shaquille brewster, nbc news, portage, indiana. >>> a passing to note tonight, tom smothers, the funny half of the singing smothers brothers, has died after a battle with cancer he was 86. back in the 1960s, the brothers with choir boy faces became the bad boys of network television harry smith remembers. >> am i singing right now? >> no. >> how do you know >> because i can't -- >> reporter: tommy smothers made us laugh, first that look on his face while listening to brother dick, then what came next >> yeah, well, mom always liked you best. [ laughter ] >> reporter: in 1967 the smothers brothers got their own variety show on cbs. >> we do everything as a unit. >> we do not hey, tom we don't do everything -- >> as brothers we do everything -- >> listen, listen, you couldn't touch my wife with a ten-foot pole >> that's right. i use an 11-foot pole. >> reporter: they satirized the powerful and made clear their opposition to the vietnam war. ♪ if you ever get a war without blood and gore ♪ ♪ boy, i'll be the first to go ♪ >> reporter: the show was a hit, but the network was not amused ♪ i

shaquille brewster spoke to some young voters in wisconsin. >> i voted for biden and i told my friends to as well >> reporter: evan mckenzie is a starbucks worker and union organizer in madison, wisconsin who cast his very first presidential ballot for joe biden. >> do you plan on voting for him this time around? >> no. not anymore. >> reporter: the 23-year-old was part of the surge in young voters in the liberal dane county that helped biden flip the battleground state three years ago. he's now angry at the president over his support for israel's invasion of gaza >> he is allowing this war to happen and is funding this war i don't know what will happen if i don't vote for him but i know it won't be me supporting that. >> reporter: in 2020 election day exit polls showed young voters backed biden over donald trump by more than 20 points. but a recent nbc news poll shows former president trump leading this group by four percentage points and president biden at risk of losing a key part of his winning coalition. >> do you plan on voting for him in november >> i don't know. >> reporter: 60

shaquille brewster, nbc news, portage, indiana >>> well, that winter storm is still wreaking havoc for travelers across the great plains this morning. thesnow knocking out power to 20,000 people in nebraska. while parts of colorado saw more than a foot of snow. and we got dense fog coating new york city. the fog extended all the way to the great lakes with visibility down to a quarter mile or less let's take a look at the weather map. the soggy system that drenched yesterday hwill continue soakin new england today. boston will still experience heavy downpours throughout the afternoon. the messy winter storm we have been tracking all week for you continues to weaken as it's now moving slowly south and east it had bwill bring an icy mix to iowa, illinois and missouri throughout the day other regions forecast to see rain today include the florida peninsula and west coast the west coast staying active for the next several days with a parade of pacific storms set to d cloudyin casper 36. sc salt lake city 39. >>> now to hawaii. a new nbc news documentary explains what went wrong in the run

there are a kid who has received to present from their parent. >> shaquille brewster, nbc news. >> shockis morning. let's get right to it.

and bca shaquille brewster has more on this heartwarming story. >> for a ten year old liz, it is a goodmas. >> i never had this many paint colors. >> it gift from her dad who is not there in person but for her, he's there in spirit. >> i can't believe he remembered that i liked that. it's been so long. >> reporter: like hundreds of other children gathered for this angel tree christmas party in waterloo, iowa, liz and her brother jackson have a parent who is incarcerated. in the lids and jackson's case, their father has been in prison for six years. there is an estimated 1.5 million children in the u.s. who have a parent serving time. inmates with children typically struggled to give christmas presents, sometimes shopping for gifts at the prison commerce airy. >> we've seen parents that have held on and saved toothpaste, toothbrush is, here combs. >> reporter: that is why angel tree was launched. operated by a prison fellowship, it is a national holiday themed program that pairs prisoners who are parents with local volunteers who helped fulfill their parents -- for many families, the pro

nbc's shaquille brewster has the latest on this for us. shaq, what have we heard today? >> well, so far in these hearings, we've heard from a state trooper, former board of elections director and the former chair of the michigan republican party, all in this hearing to determine whether or not there's enough evidence for this case to go on to trial. the state is alleging here that the state of republican electors back in 2020, essentially conspired to commit forgery, they signed on to a document saying that they were the dually elected and qualified electors for the state, and that the state's electoral votes should go to former president trump instead of joe biden who won the state by more than 150,000 votes. we know about this scheme. if you watched any congressional hearings, if you listen to media reports, we have been familiar with what was attempted here. this is the first time you're seeing fake electors confronted in open court. we're learning not just about what happened but what almost happened. listen to some testimony earlier today. >> there was a plan that h

