peter alexander is in for lester holt on "nightly news" next. >>> tonight the hanukkah stabbing suspect charged with federal hate crimes. new clues what likel motivated the man that allegedly stormed into a rabbi's home and wounded five people with a machete and knife. the anti-semitic writing authorities found in his home as new details emerge about how worshippers fought back. >>> in texas, the shooter now identified after a deadly attack inside a church. what we know about the gunman and how his attack unfolded. as we speak to one of the church's volunteer security guards became a hero. >> i don't feel like i killed a human, i killed an evil. >>> tens of millions in the path of a dangerous winter storm. snow, sleet, wind and ice affecting a big part of the country. how it could impact your new year's ev and new year's day. >>> with the dramatic no vaccine, no schools. and why dozens of drones are swarming over colorado. >>> andour moving tribute to some of the legends we lost this past year. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt >>> good evening i'm peter alexande

i'm peter alexander.ll touching moments of being on the show so far. and welcome looking back the biggest thing that happened to me in 2019 was starting my own k show. because that is fair. they gave me a show. i was not exactly sure what to expect. i never have done a talk show before. i do like to talk a lot, but one thing that came as a bit of a surprise was how often guests make me cry. even for me it was shocking. sometimes straight out bawling, just watch. i am crying, it's fine. ♪ it is good. i am crying with you, i don't even know them. i it is beautiful, i can't stop crying. is fine. everything is fine. it is so beautiful. this was better in the space. i'm trying so hard to stop crying and get you out of here, but i could not. okay. i just need a minute. i'm not rachel mcadams. [laughter] once i connect with people, there is no fighting back the tears for me. and all our you will probably be fighting them back as well. a moment that totally caught me off guard. i was getting my first reading from

peter alexander, nbc news. >>> the u.s. and china today announcing a partial agreement to end the on going trade war as a result, president trump sayshd of tariffs set to take effect on sunday but this is just a first step 25% tariffs remain on a long list of chinese-made goods. >>> tonight, former first lady michelle obama is among those defending 16-year-old greta thunberg after president trump mocked her for being named "time magazine's" person of the year. >> cigarette the making a call for action in italy today. >> they will have to do their job and to protect our futures. >> reporter: the 16-year-old taking little time to savor being named time magazine's youngest ever person of the year president trump one of five finalists, bashing the decision tweeting greta must work on anger management problem and then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend, chill, greta, chill thunberg on the autism spectrum has been attacked by mr. trump before a flood of support for her followed including from michelle obama. don't let

lester >> all right, peter alexander in the white house. thank you. also this evening, bone chilling cold across the midwest and northeast, arctic air bringing the coldest temperatures of the season but a warm up on the way as millions get ready for holiday travel al roker is here al, what are you watching tonight >> good news, lester we're going to finally see a change in our pattern. so much of the eastern two-thirds of the country will see warmer weather out west, though, it's going to be stormy and cool in fact, for tomorrow morning we still have one more morning of brutally cold wind chills from 15 above in cleveland to 22 below in lake placid tomorrow afternoon the warmth starts to make its way up from the south. now, as far as travel, on sunday we have a mess, especially in the southeast. we're looking for airport delays that are going to stretch from jacksonville, atlanta, and miami and out west we've got another storm system coming in that's going to cause airport delays from seattle to save lester >> all right, al up next, terrifying moments

the president has indeed committed impeachable offenses and that's where we start with nbc's peter alexander. >> reporter: tonight house democrats leaning on history to make their case for impeaching president trump. >> if what we're talking about is not impeachable, then nothing is impeachable. >> reporter: inviting a panel of constitutional scholars to bolster their investigation. >> president trump has committed impeachable high crimes and misdemeanors by corruptly abusing the office of the presidency >> what has happened in the case today is something that i do not think we have ever seen before, a president who has doubled down on violating his oath to faithfully execute the laws >> reporter: three of the democrats' experts arguing the president's alleged misconduct pressuring ukraine's leader t investigate th rival, joe biden, is grounds for removal. the republicans' lone witness dismissing the democrats' case as wafer-thin >> i'm concerned about lowering impeachment standard furgency for action >> if we do not act to hold him in check now, president trump will almost certainly try aga

