>> yeah. >> i -- i think i know you on the screen. >> yeah. >> love you, have read about -- >> yeah. >> we really learn so much about you. and i'm so -- so grateful. >> i really learned about you. you're a really good interviewer. [ laughter ] but you're a hell of a lot. you do a lot of other things, too. >> the storytelling is amazing. >> thank you so much. >> that's it for us this hour of "morning joe." we hope you have a merry christmas and happy hanukkah. the news continues after this short break, right here on ms nbc. thanks for watching. ms nbc. thanks for watching.

. >> and notre dame cathedral in paris opened for the inaugural chris maleve mass since the fire in 2019. tonight marks the first night of hanukkah. the first time in two decades the two holidays have fallen on the same day. but first, let's begin with that breaking news the plane crash in kazakhstan. we have the latest and a warning coming you have might find some of this video disturbing. kelly, thanks for joining us. what can you tell us. >> reporter: it's nighttime at crash site but investigators will be combing that wreckage for some time now as to why the azerbaijan flight went down. authorities in as are buy

january russia and kazakhstan all opened criminal investigations into that crash. the video very dramatic video appears to show the 190 trying to make an emergency landing and bursting into flames and breaking apart. a large part of that fuselage remained intact. and unverified video posted by the russian state news agency appears to show some of the passengers seemingly able to walk away after the impact. the airline said 67 people were on board including a five crew members. apparently all are from central asia and from russia. and the plane was on route from the capital of azerbaijan to russia. they tried to make a landing after a bird strike but russian state media said the flight was diverted due to fog possibly hitting the block of birds

after the diversion. the as are buy januaryi president says there's conflicting theories and investigators saying we need to wait to see what the investigation shows. at least four bodies have now been recovered. the associated press quoted the prosecutor general's office as saying at least 32 people survived. impact and fire. some apparently pulled from the wreckage by other passengers. 25 were taken to local hospitals, russian state media said an 11-year-old and 16-year- old were among those getting emergency care. >> that's amazing when you look at that fuselage that many people got out. thanks very much. winter weather is disrupting christmas travel coast to coast with shore storms expected. it's white christmas across the northeast but not here in d.c. and water logged morning in the northwest. bill karins is here with more. what's the holiday forecast.

>> good christmas and hanukkah to you. this is a huge storm in the pacific and that's going to cause headaches this afternoon and evening in the pacific northwest. weka it an atmospheric river. a ton of moisture associated with this. and this storm is strong enough we will have huge waves on the coast and also very high winds coming into the pacific northwest. so here's how it plays out going throughout the day today, the rain moves in, and the snow levels are high. it's temperatures pretty warm so you have to get way up in the passes to have snow issues. a rain event for all of interstate 5. and windy conditions move in this evening. another little storm tomorrow morning behind it. but this is mostly the problem later tonight with the high winds. because of it, we have 4 million people under wind alerts for wind advisories or you know a few spots with high wind warnings especially the southern portion of the coast here in oregon and a little inland. now the city such as portland,

seattle and medford, doesn't look like you will get the highest winds. more for the coastal areas. that's where we could be up to 50 and occasionally maybe a 60 mile per hour gusts. port orford, 60-mile-per-hour winds. we could have power outages. christmas day forecast, no problem for travel on the eastern seaboard. rain shower activity dreary day throughout the tennessee valley and southern ohio including friends there in southern illinois and indiana. and if you are traveling interstate 07 through inner mountain west through colorado, a little snow, and then the big storm into the pacific northwest. tomorrow, our tension attention will return to louisiana and eastern texas. as far as temperatures, it's a warm christmas. temperatures above normal in many areas from the midwest all the way through the ohio valley that continues into thursday. no cold and snow to deal with, we are mostly dealing with the big storm in the northwest.

>> all right. thanks so much. and after narrowly averting a shut down congress is away for the holiday but lawmakers face a pretty massive to do list upon return. nbc reports from here in washington, d.c. all right, take it off. what have we got on this congressional to do list. what's the first thing to tackle. >> reporter: well, the first thing is reelect speaker johnson and that's a big question mark. to borrow a quote what he told me before the holiday break they will go home and get rest because when they come back they will do the hardest work of their lives. look at the furs item, january 3rd, if he can keep the gavel that may be the easiest thing he does over the next two years and can lose one republican so it's big if. then they have to certify the election on january 6th. so, it is really pointing to the fact that president-elect trump wants somebody in that speaker's chair as fast as

possible because all business halts. then after that, they have to confirm all president-elect trump's senate nominees to be in his cabinet of course. and that also is a big if because there's names like pete hegseth and tulsi gabored and controversial nominees that are big question marks if they have the votes opinion and fund the government again ahead of the march 14th deadline. address the debt ceiling that was the 11th hour demand that president-elect trump had something they failed to do before the holidays and they have to address expiring trump tax cuts later in the year. and by the way, trump wants them to do something on immigration and border security maybe within his first 100 days. so, so many items, so little time and, of course, speaker johnson, whoever ends up having the gavellers, has a slim majority that's something you will here. >> let's look at reality. whether we have a three person or five person majority a good

case of the flu ma'am and democrats are back in the majority. so, i think the reality is he knows he's going to have to work with us. and you know good and well, there's not a democrat out there that will work with president trump unless they switch parties. >> reporter: burchett who voted against the continuing resolution crossing president- elect trump pea has a good point johnson will have an extremely slim majority. he can lose a couple of votes on any given vote. so it moons republicans will have to work with democrats and that's not something that republicans want to do. >> all right thank you so much for joining us and you know, maybe speaker jockson can find votes under the tree. happy holidays. joining us now is matthew dodd and senior msnbb political analyst host of the in sync

podcast matthew, republicans may have gotten control of congress, but if the budget battle was an indication it may not be smooth sailing for president trump's agenda, especially in the first 100 days. what do you see as the biggest challenges ahead for the gop and can they get their agenda on the same page as each other and even the white house? >> well, merry christmas and happy hanukkah on this day. i think the first probably most important thing is maintaining power ability to govern. i think as your lead in piece said it's going to be difficult especially when you lose a couple members one who resigned and two looks like they will be part of the cabinet is how to maintain power and structure enough to lead, and so my expectation is what is likely going to happen with narrow majorities with already some republicans bucking donald trump, and with the senate with other republicans who have bucked donald trump in the

first pick for justice department, think this is going to be very, very, very hard for donald trump to do much in his first 100 days or first year. i think it's going to be incredibly hard. if he have has to have legislation it's going to be hard to get anything done. >> and, it's going to be even harder if you know there's speaker battle. i wonder what you foresee? do you think mike johnson can keep his seat? do you think he will risk losing republican support? what's your prediction as we head into the new year? >> it's amazing is speaker johnson saying the other day admitting out loud the job is not the greatest job or easiest job in the world. someone saying are you going to give the job to elon musk basically. and i think look, the speaker role is something that is a role in name only at this point. donald trump is calling the shots. elon musk is also calling the shots. speaker johnson, or whoever, will end up serving in that role as their to carry out their orders and their wishes.

