♪♪ 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 and dominating the

headlines. is trump ready to take over 1600 pennsylvania avenue in just 26 days? plus, christmas in bethlehem. the biblical birthplace of jesus under the raging war between israel and gaza and the ongoing ceasefire talks. merry christmas and happy hanukkah. it's noon eastern, 9:00 a.m. pacific. i am live from washington, d.c. we begin with breaking news from kazakhstan where search and rescue efforts are underway after a plane crash carrying 67 people. the flight was traveling from azerbaijan to russia. dozens are feared dead but miraculously at least 32 people survived according to the azerbaijan i office. so, kelly, what more can you tell us? >> reporter: for the first time we are hearing casually numbers.

kazakhstan officials say 38 people died when that plane went down earlier today. video appears to show the plane sharply losing and gaining altitude before crashing to the ground and bursting into flames and breaking apart. a large part of that fuselage remained intact, and unverified video posted by a russian state news agency appears to show some of the passengers seemingly able to walk away after the impact. the airline said that 67 people were onboard. that includes the five crew members. all they said are from central asia and from russia, although there has been confusion about nationalities of at least three of those who were onboard. it's now 10:00 at night in kazakhstan. investigators will be scouring the crash site on the edge of the caspian sea for clues why this plane went down. there are some theories. one main theory right now, the plane was en route from the capital of azerbaijan to

chechnya in russia. it was diverted because of fog. flightradar24 data shows that the plane made a figure of eight sharply lost and gained altitude before crashing roughly two miles from an airport. and the russian aviation authority says it appears that the pilots were trying to make an emergency landing after hitting a flock of birds. so bird strike is the main theory right now, although there is an investigation, obviously, ongoing. the associated press quoted the azerbaijan prosecutor's office saying 32 people survived the impact and fire. some were apparently pulled from the wreckage by other passengers. some just incredibly were able to walk away. just bloodied and bruised. we understand at least three of those passengers who survived were children. >> really a heartbreaking

situation for that plane crash. also a miracle really for the people who were able to survive. thank you, kelly, for your reporting. back in the u.s. president biden and first lady jill biden are marking their last christmas at the white house with less than a month before the transition of power. a post on x, president biden wished americans a merry christmas and called on the nation to seek, quote, liberty and love, kindness and compassion, dignity and decency. this comes after president biden had a christmas eve signing, bill signing blitz. 50 bills were signed in law, including one anti-hazing law and one law making the bald eagle the national bird. meanwhile, president-elect trump is spending christmas in west palm beach, florida, sending christmas witnesses via truth social. he also spent his christmas eve slamming president biden's decision to commute the sentences of federal death row prisoners. with us is julie sorokin,

joining me on set. what more do we know about the significant bills signed by president biden as he prepares to hand over power? >> so, obviously, this is his last act before the transition. transitions to the next administration. and certainly in addition to those bills you mentioned there is a couple that stand out to me. one of them, for example, of course, this is something passed earlier by congress prevents members of congress and other federal employees from collecting pensions if they are convicted of crimes. there is another bill that actually has been lobbied by paris hilton, who has been stumping around the capitol the last couple of years that would hold care facilities and those that care for minors accountable when they commit really abhorrent acts that previous they were not held accountable for. paris hilton has experience with that. and next month president biden plans to travel to vatican city to meet with the pope before the new administration takes office.

one of the things that i think we have video of, a beautiful video that the president posted showing all of the holiday decor at the white house. there were 300 volunteers who spent more than a week putting it together. 82 christmas trees, too. so just ending this week on a high note. >> there is also of course as you mentioned president-elect trump. he has picked political supporter and billionaire steven feinberg as deputy defense secretary. what can we expect when it comes to who president-elect trump wants to put in the cabinet and in these high-profile positions when it comes to congress? >> it seems like he is choosing people with more of a business and technology background to put in key roles. not the traditional background you expect for somebody at the defense department. some names i am watching, there are three or four of them. the defense department, because pete hegseth, who president-elect trump nominated to be his defense secretary, has a scandalous past, if you will. a lot of senators still have questions about it, including

some of their republican woman who have questions about the sexual misconduct allegations that hegseth denied. the drinking coming into play when he sits down in front of the armed services committee for questioning. other names, rfk jr., the president's nominee to lead of course the health agency of the united states. he has some pretty controversial views, but he also has some views that could attract democratic votes while losing republicans. abortion position could lose some republican votes. tulsi gabbard, the president-elect's pick to be the intelligence chief, she has a controversial background herself. some trips overseas that members have questions about. also she was a democrat. turned independent. became republican not too long ago. ult have some conservatives skeptical about her record there. and then kash patel who trump nominated to sit atop the fbi. that is the doj's main investigative arm. all of these folks are going to have to answer some tough questions. they are going to have to have

background checks. senators will be able to grill them in public hearings, in private. again, frump has about a three-seat majority plus j.d. vance could vote to break any tie. he has a four-seat majority to work with. still a tall hill to climb for some of these folks. >> i want to ask you, you spend so much time on capitol hill. i see you questioning all these lawmakers. so you really know what they are thinking. we saw a number of republicans defy president-elect trump when it came to the debt limit fight. do you think there will be push back on some of these nominees? do you think republicans in the house are sort of feeling like we can kind of push pack and not completely follow the line? >> a good point. in the first continuing resolution with the debt ceiling demand trump wanted more republicans voted against that than the final bill that passed without his demand there. so i think that's telling. and with trump and elon musk saying we are going to primary all of these folks, i think there is strength in numbers. you saw 40 republicans vote against that bill.

i think there will be areas they can push back. by and large, you are going to see republicans fall in line behind trump but given that they have that tight majority, they will need to work with democrats on some things, too. that's not something trump wants to do. >> yeah. we will be covering a lot of this next year. so thank you so much for coming in on set. merry christmas. of course, that being christmas and hanukkah, since they are on the same day this year with the start of hanukkah starting today. so thank you so much, julie. >> thank you. and joining me now is former democratic congressman mac rose and political strategist rina shaw, senior, former senior advisor to republican members of congress. so thank you both for being here. i want to start with you. what's your reaction to president-elect trump saying he will push the department of justice to restart federal executions? >> look, it's disgusting. as someone who is personally opposed to the death penalty, i think it's highly immoral. what's also so critical here though is the fact that this has

nothing to do with upholding public safety in any locality whatsoever. there is no one who is deterred by a crime because they could potentially spend the rest of their life in prison. in pretty harsh conditions versus being on death row. but of course donald trump does not care about the promises he made on the campaign, promises related to focusing on law and order and affordability. rather, what he cares about, seems to be, elevating really irrelevant cultural issues that are in some ways archaic like the death penalty, but also elevating members of the billionaire class who are just very clearly going to seek to advance the interests of their own pocketbook and their friends' pocketbooks rather than that of the working class that donald trump purported to want to defend and protect the interests of during his campaign.

