molly hunter brings us the latest >> reporter: for the second christmas ukrainians are spending the holidayunkered down as russian drone strikes continue to menace the capital. russian strikes are raining down on cities across the country sadir shmedur in odesa said, "i woke up my daughter and we went to the corridor. the window flew right over there the house burned down completely." the fierce winter conditions already entrenched as russia hits critical infrastructure like last christmas millions across the country struggle to meet basic needs and troops on the icy battlefield remain stalled. the attention in western capitals president volodymyr zelenskyy commanded in 2022 has given way to budget concerns and political infighting in 2023. zelenskyy swept into washington earlier this month in a bid to secure a pledge for more aid but returned home empty-handed. despite president biden's support, congress has kicked any vote on an estimated $64 billion in aid into the new year and republicans have tied it to domestic immigration policies >> putin is banking on the united states failing to d

i want to bring back nbc news foreign correspondent molly hunter. so we know from police there has been a shooting at charles university at the faculty of arts. it appears they have been very vague about the exact specificity of the location of the shooting. they have said the entire area is locked down. we actually did just get some new information from the spokesperson for the emergency services who was just told nbc about 30 wounded. dozens injured, several dead. the shooter has also been eliminated and now emergency services are saying 30 wounded. that is giving us a sense of the scale of the scope of this shooting. we know when police first responded, that went on twitter, now x, saying they were responding to a shooting. they were locking down the entire area. they were urging anyone in this area to stay inside, that picture showing the barricaded classroom is showing students inside. this is the week before christmas. charles university is smack dab in the middle of prague in the old town. 46,000 students, but i'm not sure, and we have been t

molly hunter reports >> reporter: tonight a radical step of inclusion. pope francis giving his permission for catholic priests to bless same-sex couples, a change of perception if not doctrine and reflective of francis's own more pastoral vision. >> pope francis deals in big picture, broad brush. he sends a broad message. >> reporter: the new declaration is a landmark step signaling the church's welcoming of the lgbtq community. but the document signed by pope francis stresses that the blessing of same-sex couples is not the same as a marriage sacrament in the eyes of the church. >> i'm sure many people won't be satisfied with this. they would think that anything short of marriage, anything short of equality is offensive. on the other hand, some people see this as an incremental step >> reporter: the u.s. conference of catholic bishops said in a statement, "each of us needs god's healing love and mercy in our lives. >> it's an overdue decision but i'm glad that it's been made. >> i think that's a great step forward i think that's wonderful news, to be ho

today, the israeli military says they have killed 2,000 hamas fighters just this month lester >> molly hunter, thank you. >>> for one american family with deep roots in gaza, the war is hitting home especially hard, as they deal with staggering loss and an uncertain future stephanie gosk has that story >> reporter: on a suburban street in new jersey, the pain of a war thousands of miles away is unmistakable tell me about esma >> esma, she's a beautiful young lady excuse me. young mother raising two kids she was -- the kids are orphans. i'm sorry. >> reporter: he has lived in the u.s. for nearly 30 years, but he was born and raised in gaza. on monday, the idf bombed his hometown. he says this is video of the aftermath >> they hit the neighbor's house next to my father's house and the walls jumped and esma just collapsed. >> reporter: dozens of extended family members, he says, including esma, were in the building. is that an area where they thought they would be safe? >> yes because we had never been bombed by any war before. >> reporter: now he believes that many are still buried under the ru

our molly hunter has more. >> reporter: for the second christmas, ukrainians are spending the holiday hunkered down as russian drone strikes continue to menace the capital russian strikes are raining down on cities across the country this man in odesa says i woke up my daughter and we went to the corridor. >>> the house burned down completely the fierce winter conditions already entrenched as russia hits critical infrastructure like last christmas. millions across the country struggle to meet basic needs, and troops on the icy battlefield remain stalled the attention in western capitals, president volodymyr zelenskyy comm zelenskyy commanded in 2022 gave way to political fighting in 2023 despite president biden's support, congress has kicked any vote on a stin estimated $64 bio in aid to the new year and republicans have tied it to domestic immigration policies. >> putin is banking on the united states failing to deliver to ukraine we must prove him wrong. >> reporter: ukraine is running low on western weapons and soldiers in the new year, analysts expect that ukraine will likely ramp

