nichole: and we're following this breaking news. patriots tight end rob gronkowski out for weeks and set to undergo back surgery ed: right now, police identify the suspected bank robber, who held several people hostage inside of a jacksonville credit union today. deandre shuman is now in police custody. an initialall 911 cported a bank robbery. a second call indicated someone turned out not to be true.t 11 hostages were eventually freed after a two-hour standoff. series of deadly tornadoes and wildfires swept through several states. nichole: right now the worst is over, but the damage has been done. many returning to their homes to find nothing left. reporter: the view from the air, showing piles of debris and wood, all across this wood, all across this neighborhood, once home to families in alabama. >> we were all holding onto each other crouched down on the floor dear god please let me live througis. reporter: this, is all that's left of a daycare, and the town of rosalie, hit hard, so many homes and businesses here, leveled. in m

nichole: thank you. also breaking, rob on crusty will have back surgery tomorrow and if he makes it back at all, he won't like this. it probably will not be until the super bowl. he has a herniated disc and this will be his third back procedure of people watchg that very clos what a spectacular start to december. harvey: you can hardly write a tter script if you like it mild. i would will back a little bit. it is windy out there. its, windchill in the -- in worcester it is, in pittsburgh iis. an estimate you feel festive. this is the way boston shapes up during the overnight hours, dips into the upper 30's and the rest of the area will be in the 30's. we will talk about a cooling trend, coming up in a fe minutes. ben: the cleanup underway section. some businesses reopened after being forced to close it yesterday. newscenter 5's sera congi in the neighborhood today. sera: they are reopening this morning after a massive water main break. the owner had to shut down yesterday, but luckily, he does not store

nichole: thank you. also breaking, rob on crusty will have back surgery tomorrow and if he makes it back at all, he won't like this. it probably will not be until the super bowl. he has a herniated disc and this will be his third back procedure

. >> i am nichole berlie. mike linch is here with new details. reporter: all right, nichole. good evening, everyone. they released a joint statement earlier this evening "we do not expect he will play for the remainder of the 2016 season, results." the statement reads after a hit early in the jets' game, rob began to experience significant ck and leg pain andorced him to leave the game and he did not return. the help of the medical staff along with a consultation, it rob's est-long term inteest to undergo srg tro address the lower back in vir. kes place tomorrow in los angeles. >> it doesn't help to loses a to not have gronk out there as the best players not in the line-umakes things challenging for us. that is wh the nfl season is. is about overcoming challenges and adversity. we have a lot of good player on theeam that will step in to fill the void and a big voided left by gronk. reporter: now brady and the conversation with gronk coming maria: john at walt is getting answers. john is live pin foxboro. john: nichole, doctors say those operationscould make this third surgery

nichole: and i'm nichole berlie. the wet weather is going to impact your morning commute. storm team 5's mike wankum is here with the timeline. meteorologist: look at this line of showers we have. if you are worried about ice, you got to go up to the white mountains. this is rain everywhere. most of it focusing north of the mass pike, then as you widen out the view, out to the west, more we're seeing heavy downpours. the way the map looked at midnight, 1:00 or 3:00 in the morning. we have the downpours. don't be surprised overnight tonight. by 4:00 a.m., still raining for you early morning commuters, then look at what that means. by the time we get to 8:00 or 9:00, almost done with the rain. we talk about the sunshine that ed: thank you. breaking news, a teenager charged with murdering his mother inside their brockton home. investigars are back inside right now looking for clues. newscenter 5's shaun chaiyabhat is live at the scene shaun: police have just arrested that son, 18-year-old frantz polynice. for killing his mother in their home. minutes ago, crime scene investig