nbc's peter alexander with the reaction from his widow who also serves in congress >> reporter: tonight michigan democrat debbie dingell says she's deeply pained by the president's swipe during the rally last night directed at her late husband john dingell, a world war ii veteran and longest serving congressman in history. >> this was a hard holiday for me because it's my first without him. it just made me sad to play politics with the man that i loved >> reporter: dingell reacting to the president's suggestion her husband who passed away last february is in hell. a crack made while mocking his call with debbie dingell earlier this year where she thanked the president for lowering flags to half-staff >> thank you so much, sir. i said, that's okay, don't worry about it maybe he's looking up, i don't know [ laughter ] but let's assume he's looking down >> reporter: the jab sparking immediate bipartisan backlash, including from speaker nancy pelosi walking together with dingell hours before they voted for impeachment. >> what the president misunderstands is that cruelty is not wit >> we sa

nbc's peter alexander has the details. >> reporter: house speaker nancy pelosi wielding the power of her office in an effort to remove the president from his >> today i am asking our chairmen to proceed with articles of impeachment. >> reporter: pelosi echoing the words of the founding fathers, saying president trump's alleged wrongdoing strikes at the heart of the constitution. >> our democracy is what is at stake. the president leaves us no choice but to act.upt, once again, the election for his own benefit. >> three, two, one >> reporter: the president celebrating the season while counting down the days to his likely impeachment that could come before christmas. >> it's a hoax it's a hoax. it's a big, fat hoax. >> reporter: earlier defiantly challenging democrats to move quickly, tweeting, if you're going to impeach me, do it now fast so we can have a fair trial in the senate and so that our country can get back to business the white house is aggressively gearing up for an impeachment trial early next year in the republican-controlled senate with the president and his allies are c

i'm peter alexander.mpic games, the nhl, the indianapolis 500, the premier league, and prime time's number one show, "sunday night football." only on nbc. >>> "sunday night football," it's in the 40s in beautiful seattle. the nfc west title and much more is on the line tonight. jimmy garoppolo and the 49ers, though, with a win, they game home field advantage for the first time since 1997. meanwhile, russell wilson and the seahawks know that if they win they'll get a home playoff game. and who's back to help?

joining me now nbc's peter alexander. ut the white house's role with respect to planning this trial in the senate? because we do know from mitch mcconnell's public statements that he is working hand in glove with the white house. >> that's exactly right. we know he has been in total coordination, as he's described it, with the white house. specifically, the white house counsel pat cipollone, who the president just said moments ago would likely be his lead lawyer in a senate trial expected to take place early in the new year. so moments from now, we're going to play the president's remarks when he was hosting a republican -- now republican lawmaker from new jersey, jeff van drew. he was a democrat. the president announcing he's going to become a republican after his opposition to the impeachment process by the democrats. van drew among a couple of democrats who voted with republicans yesterday against impeachment. the president using this moment. this was an unannounced oval office spray, as it's described. where reporters

craig. >> peter alexander from the white house, peter, thank you. >>> also this morning there are new developments in the murder of a young college student in new york a manhunt is under way for a teenager wanted in connection with the case after he fled before a scheduled meeting with police we're also hearing from the victim's family. they are upset over comments by a police union official. nbc's stephanie gosk has been covering this for us good morning. >> good morning, hoda and craig, tessa majors' family is firing back at the head of a new york city police union after he claimed the 18-year-old went to the park where she was murdered to buy marijuana the family says the comment blamed tessa for her own murder. many on social media say it is blatant victim shaming this morning, a manhunt is under way for a teenager who investigators wanting to question in connection with the killing of barnard student tessa majors three law enforcement officials tell nbc news the teen who was expected to come in for questioning fled, setting off a massive search it comes as majors family is speaki

nbc's peter alexander will bring us the latest. >>> and this morning trading is under way and so far the dow is up in the green. we'll see if that sticks around. >>> and you don't want to miss this coming up for you at 7:00 on the "today" show, eddie murphy talks about hosting "saturday night live" on nbc this weekend just after 35 years. >> i want to live up to any expectations anyone has and if you have no expectations i want to blow you through the back of the studio. >>> good thursday morning. right now at 6:44 let's head outside in palo alto. a nice sun rise. we are seeing mostly cloudy skies to start and still some wet roads. reaching into the upper 50s with times of sunshine. weekend plans coming up in about five minutes. >>> if bridges are a part of your morning commute you may want to take an alternate route towards the san mateo bridge, 61 minutes right now. westbound 80 17 minutes. i'll have a closer look on how the rest of the bay area is doing coming up. >>> councilmembers will decide whether to extend an emergency ordinance banning short-term rentals. >> why this is suc

