat in florida when marco rubio is tapped to be the secretary of state. there's a lot of reasons why members may want this report to become public, and i suspect we will get the reason why once this report is revealed. >> gaetz not going quietly into the good political night. let us know when you have more reporting and we will see if it comes out today. we are joined now by political science professor, christina greer, and tara setmayer, and carlos.

as somebody who was in the house, what is your view of this timing and what are you going to be looking for specifically in this report? >> look, we can expect some embarrassing details in this report. i mean, think about it. this is why matt gaetz have gone to great lengths to suppress this report and resigned early from the house, and the other trump nominees did not resign. he did not want this report to be published. this was at the center of this battle, the personal battle with former speaker, kevin mccarthy, and the report is probably going to be so compelling in many ways that i think gaetz probably feared that he would have been compelled from congress. another reason -- in addition to what ryan said as to why this is being published is because matt

gaetz does not have a lot of friends in congress. he made a lot of people angry. for house republicans, he dragged them through a very difficult experience with the mccarthy ouster and the 15 votes that made mccarthy speaker before that, so there's not much goodwill for gaetz in either party. >> tara, i want to go to you next. there have been a lot of republicans in lockstep, and gaetz was the exception. do you think republicans on the hill will criticize him after what comes out in the report and what do you think we are likely to hear from president-elect trump? >> well, to carlos' point, there is no love lost with republicans and gaetz, and he's one of the most reviled republicans in

congress, like jd vance, who is now our vice president. i am assuming you will not hear too many members of congress go into much detail. he has resigned. he's no longer their problem. i am glad to see the ethics committee did the right thing to make this report public. this has been done in the past. no, not normally, but in extraordinary circumstances, which i would say this constitutes that, those reports have been made public for the public good. the member needs to see how he used his office, and president-elect trump made him one of his high profile picks, potentially, and it's something that senators should take into consideration with his picks. what happened last week with the budget deal being blown up and republicans standing up to trump

theoretically and going back to the bipartisan deal they negotiated i think shows a certain crack within the republican caucus, where this is a preview of the chaos we are going to see going into the new republican congress, and it's possible for republicans to stand up to trump when they need to in the best interest of the american people. let's hope they do that again. matt gaetz is a precursor to the other nominees trump put forth who are highly problematic, including rfk jr., tulsi gabbard. >> is there enough time to even, you know, it's almost a holiday, to get a judge to the bench to make a ruling on this before it's released? >> for gaetz, he would have to

prove irreparable harm, and that harm is thanks to his former friends like kevin mccarthy, that say on the house floor gaetz showed videos bragging about his exploits, and so some notion that the court will give him relief is a little far fetched. i think rfk jr., remember, hegseth has an accuser of rape, and rfk brags about using heroin to be a better student or something, and matt gaetz, incidentally, according to the ethics report, said that he used a

>> unqualified and possibly corrupt individuals. you know, the disarray in congress will be on full display. elon musk made it clear he will use his money power and influence to try and primary republicans to say nothing of democrats, but i do think there are windows of opportunity. do i think republicans will do the right thing at all times, no, but there will be chances for republicans to stand up and respect the institution of congress and there are many

republicans that recognize it cannot be filled with people that said i was a young guy and young and sex and underaged misdeeds were part of me being young so let's write it off and move forward, and many realize the institution can't survive if they have too many of these individuals not in congress but within their party. democrats will be able to work with, coalesce with and build coalitions with certain like-minded republicans that care about the nation and not just the protection of their seat. >> i want to switch gears and talk about the man behind the man, which is elon musk who almost sparked a government shutdown this week, and his influence with trump has been highly scrutinized and it seems

to be getting under president-elect trump's skin a little bit. >> no, he's not taking the presidency. i like having smart people. they are on a new quick. russia, russia, ukraine, ukraine, and now now it's president trump has seated the presidency to elon musk. no, no, that's not happening. he's not going to be president. that i can tell you. and i'm safe. you know why? he can't be. he was not born in this country. >> the comment is interested to me because he doesn't say anything about the alleged influence musk is having over policy making, he just says he can't actually be president because he was not born in the country, and do you see trump trying to sideline musk after

all this co president talk? >> yeah, clearly this has gotten into the president-elect's head, and i think they are going to carefully start pushing elon musk to the side a little bit. donald trump likes people who are successful and who are very wealthy, and there's nobody wealthier than elon musk, so i am sure he will keep him close. obviously elon musk has a bully pulpit and is good at drawing attention to different issues and causes but this can go too far and end up getting in the way of donald trump and his objectives, and by the way, there are still members of congress who do not want to be bullied by any billionaire and will not be intimidated, and this could backfire so i do think -- that's a good indicator, the clips you played there that president-elect trump, i think, will start asking elon musk to move a

little over to the side and not take up so much of the limelight. >> tara, as this was all unfolding i was trying to think of another time -- this is not the first time an unelected person with a lot of money had undue influence over an elected official or even the president and i am wondering if we are just seeing it because musk is so public about it that we are seeing it, or how do you feel about that? >> it's clear elon musk feels he bought his way into being a shadow president. he's been laying this foundation for some time. and there was talk of netanyahu being a shadow president back then. elon musk, he's the richest man in the word and there's a certain entitlement and he invested a lot of money into donald trump, and it's clear, trump doesn't, a, like to play