it's not an easy job. republicans, though, with the help of matt gaetz who is no longer serving in congress, ousted kevin mccarthy the previous speaker. we know there's an appetite among some serving marjorie taylor greene and others who want to cause chaos especially if that's in trump's wishes. for this point, johnson remains to be the likely next speaker, but if he is not doing what ban, trump, musk want, it would be easy for us to see another situation where republicans three themselves, country, government, into complete chaos to have this personnel personality contest of sorts to again fulfill what it is trump wants which we know can change depends on who speaks to him last. >> matthew given the outside influences playing a role, how important is the speaker role for setting agenda and getting

things done? talk through logistically not just politically what difference can an effective speaker make. >> it's donald trump or elon musk who is calling the shots. so, but there is a role that a speaker has to have, which is if you want to pass a piece of legislation, you have to be assign to the committee getting it out of committee who will bring it to the house floor and you need to be able to count the votes and organize the votes in order to pass the legislation. so even though donald trump wants nothing to do with that part of it because he doesn't like that part of it, which is negotiating people figuring it out, going to people feeling appealing to egos donald trump likes his ego appealed to is the role of the speaker, if you want to pass legislation, which means anything that's last, donald trump can issue executive orders but they last as long as his presidency. if you want any lasting agenda, the speaker has to organize the votes, and the committees in order to get it done and again as your lead-in piece said the only way to fund the government the only way to fund the government has to go through

the house. and that goes through the speaker's office. >> all right. let's talk about the elephant or the tesla truck in the room. you know, there's a lot of push from democrats kind of pushing this line that musk is becoming the shadow president partially because they think it will get under donald trump's skin but over the weekend he dismissed, you know, the claims that the billionaire is exerting too much influence. we have a bit of sound here. >> the new one is president trump has seeded the presidency to elon musk. no. no. that's not happening. but elon has done an amazing job. we want to thank him. but no, he is not going to be president that i can tell you. and i am safe you know why, he can't be. he was not born in the country. >> this is certainly not the first time a wealthy individual has had influence over the

inhabitant of 1600 pennsylvania, but whoever wants to take it can take it. i am curious to get your opinion how much influence musk has on the incoming trump administration. alexi you want to start? >> i think the big thing is elon musk but why wouldn't it be jeff bezos or bill being aman next. this is just opening the door for a situation in which the government is led by billionaires who are unelected officials not only shaping public opinion in the case of someone like jeff bezos who of course owns the washington post, but who are now increasingly shaping policy as we are seeing with elon musk. we have seen in the past, folks like david sachs weighing in on things with uber conservative views, and so, yeah, maybe they don't hold the title as president, but they have outside influence and again, elon musk is opening the door toward litany of wealthy folks to jump in. >> i mean, a cynical person

could say that wealthy individuals have always had a pretty heavy influence in politics, but i am trying not to be cynical, it's the holidays and we will be cheerful. but, matthew, is this different is this market changed even with that bench mark from the past? >> yeah, i mean don't want to be cynical on a holiday, but i think it's very different because normally, it was rich people had influence but they sort of stayed in the background. and at least the leadership had to sort of work around that and say no it's not going on. i am here on behalf of the working class. i think this gets very difficult for donald trump. he basically got elected by working class whites around the country. that's how he got elected and now you are ceding power to a bunch of oligarchs who have no interest eliteist elite of american and they ran against elite but people in place are publicly saying this is what we are going to do and who are publicly threatening. so the difference is rather large between wealthy people having an influence who stayed

in the background to the people basically standing up and saying i was not elected but i am going to say what's good for the country and they are all multi-millionaires or billionaires. >> matthew, i want to ask you about, you know we haven't heard a ton from is jz vance where is he? he had an assumed role as congressional liaison and it's being eclipse by elon musk. what role is left for him in the next administration. >> well, it's great question. because, i don't fundamentally understand it because all the stuff donald trump isn't interested in he could give to jd vance like dealing with the senate and congress. but i think what he figured out is he doesn't want anybody to get in the way of his ability to, you know, motivate or threaten people or do whatever. and i also think jd vance problem is he wasn't in the senate long enough and in the congress long enough and he wasn't well liked by most members of his party and so what do you do with a guy who comes from the senate not there long enough and is not liked.

so i think it leaves him sort of out of this. i know he probably wants to be the hair apparent when donald trump's term is up but he needs to have some portfolio because right now, he is left with man without a country. >> alexi speaking of people who don't have a lot of friends on the hill, you know, this week we had that ethics report on former congressman matt gaetz released on monday. it came out after lawmakers and people left d.c. for the holiday. what do you think the beingos of this will be? is there enough that we will hear about this when members come back in january? is this going to continue? or do you they think members want to move on? >> well what's remarkable that we haven't heard anything from congresswoman nancy mace railing against democrats and trans folks about the supposed danger they pose to women. but matt gaetz is a clear threat to girls, to women, in the situations that were outlined in the ethics report,

they are damming and go against every thing he said and supposed evidence he exist that would exonerate him by the way neither he or his lawyers put forward. so, hopefully, we hear more from republican women in particular, on this very issue when they come back. >> all right. matthew and alexi thank you both very much. happy holidays. merry christmas. i hope you get a bit of a rest before it starts up. still ahead, president- elect donald trump rounds out the year in legal limbo. several of the cases against him. we have an update where they all stand. plus, it's been a whirlwind year for the economy from the high cost of living to batteling retailers to interest rate cuts. why things could get really interesting see what we did in 2025. and later, how the royals are carrying on after two major health scares. we are back in 90 seconds. you are watching msnbc reports. . you are watching msnbc reports. . with the money i saved i thought i'd get a wax figure of myself. cool right?

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away my freedom because i will never let them tack 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 formerly booked and fingerprinted and photographed him for a mug shot that trump capitalized on. >> when i did the mug shot, in atlanta, you know that mug shot is number one. >> reporter: trump turned it into a symbol of his fight for freedom, using it for merchandise and fund raising. >> every time the radical left democrats marksists communist and fascist indict me, i consider it great badge of honor. >> reporter: in 2023, the indictments coming in rapid succession. >> i got arrest four times like i wake up in the morning you think they will arrest me today. i never got arrested before. >> reporter: some of trump's primary opponents trying to benefit themselves from the cases. >> we can't keep living with indictments and court cases and vengeance of the past.

