reports," ukraine's president takes his plea for military aid right to washington. zelensky meeting with senators on capitol hill right now. he'll be at the white house this afternoon. what zelenskyy says he needs for the war. plus, it is a busy day for disgraced politicians. rudy giuliani back in court for day two of his defamation trial. how much will he have to pay to election workers? in new york, george santos just walked into court as we hear talk of a plea deal. what could that look like? and the texas supreme court rules against a woman seeking an emergency abortion. what this ruling means for women's healthcare in texas and beyond. thanks so much for joining us on this tuesday. it is 10:00 eastern. i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. we begin this morning with a desperate plea from a war time president. right now ukraine's president zelenskyy is in a closed door meeting with senators on capitol hill, making his case for more aid. you see him there arriving earlier. he'll meet with president biden later today in the oval office and then the two leaders will hold a joint news conference. the battle is far from over. ukraine says just in the last 24 hours, there were 89 clashes on the front lines and russia carried out more than two dozen missile and air strikes. joining us now is nbc's ali vitali on capitol hill. monica alba at the white house. keir simmons in moscow. also with us, jim townsend, former deputy assistant secretary for defense for europe and nato under president obama. ali, kick us off. how is zelenskyy being received there on the hill? >> reporter: well, look, the reception that he got when he walked into the room was one of applause. we could hear it from out here in the hallway. zelenskyy entered as you just showed down the hallway right behind me flanked on either side by the top republican mitch mcconnell and the top democrat chuck schumer, a bipartisan show of support walking in, but we know that it is going to be a testy atmosphere inside the room, because of the dynamics going on over the negotiations, both about aid to ukraine as well as aid to israel, and also the situation on the u.s./mexico border, all of this tied tight and parcel to the end of year supplemental that both parties are trying to push through, though that seems very unlikely from our team's conversations with the key negotiators. nevertheless, zelenskyy will be pressing the case to senators himself. some of those senators on the republican side have said this basically forces zelenskyy into a room of people who are not likely to say yes to his request for more funding for his fight against russia, but we do expect at some point in the next few minutes for zelenskyy as well as the two top leaders in the senate to come out and speak at the podium behind me, unclear what he'll have to say, but it may sound like this, what we heard from zelenskyy yesterday. watch. >> let me be frank, with you, france, if there is anyone inspired by unresolved issues on capitol hill, it is just putin and his sick clique. >> so, look, you got zelenskyy warning about the stakes. that's a question i asked him here this morning. he did not respond, but i imagine, ana, this is going to be one of the things he's stressing in the room right now as well as out here to reporters when he ultimately exits that room and continues on with his day, a full slate of meetings here on capitol hill including with the newly minted house speaker mike johnson. this is not zelenskyy's first visit here to washington, or to the capitol. but it is his first time meeting with johnson, who will represent to him the dynamics within the house republican conference which is reluctant to give more aid to ukraine and that has certainly been reflected in the conversations i had on that side of the building as well. >> we'll be watching for his emergence from this closed door meeting. and let's head to the white house, monica. talk to us about what we expect from that visit later today and the message the president wants to convey. >> reporter: well, this was an invitation that was extended by president biden, ana, to president zelenskyy to come here to washington and make this impassioned plea himself, personally to lawmakers. and we know that those are the opinions that really need to shift in order to see any momentum for this potential funding, but the white house is really putting this plainly by declassifying and downgrading some u.s. intelligence that they say shows that russia has actually suffered some critical defeats recently, but that they are the ones, russia, that stand to benefit from a winter deadlock, if ukraine isn't able to get more aid and military support specifically. they're going to put it into that context, and they're going to say that russia really here is in a position that is potentially beatable by ukraine, but they need the u.s. support to continue that to the tune of $60 billion or so. but right now, none of that is guaranteed and the president has stressed that really ukraine just has a couple of weeks left of u.s. support before that runs out. and here is a little bit more of the stakes and what national security counsel spokesman john kirby says the president is willing to do on other topics to secure this funding. >> the president has said, and he'll repeatedly say, that we're willing to make compromises here, that's what negotiations are all about, that's what governing are all about. he does believe in border security. we can't let our support for ukraine lapse as these critical