this hour on msnbc reports, the latest on holiday travel delays including the ground stop by american airlines earlier today, and what to look out for in the weather as americans hit the roads and skies to be with their loved ones. then, the politics of inflation, it's an issue that turbocharged the 2024 race, looking at what the high cost of living will play in the trumpet ministration. the dispute between lake liber -- blake lively and --

eight months inside migrant shelters, a reporter documents what it's like through the eyes of people living there. good afternoon. ♪ >> good afternoon. i'm christina repeating from nbc news in washington. the holiday rush is underway with a record number of people hitting the roads and packing airports ahead of christmas and hanukkah which fall on the same day this year. snow is falling in parts of the northeast obligating holiday travel. 20 million are under a winter weather warning. today, american airlines has resumed flights after a ground stop of all flights during a technical outage being blamed on a vendor. and out west in santa cruz, heavy rain and powerful wind on monday caused the collapse of this wharf that was already damaged by previous storms.

joining us now, jesse kirsch at miami international airport, and bill karen's with the latest look at the weather. okay, jesse, we are going to kick it to you first. how does it look after the delay this morning? how does it look after the ground stop at american airlines? lines of people looking for customer service. the check-in counter seems to be moving smoothly. while we have seen delays on the border, we are not seeing anything on a catastrophic level which is certainly great news. this ground stop only lasted about an hour. you imagine you get those delays because you have people who -- the first flight has been delayed, the second flight might not be. you have someone who misses a connection. fewer people had delays for multiple hours. so, there are certainly hiccups in the system right now. we also know there are more than 2000 fewer american flights because by this point, a lot of people have already gotten to

their destinations. so, lighter load in terms of flights, shorter ground stop issued in the morning, hopefully, this will not have a massive domino effect, but we are waiting to see how this will play out more fully. here's some of the people we spoke with earlier today. >> the airline is calling it a vendor technology issue. when you hear that on christmas eve, what do you make of that? >> i don't know. i have no idea. i try not to think about it. i'm trying to stay marry. >> i was on facebook and saw something about grounded -- i don't know what it's about. but i'm hoping that it's not too bad. >> thank you for the people we have spoken with, keeping in the holiday spirit despite what has been going on. as you mentioned, americans pointing toward an issue with a

vendor, specifically with hardware. american says this is tied to a system that, quote, allows for flights to be coordinated and dispatched. they were having trouble dispatching flights that led to a ground stop. that led up within an hour. we are keeping an eye on parts of the country to see if that could exacerbate those issues. we will keep an eye on it. >> you might be at mia, but it seems the holiday spirit is not to mia. you very much. how much snow are we going to get? in dc, it is cold, rainy sleet. are other people getting a nice, white christmas? >> it's not close enough, sorry. philadelphia northwards, it looks like you get your white christmas. the storm over the last hour or two is at dallas, fort worth. they've had storms for the last two hours at least. now there's a ground stop at dfw. so, a ground stop on christmas eve, you get delayed too much and you will not make it to your destination on christmas. here is fort worth, you had earlier heavy rain. now you see these storms, numerous lightning strikes,

there is a good reason to take off or land right now. this will clear out over the next hour or two, then they have to play catch-up. others winter weather advisories have been dropped. look at this, all the airports are in green. look at this. earlier, we had half-hour delays in the new york airports, that has been cleared out. they should be good the rest of the day. there is the area of rain, the dallas area, there is a backup all the way through arkansas. little rock will have on and off rain. so, slow, we should not have cancellations. later tonight we will head towards houston, 6:00 p.m. or so, then overnight storms die down towards the gulf. you will get some overnight thunderstorms. then christmas day, light rain in areas of the ohio valley, tennessee valley , too. now, the west coast, your

problems are over with. you had storms you dealt with, rain and snow, but look at the bright white clouds off the coast. this will be a powerful storm. if you are watching and listening from the puget sound area especially around seattle, this could be a high wind event for the afternoon into the evening. here we are, tuesday at 8:00 p.m., tonight, i'll sign christmas morning. than the storm slams into the pacific northwest late in the day. we are talking about power outages, heavy rain, huge waves, we will have wave damage with high surf warnings. this is a pretty powerful storm. be prepared for that traveling in the northwest. here we are on christmas eve. we are clearing out in the northeast today. we are okay in the west. we see improving conditions. then christmas day, just a little rain from tennessee into illinois. the big storm was the pacific northwest. that is my major concern as we go through tomorrow. >> i'm sending positive vibes for everyone's connecting flights. thank you so much. all right, president-elect trump is coming out strongly

against president biden on nearly every federal death row prisoner this week. in a statement released today trump says the connotation of the prisoners was, quote, sick and disgusting. joining us with the latest on the comments and biden's privacy act, aaron gilchrest. erin, can you remind us why biden did this? who was granted clemency, and why is trump attacking this decision? >> well, christina, before yesterday there were 40 men on death row in his country. biden commuted the sentences of 37 of them from death to life in prison without the possibility of parole. it was 2021 when the biden administration decided to place a moratorium on executions in the country. the president had said he did not believe that there should be federal executions happening in the united states in federal cases, except for cases involving terrorism or mass murder that was motivated by hate. so, that's why you still have three people on death row here, all of them either responsible

for cases involving terrorism or mass murder involving haight. the trump team, very quickly yesterday when we learned about these connotations put out statements that said, this movement by president biden was a slap in the face to the victims of these murders, to the victims families and their loved ones. and today we did see on a social media site that the president-elect coming out himself and saying that when he takes office on january 20th, you can expect that he is going to be, as he said in the past, a law and order president, and he will direct his department of justice to make sure he does pursue death penalties for people who commit serious crimes. there were indications from him in the past that he would want to see people who are convicted drug dealers or migrants who were responsible for the deaths of american citizens being held

accountable by having the death penalty imposed on them. so, that is something i think we can expect to see as the administration comes in here. last time around with president trump they executed i think it was 13 people in a matter of six months before president biden took office and placed that moratorium on the death penalty. christina? >> as a matter of fact, those are federal death row prisoners. separately, former president bill clinton was hospitalized yesterday for what was said to be a fever. do we have any update on his condition or how he is doing? >> reporter: we were told by one of his top aides he was released from the hospital earlier today. you are right. he was admitted to georgetown university hospital here in washington yesterday after complaining about a fever. the former president just wanted to get checked out.

