her goal is to free austin tice. [ applause ]. >> this is naomi tice and the youngest sibling. >> my question was what meagan referred to as how can we leverage this moment in everything that's happening in syria as a potential opportunity for austin and as mentioned, we were basically just told we need to wait and see how it pans out, which understandable after 12 years, feels like another thing we need to continue to wait and see how it pans out, which is just consistently beyond frustrating and just to kind of talk a bit about what jacob had brought up as well. what was some of the last memories or formative memories he had with austin. i chose to go to college in virginia because austin was in dc. one of the amazing pieces of that was that us being physically, geographically closer, because austin is 11 years older than me which means he moved out of the house when i was still really young, so i had not graduated yet before he was taken. just kind of thinking about how, how different our lives are from what i think we have kind of planned and hoped and dreamed for. you know, aust

, the sassiest tice. can you tell people about the question you asked today and what was the response? >> i can. i just spoke with them about the fact that i have two children, stella and wyatt, who have never met austin and i was just explaining my relationship with austin. we're the two oldest siblings which gives us a unique bond. so we were extremely close with each other, communicating constantly. so to have two kids that he's never met is something i think about a lot and that my daughter thinks about a lot, that she hasn't met her uncle. so i asked them in the meetings that we had on thursday and again today, we heard a lot about what's going on in the region and there was a lot of the sense that we needed to wait and see how everything played out before they could take any kind of action. and so i asked, if this is your brother, what more could you do, what would you do in this situation because it feels like y'all are waiting to see what happens before you can take any further action, which just

_ and austin tice? from the conversations _ and austin tice?e? from the conversations i have - and austin tice? from the conversations i have had, | and austin tice? from the l conversations i have had, it and austin tice? from the . conversations i have had, it is a strong desire to get together and get behind a unified approach... studio: us secretary of state antony blinken taking questions there injordan, he is visiting a number of countries in the region to talk about the unfolding situation in syria, which he described as a delicate moment for the country. pictures here of damascus at night, much more on that coming up next, here on bbc news, stay with us. hello there. for many of us, we�*ve probably felt like the weather has been stuck in a rut. it has been very cloudy across many parts of the uk, the exception being really across scotland where there�*s been some sunshine. but certainly this afternoon there�*s been again some rather grey skies and we�*ll keep that cloud really for the rest of the afternoon. across much of england, wales

debra tice, mother of austin tice: thank you so much for having me here.s, you have been fighting, more than 12 years, to bring your son home. what was it like for you to see the assad regime fall, to see a new syria emerging, and to see a new opportunity to potentially find austin and bring him home? debra: well, there were two feelings. i don't think that the way that it -- the changes coming on might be more difficult than we're thinking, right? but those first days, of course, when people were able to go into the prison and find their loved ones and families could be reunited, there was just a jubilee with that. and that is the kind of thing that just has to be contagious, right, just see these families that are -- have been wondering and waiting for so long. amna: you know what that's like to be one of those families. debra: yes. i can hardly wait. amna: you sound as if that has been tempered over time, though. do you not hold that still -- still hold that same hope right now? debra: well, no, it's still the same, because there are a lot of prisons in

the witness who says he saw austin tice alive. and the new photo, what tice may look like now. >>> for the first time the woman who falsely accused three duke lacrosse players of rape nearly 20 years ago publicly admitting why she says she made it all up. and the mariah carey classic celebrating 30 years of spreading holiday cheer. >>> this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening and welcome. official reassurances to the public have only increased the calls for hard answers about unexplained nightly sightings in the skies over new jersey and now several other states. and now dozens of new reports coming in overnight including some from high profile figures. while widely presumed to be drones, the mysterious craft have so far displayed no malicious intent, and their presence haven't seemed to be generating the level of alarm in washington many think is warranted, but that is changing. lawmakers feeling the heat from worried constituents are becoming increasingly vocal from demanding answers about what they are seei

in a perfect world, we're going to find austin tice.hink i've gone on record numerous times saying i believe he's alive and he's waiting for me to find him. the president said he believes austin is alive. our job in the u.s. government is to keep pressing and pressing and pressing to find out austin's location, his disposition, his status and to bring him home. >> you're referring to them as interim authorities. the head of hts, was described by state department officials as being very pragmatic in those meetings today. but his group and he hadimself still considered a terrorist under u.s. law. do you trust they are being helpful to the u.s. now? >> they were definitely helpful today. we conducted a joint search of a facility that we all thought would have a probable, i guess, some sort of relation to austin tice. so, i understand, of course, their past. what i can tell you is right now they're being helpful in the search for austin. >> so you conducted a joint search with hts of a prison today. did you believe that is where austin was