>> yeah. well, i want to ask you about another topic, there has been criticism of president biden as he is keeping a low profile during the spending fight that played out on capitol hill. meanwhile, the president-elect, president-elect trump, is acting like he is sitting president some are saying. what are you making about that? some are saying president-elect is stepping into this. what are your thoughts? >> i believe silence always leaves the door open to unforeseen possibility. that's what we have seen with this ahistorical transition. you have a former president that was kicked out in 2020 because of his leadership style. we know trump. we know his assertive posture on everything. and biden has been incredibly laid back in the past year in particular. he has relied on established chams and political norms. they have become frustrated with that. i am part of that class of people. i have to admit. i have never supported president-elect trump, i will say i do believe that washington

needs disruption. now, when we talk about what is disruption, do i believe he should be on this world tour looking at as if he has taken the oath of office when it's still less than a month away? i don't think so. but i think biden again has kind of brought this on himself. with the cometations of sentences for federal death-row inmates, i am appalled how president biden is doing this. we are talking about people that have committed the most heinous crimes and, as a mother, i am shocked he would do some of this. and i don't think he comes out and talks to the american public enough to give reason as to why. now he doesn't have to. he is gone. this is the end of his career politically speaking. democrats seem like they are a little bit in disarray because who is the heir apparent to not the biden brand or the democrats. so that is creating this ability for republicans to come in, point the finger and say, i told you so. am i surprised? no. is it a terrible thing? i am not sure. i think the country just frankly

needs leadership, a steady hand at the wheel and people are frustrated so they are looking at trump saying he will be different this time. >> max said something which is interesting. he thinks president-elect trump is sort of grabbing on to the archaic cultural issues. do you see it that way because we have seen him have success when grabbing on to some of these cultural issues. >> i believe that's a salient argument. how trump talks about america, the america we could be and should be, it's 1950s era, man. he is not really talking entirely about how america moved into the next frontier, whether it's on innovation or defense. i mean, border security, crime, economy are front of mind, rightle. he lets elon musk and all of these sort of younger guys, more from the private sector, vivek ramaswamy, you know, these are the names we hear talking about the future of america. you don't hear that from trump. how he did his populous rhetoric

every day of the week and how that landed because he was talking to a class of people that wanted the america that was manufacturing from another era. it's not coming back. we have so many more steps to take. that's a misstep on the president's part to -- president-elect, excuse me, president-elect trump's part to not talk about the america that we could be that a little bit more attuned to what we actually are working from right now. he's got people around him who do that, and that gives americans a sense that he is a forward thinking guy, he is not leaning into established norms. >> and max, i want to ask you about president trump's cabinet picks and high level profile picks for top aides. he picked a billionaire as his deputy defense secretary. republicans control the house and senate and white house next year. do you think democrats can push back on some of these controversial cabinet picks? >> of course. they can push back on them. one last point on the death penalty.

it's always something else to watch members of the gop be purportedly pro-life when it comes to matters of the unborn, but not apparently to defenseless human beings that america has under law enforcement. now, when it comes to this deputy secretary pick though at the dod, what's significant is that you have to view it within the lens of the pete hegseth pick for secretary. pete hegseth, the extent of the organizations that he has controlled controlled in his organizational responsibility has been helping conservatives get through their morning cup of coffee during weekend tv. he has done nothing close to running an organization, has three million employees like the dod. you would think in the context of that pick what the incoming trump administration auto would do is pick deputy with deep experience in the natural security space and in the department of defense so they could get going to on day one. rather than that, pick yet again

another member of the billionaire class that will go in there with this culture and idea of move fast and break things, that elon musk mentality. that might work when you are developing the next saas product or software product. but that does not work when you are dealing with matters of national security where people's lives are on the line every day. this is scary stuff, and i don't think it is good and positive for our national security, the strength of our military forces, but also i don't think it's going to be a political win for this incoming administration. >> yeah. and there is as this issue when you are talking about people's lives and the impact, there is the mass deportations issue for undocumented immigrants. president-elect trump said he is willing to even deport mixed status families saying he won't break up the families, people can leave the country together. how realistic are those threats considering it might cost to $88 billion to carry this out?

>> trump's threats on immigration are very real and should be taken seriously. you know, a lot of americans out there unwilling to admit they are for mass deportations, too. do i want to give a number? do i want to show public opinion saying these people are -- have those numbers? so we don't know what we are working with. when you hear people talking in private about how they feel about our southern border and secure or not secure it is, you hear some themes here. trump picked up on that. i am the daughter of immigrants who came from africa and from india legally. and so for someone like me i take great offense to anybody who jumps the line. for years i saw my parents pay legal fees, wait their turn to bring over relatives legally. this is -- this was a country that had serious laws on the books. but i would be remiss if i didn't say all i wanted for christmas today was a fix to this broken immigration system. i am not getting it this christmas. i am not getting it next christmas. who knows when we're gonna get

it because we have been kicking the can down the road. every presidential administration has failed us on this front. and so what we -- families suffering, people who want to be here and contribute and just raise good families and prosperity and do good. we see them suffering. i don't think tom homan is going to be empathic here in any way. i mean, some degree of law enforcement doesn't require that. what i feel is going to happen is we are going to see families separated, undocumented individuals suffer, and that is an unfair thing but it is part of the process when you make such a sweeping promise to do what trump said he'd do about deporting those staying here illegally. i would also be remiss if i didn't mention we have over 510,000 individuals, according to a report from fiscal year 2023, we have those people here over -- overstayed their visa. that's a huge problem and contribution to this broken system.