he went into the hospital and was kept there for treatment and observation. this morning, we learned he apparently has the flu. that accounts for potentially the fever we had, but we know he was in good spirits yesterday and spent the night in the hospital here in dc. and he is now on his way to his holiday destination to recover from the flu. this, of course, is something that set off alarm bells given a few facts, actually. the former president is 78 years old. he has had health issues in the past. he was in the hospital a few years ago in california for several days with an infection. we know he had quadruple bypass surgery in 2004, several years later, he had two stints put in his chest to help him with those things. he has made some lifestyle changes that have been things that have helped him improve his health. we know he is mostly vegan and has been out there. he has been on the campaign trail quite a bit for vice president harris when he was running for office. so, we got to see him doing

sort of this vigorous activity that you might not expect for someone who has dealt with so many health issues at his age. again, now knowing he does indeed have the flu, he was treated for that. he was released earlier today. christina? >> all right. some good news. aaron gilchrest, thank you so much. in 90 seconds, we will break down the defining economic issue that took an inflated role in the 2024 election. we are back after this. after t i'll get a second opinion. let's go! take charge of your treatment. if you can't lay your hand flat, visit findahandspecialist.com to get started. ♪♪ ♪ (animatronic santa) ho, ho, ho! (vo) time to move? make it easy with opendoor. sell your home in any season, for any reason. (animatronic santa) look at me! i am festive!

2024 has been a hectic year for a lot of us, and also our economy as well as the world of business. from inflation to federal reserve cuts and even fast food chains battling it out with meal deals. nbc's business and data friend

takes a look back. >> in a year where a lot happened, the us economy kept its stride thanks to a consumer who got choosier with their dollars. big time names in corporate america got pushback from consumers who balked at rising prices. >> why are we not talking about these fast food restaurants going up, too? >> they were pressured into offering meal deals to draw customers back. but they still opened their wallets, spending an record amount of money online over the extended holiday weekend. >> there's always a sales somewhere. we will still buy your >> the us economy also got some help from the former reserve which cut interest rates for the first time since 2020. >> we don't want the labor market to soften too much from here. >> post pandemic rate increases saw a spike in unemployment. it is up half a% since a year ago. inflation declining over 2024. still, prices for household staples remain high. but the cost of ground beef and

eggs from a year ago, housing costs arise , too. the us consumer going into 2025 -- >> can you guarantee american families won't pay more? >> i can't guarantee anything. >> reporter: prices could rise further under the trump administration's plan to hit partners with tariffs, meaning charges could cause companies to pass it on to consumers, raising the cost of electronics, meat or even oil. >> the supreme court said it will hear arguments on the constitutionality of a tiktok band. >> after a court upheld the bipartisan sale, tiktok could disappear from your phones as early as january 19th. >> breaking news, tiktok is being banned again. i'm not sure. >> we are coming on the air

with breaking news, a massive, global technical outage. >> there was also the microsoft outage in july that bricked computers around the world due to a faulty update from crowd strike. that wasn't the only blackout of the year. in february, at&t had a massive outage, and in march mehta had problems that disrupted insta graham and facebook services. it didn't hurt those companies, but summer filing for bankruptcy among the tupperware express, tgi friday's, and red lobster. but this just means they are reorganizing, not necessarily gone forever. so, here is to more cheddar biscuits in 2025 after what was already a busy 2024 for the us consumer. >> brian chung, thank you. joining us now from miami is sabrina rodriguez, political reporter for the washington post, and battles michael, for the columbia university, and

democratic strategist. sabrina, i want to talk to you first. brian mentioned the role of inflation which was a huge factor in the presidential election. you are in miami-dade county where 55% of the voters voted for incoming president trump. they were among the american people who gave donald trump a mandate to lower prices. how critical do you think it's going to be for him to actually deliver, and you think it will hold them to account? >> i think the reality is, he will have some level of grace here, there willa starting. where he will be excited about having one, and this, in places like miami-dade county, they feel they were decisive in his win. but in the long-term, it does matter. it matters how much exactly prices to go up if they do under trump. we talked about his mentioning

the package, the fact tariffs can have an impact on all this. i think if prices stay roughly the same, people who voted for donald trump, that like donald trump will, you know, either believe they have gone down or talk about, oh, it's not that bad, things are actually better. you know? if there is egregious increases in the prices of things, for those folks who may be voted for biden in 20 2010 voted for trump in 2024, you know, it's going to be a harder sell to believe he's doing a good job. >> basil, do you think the incoming president is going to get a grace period? when does the alarm start going off? >> yeah, you know, i agree with sabrina. there is a great spirit. his voters really want him to succeed. i wouldn't say they don't want him to succeed. but when you look at what is happening currently, i mean, the fact that in many ways the story around the trump white house that will actually take effect next year, we are having some stories about it this year, as long as he's already in office, i think that is partly because he wants to make sure that whatever goes wrong in the next month gets blamed

on biden rather than getting blamed on him. i'm not sure that's 100% successful, but what it does suggest is there is some uncertainty in the package that he can't control a lot of these macro issues, mostly what he has is the rhetoric. at some point, the rhetoric will grow very, very tired. i will say this quickly. you know? during the trump presidency he spoke about what haitians eat more than the price of eggs. if you don't get to the economic issue that does bolster the lives of most americans, you know, they are going to come back to him and say, what have you done for us lately? >> i want to stick with you for a second. i want to talk about the washington post reporting the fed is starting to weigh in on

how trump's policies could fuel inflation with some benefits -- considering it a source of increased inflation. it is something the president has been talking about, including tariffs and potential trade wars, you know, having this tiff with panama where a lot of the goods going through, these could get very expensive. which are the ones that stand out to you as things that could potentially fuel prices rather than bring them down? >> i think the tariffs are top of mind. everybody's talking about greenland. i don't know how much that costs. right? it's easy to talk about order rico for greenland, but if you put aside the imperialistic activities and emotions behind all that, i mean, the purpose is to try, in many respects, to posey up to our enemies and make friends. i think a lot of that uncertainty and chaos is what would likely troubled markets. also, elon musk, himself, the copresident he's portrayed himself to be thus far has said it is overstaffed. he is sort of pointing that government spending reduction

lens at the fed and guv. i think, all things considered, it would concern certainly investors of foreign allies. >> sabrina, i want to get your take on this, too. i covered the last administration. i was at the state department. this greenland thing came up that time as well. you know? normally, i would ask greenland. they said, they were not for sale. similar information has been shared this time. we have seen trump threatened to take back the panama canal and say it could become the 51st us state. how do you think that's going to go down? is that something his voters are looking for? is it on their radar? >> i think for a lot of folks this isn't necessarily going to

be something on their radar. the reality is, this is part of the trump persona. for those who voted for donald trump and his supporters, the thousands of people who went to his rallies across the country, there is this perception that this is donald trump. he jokes, he is funny, he is not really serious, and if he is kind of serious, well, maybe it will happen, maybe it won't. so, for a lot of folks who supported him, i feel like the perception around the conversations he is having, it just feels like typical trump. i think if it becomes in earnest, if it becomes a huge focal point for him, if it is something we are hearing him consistently talk about in this country to the american public, and folks might be talking more about, is he serious, what does this mean? for now, it just plays as donald trump is off-the-cuff. he knows what he is thinking. maybe that is a good idea. obviously, folks who are not supporters of donald trump are concerned about hearing him say things like this.