second fiddle, and he probably thought it was great in the beginning because of elon musk's base, and now we have seen others get push to the side, and this dynamic is rather problematic for a lot of reasons. i don't think the american people decided to vote in an unelected billionaire to pull the strings. in the past we have not really seen somebody like this making foreign phone calls to foreign leaders to getting involved and meddling in congress. the fact that democrats, there's an opening for democrats and we saw them all on message going after elon musk's influence and calling him president elon. we know that really bothers donald trump and he makes mistakes, and there was an awkward exchange in the turning point of usa, that was an awkward laugh and there was science. it's clearly bothering him and

this is an opportunity for democrats, when they are all on one message, they can accomplish things. this is an opening. because there's even chaos and fractures within the republican caucus because of elon musk, and if they are pointing out all the billionaires making money off the american people because much donald trump, that helps democrats moving forward into 2026. >> how do you see all this playing out? >> yeah, in the past, you know, we have always heard jokes about the lincoln bedroom in the white house basically being a hotel room for millionaires rewarded with spending time and getting access to presidents -- >> this is not the first time rich guy has ever gotten the president to listen to him. >> there's a huge difference between a millionaire and billionaire, and no disrespect to millionaires, but there are far fewer billionaires, and they

can affect the global economy if they choose to do so and i think trump made a bargain with elon musk to get back in the white house, and i think it will be tricky to get elon musk back to the side if he chooses to move back to the side, and he feels he did put money in the investment and does have influence with foreign leaders and with the military and space. the list goes on and on. we are in -- we're in for another series of chaos that we did not see in the first term of donald trump when he was essentially trying to figure things out. this time, as i said before, he cased the joint. the second time he will not surround himself with republicans who care about the presidency, and he will push forward whatever agenda pops in his mind at the time, and we saw

this would be an exclusion airy second term. the chaos will ensue. sadly we are all on the train together as americans but it's going to be a very difficult at least two years for the country. >> all right. certainly going to be an interesting ride on that train next year. former congressman and richard goldstein, thank you very much. next up, the accused ceo killer facing state charges this morning. what comes next as the case against him moves forward. also ahead, fallout from the allegations of blake lively against a co star. and how mother nature could be a grinch and snarl your travel plans. we're back in 90 seconds. back is and i use this. febreze has a microchip to control scent release so it smells first-day fresh for 50 days. 50 days!? and its refill reminder light

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former deputy chief of the southern district of new york's criminal division. can you give us the latest on his arraignment and the charges he's facing today? >> reporter: i can. it was not a lengthy court appearance mangione made today and we are able to look at the tape for you now and take a listen to it. >> crime of murder in the second degree, and how do you plead, sir, guilty or not guilty? >> not guilty. >> reporter: now, as you mentioned, those charges include one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder along with a terrorism-related offense and weapons charges as well. we also were able to hear in court today mangione's attorney asking for expedited discovery of the evidence which she points

out, prosecutors have had for weeks now and they have been coordinating with federal prosecutors and treating mangione with a spectacle, and the perp walks. the judge saying there's little he can control outside the courtroom regarding this, and the prosecutors saying there's a lot of evidence to go through in regards to the discovery but will do their best giving notice in the next 15 days. you mentioned the next appearance happening february 21st, and mangione heading back to federal court, and the charges there could carry the death penalty. >> interesting they tried to get the judge to address the massive perp walks. what do you think the legal

expense to be at this point? >> well, one thing i think that his lawyer was very smart to think about whats perp walk to be clear that that is not normal. it's not the normal to have the mayor of new york city to show up as a defendant's perp walk, and it's unnecessary and completely political and i imagine the prosecutors were upset about it. part of her best defense here is hoping for journal faction and really hoping that this sentiment among some people in the population that he is a folk hero, and people frustrated with health care insurance companies, hoping there's one person to the jury to see that, and if they

don't have a jury able to convict them the federal judge is from a larger pool beyond manhattan and it could be a more favorable jury pool, so those charges are there, i believe, because they really have concerns about the fact that there could be a jury nullification. >> jury nullification is where the jury listens to the evidence and doesn't find guilty no matter what the evidence is. some people are arguing the terrorism charge is a mistake, and there's a highlight what mangione said in the notebook writing he planned a targeted assassination because he didn't want to risk that, and what is

your take on the furtherance of terrorism? is this a mistake by the prosecutors in an otherwise airtight case? >> i don't think it's a mistake because the language of the statute is you have to show that this act of murder was intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population. in mangione's note work according to the federal complaint he states his grievances specifically saying the target is insurance, that he has his grievances against health care executives in particular, so that's a civilian population he intended to intimidate here. in his letter to the feds, he says it's clear i did this alone and acted alone and this was very premedicated. he goes through the steps he took to plan it, and it becomes self-evident by conducting this at the conference, and they have

evidence that can show he acted with the intent to intimidate the insurance population specifically, and if it's an overreach the jury always has a compromise they can decide and say, look, we are not going to find him guilty of murder in furtherance of an act of terrorism but will find him guilty of murder, in which you point out, the evidence is airtight. >> thank you so much for being with us. all right, right now millions are on the move hitting the skies and the roads for record-breaking holiday travel. hazardous conditions could create headaches in the final countdown to christmas. and then uncertainty and fear of president trump's deportation threats, and how daca recipients are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. to be able to lay my hand flat.

