blocked from the ballot, we re waiting for a move from a trump campaign. now that maine is joining colorado and keeping former presidents name off of its primary ballot. as we engage in this process, what is important is the meaning of the constitution, the facts before us, and that interpretation. there can be no other consideration. however, california decided it would allow trump to stay on the ballot there. with an election year fast approaching, what does this all mean for his campaign. plus, a showdown growing in texas. the justice department threatening to sue texas if it enforces a new state law that allows police there to arrest migrants who crossed the border without authorization. we will tell you how governor greg abbott is responding to that. counting down, new york city around the world are putting the final touches on the new year s eve celebrations. security remains a big concern. live report on how the city is preparing. and, it was a banner year for wo
friends. it is wednesday, december 27th, i m willie geist. joe and mika have the morning off. a lot to get to including israeli forces shifting military efforts to southern and central gaza with officials warning the war could take many more months. and hours from now, antony blinken and alejandro mayor kas are set to meet with mexican president obrador. plus donald trump continues to claim he should be immune from any prosecution surrounding his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. we ll have the latest there. also ahead, bus drivers across the country increasingly under attack on the job. we ll dig into an alarming trend and what officials are doing about it. with us this morning, jonathan lemire, susan paige, and retired four star navy admiral james stavridis. good morning to you all. let s begin together with israel expanding the ground invasion in gaza. this as the united states continues to urge israel to protect civilian lives and shift to a more low intensity oper
starts right now. hi. thank you so much. i am ari melber and whoop there it is. election day within three weeks. early voting has begun, including in new key states. and we begin with something special. i m not going to hide the ball. i m going to show you the two chairs. howard dean who ran the dnc. michael steele who ran the rnc. in our opinion, no two better people to walk us through and it, they are here right now. let me tell you the context. 2 million people cast ballots. when we say election day, it s like rhetoric. this is election month. early voting is showing records smashed in certain states. fluid dynamics. new polls show the house leaning slightly towards republicans, depending on what happens. democrats believe they are still in a strong position to hold the senate majority. and as we ve told you, we cannot accurately cover 400 plus races at once. we will bring you the highlights, the context, the facts and the music. but i will show you some of the deba
insurrection. we are going to break down the disturbing details and what happens next. plus, we have 24 days away from crucial midterm elections. i m excited about the election and then debate stages, they are heating up and we are talking about the police moments and georgia. and wisconsin, that could decide the balance of power in congress. they have questions that need answers. housing urban development secretary, he is joining me at my table to talk all about affordable housing and helping potential home buyers and a market that same stack against them. i am simone sanders thompson, i have something to say. this week january six hearing, really tied up some loose ends for us. i gave the country a more complete picture of what was happening inside of the capitol. actions by lawmakers, in action by the white house. but take italy, the former president of the united states of america during believe me as one question. why? why did the secret service and the fbi failed to act
safety and privacy. when walker categorically denied the story and said he didn t know who was making this allegation, the woman, a registered democrat, whose relationship with walker continued after the abortion, told the daily beast her chief concern with revealing her name was because she is the mother of one of walker s children. she wanted to protect her family s privacy as best she could while coming forward with the truth. walker has publically acknowledged that their child is his own and the woman proved she s the child s mother and provided credible evidence of a long-term relationship with herschel walker. nbc news has not independently confirmed this reporting. walker is once again denying some, all of the allegations, telling nbc there s, quote, no truth to it. in his denials, the woman tells the daily beasts it s his hypocrisy that spurred her to come forward. she s the mother of one of his four kids. he did not accept responsibility for the kid we did have t