lgbtq marriage, many in the community are praising the step saying it's been a long time coming molly huntereports >> reporter: a radical step of inclusion many hope francis giving his permission for catholic priests to bless same-sex couples, a change of perception if not doctrine and reflective of francis' own pastoral vision. >> he sends a broad message. >> reporter: the new declaration is a landmark step, signaling the church's welcoming of the lgbtq community, but the documents signed by pope francis industrie industri stresses that it is not the same as a marriage sacrament. >> i think some will say anything short of marriage, anything short of equality is offensive, and on the other hand, some people will see this as an incremental step >> reporter: a statement says each of us needs god's healing love and mercy in our lives. >> i think it's a great step forward. i think that's wonderful news. >> long overdue, you know, if jesus said love was love, then love is love, isn't it >> reporter: the door now open for so many who have not always felt welcome, thanks to an aging pope still pars

molly hunter looks behind that number to the impact on one family >> reporter: outside her family home in khan younis, nureen abudaqa cries out, where is my sister, she says my sister is here. my sister is here. where is my father where is my father, she asks again, but no one has the answer the agony of not knowing. hanan abudaqa, the woman in purple, her sister-in-law, calls her husband mohamed and son hassan the next day the body of hanan's son has been found, now 1 of an estimated 20,000 people killed in gaza since october 7th according to the government media office in hamas-controlled gaza. shrouded in a brown blanket, transported to the morgue, her hand never leaves his body inside the boy will be officially counted among the dead name, hassan mohamed abudaqa, the coroner writes, age, 14, location of death, at home, air strikes. gazan health officials take pictures with his name, his face too disfigured to show this nurse explains the condition of the body and s nurse abu ahme at nasser hospital explains the condition of the body and signs of injury from the bombing are fully ex

molly hunter, nbc news. >>> also breaking tonight, the release of ten americans detained in venezuela. in a prisoner exchange announced by the biden administration late today, but it is not without controversy. gabe gutierrez reports now from the white house. >> reporter: tonight, ten americans are on their way home, some expected to land soon in san antonio. among them six people the state department says were wrongly detained in venezuela. the biden administration striking a deal with the country's socialist government led by president nicolas maduro. >> we have no higher priority than the release of the detained and/or hostages, americans being held hostage. >> reporter: venezuela is also releasing 20 political prisoners and sending back a fugitive, leonard francis, better known as fat leonard was behind one of the worst bribery scandals in u.s. navy history and fled to venezuela last year before his sentencing. in return, the u.s. is releasing colombian businessman alex sab a maduro ally who is accused of bribery and money laundering. with negotiations in gaza ongoing and tense ta

molly hunter now with the latest. >> reporter: tonight, as israel intensifies its war against hamas, a new report hamas has rejected an israeli offer for a week-long cease fire in exchange for dozens of hostages, including remaining women and children, egyptian officials tell "the wall street journal." today hamas announcing they refuse to hold any talks about releasing hostages without a more permanent cease fire, something israel and the u.s. have said would be a surrender to hamas after it killed more than 1,200 people in its october 7th terror attack. >> there have been serious talks and negotiations over trying to get back into another pause and a hostage exchange. >> reporter: inside gaza, the air strikes in the southern city of rafah are relentless. why have you left us behind, this child says to his father. why, dad? why? acute hunger, reporting half a million people in gaza are starving. this week the w.h.o. delivered critical supplies to the overwhelmed hospital in the north. >> it's a somber shell of a hospital with people just waiting to die. >> reporter: also today the i

joining us now, nbc news foreign correspondent molly hunter. good morning. we know about this incident? >> good morning to you. and details are still coming in. this is absolutely an ongoing situation, according to police. i think we do have some live pictures of this scene. police say they are still evacuating students. so what we know from police is that this was a single shooter incident at charles university at the faculty of arts. charles university, one of the oldest, biggest in the czech republic, jose, smack dab in the midle of prague. we have been trying to get a real number the week before christmas how many students would have been on campus or in classes. but we do have new numbers as you just mentioned from the emergency service just in the last five minutes. we understand at least ten people have been killed, emergency services say, and nine seriously injured, five to six moderately injured and ten slightly injured. those numbers may still change, because we still understand that people may be hiding inside the university, they still need to ev