shaquille brewster is in dane county, wisconsin, for us, and nbc news correspondent marissa parra in haquille, what are you hearing from voters and their top issues in the critical battleground county in wisconsin? >> reporter: well, look, dane county, wisconsin, is home to young, progressive voters that turned out for president biden or at least in that election at a rate of 90% voter turnout. you had three out of every four voters voting for president biden, and when you talk to voters the issues that are top of mind, student loans, abortion access, the economy, all things that are front and center. the problem that you're seeing now, one thing that's most animating is the israel and hamas war. you'll see in our latest nbc news poll, 70% of young voters disapprove of the way president biden is handling that war, and his reaction to the war and the problem that that could mean for 2024 is that translates to how people view president biden. i want you to listen to some of the conversations i have been having here in madison. >> you can say that joe biden's, you know, he's not as progr

joining me now, nbc news correspondent shaquille brewster at a rest stop in south holland, illinois,ds looking there? not terrible traffic right behind you. >> reporter: you see the traffic behind me, you'll probably hear it as i give this report, but talking to drivers, they're saying so far so good. at least it's going as expected. illinois tollway officials say that today is going to give you the heaviest traffic on these roads across the state, at least through the end of the year, and that a little bit different, a preview of what you're expecting or what aaa says youd expect across the country. aaa is saying about 104 millio drivers will hit the road during this holiday travel period, the peak of that ising tomorrow. so if you're planning a holiday road trip, tomorrow they're saying you should hit the roads either in the morning or in the evening to avoid most of the congestion. i want you to listen to what some drivers and passengers had to tell me about their trips today. >> keep your phones down, eyes up, right? the things that we all should be doing as we're driving down th

. >> nbc's shaquille brewster is at the be debate site in tuscaloosa, alabama.s well. so jen, remember how much fun you used to have on debate nights? no pressure. it was fine. but the pressure was on nikki haley. what? >> i said it makes me want to vomit just to think about it. >> okay. well, i wonder if nikki haley felt that way last night. at one point vivek ramaswamy was holding up a handmade sign calling her corrupt. he said he's going to send her kids to die to she can buy a bigger house. after those three strong showings of poll numbers and donations that kind of backed that up, did she cement her rise to number two or was she too cautious? where does her campaign stand? >> i think her rise to number two is fueled by people -- by republican donors in particular thinking that she is the best alternative to trump, and i don't think anything changed yesterday from the attacks to make people that are helping to fund her campaign, like the koch brothers think she is not the best alternative. the whole debate is interesting from a sociological perspective to un

. >> so, joining us now is nbc's shaquille brewster and former republican congressman carlos curbeloflorida, an msnbc news political analyst. carlos, can you help explain what is going on there? >> well, jose, really donald trump is saying what he's always believed out loud. he does not believe he is limited by the strictures of power. he does not believe he's limited by the constitution. so, even though he says, well, i'm not really going to do this, he leaves some room, saying i'm going to do it for one day and you saw sean hannity push back there, but trump repeated once again that he felt that at least for one day he -- it would be okay to abuse the powers of the presidency. >> and, you know, this week, former congresswoman liz cheney warned what she thinks might happen if trump gets re-elected. listen to a bit of that. >> do you believe donald trump were elected next year that he would try to stay in office beyond a second term? he would never leave office? >> no question. >> you think he would try to stay in power forever? >> absolutely. he's already done it once. he's already

shaquille brewster is at midway airport in chicago today. he joins us now and, shaq, up to this point, midwesterners we're seeing whenever i visit there, we've got off easy. but, not as we look at christmas. >> right, especially when you look at the weather outside, we are talking about unseasonably warm temperatures in chicago. many people thinking that would lead to better travel conditions. unfortunately, we saw fog this morning and here in chicago's midway airport the lead to a ground stop for multiple hours. so far, things are getting back on track. many of those long lines we saw were reported earlier this morning have since dissolved. things are moving much more quickly. we know about 40 flights here at midway airport were canceled. one in every three flights have left midway or are planning to, scheduled to leave midway. they will be delayed at this point. so, a little bit of trouble earlier today. but, fortunately, no snow here in chicago and things are starting to get back on track where there was that ground stop. >> so, as all th

. >> joining me now, shaquille brewster in tuscaloosa and former senior advisor to the biden 2020 campaignencia johnson and susan del percio. how does nikki haley think she did? how do the analysts think she did yesterday? >> reporter: that ad is returning some of the fire against ron desantis last night, mocking him throughout that ad. you listen to haley and her campaign, they feel good about at least how she performed last night. they acknowledge, she was on the defensive most of the night. but if you listen to what haley is saying, she's saying it's because she's surging in the polls, she's rising in the polls and other candidates feel threatened. that's relative when you look at the same polls and see donald trump's dominance in them. you saw nikki haley having to battle on multiple fronts. you saw her defend her foreign policy record, defend some comments she made about the app tiktok. you heard her go after or be attacks on some of her connections, her corporate connections, including donor endorsements that came in the lead-up to the debate. she explained it a little bit. listen to