winter months are approaching us. >> reporter: both leaders today at the white house are going to present this as, of course, an urgent matter, but the real stick here and the rub is what is the president willing to potentially compromise on when it comes to making changes to border policy that we're already hearing from some hispanic and latino members in congress, an outcry, and frustration over potential changes to asylum policy, to parole, things that president biden has really come out and spoken against, but that he might need to budge on in order to get this national security request, not just for ukraine, but also for israel across the finish line. ana? >> keir what are the global implications of this meeting and for russia in particular? >> reporter: well, ana, russia is watching what is happening in washington very, very closely. the kremlin spokesman dmitry peskov making that clear today, saying they are looking to see whether the hill agrees to fund further ukraine and they are wondering whether that will not happen, and whether or not there is -- whether there are signs of a change of atmosphere, if you like, in the west that means that things are potentially shifting for russia. being no doubt that it is seen as an absolutely crucial week here in moscow, by the russian government. on thursday, president putin will hold a q&a session with journalists, with the russian people, including a phone-in -- radio phone-in. he hasn't done that for a long time. you ask for the international picture. what we're seeing is president putin attempting, despite the continuing conflict in ukraine, attempting to pivot towards a new role on the world stage. he went to saudi arabia and the united arab emirates in the past few weeks, trying to move past his isolation. i think the question, of course, for president zelenskyy is whether he can persuade the u.s. to continue to help him push russia and to continue to isolate russia. for president putin, the issue here really is that the russian people are wanting to move on now. wanting to move past this. it is coming up to the holidays, the shops here in moscow are busy. the sanctions have not had the impact that the west thought that they would, but can president putinieve that? that i think is in the balance this week. >>so jim, the. has already provided ten of billions inid including humanitarian and financial aid, but the majority has really been the military support, training, equipment, weapons, et cetera, what do you think happens if the u.s. doesn't provide more funding. >> i think the winter could be a bloody one in ukraine, particularly because for sure the russians are going to pick up on their shelling and their firing missiles into ukrainian cities during the winter. they did this last winter, they tried to turn off the electricity. and if there is not enough antiaircraft, antimissile systems and particularly ammunition to ward off and to defeat this onslaught, it is going to be bloody for civilians as well as ukraine military on the front line. >> so, jim, republicans have been resistant to add more funding in part because there doesn't appear to be an end in sight to this war. and republican senator j.d. surveillance is saying they suck cede some of their land and cut a deal with putin. what say you? >> that's unacceptable. at some point there will have to be negotiations, but we're not there yet. and these negotiations are something that is going to be possible after unfortunately a lot of fighting is going to take place. j.d. vance is just echoing trump. it is a political thing that vance is saying. but if you talk to ukraine and talk to our allies in europe, they're not looking at having negotiations. they're working on helping ukraine recover its territory that has been taken, that we can't sit here as the ukraine is fighting for their lives and start talking about giving away land and cutting a deal with russia. it is not only bad for ukraine, it is bad for the west and for the united states to give into russia at this point. we'll only see a more aggressive russia as a result of cutting a deal with him. >> so, why do you think the u.s. sanctions and other western sanctions aren't having the intended affect, jim? >> well, i think what we're seeing actually is a very interesting outcome of years of putting sanctions on nations and really not seeing them do what we thought they would do. sanctions can work in certain aspects, certain situations, but with russia, there i a lot of russian friends, china, iran, others, that will provide a back door for assistance to get into russia, whether it is chips or whether it is commercially procured drones, but russia seems to be able to get what it needs to reconstitute its military as well as to have trade with oil and other kinds of energy to nations like china in return for trading other goods for the consumer back into russia. so, sanctions can work, but it is really a limited situation where they can be really effective. >> jim, u.s. intel officials are telling us that russia seems to believe that a military deadlock through the winter is going to drain western support for ukraine, while ultimately giving russia the advantage despite its losses and shortages of trained personnel, munitions and equipment. but if there is a deadlock, the big question then is what is going to be the tipping point. because if everything that has been going into this war so far is only been able to do so much, what is the tipping point? >> well, frankly, i think we're at a tipping point right now. if