molly hunter, nbc news. >> our thanks to molly hunter for that reporting. >>> meanwhile, "the new york times" is reporting that russian president vladimir putin has been privately signaling since september that he is open to a ceasefire in ukraine that would freeze the fighting at the current boundary lines. kremlin spokesperson dmitry peskov told russian media on friday that putin is ready for negotiations, but only to achieve his goals in ukraine. joining us now one of the authors of that reporting, he is the moscow bureau chief for "the new york times." it was a must-read piece over the weekend, anton, thank you for joining us. tell us, if you would, more about the evolution in putin's thinking about his war aims where at first we know he wanted to topple kyiv and rout zelenskyy, force him out of the country or skill him and seize control of all of ukraine. he's had to dial that back because of the defeats he suffered on the battlefield. what might bring him to the negotiating table now? >> well, that's a great point, that his aims have changed throughou

molly hunter has more. >> for the second christmas, ukrainians are spending the holiday hunkered downrikes continue to menace the capital. russian strikes are raining down on cities across the country. he said i woke up my daughter and we went to the corridor. the window flew right over there, the house burnt down completely. the fierce winter conditions already entrenched as russia hits critical infrastructure like last christmas. millions across the country struggle to meet basic needs and troops on the icy battlefield remain stalled. the attention in western capitals president zelenskyy commanded in 2022 has given way to budget concerns and political infighting in 2023. zelenskyy swept into washington early this month in a bid to secure a pledge for more aid but returned home empty handed. despite president biden's support, congress has kicked any vote on an estimated $64 billion in aid into the new year and republicans have tied it to domestic immigration policies. >> putin is banking on the united states failing to deliver for ukraine. we must prove him wrong. >> ukraine is runni

molly hunter is following the latest developments for us. molly, investigators just released new details about the suspected gunman and the victims. what can you tell us now. >> reporter: there was just a press conference with the police, with the interior minister who walked us through a time line of events. how rare and unprecedented this is in the czech republic. we know from police that the shooter, a single shooter they say, a male 24-year-old student at charles university, and as you just showed our audience on a map, charles university one of the largest oldest university in prague, we can see in this video that our audience is looking at right now just how busy it might have been four days before christmas, 46,000 students normally go to this university, we're trying to figure out how many were on campus, certainly classes in session because police got on the scene within minutes after they learned of the shooting, they learned of the shooting at 2:59, they said police were on the scene within minutes. a s.w.a.t. team was on the scene

nbc news foreign correspondent molly hunter has more. >> reporter: stunning aerial images from southwestern, spewing searing hot lava from volcanic fissures. it comes after weeks of anticipation and earth-shaking seismic activity. icelandic officials saying the swarm brought on with a swarm of earthquakes monday night. the entire population of 4,000 people of grindavik evacuated as a precaution. it is the fourth volcanic eruption in two years and the largest so far with an initial fissure opening spanning three miles and lava shooting over some 300 feet into the air. >> it is fascinating to see nature in action. i just -- it is just like something from a movie. >> reporter: the icelandic coast guard surveying the area overnight is an effort to confirm the eruptions exact size and location. passengers at one of iceland's main airports just 16 miles away reacting. >> as soon as we know anything we will let you know. >> reporter: authorities have raised the country's aviation alert level because volcanic ash can pose a risk to engines on passenger planes, something that happened when another v

nbc's molly hunter has more on this. what is the latest, molly?nbelievable now. icelandic officials are saying the eruption at this time is not life threatening. the lava is moving away from population centers. they believe, though, it may last anywhere from a week to ten days and once that molten lava starts moving, it becomes impossible to stop. this morning, stunning aerial images from southwestern iceland, capturing a late night eruption, spewing searing hot lava from volcanic fissures. it comes after weeks of anticipation and earth shaking seismic activity. icelandic officials say the eruptions brought on by a swarm of earthquakes monday night beginning northeast of grindavik, a fishing village where a state of emergency was declared last month. the entire population evacuated as a precaution. it is at fourth volcanic eruption in two years and the largest so far, with an initial fissure opening spanning three miles and lava shooting over some 300 feet into the air. >> just fascinating to see just nature in action. i just -- it is just like so

nbc's molly hunter is following that story for us. just moments ago, molly, i understand the white house addressed the shooting. give us the latest as you know it. >> reporter: the white house did just address the shooting in a press conference. actually, let's go straight to that sound bite and i'll talk to you on the back end because it just came in. >> the president and the first lady are praying for the families who lost loved ones and everyone else who has been affected by this senseless act of violence. on behalf of the united states, we send our condolences and wish the survivors of this tragic event a speedy recovery. federal authorities are in touch with czech authorities as they investigate this incident, and we stand ready to provide additional support as needed. >> a mass shooting of this scale is very very rare in europe, very rare in central europe and unprecedented in the czech republic. it happened at charles university in the old town in central progress. very popular. there would have been a lot of tourists. one of th