we have to start going forward. >> that conduct is indefensible in my view. >> reporter: but instead, it trump made his way to new york, to face criminal charges, for falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to stormy daniels and influence 2016 presidential election his narrow lead in the gop primary began expanding. >> it distorted the primary and crowded out other stuff. >> reporter: special counsel jack smith because two cases against trump charging him in efforts to overturn the election loss and refusing to turn over classified documents in allegedly trying to hide them from the fbi. leading to federal agents executing a search warrant on his estate. >> they raided my house in florida mar-a-lago. no notice no nothing they raid it. >> reporter: in a civil case brought by new york attorney general a new york judge found trump and his family company to have engaged in repeated

financial fraud, finding him $460 million. >> 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. he jean carroll and defaming her. >> he is nothing. we don't need to be afraid of him. >> reporter: another jury months later then ordering trump to pay carroll more than $80 million after the judge overseeing the litigation determined that he had defamed her again. as trump called the prosecution's and lawsuits politically targeted, the justice system continued to churn. >> shouldn't be allowed to happen so i will stay around here. >> reporter: major witnesses taking the stand in the hush money trial, stormy daniels, michael coen and the publisher of the national enquirer and his former white house close aide hope hicks. meanwhile his political allies courting public opinion. >> judicial system has been weaponized against president

trump. >> they are not prosecuting president trump they are percent cueing him. >> reporter: after seven weeks, jury unanimously found him guilty on all 34 felony counts. the judge scheduling a sentencing date for after the election. raising the stakes of america's decision. >> we are now 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 results concerns about immunity from prosecution and the ability and precedent of imposing a sentence on sitting president leading jack smith to trop two cases federal judges then agreeing to toss the indictments out and his fulton county case indefinitely on hold and judge in his new york trial now deciding whether to toss the verdict against trump out altogether. or suspend the sentencing date until he leaves office in 2029. and now that fulton county case on hold as the georgia court

determined whether district attorney willis should be disqualified from prosecuting case against donald trump and other defendants because of the relationship that she had with her one time special prosecutor the lead prosecutor on the case. nathan wade. >> all right. thank you so much. and joining us now msnbc legal analyst and formerly assistant district attorney in the manhattan office katherine christian. i want to start with the georgia cases he was talking about. where do the case goings now? because if trump's portion of the trial is on hold, what does that mean for the codefendants? >> well, the entire -- the appellate court removed the da willis and her office from the entire case. so, all of the codefendants now fulton county da willis said she will appeal. but, realistically, the case is

really over. because she can appeal that will take a long time. the georgia supreme court is conservative. they probably will affirm meaning uphold the lower appellate court decision. if she -- if that happens, a commission in georgia will appoint a new da, that new da or they may not appoint a new da and let it go, but if they do appoint a new da, the new da has discretion to decide i am not going to prosecute. so realistically, in terms of donald trump, and those codefendants, that case is basically in the black hole. >> that's georgia, where do things stand for the sentencing date in the new york hush money case? >> that is another inexplicable delay. judge merchan this is christmas day has not issued a decision whether he will dismiss the indictment if he does the case is over.

if he doesn't dismiss indictment will it be before january 20th or after election day and that case is on hold. you should note until a defendant is sentenced, at least in new york, the conviction is not considered final. so, it's just out there yes, a jury found donald trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records, but until he is sentenced, that's not considered a final judgment. >> well, as the incoming president, trump is now going to get to hand select the next attorney general, after he himself was charged with federal crimes. and he's promise to get revenge. so my question is, are there built in back stops in the legal system to check this action and are you concerned about the precedent it could set not just for the administration but for anyone looking to do this to political foes in the future? >> i would say yes, but, obviously, judges are back stop, you know lawyers, you get

a lawyer to defend you. but, if row are the one who is being investigated where there's no factual or legal basis no probable cause and prosecuted, yes, at the end of the day, a judge will dismiss the indictment. but you have to have a lawyer and you have your life disrupted. so, hopefully, i try to be optimistic, the prosecutors in the department of justice will remember that they are ethically bound as lawyers to not investigate and prosecute people unless they are their is probable cause. because as lawyers, they could be subject to discipline and be disbarred. so they have to ask is it worth it for me to follow my boss tells me to do and then end up losing my lawyer license or to say no i am not going to do that. >> and while we have got you quickly, i want to ask about this ethics committee investigation into matt gaetz. the report showed that he may have violated state law, i know there was already a criminal

investigation but what happens now? can that information be handed over and could he be prosecuted? >> well, the department of justice determined that they are not going today prosecute him federally and clearly, the new incoming department of justice will not be prosecuting him. but yes, florida could decide to take a look at the allegations and determine if there was in the statute of limitation to prosecute. but, you know, he is a florida former congressperson so there might and political reason not to do that. but yes, certainly, if they have approvable crime that the federal government determined they did not, they could prosecute former congressman gaetz. >> thanks so much for joining us. we will have to wait and see. up next, american shoppers are getting, well, finicky. how the impacted the u.s. economy and what it means for

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2024 was a hectic year for the economy and world of business. from inflation to federal reserve cuts and fast-food chains battling it out with meal deals. we take a look back. >> reporter: in year where a lot happened, the u.s. economy kept the stride thanks to an u.s. consumer that got choosier with the dollars. big time names in corporate

america were pushed back from consumers who bulked a prices. >> why aren't we talking about the fast-food restaurant. >> reporter: they were fresh fraud into offering meal deals to dru customers back but shoppers opened their wallets spending a record amount of money online over the extended black friday weekend. >> some stuff was on sale and some weren't. but, we still buy. >> reporter: that's spending brought up the economy in a got help from the federal reserve which cut interest rates for the first time since 2020. >> we don't want the labor market to soften much from here. >> reporter: fed undid post pandemic rate increases to avoid a spike in unemployment which tilted up a half percent since a year ago but the pace of price increases in the united states slowed with inflation declaring over 2024. now still, prices for households staples are high. but the cost of ground beef and eggs up from a year ago and housing cost rising, but many questions face the u.s.

consumer going into 2025. >> can you guarantee american families won't pay more? >> i can't guarantee anything. >> reporter: price cos rise further under the incoming trump administration plan to hit americans big of the trade partners with tariffs. letting a charged import goods could push companies to raise the cost of electronics and meat and oil and another question, what will happen to tiktok. supreme court says it will hear arguments on the constitutionality of the tiktok ban. >> reporter: after a court upheld the bipartisan law forcing a sale, tiktok could disappear from the phones as early as january 19th. >> breaking news tiktok is getting banned. again, so they say is it real? i am not sure. >> we are coming on the air with breaking news. a massive global technical outage tied to crowd strike. >> reporter: there was the oh, the microsoft outage in july that bricked computers due to a faulty update from crowd strike. and that was not the only

blackout of the year. in february, at&t had a massive cell phone outages and march meta had problems disrupting facebook and instagram services. now it didn't sink those companies, but debt did pile up for companies that filed for bankruptcy this year among them tupperware, express, tji fridays and red lobster. bankrupt means they are reorganizing not gone forever. so here's to more cheddar biscuits in 2025 after what was a busy 2024, for the u.s. consumer. up next, president-elect donald trump's contentious relationship with the media. why there's growing concern over freedom of the press. you're watching msnbc reports. . you're watching msnbc reports. moderate to severe ulcerative colitis symptoms can keep coming back. 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...