tice traveled to syria in may 2012 to cover the war.august 14, he was detained at a checkpoint in damascus. five weeks later, a 43-second video surfaced showing tice being held by armed captors. reports emerged that tice had escaped imprisonment in early 2013, but his freedom was short-lived, and he was recaptured in damascus soon thereafter. still, the biden administration declared in 2021 its sincere belief that tice was alive. and, more recently, a syrian former prisoner has come forward telling nbc that he saw tice twice in prison in 2022. tice's family has long advocated for his release, pushing american officials over three administrations to do more to find him. and now that prisoners held by assad's regime are being released all across syria, tice's family is stepping up their campaign to find him. and austin tice's mother debra joins us now. welcome and thank you for being here. debra: thank you so much for having me. geoff: 12 years you have been fighting, more than 12 years to bring your son home. what was it like for you to

austin tice has been held in syria for 12 years.er given up hope and told me today there's recent evidence that austin is alive. >> we have not received proof of life. we have absolutely verifiable intel he is. >> reporter: marc and debra tice say their confidence is boosted by unspecified information from the region. >> we heard he was doing well when we had the information.ce is he's safe, he's well. >> reporter: president biden agreeses that tice is alive and said he thinks the u.s. can get him back. the family's request to the president? >> ask the same thing of them as we are of the new authorities in damascus, that is please do everything you can to keep austin safe until he's in our arms and home with us. >> reporter: austin tice went missing on a reporting assignment in syria, august 2012. the last sighting this brief video a month later, alive but appearing to be held captive by unknown parties. we've spoken before, there have been ups and downs as you can testify to. does this feel different somehow? >> it does feel differ

austin tice is alive. tice was reporting in syria when he went missing in august of 2012. nbc's richard engel is in syria as its infamous prisons are now being emptied. he picked up the trail, speaking to a former prisoner, an activist who says he saw tice alive and well in 2022. this is the cell where tice was kept, a senior rebel leader tells nbc news. they're looking for information about tice. president biden, promising the u.s. government is doing everything possible to bring him home. secretary of state antony blinken is in the region working toward a secure transition for syria and a pathway toward stability in the middle east. secretary blinken is also pursuing new hopes for a ceasefire deal in gaza. biden administration sources telling nbc news hamas has agreed to allow israeli troops to remain in gaza temporarily after the fighting stops, and to provide a full list of the hostages it would release in exchange for a deal. administration sources cautioning that nothing is final and they have been close to a deal before. in washington. alice barr, nbc news. okay. th

austin tice has been held in syria for 12 years.have never given up hope and told me today there's recent evidence that austin is alive. >> we have not received a proof of life, we have absolutely verifiable intel that he is. >> mark and debra say their confidence is boosted by unspecified information they've received from the region. >> we did hear that he's doing well, whenever we had the information that he is safe, he is well. >> president biden agrees that tice is alive and over the weekend said he thinks the u.s. can get him back. the family's request to the president -- >> we would ask the same thing of them as we are of the new authorities in damascus, and that is please do everything you can to keep austin safe until he's in our arms, home with us. >> austin tice went missing on a reporting assignment in syria in august 2012, the last sighting, this brief video surfacing about a month later. alive but appearing to be held by captive by unknown parties. >> we've spoken before and there have been some ups and downs, as you ca

. >> will tice go free? >>> the american star who just won one of figure skating's most exclusive prizes. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening and welcome. it appears tonight the manhunt may have come to an end for the person of interest sought for the ambush e murder of unitedhealthcare ceo brian thompson in new york city. a man who police say matches those widely disseminated police photos was tracked down and brought in after he was spotted at a mcdonald's. mayor adams saying he's a strong person of interest in the killing. police say among his belongings at time of apprehension, a gun similar to the murder weapon and 3 1/2 page document expressing ill will toward corporate america, potentially pointing to a motive. mangione's eluded police for almost a week despite a digital and evidence trail of his movements across new york city. he's under arrest in altoona facing weapons charges as new york authorities continue to investigate him. stephanie gosk joins us with la