. >> shaquille brewster, nbc news. >> shock brewster, thank you. we have a lot to cover in our second hour of msnbc reports. this morning. let's get right to it. at this hour, the big story is a long awaited holiday morning. we'll take you to west palm beach where one family has turned their own christmas tradition into one that impacts an entire community. also this morning, the message on war in the middle east as the fighting continues inside gaza. hostages remain and terrorist captivity, and israel's prime minister vows to finish the job of ending hamas's reign. former president donald trump's top challengers are scrambling for so-called hail mary as we officially hit three weeks until the iowa caucuses. new polls leave little to the imagination. the verdict is it on the most popular, most widely watched viral videos of 2023. the stories that caught just about everyone's attention. but we begin with the forecast that is disappointing parts of the country this morning, and worrying many's. let's get right to meteorologist who has been tracking t

shaquille brewster, nbc news, madison, wisconsin. >> you heard from the voters. let's break down the numbers on the polling with steve kornacki. >> all right. yeah. interesting new poll from "the new york times" and siena. interesting because they've done something the other pollsters haven't yet done. the match-up between joe biden and donald trump if trump ends up being the republican nominee and they polled it this way. this we see commonly. registered voters. broad pool. everybody who's registered to vote could be part of this poll and they have trump leading by two points with registered voters. that's consistent. a close race. a lead of a few points in many polls. those polls generally are testing registered voters. what the times also did here and what others will start to do as we get into 2024 and get closer to the election is likely voters. not just registered, but voters who are likely to turn out among those registered voters. it's a narrower pool and here, you see they find joe biden with a two-point lead. it's trump with registered voters. a bigger

. >> shaquille brewster joins us from oakbrooke mall in the chicago area where he has been speaking withs. what are they saying? what are you seeing? >> reporter: just because christmas is over does not mean the holiday sales have ended. that's what shoppers continue to tell me as they come out. sometimes lined up outside of the store first thing in the morning. for some people, it's exchanging for a new size or different color. others are using gift cards they were gifted yesterday or during the holiday season. for some, they want to continue this holiday spending that they have been doing. we saw a new number that holiday sales are up 3% since last year. that's new numbers from mastercard. listen to what we have heard from shoppers this morning. >> i hate returning things, which is why it took me a month. >> reporter: why? >> today is the last day i can get my money back. the purchase is more fun than the return. i feel bad i bought too much. reporter: if you are one of the people who are looking to get out to a mall, head out to return your items, one thing to keep in mind is they hav

joining us now, shaquille brewster with some tips and tricks. did you get that neon green onesie?ey're trying to return that thing. >> reporter: you're the one who read it. we'll talk about that neon green onesie that you were gifted a little bit later, but i'll tell you, many people are out here at this mall and many of them are telling me it's for a couple of different reasons. for some, it's trying to exchange that gift that didn't fit or they wanted a different color. for others, they want to use the gift card. for one mother and daughter duo, it was a little bit because they got a little carried away right before the holidays. listen here. >> i came for a special sale at made well before the holidays. it was 50% off so i bought bags and bags and bags of things and i decided i wanted to come back so it's been driving around in my car for a month waiting for a return. today is the last day that i can get my money back. >> so you follow those deadlines closely. some stores extend the deadlines. >> no, they don't. you have to go. >> do you feel like it's getting harder to return

shaquille brewster is in tuscaloosa.o anything to change minds of voters you talked to? >> reporter: at least not on first impact, kate. when you listen to what voters said, when you talked to the campaigns, they acknowledged there was a smaller viewership last night and that candidates are not getting that much attention because the leader of the pack, former president donald trump has not been on that stage. one thing that was unique about last night's debate you saw nikki haley playing defense more. she was receiving attacks from ron desantis, from vivek ramaswamy. she says it's because of her rise in the polls. when you talk to voters, you're not getting the sense that things are fundamentally shifting. i want to play some sound from voters. listen to how they put it. >> i feel like nikki haley had a target on her back. i don't think it was her strongest debate performance. i'll still support her. >> there's no way these other candidates have a shot. trump is the frontrunner. he is clearly the frontrunner. all these