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in one of the biggest escalations in income president trump's push again the mainstream media his pick for scc chair has warned disney ceo he will be monitoring abc's negotiations with local stations. because of the financial terms the network is seeking. now this comes after the network reached a $15 million settlement regarding allegations of defamation against the president-elect. car has joined trump in his frequent criticism of mainstream media here to discuss is the legal analyst for msnbc and professor of law and political science at ucla law school. all right, when you look at this, what does this say about the incoming administration's

attitude towards the media as trump takes office a second time around. you know, some of us, myself included, were on the receiving end the last term. do we expect it to be the same or worse the second time around? >> well, i think you are right to point out donald trump has a long history of attacking the press. you may remember him frequently referring to the press as the enemy of the people. the question is whether this is just rhetoric or whether he is going to actually do something about it, and you mentioned the one lawsuit against abc a defamation suit that settled. there's another lawsuit he filed in the last week against the des moines register arguing that a poll which showed him losing was somehow a violation of iowa's consumer fraud statute. you put the things together and he is willing to use legal means to attack the press. and soon as he is going to regain control of the administration, he is going to be able to have the f cc as you

mentioned look at things and department of justice which deals with media shield attacks, you know when the media tries to keep a source confidential there may be issues with antitrust. there could be more defamation suits. so there's a lot potentially in the works. as we enter into the month of january and see where things go. >> that's a good point. i hadn't thought about anybody media shield laws for sourcing and things like that. what kind of checks are there are there any checks in place to hold the administration accountable that outlets are targeted or you know he tries to pull scc licenses or any of this. >> so the first thing is that the president is protected by the first amendment. we all have freedom of speech. the first amendment protects freedom of the press and defamation standards that we apply today, are higher it's hard to win a defamation lawsuit against a public official or a public figure because the supreme court in

the 1960s, began a series of cases beginning with "new york times" versus sullivan that says if you are going to claim someone is defaming you saying something that injuries your reputation, and you're one of the public figures, you got to prove the statement is made with actual malice meaning you know it's false, or you make the statement are reckless disregard whether it's true or false. it gives breathing room for the reporting and commentary that is so essential to the checking function of the press in the united states. and so, the first amendment is going to be, one line of defense. another one is that it's not as though when someone takes over the fcc department of justice they can just do anything. they are bound by law and if the administration tries to take steps that are not compliant with the law, then these can be fought in court not just on first amendment grounds but grounds for the exadministration is exceeding power. so there are lots of different ways to have a check, but, there's certain things that the

administration would be able to do. we talked about media shield laws. much has been a biden administration policy rather than law or constitutional protection that the press has. there are a lot of tools if donald trump wants to make life harder for the press, he has ways he can do so. >> but, given, you talked about how there is a pretty high threshold to prove defamation against a public figure. you mentioned this malice you know threshold which means you have to try to do it wrong. there's other parts in the rulings you know just because one thing is wrong, doesn't mean the entire story is defamatory. that case law has been laid out and has stood for a while but we have seen other case law recently get thrown out by this comfort. is there any fear if one of the defamation courts cases were to go up to the supreme court, the supreme court might change that threshold in favor of donald trump? >> well donald trump remember talk about loosening the liable laws and justins clarence thomas one of the most

conservative justices expressed some interest in making it easier to bring defamation lawsuits. i am not sure that actually helps donald trump given some of the statements he has made of course he will have immunity while president but if you want to be able to have breathing room for people to address all kinds of opinions and views and to be able to investigate those in power you need to have a strong first amendment protection against defamation. so, i think there could be a text. there we know one of the most recent supreme court cases involved a florida and texas set of laws that would prevent social media companies from engaging in certain kinds of content moderation. and in that case, you had a strong majority of the supreme court conservatives and liberals coming together endorsing editorial discorrection for social media companies like facebook or x in the same way that they might apply them to news papers or to a television station. so i do think that will their is strong protection for the

first amendment on the supreme court that doesn't mean donald trump won't try to water down the defamation laws as his department of justice takes on the suits going forward. >> there's a bigger issue we don't have a ton of time but i want to ask you. americans increasingly don't trust legacy media outlets and regaining the trust is going to be harder if you know, disburnings are coming from the highest office in the land. what can outlets do to regain public confidence? >> well, think this is a huge problem. and it doesn't help as you say when the government is tay tacking the press. and so, i think part of what has to be done is that the press has to be clear about what the sources are and what it knows and doesn't know and bring in a diverse set of voice. really, the whole idea is that the more that journalists comply with journalistic standards, better off we will be as a society in the long run not just for journalists but voters to get the kinds of

information they need to be able to make good decisions when they go into the booth and decide who to vote for. >> okay thanks so much for joining us. up next as royal celebrates the christmas day, they close out a tough year with two cancer diagnosis. what they are looking forward to in the year to come. you're watching msnbc reports. you're watching msnbc reports. r? speaker: dad. dad, we missed you. daddy, hi. speaker: goodness. my daughter is being treated for leukemia. [music playing] i hope that she lives a long, great, happy life saint jude-- maybe this is what's keeping my baby girl alive. [music playing] narrator: you can join the battle to save lives by supporting st. jude children's research hospital. for just $19 a month, you'll help us continue the life-saving research and treatment these kids need now and in the future.

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royal family beginning with the princess kate and king charles were fighting cancer but they kept calm and carried on the megan fitzgerald has more. >> reporter: after rough year the royal family is ready to ring in a new one unprecedented. >> unprecedented year and turbulent year arworrying year and year that has exposed the royal family for being quite vulnerable. >> reporter: the difficult year started in january, the princess of wales was admitted to the hospital for abdominal surgery. the king going to the same clinic at the same time for a prostate procedure and in february, everything changed palace announcing the king had cancer. one month later, another shock. >> it has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family. >> reporter: princess of wales saying she was diagnosed with cancer as well. both royals stepped back from public duties. leaving a monarchy in potential

crisis. >> i think that really just exposed this is not a deep bench. this is not deep bench lined with sobs touts. >> reporter: in june in time for the king -- physician birthday celebration, the princess of wales made a surprise appearance joining the king and her family on the iconic balcony. >> cancer journey is complex. scary, and unpredictable for everyone. >> reporter: but it was this video she told the world there's light even in the darkest of times. >> i cannot tell you what relief it is to finally completed my chemotherapy treatment. >> reporter: now the princess of wales is making her slow return to work attending events as she feels well enough and as royal family celebrates the holiday season they will be hoping this coming year will be far better than the last. megan fitzgerald, nbc news, london. all right our thanks to megan for the report. and there's still much more

ahead on this morning. including an update on the deadly plane crash in kazakhstan. the plane carrying 67 people went down earlier this morning but we are told there are survivors. you're watching nsnbc reports. survivors. you're watching nsnbc reports. ! dawn powerwash flies through 99% of grease and grime in half the time. watching m. grer. watching m. even replaces multiple cleaning products. ooh, those suds got game. dawn powerwash. the better grease getter. prilosec knows, for a fire...