>> i'll talk to austin's mother, debra tice.oining me for insight and analysis, ryan nobles, anna, coanchor of pbs news hour. and etienne, and wall street journal columnist. welcome to sunday, it's "meet the press." >>> from nbc news in washington, this is meet the press with kristen welker. >> the all out push is intensifying. from high stakes meeting on capitol hill to public outings with mr. trump himself. on saturday, the president- elect appeared in a suite at the army-navy football game with his choice to be defense secretary, former fox news host and veteran, pete hegseth, and his pick to be the national intelligence director, tulsi gabbard, and challenged to explain past statements about women in combat. after meeting for a second time with iowa senator, joni, the first female combat veteran to serve in the senate, hegseth praised female troops. >> i want an opportunity here to clarify comments that have been misconstrued that i somehow don't support women in the military. some of our greatest warriors, our best warriors

and just opposite this is the cell where tice was kept. we showed pictures to ahmad who confirmed we're in the right place. the men in these cells had time. they made art, some of it exquisite. passageways to a world out of reach. ahmad said this wing mostly housed foreigners. they turned one wall into a blackboard. donkey, monkey. so someone was learning and teaching english and arabic. tice has been missing for so long, tonight the fbi put out a photo of what he might look like today at 43. the rebels who are now in power here, tell me they are looking for tice, and today they handed over another american who'd been held by the assad regime, travis timmerman, to u.s. forces. lester? >> all right, richard engel, thanks. >>> also tonight there is renewed hope for a cease-fire and hostage release deal in gaza. andrea mitchell has our new reporting. andrea, this could happen in the coming weeks or even days. >> exactly, lester. u.s. and israeli officials say there is growing optimism about a deal because hamas has agreed to big concessions.

tice, thank you for being here.ur family have been going through for the past 12 years? thank you very much for having me here. >> well, it's an honor to have you here. let's start off by talking about this extraordinary moment. rebels have overturned the assad regime. i know some in your family feel like this is a turning point. how do you feel right now about your chances of finding austin? >> when we first came into the city we met with the state department. we met with the white house, and you know, it was saturday night when this happened, when they breached damascus, and for us, this kind of chaos, for us it represented a huge opening, a huge opportunity and especially when people started going into the prisons, finding their families. there was a man that had been held in silence for 34 years, and he was reunited with his family, and so we are just really excited about being a reunited family. and you have information that suggests that he is alive. >> austin was born alive and he's been alive ever since then

that's strictly with respect to searching for austin tice, correct? >> yes, of course there's the long-standing military personnel that's been there. i wasn't speaking to that. i'm speaking with respect to diplomatic and other personnel that might have engaged in the search for austin tice or other diplomatic activities. >> just to follow up. the delegation to syria, the brits are doing the same. could you just give us a reason why you would not want to at this stage, it seems obvious reasons, but i'd like to hear you say it, why you wouldn't be sending a direct delegation rather than contacts that you've had. >> let me say two things about that. number one, we have had the ability today to be able to communicate with all of the relevant parties on the ground in syria, including h.t.s. the second thing is i'm not ruling out that we won't send personnel to damascus. stay tuned over the coming days. >> why are you not ready to do so right now? >> i didn't say we weren't. we haven't sent any as of yet, and we will continue to assess the situation. there'

. >>> also ahead, the search for austin tice. the new clue emerging in syria overnight in the american journalist's disappearance. >>> later arrange tick blast. the bone-chilling temps hitting millions from the great lakes to the northeast. ♪♪ >>> we made it to friday. it's 10:00 eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific. thanks for joining us. i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. new york city police are revealing new details into how the suspect in the murder of a health care exec evaded capture for days. authorities now say after luigi mangione fled the crime scene on an ebike to central park and ended up at an uptown bus station he appears to have hopped on a subway and double back to throw police off. the search for a motive is more complicated this morning after unitedhealthcare confirmed that mangione was not a member. nbc's valerie castro is in pennsylvania where mangione remains in custody. also with us former fbi supervisor rob it d'amico and retired nypd officer jillien snyder, adjunct lecture at the john jay college of criminal