we need a fix on that as well. >> yeah. well, thank you to both of you for being here. former congressman, stick around. rina, thank you so much. >> thank you. and still to come, growing fallout from the bombshell ethics report that matt gaetz. the reaction from lawmakers and what the future for the controversial former lawmaker might look like. plus, hanging by a thread. the fate of mike johnson. is the president-elect unhappy with the house speaker? and then christmas in the peach state. live in atlanta where a group of volunteers is hoping to give back to those in need. we are back in 90 seconds. stick with us. stick with us. start to break away from uc with tremfya... with rapid relief at 4 weeks. tremfya blocks a key source of inflammation. at one year, many people experienced remission... and some saw 100% visible healing

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♪far-xi-ga♪ ask your doctor about farxiga. close allies of president-elect donald trump are urging former congressman matt gaetz and trump's original pick for attorney general to keep fighting and consider a return to public office. despite the ongoing fallout since the house ethics committee's report final report found that gaetz engaged in a long list of conduct that violates house rules and some actions that could be criminal offenses on the state level. the committee said gaetz made a number of payments that were most likely connected to sexual activity or drug use. he denied any wrongdoing. former trump advisor steve bannon wants gaetz to come back, saying," don't back down, double down.

back with me now is former democratic congressman max rose. thanks for being here. so, congressman, what do you make of this support for matt gaetz among trump allies and do you think he will be able to really have a run for office especially after now this report comes out with all of these allegations? >> yeah, merry christmas, by the way. you know, this is pretty sick and disturbing to think about that, one, someone, there could be clear evidence that someone did these things while they were a member of congress about w that significant responsibility, and they could have a political future thereafter. that speaks to two things. one, the nature of the current maga base, which is not the nature of the general political voting populous, but the nature of this kind of very angry, aggressive political base that just wants to see someone continue to fight and push back

against the establishment, facts be damned. i think this points to, and this is a nuanced idea because it in no way condones anything that gaetz has ever done or anything to that matter, but it is that voters generally want to see fighters. and what i think a guy like matt gaetz is relying on. in the end, i don't see a political future for this guy because donald trump seems to be in many ways a singular political character. and, you know, who knows if anyone can replicate his type of political comeback, his type of political resurgence. it seems much more likely that matt gaetz is resigned to a brief year doing cameo hits for 400, 5 # 0 00 bucks a bop and manufacturing into political obscurity. >> matt gaetz isn't the only one

considering his future. there is house speaker mike johnson, whose speakership hangs in the balance. less than ten days before the house votes on the speaker for the next congress, yesterday i spoke with republican congressman tim burchet. >> toll particulars plays into it and donald trump is the biggest dog in the pound right now. i think he will make a huge decision in this and he will sway a lot of people. look at the reality. what will we have a three or five person majority? whatever. the democrats are back in the majority. so i think the reality is he knows he has to work with us and you know good and well there is not a democrat out this that will work with president trump unless they switch parties. >> so, max, how big of a role do you expect president-elect trump to play in the speakership vote? >> all evidence points to donald trump actually liking speaker

johnson as a person. so it makes it increasingly less likely he will rock the boat here. there are larger political dynamics in the republican party at play than just speaker johnson. in fact, than even just donald trump. remember, there were 38 republicans that just stood up, a matter of a week or two ago, in open defiance of donald trump when it came to voting for this cr because they didn't want to vote for continued increased government spending. they did that in open rebellion and opposition to donald trump even though they consider themselves the center of this maga base. this was the same group of people that pushed kevin mccarthy out. it's why in many ways the only way that this very slim republican majority is going to be a able to get anything done that is productive in any way, shape or form in the house that could pass a filibuster in the senate. remember, that's 60 votes.

it's going to be with the consent of hakeem jefferies and the rest of the democratic members of congress, or at least a majority of those members. doesn't matter if that's speaker johnson or any other speaker. those same dynamics will be in place because you have the 20 or 30 members of the republican house that are basically want to burn the house down. that's their nature. does not matter who the speaker is. >> yeah, definitely something that we will be watching closely. thank you so much. former congressman max rose for coming on. >> merry christmas. >> merry christmas. and next we are live in atlanta where volunteers at an assisted living center are dishing out some holiday cheer. mr. pus, christmas in the holy city. raf sanchez visited bethlehem to get a look at the celebrations amid the brutal war.

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for more than 40 christmases, the pinch hitters program has organized members of the atlanta jewish community to volunteer at hospitals and nursing homes so that health care workers can take off for the holiday. nbc news correspondent marissa parra is at one of those assisted living facilities in atlanta. merry christmas. what kinds of tasks are these volunteers feeling for this christmas and what are they telling you? >> reporter: hey, i'm going to set the scene for you. i have my photographer show you

a little bit more of the room because if you look around, everyone in a green shirt is a part of this pinch hitters program. this is with this jewish organization, it's an international one, but this is the atlanta chapter. the pinch hitters program is way for jewish volunteers to give back and something that makes this extra special, everyone in a green shirt is a volunteer, and right now what you are seeing is they are giving out lunch to those part of the assisted-living facility here in the atlanta area. what makes it extra special this is the first time since 2005 hanukkah falls on the same day as christmas day. this dates back to the 1980s where jewish volunteers are trying to make sure those who want to be at home for christmas get a chance to do so. it's at assisted living facilities, hospitals, serving breakfast, dinner, giving out presents and interacting with children. this is what we heard from an organizer what makes it so special.

>> it's a way of giving back to the community without expecting anything in return except for these loud t-shirts we have this year. but we enjoy doing it.everybodye don't have church services to attend on christmas day. so the guys that started this program back in 1980 decided they'd see what they could do to help other people out, and that's how we started. it started at scottish rite hospital in 1980 and we have grown from one hospital of 18 volunteers to then some years as many as 600 volunteers. it's dropped off a bit since then because of concerns at some of the hospitals about privacy and some things, people find other things to do. but we're still giving back to the community and we enjoy doing it.

>> reporter: so you can see the volunteers behind me and i have asked them what keeps them coming back. you heard that answer. but they said it's partially a move of solidarity and also a way of just making everyone feel good, kind of in keeping with what we know to be the season of giving. regardless of how you celebrate, what you celebrate, it is the season of giving, and so there is a lot of love and giving this this room right here. >> so touching to see them behind you and to see people just helping each other. marissa parra, thank you so and next on msnbc, christmas in this little town of bethlehem. it's a subdued celebration this year for the holy city amid ongoing war. a look at how some are trying to find peace today amid the brutality. and the biggest questions facing the u.s. as the year wraps up and a look forward at what a trump presidency might mean for your bottom line.