>> i spoke to officials in panama. they said they did not go over well down there. i want to talk to you about the fact that trump made really big unexpected gains with black and latino voters this time around partially due to his economic messaging. we have a headline here from last year. he said, lack and latino americans haven't experienced the same economy as everyone else. what challenges could trump face when trying to confront this? >> i think it's similar what i said before, there are a lot of macro issues that the president of the united states really cannot just control. that this is not a new problem. you know? when white americans, black americans, latino americans, getting the flu, this is not a new issue. interestingly enough, they did a little better during the pandemic, but those gains have largely gone away. and what has persisted is the wealth gap between white americans and black and latino americans. and that vexing problem is yet to be fully and truly fixed by republicans, donald trump

doesn't seem to care about policy. it's also a challenge for democrats because, again as you pointed out, a lot of the voters that supported donald trump leaving they were going to fight for him, you know, democrats have to prove to some of these voters that they are going to fight for their interests as well, particularly these very specific and really vexing economic disparities that seem to not be able to go away. >> sabrina, when you talk to voters in your area, what are they saying about the outlook for inflation and for immigration, you know? this past weekend incoming president trump once again reiterated his promise of mass deportation for immigrants. how realistic is that goal, and

has anyone put together how much it could cost? the immigration counsel says deporting 1 million immigrants a year would cost about $80 billion. are the voters tying these issues together or are they focused on the talking points of the election? >> i think a lot of the focus still remains on the talking points of the elections, and for his supporters, of course, we talked about the grace period. you know? he is going to get it done. the reality is, trump on the campaign trail was not talking about what the cost of the mass deportation is. i think the reality is, he played on certain nuances within working-class americans, within latinos, specifically, to make this point of, you know, with latinos in miami- dade for example saying, okay,

you are not the same as the people i want to deport. i want to deport the people who came recently, or on talking about deporting people who are not hard-working americans or who are criminals. of course, we know from what his actual plans are that he wants to deport every undocumented immigrant in the united states. there is not necessarily that distinction around, oh, being a criminal, around who is working and who is not. there is still this perception around the plan as, okay, let's see how he gets it done while we of course know, he is angling to get this started on day one. his first hires and first staff pics have been folks focused on emigration. i think still the reality of what this will cost, what the reality of the impact will be will not really hit with the american public until we see, you know, a month, weeks in, starting to see those images of sending folks and what the bill is for that. >> we have to see what 2025 brings us all. sabrina, thank you for joining us. and next hour, we will break down the key voting block that has only grown influence in american politics, the latino evangelical vote. but first, the high profile defense for blake lively and her allegations of sexual harassment. you are watching msnbc reports. we've got you. with verizon, trade in any phone,

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new fallout from blake lively's allegations against doctor and director justin baldoni after filing a complaint this weekend accusing justin baldoni of sexual harassment while filming it ends with us and a smear campaign during the press tour. jenny slate has come out in support of her. also the longtime publicist at the center of the complaint is defending herself. chloe has more. >> reporter: hey, they are. the follow from the dispute continues to the spread. this morning, we are hearing from individuals closely connected to the film at the center of the controversy.

this morning, new developments in the blake lively justin baldoni dispute. an actor siding with blake lively because her costar in the film was the director. jenny slate who plays justin baldoni's sister said to today.com as leave like lee's castmate and friend i voice my support as she takes action against those reported to have planned and carried out an attack on her reputation. she did not mention justin baldoni or anyone else but added, the attack on blake is terribly dark, disturbing and holy threatening. she says justin baldoni repeatedly sexually harassed her onset and crossed boundaries during intimate scenes. this longtime publicist is defending herself against the claim she was a victim of a retaliatory social manipulation campaign on justin baldoni's behalf. according to rolling stone and other outlets who viewed the

sense deleted facebook post, the publicist is defending her work, saying, the team never launched any campaign to smear blake lively. nbc news reached out but has not heard back. according to the complaint, justin baldoni and his team maintained crisis pr, the same public relations team johnny depp hired during his high- profile defamation trial against former wife, amber heard. amber leaned in on the controversy writing, she travels halfway around the world before truth can get its boots on. i saw this firsthand and up close. it's as horrifying as it is destructive. a lawyer representing justin baldoni and wayfarer studios called lively's allegations completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an attempt to hurt or rehash a narrative in the media.'s attorney also defended the publicity team writing, tag pr must be the powerful group of publicists the world has ever seen for it to be able to completely change the perception of both amber heard

and blake lively. as the crisis escalates, the cohost of justin baldoni's podcast is now announcing she is bowing out posting in part, i will miss you, the listeners, so much. >> reporter: meanwhile, an award justin baldoni received on advocating for women and girls has been rescinded. back to you. >> thank you. and coming up, inside new york's migrant shelters, what a reporter witnessed after spending eight months inside the system. the system. . ♪♪ bringing the power of nature... ...into your new chapter. you got this. one — remember, i don't want surgery for my dupuytren's contracture. two — i want to be able to lay my hand flat. three — i want a nonsurgical recovery. ♪♪ four — i want options — nonsurgical options. and five... and if nonsurgical treatment isn't offered? ♪♪ i'll get a second opinion. let's go! take charge of your treatment.