joining me now austin's sister and brother meghan tice malone and simon robert tice. talking to your parents, but it's good to meet the two of you. meghan, talk to me about what you know about your brother and, you know, probably not his whereabouts but how he is being held? >> we know that he is in syria. we know that he is alive and we believe that this is the time to bring him home, that this in chaos that there is opportunity and that this is the moment now to bring him home and reunite him with us. >> how were you told that he's alive? >> unfortunately, we can't dive into too many of those details. >> okay. >> but we have had independent and verified confirmation. it's been verified in many branches of the usg -- >> u.s. government. >> only supports what president biden has said multiple times now, that he is alive. >> and he said that in his speech before he was leaving and answered another question. simon robert, let's talk about your brother. help us to better understand this, the courageous reporting that he did and more about him as an example of someone who

and just opposite, this is the cell where tice was kept. days. this hand. it would have been absolutely miserable to stay here. look, there's still cockroaches crawling out of holes in the walls. we showed pictures of the cells ahmed, and he confirmed we're in the right place. he said tice was thin and like other prisoners, had his hair and eyebrows shaved off but appeared healthy, able to walk, eat, and communicate. we don't know what happened to him after that. and katy, tonight, the fbi released a new enhanced photo. aged photo showing what tice might look like today at age 43. >> chilling to see those cells and the drawings, the handprint, the calendar. richard, it must have been personally, i'm sure, very difficult for you to walk in there as well. richard, thank you so much. >> still ahead, what u.s. officials are warning after chinese hackers breached eight u.s. telecom companies. olay visibly firms, lifts, and smooths wrinkles, by penetrating the skin, to boost regeneration at the surface cellular level. try olay. they get it. they

the sister and niece of austin tice spoke to me earlier about how their family is.ith this news. . >> to receive that news has been such a boost of hope for our family. >> your uncle austin has been gone for most of your life. what do you know about him or what have you been told about him? >> the stories we share as a family about how he was as a brother. even in the short years i knew him, we were close and i don't remember all of it but i heard the stories about him and he was amazing. he does not deserve to be left. >> you would love to see him come home. he is the only u.s. journalist currently being held captive abroad. successive administrations havet been unable to secure his release? >> unfortunately it comes down to the fragile political relationships and austin is kind of caught in all of that. but for our family obviously, our one main goal and hope is to get austin home and while we are here, all of us together in washington, d.c., our goal is to ask president biden to please call assad and asked for austin to come home. >> the sister and niece of austi

debra tice saying in a letter her family has credible information tice may have been held in a prison near an area israel has bombed. >> i'm going to be looking for help anywhere i can. i think it would be polite to say the least that perhaps they're not bombing while people are trying to clear the prison. >> reporter: tonight in his first statement since fleeing to russia, bashar al assad said he never intended to leave and wanted to stay and fight. he called the rebels who ousted him terrorists, adding, i have never sought positions for personal gain, although the fleet of expensive cars and palaces he left behind tell a different story. in a dusty field outside damascus today, some of the worst discoveries of his tyranny so far. >> what you're looking at here are bags of human remains found in this field. bags of bones essentially. they have no clue who they belong to. >> reporter: here, a bone sample is extracted for analysis. one day hopefully to provide a family with closure. david, tonight, the u.s. says they're not ruling out sending a diplomatic mission here to damascus to ta

this man, a senior rebel leader, says they're aware the assad regime arrested tice. have tried as much as possible to find information about austin and return him to his mother, but we have not reached a result," he said. then, a lead. we spoke to this man, now in dubai. he was an activist and citizen journalist, arrested for filming anti-regime demonstrations. this is the first time he's showing his face on camera. he told us he was in a prison cell across from tice and last saw him alive in july 2022. on one occasion, he says, they punished me for four hours because i violated the instructions and looked at a detainee. we went to the location this morning. assad's former general intelligence prison. ahmed said he memorized the location here, and said you had to descend 27 steps to get to the right area. 26, and 27. it all checks out. he said the steps would lead to a row of cells about 100 yards long. this is the tiny solitary confinement cell where ahmed was kept with a tiny slot in the bottom, and just opposite, this is the cell where tice was kept. ahmed said mo

