phillip and marlie? >> all right. so the delayed reaction was because he did not read the resignation letter immediately. all right, susan, thank you. >>> it's day three of the government shutdown and still no end in sight. hundreds of thousands of federal employees are on furlough this morning as president trump digs in on his demands for border wall funding. he doubled down on twitter, writing late last night, "everyone knows you can't have border security without a wall." earlier he wrote, "it is only a good old-fashioned wall that works." nbc's geoff bennett has the latest. >> reporter: the government shutdown drags on. no truce on the horizon in the battle over funding mr. trump's border wall. acting white house chief of staff mick mulvaney offering his prediction on how long it will last. >> i think that is -- it's very possible that this shutdown will go beyond the 28th and into the new congress. >> reporter: and who's on the hook to pay? >> none of that is mexico paying for the wall. let's just be -- >> techni

tracie, good morning. >> reporter: hi, marlie, good morning. we heard from the president's attorney over the weekend making it clear, number one, that president trump will not be doing an interview in this michael cohen can forget getting a pardon from president trump after flipping working with the rn and now going to prison, saying that he broke all kinds of laws on behalf of the president, not to mention campaign finance violations that the president and his attorney insist were not illegal. >> it's not a crime! it's not a crime, george. paying $130,000 to stormy, whatever, and paying $100,000 to the other one is not a crime. the edwards case determines that. >> reporter: he's referring to former presidential candidate john edwards, who had a similar case. but here, president trump, through his attorney, paid $130,000 to one woman, $150,000 to another, to keep them from talking about alleged affairs that he denies. also, president trump over the weekend striking back on twitter, calling cohen a rat and calling the russia investigation a dmar

i'm marlie hall. >> and i'm phillip mena. medals of post-holiday travelers run the risk of being hit by severe weather. north dakota is expected to see between 12 and 18 inches of snow by friday. >> slippery roads in new mexico led to an accident involving at least 17 cars and a semi truck. more than 6 million people across 13 states are under winter weather advisories and warnings. we go to meteorologist bonnie schneider, who is tracking it all for us. good morning, bonnie. >> good morning, marlie and phillip. we're expecting major delays in places like minneapolis and even down through atlanta. some for snow, some for rain. if you're traveling on friday look for rain to really be a troublemaker for the east keft. major delays are expected from washington up to boston including new york city. so not the best travel day today and tomorrow. right now heavy snow is falling across the northern plains. strong thunderstorms to the south. we have severe weather in texas right now with frequent lightning and even tornado watches. co

marlie? >> kelly, thank you. >>> now to that alarming story involving lions at an animal conservation center in north carolina. officials say a 22-year-old woman was killed after a lion escaped from a locked space and attacked her. the woman, alexandra black, had been interning at the conservation center in burlington. she'd only been there two weeks and was cleaning a separate enclosure when the attack happened. the lion was then shot and killed, but it was already too late to save the young woman's life. now investigators are looking into how the lion escaped that enclosed area. >> as soon as he got out of the enclosure, he went straight to her. it's unfortunate the loss of life of a young lady. >> the center remains closed during the investigation. >>> this morning, growing outrage across the state of california against utility giant pg&e. right now, pacific gas and electric has to prove it did not cause any of the recent deadly wildfires or the state's attorney general says the company co

bonnierning, >> good morning, marlie and phillip. we're expecting mor delays in aces like minneapolis and even down through atlanta. some for snow, some for rain. if you're traveling on friday look for rain to really be a troublemaker for the east keft. major delays are expected from washington up to boston including new york city. so t not best travel day today and tomorrow. right now heavy snow is falling across the northern plains. strong thunderstorms to the south. we have severe weather in texas right now with frequent lightning and even tornado watche coming up in a few minutes i'll talk more about those severe storms. >> going to be toughetting out of mom and dad's at least for now. bonnie, thank you. >>> president trumpill be back in washington this morning after his first ever trip to an active combat zone. the president and fir lady melania trump made pit stop on the way toem home from iraq greeting troops in germany. he posed for photos and signed make america gre again caps for some service members. that series comes on t