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rush is in full swing with a record number of people expected to be on the move, but no matter your mode of transportation this season, expect turbulence. this morning amtrak had downed power lines yesterday suspending service for hours and causing widespread delays. emily acadia has more. >> this festive week getting off to a freezing start.

millions on alert for under average and bone-chilling temperatures. parts of the northeast even dipping below zero overnight after a blast of winter weather stphaur annualed travel from coast-to-coast. travelers faced cancelations. >> i got the first flight back home in the hoerpbg. >> the tsa said it's expected to screen 40 million flyers between the run-up to christmas and the trip back home on christmas eve, up from 2023. >> it's really crowded in here with a lot of people -- >> some desperate to get home for the holidays giving trains a try but critical amtrak routes in the northeast were delayed or canceled due to downed power lines blocking tracks and unavailable equipment. new york's penn station snaking lines on tuesday.

the vast majority of americans heading to holiday celebrations by car. treacherous driving conditions blamed for this crash outside of bostonians that took down utility lines, but gas prices hovering around $3 a gallon nationwide. now travelers opening mother nature won't deliver more holiday headaches. ahead on this holiday week, dreamers brought to the u.s. as children facing even more uncertainty about their future ahead of a trump second term in office, and we will talk to a daca recipient about how she's feeling. first, blake lively accusing a co star of sexual harassment. what he's saying in a new complaint.

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we're learning new details this morning about actress blake lively's legal complaint, accusing justin baldoni of trying to destroy her reputation. these accusations have been floating around and going back and forth for a while now, but what happened in the last couple

of days? >> there's people speaking out in support of blake lively, and including the writer of the book "it ends with us," and there was explosive allegations "the new york times" made in their report over the weekend. an attorney for justin baldoni and his production company is calling these claims categorically false. >> if are a fan of the book or of the movie -- sorry, i panicked and i thought you stopped talking. >> well, actually there's a ton here we can get to and obviously it's something that captivated people throughout the weekend and it's a story people are interested in because it involves two incredibly high-profile figures, and here's a bit of my report to learn more. >> i love you. >> reporter: this morning, holiday reacting to those explosive allegations of sexual

harassment on the set of the hit movie "it ends with us." >> one day if you have a daughter, what would say to her? >> blake lively filed a legal complaint saying justin baldoni repeatedly crossed boundaries on intimate scenes, and blakely's friends and family showing support, including "sister of the traveling pants" co-stars, saying throughout the filming of it ends with us, we saw her summons courage. and also the author of the novel writing thank you for being exactly the human you are, never change, never wilt. and the complaint accused justin baldoni of suddenly pressuring

lively simulate full nudity in a scene in which she gives birth. as media and fans begin to raise questions about a rift in the cast, the complaint says that justin baldoni hired a crisis communications team to launch a social manipulation against lively to destroy her reputation, and two pr experts working for justin baldoni, one said he wants to feel like she can be buried. >> this reveals a new playbook for waging a far-reaching and largely undetectable smear campaign in the digital age. >> a lawyer representing justin baldoni and his production company called lively's allegations false and another desperate attempt to fix her negative reputation.

an attorney said in a statement, quote, these claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally intentionally salacious. >> so in the wake of this reporting over the weekend from the "new york times," wme, who represented justin baldoni for several years, they parted ways with him and blake lively releasing a statement to "the times" saying she's hoping this investigation and her precursor to a lawsuit is pulling back the curtain on the retaliatory attacks. >> sorry about the confusion at the top. completely my fault. but i wanted to ask, if you are a fan of the movie or one of the individuals or the other, what do you do? so often in the celebrity feuds, we see a division into camps that can get ugly. >> i think it's tough. i think each of these stars have incredibly strong fan bases, and obviously neither are media shy

and you have blake lively coming out with the complaint that she filed. potentially you could see a lawsuit and maybe go to trial and that's probably unlikely, and justin baldoni has a social media platform and production company, and if he wants to say more i am sure he will over the next couple days, and his attorney coming out and swinging against all this. just a little while ago we received an exclusive comment on amber heard, and she released a statement about this because johnny depp actually hired the same crisis pr team or some of the same people and she said that social media misinformation is, quote, as horrifying as it is destructive. obviously i reached out to an attorney that represents the pr

people mentioned in the "new york times" report, who also some of them worked with johnny depp several years ago and they deny anything having to do with smearing amber heard's reputation, and things are escalating and have a lot of different opinions from both sides. >> thank you so much. next, a look at the future of daca and the potential impact of donald trump's immigration plans. we will talk to one activist about what she's hearing from her fellow dreamers. back in a sec. start to break away from uc with tremfya... with rapid relief at 4 weeks. tremfya blocks a key source of inflammation. at one year, many people experienced remission... and some saw 100% visible healing of their intestinal lining. serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections may occur. before treatment, your doctor should check you

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trump's incoming border czar is out with a strong warning for elected officials that might attempt to prevent him from implementing trump's planned mass deportations, and speaking at a conference on sunday tom homan threatened to recommend felony charges for those impeding. >> the governor says i don't have the authority to do that, but no [ bleep ], and i am not a u.s. attorney but a u.s. attorney does and we will ask for prosecution. >> joining us the executor of united we dream. you are a daca recipient and how

concerned are you about these threats from the incoming administration? do you think they will follow-through. >> good morning. good to be with you this morning. yes, all the threats donald trump has made, we should take them at face value. what we saw today with that was fear mongering, and it's telling us we should be on alert and millions of people are ready not only to defend our communities but to ensure our communities stay safe. >> how do you do that if you have the federal government saying they are going to come and deport people in your household or a neighbor, what do you do at that point? >> i think what we do is hang on to our communities. we are part -- as you mentioned, we are part of schools and we are part of neighborhood spaces and we belong to churches, and this is why it's so important to know that this incoming administration is planning to