. >> brian: nichole vrsansky shows new technology out there helping northeast ohio doctors reach even more people very quick and effective, and they could be saving lives. >> nichole: when a stroke happens, the brain is robbed of oxygen. the faster victims are treated, usually the less damage done. >> be aggressive and quick. the concept of time for the brain. room in akron or barberton in an instant. >> with the robot, 24/7 i'm there as fast as i can be here. >> nichole: it's mapped like face time to the extreme. she will conduct realtime picture recognition and speech exams and zoom into a patient's eyes. there's take stethoscope to monito access to the doctor can see a clock, monitors, how other doctors are responding. >> quite often what i see is totally different than what other people see. >> nichole: there's a significant shortage of neurologists right now, and telemedicine is the growing trend to expand that specialized care. >> this is a big world with lots of patients and a lot of hospitals. many hospitals in the united states don't have the access to >> nichole: the doctor

last night cardinal nichols spoke of similar issues. trump says he intends to close his charitable foundation to avoid any conflict of interest with his presidency. the trump foundation is currently being investigated by new york's attorney general, to establish whether it supported a republican political campaign in florida in 2013. the us journalist lynn sweet says it's a complicated situation.

nichols men were behind us rock shelves. stuart's brigade held the trenches on the reverse side of the earth works. lee's plans for july 3, at least on paper, were essentially the same as july 2. the general plan was unchanged. long street was ordered to attack the next morning. long street was out of position, we won't delve into that too much. he was starting his own flank maneuver. at dawn on july 3, ewell had doubled the size of the brigade. unfortunately for richard ewell, the union line had also doubled in size. lee's execution of his plan could not be farther than what was intended. by morning, long streak is starting his flanking maneuver. ewell reinforced culp's hill with smith's brigade and o'neill brigade. little consideration seems to be made against making a direct assault against the baltimore pike. the attack will continue as a frontal assault against culp's hill and coordination with all assaults in the other parts of the field. it will go out the window. general daniels as he arrived to reinforce the line, h

private nichols, i am much obliged to you. private nichols: your hat, sir. i found it at the bottom of the hill. abraham lincoln: it is properly ventilated for these hot summer months. likely some fellow returning from a day's hunt discharged his gun in a precautionary measure of safety before bringing it into his home. i assure you i am in greater danger from a rumor of snipers than i am from your silence in this affair. i would ask that you tell no one of this adventure. private nichols: sir, i. abraham lincoln: i will be doubly obliged to you. private nichols: yes, sir. tom hanks: that is abraham lincoln. the self-educated statesman who has abolished slavery and will go on to end the war and save the union. yet, during his 4 years and 41 days in office, the intensity of the hatred leveled toward him, even by members of his own party, is extreme, even by today's standards. but while the killing of abraham lincoln serves to sanctify him, to transform a controversial president into a dearly beloved martyr, it also serves to pervert the truth about his killer

last night, catholic leader cardinal vincent nichols spoke of similar issues. the american president—elect donald trump says he intends to close his charitable foundation, to avoid any conflict of interest with his presidency. the trump foundation is currently being investigated by new york's attorney general, to establish whether it supported a republican political campaign in florida in 2013. lynn sweet is a journalist for the chicago sun times. at the bottom line here is that donald trump does not give any of his own money to the foundation. he has not given any of his own money between 2009 and 2014, so at the heart of this is a foundation that goes to other people to ask for money. then there is another set of controversies and this is what the attorney general in new york is looking at, is whether or not there is self dealing. you're not supposed to use

cardinal vincent nichols began his sermon by quoting the poet wb yeats, referring to a turbulent yearfearing that things may fall apart, that the centre cannot hold. the last six months in particular has seen a widespread anxiety and uncertainty at many levels, at life in this country and in those major partnerships and neighbours that we have. so, with europe, with america, with the middle east, financially, economically. it's an unsettling time. # oh, come, let us adore him. the archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, who, like last year, will deliver his christmas message later this morning, will also address the division and uncertainty that's marked global politics. cardinal nichols said the answer to our insecurity was neither materialism nor the pursuit of selfish interest, but rather a renewed focus on the life of christ. cardinal nichols concluded his midnight sermon by emphasising the fact of christ's birth, which he said was marked in time, recorded in the gospels and celebrated today. let us return to the sad news that a russian military plane has crashed into the black se