i'm marlie hall. >> and i'm phillip mena. investors hing for a christmas miracle this morning after another brutal day on wall et st stocks plunged in their worst day of christmas eve tradinghe ever as s&p 500 officially slipped into bear market territory. theo dow a tanked, plummeting 653 points while the nasdaq didn't fare much better. the market meltdown coming in response to the turbulence in d.c. the shutdown showdown now entering day four with no end in sight. nbc's garrett haake has the latest as the administration tries to steady the ship. >> reporter: christmas eve, the stock market delivering instors a lump of coal. the market down more than 20% from its recent highs. experts say the turmoil in washington isn't helping. >> this has been something that the president has got to own because he has started a fight. he's basically continuing a trade war. he's getting into it with congress, leading to a shutdown. and he is threatening to fire the head of the federal reserve. >> reporter: treasury secretary steven mnuchin

i'm marlie hall. >> and i'm phillip mena. the death toll continues to rise from a disastrous tsunami in indonesia. at least 281 people are dead, and more than 1,000 injured as rescuers search for the missing. the islands decimated after under-sea landslides from the anak krakatau volcano triggered historic waves. and now the disaster management agency is warning of the possibility of another tsunami. we know the krakatoa tsunami struck indonesia at about 9:30 p.m. local time on saturday. it hit several coastal cities on the islands of java and sumatra during the peak of a local holiday there and sent waves crashing onto popular tourist resort not far from the capital. nbc's lucy kafanov has the very latest. >> reporter: this indonesian pop band was performing on the beach in western java when the tsunami wave suddenly hit without warning. sweeping away the stage and audience. in an emotional video message the lead singer says the bassist and manager both died. three other band members and his own wife still missing. the tsuna

i'm marlie hall. esident trump and the mueller investigation. new numbers from an nbc news/"wall street journal" poll reveals a majority of americans now believe president trump is not telling the truth when it comes to the russia investigation and 6 in 10 americans say president donald trump has been untruthful about the topic, saying the investigation has given them doubts about the presidency. the poll comes after new developments in the russia probe including the sentencing of trump's former personal attorney michael cohen. nbc's kelly o'donnell has more. >> reporter: as holiday host the president looked beyond looming controversies. >> we're going to have an incredible new year for our country most importantly. >> reporter: but his spirit , convicted felon and cooperating witness michael cohen a rat with a capital r. as trump's current attorney airg to discredit cohen. >> you've got a serial liar who taped his own client and lied about it and deceived him. >> reporter: cohen says candidate trump directed him to make illegal hush money payme

it's like this from alan carr who says she is so royalty she should be regarded her family like the marlies in jamaica are recognized for their national cultural contribution but he goes on to say something that you mentioned earlier about being a young voice he says i love so black man is a critical voice of a cast of young voices who now traditional clips of expressions and current global music trends with a global caribbean acetic further as a female she's in a lane of her own. so it's a weighty thing do you see yourself as that young boys who is mixing those two things where no one else's i definitely think so because i think the problem with the use it's a problem but it's actually not a problem at the same time is that we are looking for examples and the examples that we have. it's not necessarily we don't know how to recreate it we don't know how to make a brand new again we don't want to make it trendy like what is happening now and it's like we share the same thing over and over i was just tired of that i love so community and i'm just like why can't i hear something different why

at cucuta's general hospital, we meet marly, and she shows us the picture of her little boy smiling, in better times. this is is her little boy now, in a hospital bed, struggling to eat. so many families cannot afford the next meal. and tonight, a startling number. by one estimate, in 2017, the average venezuelan citizen lost around 24 pounds. and what the doctors tell us here is that though he looks malnourished, this is actually a sign of a boy coming back to life. >> it's hard to imagine that when this boy came here he was about 9 pounds, and now he's about 13 pounds. >> reporter: he is slowly getting better. and she knows what comes next. a return to venezuela, where there is no work, and an economy leaving families with no hope. she's got to go back. she has her son and her mom. and her family. when he gets better, they're going to go back. with no promise tonight that life back home will be any better. we just heard from that teacher, vanessa, after spending christmas with her family she's now en route to chile, uncertain if she'll find work. tom? >> matt, thank you. >>> there'

