♪♪ good morning. it is 10:00 a.m. eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific. i'm christina ruffini. winter weather is snarling holiday travel across the country with delays out of at least 15 major airports. snow is blanketing parts of the west and stormy conditions brew in the south, east and midwest. 13 million people are at risk for storms in texas, louisiana and arkansas. this is sierra, california, after crews worked through the night. one manager for california's department of transportation said there's more to come. >> we're going to get the snow cleared out.

we're expecting more snow tomorrow. this is what we're here for. >> nbc's marissa parra is in atlanta's hartfield jackson airport. are people still having holiday cheer? >> reporter: that's a great question. there's a lot of focus right now. maybe the holiday cheer was yesterday. a lot of people are just trying to get to where they need to go. if you're trying to get to dallas, that might be harder. there's 13 million people under severe weather risk. our meteorologist is going to talk about that with a little more detail. we know there are places that are already experiencing severe weather. the northwest, there's also the south in texas. they'll be seeing severe weather. dallas, we're seeing flights to dallas delayed or canceled.

here in atlanta we're seeing that in our flight board. dallas is currently leading on our flight misery map. all of this -- just hours ago things were looking smooth when it comes to airports, especially with contrast to christmas eve where we saw that temporary ground stop with american airlines. when it comes to travel, we're not just keeping an eye on what's happening in the skies, we're keeping an eye on the roads. according to aaa were the last two days were the most easy with christmas and hanukkah. according to aaa the traffic will creep back up starting today. if you're taking to the roads in a weather impacted area, please be safe. take it slow. when it comes to air travel, this is not the busiest day.

that could be tomorrow and monday, christina. as they always say, it's a cliche for a reason, pack your patience over the next couple days. be careful in the weather impacted areas. >> hopefully the misery map is only moderately miserable. denise, what are we seeing for the forecast? >> reporter: dallas already reporting delays. next will be houston thanks to an area of low pressure. if you're driving along the pacific northwest, it will be slick. we'll be dealing with a lot of rain, christina. let's look at a severe threat we're expecting from houston into dallas, especially towards eastern texas and western louisiana. we could deal with some very strong winds, up to 60 miles an hour and hail. tornado threat is also present thanks to this area of low pressure that will intensify once we start getting the day

time heating going. eventually this area of low pressure will slide towards the upper midwest bringing heavy rain tomorrow across chicago, wisconsin and the ohio valley and tennessee valley. towards the west the story continues. parade of storms. today we have a storm that's bringing rain and snow inland. tomorrow the next system comes in spreading more rain and the opportunity for snow from washington to california with strong winds as well. here's the rainfall forecast for the pacific northwest. anywhere between one to three inches of rain from portland to san francisco. snowfall amounts, quite impressive for the rockies. some areas receiving 18 inches of snow. the cascades up to three feet. overall, if you don't like frigid temperatures, we won't have to deal with that next week.

we'll end 2024 on a mild note. today mild for most. 15 degrees difference in many places. nashville tomorrow 60 degrees, 12 degrees above average. then into next week we're still tracking temperatures well above normal for this time of year. wilmington, 71 sunday, 70 monday and 69 on tuesday. christina, back to you. >> marissa parra, denise isaac, thank you for joining us. we turn to that christmas day plane crash in kazakhstan that killed 38 people. this video captures the moment the flight burst into flames. officials say there were 67 people on board and 29 survivors. today an aviation security firm is blaming russia for the crash. the kremlin is pushing back, saying the investigation is under way and it would be incorrect to make any hypothesis.

danielle joins us from london with the latest. where do things stand with the investigation and what happened? >> reporter: that aircraft that crashed in kazakhstan killing 38 people might have been caught in the moment that russia was launching its air defenses to shoot down a ukrainian drone that -- there was speculation it was circulating online for 24 hours. nbc news spoke to the chief intelligence officer of the aviation security firm which has a number of partnerships with airlines around the world, as well as governments including the u.s. government. he said they reviewed the footage of the record that appears to show holes and damage potentially caused by shrapnel. we looked at footage captured by

passengers and they heard testimony from the survivors who said they heard a loud explosion and shrapnel passed through the cabin area and led this firm to conclude it was not caused by weather r a bird strike as was suggested by russian state media. take a listen. >> video, examination of the wreckage leads the security firm to suggest the flight was shot down by a russian air defense system. >> reporter: when that question was put to the kremlin today, the spokesperson said that the investigation is under way and he said, quote, it would be incorrect to make any hypothesis before the investigation is complete. >> we'll keep an eye on that. what do we know about who was on

that flight, the passengers who died as well as the survivors? kazakhstan is a large country. how are they doing? >> reporter: well, of those who were killed, a number of them were from kazakhstan. if you see the video, it's incredible that some of the survivors walked away from the crash site. of the 29 people who survived, most of them were taken to hospital. 11 of them remain in intensive care, two in critical condition. some flights are leaving today with about 14 of the survivors. it's worth repeating two of them are children. christina, back to you. >> danielle, thank you so much. up next, the big old to-do list lawmakers need to get done when they return next year. ukraine is reeling from a

massive russia strike on its power grid. later, respiratory illnesses are on the rise. what you should know during this holiday season. we're back in 90 seconds. in the. e*trade from morgan stanley. ♪♪ with powerful, easy-to-use tools power e*trade makes complex trading easier. react to fast-moving markets with dynamic charting and a futures ladder that lets you place, flatten, or reverse orders so you won't miss an opportunity. e*trade from morgan stanley

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shed their reputation for chaos and division. the house will vote on a new speaker, which could be tough on mike johnson who has infuriated some of his colleagues of last week's funding fight. joining us now is april ryan and elise jordan, former aid to george w. bush and the state department, as well as an msnbc political analyst. luke, from your reporting what are you expecting the relationship to be between president-elect trump and congress, especially after what we saw in that budget battle last week? >> reporter: well, we learned two things from the budget battle. one, congressional republicans are very responsive to nearly every demand of incoming

president donald trump. they wait for his cue on many things, especially to tear things down. when he said to kill the first spending bill, they promptly did that. that said, there is an area of disconnect between the house republicans, especially those members of the freedom caucus, and donald trump. that is raising the debt ceiling. we saw a minor revolt against donald trump from those members of the freedom caucus. they don't want to raise the debt ceiling. that's going to come up again probably in the summer and donald trump did not want to have to deal with this issue on his watch. he wanted this done under president biden. it's looming over his head for probably the first year of his presidency. >> i want to follow up quickly. when it comes to speaker johnson, what's your understanding of how trump is feeling about him? the signals seem to be it's not necessarily he won't have to fight against him in the speaker