raid at schools, hospitals, grocery stores, work places, and it's going to put instability in our communities and economy. it's pretty clear who the villains are here. i think who the heroes will be are the american people. our family members, our pastors, are elected officials that no matter what the fear mongering that tom homan wants to put in place, they know there are limits to what he is promising. >> for those that might remember, there's an obama policy launched in 2012, and there are a million dreamers impacted by this, and we have figures out that show if the program ended 1,000 jobs would be lost every business day for the next two years, and if you break that down by profession, that means 1500 recipients working in health care would be gone or compromised and 700 working in education, and 600 in

child and senior care. do you think americans are really going to start to see a difference in their lives and community if people are suddenly not there to do these jobs? >> we belong to communities all across the u.s. people will miss their neighbors and teachers, and we are not backing down. the same limit that led dreamers and young immigrant people like myself to embrace this country, to call ourselves americans, the same spirit that has allowed us to be part of this community is the one that will say, this is our home. our home is here and we belong to this place, so we are ready to fight back. we're ready to protect one another. you know, as somebody that lives undocumented in this country, i do know that there's no place like home and i am ready to ensure that not only immigrant communities but all americans have the ability these people h

since they were toddlers and this is the home they remember. and congressman padilla is urging president biden to take action in his final days in office to protect daca recipients and dreamers, and it's 30 days away from donald trump will be sworn in from the steps i'm not too far away right now, and is this something that you and the community can count on happening before his term is up? >> the good news is that there's senator padilla, and also local elected officials, governors, school district officials that have the power right now to take action to ensure that we are not persecuted with raids and deportation, and they have the ability to show that our state and local policies are immigrant

friendly and we can maintain our economy strong. i will not mince words here. our community is under siege by politicians that want to give more power and access to millionaires, and so i know that americans will not stand for that. we deserve safely and when immigrants are under threat, all communities are under threat. >> thank you so much. we'll be right back. hank you soh we'll be right back.

now to texas behavioraling through 100 yards through a jcpenney. >> the harrowing moment of impact caught on camera in killene, texas, a pickup truck cashing through the doors of a mall there on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. >> oh my god, they shot him. >> reporter: just moments later you can hear what sounds like gunshots, people running for their lives. according to the texas department of public safety, a

state trooper tried pulling over a driver for possibly driving while intoxicated. that's when he took off, veering off the road and into the jcpenney. >> they shot him. oh my gosh, oh my gosh, they shot him. >> reporter: authorities opened fire, killing the suspect, 5 53-year-old john daryl schultz. >> it was a handful of gunshots. so i go and i hold the door open to help people out, because people are panicking. >> reporter: officials say five people were hurt as the truck barrelled through, jcpenney saying they are working to support individuals impacted by the accident in the aftermath. >> thank you so much. ♪♪

it is 11:00 a.m. eastern/8:00 a.m. pacific. we have breaking news from capitol hill. the house ethics committee has just released their long-awaited report on former republican congressman matt gaetz. members say they uncovered, quote, substantial evidence that gaetz paid for sex, had sex with an underaged girl and used or possessed illegal drugs, among other findings. gaetz sought to block the release of that report and has denied all wrongdoing. we have former republican congressman charlie dent and ryan knowles.nobles. what are your big take-aways from the report? april, i'm wondering what your take-away is from this report.

is it what we expected? is it worse, is it better? what does this mean for gaetz's political future if he even has one. >> it's worse because it's real. when you think it versus when you know it, that's the whole piece. now we know it. for those who support transparency in government, this is a win for them, but it's definitely not a win for matt gaetz, who donald trump did not vet to be in a cabinet position to be the head of the department of justice. i mean, you have someone who has a report from his colleagues in congress showing what he did, and this is the man that could have been the head of the justice department. this is scathing for matt gaetz. >> stephanie, since you and gaetz overlapped a bit in congress, it seems he didn't have a lot of friends there, even on his side of the aisle. are you surprised this report was released? and what are you expecting the reaction to be? >> we hold members of congress

to the highest standards of conduct. unlike other committees, this one is evenly split between democrats and republicans. so the fact that this committee voted to make the report public, means there were republicans who voted with democrats to issue this report. so this was quite a bipartisan effort to ensure that there was some transparency. i think the american people deserve to know that no one in elected office is above the law or beyond accountability. >> charlie, you're a republican, you used to chair the ethics committee. this is a heck of an investigation. the committee reviewed nearly 14,000 documents and collected more than two dozen witnesses. what is your read of this situation and why the committee decided to release this report even after gaetz resigned from congress? >> the ethics committee is nonpartisan.

they're very professional. i'm not surprised by the figures you just quoted. they released this because there has been precedent for releasing reports after members of congress have resigned, particularly in matters of sexual misconduct, which was obviously the case here. there was a case in 1990, lukens of ohio, allegedly had sex with a 16-year-old. the report was released after he resigned from congress. i believe that was the seat john boehner was elected to shortly after. he had sent inappropriate text messages to house pages. and there have been other issues. i'm not surprised they released this report and particularly because he was being considered to become the top law enforcement official of the united states. as i read this report, it seemed that -- i haven't read the report yet, but i read an analysis by one news outlet that

seemed to have had the report prior to its release. this was really damning. i want to know was the committee recommending an expulsion, because there was sex, drugs, money. the committee saying that supposedly gaetz may have violated florida state law. so i'm wondering if the committee actually referred this matter to the florida attorney general for further review, which they can do. matt gaetz has suggested or implied that he might be sworn in in january. i don't think that's going to happen now, because should he get sworn in, i suspect there would be an immediate motion to expel him. >> in addition to some of those top-line allegations we've been discussing, i'm looking at the count here. it says, in sum the committee found substantial evidence of the following, and it also talks about representative gaetz received gifts including transportation and lodging in connection with a 2018 trip to the bahamas in excess of

