week. but there is good news out there, very good news, and it's right there on your screen. those right there are the average number of covid hospitalizations in the u.s. and despite all of those cases i just told you about, hospitalizations have not budged. they're essentially flat over the past week. deaths are up a bit. but that's just over 5%. here's potentially more good news, when omicron was discovered in south africa a month ago, their cases were going straight up. they doubled. then they doubled again. last friday, their average number of cases peaked and they have been dropping ever since. south africa's top scientists told "the washington post" that he expects other countries will follow the same trajectory and said the u.s. could see a similar drop in cases in the next couple of weeks. of course we've got a lot to get to here, but first, i want to go through every tool in our tool box because we want to keep people from suffering. we want to keep people from just being confused. the big one we have got to talk about is vaccines. we just learned that we may soon get some clarity on whether private employers can require their workers to get vaccines or regular tests. the supreme court is fast tracking oral arguments, settling them for two weeks from tomorrow, and one final piece of good news, covid pills may soon be coming to a primary care giver or a pharmacy near you. the fda authorized them for emergency use yesterday, and they could be available in some places by this weekend. that's a lot of good news. i want to dig deeper and bring in meg, jen petty piece covers the white house, and dr. peter hotez at texas children's hospital and a dean at baylor college of medicine. the president said yesterday they have bought millions and millions of pills to send out. that's on top of the 500 million test kits. that is a major logistical undertaking, and we know time is of the essence. how are they going to pull this off? >> right, steph. a lot of potentially good news or good signs on the horizon but still a lot of challenges ahead. you mentioned these pills from pfizer. the administration has spent $10 billion on new drugs and treatments. they hope to have 10 million courses of treatment by late summer of just this pfizer pill, which appears to be a game changer, but to get to that point, the administration is going to need to help pfizer speed up manufacturing and production they said yesterday because that is a big challenge for the company. they've also got to get this testing situation under control because in order for this drug to be effective, it needs to be taken within three to five days of developing symptoms. that means a patient needs to be able to get a test, get results and get a prescription in just a few days. you mentioned the testing front. the administration planning to sent out 500 million test kits for free to people and send to their homes. we don't have details on how that's going to work. there is a web site that's going to launch in january. that is not up yet, and we don't know who's going to be eligible for the tests, how many each household can get. whether they let seniors get the test before other people, a lot of questions on the testing front, and you have people waiting days to get test results back, and unable to find any of these home tests, so a lot of obstacles, struggles ahead for this administration, but as you noted, some tools finally in the tool box to get this pandemic under control. >> as far as trusted information, meg you have been providing an enormous amount over the last year. it's essential. tell us about the pills. are they basically like getting the same thing as the vaccine? >> the main difference between these pills and the vaccine is when you get these pills you're already sick and so the best thing to do would be to try to avoid that by getting vaccinated and preventing this from happening, but these pills are available for people who have high risk factors for severe disease, and as shannon pointed out, you've got to get this early, within five days of symptom on set. get the test result, and find a way for your doctor to prescribe it. even though it's shown amazing results, 89% reduction in hospitalization and death risk, if you take it within five days, there's not going to be enough of this drug for a long time. 65,000 treatment courses available, you know, within the next week. another 200,000 expected in january, but it's going to take until the late summer to get the full 10 million course order that the u.s. has put in with pfizer. folks shouldn't be able to count on getting this drug right away. >> peter, i feel safer every time you talk to us. look at the numbers. we know cases are rising in scary numbers, but our hospitalizations have been flat. what does that tell you? >> yes, but not necessarily. when you look at, for instance, the numbers in new york, you are seeing hospitalizations now starting to creep up in possibly washington, d.c., which are our two worst areas being hit right now by the omicron variant. here's my concern, stephanie. one of the reasons why in the u.k. and south africa we're not seeing as many hospitalizations, could be for a different reason, and that those -- the omicron waves in those two countries hit on top of the delta waves. you had delta and omicron back to back, and almost continuously. what that meant was a lot of omicron infections that we saw in south africa and the u.k. were omicron reinfections, and those reinfected may have had less severe disease, and therefore it may be a little bit misleading. it could be, though, that for someone who's been unvaccinated and never infected before that they could be just at risk for just as severe disease as any of the previous variants. so i think, you know, we want to be a little bit careful about that. it may not be something unique to the virus. it may be because a lot of people have been infected before or partially vaccinated. we still have to take that very seriously, and i'm still expecting to see hospitalizations and deaths start to go up. >> are you saying we can't draw a parallel between what we saw in south africa to what we're seeing here where they saw numbers go up in terms of cases but then hospitalizations flatten out? >> yeah, we will see some of that because we have a lot of reinfections as well. but if you look at the spacing of our delta wave, our delta wave came really in the summer in the south. not so much in the northeast. so i think there's some vulnerability there. it may reproduce what we saw in the u.k. and south africa, but