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good morning, it's 1 11:00

a.m. eastern. i'm christina ruffini. dozens are feared dead after a plane carrying 67 people crashed in kazakhstan but more than 30 survived. the plane was heading to russia from azerbaijan and nbc's kelly cobiella joins us now. do we have any updates on the crash, the passengers and anything that we have heard this morning on what's going on? >> reporter: well, it is now nighttime in kazakhstan at the wreckage site and that wreckage is strewn across several yards. we understand on a field next to the caspian sea. the -- investigators are really having their work cut out for them in examining the wreckage site and probably have to wait until daylight to continue that as authorities there have all opened criminal investigations into this crash. that video very dramatic it appears to show the embrier 190 trying to make an emergency landing and then bursting into flames and breaking apart.

a large part of the fuselage remaining intact. unverified video posted by a russian state news agency appeared to show some of the passengers able to actually walk away after the impact. now the airline said that 67 people were on board including five crew members. all from central asia and russia. the plane was en route from the capital of azerbaijan to check mia in russia and that's where a lot of the family members have gone to look for information about their loved ones. the russian aviation authority says it appears the pilots tried to make an emergency landing after a bird strike. there's also word that that flight had to be diverted because of fog. but as far as what actually caused the plane to go down, the azerbaijani president is urging caution and hoping that people wait to come to any conclusion until after the investigation is over. in terms of people who have survived and those who haven't

survived that tragic crash, at least four bodies have been recovered so far. we haven't heard an update on that just yet. but we have heard from azerbaijani authorities and kazakhstan authorities that at least 32 people survived the impact and fire. and 29 of them have been sent to local hospitals. among them, three children. those are the updated numbers. many of them are in serious condition and some in critical condition. but christina, just incredible that so many were able to walk away with bloodied and bruised, but still walking from that crash. christina? >> yeah. especially when you look at the state of that plane. all right, kelly, thank you so much for joining us. president-elect trump is spending his christmas down at mar-a-lago where we have learned -- while we have learned here that president biden has signed 50 bills into law ahead of christmas. including one that makes the bald eagle the official bird of the u.s. it comes after he made a

significant act of clemency. and nbc's aaron gilchrest is reporting live from the white house. do we know about how the president plans to spent his last few weeks in office. >> reporter: here at the residence this christmas morning and just posted the christmas missage this year saying for the last time at as your president. it's any my honor to wish all of america a very merry christmas. now that comes after president biden shared a photo on x last night, showing him and dr. biden calling children all over the country as they helped norad track santa before his deliveries overnight. he also shared with what i think is really cool showing off some of the beautiful holiday decorations in the east wing temperature white house. by the -- of the white house, by the way this took 300 volunteers to bring the theme to life the year. on the work side, president biden was also busy on monday, the white house says he signed 50 pieces of legislation impacting everything from how

colleges report on hazing to caring for the environment and from contractors working at the border to making the bald eagle as you said the national bird you know, despite the fact that the eagle has been a well-known symbol of the united states for many, many years. congress just unanimously designated it as our national bird. now biden also commuted 37 death sentences for federal inmates to life in prison without the possibility of parole. he believes the federal government should not be executing criminals except in cases of terrorism or mass murder motivated by hate. that drew sharp criticism from president-elect trump on christmas eve and posting on social media yesterday, that as soon as he's inaugurated, he'll direct the justice department to vigorously pursue the death penalty to protect american families. now in president biden's last 26 days in office here, he has to decide whether to block the sale of u.s. steel to japan's nippon steel after a national security assessment ended without a decision on that.

two sources have also told us that the president has been discussing preemptive pardons for people who have drawn the ire of president-elect trump over the last few years, senator adam schiff you see there, dr. anthony fauci and former congresswoman liz cheney all possible names to come the mind for that. and in what is likely his last diplomatic trip the president accepted a visit -- invitation to visit pope francis at the vatican and that's going to be just ten days, christina, before biden is set to leave office here. >> all right. aaron, thank you. i am shocked to learn that the bald eagle was not the official national bird. but you know, better late than never. thank you for joining us. all right, we want to bring in susan, republican strategist and msnbc political analyst and megan hayes, form especial assistant to president biden and deputy communications director for biden's 2020 campaign. megan i want to start with you. you just heard aaron walk us through about what president biden plans to do the last few

weeks. is there anything else you expect to see from him? >> reporter: look i think the president will try to get all the money out from the infrastructure bill. the -- inflation reduction act and i think try to get all that money out the door and i think they will try to continue to secure some of the policies in place that they are worried that president trump is going to overturn. i also expect that national security team will continue to still work on a ceasefire and returning of hostages. and in gaza and israel. i mean, abbeys couple of weeks for the last couple of weeks but i think those are some things you think expect to see. >> excellent. i want to ask you obviously the arc of history is long and it's hard to tell how presidents or policies are going to be viewed the greater historical perspective. but what do you see being the most significant parts of the biden administration? what will be remembered and do you think it will be a good legacy or a bad one? >> reporter: you know, i think that he will have a good legacy and i think it will take time for all his economic policies to take effect. i think the infrastructure bill and the investment in infrastructure and the

investment in clean energy jobs and i think all those types of things are going to take time and they will take generations to feel them and feel the impacts on our country by i think overtime the legacy for president biden will be -- will be revered and will be a great legacy for him. >> susan, same question. what do you think the big things people are are going to remember from the last four years will be? >> reporter: i do think his handling of covid, bringing the vaccination to the public at a critical time. will be certainly remembered. the way he came into office, and i think it will be a little mixed on how he -- he decided to run for re-election and then had to step back from it. because in many ways you can argue he should never have made that announcement knowing his declining health and yet there was nothing more patriotic than stepping away from it. so i think it will probably end up frankly being right down the middle. i don't think we'll see anything extraordinary except for when it comes to kindness. i will give him that. he'll probably be known as one

of the kinder, most -- and emotional presidents we have had. >> all right. susan also want to ask you, you know, dr. is preparing to retake the white house with a list of priorities on day one including taking action at the border, pardoning the january 6thrioters and placing new restrictions on transgendered americans and reaffirming the death penalty as we just talked. realistic day one actions? trump actually going to be able to get this done in the timeline he has promised his voters? >> reporter: some of them are -- he can do day one. like pardoning the january 6th criminals in my opinion. and yet, others are just going to be a sign of of i think what he wants to do. he may get some of those presidential executive orders in place. but at least we know i think -- i hope we know -- that he will be behind making the bald eagle

our national bird. that's a good amount of bipartisanship we can have on christmas day. just going to try to stay positive on that. >> at least we can all agree on the bald eagle right? the numbers are back and a good year for bald eagles. megan, wondering which of these promised actions do you think is going to spark the most pushback? >> reporter: i think a lot of them are going to spark a lot of pushback and i thither going to have legal challenges on a lot of them. mass deportations and significant legal challenges. where i think he will sign executive orders, on day one, to have a nice media splash to look like he is delivering for the people who voted for him. they are going to have significant legal challenges that will not be able to take effect and also going to have to work cross coordination with the agencies that will take time. i don't think a lot of the actions he wants to do will be impactful on day one like he hopes. >> susan, trump expressed as of late taking control of a few place, greenland, the panama canal. in fact, today actually denmark

which is responsible for greenland's security and foreign policy, announced this huge new security package for the self-governing nation. what is going on here? greenland has said multiple times including in the last administration, they are not for sale. panama has also said the canal is not on the auction block. why is this territorial expansion from a man who tends to be noninterventionist in foreign policy, such a sticking point for donald trump? >> reporter: well, putting greenland aside, only because that's something that was debated pretty much in his first term of office, and it definitely isn't going anywhere. panama to me is just a reflection of let's see who he had dinner with in the last week. because someone whispered in his ear that these fees are too high and they never should have been -- panama should never have been given the canal. or some kind of nonsense. the fact is is that this is going absolutely nowhere. i would say though, it just shows that president trump is never beyond reneging on a deal that he makes or the country