we begin tonight with nbc's hans nichols. >> reporter: tonight, president-elect trump, tweeting more praise for vladimir putin. after putin's unexpected move not to expel any u.s. diplomats r putin, holding fire after president obama ordered 35 suspected spies out of america and sanctioned top russian officials for hacks aimed at influencing the election. putin writing, we will not create any problems for u.s. diplomats, but insisting that we are keeping the right to retaliate. >> trump's response, great move on delay by v. putin. i always knew he was very smart. putin's decision, surprising administration officials and coming just moments after his own foreign minister publicly called for american diplomats to be kicked out. but the former kgb colonel, instead, personally inviting the diplomats' children to a new year's eve celebration. nbc's lucy kafanov is in moscow. >> reporter: the holiday parties that the american children were invited to will take place behind me at the kremlin palace. the move comes as putin's spokesman seemed to dismiss president obama's actions, saying, in

cardinal vincent nichols began his sermon by quoting the poet wb yeats, referring to a turbulent year things may fall apart, that the centre can't hold. the last six months in particular has seen widespread anxiety and uncertainty at many levels, at life in this country and in those major partnerships and neighbours that we have. so with europe, with america, with the middle east, financially, economically. it's an unsettling time. the archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, who, like last year, will deliver his christmas message later this morning, will also address the division and uncertainty that's marked global politics. cardinal nichols said the answer to our insecurity was neither materialism nor the pursuit of selfish interest, but rather a renewed focus on the life of christ. cardinal nichols concluded his midnight sermon by emphasising the fact of christ's birth, which he said was marked in time, recorded in the gospels and celebrated today. the american president—elect donald trump says he intends to close his charitable foundation to avoid any conflict of interest with his

that's a nichols: great question.wilson scholars are split on how cared about the bolshevik revolution and there has been subsequent wave after wave of scholarship on that question. my view is he did not care that much about it, particularly, the question is the timing, declarations coming out with the new soviet state, lenin in late pain -- in late 1917 in direct response, and lloyd george also gives a speech. to what extent is wilson directly responding, how far do we want to go with that. but the essence of your point, i think it's a really good one. the ramifications of people civic revolution about u.s. -- of the bolshevik revolution about the u.s. role in the world is a norm us and the war itself is a piece of that. in argument i made elsewhere, if you think about the global dynamics of world war i, one of the consequences is that russia becomes a communist state. so, world war i is a crucible moment to think about what happens in europe and what happens with russia is an honestly significant. another way to thi

hunts nichols, nbc news, minnesota. >>> tonight carrie fisher remains in intensive care at a los angelesospital one day after the "star wars" actress suffered a heart attack on board a flight from london. her family rushed to her side. there's been an outpouring of support from friends and fans and former co-stars. among them han solo himself. harrison ford in a statement to "the hollywood reporter" writes "i'm shocked and saddened to hear the news about my dear friend. our thoughts are with carrie, her family, and friends." >>> exploding e cigarettes. new scares caught on camera as more and more people start vaping. growing concerns about safety. >>> in california, it began with a bus passenger rushed to the hospital after an e cigarette exploded in his pocket. investigators suspect a lithium-ion battery used to power the device is to blame. some lawmakers are talking about the possibility of a recall. we have the details from gadi schwartz. >> reporter: a terrifying bus ride in fresno, california as a passenger on the right's e cigarette explodes in his pocket. it's the latest case of