i wouldn't go to the bank with it. i think we have to -- it's always best to assume worst case scenario. get ready for a surge in hospitalizations, and get our health care work force ready. it's not the same in the united states situation as it is in the u.k. and south africa. >> the past two years for our health care workers have been devastating. we need to thank them every day. sam in florida, cases are up 500%. obviously there's been a dramatic rise in the number of people getting tested. are we seeing a rise until the number of people getting vaccinated. please say yes. >> reporter: so the best marks actually are not in florida. it's about 63% of all eligible floridians who are fully vaccinated, more than like 80 to 90 in some of the more populous counties, miami-dade, broward, for example, the problem is the percentage of people who have gotten boosted is still underneath 20%. that is not what you want to see, and i'm standing right now at this vaccination and testing site. it's duel. the lines behind me stretch for what feels like days. at five o 6:00 this morning, it was still dark outside, people spilling out on to the street, running out of gas for cars. waiting so long. they're trying to accommodate that, with registering new lanes, and expanding sites that didn't exist a couple of days ago. that's all well and good. on the other side of the same facility, there's virtually no one in line to get boosted or vaccinated to your original point. we would love to see a more equitable distribution. of course people have to get tested, they also have to get boosted. as of a couple of days ago. the positive rate in miami-dade was 10%. the tropical site manager told me yesterday of the 8 or 9,000 people tested, about 30% were positive. that is going up exponentially as we're seeing the numbers in florida rising. >> get vacced or get sick. house majority whip jim clyburn tested positive for covid. the headline is that it took 56, i'm going to say it again, 56 hours for jim clyburn to get his results. how unusual is it to have to wait this long. one would think that someone like jim clyburn or anyone should not have to wait this long given how contagious this thing is. >> yeah, it's a huge problem, and unfortunately that's not unusual at all. we're hearing about people in new york city waiting four or five days for their pcr test results. that makes it essentially useless and what we heard from the congressman, he actually quarantined while he was awaiting his results. even though he was asymptomatic, he missed his granddaughter's wedding. it turned out to be the right decision but how heartbreaking is that. a lot of people are not going to do that if they're not symptomatic and waiting days for their test results, they're going on about the world, and spreading it to large amount of people. this is a huge issue with our testing right now. >> peter, why? >> part of the problem is, you know, the white house has been too often in reaction mode, not being proactive, and so for instance, when we knew this pfizer pill had a lot of promise, why didn't we bring in the defense production act and start scaling it up right then so we would have it in time because we knew other ways were coming. why only now are we even talking about half a billion testing kits, which is still adequate, by the way, 500 million. we need far more than that. why haven't we been doing this all year. tast -- it's a combination of the white house being in reactive mode. we're not israel, we're not the u.k. they have a health system. we have something called amazon pharmacy, and then we're paying the price for that, and this is what covid has done over and over and over again, exposed every serious weakness in our health care system and as a nation, we have not been willing to fix it. >> we are paying the price, literally and figuratively. shannon, you and i are reporting on the surprising lack of monoclonal antibiotic treatments. it's like the federal stock have run out. >> these monoclonal antibodies, keep the death numbers under control throughout a lot of the pandemic. with the omicron variant, there is only one of these monoclonal antibody products that works and is effective, and there was extremely short supply of that one product. as you and i reported, hospitals throughout the new york and new jersey region have just run out of that monoclonal antibody. they are hoping to get shipments in this week. they acknowledge those are going to be limited. the federal government is saying they expect to have 300,000 doses in january of this one monoclonal antibody product, that is for the entire country. the pfizer pill couldn't have come at a better time. there's an urgent need for some sort of treatment, particularly for these really high risk patients because right now, if you're in the new york and new jersey region, you're high risk, severely ill. there is essentially nothing doctors say they can give you at the moment. >> shannon pettypiece. dr. peter hotez. meg tirrell we're going to leave it there. the january 6th committee wants to talk to one of president trump's closest allies, and what jim jordan is saying this morning about cooperating or more importantly, not. and there was a ton of worry about our packages not getting delivered on time, but guess what, santa is on his way. they have made it. secretary pete buttigieg will be here on what is up next for our supply chain. here on what iups next for our supply chain firefighter maggie gronewald knows how to handle dry weather... ...and dry, cracked skin. new gold bond advanced healing ointment. restore healthy skin, with no sticky feeling. gold bond. champion your skin. hi susan! honey? 