nbc's molly hunter following this story for us.e we learning about the gunman at this hour? >> chris, as you mentioned, a very high death toll. that death toll, which police have just released in their police presser, that may not be final. they're really stressing this is an ongoing operation. in that press conference, we learned that the lone shooter according to police is a 24-year-old male, a charles university student. the shooting happened at charles university at the faculty of arts. chris, this is one of the biggest, oldest universities in prague. it is smack dab in the center of the city in the old town. police say he's from west of prague. the interior minister very importantly said there is no information this incident would be connected to international terrorism, but they are very clear, chris, that it was a premeditated violent attack, that he had planned this. chris. >> a lot of these images we're seeing hit close to home for us here in the u.s. unfortunately. we do see it. but how extraordinarily rare is a scene lik

nbc news foreign correspondent molly hunter has more. >> reporter: overnight as new israeli air strikesac herzog signaled readiness for a new deal. >> israel is ready for another humanitarian pause. >> reporter: intense discussions aimed at securing another pause in fighting to allow for hostages to be released and more aid to get into gaza are underway this morning. as the u.s. works to free more hostages, it also has new concerns this morning about the ripple effects from the war. america now leading an effort to protect the key red sea shipping route against threats from the iranian-backed houthi militias based in yemen, the threat so high that shipping companies have already diverted some $35 billion in cargo. while nearlylf 130 hostages remn captive in gaza, the palestinian islamic jihad militant group releasing new video of two israeli hostages, after hamas also released video earlier this week of three elderly hostages talking under duress. the man on the right is 80-year-old yuram metz;ñqhp &h(% >> you don't have confidence in prime minister's netanyahu's efforts? do you think i

molly hunter, nbc news >>> in russia, imprisoned opposition leader aleksej navalny has been found he is a kremlin critic and most prominent foe of vladimir putin. he is extremely isolated, more than a thousand miles away from moscow >>> and thousands of migrants spent christmas day continuing a long march through mexico. a caravan of people from central and south america are making the journey to the southern u.s. border the group is estimated around 6 thundersh thousand people and includes small children >>> an investigation is happening this morning in phoenix after three people died in a christmas eve shooting there. investigators believe the incident was a murder-suicide. two adult women were killed. the suspect, whom authorities believe died of a self-inflicted wound is the widower of a former county attorney who died last year from health complications >>> and now an update to a story we brought you last week the fbi confirms they are working with police in denver to investigate ongoing threats against colorado supreme court justices the court last week ruled that former presid

on this christmas morning, and it wouldn't be complete without a great christmas story. >> our molly hunterhey began. hey, molly. >> reporter: guys, good morning, and merry christmas from a part of the country known as the heart of england it's actually where many of today's modern christmas traditions took hold thanks to american author washington irving, and to learn more about old christmas, we retraced his christmas eve footsteps traveling back in time and first by carriage. take a look. ♪ traveling by carriage through the english countryside is just the beginning. >> come, molly come in. come in from the cold. >> reporter: my companion and guide, historian richard jones, and we are on our way to christmas eve 200 years ago. >> so this is the book that washington irving wrote about his experiences. >> reporter: old christmas is a collection of stories irving wrote after a visit to england one christmas back in the 1820s. >> the coach is stashed full of hampers. there's food, games. >> reporter: loaded with hampers >> and baskets, boxes of delicacies >> hairs hung by their ears by the si

>> all right, molly hunter for us there in london. , thank you. >>> also this morning negotiations are unfolding in the middle east to reach a new cease fire in israel's war against hamas and the potential release of more hostages in exchange for it. u.s. officials are taking a larger role in those talks. we're hearing from those families of the three hostages who were accidentally killed by israeli forces. nbc's hallie jackson is in tell avooef for us. hallie, good morning. >> reporter: hey, savannah. good morning to you. just this morning, hamas says it fired off another barrage of missiles toward tel aviv here. the first time we heard sirens in this area in more than a week. this is a city that has seen -- put pressure on the israeli government to get to some kind of a cease fire and get those hostages home. but a national security officials from the u.s. is appearing to temper expectations suggesting that a deal does not seem imminent at this point. that's as the defense secretary is in the region emphasizing the israeli need to pr