the -- if the u.s. is not able to provide assistance on a consistent and sustained basis, where ukraine planners can know what is coming in and how they can reorient their offensive, right now the planners are getting together with the u.s., they're trying to find a new way moving ahead, so there are plans to make sure that this is not a stalemate, that the offensive can continue, but for that to happen there has got to be assistance, it has got to be assistance that ukraine can depend on. if that doesn't happen, then certainly this offensive that ukraine wants to pick back up in the spring and summer, that offensive will probably falter. and we'll find ourselves back into a very bloody attrition battle with the russians, because the russians will use this time to recapitalize themselves in terms ofore weons, more men on the front lines, and dig in deeper. so i think the tipping point frankly is right now. it could go either way and if it is a time of no assistance going into ukraine, the spring and summer will be one of a bloody battle between these two countries and something that will imperil u.s. national security. >> jim townsend, thank you. ali vitali, monica alba, keir simmons, appreciate all of your reporting, we'll keep a close eye on when zelenskyy comes out of his meeting with senators before he heads into other meetings with members of the house, with president biden. appreciate all of you. and when we're back in 60 seconds, a legal limbo. a texas woman at the heart of a major abortion case makes a tough decision. plus, is donald trump immune from prosecution over january 6th? a legal question now facing the supreme court. and now disgraced ex-congressman george santos is back in court this morning. could he be close to striking a plea deal with prosecutors? and attention all late holiday shoppers, we got a new inflation report. does it change your gift giving budget? inflation report does it change your gift giving budget who's winning? we are, my friend. we are. . -amazing -expensive. so, we switched to the bargain detergent, but we ended up using three times as much and the clothes still weren't as clean as with tide. so we're back with tide, and the clothes are clean again. do 3x the laundry and get a tide clean. it's got ♪o be tide. shelves. shelves smart enough to see, sense, react, restock. so caramel swirl is always there for the taking. welcome back. new developments today in the story of a texas woman who went to court seeking an emergency abortion and a medical exemption to the state's near total abortion ban. the texas supreme court reversing the lower court ruling that would have allowed kate cox to end her pregnancy. doctors told cox her baby is unlikely to survive and her future fertility could be in jeopardy should she carry to term. her lawyers say cox has been forced to flee the state to seek an abortion saying she just couldn't wait any longer with her health on the line. nbc's senior legal correspondent laura jarrett joins us now. let's talk about this texas supreme court ruling. why the reversal, what is behind this decision? >> the judge in this case essentially laying out that the medical standard to get an exemption under state law here requires a life threatening physical condition. while kate's case presents risks and complications, their words, the doctor didn't actually assert she has that life threatening illness and she loses this case. now, in response to that, her lawyers put out a statement saying in part here, this ruling should ge every texan to their core. if kate cannot get an abortion in texas, who can? i think they're drilling down on the fact that this is somebody who has been in the emergency room, as you and i have talked about, four times, her situation is quite serious, but because her doctor didn't use the magic language, she cannot get an abortion in the state of texas. though at this point, for kate, it is essentially moot, because she has gone elsewhere. >> so, wait, is it clear now what that magic language is? >> i think it actually remains to be seen. this is an issue as they point out, actually still up on appeal in the state of texas in a whole different set of cases. we covered 20 plus women who said they too had medical complications. they were no longer pregnant, but they had challenged the constitutionality of these medical exemptions and the state of texas is still evaluating that. i think this is a live issue, but, again, in kate's case, we have reached the end of the road, but they made crystal clear here how high the bar is for women going forward. >> laura jarrett, thank you so much. >> sure. up next, on "ana cabrera reports," while george santos makes jokes about stealing an interviewer's designer berken bag, he may not be laughing in court today. what we're learning about a possible plea deal. plus, the latest from a d.c. courtroom where rudy giuliani's defamation case is heating up. c defamation case is heating up. year, after year, after year. gift the iphone 15 pro with titanium. boost infinite. why give your family just ordinary eggs when they can enjoy the best? 