race, just not throwing his support behind johnson might be enough to bounce him out of that position. >> reporter: mike johnson has worked over time to in grash yat himself with donald trump. he's gone to ufc fights with donald trump. it may not be enough. donald trump was displease that johnson couldn't get the debt ceiling done under president biden. there might be a minor brewing revolt against johnson's leadership among the house republicans. it's only going to take a handful of house republicans to kick johnson out of the spot if they want to do that. so they will be looking very closely at donald trump's cues. does he give a full-throated endorsement of the speaker or does he withhold support? >> april, paul cane said,

johnson's dilemma is the same one that bedevilled kevin mccarthy who proved so ineffective he didn't last nine months in the job. both found them in a predictment that the gop could not come together. >> you had matt gaetz who was pushing him down, speaking of kevin mccarthy. the question is who is with donald trump to pull down speaker mike johnson. whenever donald trump shows an inkling of dislike of even a republican, there are those that follow through and present to him negatives. we'll have to wait and see how this plays out as the previous pundit said. they've gone to games and done things together. at the end of the day mike johnson didn't do what the president wanted. he did not help to raise the debt ceiling to spend more. there are a lot of fiscal

conservatives that didn't like that. what's going to happen? are we going to keep kicking the can down the road or acquiesce to what the president wants and then we'll have tariffs and more spending in the federal government? we'll have to wait and see. >> elise, what do you think democrats' role in this is going to be? should they save johnson or will they lean into the chaos? >> i think at this point, you know, no one knows what is the best option given that, you know, the chaos -- who benefits from the chaos? not the american people, not democrats. nothing really stands to get done in the theater of it all. probably for their benefit, you know, maybe stick with the horse that you know and stay with mike johnson and maybe behind the

scenes -- i don't know if there's anything that could be done to save him to april's point. donald trump decides he should be gone, he will be gone. there's also just the casual signaling of if trump might not even do a full-throated let's cut off his head, but his minions will try to satisfy him if he gives a clue that's what he wants. >> are there any legislative issues on the horizon where there could be bipartisanship, whether cutting government waste or something like the housing crisis which is impacting people across the political spectrum? >> i've seen some bipartisan support for the elon musk, vivek ramaswamy doge. everyone in congress knows there's a ton of a waste. there's slivers of hope that maybe this could be a slight -- it's going to break a lot and be

painful. maybe having outsiders come in and look at the problem could have a modicum of positive change. we don't know. it's going to depend on these huge promises donald trump has made and what he's going to follow through on and try to do versus what's he just talked about. what's all talk? >> trying to find positivity here at the end of the year. luke, we were talking about things on the house side. there's a whole other end of the building. what about the senate? are senate republicans as in line with the trump agenda that trump would like them to be? >> reporter: i would say not as much. it used to be that the senate -- even though mitch mcconnell was the leader and democrats view him as extremely conservative republican, he wasn't always eye to eye with donald trump. we could see some tension emerge with john thune as the

republican leader in the senate. john thune is a traditional republican. he has, of course, bent the knee to donald trump. he has said he wants to enact donald trump's policies as quickly as possible and appoint his nominees as quickly as possible. there will be times when john thune will, i think, stand up for the traditional wing of the republican party for keeping government open, for not suspending the senate's constitutional duty to vet nominees and so i think y there will be a clash between donald trump and john thune. i don't know exactly which of these fights it will be. almost certainly i would predict that will happen within the first year of the trump presidency. >> april, if trump can't get everybody in his party lined up behind his agenda, is that agenda at risk? what can he accomplish without congressional support and what will he need everybody to get

done? >> this president is going to have to work to unify. as we saw, this was a bipartisan-passed budget bill that's been kicked down the road until next year. at the end of the day, this president wants to have the american public come together, the court of public opinion and congressional leaders. he's got 18 months before there's another election in the house. what he doesn't want to see is the house turn democratic. he's got to work together and have some sense of unity. if not, if he goes rogue like he has done in the past, there could be consequences at the polls for him, starting with the house. it could turn democratic. at the end of the day, let's look at, you know, the first thing he's talking about. the first issue is this mass deportation. does he have bipartisan support? definitely not. how will this be worked out? what's the cost? he's talking about tariffs, et cetera.

that's a big piece of this puzzle that could be an albatross around his neck starting off his presidency on january 20th at noon. >> elise, as we saw in the budget battle, it's not just getting republicans in the house and the senate to get along. that's there truck that got thrown in the mix, and that's elon musk. where do you see him complicating things for the incoming president? >> for now donald trump and elon musk are getting along. how long is that going to last? there should be a betting pool. can this relationship last the test of time or will donald trump have to show who really is the boss and that's him and not elon musk, the world's richest man.

the reality is it's going to end at some point. it's just a matter of time. >> luke broadwater and elise jordan, thank you. president biden is on his way to the u.s. virgin islands where he'll stay for a long weekend. he and the first lady have spent many holidays on the island. president biden has just 25 days left before he hands over the reins to president-elect trump. up next, major energy issues in ukraine. how this all could play out with the incoming trump presidency. you're watching msnbc. sidency. you're watching msnbc.

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this christmas nearly 500,000 ukrainians celebrated the holiday without power or heat after russia carried out a massive attack targeting ukraine's energy structure. president zelenskyy calling the attack inhumane and president biden said it was outrageous. joining us now is retired u.s. army colonel and msnbc military expect jake jacobs. according to ukraine this is the 13th attack on the country's infrastructure. we saw kharkiv in the cold this

holiday. what's your take on the infrastructure strikes? do you think there's psychological warfare at play? >> we have to go back to the beginning of the . the russians decided they were going to attack strong points in ukrainian's defense. they brought armor in the north to attack kiev. that didn't work. these are old tactics that didn't work in this modern environment with technological improvements in the ability of attacking vehicles like tanks. that didn't work. in the -- the result of that was kind of a stalemate on the battlefield. with local attacks being successful, but strategic success for the russians being -- being difficult to achieve. we've seen the war go on for a long period of time with no strategic success on the part of the russians who expected the ukrainians to capitulate.

what's happened now is that russia decided it's going to attack the kinds of things that may bring it results ultimate. that is to attack infrastructure and civilian targets. there are a couple reasons for this. one is that they expect or hope that the ukrainians will eventually give up under the onslaught of the type you're talking about. the second is the perception that the support from the west will ultimately wane and disappear. don't forget, we have a relatively isolationist government that's going to take charge in january in the united states and the administration has already said it does not think it needs to support ukraine in its defense -- in its defense against the russians. what russia's hoping is that it will be able to keep the ukrainians at bey long enough for a new administration to decide it's not going to support

ukraine, christina. >> i was at the g7 in italy with secretary blinken, that was a big focus of that meeting as leaders have coalesced around the u.s. support of ukraine. without that, there's a fear it won't be as stable. since fall of this year, at least 10,000 north korea troops have joined russia on the battlefield. according to "the new york times" u.s. officials are saying it was north korea's idea to join the fight, appearing to hope russia will repay the favor in the future. what do you think kim jong-un is hoping to gain? is it a reflection to the fact that china who has supported north korea is dialing back its support and they need to look other places for the things they need to run their government? >> i think all that's correct. the original response was russia needs troops and they'll ask north korea for assistance.

