claims that avenatti is now dismissing as laughable.rty, is following the story from our west coast newsroom. >> remember in this case, michael avenatti claimed to have evidence of misconduct from bank employees, and prosecutors allege that avenatti tried to extort nike by telling them if they didn't play up to $25 million for his law firm to investigate that misconduct or $22 million for his silence, he would expose them improperly paying high school athletes and coaches. back in march, after his arrest for extortion, avenatti said he wanted all of the evidence presented. >> i am highly confident that when all of the evidence is laid bare in connection with these cases, when it is all known, when due process occurs, that i will be fully exonerated and justice will be done. >> but avenatti doesn't seem to want everything made public. earlier this month, lawyers for both sides arguing what could and could not be presented to the jury. prosecutors wanted to show how much avenatti was spending on things like a private jet and sports cars.

avenatti called the hearing, quote, a dog and pony show and a complete joke. >>> 4:48. striking kaiser workers returned to the picket lines in a five day labor action. mental health workers are on strike. the ceo says only 30% have come to work during the demonstration. the union says many patients waiting months due to staffing issues. kaiser says it is committed to keeping facilities open during the strike and have hired 500 new employees alone. >>> more people across california are making sure they are covered, at least where it comes to california's health insurance. health leaders say 230,000 people signed up for insurance for the first time this year. that is a 16% increase over last year. and so far more than 1 million people signed up. californians have to sign up by tomorrow if they want to avoid being taxed for not having insurance at the start of the year. >>> new for you this morning, one school district in sacramento has a cleaner and greener way for students to get to school. it has actually received five new electric buses this week and has a total of 29

michael avenatti's money problems, a possible motive in his extortion case.s. >> looking very windblown. ♪ >> terrified man clinging for his life after case of christmas day road rage. watch this. >> we are videoing you. >> unbelievable footage shows that man latching on for more than a mile in a highway in australia was the driver of the land cruiser switching lanes. it is all believed to have escalated from minor crash. the driver facing separate charges. seattle public school students warned they can't come back after christmas break unless they are vaccinated. the district is 2000 students do not have their immunization paperwork, state lawmakers voters get rid of vaccination personal and philosophical exemptions after two measles outbreaks caused the state of emergency. >> people spreading christmas joy, and it used group is spreading its message, the western colorado atheists and freethinkers putting up a billboard reading axial tilt is the reason for the season, a playoff of the saying jesus is the reason for the season, referring to the earth's positi

. >> all right, we have not talked about michael avenatti in a long time.ning just how much money he owed when he allegedly tried to extort from nike. >> exactly right. >> it is an ongoing back and forth of what could be admitted in his trial. socially less than a month. what michael avenatti wanted to do is you can't bring nsk information with my finances. the reason why he was trying to help nike and it was not an extortion was he was trying to expose serious wrong doing and help nike through it, giving them payments to go to certain schools and universities and where they are. he owes $15 million on the day he was arrested. >> more money people can think about of having to spend than to be in debt of that much money. he owes payments for his spouses, child support. basically here, this guy has all the reasons in the world to try to extort him. >> 15 million reasons. >> tom winters, always great to see you. >> 2019 was an incredible year including everything from el chapo and epstein. we'll break down our top ten stories by our own ari melber, you are wat

prosecutors claim michael avenatti was in $15 million debt while trying to extort nike.issed the accusation as bogus. he is accused of threatening to go public with information that nike improperly paid athletes if the sneaker company didn't pay him $25 million. he pleaded not guilty earlier this month. his trial begins next month. americans spending more online this christmas season, e-commerce sales hitting a record high with an 18% boost from last year. overall holiday retail sales rose 3.4% because thanksgiving fell later this year. retailers started their sale earlier, the president praised the news on twitter. heather: new year will be here before we know it. it is time to cut your tax bill before the year is over. here are the tax moves you need to make, market analyst, always a pleasure having you on the show. get out of your food coma, get on your computer and do some things, what do they include? >> you are on top of this topic. it is not too late for 2019 but there is not a lot of time left. what we need to think about is how can we potentially lower income be

. >>> the california state bar is trying to deactive high-powered attorney michael avenatti, the former toernl f eer attorney fo daniels, pled not guilty to stealing from several clients and they believe he will likely be disbarred. in the meantime they say he should no longer be able to practice law. he called yesterday's bar hearing, quote, a dog and pony show and a complete joke. >>> striking kaiser workers returned to the picket lines today in the fifth labor action, the fifth day. mental health workers are on a statewide strike. only 30% of those workers have come to work during the demonstration. the union says many patients are waiting months due to staffing issues. kaiser says it is committed to keeping facilities open during the strike and has hired 500 new employees this year alone. >> more people are making sure they are covered when it comes to california's health insurance. leaders say 230,000 people signed up for insurance for the first time this year which is a 16% increase. so far more than a million people in all signed up. californians, you have to sign up by tomorrow

former attorney for stormy daniels, michael avenatti, report r&dalledly was heavily it before his allegedpt to extort nike. he racked up over $15 million in debt, which he is denying. he calls the accusation bogus. he was arrested back in march and pled not guilty to various charges related the extortion. thethere are other charges including bank fraud and wire fraud. a good samaritan added tiffany you blue to the salvation army's red kettles. a mystery donor dropped a ring and two bracelets from tiffany into one of their buckets, expected to be worth thousands of dollars. the l salvation army waits 30 days before they accept any jewelry to ensure it wasn't left by accident. other unusual donations, a century old gold coin in north care. hillary:carolina and a gold bris dropped off in kentucky. broadway passed the billion dollar mark for the latest season with hot shows like west side storynd a christmas carol leading the way, with 17 of the 34 shows hitting 99% of the ther gross potential. it is 7% short from this time last year. and get this, a rookie linebacker for the pittsburgh steel

, and i was trying to think of who the third rank could be and i guess he could bring in michael avenattiy to be bipartisan, but if his goal was to make fun of the process then you're going to see people like dershowitz and giuliani on the floor of the senate. >> stand by to stand by i guess is the only thing i'll say to that. thank you, guys. i appreciate it. thanks so much. >> out front next, would you spend $100 million to get to 5% of the polls. yes, i know your answer is give me 100 million and then we'll talk about it and that's what two billionaires have done. and they're on high alert for kim jong-un's christmas gift. what is he sending? can my side be firm? and mine super soft? yes. with the sleep number 360 smart bed, on sale now, you can both... adjust your comfort with your sleep number setting. so, can it help us fall asleep faster? yes, by gently warming your feet. but can it help keep me asleep? absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. so, you can really promise better sleep? not promise... prove. and now, du

attorney michael avenatti pleads not guilty to extortion. federal prosecutors claim he threatened to go public with information that nike improperly paid athletes if the sneaker company didn't pay him $25 million. his trial is set to begin next month. the disgraced attorney is also accused of stealing from several former clients. and how about this? president trump giving an early christmas present to federal employees. the president signs an executive order granting most workers the day off on christmas eve. extra vacation time is typically not given when christmas falls on a wednesday but this year they have it. back to you. steve: the christmas miracle. an extra day. ainsley: new york and new jersey giving the green light for illegal immigrants to get their drivers licenses and our next guest is a new york state lawmaker says this is foolish in a post 9/11 world. ( ♪ ) why fingerstick when you can scan? with the freestyle libre 14 day system just scan the sensor with your reader, iphone or android and manage your diabetes. with the freest