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[man struggles] ...you should check out inspire. no mask. no hose. just sleep. learn more and view important safety information at inspiresleep.com hi. i use febreze fade defy plug. and i use this. febreze has a microchip to control scent release so it smells first-day fresh for 50 days. 50 days!? and its refill reminder light means i'll never miss a day of freshness. ♪ we're back with some breaking news. the criminal case against disgraced congressman george santos back before a court in new york right now. you can see here he is in court today. this was him walking into that federal courthouse earlier. santos, who was just expelled from congress, faces multiple counts of wire fraud, identity theft, making false statements among others. but we just learned that santos is engaged in plea negotiations with federal prosecutors. let's go to nbc's rehema ellis joining us from the courthouse in long island. what could we learn about potential plea deal negotiations? >> reporter: well, we might learn more about how the government is engaged in these conversations and negotiations with george santos. as you pointed out, he wentnto the courthouse just at the top of the hour, and he has pled not guilty to all of these counts. there are some 23 counts against him of which you mentioned some of them, the wire fraud, the money laundering, identity theft, making false statements to congress, and now he would like to, it seems, avoid a trial. apparently the government is willing to do that as well because as i say, this was a prescheduled hearing that was supposed to take place. but last night we learned that the government said that they were going to inform the court today that they're engaged in negotiations for a plea deal that would avoid a trial altogether, which is scheduled to begin in september. the government would like to do begin as early as next spring. we'll see what happens. court gets under way in just a few minutes. i'm going to go inside, right after this, to find out exactly what they say about all of this, and report on it on the other side to you, ana. >> keep us posted. thank you, rehema ellis. let's go right to capitol hill right now, president zelenskyy left his meeting with senators. here is senator schumer. >> he needs the aid quickly. if we don't give the aid quickly, several things will happen. first, the military needs, but second, europe and many other allies will say what is going on here, they're not giving them the aid. thank you. >> we missed the top there, but i want to bring in ali vitali, who can fill us in. what else did we hear from senator schumer, what more can you tell us about his meeting with senators and what's next? >> reporter: look, brief from the top democrat here in the senate. senator schumer saying that it was a good and productive meeting, where zelenskyy was clear that he needs this aid to go forward and continue winning the war. schumer underscored what he said zelenskyy underscored in the room, which is that if russia were to win here, everyone will lose, in terms of ukraine and the united states both as allies of small d democracy. in terms of specifics, we did not hear many. and we expected zelenskyy to come and speak to us here, obviously that didn't end up happening, but our understanding was that he was going to come to the press with some kind of a message after this meeting. one of the things that we do know was brought up inside the room, which is really a sticking point to this larger conversation about aid and a supplemental package by the end of the year is what is going on in terms of border security. we know that immigration was brought up in the room, senator durbin telling one of our producers here that zelenskyy underscored the fact that if ukraine were to lose this war, there would be even further migration issues because zelenskyy said many people would come from europe to the united states, only making this immigration crisis that much worse. but schumer here in front of us gave no timeline as he walked away. you may have heard me and several of my colleagues shouting, trying to get a better understanding of if even as zelenskyy presses for this aid it is going to hurry the process up at all here on capitol hill. it has been a situation rife with hang-ups, rife with thorny negotiations, and it is not clear that they have come anywhere close to the consensus they would need here in the senate to actually move a supplemental package along before the end of the year. that's one of the things that schumer didn't answer as he was walking away here. we'll continue to try to press him on that. but if you look over at the house side, where president zelenskyy is going next for his meetings on capitol hill, he'll huddle with speaker mike johnson, but johnson just in the last hour or so, on conservative radio, said in an interview that he didn't think he was going to have to call the house back into session for next week, because he's not seeing the kind of movement or consensus on the senate side they would need to actually push this kind of a supplemental aid package through before the end of the year. thus ending in another stalemate, ana. >> ali vitali on capitol hill for us, thank you for the update. also happening in washington today, lawyers are questioning witnesses right now in the second day of rudy giuliani's defamation trial. the judge is already found him liable for defaming two former georgia election workers and falsely claiming that they committed fraud in the 2020 election. now, a jury will determine just how much giuliani has to pay up. outside court yesterday, giuliani insisted he has no regrets. >> whatever happened to them, which is unfortunate if other people overreacted, but everything i said about them is true. >> do you regret what you did to ruby -- >> of course i don't regret. i told the truth. >> nbc's ryan reilly is outside that courthouse in washington, d.c. and with us, dave