permissible amounts. we want to go to ryan nobles, who's been waiting for this all morning. ryan, what are we learning, and what are the big take-aways? >> reporter: well, i think the most damning accusation by the house ethics committee is they believe they found substantial evidence that matt gaetz is guilty of statutory rape, that he engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl, who at the time testified before the committee that she had just finished her junior year of high school. this was during a party in 2017 where this girl testified to the committee. she's now a woman, but testified to the committee at the time that she and gaetz had sex on two different occasions at this party. they also had that testimony backed up by the testimony of other witnesses who were at this party at the same time. in fact, one of the engagements between this then-girl and gaetz happened in public view where

other people could see it. so this, they believe, is in violation of florida law in particular, and they believe that florida authorities should investigate this even further to determine whether or not he is indeed guilty of statutory rape. the other kind of lengthy bit of evidence that the committee has collected over time is this pattern of what they would accuse matt gaetz of paying for sex. they list some $90,000 in transactions among 12 different women, which they use messaging apps and cash apps, venmo, things along those lines to connect the dots between gaetz's sexual activity and these women. and also the testimony from the women, where they claim they believed the activity they engaged in was the result of these payments from gaetz. in particular, there was a 2018 trip to the bahamas where gaetz and four different women went to the bahamas. he engaged in sex with all these

women. one of the women testified to the committee that she believed the trip to the bahamas was payment for the sex she was providing. another witness, one of the women said they saw gaetz taking ecstacy on that trip. this was all while he was a member of congress. gaetz has repeatedly continued to deny any allegations that he had sex with anyone who was underaged. he's admitted to smoking to drinking to excess during this period of his life. but this morning on his own x account he is rebutting those claims specifically about paying for sex, pointing to a transcript of a prior civil matter where what he claims to be one of the witnesses that also testified before the house ethics committee repeatedly was asked whether or not she felt she was being paid for sex and said she did not think that was the case.

regardless, the committee believes it is enough to prove that. the other kind of important part of this aspect is why the committee decided to release the report. there was obviously a back and forth over that. they deliberated for some time. there was a breakdown along party lines. even the speaker of the house weighed in and said he did not believe it was appropriate for the committee to release the report. they go into great detail as to why they believe the public deserved to see this information. it had been out in the public sphere for quite a while, and there needed to be kind of a fine point put on it. this was not a unanimous decision. in fact, there was a ding opinion offered by the chairman of the committee michael guest saying he believed this would set a bad precedent. they did not have jurisdiction over gaetz anymore and would not offer any penalties, therefore,

there was no utility in offering the report. even though guest said he did not think the report should come out, it was a bipartisan decision and it would take at least one republican to vote with democrats to release the report. there is a lot in this report. it's 37 pages of content with a lot of evidence and supporting documents to go along with it. there's no doubt that matt gaetz did not want it to see the light of day, which is one of the reasons even at the 11th hour this morning he was filing for a restraining order to prevent the committee from releasing it. but it is now out in the public and the american people will decide what they think of the work of the house ethics committee when it comes to matt gaetz. >> i want to turn back to former congresswoman stephanie murphy, who is a democrat from florida. i'm wondering if you think people in your home state would

give gaetz another chance. he has said maybe he'll run for senate. he is not acting like his career is over yet. what is your take on this report coming out today? >> you know, actually this comes right down to my hometown, because this investigation initiated because joel greenberg, who was the tax collector of seminole county, a county i represented when i served in congress. he has been investigated and i think as part of his cooperation with law enforcement, these issues regarding matt gaetz came to light. so there was a subsequent investigation there. i think what's important is that now that the information has been made public, the onus is on the florida officials as to whether or not they find enough that he was they need to move forward, because, again, nobody is above the law. i think it's important for people who live in florida who

are represented by him and who want to have faith in the people that they elect and send to congress, for them to see that no member of congress is above the law. i also think it's important for the public to understand exactly the extent of his actions and to see him held accountable and certainly to be able to include that in their calculus should he run for higher office in this state or federally. >> april, i want to go to you. you and have been around d.c. for a while now and covered so many scandals. one of my first jobs was running through the mayflower hotel. but in the pantheon of washington scandals, where do you think this one stands? in the last hour we played audio of gaetz hinting that he's going to try to fill marco rubio's

senate seat. are you surprised he has any political capital left? >> we've seen scandals before that actually crippled some politicians. let's wait and see if it does cripple matt gaetz in any further attempt to run for office or be in politics in some way. even if he tries to be a cabinet member for president-elect donald trump when he becomes president, the one thing i will say for sure is people are debating whether this should be released or not, remember, the ethics committee conducted this investigation and used taxpayer dollars. when you talk about using taxpayer dollars, there is transparency with that. this is a bipartisan effort. some republicans may not have liked it, but for the american public to see this, this was their money that went into

finding out who this man actually is. also, we have to remember that donald trump wanted him to be the head of the u.s. justice department, a man who was going to be the nation's top cop, and he's accused of statutory rape. what a contradiction. >> charlie, do you think this is going to do any damage to republicans politically if they come into a new congress and new administration promising to take on corruption and don't give a full-throated rejection of matt gaetz and his misdeeds in this report? >> this report strikes me as a full-throated rejection of matt gaetz on a bipartisan level. matt gaetz has denied all the allegations. what's stunning is gaetz suggested over the weekend that he was sort of partying, kawomat