savannah >> molly hunter with the latest on the region. ay, molly, thank you >>> here at home, there's new fallout over the ruling by colorado supreme court disqualifying donald trump from the state's 2024 ballot. the justices who made it facing an immediate wave of online threats. nbc's garrett haake covers the trump campaign and joins us with the latest hey, garrett, good morning >> reporter: hey, hoda, good morning. this colorado court's conclusion that donald trump is in violation of the 14th amendment's prohibition agains insurrection and is no longer eligible to serve as president sent shock waves through the political world. but it's also the latest example of a presidential campaign now being waged in courtrooms, just as much as it is on the campaign trail. the legal ruling that could keep donald trump off colorado's primary ballot looming large on the campaign trail, with his republican rivals defending the man they hope to defeat. >> just because these liberal justices don't like him, they want to take him off the ballot. that's n

we begin with nbc's molly hunter on the eruption in iceland, spewing lava 300 feet into the air. what's happening, molly? >> yeah, of course iceland, no stranger to massive eruptions, but the pictures we have seen overnight like nothing we have seen before. they are just spectacular. very good news though, the morning after according to officials, right now, this is not life threatening. it started local time monday night on the south coast. about 25 miles from the capital. experts describe it as a balloon being blown up. we've been covering these earthquakes over the last couple of weeks. pressure has been building up underneath then the lava streams out with a lot of force. now overnight and some of these pictures will show that the lava fountains we saw, over 300 feet. experts say what happens the day after and what is normal in the volcanic activity, they are down to about 100 feet in the air. you see the hot lava flowing out of the earth, it is flowing up to 250,000 liters per second according to experts. now, the bad news though is that it's too early to tell where a lot of

molly hunter has been monitoring the developments and joins me now with more. y, this is so rare, a mass gun attack, rare in the czech republic, rare in europe. what do we know? >> extremely rare in central europe. there's a press conference going on right now. if i look down at my notes, i'm getting the latest from our producer at the press conference, outside of charles university right now. what we know from police in the last ten minutes, since it press conference started, as you mentioned, more than 15 people dead. attacker also dead. at least 24 people injured. police stress the numbers are not final. this is an ongoing operation. they are still evacuaing the university to try to ascertain the full damage. those numbers may change. what we know about the attacker, according to police in this press conference, it is a male, 24-year-old charles university student. police say his father was found dead earlier today. they say the bodies of the victims have not yet been identified. the interior minister, who is also at the press conference, has just said, there

nbc news correspondent molly hunter has the latest. >> reporter: this is an incredibly rare attack inat charles university, one of the oldest, largest universities in the country right in the middle of the capital in the old town. 46,000 student goes to this university normally. unclear how many would have been on campus four days before christmas. what is sure, is that the area around is populated as tourists would have packed at this hour. in a press conference police are telling mours about the attacker. it was a sole attacker, several hours ago. a 24-year-old male, charles university student. no direct motive has been given. now the police do say they believe it was a, quote, premeditated, violent attack. the operation, though, is still ongoing and as police and emergency services publish numbers, they stress that these numbers will likely change. this evacuation is still going on. police are still going door to door, going around the university with flashlights trying to make sure that anyone who was hunkering down or hiding because of the active shooter knows that it is safe to

nbc news foreign correspondent molly hunter has the latest. >> reporter: pictures are unbelievable.aying the eruption at this time is not life-threatening. moving away from population centers. it may last anywhere from a week to ten days and once that molten lava starts moving it becomes impossible to stop. stunning aerial images from southwestern iceland capturing a late-night eruption spewing searing hot lava. it comes after weeks of anticipation and earth quaking seismic activity. officials say the eruptions brought on by a swarm of earthquakes beginning monday night. beginning northeast in a fishing village where a state of emergency was declared last month. the entire population of 4,000 people evacuated as a precaution. it is the fourth volcanic eruption in two years and the largest so far, with an initial fissure opening spanning 3 miles and lava shooting over some 300 feet into the air. >> it is just fascinating to see just nature in action. i just -- it's just like something from a movie. >> reporter: the icelandic coast guard surveying the area overnight. in an effort to c