north korea sent about 10,000 troops to assist the russians. the russians have a nearly unending stream of conscripts to support their attacks in ukraine. so the conclusion perhaps was wrong. the information now is that the north koreans asked to be involved. there are a couple of reasons for that, some good explanations. the first is, as you suggest, north korea would really like to have assistance -- it's desperately in need of assistance, economic assistance. while it appears there's no concrete agreements that have been made, the perception is the for help, down the road. there's another military reason the north koreans would want to be involved.

the last time the north koreans were involved in ground combat was 1953. they have several generations of north koreans that have not participated in war, do not have any experience fighting. the north koreans perceive they need that experience to get institutional institutionalized. they've sent about 10,000 people to assist russia. it's not clear whether or not any of the lessons they need to learn about land combat in the modern sense are going to be learned in ukraine, but that's what they're up to. they're prepared to send even more troops there. don't forget that north korea devotes about 40% of its gross domestic product to defense. it's desperately in need of assistance. like you suggest, assistance they can get in the future from russia. >> they're also sending

artillery shells which have been in short supplies. i remember asking a u.s. official how good are the shells. the official responded, i wouldn't want to fire one. the kremlin said there's not been any contact with president-elect trump, but their foreign minister said russia is willing to work with the trump administration. what do you foresee the u.s./russia relationship looking like under a trump presidency? >> we brought up the first thing that's in russia's mind, that is to get some sort of settlement in ukraine. i think it was henry kissinger who at the beginning of the war suggested there would be a negotiated settlement ultimately because there wouldn't be any battlefield success, that russia would agree to withdraw forces as long as they kept the donbas and crimea and what they wanted was a land bridge to moldova.

there's a lot of agreement that that's what russia is after and that's the initial arrangement, the initial contact and objective when the new administration talks with russia. they'll be a negotiated settlement to the end of the war and that's the result. it remains to be seen whether it will go further than that. trump has already expressed admiration for putin in the way he does things, but there are lots of things that are attendant to that. once that's accomplished, if there is a cease-fire, don't forget there are enormous economic and political problems inside europe, all of europe, not just nato. those need to be resolved. there's a great deal of fear on the continent of europe that the united states is going to abandon them to their fate 3,000 miles away. that's something ha the state

department, the new state department has to work really hard to alleviating those fears. don't forget, we have a great deal of economic interest in europe and that needs to be -- that needs to be taken care of, christina. >> a lot to keep an eye on. colonel jack jacobs, thank you. today's ceremonies were held across asian to mark 50 years since the earthquake and tsunami. there was a moment of silence marking the time the tsunami was it. the tsunami killed more than 250,000 people. it was triggered after an earthquake and is considered the deadliest natural disaster of this century. still ahead, whooping cough cases weeping across the country. what you should know. plus, beyonce's netflix

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whooping cough cases reached the highest level in a decade with the u.s. recording more than 32,000 cases this year according to data from the cdc, compared to 5,000 cases last year. with people gathering for the holidays, it's raising more concern.

joining us now is a doctor who is an internal medicine physician. what's causing the spike in cases and who's most at risk? >> merry christmas and happy holidays. it's not so happy if you're experiencing whooping could have, an upper respiratory infection. as you pointed out, according to the cdc, we're seeing a six-fold rise in cases in whooping cough compared to this same time last year. as of december 14th, we're seeing 32,000 cases of whooping cough compared to 5,100 a year ago. why is this? several factors according to experts. one is lower vaccination rate. we're seeing waning protection from the vaccine itself. we're seeing improved testing. why does this matter? you're wondering, well, it's just a cough. no big deal.

it is a big deal because whooping cough, highly contagious, upper respiratory infection. the initial symptoms may be a cold, running nose, congestion, mild cough, fever. after one to two weeks, signs and symptoms can worsen and thick mucous can develop and block upper airways. it can lead to a severe continuous hacking cough followed by an inhalation that sounds -- it's high pitched sounding like a whoop. not everyone develops that whoop, but you can also develop severe complications, worse in infants, like pneumonia, breathing stopping, dehydration, weight loss. just to be clear who gets whooping cough, infants are at the highest risk, particularly infants who have completed a vaccination course, christina. >> it sounds very scary. i want to ask you about another

concerning headline and that's bird flu. big cats have died in a wild life sanctuary from the virus. there was a recent recall of cat food because of contamination. who is this virus being transmitted from animals to people? can you explain how that happens? >> bird flu, also known as avian influenza continues to spread among cattle across the united states. why is that happening? according to experts there's an erosion in public health budgets, neglect for the safety of agriculture workers, and a sluggish pace of adopting federal interventions. if you recall, just a few weeks ago, the usda launched a national milk testing strategy and accompanied by that was a federal order for new

interventions. these haven't really been followed. sadly, these are many of the same patterns we in the medical profession observed during the covid pandemic for which i served on the frontlines. the usda has pumped $1.7 billion into controlling the spread of the bird flu among poultry farms since 2022. to your point, it's not just cattle that are being affected. over 60 people in the united states have been infected mainly by cows or poultry, but cases could sky rocket if the virus evolves to efficiently spreading between humans. one person in louisiana was critically ill. you know, over time, over centuries, these viruses, these pathogens have learned to spread from one animal species to another and then from animals to humans. so they just evolve, mutations in their dna, rna, their

make-up, enable them to infect humans. we need to be very careful and decrease the spread of this virus, christina. >> i used to work on farms as a kid. they always said don't kiss the chickens. this is why. doctor, thank you so much. >> don't do that. >> i won't. i promise. we wear it, we carry it. should we live with it? with apple set to become the first $4 trillion company the tech giant could make major moves to synchronize the functions in your home. sam brock has the story. >> reporter: even for a brand as iconic as apple -- >> the market closing in on $4 trillion. >> reporter: -- a new milestone looms. the company started in 1976 by two friends is on the verge of the $4 trillion market cap threshold, the first for a

publicly traded company. >> apple valued at $1 trillion. >> reporter: a meteoric leap. now sitting a half trillion dollars ahead of the world's most valuable company, nvidia. those its releases are part of the popular zeitgeist for years, it's the company's recent splash into a.i. and apple intelligence which analysts believe will super cycle more iphone upgrades and a second foray into the smart home appliance markets. >> apple's going to take another crack at the space. >> reporter: that could challenge amazon and nest on everything from doorbells to security cams, even though not every apple product is a home run, it's able to adapt and grow defies expectations, possibly

creating the world's first $4 trillion company. up next, what to know as you head to try to make gift returns. plus, looking back at the year in pop culture and the biggest moments that we'll remember. you're watching msnbc. wetjet absorbs and locks grime deep inside. look at that! swiffer wetjet. ♪ look a♪ that! ♪ ♪ whether your phone's broken or old, we've got you. with verizon, anyone can trade in any phone, any condition. it's your last chance to get iphone 16 pro with apple intelligence, on us. and, ipad and apple watch series 10. all three on us. that's up to $2,000 in value. only on verizon.