hans nichols remains in berlin for us and has the latest on the manhunt. >> reporter: this is the face plastered across germany. tonight, anis amri, a 23-year-old tunisian national called armed and violent, associated with islamic terror networks. police say his i.d. papers were in the cab of the truck that barrelled through a crowded christmas market at 40 miles per hour. now, we're learning his trail across germany was a possible tale of missed opportunities. amri arrived in germany in july 2015 at one point living in this home for refugees in the southwest. his asylum application rejected back in june. he was suspected of plotting an attack. even put under surveillance for months. scheduled to be deported in july, but it never happened. because he didn't have a valid passport. and in august, he was reportedly arrested, but then released by a judge after presenting fake documents, and then disappeared. >> the ability for law enforcement and the intelligence agencies to identify every single person who poses a threat -- it's impossible to do. >> reporter: still at berlin's police head

nbc's hans nichols explains. >> reporter: for president-elect trump, a sneak announcement. >> we are going to appoint "mad dog" mattis as our secretary of defense. >> reporter: 41 years as a marine, retired general james mattis served tours in iraq and afghanistan, earning four stars and a reputation for blunt talk. winning the adoration of his marines with battlefield bravado and lines like, be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet. like the new national security adviser michael flynn, mattis another general forced out by the obama administration. in his case, for his hawkish views on iran. but he's opposed to shredding the iran nuclear deal, at odds with trump. >> there's no going back, absent a real violation. >> reporter: never married, he's also known as the warrior monk, with books in his bag and weapons on his wall. >> number one, he is the ultimate, combat, war-fighting marine. second, he's also an intellectual. he's deeply read. >> reporter: but his candid talk, sometimes catching him in political crossfire. >> you go to afghanistan, you got guy

hans nichols, nbc news. >>> now to the other shocking attack we're following tonight in turkey where russia's ambassador was assassinated as cameras rolled. there are questions tonight about how vladimir putin will respond. our chief foreign correspondent, richard engel is in turkey. we want to warn you, the images in this story are disturbing. >> reporter: the russian ambassador was speaking at a photography exhibit and never saw his killer. that's him standing calmly behind the ambassador moments before he shot him in the back. with the ambassador down, the killer shouted in arabic and then turkish. we are those who swore loyalty to muhammad and the jihad, he said, as journalists tried to hide, including hassam. >> first he shot two or three times up, and then she shot directly to ambassador. i hide myself behind a table. >> reporter: the assassin was an off-duty turkish policeman. witnesses say he used his badge to get into the russian-sponsored event. the gunman said this was revenge for russia's participation in attacks on aleppo, where evacuations of civilians continue tonight.

hans nichols has been reporting on the nomination of james mattis. hans, he's been called mad dog on one hand. the warrior monk on the other. how do you square not only those nicknames but the reverence some have for mattis, versus this incident in afghanistan, what, some 15 years ago? >> well, on the two nicknames, he prefers warrior monk. a man married own tee to the marine corps, traveled with some 6,000 volumes to these various postings. in some ways, a lot of the love, the adoration his marines have for him is because he gives these hot comments and he has a great battlefield bravado about him. sound bites like be nice, be polite, but be prepared to kill 15 years ago? >> so, this is an algaze, and it's just an allegation that never merited a formal investigation by the military. here are the facts of the allegation or i shouldn't say facts. here is the outline of the allegation by a former green beret who wrote a 2011 "new york times" best seller and the incident was included in there. he says that when green beret and army special forces came u

nichols and 15 passengers were killed back in july when his balloon hit power lines, then plunged to the ground. >>> federal investigators now ruling out arson as well as a faulty refrigerator for last week's deadly fire in oakland, california. they say they're still looking, though, at electrical systems as a potential cause. 36 people were killed during a late night dance party, the warehouse tragedy where artists were living illegally was the nations deadliest structure fire in 13 years. >>> i'm gregg jarrett, now back to "forbes on fox." >>> dire reports this week from hospital and insurer groups on a republican plan to delay replacing obamacare, but, steve, you say the remedy is just to get rid of all the middle men, insurers and the government, and make the patient the customer again. explain. >> sure. david, whenever we have real free markets scars tease turn into abundance, prices come down. why not with healthcare, you see it with lace sick surgery for the eyes, you see is in cosmetic surgery. how about having hospitals post prices for all these products and services. how ab