aaronburg. court just opened and it started with the judge questioning those comments we just heard from giuliani. walk us through it. >> reporter: yeah, giuliani really can't seem to save himself here because what his lawyer is arguing in court is much different from what rudy giuliani is saying outside, continuing to add to those lies he said about these two individuals. he claims that what he said about them is true. it was not. what he said about them was false. that's been found again and again and again. and in fact is the factual basis of this litigation we're currently engaged in now. ultimately this jury is going to hear from those two women about what exactly rudy giuliani's lies and the lies perpetuated by the trump campaign did to their lives, tearing them apart and really causing this really major impact on their lives including having to move homes in one case, losing jobs, getting threatening racist phone calls, threatening messages to them, all based on what was not true, this out of context video. and just yesterday, giuliani was even reposting posts from a far right conspiracy website about these two individuals. so he clearly still seems to believe these lies in the first place and just facts and reality don't seem to stand in his way here. but his lawyer is really going to be trying to walk this back with the jurors here and say that the impact of these lies isn't what they -- what the plaintiffs claim they are. he's going to be trying to shrink the amount of damages they could be facing here, even though what the plaintiffs are asking for is in the millions and millions of dollars, he's going to try to keep that at a lower rate. >> i see you here shaking your head, give me your reaction to giuliani, apparently putting himself in potentially more legal jeopardy with the comments today or yesterday outside court. >> those comments were pathetic. look, he's already said that these comments were lies, and somehow he's saying, no, they were truthful and they are the ones to blame, which is ludicrous and he's undermining his own lawyer's work in court. i hope those lawyers got paid up-front because giuliani is not making it easier on them and he's dead broke. i think what is happening is that giuliani realizes that you can't get blood from a stone, that he can have no matter how many millions of punitive damages and compensatory damages assessed against him, but good luck getting it out of a guy who can't even pay his taxes. so i think that he's just doubling down, because he's playing to an audience of one, that's his guy, donald trump, he knows in his mind he'll never be held accountable. >> doubling down. he's defaming them again? >> he could be sued again forco trump has assets. >> he has the money. >> giuliani is dead broke. don't expect any future lawsuits against the guy. >> so, his lawyers, giuliani's lawyers, in court, before the jury and their opening statement, said, you're asking for $43 million, referring to the defendants or rather the plaintiffs here in this case, and he called that the equivalent of a civil death penalty in this case. >> yeah. it is a little hyperbole. it is a civil case. it is not a criminal case. and he already has a lien against his palm beach home because he can't pay the taxes on it. so when you say if you assess $48 million, it is a death penalty against me financially, the dude is already flat broke. so, this is just going to be extra money that i don't think they're going to be able to collect. but i think at least for the public to set the record straight, it is important he be held accountable for his vicious lies that undermined our democracy. >> how quickly could this trial go? >> reporter: this is only expected to last this week and rudy, i think, probably against the advice of his lawyers perhaps, could end up testifying in this case. they said at the beginning of this they will hear from rudy directly and if it is based off of what he said last night, that could be pretty disastrous because rudy can't seem to control himself in terms of continuing to say that these lies are the truth. they are not. they are lies about these two election workers, that's been adjudicated. the jurors will have to get to work deciding just how much of a penalty they're going to impose against rudy for those lies he told about those two election workers. >> ryan reilly, thank you. dave aaronburg, stay with us. the supreme court responds to the special counsel's request on the issue of presidential immunity. how soon could they make a decision? and do republicans have the votes to make their impeachment inquiry of president biden official? their impeachment inquiry of president biden official right now, the house rules committee is considering a resolution to formally authorize an impeachment inquiry into president biden. this is the first step before the full house can vote on this as soon as tomorrow. you're getting a look there inside that hearing room. the investigation looking into the biden family's business dealings hasn't produced any evidence of wrongdoing by the president, even so north dakota as representative kelly arm strong, who introduced the resolution, telling axios a lot of people who are skeptical six months ago are going to vote for it. let's get to nbc's garrett haake on capitol hill. garrett, republicans hold a three-seat majority here. if the full house takes a vote, where will this go? >> reporter: well, ana, as of right now, it looks like republicans will have the votes to pass this inquiry and get it started