of thing. no. this report, i think, is so damning for him, if he gets sworn in -- he suggested he might get sworn in in january. there will be a motion to expel. i want to see what the committee is recommending as a sanction. will they censure him for this? i suspect it will be expulsion. i don't know any republican who's going to jump to matt gaetz's defense after this. this element has a jeffrey epstein flair to it. it's pretty serious. i don't see a viable future for him politically. >> now, in his statement he resigned from the current congress and said he had no intention to take his seat in this next upcoming congress. we want to thank ryan nobles, april ryan and charlie dent and receive stephanie murphy. president biden is

announcing he will commute dozens of death row sentences. clemency will be granted for 37 out of 40 federal death row inmates. their sentences will be commuted to life without parole. joining us now from the white house is nbc's erin -- aaron gilchrist. >> reporter: president biden said that he couldn't in good conscience let president trump resume executions that he had stopped. now, the president changed these death sentences for 37 of the 40 men on federal death row right now to life sentences without the possibility of parole. the administration halted all the federal executions back in 2021 consistent with the president's belief that there should not be a death penalty at the federal level. he did establish a caveat, though. it does not include cases of terrorism and hate-motivated

mass murder. the three men who remain on federal death row, the boston marathon bomber, the tree of life synagogue shooter and the shooter who killed nine at the mother emanuel cme church. biden said he was guided by his conscience and his time as a public defender. there was recent action by catholic bishops in this callin these death sentences. that followed pope francis himself saying these sentences should be commuted. president biden spoke to the pope on thursday. the communications director called biden's move a slap in the face to victims and their families. president-elect trump said he would push for death sentences for drug dealers and those who kill american citizens.

still to come, an update on the israel/hamas war. plus, we'll take a look back on donald trump's historic year of legal troubles and what to expect as he prepares to return to the office for a second time. plus, rising flu cases ahead of this season's holiday gatherings. how to keep you and your family safe when we're back in just 90 seconds. we're back in just 90 seconds. woah, limu! we're in a parade. everyone customize and save hundreds on car insurance with liberty mutual. customize and sa— (balloon doug pops & deflates) and then i wake up. and you have this dream every night? yeah, every night! hmm... i see. (limu squawks) only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ ♪

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all right. over the river and through the woods this morning as millions of people are hitting the roads, rails and skies this holiday week kicking off. but freezing temperatures are threatening travel plans from coast to coast. the delays and cancellations are piling up with hundreds of flights across the u.s. already delayed this morning. adrienne, how are things looking? >> reporter: today is expected to be the busiest day at o'hare here in chicago, and travelers are navigating the crowds.

one traveler told us she showed up three hours early to avoid any unnecessary headache or has sell hassle, this as aaa estimates 150 million americans are expected to travel 50 miles or more this week. they're also navigating some winter weather. right now across the country, there are about 1400 delays for flights coming into and going out of the u.s. here's what some told us about their journey so far. >> we were ten pounds overweight so we had to figure that out. >> what's it like when you travel with your instrument? >> oh man, it depends on where in the world i'm traveling because a lot of times overseas it could be more of a hassle. today it was pretty smooth. i decided to treat myself and get a first class seat.

it was safe and protected. >> reporter: those travelers taking everything in stride. for those of you who may be flying out later today or tomorrow, if you're traveling with gifts, the tsa warns you should not bring wrapped gifts in your carry-on in case they need to inspect them. instead use a gift bag so they can see what's inside. >> gift bags are easier anyway. thank you so much. as people prepare to gather for the holidays, the cdc is warning that flu is on the rise. more than a dozen states are seeing a sharp increase in cases with hospitalizations also up. it comes id growing concerns about bird flu. the cdc confirmed the first severe bird flu inspection after a person was hospitalized in

critical condition. there have been rampart outbreaks in e dairy cows. let's start with the flu. for those of us who might be a little lazy and lax about getting our flu shots on time, how bad is this season? >> this season right now is starting off to just increase over the next couple of weeks, so now is the time. if you have not gotten your flu shot, you definitely want to get it. it takes a couple of weeks to take effect, but every day you have it on board gives you more and more protection. we're looking at a 9% increase in flu across the country. what is unusual is the number of states that have been hit very hard. we expect that to continue. there are a lot of states that have high or even very high, including new york, so you want to be careful. on top of that, we know once we start gathering, not just the flu but other viruses are going to start increasing.

you want to have fun and get with family this holiday, but you want to protect yourself and loved ones around you as well. >> is covid still one of the viruses we should be looking out for? >> covid is still one of them. we call it kind of the triple pandemic or triple epidemic. it's covid, rsv and flu. of those three, covid is increasing but not as much as the other ones. the other ones really spiking are rsv and flu. rsv in and of itself is causing issues. as a matter of fact, the cdc estimated since october there have been over a million outpatient visits and hundreds of thousands hospitalized because of it and unfortunately there have been some deaths as well. the positivity rate for the flu and also covid has gone up. that's concerning. on top of that, you mentioned the bird flu. not something that most of us have to be concerned about, but

being around live poultry -- >> i'm a former 4h kid. i don't know much about bird flu and a lot of people don't. how worried should we be? >> right now the outbreak is at that stage where it has moved from animals into humans. we see a couple of cases. there have been 64 cases in the u.s. that's kind of the third step of concern we get to when we start moving from animals to humans. of the 64 cases, the vast majority are in california. we have not seen it move from human to human. if you remember early in the covid pandemic, that's when things started really ring up. we can all protect ourselves not just from bird flu but from covid, rsv, influenza. you want to make sure you protect yourself. >> don't kiss your chickens. thank you so much for being with us. and next a look back at how