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i was born with idiopathic infantile scoliosis. i've had 17 surgeries. i was born missing my lower right foot. i was born ten weeks early without my left arm. i have osteogenesis imperfecta. i've broken over 70 bones in my lifetime. with my polio, i have tough days and my pain just pops out out of nowhere. there's nothing to be afraid of because all the doctors are all so nice. most people think, oh, it's the medical side of things at shriners hospital. but for me, it's a confidence that i've gotten. when somebody sees these commercials. there'll be a phone number on the screen and all they have to do is call and make a donation to help kids like me. thanks to a generous donor, every dollar you give will go three times as far to help more kids. when you join with us. we'll send you one of these adorable blankets as a thank you and a reminder of all the abilities you are helping make possible.

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them. nbc's business correspondent brian cheung is digging into the holiday world of returns. brian, what did you learn? >> reporter: happy holidays. maybe it wasn't the right size or color or the right item at all. if you're heading back to the store to make a return, a few things you want to know. starting off with the deadlines to return items. retailers offered extended deadlines to bring those items back. walmart, macy's and amazon you have until january 31st. for electronics, at best buy, the deadlines to bring holiday items back is january 14th. be aware of those deadlines. broadly speaking, the good news on returns, there are more options to return. if you bought something to amazon, you can bring it back to whole foods or kohl's. the bad news is that other retailers are starting to charge

restocking and return shipping fees if you try to return something online and back through the mail. if you try to return things in store, it's a good way to avoid fees. one final point, there's a number of items you can't return. things, for example, intimates and swimwear, personalized things, and be aware of final sale items. in many cases it's the policy that you can't return those items or get store credit back. read the fine print. bring receipts back to you. happy shopping to those heading back to the malls on this day after december 25th. >> final sale means final. brian cheung, thank you. as we close out the final days of 2024, we're remembering the moments that made us cry, laugh, smile and dance. we've seen divas on the movie screen and oz and thailand.

we're looking back at the moments that captivated us this year. >> reporter: 2024, where to begin? from arena tours to a zoo in thailand, to packed movie theaters, pop culture was popping. just when it seemed the box office was in free fall, "wicked" popularity proved to be -- ♪ you're gonna be popular ♪ >> reporter: -- the musical defied gravity, turning green and pink into the color combo of the year. >> you're green. >> i am. >> reporter: ariana grande and cynthia erivo seemed to be dancing through life. >> we were strangers. >> that's no lie. >> now we're besties. >> it's an extraordinary privilege to be trusted with these roles.

>> i'm very grateful there's space for us to breathe life into these roles, this piece, not to take away from, but to grow it and expand it. >> reporter: many fans turned it into a double feature with "gladiator 2," aka glicked. "doom 2" became an obsession and gave us zendaya in this outfit. timothee chalamet knew how to make his own appearance at a look alike contest. it was a brat summer thanks to charlie xcx. if you're losing sleep over the end of an era -- >> we love you, taylor. >> reporter: -- we have some espresso and a round of texas

hold 'em from queen bey's first count album. a new era began for celine dion. the real star of the year, the baby hippo who stole our hearts. >> meanwhile, last night we had one more major pop culture moment. beyonce had a few gifts for fans on christmas day. the multi-grammy award winner gave a show-stopping performance during the nfl game airing on netflix. she was joined by post malone, shaboozey and her daughter blue ivy. at the end of the performance she dropped a teaser, some speculation that she's teasing a new tour or album. we'll have to wait and see. in our next hour we'll have a live report in jerusalem on the latest talks on cease-fire

between israel and hamas. plus, donald trump takes aim at the panama canal on christmas day. we'll dig into what he said coming up. g into what he said coming up. ils right. it's just nice to know that years after i'm gone this guy will be standing the test of ti... he's melting! oh jeez... nooo... oh gaa... only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪

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it is 11:00 a.m. eastern and 8:00 a.m. pacific and i'm christina ruffini live from washington. we begin this hour with the tragic plane crash that killed dozens in kazakhstan yesterday. this morning, speculation is growing about what caused the flight with 67 people on board to plummet and crash into a

field in a fiery blaze. now both ukraine and a top aviation security firm say russia alikely to blame but the kremlin is push back and urging people the avoid jumping to conclusions until an investigation is complete. nbc's danielle himangen join us now from london. what do we know about the investigation so far and who's even leading it? >> reporter: yeah, well, the -- azerbaijan airlines aircraft that crashed in kazakhstan, killing 38 people, might have been caught, in fact, by a russian -- by russia in the moment russia was launching and activating its air defense systems to shoot down a ukrainian drone. this was the topic of much speculation over the past 24 hours. but it is now being supported by some industry experts. and nbc spoke to the chief intelligence officer of the

aviation security firm osprey which has a number of partnerships with airlines around the world as well as contracts with the u.s. government. and they say that they have reviewed footage of the wreckage which appears to show holes and damage potentially caused by shrapnel. they've reviewed the footage filmed by some of the passengers in the plane while it was still in the air and there are nearly 30 survivors who say they saw and heard what appeared to be an explosion in the cabin area. and this has led them to conclude that this was not caused by bad weather and not caused by a bird strike as had been suggested by the russian state media. take a listen what he had to say. >> at the time of this event,

russian officials there were defending against a ukrainian military grade weaponized drone attack. the examination of the damage to the aircraft leads osprey to assess that the likely cause of the event is a misidentification and damage sustained from that. >> reporter: well, and of course the question was put to the kremlin and the spokesperson said that the investigation is still underway. and it would be incorrect to comment at this time saying that quote -- it would be incredit to make any hypotheses before the investigation is complete. to answer your question azerbaijan will of course be involved in the investigation and as hack an stock it happened on its soil. and so it continues, but again, russia pushing back any suggestion that they were involved in the downing of this aircraft. >> danielle, i have seen some