formally. but by a very narrow margin. we heard from one house republican, a retiring member, it should be noted, who has come out publicly and said they shouldn't take this step. what i'm watching are a lot of the folks in biden-leaning districts, are they ready to essentially walk the plank on an impeachment inquiry they will argue on the front end is just them authorizing their ability to ask questions. house republicans have said they don't think they're getting all the evidence that they need from the white house, from hunter biden and his attorneys and so forth. they need this backup to go ask better questions. my question to them is, what happens if you don't find anything? would you really be willing to acquit president biden or shut down an impeachment inquiry in a presidential election year? that's the challenge house republicans have if they choose to go forward, how do they get off this train once they get it started. >> garrett, has anything actually changed substantively or in terms of the contents? did they get any new evidence? >> reporter: look, they have a lot of data points, but none of the dots basically connect with lines. that's the problem here. there is plenty of evidence including in the new indictment of hunter biden of hunter biden crimes and malfeasance and sketchy behavior around the globe. what the house republicans have yet to come up with is anything that links that behavior substantively to joe biden. hunter biden cannot be impeached. he's not a government official. joe biden is the president of the united states. and when house republicans have heretofore failed to unearth and what they're trying to turn into a virtue is to say we don't have the connection to joe biden, it must be because the white house is hiding it. or democrats argue it is because there is no connection to joe biden and i suppose we're going to find out who is right sometime over the next year if this vote passes tomorrow. >> all right, garrett haake on capitol hill, thank you. the special counsel prosecuting donald trump for election interference has gone straight to the supreme court for a ruling on a key issue in this case. does trump have presidential immunity for actions he took while he was in office? jack smith argues it is of imperative public importance for the court to decide this issue. so, trump's march trial can move forward quickly. let's bring in nbc news correspondent vaughn hillyard and dave aaronburg is still with us. what more can you tell us about this request from jack smith? >> donald trump is claiming he had immunity, his official capacity as president of the united states, that he was protected from being prosecuted for his actions around january 6th and in the aftermath of the 2020 election. judge chutkan, the one overseeing this case, rebuked that in her december 1st ruling, making it clear that immunity, quote, in her words, does not confer to a life long get out of jail for free pass. trump's team appealed that ruling and this is where jack smith's petition yesterday with the u.s. supreme court is so notable. he's looking to bypass the u.s. circuit court of appeals. donald trump's team, they appealed this ruling, so instead of going to the u.s. circuit court or d.c. court, it would then go to the u.s. supreme court. and why is this notable? march 4th is the day this trial is supposed to begin. we're looking at a three-month timeline for this trial. you're looking at july being the republican national convention. this is notable because donald trump wants to delay this trial as much as possible because it is going to be the republicans, this summer, that choose the gop nominee for president. and, of course, you're looking at november 2024 as well. >> what do you make of this move? is it risky at all given it is a 6-3 majority on the supreme court? >> not risky at all. it was always going to go to the supreme court. the question is when. so what jack smith is doing here is calling donald trump's bluff, trump is outraged that jack smith is doing this. but he's saying is this really about the issue of presidential immunity? or about a delay? and the fact that trump is outraged that jack smith is going to the supreme court shows it is not about any constitutional law issue, it is about pushing this trial past the 2024 election when trump thinks he's going to be president again and then tell his attorney general to call it all off. >> so has this issue of presidential immunity come up before? i'm thinking back to nixon. >> right. the u.s. supreme court never ruled on this. never had a president like donald trump before. and so it is an issue that the supreme court is going to weigh in on, and it seems like they have taken this with the seriousness it deserves, looks like they're going to expedite it. they gave a favorable ruling to jack smith yesterday that says we're going to expedite the request and demand from trump a response, so i think that bodes well for the prosecutors and it bodes well for a trial date on or around march 4th. >> so they're demanding a request from trump's team by december 20th. that is about a week away. how quickly could the supreme court actually rule on this? >> well, depends on the supreme court. if they wanted to, they could rule right away, i mean, but they're not. it is going to take some time. this is a issue of first impression. when bush v. gore came out, it took the supreme court a couple of days to rule, so when they want to light a fire, they can light the fire. i think that was a huge strategic win for jack smith to