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the first buses of migrants arrived from the southern border into manhattan two years ago. since then, over a quarter of 1 million migrants have come to new york city. over $6 billion has been spent housing and sheltering people arriving from the us-mexico border. a new york times reporter and photographer spent eight months documenting life in the shelter system for migrants through the eyes of those living there. joining us now is immigration reporter louise sent ernie, you were given special access to these shelters. what did you learn, and what surprised you most about these people? >> luis, can you hear me? all right. so, you guys spent a really long time both going into the shelters and getting to know people. i was reading in the article, you know, i think people tend

to paint this group with a similar brush from a similar area. but migrants in the shelters are from 150 different countries. there are 110 languages spoken. all right. we will come back to luis in just a second. you can read more of this comprehensive work in the new york times, their latest piece is entitled eight months inside new york's migrant shelters, fear, joy and hope. and now to how american college professors are stepping up to fill a key educational void in afghanistan. they are reaching out to women who lost virtually all their rights as their home fell to taliban control. here is nbc's connecticut's mike sabino reporting. >> why don't you read the next paragraph, then we will sum up? >> reporter: lucy is wrapping up another semester with her students. it is something she has done countless times over her career. but this class is very different. >> i remember feeling good the first day i saw this from my screen, tears streamed down my face.

>> reporter: it's part of the afghan female outreach, online classes for women in afghanistan. harris and other professors at trinity college wanted to do something to help afghan women as the taliban shut down schools they are. >> they are committing suicide as they can't study in college. we are sort of the doctors in the house. they think we should take care of this. >> reporter: last week, eight professors taught 100 women. now, 90 professors worldwide are volunteering to teach 500 women with thousands waiting, and the group received a $10,000 prize from the greater self the foundation. >> you always hope to make a difference in students lives. but here, i feel it every time i talk to them. >> reporter: the program have given hope to students, including the ones we interviewed who hide for safety reasons. she said, the taliban closed the doors on her dreams for a

bachelor degree. >> i am so tired. i don't know what should i do now? >> reporter: the asl was trying to find pathways, students can take credits through the open society university network, and university college london is working on a scholarship. >> we are not a university. we are not funded. we don't have administration. >> reporter: in the meantime, students are looking for ways to keep their dreams alive. >> i can't help other girls. now i could. i could help others. but i need someone to help me. >> all right. joining us now is luis, i'm glad your back because this article is great and i really want to talk to you about it.

i was just mentioning before we lost you a little bit, the diversity in the shelters really surprised me. i'm wondering after spending all that time in this world what surprised you most and what you learned writing this article. >> thanks for having me again. yeah, i think the diversity and the melting pot of cultures living in the shelter system made up of 200 different buildings across new york city, we hear a lot about latin americans, most of the folks living there are from venezuela. there has been a lot of attention on them over the past few years. but we met people from russia, from china, from mauritania and west africa, senegal, really all over the world, more than 150 countries, 110 languages all in one shelter system scattered across the city, right? every day new yorkers see these shelters encounter migrants sleeping in them, but we've never really gotten a close look inside as we did this time . >> how are the families doing in these shelters? one of these shelters is in the roosevelt hotel.

i walked by it a few times. last time i was in new york. i was freezing, i saw families in the cold. a lot of them are from countries that don't experience that level of cold. how are they doing? are they getting what they need? where do they go from here? >> yeah. families have up to -- >> all right. luis -- i think we are losing you. your cutting out. try one more time. let's see if we can get this connection to go. >> yeah, the families living in the hotels are doing relatively well despite their circumstances. many are applying for asylum. their children are enrolled in schools. those are the children who are living in some of these tend facilities which are further out from the city center in a brooklyn airfield, having perhaps a tougher time. the conditions there are bare and more minimal. overall, what we heard from people is gratitude for having been given a shelter in the first place, and a lot of determination to get out, be self-sufficient and contribute

to the us. >> one thing i have noticed not just with new york, but migrants across the us, is people support it on a macro conceptual level but it's different when it's going on their block in their city. there has been some concerns from some new yorkers about the journey they say migrants are taking on the city. other people in the shelters aware of that? is that something they are concerned about? do they talk about it? >> yeah, the shelters have been very divisive. in new york there has been quality of life issues, complaints about flashes of violence outside some of them. so, it has -- poured into the city. some migrants are aware of that. they understand crimes committed by some migrants in new york and elsewhere in the country have sort of stereotyped the rest of the immigrant population, and they are ashamed by that. they are embarrassed, some of them, and they always try to make the effort to sort of that

they are not all the same, that they feel like they are paying the price of the actions of a few of them. so, that comes across, you know, in many conversations i have with migrants over the past few months. >> all right. thank you so much for joining us, luis. it's a lovely tapestry you paint in the article. i recommend everyone should go take a look. >> thank you. sorry for the audio issues. >> not a problem. all right, coming up, tomorrow is christmas and the first day of hanukkah. that means today is your last chance, your last chance, people, to finish your shopping. we have some last-minute ideas if you need desperate help. and, if you needed any more inspiration to get yourself to the store, remember santa is all ready starting his journey around the world, an update on

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the mega millions drawing is tonight, which means someone could win $1 billion, a billion- dollar christmas present. emily okada has more. >> reporter: a christmas miracle of mega proportions, the mega millions jackpot just reaching the billion-dollar mark just hours before tonight's drawing, no one has won the mega millions drawing on christmas eve since 2002 when the game first started, no one claimed the ticket then. so, what will you do with the money if you are lucky enough to win? if you go with the cash option, we laid out some festive

choices for you. maybe you want hundreds of millions of candy canes, you should save some money for the dentist , too. how about 5 1/2 million inflatable santos for your yard if you are feeling adventurous, you want to go to the north pole, some 13,000+ times. look at, the mega millions jackpot has only been won so far this year three times, and a new jersey player just claimed the three billion- dollar prize some nine months after the drawing. the winning ticket was sold in neptune township in new jersey. we are learning that the player chose to remain anonymous as so many experts recommend people do. look, i am feeling lucky, and i also feeling in the best of spirits. so, here we go. i got a lucky ticket here. let's share half if i win. >> all right. i'm going to take you up on that. thank you. wow! what would you buy with $1 billion? one option, you can go to france. because five years after the historic fire, the historic cathedral is preparing for mass. national correspondent keir simmons has more. >> reporter: hey, they are.