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get the 5-year price lock guarantee, now back for a limited time. powering five years of savings. powering possibilities™. 2024 marks an historic year for donald trump, both on the political stage and in the courtroom. trump began the year as the first former u.s. president convicted of a crime, racking up 34 felony counts before using

multiple prosecutions as campaign fodder on his road back to the white house. nbc's vaughn hillyard takes a look back at the now president-elect's legal battles. >> reporter: for defendant donald trump -- >> donald trump is guilty. >> reporter: -- the state of the 2024 presidential election could determine both his political and legal future. >> they want to put me in jail. >> reporter: trump using his own potential imprisonment to rally supporters around his defense. >> our enemies want to take away my freedom because i will never let them take away your freedom. >> reporter: as a candidate arraigned on criminal charges in new york city, washington, d.c., florida and atlanta, where a local fulton county jail formally booked, fingerprints and photographed him. >> when i did the mugshot in atlanta, that mugshot is number one. >> reporter: trump turned it into a symbol of the fight for

freedom, using it for merchandise. >> any time the radical left democrats indict me, i consider it a great badge of honor. >> reporter: in 2023, the indictments coming in rapid succession. >> i got arrested four times in the last -- it's almost like i wake up in the morning, do you think they'll arrest me today? i never got arrested before. >> reporter: some of trump's primary opponents trying to benefit themselves with the case. >> we can't keep living with indictments and court cases of the past. we've got to start going forward. >> that conduct is indefensible in my view. >> reporter: trump faced criminal charges for hush money payments to stormy daniels. his narrow lead in the gop primary began expanding. >> the primary crowded out so much other stuff. >> reporter: special counsel jack smith brought two cases

against donald trump in d.c. charging him over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and another for refusing to turn over classified documents and allegedly trying to hide them from the fbi, leading to federal agents executing a search warrant on mar-a-lago. >> they raided it. >> reporter: in a separate case brought by new york attorney general letitia james found him guilty of fraud. >> donald trump may have authored "the art of the deal," but he perfected the art of the steal. >> reporter: a jury in new york also finding him liable for sexually abusing e. jean carroll and then defaming her. >> he's nothing. we don't need to be afraid of him. >> reporter: a judge ordering trump to pay carroll more than

$80 million after the judge determined he had defamed her again. as trump called the lawsuits politically motivated, the justice department continued to turn. major witnesses taking the stand in the hush money trial, stormy daniels, michael cohen, the publisher of the "national enquirer" david pecker and his close aide hope hicks. >> the justice department has been weaponized against president trump. >> they're not prosecuting president trump. they're persecuting him. >> reporter: after seven weeks the jury unanimously found him guilty on all 34 felony counts, the judge setting a sentencing date after the election. >> we are projecting that the next president of the united states is donald trump. >> this was, i believe, the greatest political movement of all time. >> reporter: and with the

result, concerns about immunity from prosecution and the ability and precedent of imposing a sentence on a sitting president, leading to special counsel jack smith to drop his two cases, federal judges then agreeing to toss the cases out and his fulton county case indefinitely on hold and the new york judge now deciding whether to toss it all together or sentence him when he leaves office in 2029. coming up, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is back in court today. why prosecutors say they're confident the criminal charges against him will stick. we'll bring you live to tel aviv, next. 'll bring you live t aviv, next big news for mahomes! i'm switching to iphone 16 pro at t-mobile! it's built for apple intelligence. that's like peanut butter on jelly... on gold. get four iphone 16 pro on us, plus four lines for $25 bucks. what a deal. ya'll giving it away too fast t-mobile, slow down.

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today prime minister benjamin netanyahu was back in court to testify in his criminal corruption trial. netanyahu is facing charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust. joining us now from jerusalem is nbc's raf sanchez. can you explain where this trial is happening and what we know about what's happening at the court appearance today? >> reporter: it's kind of interesting. technically this trial is happening here in jerusalem. the judges are from jerusalem. this case is played out in jerusalem. physically it's happening in a highly secure courthouse in a basement in tel aviv. that is because there are such

high concerns about the prime minister of this country being in a known location for hours at a time, especially when there are still incoming houthi missiles and drones coming from yemen. so the case is happening in tel aviv. in terms of where we are in proceedings, netanyahu is ll under direct examination by his own defense attorneys, so he's getting a chance to tell his side of the story. a couple of weeks from now he will be under cross examination by israeli prosecutors. that is when he's going to face the really tough questions. this case is complicated. it is partly to do with allegations that netanyahu changed media regulations to benefit high-profile media moguls and in return they rewarded him with positive media coverage. on the stand today, netanyahu was asked about signing some of those regulations that allegedly benefitted these media

proprietors. he says, look, i signed thousands of regulations. things were put on my desk and i signed them. the idea that i was specifically doing this to gain positive media coverage for myself and my wife, he says, is absurd. >> this trial has been a long time coming. he was indicted back in 2019. while i have you i want to shift gears a bit, because we're also following new details coming after this accidental down of a u.s. fighter jet in the red sea. >> reporter: this f-18 was part of a strike group during operations against the houthi rebels. it took off from an aircraft carrier in the red sea, but was shot down by the u.s.s. gettysburg, that's a missile cruiser that apparently mistook

it for an enemy aircraft. the two pilots were able to eject safely. they were recovered from the sea by u.s. forces. one of them has minor injuries, but in general they appear to be in good condition. as you can imagine, a major investigation is under way to try to understand how it is that the u.s. military shot down one of its own fighter jets, a fighter jet that cost the taxpayers more than $50 million. the houthis are saying they shot the fighter jet down themselves. the mill itary is saying that isn't true. you'll remember that the houthis have been not only firing missiles at israeli, but also targeting international shipping vessels since the start of the war in gauze.za. they appear undeterred and it looks like this will intensify and continue. next, we have got some good news you can use. a look back at some of the