>> hans nichols in berlin for us tonight. >>> after four years of bloody fighting, syrian government forces claim they are now in total control of the city of aleppo. they say the evacuation of the former rebel stronghold in east aleppo is now complete. a major blow to forces who oppose the dictatorship of president barb ag al assad. here in in country with the long holiday weekend about to begin, we are in the busiest days of the travel season. this year, a record 103 million of us are expected to head out to celebrate with family and friends. for many, the weather may be a big factor. we'll hear more about that in a moment. but first, nbc's tom costello on the mad dash to the holidays. >> reporter: from coast to coast, a record-setting travel season, with today and tomorrow the busiest. lax today was in recovery mode after suspicious packages delayed passengers and planes for hours wednesday. >> expect large crowds. again, crowded planes, crowded terminals and crowded roadways. >> reporter: nationwide six million people are flying this season, the busiest airports -- atlanta, chica

>> hans nichols in berlin tooth, thank you. rising from the massive explosion at a fireworks market in mexico. the search continues for several still missing after the powerful blasts reduced the market to rubble. some survivors have now been transported to the u.s. for treatment. and tonight, our kerry sanders brings new images of the devastation. >> the initial explosion came without warning. witnesses say the first fireworks set off a chain reaction. in all, at least six major blasts that leveled the san pablito outdoor flea market, today with a view from a drone, an area the size of four football fields decimated this is what it looked like when open for business, before and now after. the fireworks flea market, the largest in the country crowded this time of year as families were buying for holiday celebrations. that always include pyrotechnics. 12-year-old boy said he could feel the vibrations through his body as wounded victims ran to safety. with the death toll rising, families now handing out posters of the missing. pr

we get more from nbc's chance nichols. >>> dozens of russian officials boarding government planes.orced to leave the u.s. by midnight tonight. the retaliation for cyber attacks allegedly directed by moscow. now american authorities rushing to protect the national electric grid. russian malware found on a laptop at burlington electric. a utility with fewer than 2,000 customers. perhaps a target because of the size. >> that's the beauty of choosing a small utility. number one, it will have very limited security infrastructure. it's tied into the grid system. >> reporter: the utility said it uncovered the virus before it could infect computers controlling the grid. we took immediate action to isolate the laptop and alerted federal officials of this finding. vermont's governor pointing the finger at the leader of russia. americans should be both alarmed and outraged that one of the world's leading thugs, vladmir putin, has been attempting to hack our electric grid. the discovery of the hack came after the department of homeland security on thursday warned operators of critical infrastr

>> hans nichols in berlin for us. thank you. >>> we want to turn now to details in the shocking assassination caught on camera. investigators believe the man who gunned down the russian ambassador to turkey did not act alone. tonight we're getting our first look at striking new images on -- of the moment of attack. we get more on that from nbc's richard engel. >> reporter: new video shows the russian ambassador to turkey's assassination was slow and methodical. watch the killer in the suit nonchalantly taking a position behind the ambassador. he eases his hand into his jacket, then fires. the ambassador's remains were repatriated to moscow today. his widow, in profound grief, as a team of russian investigators arrived at the scene. a turkish security official said today, the hit was too professional to have been carried out without help. some in turkey and online went in for conspiracies, blaming the cia. and that anger may have been what inspired this older man to grab a shotgun late last night and fire rounds into t

we get more from nbc's hans nichols. >>> anis amri's four-day run from the law came to an end in italy around 3:00 a.m., when he was stopped by two officers conducted routine i.d. checks. they asked him to empty his backpack. he pulled out a gun, yelling police bastards and began shooting. police returning fire. one officer was wounded. the bullet going through his uniform. amri was killed by a rookie officer just nine months on the job. police say amri was carrying several hundred euros, but no cell phone. he arrived here in the dead of the night, was confronted by police, responded in italian, and about 40 yards down there, met his end. now questions growing over how europe's most wanted terrorist was able to cross multiple borders undetected. it was around 8:00 p.m. monday when authorities say amri was behind the wheel of the tractor trailer that plowed through a crowded berlin christmas market. he then got a jump on german police who took 24 hours to discover his i.d. card in the truck's cab. amri was able to make his way from germany to france, ended up in a french town. by 9:00 p