. >>> next, the mother of austin tice joining me.r family and the biden administration want to find and free the journalist missing in syria for more than a decade. debra tice and her appeals coming up next. her appeals coming up next i can turn it up... that smells good! or turn it down... hmm. nice and light. enjoy 40 days of freshness, your way. ♪ lalalalala ♪ harry and david is small batch, gourmet, and delicious. so, of course they run out fast. whether you want to say, "thank you", "i love you", or just "happy holidays" - send something special, beautiful, and delicious. order your harry and david favorites now before they're gone. pablum. >>> the chaos after the collapse of the assad regime has raised new hope that there could be a new opportunity to finally find missing american journalist austin tice, who was abducted 12 years ago while covering syria's civil war. in a letter obtained by nbc news austin's mother debra writes to prime minister netanyahu that her family has, quote, credible information that austin may be held

austin tice's parents speak to our lester holt. >>> a ranch in las vegas is helping first responders remember how to take care of themselves after they put eir lives on the line for others thanks to horse therapy. >>> around the nominations are out. did your favorite get a nod? we break it all down on this tuesday, december 10th. "early today" starts right now. >>> good morning, glad you're with me. i'm frances rivera. we begin with the arrest of a suspect in the killing of unitedhealthcare ceo brian thompson. 26-year-old luigi mangione was arrested at a pennsylvania mcdonald's yesterday after an employee tipped off police. new york prosecutors have charged mangione with murder along with forgery and weapons charges according to online court documents. mangione was also arraigned in pennsylvania last night on gun and forgery charges, ordered held without bail and did not enter a plea. stephanie gosk has more. >> reporter: 26-year-old luigi mangione is arrested in pennsylvania, arraigned on felony gun charges and lying to police about his identity. >> we have a strong person of intere

some reporters shouting follow-up questions about austin tice. the president saying that tice -- let me find this. we have to find him. he said that president assad should be held accountable for holding tice. remember, u.s. officials for over a decade have said that syrian officials and the assad regime is responsible for tice being kidnapped over a decade ago. that's something that assad and his officials repeatedly denied. this is coming notably after -- just days after the tice family was here in washington, d.c. they met on friday with national security advisor jake sullivan who we're told the family asked sullivan for a commitment for president biden to ask assad for a commitment to ensure austin tice's release. that's something one of his brothers said that sullivan could not provide. of course, this coming in the wake of this new shift in syria. it's very unclear what the future could bring for austin tice and whether he could be released as a result of this shift in power in syria. >> as we see the prisons opened up, i'm sure they are ho

, mr tice's sister, abigail edaburn, and her daughter, maia.nfortu nately, unfortunately, i think itjust comes down to the fragile political relationships and austin is caught in all of that but for ourfamily, obviously, but for our family, obviously, are one but for ourfamily, obviously, are one main goal in the hope is tojust get are one main goal in the hope is to just get austin home and while we are here, all of us together in washington, dc, our main goal is to ask president biden to please call al—assad and ask for austin to come home. police searching for the man who killed the ceo of one of america s largest health insurance companies have widened their manhunt to include four us states: new york, newjersey, connecticut, and georgia. brian thompson was killed in the early hours of wednesday morning in manhattan. here 5 what we know at this hour: officers say the suspect was first seen in the upper west side area two hours before the shooting. five minutes before the murder, he walks to the hilton hotel in midtown, and waits. thompson w

that includes, of course, the american journalist austin tice.d ones. >> dana: meghan, your thoughts on that. >> so we have been speaking with various organizations, including hostage aid worldwide who are on the ground in syria in damascus actively looking for my brother. honestly it is frustrating to hear the words from secretary blinken. they have had no access to assistance or aid. we don't know who to contact to receive these services. so hearing that message from secretary blinken was incredibly frustrating. we have seen no evidence of follow through from that promise. >> dana: all right. this is going out to everyone listening and we'll hope to get you some more information about that soon for that aid organization. naomi, your family believes that your brother is very much alive. is there anything more you can say about that? >> yes, absolutely. president joe biden has repeatedly reiterated on sunday that austin tice is alive. we have known these last 12 years that he is alive. there has never been a doubt for our family that austin was a

and regarding americans, do you have any news on austin tice? >> first question, not that i'm aware. we don't have any additional information about austin since the events in the weekend in syria. and we are working very hard and we hope that developments in syria could lead to some opportunities and some more information but right now, we don't have anything. reporter: are you concerned there isn't more information or more of an update that we're seeing -- [indiscernible] or expected to have more news? >> we are concerned about mr. t inch ce and finding out more about him, his condition. we want to do everything we can to get him back to his family back. would we like to have had more information? you betcha. and we are working hard. we are in touch in and outside of syria to get as much information as we can. but i don't have anything in addition. >> president trump said xi was invited and you said you want a good relationship and better relationship now than four years ago. what is your take? >> i'm not -- it's not my place from the podium he