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today israel and hamas are contradicting each other on the ongoing gaza ceasefire and hostage talks. prime minister benjamin netanyahu's office says hamas is going back on parts of the deal agreed to. that was moments after hamas said the talks were going well. with the gaza war raging on for more than a year now, nbc news's

raf sanchez spent a day in bethlehem, a city struggling with how it marks christmas. >> reporter: in the little down of bethlehem, christmas is barely a whisper. palestinian scouts parading the streets but without their traditional instruments at the end of a difficult year for this holy city. christmas usually looks like this. the main square dominated by a towering tree. this is where that tree should be, but with the war in gaza still raging, most of the official festivities are canceled this year. church leaders calling for public signs of christian hope, but muted celebrations. >> bethlehem is the capital of christmas. it's supposed to be the best time of the year. none of that is happening because we are mourning. >> reporter: the reverend is the pastor of bethlehem's evangelical lutheran christian church where this unusual nativity scene reminds worshippers of the thousands of children killed in gaza since

last christmas. >> we see children pulled from under the rubble. >> reporter: we walked the streets past struggling souvenir shops to a home of a christian born in gaza, she still has two surviving siblings there. >> that's why i didn't put the christmas tree. i not feel well if i did this while they are suffering there. >> reporter: reaching them by phone, impossible some days. no connection. but the next morning our team in gaza found her brother and sister at the church where much of the strip's dwindling christian community is sheltering. my greetings to all, rejoice as much as you can, they tell their sibling. in bethlehem, are there is still moments of christmas joy. how do you feel in bethlehem? >> so blessed. >> reporter: foreign workers living in israel, thousands of miles from their families, gathering at the church of the nativity.

normally, in the run up to christmas you would have huge lines of pilgrims from around the world waiting to get into this holy place. instead, you can see today we have it pretty much to ourselves. the church built on the spot where jesus is said to have been born. a refuge in a turbulent world. worshippers drawing strength from tradition and comfort from the light of their faith. raf sanchez, nbc news, bethlehem. and joining us now is aaron david miller, a former state department negotiator who served six secretaries of state. he is also a senior fellow at the carnegie endowment for peace. merry christmas. when i looked at the report there, what sticks in my mind is that maybe jesus, that nativity scene surrounded by rubble. the religious leader saying it really is a reminder that every child pulled from the rubble in gaza is a reminder of jesus.

is there really hope in the ongoing talks, the ceasefire? there has been so many stops and starts. >> you know, i think, first of all, israeli/palestinian peace is a very long way away. at the same time again, as we go through this holiday season and hanukkah, christmas and the new year, i often think that it's really morally unconscionable to sort of surrender to the forces of hopelessness and despair no matter how grim it looks. we have to acknowledge how grim they are. this is a terrible year. for the israelis, the hostages, their families and the long suffering civilians in gaza and the west bank. as far as the negotiations are concerned, yamiche, i think they traditionally have two speeds and they are demonstrating that again. slow and slower. even though i think the fact that you have got so many issues

on the table and it appears to be so hopeless, when negotiations seem to be reaching their end state, that's when the toughest negotiating and the politics are the most intense. i am afraid though that this problem, the hostages, relief for the long suffering palestinians in gaza, civilians, are going to transcend 2024 and move into 2025. and i really wish i had better news, but again even if they reach a deal, we are talking about a limited deal. return of 34, maybe 40 hostages in return for four to six-week ceasefire. if you get that, perhaps you could build on it. >> i also want to ask you about the politics as you mentioned here. what if any impact does prime minister benjamin netanyahu corruption trial is having in israel. >> it's been the organizing principle of the prime

minister's world. he is on trial in a jerusalem district court before three judges. that trial is ongoing four years now. almost every decision this prime minister makes is one way or another directly or indirectly related to had his determination to stay in power. if he doesn't, he faces the possibility of conviction or a plea deal that would mean the end his political career. >> what impact do you think president-elect trump coming into office might have when it comes to the dynamics in the middle east? >> you know, i think this president-elect is a very lucky guy. he is going to inherit three conflicts israel/hamas, israel hezbollah, and israel iran, trending towards escalation. his arrival could suggest a more fortuitous moment if in fact he understands and abides by what is a clear definition of the

american interests, and that's given trump 1.0, that's far from certain. >> thank you, aaron david miller, for your smart analysis on this holiday. >> thank you so much. and merry christmas and happy holidays. and next on msnbc, the year of the consumer breaking down all the headlines from a wild year when inflation rate and rate cuts and stock market highs. inflation rate and rate cuts and stock market highs. i told myself i was ok with my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis symptoms... ...with my psoriatic arthritis symptoms. but just ok isn't ok. and i was done settling. if you still have symptoms after trying a tnf blocker like humira or enbrel, rinvoq works differently. rinvoq is a once-daily pill that can rapidly relieve joint pain, stiffness, and swelling as fast as 2 weeks for some. and even at the 3-year mark, many people felt this relief. rinvoq can stop joint damage. and in psa, can leave skin clear or almost clear. rinvoq can lower ability to fight infections.