>> hans nichols in berlin tonight. -- italy tonight. thank you. >>> terrifying moments in the sky over libya, when two hijackers seized control of a plane with 118 people on board. the hijackers reportedly supporters of late libyan leader moammar gadhafi forced the flight to divert and the lapped in malta. they asked for political asylum and threatened to blow up the plane, but after a stand-off, they released all the hostages and surrendered. >>> switching gears on this eve of christmas eve, a very busy day on the roads and in the skies as millions race to get home for the holidays. [000:09:58;00] as we take a look at what they call the misery map. not a whole lot of misery there. a lot of green on the map. meaning that things are smooth sailing at most airports across the country. one of the things that's helping that is the weather. meteorologist jan -- janice huff is monitoring all of that. a lot of folks hoping for a white christmas. do we have that anywhere? >> yes, of course, there will be a white christmas for a lot of the west,

>> hans nichols at the pentagon for us. you'll be waiting and watching.ckly changing his tune on president obama just hours after firing off this tweet where he slammed the president and insinuated the transition may not be so smooth after all. late yesterday the president-elect had nothing but praise for his predecessor. >> he called me. we had a very, very good talk about general things. he was in hawaii. it was a very, very nice call. and i actually thought we covered a lot of territory. a lot of good territory. >> joining me now is charlie sykes, veteran conservative radio host and msnbc contributor, and karen, national political correspondent. thanks for being here. karen, to you out of the gates, give us a sense. now, within the last 24 hours, you've got this just remarkable exchange between john kerry, this administration, and the israeli prime minister, and donald trump involved. you've also got the dispute between -- over russia where you've got this administration and vladimir putin and donald trump weighing in on that as well. this is a real cl

>> hans nichols, thanks for that update. appreciate it. part of the russian response involved mockery of the outgoing obama administration. one russian political leader comparing the administration to "political corpses." the russian embassy and the uk tweeting out a picture of a duck with the word lame in all caps written across it. today on msnbc meanwhile, gop congressman trent franks suggested if the russians committed theft and sabotage it was a public service for americans. >> the bottom line, if they succeeded, if russia succeeded in giving the american people information that was accurate then they merely did what the media should have done. >> top congressional republicans are signaling support for today's actions while also simultaneously attacking the obama administration. house speaker paul ryan describing today's steps as "overdue" same words by john mccain and lindsey graham who viewed to lead the effort in the new congress to imsuppose strongstrong er sanctions. asked about the sanctions last night during his press availabil

hans nichols is in tampa for us this afternoon. give us a preview. a lot to cover for the president. what are his main points, do we expect? >> reporter: well, kate, if there's one thing we know about president obama is that he believes in the power of words, the power of his own speeches to set policy. this will be an attempt to codify, to bottle the obama doctrine on counterterrorism. yes, there will be a thank you for the troops but look for three main troops. number one, the importance of partnering with local forces. all throughout these most recent campaigns in mosul and raqqah, administration officials at white house and pentagon have been at pains to say that the iraqi and syrian forces are leading. number two, aggressive special forces operations. this is a president who has not hesitated to pull the trigger, to take some risky shots. yes, we all know al qaeda is dead and bin laden is dead and general motors is alive but that's been internalized at the white house. the third and perhaps most trick qua for the president is an articulation of