makes. >> yeah. panama, you know, panama canal has been a rough history for not only the u.s. and the french. it's not usually slow -- easy sailings when people try to take it over. megan, also want to ask you. trump also still yet to get his cabinet confirmed. which picks do you think could survive in are there others you really think are at risk given the fact that republicans do control both chambers but might still have a hard time in the senate. >> i think that rfk will probably get through. i think hegseth and tulsi gabbard are going to have real challenges when they get to the hearings. a lot of people who are meeting with them and are trying to see the light with them but i doty when it comes down to it. tulsi gabbard doesn't know anything about national intelligence and i don't think it's qualified to run that agency as well as hegseth and all the baggage with him. i think those two are main sticking points for people in the senate and their hears are going to be interest when they have them at the first of the

we're. >> the release of the gaetz report and the fallout will have any kind of impact on some of trump's other nominee asks whether they will get through. >> i don't think it will necessarily impact the other nominees. i think the -- fbi background checks are more likely to have a bigger impact on those nominees. but what is important about that report coming out is that mattgaetz was someone who yes he stepped away from this. he withdrew his name from nomination but the report now makes it very hard for trump to appoint him to anything else which is probably a very good thing. so that's the importance of the report. is to prevent matt gaetz from either you know, at least make him very difficult to pass the muster with elected officials on -- in the senate to appoint him to anything else. or to run for higher officer. i think the public is pretty disgusted with it. >> all right. susan and megan, firmly on team

bald eagle this holiday season. thank you both very much. >> thank you. >> thank you. and up next, we're live in the immediate l east where there's a glimmer of hope for a ceasefire and hostage release deal between israel and hamas. plus, president-elect trump and his allies have long promised retribution against his enemies when he takes office. we'll tell you about the nationwide network being built to help trump's potential targets. plus who's lending a helping hand for health care workers so they can spend christmas with their families? we're back in 90 seconds, you are watching "msnbc reports." 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 for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection,

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turning now to the latest in the middle east. hamas leaders are indicating this morning that the cease- fire and hostage negotiations in doha with qatar and egyptian officials are proceeding quote, in a serious manner and with flexibility. the announcement comes as israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said earlier this week that progress is being made but did not offer any indication of timeline. and nbc international correspondent joinsest us now with the very latest. holla. how serious are we thinking this movement can be? i mean obviously we've been hearing this for months. but are there any indications of real progress this time? >> reporter: well, you mentioned a few which is that hamas so far and benjamin netanyahu just a few days ago, said there was quote, progress. he told this to the members of the group in israel but today,

he's dampening hopes once again. the israeli prime minister saying that hamas is continuing to impede negotiations. hamas, for its part, is saying that israel is introducing new demands, namely on the withdrawal of its troops and in fact, the defense minister, the israeli defense minister katz visited the philadelphia corridor, that's the narrow strip of land between the gaza strip and egypt and it's been a big point of disagreement between the two sides. saying that israel will maintain security control over the gaza strip. hamas all along, as well as egypt it has to be noted. has said that israeli control of the philadelphia corridor is a deal breaker. this is something that's been in agreement in the past that they would not occupy. so, you know, there are many hurdles and many obstacles along the way. there's a bit more enthusiasm perhaps for an agreement but

certainly not something that feels imminent at this stage. christina? >> i also want to ask you, the israeli military indicated their presence in gaza may have contributed to the death of six hostages in august. what did this investigation reveal? >> reporter: so these are are six hostages who were killed by hamas in a tunnel in southern gaza. what the idf revealed today was that the troops were operating in the area but these troops did not know that there were hostages in that particular tunnel. so that they were proceeding with operations, and that what they're saying now is that though -- they did not, you know, this was not a friendly fire incident, and there have been a few of those in the gaza strip that perhaps their presence may have precipitated the killing of these six hostages, including hirsch polin goldberg one of the hostages whose parents were very visible since october 7th and asking for the release of their son. and we are still waiting --

this by the way would be if a deal is agreed between hamas and israel, it would have very important consequences on the release of of at least 40 live hostages because an israeli source told nbc a few weeks ago that phase one of the deal would involve the release of 40 live hostages from the humanitarian category. that's women and injured people and older people. in exchange for palestinian prisoners. so we're keeping our eye on that as well. christina? >> all right. hala, thank you so much for keeping track of that. former rebel groups in syria announced an agreement to merge and form a new national military under the ministry of defense on tuesday. this consolidation which developed following the collapse of the regime two weeks ago is part of a large effort to restore some sort of central authority and form a new government which says it will be inclusive for all syrians. from the council on foreign relations is joining us now.

it's to nice to see you. we used to be buddies there. i want to ask you about the shifting landscape in syria. shifted so dramatically over the last few weeks and now been replaced by this interim rebel opposition leaders. what hurdles do the syrian people face as they try to rebuild the government in the new year and is there hope for a functioning democracy there? >> well, i think a functioning democracy will come -- could come in time. but right null i think -- first of all the syrian people have been traumatized for so many years. a lot of the country is certainly in shambles. so there they're really just only now kind of after the jubilant celebrations we saw after the last few weeks, now they're, you know, the trauma, the kind of has really set in of what they've gone through over the last few years. i think the main thing now is that there's not going to be any retribution. there's obviously going to be a lot of jockeying for power. we've heard some -- about some

killings of christians. very afraid. so i think the main thing is right now, to make sure that the country is united and that this new, you know, they were this rebel force. but now they've formed the transitional government. and so they're leading that transitional government and they have to set the tone that this is a country that will be united and that will not take any retribution against the christians or the other group and i think move forward from there. obviously they're going to have to have this transitional government for a long time. they'll need to be elections and then there's going to be a lot of international work to try to help rebuild the country. >> i still want to talk to you about the leader of the group because we've seen this very rapid kind of remarkable transition from now using hisreal name from this guy in military fatigues who led the rebels into damascus to someone who's wearing a suit and tie and sitting down with senior diplomatic officials and saying, all the right things at

least for now. how crucial will it be for him to have a good relationship with the united states? with middle eastern powers and with european powers? if he's trying to rebuild and form a functioning government. >> well, that's going to be crucial. obviously the first thing is to kind of set the tone inside the country. and you have seen, you know, with israel trying to continue to make these moves into areas like kinetra where islamists have been in the past, where -- hezbollah has operated in the past, to try and make sure that, you know, weapons aren't going into terrorists' hands. you know, as the leader, you know, or whatever he's calling himself now, has reached out to the united nations to kind of set the tone with israel. he also has to deal with turkey. turkey obviously we don't know the exact nature of their support for the hts but they are believed to be instrumental

in helping those rebels take over damascus and finally top bashar al-assad but also you know, the relationship with the united states and other middle eastern powers is going to be crucial. syria has been really a proxy of iran for so many years. the gulf states and other nations have tried to kind of retch out to bashar al-assad to peel him away from iran, there's a real opportunity now, because syria's really the linchpin in iran's -- you know, outside facing proxies towards the rest of the region. and so i think a lot of leaders want to engage with him. but at the same time, you know, he does have this past with al qaeda, with terrorist groups and so his ties to islamists are going to be the main concern not just in israel, but in the gulf and the united states. and to try and keep him as an inclusive leader and he's going to want a lot of international