of the videos that are, you know, reportedly from inside the plane whole it's going down and then immediately after. it's really remarkable anyone was able to walk away from that crash. what do we know more about the survivors and then those who didn't make it off the flight? >> reporter: among those killed so far who have been identified, they are people from kazakhstan, russia and azerbaijan. and you are right. these images are remarkable. you are seeing at some point someone just stumbling out of this plane crash. while others of course were burned to death really. the majority of the 29 people who survived were taken to hospital and the latest official numbers that were given to us, 11 of those 27 taken to hospital are in intensive care. two in critical condition. it's remarkable that two children also survived. but the good news here is that there are two planes headed for azerbaijan very soon with 14 of the survivors on board. christina? >> all right, hopefully they can get to where they want to

be. danielle, thank you so much. over 2,000 u.s. flights have been delayed this morning in the post christmas rush. and now a travel period already expected to set records could get even more complicated. 23 million people are currently under weather alerts in the south and west. today's storms adding to a week of travel woes that saw 14,000 delays in just three days. and the pressure is not lifting anytime soon. aaa says friday will be one of the season's busiest travel days yet. and nbc's marissa para is reporting from atlanta's hartsfield-jackson airport and meteorologist denise isaac is also with us, marissa, start with you. what are we hearing about how return home travel is going today? is it trying people's christmas cheer or is it going to be okay? >> well, my answer to you right now is a little different than it would have been a few hours ago. we already knew there was some severe weather in the pacific northwest but that weather

seems to have moved into the south. separate weather system of course and our meteorologist h talk about that in just a moment. but we are seeing delays and cancellations creeping and you a lot of that is centered around the texas airports. we're talking about in dallas and houston. this, as 13 million people remain at risk of severe weather. this morning, a white or wet christmas throughout the country means millions may be dealing with a travel mess on their way home from the holidays. millions across the south are facing severe storms. including flash flooding with as much as 4 inches of rain. and police in sherman, texas with the grim task of searching for persons swept away in flood waters. one body was recovered while four others in the car were rescued. >> the only thing that i can communicate to the public or anybody who's wanting to do more is simply pray for a quick and successful recovery. >> reporter: the west coast facing an unrelenting atmospheric river storm with heavy rain and snow. in california, officials are

say saying the damage after part of the santa cruz pier collapsed under high surf and three people plunged into the water and authorities say a man at a nearby beach died after being trapped under debris by a wave. that wharf now closed indefinitely. meanwhile in the sky, travelers facing thousands of travel delays after chaotic start to the busy holiday travel rush with the nationwide ground stop for american airlines. >> american airlines are down and we're deplaning. >> reporter: it comes amid a series of scares on airlines and in airports over the holiday. overnight in phoenix, police responding to reports of gunfire at sky harbor airport. creating for some momentary chaos, no reported injuries and authorities say no suspects are being sought after. in hawaii, an investigation is underway after a body was found in the wheel well of a plane after landing in maui from chicago. in a statement. united airlines saying in part quote -- the wheel well was only accessible from outside the aircraft. adding, it is not clear how or when the person accessed the

wheel well. now regarding peak travel, christina, you mentioned tomorrow and monday. tsa says will be the busiest at the airports but regarding the roads, if you are among the majority of holiday travelers who are taking to the roads for your holiday travel, just keep in mind the last two days were minimal traffic according to aaa but they expect that to start creeping up starting today. christina? back to. >> all right, thank you. and denise, on that note, how much worse do we expect the weather to get through the weekend? >> well, through the weekend, the system that right now is impacting texas will eventually move to the upper midwest but certainly right now, we do have those delays, dallas, houston and eventually this afternoon and evening towards seattle and portland. if you are driving, slick, slippery conditions possible in the pacific northwest. and anywhere from eureka all the way down south to san francisco and also seattle and portland included in those

cities. inland will be dealing with some heavy snow so if you are driving along the rockies or the cascades, keep that in mind. so here's our forecast for tomorrow. one of the busy travel days at least delays over nashville and also chicago due to low ceilings and rain showers while from north dakota down to texas, it looks great. the same can't be said for the northeast all the way down into florida. another storm system will be impacting the pacific northwest. so tomorrow we could be seeing more delays. how about saturday? well, for the pacific northwest, it's pretty much copy and paste. another system coming in bringing more rain and snow, gorgeous in the middle of the country in the midwest. saturday looks like the day that you should travel. while towards at least for the mid-atlantic, and the southeast, it can't be said the same thing as rain will be headed in that direction. and then on sunday, we'll have travel trouble over the northeast. all the way down into florida. where heavy rain and thunderstorms will be the possibility.

while the middle of the country looking great on sunday. and you guessed it. another pacific storm is expected on sunday with more rain and snow making it quite dicey for travel purposes both on air and on the roads. christina? back to you. >> all right, denise isaac, thank you so much. and here with more on how to navigate what could be a record-breaking travel period is clint henderson. managing editor at the points guy. i know journalists are more than average experienced travelers but always shocks me on the airport on the busy travel day and people act like they've never been there before. trying to get gallons of shampoo through tsa. what are the most important things to prioritize when traveling during a busy season to make sure you and the passengers around you all make it out of there in on okay mood? >> yeah, i think the key is just to give yourself a little extra wiggle room. you hit the nail on the head, there's a lot of inexperienced travelers and indeed some of

those people that you are tack about have never traveled by plane before. and so they're not sure what's happening at tsa. of course, at the points guy we love tsa precheck. we like clear. anything that will speed us through security. but not only in case of technology outages like this week but the storms that keep coming up. have extra wiggle room so you are not a superstressed person all discombobulated at tsa lines. >> and a good reminder for people like me to as they say, pack your patience. all right, when it comes to inclement weather, what do you do? when flights are canceled, you know, everybody has the same problem and there's a crush at the counter and the phone lines are busy. what is the best way the try to prepare for potential cancellations and delays you know, what we're seeing could maybe happen over the weekend? >> yeah, the first thing i would say is knowledge is power. make sure you are aware of what's happening at the airport. you are going to. leaving from and also arriving to. especially if you are on a connecting flight. you could be going through an

airport that's having trouble. like we saw at dallas this week. you want to have a backup plan. so know where airlines fly the route that you want to take but the airline app on your phone is going to be key to helping you track your flights and making you aware of what's happening. if there's a major storm. if you think that no airline is going to be able to get out of your local airport because of a blizzard, just cut bait. i mean, sometimes it's not even worth it to go to the airport just say you know that nome going to take next flight tomorrow. and save my sanity because if there's a really bad storm system like we have seen in years past, 2022 comes to mind, you are better off just not even trying that day. so sometimes it's better to delay you know and hopefully you have a boss who understands why you didn't get home as early as you'd hoped. but remember, there's new d.o.t. rules that went into effect too that guarantee you refunds if you don't end up taking that flight. so sometimes just cut bait is the best solution. >> and as you mentioned not everybody flies a lot.