and trying to find austin tice. obviously this would be a big bonus for them if they could cooperate with the u.s. at a time they're trying to get aid and the war lifted from gilani's head and delisted from the terror category. a lot happening. this is incredible reporting. thank you so much, we really appreciate it. and jeff mason, let's talk about the efforts for a hostage deal for hamas in gaza. i know we have been here before, but this time, both sides, israel and u.s. officials telling me today that they are getting close. they're not there yet. there are still things to be ironed out. but for the first time, hamas, obviously under pressure. they have been abandoned. iran is weakened. hezbollah, obviously hammered by israel and without leaders of the collapse of syria, importantly, you've got both iran and hezbollah on their back feet, and as a result, hamas does seem to be agreeing to key things that they had not agreed to before. my reporting is they have agreed to let israel stay temporarily in gaza, the phi

i want to ask about austin tice.bout, a sighting of him in 2022. talk to me about richard engel saw in a prison where he was maybe held. >> reporter: richard engel reports speaking to an activist who was held in the cell across the way, or he claimed across the hall way from austin tice in damascus. he said in this miserable looking cell that austin tice had been there for a while. looks like it was a painful place to live. this activist who spoke to richard engel got the details of this correct. it could be believed. we just heard from reuters quoting american officials saying that actually austin tice had escaped and run around a wealthy neighborhood here in clothes and was eventually recaptured and sent back to the regime's jail. that's two new bits about austin tice as the search for him is winding up. >> matt, thank you. i want to correct something i said. travis timmerman, the other american who we talked to the other day, has left syria. i said he was in the u.s. he's not in the united states yet, but heading

and regarding americans, do you have any news on austin tice? >> first question, not that i'm aware. we don't have any additional information about austin since the events in the weekend in syria. and we are working very hard and we hope that developments in syria could lead to some opportunities and some more information but right now, we don't have anything. reporter: are you concerned there isn't more information or more of an update that we're seeing -- [indiscernible] or expected to have more news? >> we are concerned about mr. t inch ce and finding out more about him, his condition. we want to do everything we can to get him back to his family back. would we like to have had more information? you betcha. and we are working hard. we are in touch in and outside of syria to get as much information as we can. but i don't have anything in addition. >> president trump said xi was invited and you said you want a good relationship and better relationship now than four years ago. what is your take? >> i'm not -- it's not my place from the podium he

we'll continue to follow the latest on austin tice the news continues. source with kaitlan collins starts now straight from the source. >> tonight we are live on capitol hill where president-elect trump's top cabinet picks have been making their cases to republican senators, one of them who even trump acknowledged is controversial, is gaining key support this evening. and we also have breaking news this hour as the suspect in the unitedhealthcare ceo's murder was in court tonight. i'm kaitlan collins, and this is the source tonight we are learning new details about what happened in the moments that authorities captured the suspect in the killing of the unitedhealthcare ceo. right now, 26 year old luigi mangione is being held in pennsylvania. arraigned this evening on five forgery and gun charges. but it was just after 9 a.m. today when he was arrested at a mcdonald's more than 250 miles from manhattan. an employee there had tipped off authorities after recognizing him from pictures that had been on the news. when police arrived he was wearing a medical m

austin tice.dent, trey yingst, live outside of the capital and what are you hearing from the administration about the situation on the ground in regard to austin tice? >> john, good afternoon. american officials believe austin tice is still alive. i spoke with one person familiar with the search and they said 100 million location searched at this moment. we visited two of them today. >> after receiving tip from u.s. intelligence source, we arrive national security building in damascus. local residents say this is where assad regime helped most important prisoners. we are looking for information on one in particular, u.s. journalist, austin tice, who was kidnapped in 2012. >> we are underneath the security services building where many of the high profile prisoners were believed to be held under the assad regime. we are looking for austin tice or information about him. >> like many government buildings coach at the basement is a jail and torture and horric conditions but no signs of life. upstairs t