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in the pacific northwest today there is no break from a storm that has been dumping rain on the region. windy conditions are whipping up surf and could impact travel coast to coast. nbc news meteorologist bill karins has more. >> a good christmas and hanukkah to you. this is a huge storm in the pacific that that's going to cause headaches late this afternoon into this evening in the pacific northwest. we call this an atmosphere river. you can see the bright white clouds here. a ton of moisture associated with this. this storm is strong enough we will have huge waves on the coast and also very high winds coming into the pacific northwest. as we go throughout the day today the rain moves in. the snow levels are high. temperatures are pretty warm. you have to get way up in the passes to have the snow issues with this. primarily a rain event for all of interstate 5. and the windy conditions this

evening, that cold front nears the coast. another storm comes in early tomorrow morning behind it. but this mostly the problem later tonight with those high winds. and because of it we have 4 million people under either wind alerts for wind advisories, high wind warnings in the southern portion of the coast here in oregon and also a little bit inland. now, the cities such add portland, seattle, medford, won't get the highest winds. it's the coastal areas. we could be up to 50 and occasionally maybe a 60-mile-per-hour gust. we are predicting 65-mile-per-hour winds. we could have power outages in the area. here a look at the christmas day forecast. no problems for travel in the eastern seaboard. a little bit of rain shower activity, dreary type day throughout the tennessee valley heading into southern ohio valley, including friends in southern illinois and indiana. traveling saturday 70 through colorado, you are going to deal with a little bit of snow. and then of course that storm

comes into the pacific northwest. tomorrow our attention turns to severe weather threat. 8 million people at risk eastern texas and a portion of louisiana is going to be at risk. as far as the temperatures go, it's a, you know, a warm christmas. temperatures above normal in many areas from the midwest all the way through the ohio valley. that continues into thursday. so no cold and snow to have to deal with. mostly dealing with that big storm in the northwest. >> thank you so much, bill karins, for that report. i am happy there is no snow in washington, d.c., this m christmas. the financial forecast meanwhile is starting to take shape for 2025 as president-elect donald trump finishes laying out his priorities for a second term. next, we will follow a year driven by one dominant factor the american consumer. nbc news business and data correspondent brian cheung has more. >> in a year where a lot happened, the u.s. economy kept its stride that's to a consumer that goes choosier with dollars.

big time names pushed back from consumers who balked at rising prices. >> these fast food restaurants going up. >> mcdonald's, wendy's and burger king pressured into offering meal deals to draw customers back. but shoppers still opened their wallets spending a record amount of money online over the extented black friday weekend. >> some sales. we still buy. >> that buoyed a u.s. economy that 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. >> the fed undid some post-pandemic rate increases to a avoid to a spike in unemployment, tilted up a half a percent since a year ago. the good news the pace of price increases in the united states slowed with inflation declining over 2024. now, still prices for household staples remain shy with the cost of ground beef and eggs up from about a year ago. housing costs are rising, too. 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. >> prices could rise further under the incoming trump administration's flan to hit americans big's trade partners tariffs. it could push companies to pass the cost ons to consumers raising the cost of electronics, meat or even oil, and another question, what will happen to tiktok? >> the supreme court said it will hear arguments on the constitutionality of the tiktok ban. >> after a court upheld the bipartisan law forcing a sale, tiktok could disappear from your phones as early as january 19th. >> breaking news tiktok is getting banned again, so they say. is it real? >> you are coming on the air right now with breaking news. a massive global technical outage tied to crowdstrike. >> also the, oh, the microsoft outage in july that bricked computers around the world. and that wasn't the only blackout of the year.

in february, at&t had a massive cellphone outage and in arj meta had problems that disrupted facebook and instagram services. it didn't sink those companies but debt piled up for companies that filed for bankruptcy this year among them tupperware, express, t.g.i. fridays and red lob ter. that means they are reorganizing, not necessarily gone forever. here is to more cheddar biscuits in 2025 after what was already a busy, busy 2024 for the u.s. consumer. >> thank you, brian, for that report. and still to come, an all-new hour of msnbc. christmas at the white house. how president biden is celebrating today. now president-elect trump is preparing for his upcoming term. that's next. stick with us. (♪♪) new alka-seltzer plus cold or flu fizzy chews. chew. fizz. feel better fast. no water needed. new alka-seltzer plus fizzychews.

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♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ ♪♪ merry christmas and happy hanukkah. it's 1:00 p.m. eastern, 10:00 a.m. i'm yamiche alcindor reporting from washington, d.c. this christmas eve president biden went on a bill signing binge. he signed everything from a campus hazing prevention act to a bill that gives america an official u.s. bird. the bald eagle is no longer just a casual mascot. the flurry of bill signings follows commutations for death row inmates. meanwhile, president-elect trump is unleashing his own plans with

a dust-up with the prime minister of panama and greenland and he's putting his thumb on the capitol hill discussions a month before he even takes office. joining me now is aaron gilchrist at the white house and congressional correspondent erin. i want to start with you. how is president biden and dr. jill biden spending christmas at the white house and what are they planning ahead? >> they are come the executive residence celebrating the christmas holiday as they typically do. the president just a little while ago posted his holiday message to the nation on x, and we can show you part of what he had to say here. for the last time as your president, it is my honor to wish all of america a very merry christmas. he went on to say my hope for our nation today and always is that we continue to seek the light of liberty, love, kindness and compassion. may god bless you all. that followed the president posting messages on x last

night. he shared a video of the white house decorations here, something that the first lady helped to direct under the theme of peace and light, some 300 volunteers helping to decorate the east wing here with a lot of handmade ornaments that went into the decoration process. the president also has been doing some work. he referenced the fact that he signed 50 pieces of legislation on monday. we know that he also signed off on clemencies on commuting the sentences of 37 men who were on federal death row and we know that the president also has work to do still in the last 26 days of his administration. the deal between u.s. steel and nippon steel, the japanese company, the merger there is something that the president ultimately will have to decide whether the u.s. will block because of national security concerns, a recommendation on what to do, did not come from a committee that's charged from looking at the risk there and so the president will ultimately have to make that decision and

yamiche, we note that he is going to travel just ten days before his administration ends to the vatican for a meeting with pope francis. >> yeah. a lot is still on his agenda even as he winds down his term. julie, lawmakers managed to get a bill in time. president trump is not speaker with house speaker mike johnson. i wonder if you think about the speakership debate and the fight that will be happening on january 3rd. that's when the vote is scheduled. what are you hearing from your sources what can happen? >> it's no secret that speaker johnson had a hard time with the gavel before the 48 hours and elon musk threw the last-minute demands that sent him into a tizzy. i asked him point-blank if he even wants to be speaker. he said it's not the most fun job all of the time, but it's an important one. what politico is reporting is very similar to what we're hearing from our sources and trump is not happy with the debt ceiling suspension lift was not