take this gambit, because it upset donald trump. when trump is upset, you know it is a win for prosecutors. also, the d.c. appellate court is slow. and if you waited for them, like, look, it took them weeks to decide on the issue of the gag order. come on. so, the prosecutors are going over their heads, straight to the supreme court, where it belongs. >> we'll watch closely december 20th or maybe the filing from trump's team comes before then. who knows. the civil fraud trial continues here in new york. we're expecting closing arguments by the defense or closing, i guess, witness testimony from the defense today. no? >> right. the defense's last witness is on the stand right now in lower manhattan taking questions from the new york attorney general's office as part of the rebuttal opportunity. this was the nyu professor, paid notably, nearly $900,000 by the trump organization and a trump aligned super pac for him to provide this testimony. but, right now he's answering questions and then it has been determined that the new york attorney general's office is going to be able to bring to the stand two further rebuttal witnesses here in the coming days. and we expect ultimately the courthouse to all but shut down with this trial here this week and then it is january 11th when closing arguments will begin. that's just four days before the iowa caucus here. we do not expect a decision by the new york -- by the judge in this case to come until later on in january here. so, again, the politics in the courtroom very much are running perpendicular to each other in real time. >> as this trial wraps up, where you to see it headed? >> already pretty much over. the judge ruled for summary judgment on the fraud count, the most important one. the question is damages. will they assess a $250 million fine against trump and his company, will they put assets into receivership to be sold out. which the trump criticizes the judge, it is a stupid move, he's the fact finder. you don't want to keep upsetting the guy making the decisions for your financial future. >> dave, vaughn, thank you both. up next on "ana cabrera reports," breaking down the new inflation report just out. plus, the urgent push by the united nations today for a cease-fire between israel and hamas as an 85-year-old former hostage shares this warning about the others still held in gaza. >> they need to get out today. otherwise, they won't live. toda. otherwise, they won't live whenever you're hungry, there's a deal on the subway app. buy one footlong, get one 50% off in the subway app today. now that's a deal worth celebrating. man, what are you doing?! get it before it's gone on the subway app. ♪♪ what is cirkul? cirkul is the fuel you need to take flight. cirkul is the energy that gets you to the next level. cirkul is what you hope for when 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(vo) make the switch. it's your business. it's your verizon. only at vanguard you're more than just an investor you're an owner. that means your priorities are ours too. our retirement tools and advice can help you leave a legacy for the ones you love. that's the value of ownership. we're watching the united nations today. it could vote again on a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in the israel-hamas war. this comes as two u.s. officials say there is limited hope inside the biden administration that the u.s. can secure another pause in fighting. let's bring in nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel in israel. talk about the significance of this anticipated u.n. vote today, and the current state of fighting in gaza. >> reporter: so this would not be a terribly significant vote. it would have some symbolic weight because it is from the general assembly and it could have moral authority potentially but it is not binding in any way, not a u.n. security council resolution. there was an attempt to pass a u.n. security council resolution calling for immediate cease-fire, that was vetoed by the united states. the uk abstained. but it is potentially a sign of what world opinion might be and a sign of how severe the situation is in gaza for the hostages and held by hamas and for the people of gaza, according to the health ministry, which is run by hamas, the death toll in gaza has now passed 18,000. as israeli troops attack hamas across the gaza strip, calls for a cease-fire are intensifying and growing more urgent, with president biden calling for caution. six international humanitarian groups including save the children and care usa issued a joint statement this morning, warning the war is sending gaza into an apocalyptic free fall. they're asking for a cease-fire and action from washington, saying the fighting has killed more than 7,500 children, more than all global conflicts last year combined. the israeli military says it does not target civilians, and gives warnings before attacks. in washington last night, at a hanukkah celebration, president biden pledging support for israel, support for israel, but saying he has had differences with the leadership there. >> i have to be careful. the whole world's public opinion can shift overnight and we can't let that happen. >> the risk of the conflict spilling across the middle east and drawing in the united states are once again on the rise. overnight, rockets launched from areas controlled by iranian-backed houthi rebels in yemen struck a ship in the red sea, causing fire and damage but no casualties, according to u.n. officials. and then the u.s. embassy was targeted