we'll start with nbc's peter alexander at the white house for us. peter good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning to you, for more than 8 hours a panel of legal scholars testified before the house judiciary committee, the very lawmakers who would draft articles of impeachment. the three experts invited by democrats arguing that the president's conduct regarding ukraine is exactly what the founders had in mind when they wrote impeachment into the constitution. the republicans witness saying the president's call with ukraine's leader was anything but perfect but arguing this is not how you impeach a president. president trump back at the white house this morning as the fierce partisan debate intensifies over whether his >>> the president engaged in abuse of power undermining our national security and jeopardizing the integrity of our elections. it comes after a debate over whether the president's actions toward ukraine qualify as grounds for impeachment. >> if we cannot impeach a president who abuses his office for personal advantage we no lon

peter alexander, thank you to you, as well. the news this morning, house speaker nancy pelosi, from the steps of capitol hill, announcing the next formal steps in the house impeachment investigation. at the democrats will draft the articles of impeachment, formal charges against president trump. she's saying she did so somberly, prayerfully, and with humility and invoked t founders who put the impeachment clause in our constitution. we'll have more on msnbc and nbcnews.com and on "nightly news." most of you will return to "today." i'm savannah guthrie in new york. this has been an nbc news special report. >>> 6:15. that story will live on through the day but we want to get you back local and check your forecast with meteorologist kari hall. >>> and so the fog has been really the issue for us. starting out the day and we'll see it clearing out over the next couple of hours. check out our visibility. san martine went up to one mile. it's been getting lower at times. that's where we've seen the fog around this morning. driving in

nbc's peter alexander fills us in. >> reporter: just days before christmas, a surprising and stinginghe president from "christianity today," a leading evangelical publication, the editor calling for president trump to be removed from office, saying the facts are unambiguous, arguing the president tried to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit joe biden. insisting his conduct is not only a violation of the constitution, but profoundly immoral. >> what we're talking about now, is someone who is morally abuse nive a dangerous way, and the scales don't work any more and it is time for him to leave the house is what my view is. >> but the president who won 80% of the evangelical vote in 2016 firing back on twitter. >> dismissing christianity, as a far left magazine. adding no president has never done what i have done for evangelicals or religion itself. christianity today was founded by the late reverend billy graham, but his son franklin saying his father would not agree with their opinion piece. accusing the magazine of being used by the left. and revealing billy graham voted f

foreign countries to help him win reelection and then ecedted campaign to obstruct congress our peter alexander has details. >> reporter: tonight house democrats mapping out their case for impeachment in a 300-page report, accusing president trump of abusing his power by pressuring ukraine to help benefit his reelection, and in obstructing congress' too is the evidence of his obstruction of congress >> first of all, this is not about ukraine this is about our democracy. and if we don't care about this, we can darn well be sure the president will be back at it doing this all over again >> reporter: democrats arguing by pushing for investigations into the bidens and the 2016 election while military aid was being withheld, the president placed his own personal and political interests above the national interests, and in the process endangered u.s. national security highlighting president trump's recent public calls for ukraine and china to investigate biden, the report wa ed that continued presents a clear and present danger the report names more than 500 times rudy giuliani, the president's perso

so for the latest on the new developments, here's nbc white house correspondent peter alexander. >> the white house rejecting house democrats' invitation for the president to participate in their impeachment proceedings. >> the white house counsel pat sip loan anyway a blistering letter calling the investigation baseless, adding you should end the inquiry now and not waste additional time. for president trump cooperating for the process, repeatedly attacked, would undercut his rallying cry. >> they're pushing the impeachment, witch hunt. >> instead his allies are preparing to mount an aggressive defense in an impeachment trial. >> the president violated the constitution. >> house speaker nancy pelosi defending her decision to move forward. >> if we were not to proceed, it would say to any president, any future president, that, our democracy is gone. the president is king, he can do whatever he wants. >> so peter, where does this go next? >> house democrats plan to work through the weekend drawing up the articles of impeachment with lawyers from both parties. scheduled to make presentati