are austin tice siblings, simon tice and megan tice malone. thank you both for joining us. i want to talk to you about the united states sending their top hostage envoy to syria just last week. have you learned anything new about austin's status in syria from envoy roger carstens, who who was on the ground in syria and talking to the the new leadership there, trying to get some answers? i'll start with you, simon yeah. >> thank you so much for having us. >> um, so we have been very encouraged by the fact that roger has been on the ground in syria, and we are just continuing to push everyone who has any ability to do so to help us find austin and bring him home. >> you now have, like the rest of the world, seen this sort of overthrow that happened so quickly. and you've seen the jails that have been opened up and worse, the morgues and mass graves in syria. um, do you have any thoughts? megan and the family talking through this for all these many years as to exactly where austin might be, any ideas that you have come up with? >> um, we haven't had to, you know, kind of come

lebanon has been involved for years in mediating talks over tice's fate. his family says they've been told he's alive. >> in chaos there is opportunity so this is the moment to reach out to any and all organizations or individuals to do anything in their power to help us bring him home. >> reporter: now president biden says his administration believes they can get tice out of syria. >>> and coming up on "cbs mornings," tice's parents will join us to talk about their renewed hopes to bring him home. >>> a new york jury acquitted marine veteran daniel penny in the chokehold death of a man on a subway train. penny was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide days after a charge of manslaughter was dismissed because the jury was deadlocked. penny said he put jordan neely in a chokehold for several minutes last year to protect people on the subway car after neely began threatening and shouting at them. neely was unhoused and had a history of mental illness. >> i miss my son. my southern didn't have to go through this. i didn't have to go through this e

and i'm going to speak to the parents of austin tice. he's been held in syria for more than 12 years. but tonight they believe that he is alive and well. and they're going to tell us why. >> it's time to feed the dogs real food in the right amount. >> a healthy weight can help dogs live a longer, happier life. >> the farmer's dog makes weight management easy with fresh food. pre-portioned for your dog's needs. it's an idea whose time has come. type two diabetes. >> discover the ozempic tri-zone. >> oh oh oh ozempic. >> i got the power of three. >> i lowered my a-1c cv risk and lost some weight. >> in studies, the majority of people reached an a-1c under seven and maintained it. i'm under seven. >> ozempic lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults. >> also with known heart disease. >> i'm lowering my risk and adults lost up to 14 pounds. i lost some weight. >> ozempic isn't for type one diabetes or children. >> don't share needles or pens or reuse needles. don't take. if you or your fa

the latest that we just heard is that, yes, an american was found but not tice, a different american, who'd been traveling in the region on some sort of pilgrimage. he was in a small house packed with rebels, aid workers and journalists, and there on the floor was travis timmerman from missouri. as i pushed in, i knocked our microphone, making it buzz. what is it, seven months that you've been here? >> yes, i was in prison for okay. months, but it's been i'm on a pilgrimage, and that's when i was arrested. >> reporter: timmerman says he crossed into syria from lebanon without a visa. what did they say when you were picked up? >> i was interviewed to see if i was a political actor, but then they cleared me, essentially. and then i was just held in prison. i wasn't beaten or anything like that. >> reporter: timmerman was freed on monday when the rebels overthrew the government and broke into jails to free political prisoners. he was found walking barefoot and alone. >> last night i slept outside. and then the night before that i slept with a friend. and the night before that i slept in

there were a lot of rumors online. >> this is not austin tice the search for austin tice, of course, continues, but an american was found in syria. his name is travis timmerman. this is breaking news. so we are waiting to get more information. but what we know about him, this 29 year old from missouri who appeared barefoot, wandering, disoriented in a suburb just south of damascus. now, media outlets have been able to speak to him their social media video emerging of him. and i just want to play you a short clip of one so that you can get a sense of his state and and hear his voice. >> my name is travis yellow. >> i'm from the one minute, 21 minute. what's your name travis chavez. a country united states, united. >> united states united states. >> now, what we know about him is what he's been able to tell journalists on the ground that he's spoken to, which is that he has been in prison for seven months. he traveled to syria on foot. he told reporters that he was on a spiritual journey, that he considered himself a pilgrim. he says that when he crossed, of course, from lebanon into s

reporter: any update on austin tice? antony: only to say every day we're working to bring him home and making sure the word is out for everyone this is a priority for the united states. reporter: are you concerned at all of israel's widespread air strikes and their maneuvers inside this buffer zone that created angner the arab world among u.s. partners. secondly, i'm wondering what your message would be to erdogan and kurdish forces who lost territory against other militias? antony: first, when it comes to the buffer zone that came from the 1974 cease-fire agreement, what israel has said is that the syrian forces that were on one side of that buffer zone abandoned the area and israel is concerned that vacuum could be filled by terrorists and extremists, so it moved forces into the buffer zone and it told us and told others it's a temporary move to make sure the vacuum isn't filled by something bad. when it comes to actions israel has taken, the stated purpose of those actions from the israelis is to make sure equipment d