five years ago, fire ravaged this 800-year-old cathedral. now, it is reopened to the public, and they are getting ready to celebrate christmas mass. a transformation so fast, so spectacular, you could call it a christmas miracle. this holiday, the doors of notre dame have opened to christmas congregations. the crown of thorns on display again as christians mark the moment of jesus's crucifixion, the chance for thousands of faithful to admire the ivory interior, the sparkling stained- glass windows, and to worship in front of the brand-new, very modern altar and cross in this medieval cathedral. christmas hymns will be played on an organ, each and every player, eight thousand individually restored. five years after the inferno tore through the interior of the church, obliterating 800 years of history. thanks to the incredible work of 2000

craftspeople using medieval methods, the cathedral officially opens this month, in a service that drew more than 100 world leaders when the fire ripped through in 2019, it covered the aftermath. >> the fire is thankfully out. we are searching for a cause. >> reporter: here is one of the first invited back inside to exclusively taken the transformation. >> i mean, one of the things that is most noticeable, it is so much brighter. all of it. this is roughly where all of that burnt debris fell from the ceiling. now it is all gleaming. ♪ >> reporter: this holiday, the cathedral has been at the center of festivities again, the christmas market offers a breathtaking, twilight view of notre dame, perfect and traditional. >> it is special because we are

really happy to be open. >> reporter: a christmas to remember, the cathedral rising from the flames, truly worth celebrating. millions of dollars were raised for restoration of notre dame cathedral, including almost 60 million from the us. now, that is a christmas gift to the world. >> keir simmons, thank you. all right, coming up in the next hour -- we are going to take a look at the visiting families this holiday. the last thing you want to hear is that there is a travel nightmare on the roads and the skies. oh, we will bring that update after this short break. . (balloon doug pops & deflates) and then i wake up. and you have this dream every night?

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thanks for being with us. this hour on msnbc reports, we will have the latest look at the roads and airports, and even a few rails as millions are traveling for the holidays. plus, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu signaling process -- progress on a deal with hamas to release hostages in gaza, giving no timeline. then, understanding trump's electronic victory through voters and issues that matter to them. an emotional holiday homecoming, more than 3000 us sailors coming home to families

and loved ones after five long months at sea. and bc is on board a navy ship as the middle east mission comes to an end. i am christina ruffini in washington. 19 million americans are hitting the roads and skies over the holidays topping the 2019 record. just over 3600 flights nationwide have been delayed according to the site flight aware. more than 300 flights have been canceled. converting to those delays and cancellations, the earlier ground stop by american airlines, which has luckily been lifted, this as tourists and a few new yorkers taken the

christmas tree at rockefeller center, new york. our correspondent adrian broadus at chicago o'hare international airport, one of the busiest in the world, and marissa is on the road for us in eastpointe georgia. we will start with you. how bad are the flight delays in o'hare after the ground stop by american, and what are you seeing? >> christina, if you take a look, it's easy to notice this portion of the terminal has moved out as flights are moving through the terminal. the average wait time is 15 minutes. earlier today, minutes after the ground stop was lifted, some flights were delayed up to two hours. but passengers who spoke with us were still determined to get to their destination. this morning, winter weather from coast to coast hitting during the last minute holiday travel rush. with americans racing to get home before christmas and the start of hanukkah. >> a day delay could mean we

don't get home for christmas. >> reporter: delays and cancellations piling up, tensions rising in the sky. overnight, a plane headed to columbus forced to return to the phoenix airport after a reported altercation on board. today, travelers may need more patients as a storm in the midwest and northeast with 20 million under a winter weather advisory is expected to cause more delays in traffic. but it can also bring a white christmas for some, snow already falling in pennsylvania, winter weather also on the west coast where a major storm hit california's central coast. hurricane force winds driving flooding and dangerously high surf, a man dying after getting trapped under debris on the beach at monterey bay. >> we encourage people to stay out of the water until further notice. >> reporter: the wharf collapsing 10 miles away in santa cruz, throwing three people into the water who, thankfully, survived. >> there are no serious injuries now. and we believe everyone who went into the water is now accounted for. >> reporter: back in the midwest and northeast, while

americans are hoping wintry weather clears out, some taking matters into their own hands, choosing to head for warmer weather. in chicago, this family is heading to puerto rico. >> reporter: what are you most looking forward to this holiday? >> being with my family. >> reporter: others, despite delays, already embracing the spirit. of the season -- >> we are just one day before the start of hanukkah, and christmas. and folks are trying to get to their destinations. american airlines has apologized to its customers for the inconvenience saying, all hands are on deck as it is working diligently. their teams are trying to get travelers to their destination. for those of you who may be wondering, american airlines says the issue was network hardware linked to a vendor which maintains the flight

operations. we are talking about the operating system that dispatches and coordinates flights, guys. >> i don't know what i want more, the grinch hat or trombone player to follow me around the airport. that would put me in a slightly better mood. i don't know if traffic is ever good, but how is it looking at any any -- area where you are? is it possible to get things to go? >> a lot of times we have to come on here and i have to deliver news that doesn't make people watching at home very happy. following the travel drama of today, i'm happy to tell you traveling by the roads is not so bad. in fact, if you look at the aaa projections for the holiday week, today and tomorrow are the best days to travel. they have the least amount of

traffic if you believe me. what you are seeing behind me, if you have been to atlanta you know it can get worse. i have seen worse than this on normal days. this is light. this is the best i have seen traffic in atlanta. the bad news is, if you were not where you needed to be this morning and you live in the northeast, then you probably encountered some snow and ice which did cause delays. we know that in pennsylvania they shut down parts of the interstate. of course, there were a lot of slow downs. the sunshine has returned. that means better driving conditions. in dallas there was flooding on the roadways. there are pockets of the country where, of course, the weather might be causing slow downs. otherwise, i'm happy to tell you, if you are not where you need to be, specific places at specific times, this might be a great time to travel. enjoy it now because traffic will pick up again come thursday and slowly creep back up as we get closer to the new year. christina? >> what lovely, cheery news. thank you both so much. in 90 seconds, there were new deadly strikes aimed at sending off isis after the fall of the regime. the future of syria hangs in the balance. we will be right back.

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when you really need to sleep. you reach for the really good stuff. zzzquil ultra helps you sleep better and longer when you need it most. its non-habit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil. new developments in the middle east, us central command forces conducted a precision strike in syria on monday, killing two isis operatives and wounding another. this comes as there are concerns the fall of the other regime could cause isis to make a resurgence in syria. and israeli prime minister benjamin then yahoo is signaling there is progress on a possible cease-fire with hamas to release the hostages being held captive in gaza. he did not give a timeline of any additional details on those

initiations. joining us now from jerusalem is international correspondent rossa sanchez. ross, i want to start. what we know about recent strikes in syria? this is not something we have heard a ton about over the past year, then the last two weeks we have heard multiple strikes. how concerned are not only us officials but is really and middle eastern officials about isis coming back in the wake of this power vacuum? >> reporter: yeah, power vacuum is exactly the right phrase, christina. there is a lot of concern isis will exploit the chaos following the collapse of the asad regime, after it was led by the coalition led by the united states and the kurdish led syrian democratic forces. this strike happened in eastern syria in a province. central command is saying they saw isis operatives moving weapons around on a truck, and

they carried out the strike. what is interesting, christina, they say this happens in an area that up until a couple weeks ago had been controlled by the asad regime and their russian allies. so that is a good illustration of what you rightly called a power vacuum, a lot of concern about isis filling those ungoverned spaces. you have seen over the course of the biden administration even though it hasn't gotten a whole lot of attention that there is a commitment to trying to make sure that isis does not research. there are roughly 1000 us service personnel in northeastern syria. right now, there is more than that. more have been cycled in. the question is, what is that going to look like, that deployment under the trump administration? we know that trump in his first term did try to pull american forces out of syria. he said, syria is blood and sand.