peter alexander has details. >> reporter: the white house rejecting the invitation for the president to participate in the impeachment proceedings. white house counsel in a blistering letter calling the investigation completely baseless adding you should end this inquiry now and not waste time with additional hearings. tonight's decision no surprise for president trump cooperating with the process he's repeatedly attacked would under cut his rallying cry. >> they are pushing the impeachment witch hunt. >> reporter: instead, tonight the president and his allies are preparing to mount a defense in a likely impeachment trial next year with the president' confidence he would be acquitted. >> the president violated the constitution. >> reporter: house speaker nancy pelosi defending her decision to move forward. >> if we were not to proceed, that would say to any president, any future president that our democracy is gone the president is king. he can do whatever he wants. >> so peter, where does this go next? >> house democrats plan to work this weekend and draw up the articles of impeachm

vote president trump facing hars criticism from a surprising source, an evangelical magazine peter alexander reports. >> reporter: just days before christmas, the surprising and stinging judgment of the president from "christianity today," a leading evangelical publication. the editor calling for president trump to be removed from office, saying the facts are unambiguous, arguing the president tried to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit joe biden, insisting his conduct is not only a violation of the constitution, but profoundly immoral >> what we're talking about now is someone who is morally abusive in a dangerous way and the scales don't work anymore it's time for him to leave the house, is what my view is. >> reporter: but the president, who won 80% of the evangelical vote i 2016, firing back on twitter, dismissing "christianity today" as a far left magazine, adding, no president has ever done what i have done for evangelicals or religion itself. "christianity today" was founded by the late reverend billy graham but his son franklin saying his father would not agree with the

potentially historic vote happening tonight on articles of impeachment brought by house democrats peter alexander is tracking it all. >> reporter: tonight, a partisan showdown, the house judiciary committee debating a momentous move, whether to approve two articles of impeachment against president trum the momentous move punctuating a partisan showdown. >> this is about facts and the constitution. >> they don't care facts be dammed. >> reporter: the first article abuse of power that alleges president trump solicited a foreign government, ukraine in the 2020 u.s. presidential election. >> we're here today because the president abused his power we're here today because he solicited foreign interference in the 2020 election. >> none of your fact witnesses were able to establish any evidence of bribery, treason, high crimes or misdemeanors, not one single one and that's what it says has to be done in the constitution. >> reporter: and another clash over the second article, obstruction of congress. the charges the president has directed the unprecedented categorical and defiance o subpoenas that issue

peter alexander is in for lester holt on "nightly news" next. >>> tonight the hanukkah stabbing suspectl hate crimes. new clues what likel motivated the man that allegedly stormed into a rabbi's home and wounded five people with a machete and knife. the anti-semitic writing authorities found in his home as new details emerge about how worshippers fought back. >>> in texas, the shooter now identified after a deadly attack inside a church. what we know about the gunman and how his attack unfolded. as we speak to one of the church's volunteer security guards became a hero. >> i don't feel like i killed a human, i killed an evil. >>> tens of millions in the path of a dangerous winter storm. snow, sleet, wind and ice affecting a big part of the country.

peter alexander has late details. >> reporter: house speaker nancy pelosi welding the power of her office in an effort to remove the president from his. >> today i am asking our chairman to proceed with articles of impeachment. >> reporter: pelosi echoing the words of the founding fathers saying president trump's alleged wrongdoing strikes at the heart of the constitution. >> our democracy is at stake. the president leaves us no choice but to act because he is trying to corrupt, once again, the elections for his own benefit. >> three, two, one [ cheers ] >> reporter: the president tonight celebrating the season while counting down the days to his likely impeachment that could come bor christmas. >> it's a hoax it's a hoax. it's a big, fat hoax. >> reporter: earlier challenging democrats to move quickly tweeting if you're going to impeach me, do it now fast so we can have a fair trial in the senate and our country can get back to business tonight, the white house is aggressively gearing up for an impeachment trial early next year in the republican controlled senate where his allies are con