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—sounds like you need to vaporize that cold. dayquil vapocool? it's dayquil plus a rush of vicks vapors. ♪vapocooooool♪ woah. dayquil vapocool. the vaporizing daytime, coughing, aching, stuffy head, power through your day, medicine. before we go, we'd like to take a moment to reflect on some of the good news we've had the pleasure of reporting this year. here's our jose diaz-balart and hallie jackson. >> reporter: this year there were so many moments that inspired. ♪♪ >> reporter: profound words of

wisdom from a beloved crossing guard retiring after almost 20 years. >> the world belongs to you guys. and you got to make a difference in the world. that's what i want for all of you, make a difference. ♪♪ >> there's somebody that wants to meet you. you know who that is? his name is steph curry. >> reporter: that was dream come true for this high school student. meeting his hero, golden state warriors basketball legend steph curry. >> my dream is to be a professional basketball player and be like you. ♪♪ >> reporter: there were students paying it forward too. honored with the gym and cafeteria named after him.

♪ happy birthday to you ♪ >> reporter: on campus, these guys giving their dorm zbaurtd guard a birthday he'll never forget. >> i'm blessed because this is the first time someone -- for me since i've been in this country. >> reporter: so much love and solidarity. [ indiscernible ] >> reporter: people supporting each other during tough times. >> she's my hero. she will always be my hero. >> reporter: we saw communities celebrating our military heros. a sing along for a world war ii vet. ♪♪ >> what did that mean to you?

>> oh, breathtaking. it'll never leave me. the kids with shining faces and the peace on their faces. >> reporter: and there were hugs after hugs after hugs for the nation's newest service members. >> why did you all decide to do it at the same time like that? >> because we are very united to know we all miss you and we are here for you. >> reporter: we saw hard work pay off. a young filmmaker and his family finding out he'd been nominated for an oscar. >> i'm so excited i'm going to put you on scholarship! >> reporter: college football players celebrating too. >> what about a scholarship? [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: getting surprise

scholarships to finish school. >> you taught me so much stuff. >> reporter: teachers moved to tears too. >> without you, i wouldn't be where i am now. me and my siblings are all very appreciative of you. [ indiscernible ] >> thank you so much. >> you're welcome. >> reporter: so touched by letters of thanks they got from former students. >> i felt safe in your class. it was the only class i felt safe in. >> thank you. this is a hard, difficult job. you put a lot of time, effort, emotions into it. when somebody appreciates it, it feels good. ♪♪ >> reporter: across the miles, strangers finally meeting after one gave the over the gift of life. >> reporter: like this little girl jumping into the arms of

her bone marrow donor. >> what was that like? >> she . i could feel her tears through my dress. she was sobbing. >> share your kindness, share your heart, share your soul. that's why we're here, to spread love. >> reporter: and now in this season of life, new beginnings. >> i'm happy to grant the adoption and we'll make it official. yay! >> reporter: adoption -- >> the adoption is granted. yay! >> reporter: -- after adoption, nearly 20 kids in all finding their forever families in texas. >> they have given me the opportunity to be a mother because i didn't have any kids. ♪♪ ♪ o say can you see by the dawn's early light ♪

>> reporter: and there were people united in song. ♪ what so proudly we hailed -- >> reporter: lifting their voices for the national anthem. ♪ at the twilight's last gleaming ♪ >> reporter: a double dose of pride for this navy seal meeting his new baby and becoming a sailor in the same week. >> becoming a u.s. citizen was like a cherry on the pie. i'm living the dream. >> reporter: americans spreading joy, giving each other hope all year long. ♪ and the home of the brave ♪

nothing quite like a good hug. thanks to our jose diaz-balart and hallie jackson. that does it for us today. happy holidays and thanks for being with us. yamiche alcindor picks up our coverage after this break. alcin coverage after this break. in . tech asst: actually i'm seeing something from schwab. (uh-oh) producer : yeah, schwab lets you invest and trade on your own. and if you want they can even manage it for you. not to mention, schwab has a team of specialists for taxes, insurance, and estate planning. both producers: all with low fees. carl: we're experiencing technical difficulties... uh, carl... schwab! schwab. a modern approach to wealth management.

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♪ ( slow. it. down.) ♪ ♪ ( get it goin' slower.)♪ ask your doctor about izervay. ♪ (i. zer. vay.) ♪ ♪ ( gets ga goin' slower.) ♪ izervay is an eye injection. don't take it if you have an infection or active swelling in or around your eye. izervay can cause eye infection, retinal detachment, or increased risk of wet amd. izervay may temporarily increase eye pressure. do not drive or use machinery until vision has recovered after an eye injection or exam. izervay is proven to slow ga progression, which may help preserve vision longer. ♪ ( i. zer. vay.) ♪ ♪ (gets ga goin' slower.) ♪ so shift gears and get going. don't delay. ask your doctor about izervay.

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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. good afternoon, and it is 12:00 p.m. eastern and 9:00 a.m. pacific. imam even alcindor. the bombshell release about matt gaetz. while serving in congress he regularly paid women for sex including a minor back in 2017. plus this morning in a new york courtroom, the 26-year-old man charged in the killing of united health care ceo