dealt with before he takes office. that was a last-minute demand and one he wanted to get done because he knows democrats might use it as a leverage point, holding it over his head and that is something they'll have to tackle in the new year. speaker johnson did keep him appraised and why they couldn't get everything across the finish line. those margins will get even slimmer in the new year. trump has a four-seat majority. in the house it's even slimmer. you can have one, two, three pieces, and the congressman from and anyone who gets the flu, certainly if trump puts out a truth social post taking mike johnson, he's probably not going to end up with the gavel. however, a caveat that makes this time different than when kevin mccarthy had those 15 rounds of voting two years ago,

trump knows that for him to do anything for his republican majority to get anything done, they have to have someone sitting in that chair, and by the way, january 6th, they have to certify his win. without the speaker elected, congress can't do anything. >> president-election trump knows his agenda that the republicans have to function in congress. thank you so much to aaron gilchrist at the white house and for coming on set. >> joining us now is tom nichols. he's the staff writer for "the atlantic" and "the san francisco chronicle". >> tom, when the spending bill was raging on capitol hill, lisa murkowski told the hill, it is clear trump is in charge now. no one is asking where's biden. trump is in charge even without the election sertification. does that seem like an accurate depiction? what do you make of the fact that trump has stepped interest into the vacuum as president

trump has stepped into it. >> i'm not sure i would call it a vacuum. with the republicans with infighting and back fighting and who is in charge and who is influencing trump and you know, who will knock out the speaker, you'd have to ask why would joe biden get in the middle of a bunch of republicans that are fighting with each other at this point? he's -- the budget deal went through. that was the thing that had to happen. he's doing what i think presidents do at this point in last term which is signing commutations and trying to get a few more judges confirmed, but you know, the president -- president biden has sort of just walked off the stage here, but i'm not sure that there's really anything -- there was anything in it for him to take the spotlight away from republicans that are already fighting with each other while donald trump is

issuing, you know, vague threats about panama and greenland and things like that. >> so on the one hand, yeah. president biden is laying pretty low. on the other hand why you would interrupt the republicans when they're putting on a show like this, was there a mo professor, and they withdraw from the world health organization in the first term. when i covered him the first time in the trump administration and president-elect trump they were very angry at the world health organization. what are you hearing about the first-week priorities? >> i'm hearing the exact same thing. the w.h.o. is something the trump administration has long not been a fan of. they're not a big fan of some of these big, worldwide organizations like the w.h.o. the biggest concern for me and for a lot of folks, i think, is how does this affect

coordination for future novel viruses? the w.h.o. was instrumental in helping u.s. scientists and scientists around the world get the sequence to covid-19 and that allowed scientists to start discovering the vaccines that allowed people to go back to semi-normal lives and the treatments that we have, those sorts of things. the w.h.o. would have enormous consequences and it's something that we've seen president trump want to do before. >> tom, you mentioned trump was talking about a greenland, and the panama canal and he wants to take control of that. also, take a listen to this -- >> has anyone ever heard of the panama canal, huh? because we're being ripped off at the panama canal! they have to treat us firly, and they haven't treated us fairly. if the principles both legal of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed then we will demand that the panama

canal will be returned to the the united states of america in full, quickly and without question. >> tom, how serious do you think president-elect trump is this time? >> he's probably got some pebble in his shoe about something that's happened in panama that relates to his interests. that's usually what provokes sort of out of left field tirades from donald trump. it's important for people to remember that this is not simply -- this wasn't simply a gift put under a christmas tree 45 years ago. this is actually the relationship with panama and the panama canal is governed by a senate-ratified treat that exists that lays out the relationship between the united states and panama. when donald trump says well, we'll just take it back. you know, just as in his first term we'll be saying something

using a phrase that we used a lot during those first four years, which is things don't work that way. that's not how any of that works. so you know, he can say it and he can complain about it and he can get big cheerses about it at conservative meetings, but that's not going to happen. >> well, there is also this issue of immigration. this morning donald trump, jr., posted a meme on x with his father dressed as santa. the caption is he's making a list, he's checking it twice, we're going to find out who's getting deported by i.c.e. he would clear the way to arrest immigrants in schools and churches. >> there have been huge concerns during the campaign about potential deportations, but this is to a new level.

there has been a guide in place since 2011 which largely prevented with some exceptions i.c.e. agents from entering churches, schools to remove and deport migrants. the biggest concern is yes, the small number of migrants who are still in those places and the more who may decide to go there, but in california migrants are i huge part of the agricultural workforce and migrants produce much of the country's food. so without those migrants it could cause huge price surges in the food industry which we're already seeing problems of people not being able to afford groceries. it could cause that problem. it could cause the california wine industry to collapse. there are huge repercussions to deportation beyond just removing those people, many of whom who have lived here for years if not decades. >> tom, i want to ask you about one other thing internationally

which in "the atlantic" you raised concerns about what it could mean when russia is wobbling politically. it could be a and if somewhere was about to become leader of the free world. >> what do why do you see, i think think i've seen wrusha that they're going to ask, which is russia needs to come to the table which is another way of saying ukrainians will have to ratify their territorial losses and at a time when the russians are really on their back foot. they've taken huge losses and the north koreans, again, kind of indicative of the strange new world we live in where north koreans are fighting in, you know, russia and ukraine are

taking significant casualties according to the ukrainians and this is not the time to let up sanctions. it's not the time to let the pressure off of the russians who could actually be induced to think about making other choices here, but instead, donald trump is going to claim, i think, given who he's nominated for his envoy that, you know, that the russians had better come to the table or will do -- we'll give the ukrainians weapons and there will be this theater who will say we'll go to the table and in fact, they'll just keep the pressure and this is exactly what they did with crimea and this is what they'll do again, and i think that's just a sdoofter for the u crepians and they from world. >> thank you very much for coming on. now to breaking news out of kazakhstan where at least 38 people have been killed in a

christmas did day plane crash. the plane crashed from traveling from azerbaijan to russia. at least 29 people survived and officials say it is too soon to speculate why the crash happened. just devastating looking at those pictures. >> and still to come, the trials of donald trump, breaking down the president-elect's threats against the press and his political rivals plus opening presents on a white christmas. we'll have an update where the weather is headed next. we are back in 90 seconds.