let's begin in dane county, wisconsin, with shaquille brewster. >> reporter: the question is not whose young progressive voters will turn out in those dramatic fashions that we're used to seeing. dane county is the state capital of wisconsin, this battleground state and home to the university of wisconsin. turnout here in 2020 was near 90%. turnout here in 2020 was near 90% and this country was crucial to helping joe biden flip this battleground state just three years ago, but right now you look at polling and there's a growing rift between those young voters and the president, the question is to see whether or not this voting group motivated in the past, whether or not they're motivated in 2024. >>> in miami-dade county, one thing we're going to be looking at as part of this reporters series, islooking at the numbers from 2012 to 2022, we've seen this county change from strongly democratic to now republican gains that we haven't seen since 2002. we'll be looking at the demographics, we know roughly 70% of the people here in the county identify as either hispanic or latino. what has

nbc's shaquille brewster is joining us now in chicago, volunteers are helping support the growing numbern the city. shaq, how challenging are these increasing numbers from abbott's stunt? what are volunteers they're doing today? >> good afternoon to you, alex. look, we continue to hear that it is incredibly challenging, you hear city leaders saying the system is overwhelmed. that there are beyond capacity. that's why you have groups doing events like the ones that you see here right now. this group, is going through sorting through all the donations that they've been receiving from city residents. everything from genes to jackets to sweaters, toy trees. and they're going through and putting them in kits for migrants when they arrived. i want you to listen to what a couple of officials told me about this work that they're doing this christmas weekend. >> this is about life. this is about a new life, in a new city, in a new country. so, for us, it's about welcoming, with hope, with opportunity, and the storied christmas, the story of asylum seekers finding refuge in the birth of a child. s

let's get the latest on all of this from nbc shaquille brewster who standing by in chicago's midway airportrlier, and how are things now? >> well, things are certainly improve vein and moving in the right direction here in chicago. passengers are trying to do what they can to hold on to that holiday cheer as they try to make it home for christmas. what we saw earlier today is that weather impacted this airport. we saw an hours long ground stop here in chicago. that ground stop has now been lifted, i'm lucky now, here at midway, one and every three flights is leaving or delayed right now. 39 flights in total have been canceled. if you look at the picture nationwide, we know that there has been about 2000 delays, send 125 cancellations. many of those have been due to weather. we're talking about fog in chicago, similar conditions from what you're seeing in areas like phoenix, detroit, denver, dealing with an actual storm there. we are seeing some long lines and many airports. i want you to take a listen to what one passenger told me a bit about her experience, and how she has been getting thr

. >> let's bring in nbc news correspondent shaquille brewster at the site of tonight's debate in tuscaloosa, alabama. also joining us is monica alba. these are jarring comments from the former president is and it seemed like sean hannity was trying to give him an out. >> reporter: yeah, you saw the former president almost laughing at sean hannity's attempt to kind of clean up his comments in realtime, and let's put this in a little bit of perspective here. sean hannity was giving him, the former president donald trump, an opportunity to essentially respond to an attack that you've been hearing from the likes of liz cheney, from the joe biden presidential campaign, and when they say that donald trump, a second term of donald trump would be a threat to democracy, that there are fewer of those guard rails for this potential second term in that he would essentially abuse his power. so sean hannity was giving him an opportunity to address that concern you've been hearing. you heard former president trump laugh it off and say except for day one. i want you to listen a little bit more of what we h

shaquille brewster joins us from one of the busiest interstates near chicago. hey, shaq. >> reporter: good morning, guys. well, you can see behind me folks are already getting that early start on the roads here in the chicago area. state officials are saying today we'll see some of the heaviest traffic conditions of what's left of this calendar year. it is a 1.7 million drivers taking to the state tollways for the third straight day in a row. fortunately, they are looking at some fairly good weather conditions in much of the country. that is not the case when you look across the southwest. you heard tom mention in the southwest where you are seeing those heavy rains from california up to colorado. some parts receiving a month's worth of rain in just one hour yesterday. when you look across the country, though, you have about 104 million americans hitting the road during this holiday travel period over the next week and a half or so. one good thing, when you listen to aaa, they're seeing the peak travel day will be tomorrow. so they're saying if you are hitting

nbc ne correspondent shaquille brewster has the latest. >> reporter: this man stuck in a truck under. >> reporter: they say they walked up and found this man pinned inside. police say the car drove on the grass shoulder, went airborne ending up on this side of the creek. >> i woke him up and he looked at me with his eyes wide open, like the biggest relief you've ever seen on a person. he was saying, are you real? >> reporter: police say he drank rain water to survive. >> his shear determination that he wasn't going to die. >> reporter: tonight his family says he's in the critical condition and grateful to be found. >> he asked for our names and said, thank you very much. >> reporter: an afternoon walk -- >> it's an act of god. >> reporter: -- turning into what these good samaritans called a holiday miracle. >> what an incredible story. that does it for us this morning and this year. we're so grateful to you for waking up with you every morning. joe, mika and i will see you next week as we turn to 2024 and a historic presidential race. happy new year, everyone. ♪ we'll take a cup of k