thank you so much, hans nichols from down in tampa, florida. when we come back, other thn headlines from around the country, including the latest on that terrorist threat on the subway out in st. louis. >>> and "hardball" is coming up with the next stop on donald trump's thank you tour. we're going to be featuring that tonight, somewhat. and back after. this ♪ gaviscon is a proven heartburn remedy that gives you fast-acting, long-lasting relief. it immediately neutralizes acid and only gaviscon helps keep acid down for hours. for fast-acting, long-lasting relief, try doctor-recommended gaviscon. why pause a spontaneous moment? cialis for daily use treats ed and the urinary symptoms of bph. tell your doctor about your medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four

christine lagarde is speaking --h john nichols with nichols weight.s a wonderful moment, christine lagarde with her new tenure at the international monetary fund, really aggressive, women within finance and investment, and frankly within that world economy. tos a good comment to speak abby joseph cohen. i think of your tenure at the fed years ago, what was your first day like? abby: it was actually wonderful. ofas hired by the director research, who, during the recruitment process, specifically said to me i have three daughters. tom: that's a start. abby: i want to make sure women at drexel have every opportunity to succeed. it with madame lagarde and abby joseph cohen. the analysis of it is women not so much work harder, but work smarter towards that marginal effort to gain on wall street. are the women outdoing the men? -- toi have to do disagree with you. i think women work harder. they are also better prepared and we basically find women are succeeding most in categories measured.eeply whether it's investment research portfolio management, where t

hans nichols at the pentagon, ron allen at the white house. we'll check in with you as we get new developments on this story. >>> joining us now is trent franks, a republican congressman from arizona. he serves on the house armed services committee. congressman, thanks for joining us here. i want to get to the news of the day here. the president-elect when asked about these sanctions on russia said to reporters, we ought to get on with our lives. do you agree? >> well, i think it's important to keep in mind that the congress hasn't even been briefed on this at all. what we're hearing is information leaked from the intelligence community, primarily from the barack obama administration apparatus. and, so to come to these kind of conclusions at this point, i think, is a little premature to say the least. you'll have to forgive me for wondering why this president would complain that anybody was involved in some foreign election. this is the president that sent his own campaign team to israel to defeat benjamin netanyahu in his election. he's follo

nbc's hans nichols at the white house with more. hans, what more do we know? >> we know that the official diplomatic channels have been opened, according to the chinese side of this and the pentagon's version of events. the pentagon as follows. this is a clearly marked glider, which is to say an underwater weather monitoring drone. it was seized. a clear seizure. that is a big deal and in terms of the united states navy, what isn't a big deal and why we haven't heard that much coming back more recently is because it wasn't classified. so you have to weigh those two things. and a key question from both the white house and pentagon is the intent of the chinese. was this directed by beijing, or was this simply a reckless, careless act by what we have heard is an unprofessional move by potentially an unprofessional navy? if it was just carelessness, look for the diplomatic channels to soothe this out. if it's something more, you could see a bigger and more forceful response from the u.s. sheinelle? >> thank you, hands. juggling two big stories here. president obam

we start with pentagon correspondent hans nichols. first, mr. putin saying no american diplomats will be expelled from russia. remember our conversation here on air yesterday afternoon where the predominant thinking was that we would, in fact, see the same number of diplomats expelled. what happened? >> reporter: chris, that's what american officials were expecting. this is standard tit for tat retaliation. one expels some spies, one retaliates and sends theirs home. throwing a bit of a curve ball, surprising everyone and what he did in some ways was a set-up, the lead-upme. you saw him suggesting the 35 diplomats should be expelled so that this would happen at the last second and playing role of the benevolent president saying that this wasn't going to happen, even inviting children to the party. real quick, pictures in of a plane that russia is going to be sending. i believe these pictures are of a russian plane that will be leading towards washington, dc picking up these diplomats. i don't know if it will make a stop in san francisco but clea