and so just say that the seizing power in a coup in 2021. molly's ministry hunter, oldest foreign troops out of the country. it's the end of the emission considered among the board display of the most dangerous german soldiers, a pulling out of money. often more than a decade. it all started back in 2013 of the militant islam is threatened, the copies will by my cool german troops arrived as part of it. and you training mission 1st to so modern soldiers how to defend the country against the separatists . and then as part of a un peacekeeping mission called, mino, smell overtime, more than $24000.00 demons, socials were deployed in money. the mission repeatedly extended by the board to talk at 1st they were huge majorities for continuing the mission to what's the end . however, skepticism include both in parliament and among the german public when bodies military over through the civilian government in 2021. germany's relations with the contact became increasingly from not least because the new rulers maintain strong ties to moscow and brought in russian mercenaries. in june, molly's gove

an end of this week if as part of the un mission in the country which was terminated after molly's ministry hunter, or the un peacekeepers out the last german. so it does have now arrived home in germany ending a decade long one, display a deployment to the west african country. so just want to see if the german defense minister bought us the story as they were on the, for the services, instead of money from the air base. in germany's lowest section, it shows the un mission demonte was created to help stabilize the country as a bathroom. did you, how this insurgency? but molly's ruling home wanted the mission gone. it's the end of the mission concert among the board, display of the most dangerous gym and soldiers, a pulling out of money. often more than a decade. it all started back in 2013 of the militant islam is threatened, the copies will by my cool german troops arrived as part of it. and you training mission 1st to so modern soldiers how to defend the country against separatists. and then as part of a un peacekeeping mission called mino, small all the time, more than $24000.00 german soldier

and molly was created to help stabilize the country as it babbled ag hondas insurgency. molly's ruling hunter demanded the missions to departure despite being in the grips of jihad, his violence and other crises. it's the end of admission. considerate among the board, display of the most dangerous german soldiers, a pulling out of money often more than a decade. it all started back in 2013 of the militant islam is threatened to accomplish little by my cool german troops arrived as part of it in you training mission. first to so modern soldiers how to defend the country against the separatists. and then as part of a un peacekeeping mission called mino, small overtime, more than $24000.00 german soldiers were deployed in money. the mission repeatedly extended by the board to stuck. at 1st they were huge majorities for continuing the mission to watch the end. however, skepticism, including both in parliament and among the german public when montes military over, through the civilian government in 2021. germany's relations with the contact became increasingly from not least because the new rulers

history. 310 peacekeepers killed in the span of a decade. molly's military hunter ordered the withdrawal of you in forces back in june. swift police have launched a manhattan for a shooter who killed 2 people and injured a 3rd in the country. sell the 36 year old suspect is believed to be on the run police upset of roadblocks. they are appealing to the public to come forward with any information they may have. the philippines has some ended china's ambassador over confrontations between ships in the south china sea. manila says chinese vessels blasted water cannons and several filipino boat st. costs the collision. beijing claims the philippines. china claims almost the entire south china sea in defiance of international rulings. a new draft agreement at the human climate conference and due by water is down possible action on limits and global warming. the text is not directly mentioned mentioned phasing out fossil fuels, and that appears to be the main stumbling block. the draft calls instead for reducing consumption of fossil fuels. and climate activists today stormed onto the stage to

>> molly hunter there for us.hank you. >>> we have a lot more to get to, including the ongoing crisis at the southern border. a historic surge in crossings. the daily record now set for three straight days. president biden addressing the situation during a phone call with mexico's president. nbc's guad venegas joins us from eagle pass, texas. >> reporter: good morning, sheinelle. processing centers are at three times their capacity, with thousands of migrants waiting in places like the field behind me, some of them telling me that food and water are hard to come by as the centers operate beyond their capacity. this morning, the crisis at the border reaching a breaking point. customs and border protection says it is a serious challenge to keep pace with the record surge of migrants arriving daily at the southern border. officials in cities like el paso, texas say they're feeling the crunch as some ports of entry remain shut down to handle the influx. >> border agents are doing everything they can to take care of th

molly hunter joins us with the latest good morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning to you this is awas victorious he alleged that journalists targeted him and his inner circle by gaining access to voice mails and used other unlawful methods causing him, quote, considerable distress there was evidence that mgm, that's the newspaper group, had engaged in unlawful news gathering, including phone hacking. the judge said it appeared harry's personal phone was targeted through 2004 through 2009 but harry was awarded $180,000 in damages today in a statement, the media group said they take full responsibility and apologize unreservedly harry was not present in court today, but his lawyer did speak outside the court reading a statement from the prince. he said, this case is not just about hacking. it is about a systemic practice of unlawful and appalling behavior followed by cover-ups and destruction of evidence, adding today's ruling is vindicating and affirming. i have been told that slaying dragons will get you burned. but it is a worthwhile price to pay. the mission continues. that is th