he did not have a whole lot of interest in having american personnel in harm's way. one of the big questions is, what will his policy look like when he takes office on january 20th? christina. >> hang on just a second. i want to introduce aaron david miller from the international piece. and of course, the former arab- israeli negotiator. aaron, i want to get your take on syria's new leadership. you know? we have a new group rolling in, making these promises, then didn't hold them up. you know? he is meeting with officials, he is wearing suits. he is saying all the right things. is it possible they could pull off a functional government, or is it too soon to tell? >> you know, it's a fascinating question. thanks for having me. there is no precedent when they are overthrown, egypt, tunisia, or some person on one hand, or chaotic dysfunction and division. it could be like yemen, libya, or even in iraq. it's going to be a very heavy

list -- lift. this movement is highly decentralized with authoritarian tendencies. govern a country that is multi conventional, multiethnic that has high expectations for a transparent participatory form of government that benefits the syrian people who have suffered so extraordinarily after five decades of rule of the asad family. at this stage, no past, no a, b, c, i think we have to wait to see if -- who wants to be a team maker, an individual can shared those authoritarian and islamist strict practices, and just adapt for the community. remember, he is still designated

as a foreign terrorist organization. and syria is probably the most heavily sanctioned country in the world after russia and north korea. so, he has got to deliver. and he has to at least walk the walk and talk the talk. we will see if it lasts. >> i did think it was interesting after meeting with us officials, they did take down the rewards for justice. you mentioned this is a designated terrorist organization, but the page when you click on it now, it's no longer there. it has been taken down. i want to ask you, how is this being viewed not only in israel but by regional partners? are they also suspicious, are they helpful? what are you hearing from people in your part of the world? >> i think it is a wait and see approach, exactly as aaron was

saying. there is not a bright history of the replacements of middle eastern dictators proven to be, you know, liberal democrats themselves. but we will wait and see. and he is certainly from the perspective of the united states, making the right noises, saying he will not infringe on the rights of minorities, women, he does not intend syria to be a threat to its neighbors, including israel, based on his ideological backgrounds. this is someone who is a sunni islamist, he was part of al qaeda. you can bet he is no fan of israel, but he certainly is not making threats at this point, even giving these intensive israeli strikes we have seen over the past few weeks the fact israel has sent forces to occupy the un designated buffer zone between them on the golden heights. then actually advanced further taking strategic positions inside of syria, bigger picture, the fall of the asad regime is the loss of a major, major link in the iranian chain that is so called acts

resistance, syria was the key point for uranian weapons making their way to hezbollah in southern lebanon. and so, we are seeing iran's proxy groups weakened from the outside regime collapse, the regime itself feeling very vulnerable after israel destroyed a lot of their key air defenses along tehran and strikes earlier this year. interestingly, one of the proxy groups that is still defiant and totally undeterred, the who sees in yemen who fired two ballistic missiles that broke air defenses and struck targets inside tel aviv. >> the us friendly fire incident with the downed fighter jet -- aaron, i want to ask you quickly. prime minister benjamin then yahoo has said progress is being made in a cease-fire deal which would, you know, stop the conflict in gaza and bring hostages home. we have heard it for months.

do you think this is any different? >> [ inaudible ] negotiations have two speeds, slow and slower. i do believe the deal now is more likely than we have seen over the last year, one of the boxes, can hamas come up with a list? do they want to come up with a list of hostages who are living because the fewer there are, the less leverage they will have, and facing these negotiations -- i think it is reasonable to assume that by january 20th, you can see a limited release. women, maybe some men, the elderly, infirmed, in need of a bed after a cease-fire, certainly for hostages and the people of gaza, this would be an extraordinary moment and knew

year. >> all right, ross sanchez, david miller, thank you both very much. >> thanks. an american already imprisoned in russia has now been handed a second jail term. eugene spector was sentenced to a 13 year sentence for espionage, a moscow court brought charges against the russian born us citizen back in august of 2023. a former executive of a medical equipment company in russia was previously sentenced to 3.5 years back in september of 2022, that was a bribery conviction. coming up, from biden entering the 2024 race two trumps political comeback, a year that looks back on the back of the year in politics, and what the way forward might be for democrats. for democrats.

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2024 has been a political whirlwind to say the least. from two assassination attempts to a candidate swap and a decisive win by a convicted felon. kate snow recaps it all for us. >> reporter: it may be the biggest lyrical comeback in modern american history. >> this was, i believe, the greatest lyrical movement of all time. >> reporter: donald trump headed back to the white house after a year of dramatic highs and lows. the former president locking up the republican nomination with ease in march. then on the way to election day,

rattling to federal legal cases and a conviction in new york for falsifying business records in an attempt to cover up a hush money payment. >> that is 34 felony counts, all guilty verdicts. >> reporter: trump supporters undeterred, believing he could best tackle the economy and immigration. >> i'm the only one in history who got indicted and my numbers went up. >> reporter: initially, set for a rematch over president joe biden. >> i'm still the only person who ever beat donald trump. >> reporter: they made history as the oldest candidates ever in an american election, a concern for voters as whispers about biden's mental fitness grew louder. >> a special counsel referred to the president as a, quote, sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory. >> my memory is fine. >> reporter: that set off three weeks of political upheaval. >> what -- if -- when we

finally beat medicare -- >> this night got off to a tough start for president biden. >> i think it's a legitimate question to say, is this an episode or a condition. >> reporter: calls for biden to end his reelection campaign sidelined by an unthinkable twist. >> take a look what happened. >> the 45th president of the united states injured but alive. >> all of this unfolding with republicans now gathering to officially nominate donald trump at their convention. >> reporter: with his ear bandaged, the former president accepting the nomination two days after the attempt on his life. >> i stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty god. >> reporter: the same week, biden tested positive for covid. >> democratic leaders calling for the president to step aside. >> days later, the president