i asked for that commitment explicitly directly and i did not receive it. >> obviously austin tice'se what they're going through right now. what we have been committed to is making sure that americans get home. 75 americans unjustly detained around the world. we have able to do that because this president's leadership. so i think that matters. >> reporter: saying that president biden over the last 44 days of his presidency up until january 20th will continue having these talks to release tice as well as other american hostages wrongfully detained across the world but the tice family is saying they were told in that meeting that they have to wait and see how the situation in syria pans out. so obviously a terrible wait for this family that's still ongoing. >> thank you so much. >>> now to a new report about president biden considering preemptive pardons on officials who could be targets of the incoming trump administration. this could include liz cheney, adam schiff and anthony fauci. some democrats are encouraging the move. >> jack smith name is on my list. liz cheney's name is on my

any news on the search for the journalist austin tice?ads that we're following up on. nothing confirmed at this stage. the latest i have heard from a very senior u.s. military source is they don't have anything definitive about his whereabouts or wellbeing at this moment. yes, as you mentioned, when the word broke, actual reporting on the austin tice story, when word broke, there was this video that came out first. and in the video, this unknown group of syrians said, we found this american. and it was very -- the suggestion was that it was austin tice, that he had been held by the regime. you could only see a little bit of him. it wasn't that clear. and we thought, well, maybe this is him. and we pretty quickly, we were able to determine it wasn't austin tice. but it was this other american who was here on this mysterious religious pilgrimage. we eventually found where he was taken, i spoke to the person who found him wandering on the streets. he was seen earlier in the day barefoot, walking alone in a very, very poor neighborhood on the

plus, austin tice missing for 12 years in syria. his brother joins us to discuss why the family has new hope of finding him alive and will defense secretary nominee pete hegseth release his sexual misconduct accuser from their confidentiality agreement? >> will decide whether or not it's credible. right now. he's being tried by anonymous sources that will not stand this holiday season, find the perfect gift at cnn underscored from the latest fashion to expert approved tech to the best beauty finds. >> discover it all at underscore. com you didn't get where you are playing it safe. >> you seek opportunities others don't. your growing ambition needs a partner built for growth. with markham now a part of cbis, discover new ways to accelerate growth from insights that drive the bottom line to technology that powers enterprises. your relentless ambition deserves a relentless team. welcome to the new cbis. >> i wish my tv provider let me choose what i pay for. >> sling lets you do that i wish my tv provider let me choose what i pay for an

obviously austin tice was somebody that the syrians wanted to hold on to and did not want americans tobut i would hope that this new government, this new -- the organization that's now in control of the syrian government, the so called hts, their initials, that they would be motivated as a gesture of goodwill to really put out every effort to find austin tice and to bring him home. he has been there way too long. he was there of course chronicling the brutal civil war in syria that assad unleashed on his people and he has been one of the longest held americans now in captivity that's currently still in captivity. . >> and the biden administration says it's exploring whether or not to remove the foreign terrorist designation from this group, the leader has been saying very moderate things, but he does have roots in al qaeda, isis, there are radical groups in that, you know, coalition, that's a very diverse coalition indeed, they are leading the most powerful of rebel groups of course. what do you think about this, the $10 million reward on his head, the u.n. and the u.s. have them on th

and i'm going to speak to the parents of austin tice. he's been held in syria for more than 12 years. but tonight they believe that he is alive and well. and they're going to tell us why barbara starr mother never too much. >> new year's day at eight on cnn holiday memories made by alexis. >> brought to you by etsy. >> oh, what a good time we will have you can make it happen. >> again. >> voltaren for long lasting arthritis pain relief this christmas. >> so you're her, right? >> you're the boxer experience the incredible true story of claressa shields. >> oh my baby! >> going to the olympics. >> i'm working my whole life for this. let's go. all these people getting endorsements. people expect female athletes to behave a certain way. what happened to staying true to who you are? i'm gonna need exactly what the man gets. >> it's way bigger than boxing. >> the fire inside. rated pg 13. >> as the people you love get older, their risk of severe flu and covid goes up. >> last year alone, those viruses hospitalized nearly 1 million people 65 an