you know, if you are driving and if you are taking a train or a bus, what are your -- what are your tips for making sure you get to where you need to go even with bad weather? >> make sure you are paying attention to road conditions. and know what's happening so knowledge is power again here. but also try to leave in the morning before most people are driving. if you go early in the morning late at night, you are less likely to have that bad traffic. and obviously, if there's a major storm, just don't drive. i've been stuck in those three, four hour traffic jams trying to get to lake tahoe. it's just not worth it sometimes. you know, i think try another day is one of my mottos and when it comes to extreme weather and travel. >> all right. it's a good motto to cling on to. clint henderson, thank you so much. >> happy new year. >> you too. up next, israel and hamas trade barbs as hostage talks continue to delay. we'll get the latest live from jerusalem. plus, trump sets his sights

on greenland and panama. how those countries are responding. and later, netflix wins big in queen bey's nfl halftime performance. we're back in 90 seconds. and for zero heartburn 1 prilosec a day... beats taking up to 10 antacids a day. it's that simple, for 24 hour heartburn relief... one beats ten. prilosec otc. our right to reproductive health care is being stolen from us. i can't believe this is the world we live in,

where we're losing the freedom to control our own bodies. we need your support now more than ever. go online, call, or scan this code, with your $19 monthly gift. and we'll send you this "care. no matter what" t-shirt. it is your right to have safe health care. that's it. go online, call, or scan right now. now to breaking news out of the middle east where israel says it's hit houthi targets with air strikes. iran describes the attack as a violation of peace and

security. meanwhile, palestinian officials say overnight five journalists were killed in a strike on a press van in gaza. but israel says it struck militants posing as journalists. and nbc's raff sanchez is live from jerusalem with more. what do we know about the strikes in yemen nor. >> the last couple of minutes the israeli military confirming that it was responsible for these strikes. not the first time the israelis have attacked the iranian backed houthi rebels in yemen but this appears to be on a much wider scale than the strikes we've seen before. the idf is saying they hit the main airport in the capital of yemen. they're saying that they hit two power stations as well as what they're calling military infrastructure at three different ports along yemen's western coastline. now they are saying all of this was being used by the houthis for military purposes and there were points of entry for iranian weapons being smuggled in. but we will see what kind of

impact this has on the civilian population in what is the poorest arab country in the middle east. a country that has been going through a decade long rolling humanitarian crisis. the houthis have been in the sites of both israel and the united states for nearly a year -- more than a year now. but especially in the last couple of weeks, the houthis firing a series of ballistic missiles. two of them last week broke through israel's sophisticated air defenses and hit in the tel- aviv area. nobody was killed. but this was pretty alarming for israel especially given that they have really diminished the capabilities of iran's other proxy groups hamas and gaza and hezbollah in southern lebanon. to say nothing of the assad regime collapsing. so we have seen both israel and the united states striking against the houthis in the last couple of weeks. very intensively. the houthis so far seem undeterred and undefiant and continuing to fire these

missiles and these drones. you mentioned, christina, the cease-fire negotiations which are still continuing in qatar. there was a senior israeli delegation there led by the head of the mossad spy agency. that's now returned to israel for consultations with political leadership including prime minister benjamin netanyahu and we will see whether this is just a temporary stall in the cease- fire negotiations or it is something more serious. both israel and hamas publicly accusing the other side of making last-minute demands which are slowing down this process. and at this point, it is looking very, very unlikely that we are going to get to any kind of deal before the end of the year which is the hope that the biden administration had expressed. christina. >> all right, thank you so much. for more joining us now is richard hoss president emeritus on the council or foreign relations and senior counselor with center view partiers, you just heard him talking about they're at the point now where the head of mossad has gone back to tel-aviv for

consultations in the past couple of rounds, that's really the point where we often see these talks weaking down. where is your take on where the cease-fire discussions are and are you at all hopeful? >> well, again, you know, over the last couple of weeks, things looked like they were improving and you had hamas coming up with the list of hostages, the names and so forth. israel was looking at what prisoners they could release and so forth and it seems once again to be moving away. now the secretary of state often refers to this deal as "peanuts" reference as lucy and the football every time you think you are close to getting there. one or the other or both sides pulls back. there's shall we saw negligible trust. plus all the backdrop of continued israeli attacks on gaza and so forth. so, you know, your guess quite honestly is as good as mine and the pressures on israel are divided. on the other hand, elements of

the coalition have been against any compromise. the prime minister is caught between that. >> and at a hanukkah lighting yesterday, prime minister benjamin netanyahu warned houthis in yemen saying they will quote, learn the lesson that hamas, he hezbollah and the assad regime just learned and as we just learned strikes were launched today against in yemen against the houthis. what's your reaction to that? >> the houthis again one of the proxies supported by iran have had something of a free pass. everyone you know, has been so focused on hezbollah and on hamas particularly israel, but the houthis have demonstrated a willingness and ability to attack israel proper. and so i think it's quite logical now that israel's going after them and the united states is not really gone after the houthis as much as we might. given the threat they pose to shipping. so my guess is, this is probably something like the opening of new phase. where the houthis are going to

find themselves almost as the last standing proxy of iran. they're going to find themselves in the crosshairs literally and figuratively much more and a lot of people are saying why should we allow them to disrupt shipping and forceships to take a longer more costly route to get to tear markets? so midges is we're going to see this heating up. >> that's another one of the conflicts that has just been prolonged and absolutely devastating for the population there. i want to switch gears to president-elect trump's foreign policy on christmas day, he released this series of social media posts calling for among other things the u.s. to potentially expand into canada and greenland and take control of the panama canal. trump has mentioned some of these ideas in the past. the greenland thing came up the last time i remember i was at the state department at the time. and it was anybody all anybody in the european region could talk about. but should any of these suggestions be taken seriously? or is this just a negotiation tactic? >> not even sure it's either.