. >> joining me now is peter alexander, peter we know what the president was doing at the podium, bute us in the white house. >> you see behind these closed doors he is privately fuming and seething. in the last hour or so he tweeted or retweeted approaching 20 times to this point. the president and his aides resends this stain on his legacy, this asterisk placed by his name, you have also seen denial. someone wrote that trump has not been impeached. they are denying the realities of this moment right here. he views this as a political opportunity. it was that moment when he was up on stage when a member of his own campaign team held up card that indicated to him that the vote was completed and no republicans defected to vote alongside democrats, he said whoa, wow, and he tried to use that as evidence that the only bipartisan yesterday was some democrats joining republicans against impeachment. something the president will continue to use. >> he is also saying impeachment light. what is that? >> it is his way of being dismissive of the effort by democrats to impeach him and possibly r

peter and sheinelle. >> blayne alexander, thank you. >>> let's bring in ken dilanian right now, an nbc news national security correspondent ken, good morning. >> good morning, peter. >> so, ken, investigators are trying to sort out a motive here, whether in fact this was terrorism. how is the fbi handling this investigation? >> well, peter, our sources are telling us they have not yet established a motive but of course are not ruling out and can't rule out that the shooter was motivated by jihadi terrorism. to determine that they're going to interview his classmates in the training program a source told me that six of his saudi classmates were detained for questioning almost immediately after the shooting and then, of course, they will want to interview all known associates in the united states, family members in saudi arabia, and scrub any social media accounts for any kind of clues to this person's state of mind here. >> of course today we're learning new details about this man. he was a member of the saudi air force. he had been here the last two years at pensacola training as part

nbc white house correspondent peter alexander joins us now with three things to watch today.k next to president trump's name, just the third president to be impeached that. vote overnight almost entirely along party lines, house democrats in favor, republicans against. this morning, what happens next is not immediately clear, with the house speaker nancy pelosi not committing to sending those articles of impeachment to the senate until she is confident that they will conduct a fair trial there. >>> the house democrats conducted the most rushed, most unfair impeachment inquiry in modern history. >> that historic night is a remarkable split screen as well. supporters in michigan at the very same time the house was voting to impeach him. here is the president. >> by the way, it doesn't really feel like we're being impeached. the country is doing better than ever before. we did nothing wrong. >> also tonight the democratic 2020 contenders, they will debate in los angeles. this will be the smallest and least diverse debate. just seven candidates in all compared to 20 just six mont

nbc white house correspondent peter alexander has three things to watch this morning.cles of impeachment that accused the president of abuse of power and obstruction of congress. here is that moment as democrats and republicans recorded their votes for and against impeachment. >> aye. >> my vote is no. >> mr. gohmert votes no. >> votes aye. >> mr. jordan. >> no. >> mr. jordan votes no. >> miss jackson lee. >> aye. >> miss jackson lee votes aye. >> the move sending those charges to the full house for a vote to take place next week with democrats in control the president is likely to be impeached. the white house moments ago calling it a desperate her raidcherade saying the president looks for fair treatment in the senate. also china and president trump have reached an agreement on the first phase of a trade deal and the president says he will hold off new tariffs scheduled to go into effect as early as this weekend. the markets still assessing just how good of a deal it is as the details slowly emerge. >> peter at the white house. thank you. for johnson to take the u.s.

nbc white house correspondent peter alexander joins us from capitol hill with our three things to watch to you. a majority of lawmakers are expected to vote yes on at least one article of impeachment today with no republicans on board. that means that president trump today is poised to become only the third president ever to be impeached. lawmakers here, i have been speaking to them this morning, largely resigned to the fact that house speaker nancy pelosi describing this as a sad day. those articles, abuse of power and obstruction of congress focused on the president's asking ukraine's leader to investigate his political rivals including the bidens while withholding crucial military aide to ukraine. so here's how we expect this day to play out, the house will be gaveling in the session at 9:00 a.m. eastern. they will spend about six hours debating impeachment. >>> can you believe that i will be impeached today saying i did nothing wrong, adding say a prayer. the president heading into this day unloading in a dramatic six page letter. >> peter alexander on the hill, thank you. >>> this