aid from the donor community. really crucial. >> definitely something to watch. pivot now to gaza and look the biden administration really struggled to get the netanyahu government to the table with negotiating a piece tale and for the lost reasonable elyses in gaza. obviously we're hearing the negotiations are going pretty well. i checked in with some sources in the region this morning. who are involved in these meetings. and they said, you know, don't and expecting a christmas miracle at least not today. i wonder what you hear about peace negotiations and if you think this is something that will happen before the end of biden's term. now obviously trump has said he wants it to happen before he takes office. that timeline is pretty similar. where do you see this going and is it going to happen before end of the year? >> well, i think this is one area if -- there are very few, i think this is one area where the biden administration and the incoming trump administration have been working closely to try and really try and get a deal going before trump takes office. obviously trump wants to come into office without any, you

know, issues about the hostages, but at the same time, i think that maybe hamas -- i think and i think there are some sources that think -- hamas might want to get this done before trump comes in because he is you know, promised -- he said hell to pay but obviously retribution if those hostages aren't released. i think there's a couple of things going on. obviously there are in the negotiations between the israelis and hamas. but at the same time, we're not really sure that according to my sources, that hamas really knows where all of those hostages were. so there's some talk about could they release few of them? or you know, i don't think they really have a very definitive list of who they have, where they are, that they can go into good faith negotiations. so i think it's -- i don't think we're going to see a christmas miracle obviously. i'm not sure we'll see it the end of year but i think as the -- we get closer towards the end of the biden term, we'll -- we'll see who hamas is serious

and knows really where the hostages are. >> all right, elyse. thank you so much for joining us. >> you bet. up next, health care workers around the world need a day off too. especially nights, weekends and the holidays. we'll meet the hol veers filling in for -- volunteers filling in for them at an atlanta facility so some of them can take christmas day, you are watching "msnbc reports." and five... and if nonsurgical treatment isn't offered? ♪♪ 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. (dramatic music) time is running out to give a year-end gift like no other- -a gift that can help saint jude children's research hospital save lives. those that donate to st. jude, i hope that you will continue to give.

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members of atlanta's jewish community have volunteered their time on chris mace day taking over nonmedical health care roles at hospitals and nursing homes so workers can celebrate christmas with their families. nbc news marissa para joins us live now from atlanta. a bit of a bummer of a year, such a lovely story. what are these volunteers telling you about the meaning behind this holiday tradition? do we have you? >> reporter: i can tell you right now, you can see some people behind me as we speak. and see these are some of the volunteers that we have with this program. this is the pinch hitters program. anyone in a green shirt is part of this program. and so you can see them kind of gathering behind me and we're still waiting for some of the volunteers to come into this room. we know that there are plenty of of people that are going to be filling up here for lunch and i hope you can hear me okay. but -- we're at an assisted living center in the atlanta area. as you mentioned, this is a

program within an international organization a jewish organization so pinch hitters is where people who are part of this organization in the atlanta area can step in to nonmedical roles and i have talked to a couple of volunteers in the last 20 minutes that i have been here. they told me that they have worked at hospitals, they have worked at nursing homes, assisted living centers like the one that we are in right now, and this is just another way for them to give back so i want to tell you and give you a chance to listen to what we heard from one of the organizers here. take a listen. >> get a lot back -- a lot of good feedback back from the -- the doctors and nurses and the -- other workers who are here that you really get a kick out of seeing us come in. it -- our volunteers come bounding in with a lot of enthusiasm. and it helps recharge the batteries of the people that are -- that are here who have to work on christmas day to see us come in and help out.

and give some of them the chance to have a day off. >> reporter: so what we are seeing right now is just another way for people to give back here. and i know that this is something that means a lot to the organizers here. we'll be here throughout the day as this room starts to fill up here. but definitely a season in a day of giving. back to you. >> okay. you know everybody gets so stressed about presents around the holidays and sometimes people forget the gift of time is just as valuable. thank you so much. and from atlanta and beyond, christians are celebrating christmas around the world. in the biblical town of bethlehem, revered as the birthplace of christ, worshipers attended midnight mass. this year's festivities are a somber occasion and bethlehem a town in the west bank is marking its second consecutive christmas under the shadow of the war in gaza. and today at the vatican, pope francis called for an end to the war in russia and ukraine during his christmas message. this marks the 88-year-old's 12th christmas of his pontiff

cat. in paris, notre dame hosted its first christmas eve mass since roping this fall. five years ago a catastrophic fire nearly destroyed landmark. and here's a live look at the rockefeller center christmas tree in midtown manhattan. oh, we don't have a live look. picture a beautiful tree and that's what we've got. you know, it's gorgeous but it could be a bit of the obstacle bolts pretty this year. it's -- a norwegian spruce and you know, google it. you guys can figure it out. on this christmas day, the stakes couldn't be higher for netflix and the nfl. when later today, the streaming giant hosts pro football for the very first time. but technical issues in the past have some asking if the streamer can pull off a live event. this time around. here's nbc's chloe maloss. >> reporter: in another seismic shift for media. >> nfl is live on netflix. >> reporter: nfl's annual christmas day games are moving

from broadcast to streaming. >> what a day for some football. >> reporter: with a performance from mariah carey. halftime show by beyonce. thrown in for good measure. netflix's first nfl games are part of a three year deal with the league. they're a key test for the streaming giant as it is struggled with live events in the past. >> no learn live but we are now finally here. >> reporter: the love is blind reunion last year delayed for more than an hour for many viewers. the company blamed a technical bug. then there was last month's boxing match between mike tyson and jake paul. >> there's the jab. and tyson -- coming in. [ bell dinging ] >> reporter: netflix called it the most streamed sporting event ever. peaking at 65 million simultaneous streams. according to network intelligence company san vine. netflix usually accounts for 11% of internet traffic in north america but that surged to 39% for one provider on fight night. >> it was a little glitchy.

are you worried about some technical streaming difficulties here when it comes to nfl on christmas day? on a streaming platform. for the first time? >> glitchy is a generous way of describing it. >> reporter: media consultant patrick craigs. >> this is a technical problem. that is completely solveable. >> reporter: netflix says ahead of the christmas games it's made adjustments to content delivery and coding and streaming protocols. industry sources confirmed to nbc news that major internet service providers are giving netflix extra capacity for the games. more netflix events are on the way too. >> are you ready? weekly wwe raw shows starting in less than two weeks. >> reporter: and in 2027, and 2031, the fifa women's world cup. >> i think that everyone for all top sports media is going to have to get used to finding their content across multiple different distribution platforms. >> reporter: for now, netflix hoping to score a touchdown rather than leave fans fuming

over technical fumbles. chloe ma loss, nbc news. all right, our thanks to chloe for that report. and up next, trump's potential targets in the new year. what's being done right now to defend trump's perceived political enemies from any plots of revenge. okay, we promised it here it is a look at the rockefeller center christmas tree we mentioned earlier. waitst that's not the christmas tree. there we go. there it is. you are watching a tree on "msnbc reports." we'll be right back. (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. let's monopoly go! hehe. chris! keke!