i'm marlie hall. >> and i'm phillip mena. as the government shutdown stretches into its fifth day, president trump isn't backing down from his demands for a border wall. on christmas, he vowed to keep 800,000 federal workers furloughed until he gets funding from congress. meanwhile, u.s. customs and border protection is ordering an extra medical check on every child in custody after the death of an 8-year-old guatemalan boy detained along the u.s.-mexico border. he is the second child to pass away in government custody this month. while nbc news hasn't independently verified the victim's name, in a statement, texas congressman joaquin castro identified the boy as philippe alonzo gomez. nbc's garrett haake has more on this story as well as the government shutdown. >> i want to wish everybody a really merry christmas. >> reporter: president trump started christmas morning making calls to american service members deployed around the orld. guam? >> reporter: but when the holiday cheer was over, he made it clear what's still at th

i'm marlie hall in for frances ri pra. >> and illip mena. so new insights this morning into wt americans think about president trump and the mueller investigation. new numbers from an nbc news/"wall street journal" poll reveals a majority of americans now believe president trump is not telling the truth when it comes to the russia investigation. and 6 in 10 americans say president donald trump has been untruthful about that topic, saying the investigation has given them doubts about the presidency. this report comes after new developments into the russia probe including michael cohen's sentencing. nbc's tracie potts joining us live from washington. good i hear rudy giuliani has ramped up his defense of the president over the weekend. >> he did. went on tour on the sunday shows defending president trump. first of all making c itar that michael cohen will not be getting a pardon, that theyn won't e be talking about that. also making it clear that president trump will not be doing an interview with mueller in this russia investigation. "over my

hey, marly! hey baby! i miss you. hey, baby. i miss you. >> you going to cry? you all right?iss you. >> i miss you too. >> hey! hey! >> reporter: back on the pier, sailors stepped back on land. ready to swap navy life for home life. and for one young couple -- >> it's so nerve wracking. i don't know what to do. >> reporter: a chance to start theirs. whoa! >> of course, of course. >> will you marry me? >>> kids and some of america's toughest neighborhoods, music is unlocking the door to a whole new world. >> reporter: growing up in baltimore, 16-year-old keith fleming had to make a choice. when did you realize that line before you were two paths, one that led to trouble and one that led to where you are today? >> um, kind of sort of like fifth grade. >> reporter: from there -- >> one, two, ready and -- sn >> reporter: he chose to be here. a year-round music program run for kids. run by the baltimore symphony orchestra. he started coming around age six. fleming was one of 30 kids when the program started ten years ago. today, it's 1300 with a year long waiting list. >> i stuck

expect this from alan carr who says she is so royalty she should be regarded her family like the marlies in jamaica are recognized for their national cultural contribution but he goes on to say something that you mentioned earlier about being a young voice he says i love so black man is a critical voice of a cast of young voices who now traditional clips of expressions and current global music trends with the global caribbean acetic further as a female she's in a lane of her own. so it's a weighty thing but do you see yourself as that young voice who is mixing those two things where no one else's i definitely think so because i think the problem with the use it's a problem but it's actually not a problem at the same time is that we are looking for examples and the examples that we have. it's not necessarily we don't know how to recreate it we don't know how to make a brand new again we don't know how to make it trendy like what is happening now and it's like the same thing over and over and over i was just tired of that i love so community and i'm just like why can't i hear something dif

i'm marlie hall in for frances ri pra. >> and i

marly a -- primarily a rich civil war. the social g at science research which seems to is a -- an hat it privilege, vative, highly educated conservative and privileged highly educated than population is in a more -- he calls it an in the d majority middle, and that's not his term, that's coming from the study he reading. it is really an elite fight and ot a populist fight. >> i would argue that is exactly the truth of that which has populist rise a moment. is that for the vast majority of look at the i election of 2012, i think that could argue, with some -- as to which elite was best. midst of that you have donald trump and bernie sanders views.kes different i'm not interested as my primary hing as this battle between privileged academic liberals and privileged business-oriented conservatives. interested in dealing with real people. so the very fact that you had most people nt to culture war going on by people educated wealthy elite is rise to the populist moment. >> any time in history, even in democratic nations, only a