this tuesday morning, the last day of 2019, last day of the decade i'm sheinelle jones alongside peter alexander. savannah and hoda are off this morning. already here in new york city, it is packed in this area, especially. >> the end of a decade, i say we stick the landing today. bring on the 20s, the start of a new decade, the countdown begins right now. >>> let's get right to our top story, time for the biggest party of the year, but a dangerous winter storm system is disrupting holiday travel and threatening new year's eve celebrations across the country. we're tracking the weather coast to coast, and we'll get to the forecast in a moment let's get to nbc's ron mott wloz who's at chicago's o'hare airport. ron, good morning to you >> reporter: good morning. last day of the year, and as you can see behind me, it is going to be a very busy travel day getting from point a to point b over the next 24 to 48 hours could be a lot easier said than done in many places. this morning, mother nature leaving her mark on the last hours of 2019, a brutal storm system churning from coast to coast, unleashing

. >> nbc's peter alexander, what we can expect. >> reporter: just before midnight the top democrat jerryhitting pause on the impeachment plans. the sudden announcement triggers a new round of republican protests with democrats holding off the votes on two articles of impeachment until this morning. that would set up a vote by the entire house, assuming it passes at some point next week and a trial earl will i in the new year. we'll have the latest on "today." back to you in san francisco. >> peter, thanks. >>> now to decision 2020 and the presidential race. this weekend bernie sanders launching a women's event but he won't be there. on sunday his supporters will host panel discussions in san francisco and santa cruz. the event comes after former vice president joe biden dropped through the bay area for private fund-raisers. he spoke to supporters in palo alto and san francisco. biden gaining support from california firefighters union as well. >>> a new report is raising questions about the handing out of concealed carry permits in santa clara county. our investigative unit has been among

nbc's peter alexander is at the white house. pr

. >> that was nbc's peter alexander pressing the trump administration on the border wall.es editorial board has a new op-ed, three years in, trump is still pushing his crazy border wall. writing in part this, from the earliest days of his campaign to become president, donald trump seized on the construction of a beautiful wall along the u.s. mexico border as a solution to what he asserted is the dangerous and costly problem of illegal immigration and although the government has managed to erect a total of about 93 miles of new fencing, nearly all of it update ors replaces existing barriers, still the administration is pressing forward with what seems like desperation to build up to 500 miles of gnaw wall by the end of 2020. which means the wall will probably once again be a major campaign issue in the coming year. joining me now is homeland security correspondent for "the new york times," here with this morning's cover story, entitled texas land owners are a barrier to trump's wall. an interesting dynamic in all of this playing out. walk us through what you learned in your

part of a report from nbc's peter alexander on "nightly news" last night. >> days after leaving officedons and commutations, cording to the louisville newspaper. among those pardoned. a man convicted of raping a 9-year-old child. another who hired a hit man to kill his business partner. a man who killed his parents and a man who beheaded a woman before stuffing her in a barrel. >> well quite poignant words there. joining me congressman john y yarmouth, democrat of kentucky. matt bevin is defending the pardons on twitter, saying they are quote second chances. among those pardons is patrick baker, a convicted killer. "louisville corier journal" reports that baker's family raced more than $21,000 for bevin last year. with this correlation, do you buy his argument? >> well, no, i don't. and actually members of his own party don't. mitch mcconnell actually was very critical of some of these pardons. the republican president of the senate called for an investigation by the u.s. attorney. and others have called for an investigation of the pardons as well. this one case is particularly suspici

joining me right now is nbc white house correspondent peter alexander, congresswoman from michigan elise slotkin, of course, you've been all over the place, congresswoman. let's go, peter. >> we're joining by the congresswoman, elissa slotkin is here on a historic day. you're one of those investments from a trump district, he won it in 2016 by seven points, you won it in 2017 by three points. you said you will vote yes on impeachment. any reservations on that decision on this day? >> no, offreservations. i went through a pretty methodical process, just like i was trained to do as a cia officer, to come to this collectio conclusion. i didn't come to it lightly. i feel in my bones it's the right thing to do. it clearly was controversial in my district, i knew that. my hope is that voters in my district understand that even if they don't agree with the decision, they see that i struggled through it and that independently a decision based on my oath of office and my integrity. hopefully they want representatives that reflect that. >> you said this past weekend when you spoke to constituents