the family members of hostages held by hamas gathered in tel aviv earlier today demanding a deal for their release. one of the speakers was ud i goren whose condition's body was not recovered. >> just yesterday israel's analyst said deterrence is at an all-time high. this is precisely why we, the families, believe we are at the strongest position ever to secure a deal. >> nbc news international correspondent raf sanchez joins us from jerusalem. so, raf, you got mixed signals

again today and the status of those ceasefire talks. what more can you tell us about where the deal stands now? there is going to be a deal and how difficult marking hanukkah and christmas must be in the middle east right now. tell us about how that's going. >> yeah. amy. in terms of the ceasefire talks both israel and hamas are publicly blaming each other for throwing out last-minute obstacles. they do appear to be progressing in qatar. there was a senior israeli delegation by the head of the mossad spy agency who just returned yesterday, but it is looking increasingly unlikely now that we are going to get to a deal before the end of the year. it looks like this crisis, this war will spill over into a third calendar year and that is devastating for palestinian civilians in gaza and for the families of those hostages, i think nobody thought when this all started on october 7, 2023

that we would be going through a second christmas and hanukkah period with the war raging and so many of these hostages still not home. in terms of how christmas is being marked, we spent part of the day in bethlehem yesterday and yamiche, this is literally the birthplace of christianity and it is the birthplace that describes itself as the capital of christmas on a normal year. you have a towering tree dominating the main square in bethlehem, but this year it is a quiet and somber and sad, festive season and you have both faith leaders and just ordinary residents really kind of grappling with how to mark the christmas holiday when there is so much bloodshed going on still in gaza. we spoke with one christian woman. she has two siblings who are still in gaza. they are sheltering in a church there along with much of the dwindling christian community in

the strip. she had four siblings at the start of the year. one of her sisters was killed in an israeli air strike at the church, she says, and one of her brothers died of untreated kidney disease because the health care system in gaza has totally collapsed amid this ongoing israeli offensive and then as you say, the family of these israeli hostages are going through han can with their loved ones in gaza. >> thank you very much for joining us. 2024 has been a monumental year in legal news. a man who was convicted on 34 felony counts has become the president-elect of the united states, but that's not the only reason this year has been memorable for lawyers and journalists alike. joining us is mark elias, attorney and founder of democracy docket. mark, you called the 2024 race the most litigated election ever and you warn that, quote, we need to recognize that

litigation is now part of the process of our elections. we are not going back to the days when the courts were spectators in the electoral process. both sides have learned that the rules of voting matter to voters and in some instance to the outcomes. so, mark, what effect do you think increased litigation will have on future elections? >> yeah, look. i think that we have to recognize that the lesson that donald trump and the republican party learned from 2020 was not that they need to concede elections. it was not a lesson that they need to do more to and franchise voters. it was the opposite. it was to embrace the big lie and to pass landmark legislation in 2021 and 2022. you may remember the texas bill that led to sb1. florida and other states and then in 2023 and 2024, the republican national committee embraced a very, very aggressive litigation strategy.

donald trump said don't worry about getting out the vote. he replaced rana mcdaniel with a new chair and so republicans litigated and litigated and litigated to make voting harder particularly for black and brown voters and it was left to the rest of us to fight back, but i think this is now a permanent condition going forward. >> there's the issue, and critics say he's waging a war. he's been registered from the location and from's pollster and his $15 million of george stephanopoulos, about threat president-elect trump trumpes posses to a guest. >> i think he wants there to be a liberal democrats. he does not want there to be the

safeguards around government that we expect one of those attacks that are rhetorical and the press had his rallies, the way in whichhe den igrates reporters and what we need is the press to fight back. we need organizations like multibillion corporations like disney not to settle claims because all that does is encourage him. so yes, donald trump will wage a war against his enemies and he has called the media his enemies, and he's going to continue at this, but that's only going to be stopped when media organizations have the backbone to stand up to him and not settle like the ones we saw abc settle. >> yeah. there's also the issue of judges. following trump's victory last month three federal judge appointed by democrats reversed

their decision to retire and president biden just vetoed legislation that would have created dozens of new judge ships. i wonder how else president-elect trump might be impacting judicial independence. it is a hallmark of a liberal democracy, right? checks and balances. we have heard him say he'll go after the executive branch to go after his enemies. we have seen him insist that the government capitulate to his will and we've seen him make threats as judges parts of his trials and wanting judiciary that's with, table able to control the executive branchs we need to have the courts stop him against authoritarian impulses. they serve that role and we need them to do that again and kudos

to joe biden and senate democrats for confirming 235 federal judges, the most since jimmy carter and rarely, re-shaping the judiciary to put good people on the bench who hopefully will be part of that. >> mark, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you for having me. ? next on msnbc, dreaming of a white christmas? we have a holiday forecast coming up, as well as almost 100 years of the photo booth. with only 200 left in the world, a small community is on a mission to keep them alive. that story is next. n to keep the that story is next new alka-seltzer plus cold or flu fizzy chews. chew. fizz. feel better fast. no water needed. new alka-seltzer plus fizzychews. ♪ with verizon, trade in any phone, any condition. it's your last chance to get iphone 16 pro, on us. and ipad and apple watch series 10. all three on us. only on verizon.

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many americans may be dreaming of a white christmas, not me, just to be clear, but few end up walking in a winter wonderland this year. joining me now is bilingual meteorologist jan ease isaac. >> i don't want a white christmas, but who among us will be waking up to that white christmas? >> i'm not a fan of it either, so i'm glad we share the same sentiment here, yamiche. there were a few from england, vermont and boston had at least one inch of snow on the ground. the same thing can be said from syracuse to northern pennsylvania and then if we go to the upper midwest, bismarck, minneapolis and saginaw, michigan, you woke up to snow on the ground and of course, over toward the mountains and the rockies and the cascades.