last week. inside gaza, hunger and tkesz desperation. one of the first hostages freed by hamas, an 85-year-old and she says time is running out to save the hostages still in gaza. >> reporter: how concerned are you about the ones that did not get out? >> translator: the lack of air in the tunnels as well as the shortage of food and medicine could bring people to complete exhaustion and they just won't make it. they have to get out today otherwise they won't live. >> reporter: the families of the hostages who have been released are calling on everyone, calling on hamas and arab mediator, and anybody that could get the parties back to the negotiating table to negotiate a pause in the fighting to give relief to the people of gaza and to pea potentially seeing the hostages released. >> thank you, richard. and then support for one, the harvard corporation announced president gay will remain in office. gay and the presidents of mit and u penn faced fierce condemnation, and stefanik responded this morning to gay keeping her job. >> those university presidents made history, and the world saw it. this is a moral failure of harvard's leadership and leadership at the highest levels. >> u penn's president resigned this weekend. a u.s. disconnect between the u.s. and china. there was a deal to resume direct military communications, but u.s. officials say they reached out several times to re-establish that channel and have not gotten a response. the communications channel went cold in 2022 officer former speaker, nancy pelosi, went to taiwan, which beijing claims as its territory. we have breaking news on the u.s. economy. this year's final inflation report shows prices went up 3.1% compared to last year. that's the slowest or lowest inflation rate since june. nbc business and data correspondent, brian cheung, is here to break down what it means. sounds like we are moving in the right direction? >> yeah, we have to remember that prices are still going up and are just going up at a slower rate, and 3.1% is how much they went up from november of last year to this year. prices only went up by 0.1 of a%, and estimates were for no change at all, and depending on your interpretation, maybe this report was worse than expected. but we are seeing categories of brightness in the report with specifically, energy. these are monthly percentage changes you are seeing here, and food prices went up by 0.2 of a% between october and november. and shelter, this is the biggest cost for most americans, and inflation increasing from 0.3 of a percent to 0.4 of a percent, and it's something certainly watching for the months to come. >> thank you for those details. now to exclusive breaking news we are getting out of the white house. i want to bring back nbc's monica alba joining us from the white house. what can you tell us? >> we are just learning president biden invited the family members of some of the hostages being held by hamas and potentially other militant groups in gaza to the white house tomorrow for their first in-person meeting. this is significant because we know, of course, at the white house, the biden administration has been in touch with these families who are seeking more information on their loved ones who have been in captivity for, of course, more than 60 days. we know there have been zoom calls president biden has been on, and we are told by people in the room were among some of the most gut-wrenching conversations during their time at the white house, and vice president harris, they have met with some of the family members, and so has national security adviser, jake sullivan, who has been a conduit for some of the families. this is the first time some of the family members will be able to be in person and face-to-face with president biden to try and get any kind of an update on where things stand. remember, there were some americans who were able to be freed as part of the most recent exchange deal, when there was a pause in the fighting between israel and hamas. there's some information that has been learned by u.s. intelligence in terms of how they were treated. remember, it was 4-year-old abigail, and then another woman was freed a couple weeks ago, and there was something like eight unaccounted for americans being held. there's little that is known about their condition, and even about where some of them are being held versus where other americans were being held. we know that as the fighting resumed on december 1st, there was a major question about whether the conditions could exist again for another pause in fighting that would allow some of the hostages to potentially be freed, and it's something president biden said he will not rest until he can secure more information, and ideally their safe return home. >> monica alba with that exclusive reporting, reporting that the president will be meeting with members of families of those held hostage. that will do it for us today, and we will see you tomorrow, same time, same place. josé diaz-balart picks up our coverage right after this. and you've got just what they need. also, i love your ottomans. your number one fan, santa. ♪ wayfair you've got just what i need ♪ as someone living with type 2 diabetes, i want to keep it real and talk about some risks. with type 2 diabetes you have up to 4 times greater risk of stroke, heart attack, or death. even at your a1c goal, you're still at risk ...which if ignored could bring you here... ...may put you in one of those... ...or even worse. too much? 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