. >> peter alexander is off. can you believe we are about to ring in a new year and a new decade?> right. we're going to look back at some of the more important things in pop culture from the last decade a little later on this morning. i promise you one thing, no twerking. >> no twerking. we might have a look back at some of the top moments. you'll love it. it's a great look back. >> that will be fun. >>> let's get to our top story. the nasty weather system on the move today, bringing snow, rain and ice to millions. it's being blamed for several accidents across the country. making a big mess for those heading home from the holidays this weekend. kathy park is in la guardia airport this morning. kathy, good morning. >> reporter: harry, good morning to you. you're headed home on a very busy travel weekend, be prepared for a crowded airport and highw highways. here at la guardia, things are looking good. no major delays to report. but it could be a much different story later on today for parts of the midwest. winter weather causing chaos across the country. in lubbock county, texas,

. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with sheinelle jones and peter alexander and dylan dreyere from studio 1a. >> i'm actually really excited for tonight. eddie murphy. >> not just you. a huge crowd of people already outside waiting. i'm hoping for a little velvet jones and mr. robinson's neighborhood and gumby. eddie murphy coming back after 35 years. lizzo by his side. >> a lot of people in line and if he wasn't on for 35 years, they were not alive. >> '80 to '84? >>> let's get started. this year, a record number of americans are expected to travel in the days surrounding christmas and new year which will make for a lot of traffic on the roads and skies. nbc's morgan chesky is at the airport in atlanta which sees more passengers than any in the world. >> reporter: greetings from the world's busiest airport. it is beginning to feel a lot like christmas. the lines not showing it yet. that is set for the next 18 days and we expect travelers hitting the airport. expect delays there. if you are hitting the roads, you are not going to be alone either. this morning, whether packing

. >> from nbc news, this is "today," with sheinelle jones, peter alexander and dylan dreyer, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >>> welcome to "today." thanks for joining us on this saturday morning. thanks to the huge crowd outside. >> impressive. >> in the rain. >> new york city. our friend, sheinelle, is enjoying a little time off. happy to have my friend from the white house, kristen welker here with us this morning. >> nice to be here. >> we're talking about procrastination and shipping deadlines. our procrastinator-in-chief here. >> still have a few more days. about 11, before i have to get those presents in. >> you're in new york. a good city to get that done. >> indeed. >>> we want to get to our top story. the house members are preparing for a historymaking vote next week in the impeachment of president trump. on friday, the house judiciary committee voted to send two articles of impeachment to the full house for that vote next week. but the president remains defiant, insisting he has done, quote, nothing wrong, and that is entire episode is unfair. nbc's kelly o'donnell

. >> thanks for joining us on this monday morning i'm peter alexander alongside my friend sheinelle jonesthing for sure, a lot of eyes are on the weather today. >> that is our top story today a brutal winter storm spreads snow, sleet and freezing rain from the northern plains across the upper midwest and into the northeast. we're going to get to dylan's forecast in just a moment. first, stephanie gosk is tracking the holiday travel at laguardia this morning >> reporter: good morning. new year's eve revellers will be met with heavy rain and wind in ohio tens thousands of people are without power, wind gust there is up to 70 miles an hour and then there's all that ice making travel treacherous. this morning visions of an icy start to 2020 are taking shape as a wicked winter storm packing a polar punch carves its way across the country, putting holiday travelers on high alert and a brutal storm moves in. >> i'm going to look for a detour across southern connect and it's not just snow and ice tornado sirens in mississippi are sounding the alarm as reports of funnels and heavy winds strong eno

. >> peter alexander at the white house. thank you, peter. >>> craig joins the table. there was a tense moment on the campaign trail. >> good morning, good morning to you as well. it happened in iowa, joe biden locked in a heated back and forth with a voter during a town hall there. at one point even challenging the man to a push up contest. nbc's kristen welker has more on that this morning. good morning to you. >> reporter: craig, good morning to you, that extraordinary moment did unfold at a campaign event in iowa where the former vice president was touting his experience on the world stage, a recent endorsement by former secretary of state john kerry, but everything changed when he was confronted by a voter and he fired back. joe biden unfiltered. the democratic front runner entangled in a tense exchange with an unidentified iowa voter who first questioned his age. >> you're too old for the job. i'm 83, and i know damn well i don't have the mental faculties i did 30 years ago. >> reporter: then challenged biden on his son hunter's business dealings in ukraine, accu