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with less than a month to go before donald trump's inauguration, new nbc news reporting reveals that pro democracy advocates are building a nationwide network of resources to defend people they believe could be targeted by the president-elect. people familiar with it tell nbc news the network will provide free legal and financial help to people named as potential targets by the incoming administration. joining us now to discuss is brian frosh former attorney general for the state of maryland. this organization is calling itself the state democracy defenders' fund. how necessary do you think something like this is going to be or are people panicking preemptively? >> well, thanks for having me on, christina. and happy christmas. >> you too. >> i am -- i absolutely think this is necessary. you know, we know that donald trump has spent the past four

years threatening revenge. seeking vengeance. and we're at a pivotal point in our democracy. there are folks who did their civic duty. some who testified against trump like alexander vinman and cassidy hutchinson and michael cohen. there are others like liz cheney who stood up in the halls of congress and said that trump did what he had done. and all of these folks have been threatened. trump has threatened to convene military tribunals to try people he doesn't like. and he's -- he's threatened prosecutors and he's threatened judges and we think it's absolutely essential that these folks who have done nothing more than exercise their civic duty, have the defense to which they're entitled. and so we're -- seeking help

from lawyers around the country and we have been quite successful so far in putting together a strong group that can take on this extremely important task for democracy. >> can you elaborate little bit about who is that strong group and who's in that group and what kind of services they can provide? >> well, yeah. i mean, there are lawyers and i suppose there'll be more lawyers than any other group, but we'll also potentially need legal experts depending upon charges are against these folks. but you can need accountants and you can need economists and other types of experts. but lawyers are the key here. i think. and we have assembled a good group right now, extremely talented people who are volunteering their services.

and raising money to try to complete the resources that we think will be necessary. to perform this really important task. >> how much power do you think the trump administration is really going to have to investigate liz cheney someone you mentioned for example, or other members of congress who have dug into the attack on the capitol january 6th? >> well, they've got enormous resources. they've got the entire department of justice. they've got the fbi. and donald trump has nominated kash patel to head the fbi and he's someone who has engaged in these threats. saying that they're going to go after democrats. and of course they're not only going after democrats, they're going to go after republicans they feel hurt donald trump. and if they hurt donald trump, it was by telling the truth. so it's a -- it's an awesome thing to have the united

states' government go after you. the expense, the worry, the damage to your reputation, is enormous. and seems to me the least we can do is ensure that these people have the defense that they need. the legal representation. that they need. >> as part of the reporting, nbc news reached out to about two dozen people who mentioned by trump or his allies and more than said they don't wantpreemptive pardons or aren't sure. do you think action should be taken by the current administration before trump takes office and what's your stance on these pardons? >> well, i don't have a stance on the pardons, i respect the folks who they say don't need them. i sympathize with the folks who may be targets of the trump administration. who have committed nothing wrong. have done nothing wrong. and have merely done their duty which was to tell the truth. and discharge their official

responsibilities in the way the law and the constitution requires them to do so. >> all right, brian frosh, thank you so much. this is something we have to watch in the weeks and months to come. we appreciate you joinings and merry christmas. >> thank you very much. you too. hope santa is good to you. >> me too. all right, up next, it was a blockbuster year in entertainment. we'll take a look at the break- out stars biggest films and how newer media helped shape the presidential race. you are watching "msnbc reports." ♪ with verizon, trade in any phone, any condition.

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i try to enjoy every minute with her because i do not know when would be my last moments with her. narrator: time is running out to give a year-end gift that can help. st. jude children's research hospital save lives. because cancer doesn't stop during the holiday season. please call, go online, or scan the qr code right now and give $19 a month to help make it the season of hope for families at saint jude. tammie: just that feeling that was, like, so hard on your heart that my kid's not going to live. every day now, it's like a gift. narrator: for just $19 a month, you can make a difference. please become a st. jude partner in hope right now. franchet: those that donate, it's more than a miracle for me. it's more than a blessing. (voice breaking) they have done so much for me and my family.

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2024 was a musical tour de force. or rather a tour detaylor. swift's glittery extravaganza strums along for nearly two years. making more than $2 billion. which is a billion dollars more than the next tour on the all- time list. even though people turned out for taylor, however, fewer went to the movies. records fell at the box office. and new media had its moment with podcasters helping shape the presidential run and adrian broad us reports on the pop culture. >> reporter: there's a chance you have heard of her. >> welcome to the eras tour. >> reporter: taylor swift's eras tour smashing records around the world. boosting economies. and literally shaking the ground beneath our feet. >> their excitement generated seismic activity. >> reporter: but it was not

just taylor. women across the board helped shake up the entertainment industry in 2024. beyonce's swing at country. >> this ain't texas. >> reporter: paid off big time. with cowboy carter racking up 11 grammy nominations making her the most grammy nominated artist in history. as "wicked" cast a spell at the box office becoming the highest grossing movie based on a musical ever in the u.s. >> you're green. >> i am. >> i'm anxiety. where can i put my stuff. >> reporter: the highest grossing animated film of all- time for "inside out 2." "deadpool" and wolverine also made history becoming the highest grossing r-rated film in history. but everything wasn't a megahit. francis ford coppola's four decade passion project turning into a megaflop at the box office.

on the small screen, larry david signed off. >> you sure about that, larry? >> yeah. i'm sure. >> reporter: with "curb your enthusiasm" ending after 12 seasons. a brand new show scored biggest at the emmy's. >> show gun. >> fx mini series show gun took him a record 18 emmys including outstanding drama series, a first by a japanese language series. 2024 was also the year of the comeback. will smith back on top with a bad boys sequel after his oscar slap. >> oh. wow. >> reporter: john stewart returned to his old desk at "the daily show." >> i'm jon stewart. where was it? [ laughter ] >> reporter: celine dion dazzled at the paris olympic games. back in the spotlight two years after revealing her diagnosis with stiff person syndrome. the olympics also saw team

usa's biggest cheerleader, snoop dogg. >> madame vice president. >> alex. >> reporter: 2024 was also the year of the podcast. joe rogan and call her daddy playing major roles in the final weeks of the election. >> if i were a democrat. >> you'd get a lot of positive press. >> i would. >> reporter: 2024 had breakups. beefs. and roasts. >> you have seven rings. well, eight now that gisele gave hers back. but -- [ laughter ] >> reporter: and we can't forget that 2024 also brought us a celebrity of the animal kind. >> it's hippo o'clock. >> reporter: the hippo moo deng who inspired memes and comedy. >> hose. >> reporter: gave the world a chance to take a breath and smile this year. >> very cute. >> reporter: adrian broaddus, nbc news. all right, that will do it for us today. i'll see you again tomorrow right here 10:00 a.m. eastern and have a wonderful holiday. give me -- after a break and there's the tree as promised. happy holidays. fresh scent to a

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♪♪ this hour on msnbc, the latest on the passenger plane crash in kazakhstan. dozens are feared dead, but many others have survived and are hospitalized and the transition of power. today president biden is marking christmas at the white house while president-elect trump is in florida