ending his reelection bid. >> i will leave office. i love my country more. >> reporter: endorsing his vice president, kamala harris and ending the race with 100 days until the election. >> we choose freedom. ♪ >> reporter: harris campaigning on the issues of abortion rights and protecting democracy. >> ours is a fight for the future. >> reporter: trump pivoting to his opponent. >> i didn't know she was black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black. >> reporter: a convention for a nation in august -- >> i accept your nomination. -- as president of the united states of america. >> reporter: trump and harris a meeting for the first time in their only debate. >> i have never seen a worse time. people can't buy cereal, bacon,

eggs or anything else. >> the government and donald trump certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body. >> reporter: the dangers of our nations divisiveness still on display. >> the fbi says there has been another possible attempt on former president trump's life. >> reporter: the critical battleground blitz -- >> i think the bigger problem is coming from within. >> reporter: polls requested thin margins, broadcasters taking second stage with harris and trump taking to the microphones. and on election night -- >> these are not the trend lines

democrats want to see. >> reporter: -- a decisive victory. >> we are predicting the next president of the united states is donald trump. >> the 45th president of the united states will become the 47th president of the united states. >> reporter: the electoral map a sea of red, he swept every battleground state. >> trump is over performing kamala harris is underperforming in counties she needs to win. >> reporter: the win fueled by independence, latino and black voters becoming the first republican to win the popular vote since 2004. >> in new york city, trump has posted a 15 point gain from last time around. >> reporter: the gop taking control of washington, ousting democrats to secure a three seat majority in the senate and keeping control of the house. an election year like no other, and one we will not soon forget. nbc news. >> thanks to kate snow for the great wrap-up. let's bring in our panel, the editor at large at the 19th, and brendan buck armor press secretary to john weiner and secretary vice president nominee, aaron ryan. i want to start with you. watching that wrap-up, i'm just reminded of how divided we are

which is not new news, but it seems like republicans and democrats right now live in two separate realities with their own social media channels, television channels, there are even political brands of coffee. although i am wearing a lot of green, i'm trying to not be a christmas grinch. i'm wondering where you see are going -- where our country is going, and if we can unite despite the differences. >> yeah, i think you are right. the really thorough recap by kate is a reminder how much of a divided country we are, how much work we have to do in the coming years and beyond. unprecedented was definitely the word of the year once again. one thing, i think if we can take a silver lining from what we just saw in 20 that democracy which was definitely in question in this election did hold. we had another safe and secure election. so much of what we had to say

in the newsroom did come to pass. i look back at a lot of our coverage, too. gender was on the ballot. voters did choose trump's brand of masculinity. we are already seeing the ways in which that could shape the next four years and beyond, right? when we saw the numbers wavered and strengthened after the attempt on his life as kate mentioned -- it really swept him into a second term even with those legal challenges because of that focus on the economy and focus on immigration. you did have vice president harris' running a really exceptional campaign, a record 107 days, again, unprecedented. you have leadership in so many ways in the spotlight in politics, in sports, in education. in many ways the representation did feel limited for a lot of people. a woman was again at the top of the ticket but was thwarted from the top job and even got the same opponent, right? for many women and lgbtq plus people, their rights were on the ballot and they are thinking about their status as citizens heading into the next

year. so, just really a lot had happened in 2024 to look back on that i know a lot of people are still even processing, and that will be processing and watching the effects of that as this new administration takes office and take shapes. >> people are saying what a year this week has been, and when you go be on the culture wars, how are you looking at leadership in congress? because to me, it seems like it is harder and harder for lawmakers to compromise because compromise has almost become a political liability. so, have a cam congress function and make its way past this r a long time. certainly, now that you have unified republican control, is to be a lot of interest in anything that smells like compromise. we saw that this past week when

mike johnson tried to fund the government with a number of bipartisan bills and that completely fell apart. republicans said, wait a minute, we are about to take control of government, why should we do anything with democrats? that is the culture that i think is pervasive for a lot of people. the reality is, that's not how government works. that's not how legislating works. remember who is in charge. you have to do things with the other party. as long as that is considered untouchable, they are going to continue that like they did this past week. all the dynamics that led to that debacle the near government shutdown are going to exist next year. you have republicans who simply won't accept anything that is achievable and anything that is achievable, they want except. so, this is a pretty rough road for the next couple years. you know? they do have some tools where they can pass things all by themselves. for large measure, unified control is not as all- encompassing as they think it is. >> rendon, i also want to ask

you, democrats have been doing some extensive postelection soul-searching and postmortems. there was a study shared with politico. in it, one person compared democrats to an ostrich because they, quote, have their heads in the sand and are absolutely committed to their own ideas even when they are failing. do you agree with that? is it time for a full democratic rebrand? >> well, i think both parties are pretty bad at self reflection and taking blame themselves. there's always somebody else to blame. you know? my party, the other party, you lose an election, a lot of

people are trying to figure out how we are going to come back, what are we going to do? but they end up coming back not because they figure something out. it's usually because the other party overreaches or the other party does something wrong. we tend to vote against people these days, not four people. i think in most of the recent presidential elections they have been voting against the other party more than it is voting for somebody. that is actually a danger for donald trump and republicans is to see what this election was as an affirmation on everything donald trump is or has said. it was probably a rejection of the economy, people not being happy about how the last four years wind. so, we have seen a lot of dysfunction. i don't know that dysfunction is what gets punished by voters. you know? this is the most dysfunctional congress i can remember when republicans took back the senate. but overreach leads to people getting punished. so how they handle the immigration stuff, how they handle tariffs, all of these things could lead to significant low back. i don't think this was an affirmation of trump, it was a rejection of biden. >> easy to criticize, hard to take. what is your opinion on that? >> again, i would say that this election was a close election. we are talking about an election that was designed by

hundred thousand votes in a handful of states. we are certainly seeing a lot of handling among democrats, you know, but republicans lost in 2020. they did not abandon the playbook. they doubled down. you know? acting for democrats to be talking about things like jettisoning identity politics which is what won president trump and republicans the 2024 election, they are making their appeals to more people, focusing more on voter turnout, i think, is the better strategy for them as opposed to a complete overhaul of messaging rather than more of a focus on strategy and how to reach the people with a message that did resonate with quite enough people -- quite a lot of people, just not enough people. >> okay, thank you both for joining us. and still to come on msnbc reports, they are latino,

evangelicals, and some voted for trump. even if mass deportations could hit close to home. we will speak to a pastor in south florida about his congregation, and their growing presence in republican politics. ence in republican politics. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ whether your phone's broken or old, we've got you. with verizon, anyone can trade in any phone, any condition. it's your last chance to get iphone 16 pro with apple intelligence, on us. and, ipad and apple watch series 10.