peter alexander from the "today" show got married there at the museum.e it. >>> 2019, a year filled with good, bad and even some ugly moments. we take a look back at the highlights and lowlights of this year. it's almost done. next. year it's almost done next frustrated that clean clothes you want to wear always seem to need an iron? next time try bounce wrinkle guard dryer sheets. just toss it in the dryer to bounce out wrinkles. we dried these shorts with bounce wrinkle guard, and a pair without. the bounce wrinkle guard shorts have fewer wrinkles and static, and more softness. it's the world's first mega sheet that does the job of three dryer sheets. it also comes in unscented. if you don't love bounce wrinkle guard, we'll give you your money back. hi, i'm joan lunden. when my mother began forgetting things, we didn't know where to turn for more information. that's why i recommend a free service called a place for mom. we have local senior living advisors who can answer your questions about dementia or memory care and, if necessary, help you find the

we start with nbc's peter alexander in the hearing room. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. that debate starting last night and picks up again today with republicans and democrats fighting for and against these articles of impeachment. abuse of power and obstruction of congress. democrats accuse the president of a constitutional crime spree. republicans say democrats are simply trying to undo the 2016 election. all of it setting up the first vote on these articles of impeachment here in the house judiciary committee later today. the debate stretching late into the night. republicans and democrats squaring off over impeachment. >> history will look back on our actions here today. how would you be remembered? >> this is the quickest, thinnest, weakest, most partisan impeachment in all of american presidential history. >> reporter: democrats after wrapping up their two and a half month inquiry arguing president trump sacrificed america's national security for his own personal political benefit, and blocked congressional efforts to

. >> peter alexander at the white house for us thank you. >> now to an nbc news exclusive tied to rising tensions in the middle east. he got rare access to a u.s. mission in the waters off of syria. he joins us with that story. good morning >>> good morning, i've seen russian troops he is now promising an even stronger russian military but i have been on board a u.s. aircraft carrier it's job is to ensure that growing russian threat doesn't multiply in the seas off syria >> it's 90,000 tons of american muscle now watching a growing russian threat in the mediterranean. russian warships this week on exercise near syria. russia is back in the mediterranean with a message >> as you say, in harm's way, the buck stops here. >> the u.s. mission, to deter russian aggression. >> we're going to be out here to remind them there's a cost and a risk to bad behavior. and we won't allow it. >> in moscow, russia's president putin has his own message. from this carrier an >> reporter: what happens next as you begin your holiday break there's a cost and a risk and we won't allow it. >> our military progre

we've got two reports, we'll start with nbc white house correspondent peter alexander, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you. seated alongside the head of nato in london, president trump spent nearly an hour taking questions and taking aim at democrats back home. here in washington on the impeachment front, today marks another critical day with the house intelligence committee expected to vote on its impeachment report tonight. >>> new this morning, president trump attacking the impeachment inquiry from overseas. >> i would say this, i think it's very unpatriotic of the democrats. >> reporter: devoting much attention during his first public comments at the nato summit in london to blasting the impeachment process and his political opponents. >> i think it's a very bad thing for our country. the democrats have gone nuts. they're crazy. i did nothing wrong. i had a great conversation. very respectful conversation. >> reporter: it comes as democrats back in washington say they'll publicly release their report today, detailing the case for impeachment against president trum

. >> that's was peter alexander pressing them.ng that down, he got them to say we actually haven't built any new weiall. after the build the wall chants, there is no new wall. >> you could see how desperate he was to say that on camera knowing the president was watches. it has just started. to this point, there has not been any new wall built. there will be likely some this year, probably not a lot, but it will go up, the president will point to and say i've started to build the wall. but three years in nothing's happened. >> he controlled congress for the first two years, could have got t gotten it done. >> so there's a new op-ed this morning entitled three years in trump is pushing his border wall. the editors of the new york times write from the earliest days of his campaign to become president, donald trump seized on the construction of a, quote, beautiful wall along the u.s./mexico border as a solution to what he assert dollars watt dangerous and costly problem of illegal immigration. all though the government has managed to