nbc news pentagon correspondent hans nichols this morning. talk about the perception and the reality here because on its face, this looks bad. this looks like something that we should all be worried about. is that the case? >> i wouldn't go that far. it's been well telegraphed. they announced this in march and have three fully operational combat brigades. a strike, airborne, and tanks that will be stored in the netherlands. this is part in general, and nbc spoke to the general there. this is part and the intent is clear, it's about deterrence. >> this is about deterrence. and vowing retaliation. here's another part of what he said. >> an attack is unlikely but the best way to keep it unlikely is demonstrate the capability and demon vat tstrate the will and what this represents. >> more of an explanation, obviously, wasn't president obama. >> that was the general. he's the commander, the one that's deciding, not deciding but operationally in charge of this tank movement. >> we're also talking about overnight developments, if you will, in syria

ron allen, hans nichols, lucy kafanov, kelly o'donnell. we are joined by a democratic congressman from rhode island. thanks for being with us. >> my pleasure. good to be with you. >> one of your colleagues at the top of the show talked about tougher sanctions needed against russia than what's already put in place. talk to me about the conversations you have had with democrats in the house about the sanctions. >> the steps the president took are an important first step. we have to make it clear to the russians and anyone else interfering with the elections is something we won't tolerate. they are actions congress must take to make it clear we won't permit this and will hold them accountable. we need a bipartisan commission to do a full analysis of how it happened and take step to prevent it happening ever again. we need to impose sanctions on those responsible, ratchet up the sanctions, particularly economic sanctions. the president's action was an important first step. this is something we have to take seriously. it's not a republican or d

hans nichols is at the white house for us. we have what the president-elect is saying and what the current administration might be doing and reacting to this. as you well know here, and kelly o'donnell was alluding to that, this relationship is so careful, so delicate you cannot even use the word nation or country when alluding to the island of taiwan. >> delicate is an excellent way to put it. when you think the way the chinese behaved toward the white house, they are very concerned about optics. i recall when the dalai lama was visiting the personal residence here not officially the west wing. you remember issue with the runway. china is very sensitive. in general, we've seen china test the new american president this could be the case of the new american president before he's even president testing china. so far, it appears as though china is muted in their reaction. they lodged a foreign complaint. we heard the foreign minisr saying they didn't want to take this too seriously. they almost seem to be giving donald trump a b

. >> royal watcher and arthur katy nichol says the press may have been misled. >> i was at kensingtonace when they were being briefed about, and would mrins harry might he be returning or going to see meghan markel and prince harry wouldn't be making a detour and minutes before the tour came to an official close i understand journalists were being told that prince harry was to come back to london. >> prince harry was back at work today and, yep, he is still wearing that same beaded bracelet idennical to the one meghan wears. harry turned trader, brokering deals at a charity event and then played a life-sized game of operati operation. >> my sources are telling me that another trip is imminent and they will be going away together before christmas. >> maybe meghan markle is really the one. >> yo, brad pitt is trying to keep the world out of his business. he was back in court as he tries to stop the leaks of his personal information in his custody battle of angelina jolie. that angelina is airing this out to get brad's reputation dirty. do you have a comment on that? >> i will not make a

i want to start with hans nichols. we heard donald trump come out and announce his pick in a surprise moment in cincinnati where we were at last night. today, what are you hearing now from members not only of the military community but the national security community as well. if mattis is confirmed as secretary of defense this could make for an interesting dynamic on that side of things. >> his reputation especially in the marine corps is sterling. it's also a little bit irrelevant. the main issue is will he get votes in the senator for a waiver to the 1947 law. earlier today we heard from senator carden hinting he could not support it. senator gillibrand was the first to come out. it seems to me yes, mattis is a brilliant military strategist, the mad dog, the warrior, full of intellectual insights. it seems to me he would recognize he's at a tactical disadvantage on the battlefield of the united states senate. all the other votes require 50 for confirmation. changing the rules, getting the waiver is a 60-vote threshol