griff: tree is up and stockings are hung and we re two days from christmas in the spirit filled stockings. i like christmas trees and presents. nicole: we like stockings over the mantle. griff: my parents would do like candy and fruit and one surprise gift that was thoughtful. it s good stuff. nicole: i do socks for all my kids and husband in the stocking plus candy. they count on that . will: my parents had the stocking game nailed down. the trick, so the problem, of course, i got to be careful because i don t know who s watching right now. december 24th is difficult. christmas eve is difficult. you have a nice dinner, you have a few drinks and there s a lot of work to do. then you re up late and then the problem is that you have to get up early the next morning because there s people read db of interaural go and kids ragaini ready to go and my parents used the stocking as a time delay mechanician and it would be delivered to your door and had something to look at and go t
has died at the age of 95. we will have a live report from the vatican in just a moment. plus, new year and even more legal troubles for the former president of the united states after decades of flying under the radar was 2022 the year that accountability finally caught up to donald trump? plus, the halls of congress will be crawling with election deniers in 2023. with a divided republican party set to take over the house, you can put democracy at the bottom of the gop agenda. good morning. it is saturday, december 31st, new years eve. i am mehdi hasan, sitting in for my friend ali velshi this morning. not only is today the last day of the year, it also marks the official end of the january 6th committee. it s a series of blockbuster public hearings dominated the news this year with its many revelations about donald trump s desperate and anti-democratic attempts to cling on to power. the committee repeatedly made the case that trump was culpable and liable for the insurrec
college murders ahead of his first court appearance. the father of one victim speaking out. how he feels about potentially coming face to face with the alleged killer. new images of the crowd fleeing after the new year s eve machete attack on nypd officers. the suspect now charged. was it a terrorist act? new troubles as holiday travelers make their way home. why thousands of flights are canceled or delayed again. actor jeremy renner airlifted to the hospital after he was critically injured in a snow plowing accident. what we re learning. and our tribute to a tv trailblazer. the legendary barbara walters. announcer: this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. good evening. it is good to be back with you and happy new year. this holiday season that has seemingly been bookended with severe weather is spawning some new and dangerous threats tonight. as we come on the air, tornado watches are in effect, stretching from east texas to arkansas and louisiana. already we
night, we are going to get to it. great show. i will see you tomorrow. see you later! this is don lemon tonight. it s election night in america, and coming in from primaries in five states. cnn s projecting that trump endorsed candidate tutor dixon will win the michigan republican gubernatorial primary. it predicts eric schmidt has won the missouri gop senate primary. we ll have more results to come. twitter, dickson, and eric smith, the winners there. the fact, is in state after state, democracy is on the ballot tonight. will the gop be the party of trump and his election lies, or is there room left in the party of lincoln for candidates to defend our free and fair elections? we may get some answers tonight. the last polls just closing right now in arizona, their primaries, were trump backed candidates are all over the ballot, running for the senate, governor, and the secretary of state. the state that has been grand zero for trump s postelection defeat revenge tour. kyu
in 2013. a radical precedent that will define the future of the vatican. molly joining us now from the vatican. molly, what are we learning this evening about former pope benedict s funeral arrangements? reporter: we understand that pope francis will preside over the funeral mass on thursday morning just behind me in st. peter s square. lester, we are also learning tonight where benedict will be buried. in the same vatican vault under st. peter s basilica as pope john paul ii. lester? molly, thank you. turning now to the war in ukraine, russia tonight acknowledging a ukrainian strike killed dozens of its troops while ukraine puts the number in the hundreds. matt bradley is in kyiv with more on how russia is retaliating. reporter: tonight ukraine s single deadliest attack against russia in months. using american-supplied himars rockets to level this vocational college that russia had been using as a barracks for newly recruited troops in the east. russia s ministry of defense