i think he's trolling the canadians and his affection for justin trudeau is modest. just having some fun at his expense. panama is best i can tell, they're not discriminating against the united states in any way. biggest problem with the canal is a lack of water and by the way probably linked the climate king which is -- something the incoming administration don't think is important. we don't need to occupy greenland in order to have access to it. mr. trump is walking in waves that fan american nationalism. from denmark and greenland and canada too. so i see this as mainly posturing and i don't care we're going to be sending in the 82nd airborne to any of places anytime soon. >> all right, well, trump is also coming into the presidency

facing an arguably more vulnerable iran. you know, he pulled out of thjc poa that former president obama struck with the leadership there but according to the "new york times" iran's new president and trump reportedly voiced a willingness to negotiate a new nuclear deal. what could that look like and do you think there's real potential there? >> actually i think that's the most interesting thing on with you one of the two most interesting things on the agenda for the new administration. along with the possibility of negotiation with -- over ukraine and bringing russia and ukraine to the table. but with iran, it's been so weakened because of hezbollah, because of hamas. because of iran and so forth -- because syria and so forth. now i think there's a real opportunity here and i would say the united states all the to be ambitious and trying to really get them out of the nuclear business and start the support of the proxies hamas, the houthis. iran is very, very vulnerable right now l they don't have enough fuel to heat pardon mes

and keep the factories open. there is a moment of some leverage and i would actually think this ought to be explored and an opportunity doesn't last forever. this is one that ought to be explored and seized if we can strike a bargain with the iranians. >> all right. richard ha ass, thank you for joining us. >> thank you all. and coming up, new remarks on president-elect trump's immigration agenda from his incoming border czar. what it could mean for undocumented families. plus, tracking trump's cabinet picks as republicans are set to take power in the senate. you are watching msnbc. ♪ that ju never come out ♪ ♪ pour downy in the rinse, jade ♪ ♪ every now and then i rinse it out! ♪ fights odor in just one wash. ♪ with verizon, trade in any phone, any condition. ♪ every now and then i rinse it out! ♪ it's your last chance to get iphone 16 pro, on us. and ipad and apple watch series 10.

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the man pick today carry out trump's mass deportation plan is laying out new details on what that process may actually look like. incoming border czar tom homan who oversaw the zero tolerance policy that separated more than 4,000 children from their parents during trump's first term says the trump administration will once more put families with children in detention centers. in an interview with the "washington post," homan said quote, here's the issue. you knew you were in the country illegally and chose to have a child. so you put your family in that position. joining us now is aaron haynes, editor at large for the 19th. rina shaw and julian castro the former secretary of housing and urban development during the obama administration. aaron, i want to start with you. this was not a popular policy during the first zero tolerance phase and it got criticism from

even people like first lady me linear trump and first lady laura bush. are you surprised the second trump administration seems to intend on bringing it back? >> i'm not surprised. christina, because immigration was such a dominant issue especially for republicans during this election. and so what you are seeing is the president-elect and this incoming administration really doubling down on some of those immigration policies, even though they certainly were not popular with a significant part of the american people. but, you know, certainly republicans who voted for this president-elect were saying that immigration was something that they want him to focus on and as he continues to say that he has a mandate, you know, whether or not you believe that's true given this was a very close election, immigration is something that he's definitely looking to prioritize. you know, yes, certainly i

think that -- if we see the return of these family separation policies i think that we will also see a return of outcry against these policies for folks who are not on board with this and who are wanting, you know, the federal government to take a more humane position in terms of how the immigration issue is handled. but, you know, i think another thing to bring up is how this plays out at the local level because of many cases, the immigration situation does also involve local jurisdictions. and the extent to which they are going to cooperate or not could matter in terms of how effective the trump administration can be in carrying these kinds of things out. >> and homan also said quote, we need to show the american people we can do this and not be inhumane about it. we can't lose the faith of the american people. is that possible? is there a way to carry out this same policy humanely and do you think homan is more cognizant of not only the

political realities, but the optics of this policy this time around? >> that strikes me as someone speaking out of both sides of their mouth. in fact this was a policy the trump administration stopped back down on because it was judged by the american people from right to left to be cruel. and so they stopped it. to say now that we're going to bring it back, family separation, family detention, and that all of a sudden it's not going to be cruel and it's not going to be inhumane. he's painting the same picture of what the policy is going to be just calling it humane this time. so i don't think that's going to fly with the american people who have seen what it is. they've seen the images and they've heard the stories. they're still hundreds of children who have not been reunited with their families from back then. it's cruel and you can't dress it up with words and call it anything else. so i agree that if they reenters this, i think you are going to see that outcry that you saw a few years ago. >> it's also potentially a very

expensive policy. rina, some estimates say it will require at least $86 billion and according to homan he can get that type of funding from congress. do you think they can actually get that money out of the hill? >> i think in the new congress, republicans will want to look like they are doing something. so they will authorize those funds. and yes, we're talking about a massive amount. but let's not forget what the republican party the starting the new year with. the feeling, the sense that they have a mandate to do right by the american people. on this one very prime issue. that was central to the election. the security of the southern border whether we are a nation with borders or not. and i mean look we both know this immigration system is a complex mess. i'm looking at it from a very different standpoint as the daughter of immigrants from africa and india. the daughter of two people who went to great lengths to do this legally. i take great issue with anybody

who jumps the line. who tries to be clever overstaying their visa for example but i have a tremendous amount of empathy making the treacherous journeys for a better life. how do we a country start to have a more responsible conversation about the fixes that could have been in the last congress or could have been under the last administration? it's a new day. republicans need to start to talk in plain speak and that's what i think homan thinks he's doing. he's being very direct because the vast majority of americans want solutions. a kick the can down the road issue and it has been. we know that. where have the fixes been? even undocumented young people are suffering in this very moment. because again, yes, decisions your families made bothria too want to see real talked about pathways to citizenship and i think the trump administration and republicans in congress can do better on this if they speak directly about what their plans are. >> right. also a lot of uncertainty from

dreamers who are those individuals whose parents brought them here as children and the u.s. is really the only home i have ever known. trump's cabinet picks. chris tie noel even though you know the north dakota governor doesn't really have any relevant experience. there's rfk jr. for health and human services and pete hegseth for defense secretary. you went through a confirmation process for obama's cabinet and you were confirmed by over 70 votes in the senate. talk us through a little bit about what has changed in your opinion about how the processes are happening and what do you think are chances for a lot of the picks? >> well, yeah, i mean i feel like i went through this about ten years ago that that's ancient history in how washington works now. i think that the operative word today is "fear." donald trump is trying to get manifestly unqualified terrible picks through not in all cases but in many of the cases,

through fear. through making these republican senators believe that if they don't vote for his picks. that he's going to recruit and he and elon musk and his group of billionaires going to recruit primary candidates to challenge them come 2026. and so they're deathly afraid of that. that's why so many of them are falling in line. they only have a 53-47 advantage in the senate. you can't lose that many republicans. you are going to see a full on pressure campaign to make sure that these picks go through. and even with that though, we already saw matt gaetz fail. we saw about three dozen republicans buck trump in the house last week. on the continuing resolution. so there is some question here. it's -- even with all that fear of being primary, there may still be, you know, a couple of senators that are willing to hold out. looking at people like alaska senator murkowski or senator colins from maine and maybe one

or two others depending on who's especially up in '26 and a state where they feel like they can win the primary perhaps. but might have a bigger problem in the general election. >> yeah, rina. i want to ask you about that because as -- as just mentioned the primary threat seems to be go to for gop members who don't go along with president trump or apparently now elon musk. how real are these types of threats? do they work on capitol hill or sometimes they can be self- defeating? i'm going to vote my conscience anyway if you are going the threaten me. >> they have a great impact but i think this is a new era and i see trump doing things a bit differently. people say trump can't change. a very different cabinet than i would have expected. i want to give credit. there are republicans in the town who want to see things happen differently in the second term of trump's. and so i think right now the threats are empty.