elsewhere, though, we had rain showers from louisville down toward new orleans and sunshine prevailed across areas of l.a. and san diego as well as las vegas while cloudy skies dominated florida, but they'll have temperatures in the 70s. not too many of us woke up to the white snow on the ground. >> temperatures in florida in the 70s. that's where i'm from. it's sad to think about that that's not the weather we're getting in washington, d.c. thank you so much denise, isaac. >> you're very welcome, yamiche. >> the photo booth is turning 100 next year and historians say only about 200 working analog photo booths are left, but a small community is committed to keeping them alive. nbc news correspondent marquise francis has the story. >> it is so much fun watching people come in and out of the photo booth and seeing their reaction to their strips. ♪♪ >> just laughing hysterically,

usually people are not ready for the first strobe to fire. >> they're caught off guard and it's a very silly moment. >> the analog photo booth officially turns 100 years old next year and there are only 200 working booths left in the world and photographers and artists are trying to keep the machines alive. >> we run and operate a photo booth in new york city. i feel like most of the people using the booth are of a younger generation that didn't have these growing up. when it rains people will wait in the rain. >> we've had the line up to an hour and a half. >> it's all analog and there's electricity and relays and that kind of thing that operate the booth, but there is no earlies >> the machines are like mini

darkrooms. your pictures are captured on light sensitive paper that are dunked in a bunch of chemical tanks to deliver them to you, but the booths are a pain to maintain. in the early 2000s companies switched them out for digital ones, replacing all of the mechanical parts to print strips. >> 20 are placed across seven states and she's working to restore the best. >> when i got into the photo booth industry it seemed like a lot of the booths were being sold to, like, celebrities and rich people collecting dust in their house and so my whole goal was really to get as many booths as i could and put them in places where anybody could use them. >> the analog photo booth industry was almost destroyed by the russia-ukraine war. >> the paper for the photo booths was made in russia and when the rugd war started no shipments from russia were allowed into the u.s. and so we were cut off.

a lot of photo booth technicians went under because they couldn't get the paper and there was no hope. >> she credits gen z's new interest in photo booths as well as companies willing to make the paper. >> when we found one that worked it's not ideal and it works and it's our only option, but it's definitely an endless battle. >> i feel like we really need photo booths again. like, right now people are really looking for something to feel connected again. we don't know how long photo booths will be alive for. >> i also think that's something that's beautiful and special about it and it's been very present with it and not knowing how much longer we have. >> really cool story, marquise, thank you. >> and next on msnbc, the future of u.s. politics and in just a few weeks, president biden will be handing over the keys to the white house. what moves could the democrats

make in the new year and when the president-elect returns to office, what will his priorities be in his first 100 days? we'll break it all down in just a minute.

>> as americans set their goals for the gnaw year democratic leaders are doing the same. according to politico playbook they're thinking small. few party leaders are interested in running for dnc chair.

one democrat told politico, quote, people are burned out. they don't think the role will mean, quote, anything big. in the meantime republicans' goals will depend on who controls the house and whose voice wins the day with president-elect donald trump. joining me now is maura gillespie, former adviser to house speaker john boehner and julie roginski and host of the salty podcaster. great name. merry christmas and happy hanukkah to both of you. some of the democratic leaders have opted want to run for dnc share and sherrod brown are all out and how difficult is to find the next standard bearer and people people are saying it doesn't mean anything? well, it does mean something, and i hope people take a look at what it mean asks to me it means

building it from the grassroots up and certainly invest in judicial races all across the country and not just in the federal level which are appointed, but also at the say the level, and we need to invest in messaging mechanism that transcends what wooe been doing because what we have been doing has not worked and for people to think that the dnc chair doesn't mean anything because if there's something that comes up short and not to focus on 2028 and not just focus on 2026, but focus on the state legislative races and state judicial races and build this party back up we will be at the mercy of whatever the republicans do for the next generation and i, for one, am kind of sick of it. >> maura, speaking of republicans while democrats are trying to find their voice, donald trump is the only voice maybe, possibly think that matters in the gop or do you think other people like elon musk or house speaker mike

johnson if he remains house speaker, could they have a big voice in the gop, as well? >> eventually donald trump is coming into office as a lame duck and similar to what democrats have struggled with, they've spent much of their time focusing against donald trump. republicans have largely run with donald trump. and so they need to look beyond him and think about how best to utilize the political capital they have going into this change of government and a republican-led government and they have a lot to accomplish in the next two years if they can get in line and if they can stand behind mike johnson and stand behind senator john thune and it is very important that they can recognize the separation of powers and importance of that. you watched elon musk not understanding how government works and that was on display last week over the debt ceiling and government shut down debate

and real a dulls in dults had t to get things done. >> when you think about the government shutdown fight that just happened, we are 26 days away from the inauguration and more of the spending bill kicks the can down the road and republicans defied donald trump's debt ceiling demands, but i wonder what you think about the fact that there's a march 14th deadline now and another date to circle on our calendars. what kind of battle is moving ahead. they wasted a lot of political capital this last week by, you know, reneging on the additional deal that speaker johnson had made with hakeem jefferies and i don't think that's such a republicans that elon musk said don't work with democrats. that's not possible, in the government we had the republican government and so it has to

require you still have to navigate that and it's going to be really important that speaker johnson will have to stand up on his own two feet to do so. >> a group called a way to win survey after the election and found that the, quote, original sin for democrats was failing to, quote, have a vivid, strong story about why things still felt so terrible even if the economy was improving and how do democrats have success in the future? >> we have a massive communication problem in this party that i've been talking about for years. we need to have people at the forefront of communicating on behalf of the democratic party that know how to speak plain english and speak to people on their terms and not speak and lecture to them and speak with them and explain in very colloquial ways what democrats have done. i think joe biden has had an extraordinary record in the last four years and unfortunately, the white house has done a poor

job as to explaining what the record is and so people didn't understand it. so from that perspective we need desperately to have messengers out there to speak to people in specific terms about how their lives will be improved by democrats policies and how donald trump's policies will harm them individually. we can't spend any time talking about the $1.2 billion plan, and why the bridge in buck county pennsylvania is being built and why that bridge in the keys is being built and why roads are being paved and being brought back to saginaw, michigan, and other specific towns and specific counties where people understand from a very personal perspective how these policies are helping them, and until we learn how to do that effectively i'm worried for the future of our party because no matter how great the policies are, if you can't explain them to people they're not going to be able to hear them. >> yeah. definitely something that will be worked out. thank you so much maura and julie for coming on.

>> coming up in the next hour, elon musk's growing influence over washington, d.c., and up next, christmas across america. live coverage continues on msnbc. merica

merry christmas and happy hanukkah. i appreciate you so much everyone who is tuning in on this special holiday wednesday. i hope everyone including people

who are working have a very blessed day, and before we go, we want to thank all of the people at msnbc who put together these shows each and every day and thank you for watching. merry christmas, happy hanukkah again and happy, happy new year. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

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