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a hard line on immigration was a critical factor in donald trump's 2024 victory, another, of course, was evangelical voters.

but there is a section of the political electorate that has a lot of steak but might not be getting as much attention. that is latino voters. joining us now is reverend gabrielle cel garreau, president of the evangelical coalition and pastor of the gathering place in orlando. he is a registered independent as our 32% of roughly 9 million latino evangelicals in the us. all right, reverend, when people picture republican voting evangelicals in their head, are they picturing members of your community? if not, why not? >> i don't think they are, christina. i think we are made invisible. evangelicals are historically independently minded unlike our counterparts. when you see the headlines, they are not really considering latino evangelicals. there is about 98 of the us in the united states. >> so, i mean, trump's success

was driven by gains, and surprising gains he made with latino voters. that is especially strong among latino evangelicals. and i wanted to pick your brain a little bit because at first glance, it seems like a bit of a disconnect if you are voting for someone who is actively saying he wants to deport members of your community. why do you think in the end they made the decision to support trump even at the risk of friends, neighbors or relatives who could end up getting deported if this new policy goes into place? >> i think it is important for us to realize that latino evangelicals are not a monolith. they are not one issue voters. so, when i walk into a room and i say i am latino, people assume i am a democrat. when i say i'm an evangelical pastor, people assume i am a republican. but i am both, evangelical and latino. that's part of why i'm an

independent voter. neither party has a monopoly on all of our issues. we are historically socially conservative, we are historically for this, but at the same time we value immigration reform that respects the dignity of every human being. our coalition was part of that team. we want a balanced budget but not on the backs of the poor, so we wanted a tax credit. so, there's a whole slew of issues that latino evangelicals have around -- but that is not the case for latino evangelicals. >> what are people in your congregation telling you about when they go to the polls? what were the issues that you were hearing about? it seems like democratic and republican operatives may have had some idea, but as you mentioned, latinos are not a monolith. different things are more

important to different people. when it comes to latino evangelicals, what were at the top of their list when they went to the polls? >> i think like all other us citizens, the economy was. can we pay our mortgage? can we pay our rent? especially seniors choosing between medicine and paying their rent, or children, will be able to afford education or higher education? education was among that. against any xenophobic rhetoric, we were deeply concerned by news poisoning the blood of our education that came out of president-elect trump's campaign. there's a whole host of issues, but immigration is just one of the many issues. the others, of course, being the economy, of course, being protecting programs, of course, religious liberty, of course, our concerns about our children.

>> are the members of your community, of your parish, are they concerned about possible deportations under the new possible deportation policies, and what are they and you doing to prepare? >> we are beyond concerned. donald trump's rhetoric has sent a chill of the latino evangelical churches spine. we have said it before and we will say it again. we are pro-immigrant churches, and profamily churches. and any mass deportation threat, whether it is with the intent to produce self deportation or to scare our communities is going to be met by resistance by latino evangelicals. of course, we want more criminal violent immigrants to be dealt with. the majority in this country are hard-working. they go to our sunday schools. they worship with us. and when we heard the possibility of ending the practices of protecting places like schools, hospitals and churches, we lift up our voices. and we said, we want the

incoming administration to deeply reconsider how they are going to approach immigration. surely, they can target violent immigrants without disrupting mixed status families, without disrupting places of worship, and at the same time, the truth is, congress has to get its act together. this is a legislator problem. we need bipartisan immigration reform, but on behalf of our coalition, my church was deeply concerned that there is an intentional messaging and rhetoric about voters with xenophobia that is trying to scare our people or disrupt mixed status families. >> all right. reverend gabrielle, thank you for being with us. >> thank you, christina. merry christmas. and coming up right after the break, nbc's hallie jackson

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♪ i'll be home for christmas ♪ you can count on me ♪ >> being home for the holidays means being home with my family. >> being home for the holidays means of spending time with family. >> for me being home for the holidays, it's all about spending time with family. ♪ if only in my dreams ♪ >> reporter: the aircraft carriers mission in the middle east, defending america's interest and allies is over. now they are on course for a holiday homecoming. >> this is the simple things with my family.

>> reporter: alexis travis has two young kids at home. she has not been able to kiss them good night the past five months so she left them hershey's kisses instead for each of those 160+ knights. >> i am most looking forward to the very first hug. >> reporter: at the port in san diego, her husband waiting with her daughter, andy, and son, tristan. >> this is going to be a great christmas. it's the best gift. >> reporter: some 3500 crew members on board means 3500 families waiting for their return. >> we are grateful he gets to come home and spend the holidays with us. >> children are really excited about having us home. >> it's exciting to have him home. >> we are waiting for the husband to be home. >> reporter: she is waiting for her husband, archie. she and her son, gabriel only have one wish for christmas. >> full house, that's all i want. >> reporter: that's archie on board. he cannot wait for facetime calls to turn into face-to-face moments. >> i haven't seen my family, my wife, my little boy. >> reporter: for construction mechanic kendall weeks, this is

more than a trip home. >> i can't wait to go home to my beautiful wife, and see my son. >> reporter: a son he has never met, born while he was away. >> she introduced us to our son so i could hold him in my arms for the first time. >> i'm very excited. i can't believe today is actually here. like oh my gosh, we are about to meet your dad. >> how are you feeling? >> reporter: the first meeting now within sight. we watched the thick fog clear, and the sailors see it for the first time. the shores of america, welcoming them home. ♪ >> reporter: a return to port like this steeped in tradition, the sailors lineup side-by-side on the flight deck. >> the anticipation is building. you just can't wait. >> reporter: the ship now secured, the gangway opens, and

these sailors can finally step home. ♪ >> reporter: this is the moment lieutenant commander travis who left behind the chocolate kisses has dreamed of. ♪ >> [ laughter ] it's incredible. >> the family is back together. >> reporter: everywhere you look -- reunion after reunion --

>> reporter: -- and family joy. and it's not just reunions. there are more than 30 new dads here who have not met their newborns yet. for these sailors, not just a homecoming, a new beginning. >> yep. he's just like me. it's only been two months since he was born in. i'm ready to catch up on all the time i missed. >> reporter: remember lieutenant commander sanchez, archie? watch as his son spots him. >> i love you, dad. .

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