i think gaetz was put up all part of a little bit of a save for him. it was a hail mary. and a pathway to getting him out from underneath this microscope. i think some of the nominations are going to be embattled and they're going in knowing they don't have automatic yeses but you listen to people like republican senator joni ernst. all the nominees deserve a fair process and the american people also should listen closely in the processes because we should listen to what kind of people are offering themselves up to be at the helm of these agencies. these are analectsed bureaucrats at the end of the day. tune in listen but i think empty threats right now from trump world. more on their plate and a lot having to do with government efficiency and tackling the federal bloat. a lot on the table but really carrying out the vindictiveness i think, i'm willing to stay a little bit more hopeful this time. >> all right. erin haynes and rina and rule yanks thank you so much. now some breaking news on our top story. and that's the plane crash in

kazakhstan on christmas day. u.s. official is telling nbc early indications say the plane may have been hit by a russian anti-air craft system. joining us now is nbc's aaron gilchrest. aaron, what do we know and what are u.s. officials saying? >> i think we have to emphasize that it's still early on in the investigation of what happened. but we've seen the reports out there that would indicate that the potential that this aircraft, this passenger airplane, may have been hit by russian defense systems, we knew that the national security council was aware of that reporting around this time yesterday. and today a u.s. official tellsme that there are some early indications that this passenger plane that crashed in kazakhstan may have been hit by a russian anti-aircraft system and of course the u.s. official said that if that turns out to be true, that it would be more evidence of recklessness on the

part of russia in its war with ukraine. we do know that just yesterday, president biden put out a very critical statement about activities in ukraine. under the -- undertaken by the russians on christmas day. there were missile and drone strikes inside ukraine that hit some energy -- energy infrastructure there. the president put out a statement calling it outrageous and reiterating that he's instructed the department of defense to continue to surge weapons to ukraine so that it's able to defend itself against russia. which we know this administration has been doing really since the earliest days of this conflict between ukraine and russia and we can expect that the administration will continue to do that over the next 24 second quarter days at least that president biden is in office. trying to fortify -- the defense systems that ukraine has of course we know that other g-7 nations european countries have been trying to

do the same to make sure that russia is not able to ultimately succeed in ukraine but we do know now look as we look at the video that a u.s. official here says there are early indications that a russian anti-air craft system may be responsible for this plane coming down. >> all right, as you mentioned it sellly but remember there is precedent for this because if you remember that malaysian airlines flight 17 in july 2014 was actually shot down by russian forces over the donbas in ukraine. so aaron gilchrist watching that for us, thank you so much. and up next, taking a look at a year in big space exploration. and what comes next for those two astronauts who have been stuck on the international space station. start to away from uc with .. with rapid relief at 4 weeks.

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2024 was a major year for space travel one of year's biggest stories two astronauts who are still stranded at the international space station. nbc's tom costello has a look back at the year in space exploration. >> three, two, one. boosters is ignition. and lyftoff of artemis 1. >> reporter: america's 2024 space odyssey had drama. >> the troubled boeing starliner capsule back on solid ground but the two astronauts it took to space didn't make the return trip. >> reporter: breakthrough technologies. >> guide the booster, there's that landing. [ cheering and applause ]

>> reporter: and international intrigue. >> we have lift off. >> reporter: but above all it was yet another year of triumph for elon musk's spacex test flying six uncrewed star ship rockets that one day will carry astronauts to the moon and maybe mars with stunning new capture technology for the booster rocket. spacex will soon provide the ride home for astronauts suni williams and butch wilmore whose ten day mission will last signature months until february after nasa brought the troubled starliner spaceship home empty concerned it was not safe for the astronauts. >> we're both, you know, navy. both been on deployments and not surprised when deployments gets changed.

>> reporter: 2024 was also another big year for the chinese space program. landing a second robotic mission on the far side of the moon. then returning home with soil samples that suggest ancient ity. china is moving at full throttle to land its own astronauts on the moon by 2030. that's also nasa's goal for its artemis program. >> it is vital for us to land on the south pole so that we do not cede portions of that south lunar south pole, to the chinese. >> reporter: but nasa is now delaying an artemis loop around the moon until 2026. to improve the heat shields needed for reentry. the goal nowing a moon landing in 2027. new astronaut dr. chris williams. have you dreamed of being among the first to return to the moon? >> i absolutely hope it's me. and you know, that i get the

chance to do that. >> now opening dragon resilience. into space. >> reporter: jared isaacman became the first commercial astronaut to perform a spacewalk in 2024. he's now president trump's choice to lead nasa. >> looks like a -- [ inaudible ] >> command engine start. two, one. ignition. >> reporter: there were more space tourist flights '24 and a private probe named odysseus landed on moon but then tipped over. 2025 will be a year of private business and china pushing to go farther, faster. >> thanks to tom for that report. and up next, the final box office battle of 2024. you are watching msnbc. search hospital save lives. woman: cancer doesn't care how old you are,

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some of the latest movies and i want to talk about mufasa which you just mentioned. it eclipsed its competition. it -- it is a movie that made $14.7 million. so far domestically. and you know, it looks like it might be on pace to generate more than $50 million over the five day holiday movie season. and i also want to talk about a movie though let's switch gears from family-friendly movies to adult movies. let's talk about focus features necessary foe are to you. on the screen you are looking at a complete unknown with timothee chalamet as bob dylan. that movie made little over a million dollars at the box office. timothee chalamet is an incredible actor and this is a performance we've been waiting to see. but i want to say the other movie, this horror film, that is something that people have been buzzing about and it has done incredibly well at the box office with over $11.5 million some of the people in that

movie are like lily rose depp and nicholas hoult. like you said sonic 3 is a movie that paramount is obviously really bullish on because they've just announced they're doing another sequel for 2027. so if you love the first one and the second one, although it didn't do as well as the other two movies i mentioned, it's still doing fantastic. the domestic hall looks like it will be about $88 million this holiday season. so -- it's a good time to go to the movies this year. >> all right. thank you so much chloe. and that will do it for us today. thank you for watching. i'm christina ruffini. happy holidays and happy new year and we pick up the coverage after this break. ♪ whether your phone's broken or old, we've got you. with verizon, anyone can trade in any phone, any condition. it's your last chance to get iphone 16 pro

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