molly hunter has more. >> reporter: this morning, stunning aerial images from southwestern iceland, capturinging seismic activity. icelandic officials say the eruptions brought on by a swarm of earthquakes in grindavik. the entire area was evacuated as a precaution. it's the fourth volcanic eruption in two years and the largest so far, with the coast guard surveying the area overnight in an effort to confirm the eruption's exact size and location. passengers at one of iceland's main airports just 16 miles away reacting. authorities have raised the country's aviation alert level because volcanic ash can pose a risk to engines on passenger planes, something that happened when another volcano erupted in iceland back in 2010, creating an ash cloud that grounded air travel in europe for more than a week. now, officials are stressing vigilance and caution as the region waits on mother nature to run its course. >> nbc's molly hunter with that report. >>> coming up on "morning joe" -- >> he is a professor, researcher and thoracic surgeon. >> the work i do could change the world. >> it's all smoke and

molly hunter with that report.uring more humanitarian aid for gaza, nbc news white house correspondent monica alba. what are the conversations that are taking place between the white house and israel, monica? >> reporter: katty, this is something that really did start in earnest after the october 7th attacks. at that time, there was only one border crossing that was negotiated to be open, and that was rafah, which, of course, is the border between egypt and gaza. there was really just a trickle of trucks that started to go in in those initial days and weeks after intense international coordination. in the weeks to followed, starting with president biden's visit to tel-aviv, we understand there was this major push from the biden administration to ask for an additional border crossing, the one known as kerem shalom, to open so that aid could flow directly from israel into gaza. now, this was something that the israeli government was very much opposed to. they said they didn't want to do that at that time. it really r

molly hunter has all the details for us molly, good morning. >> reporter: craig, all the details.christmas will and kate and their three children attending the together at christmas carol service at westminster abbey. the princess of wales stunning in winter whites, hosting the service friday night and it was the first time for their youngest, five-year-old prince louis, the fourth in line to the throne, nearly always the center of attention. eye to eye with a nutcracker and blowing out his sister charlotte's candle william and kate's kids also posting christmas cards to children around the country. the theme this year, children and families a nod to kate's early education work the full concert is set to air on christmas eve. >> a heartfelt thank you to all those supporting the very youngest members of our society. >> over the weekend, the wales family also releasing their christmas photo, all in crisp white shirts, while king charles and queen camilla selected a coronation snap for their christmas card this week the new king opening up his beloved residence to the public, specifi

molly hunter joins us now with the very latest. good morning. >> good morning.atching closely and the drum beat around a possible new deal is growing as hamas says their leader is in cairo, egypt for possible peace talks. israel is open to a new deal that would likely include the release of hostages and sending more aid into gaza. but with nearly 130 hostages still captive in gaza, this couldn't come soon enough. >>> overnight, israeli president signalled readiness for a new deal. >> israel is ready for another humanitarian pause. >> reporter: intense discussions aimed at securing another pause in fighting to allow more hostages to be released and get aid to gaza is under way this morning. as the u.s. works to free more hostages, it also has new concerns this morning about the ripple effects from the war. america now leading an effort to protect the key red sea shipping route against threats from the iranian-backed houthi militias. shipping companies have already diverted $35 billion in cargo. while nearly 130 hostages remain captive in gaza, releasing new video

molly hunter joins us with the details. >> reporter: lee was a major star, a household name in southis morning that lee's manager reported him missing at 10:12 local time his manager then told police that lee left the house, and he left a note, which sounded like his will police tell nbc news they found lee in his car in the driver's side unconscious it was near a park in seoul, south korea. no cause of death has been given. no toxicology report yet the outpouring on social media as been immense. a lot of love and sympathy. >> you shared some of the details. but what else can you tell us around the circumstances behind his death. we know he was being investigated by police >> he was in the midst of a major illegal drug investigation. drug laws are very strict in south korea. his latest statement to police after questioning in october, and i think we have this to show our audience, he said i'm sorry to family who are suffering and enduring so much i am so painfully sorry to everyone this past weekend he sat through 19 hours of grueling questioning, a very tough few >>> now to an updat

. >> thank you to molly hunter for that. >>> that does it for me today, everybody. "deadline: white house" starts right now. ♪ ♪ >>> hi, everybody. it is 4:00 in new york. i'll ali velshi in for nicolle wallace. it does not take a fancy degree and legal procedure or any fluency in legalese to understand what's at the core of today's developments because usa it is is a simple question. should donald trump be treated like the rest of us or does his position as idol of the maga movement preclude him from something so silly as the law? you can guess the answer his lawyers are hoping for today, requesting a hearing in front of the full united states court of appeals in washington, d.c. specifically they are asking the court to narrow or throw out the gag order imposed on trump in the criminal case having to do with his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and they would like a hold on the order while an appeal is considered. you will remember trial judge tanya chutkan first imposed the restriction on trump in october, holding him to the same standards as

what, if any information he had to help hunter biden. molly for the unprecedented circumstances as we had to this election year. richard st. paul founder it st. paul and happy new year. >> thank you same to you. rich: we are just hours away from the end of 2023. what will the new year mean for his bank account? will preview the economy in 2024 coming up next. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey, jen. i need skin advice. sure. am i ready for retinol? neutrogena® retinol? yes! it evens skin tone, and smooths fine lines, with visible results in just one week. sounds like you've said that before. once or twice. neutrogena® retinol molly: welcome back to special edition of "fox news live." president biden wrapping up a caribbean vacation they had with a 2024 on the economy. voters are not sold on biden despite the white house is touting economic gains in 2023. lucas of tomlinson alive in st. croix traveling with the president more to you. >> finally heard from president biden since arriving here in st. here he is speaking to reporters when he left dinner last night. >> whit

hunter biden. howard: well, whether they have the votes remains to be seen. mollie reports that some white house officials are irritated with hunter's more aggressive approach because it shines a bright spotlight on his past addiction, his legal problems and questions about his father's involvement in his business. >> they might be saying that in part to put things on hunter when really this investigation is about joe biden. the people are interested in this story not because hunter biden to or james biden were taking money from foreign oligarchs. they want to understand what was the biden family miss business. millions of dollars through eight family members, dozens of shell companies was sent from communist chinese-affiliated groups. hunter biden referred the one as the spay chief of china, the energy chief of china. this guy actually had been convicted of bribing i think it was the like eight other presidents of other countries, so people want the know what was going on with this biden family business. nobody, and i doubt kevin or anybody else can even come up wi

mollie, sol, thank you both. hunterover-up play is part of a two prong defensive from team biden and in moments we are going to tell you what is really behind prosecutor jack smith's push for this accelerated trump trial. stay with us. ♪ >> we have to go immediately before the supreme court. this thing would have all been over with two years ago. they waited and waited. they saw i was running. they waited and they saw i was hot and they filed lawsuits. >> laura: well, trump hit the mailnail on the head. reason why jack smith is rushing to get a expedited rule from the supreme court whether trump has immunity for actions taken during his presidency about the outcome of the election. now, increasingly, the democrats believe that the only thing that can save them is a guilty verdict in smith's election interference case. and it's obvious why they are all freaking out. a new morning consult poll shows that trump is leading biden by significant margins in multiple swing states. arizona, georgia, michigan, north carolina, pen

mollie, sol, thank you both. hunter cover-up play is part of a two prong defensive from team biden and in moments we are going to tell you what is really behind prosecutor jack smith's push for this accelerated trump trial. stay with us. i'm jonathan lawson, here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85 and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three p's. what are the three p's? the three p's of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54. what's my price? you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price? also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80. what's my price? $9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the #1 most popular whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. options start at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is

," i'm kayleigh mcenany, with emily compagno and molly line, fox news contributor leslie marshall and american enterprise institute marc thiessen. hunter biden blamed maga republicans for targeting him and his family and he said his father was not financially involved in his business dealings. >> i'm here today to answer at a public hearing any legitimate questions chairman comer and house oversight committee may have for me. i'm here to make sure the house committee illegitimate investigation do not proceed on lies. for six years i've been the target of unrelenting trump attack machine shouting where's hunter. here is my answer, i am here. let me state as clearly as i can, my father was not financially involved in my business, not as a practicing lawyer, not as a board member of burisma, not in my partnership with a chinese businessman, nor in investments abroad and certainly not as an artist. when i was addicted, i was00 careless with my finances. there is no evidence to support the allegations that my father was financially involved in my business because it did not happen. republicans do not want an open process where americans can