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(cheers) xfinity brought us together, after all! power your whole home this holiday with wifi speeds faster than a gig. click, call, or visit a store today. sing 2 ooooh, that's really cool. check that out. bespoke post sends you awesome boxes every month for a great price and i love it. the variety's great, i love how easy and flexible it is. head to bespokepost.com and get a free gift with your first box when you enter code free. . two weeks from today marks the one-year anniversary of the january 6th attack on the capitol. the house committee investigating the attack wants republican congressman jim jordan to hand over information about his communications with former president trump on that day. he's now the second member of congress asked to provide information to the committee and for the first time, a member of the extremist group, the proud boys has pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy charges connected to january 6th. he's agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. joining me to discuss, nbc news senior capitol hill correspondent, garrett haake, and nbc news justice correspondent pete williams. what has been reaction to the members of congress. >> members have been out of town since the letters have come out, steph. members broadly understood that this was inevitable, the committee has been talking about the prospect of investigating some of their own since they started their work in the first place. there's just too much communication back and forth between the trump white house and some of these far right members in the house. we are seeing from those members who have been targeted so far going back to a talking point, arguing that the committee shouldn't even exist, that speaker pelosi somehow abused her power to create it. none of that is true in a proper procedural sense. i do think we're going to see further political arguments about the existence of the committee going forward, especially when they get back in town this year. >> a judge denied michael flynn's request to block subpoenas from the committee. could this settle a precedent for other witnesses who don't want to cooperate either? >> a precedent for those who want quick action from the court. what the judge declined to do is issue a temporary restraining order. he basically said where's the fire here, what's the rush. the subpoena date was november 23rd for flynn to turn over documents. the judge said, you know, you haven't done that yet. there isn't any sign that the committee is taking any action because you didn't, and secondly, his scheduled deposition has been postponed and then put off indefinitely, so the judge said, i don't know what urgency here is, and the second thing she said, is you didn't follow the rules when you asked for this. i don't think it sets a precedent unless somebody else tries the same gamut. >> before i get too excited about this, what does it mean that a member of the proud boys has pled guilty to felony conspiracy charges and says he's cooperating. what does that mean? >> it's a hopeful sign. if you look at the people who came first into the capitol, the proud boys seemed to be at the pointy end of the sphere, in terms of the group that actually breached the capitol. the person who pleaded guilty yesterday, matthew green of syracuse, new york, 34-year-old man, did not actually enter the capitol. he was with some of the proud boys the night before. he helped program their hand held radios, and he was with the advancing group. the question is can he help solve a mystery that is a year, almost a year after the riot, still unanswered, which is did somebody plan in advance to breach the capitol. it's clear that from the conspiracy charges against the proud boys, the oath keepers, the 3 percenters, there was a plan to come to washington and raise hell, to have violence in the streets, to bash heads with antifa, but there is no -- nothing in any of the more than 700 court documents filed so far that indicates anybody had a plan in advance to breach the capitol. so i think the government is hopeful that he can help explain what the proud boys may have had in mind. his lawyer says he was a relatively low level member, he has since disavowed a connection with them. >> there was no bashing heads of antifa, but we certainly know they attacked our own members of law enforcement. pete, garrett, thank you so much, we're going to leave it there. still ahead, is there anything saving president biden's build back better plan or is it destined to be carved up, split up, and brought about with separate bills. we're going to go live to capitol hill, plus, transportation secretary pete buttigieg joins me on how president biden plans to keep the supply chain improving going forward. ans to keep the supply cha iinmproving going forward. nicorette knows, quitting smoking is freaking hard. you get advice like: just stop. go for a run. go for 10 runs! run a marathon. instead, start small. with nicorette. which can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette. ♪♪♪ my name is austin james. as a musician living with diabetes, fingersticks can be a real challenge. that's why i use the freestyle libre 2 system. with a painless, one-second scan i know my glucose numbers without fingersticks. now i'm managing my diabetes better and i've lowered my a1c from 8.2 to 6.7. take the mystery out of managing your diabetes and lower your a1c. now you know. try it for free at freestylelibre.us at vanguard, you're more than just an investor, you're an owner with access to financial advice, tools and a personalized plan that helps you build a future for those you love. vanguard. become an owner. ♪ ♪ 'tis the season to break tradition in a cadillac. don't just put on a light show—be the light show. make your nights anything but silent. and ride in a sleigh that really slays. because in a cadillac, tradition is yours to define. so visit a cadillac showroom, and start celebrating today. ♪ ♪ alice loves the scent of gain so much, so visit a cadillac showroom, and start celebrating today. she wished there was a way to make it last longer. say hello to your fairy godmother alice and long-lasting gain scent beads. try spring daydream, now part of our irresistible scent collection. democrats hope to be at home for christmas, celebrating the passage of their $2 trillion bill aimed at shaping the safety net. they are spending the holidays, trying to salvage the build back better act, the senator piece for joe biden's agenda. joining us now, nbc white house correspondent monica alba, and newly minted nbc news reporter, and ab stoddard, associate editor, and columnist for real clear politics. senator manchin has talked with president biden. he's talked to his senate colleagues, senate democratic colleagues. is there anything happening here? is there an opening to salvage build back better or is it time to restructure it? >> there is an opening to salvage it, but it will not look like the house passed version. tensions have calmed down quite a bit since the sunday blow up. senator manchin has spoken to president biden. he dialed into a virtual democratic caucus meeting that was cordial. he expressed respect for his colleagues. so there is an opening to renegotiate this, and win him over. it's going to require difficult sacrifices, likely the removal of several cherished programs that president biden campaigned on on which 99% of democrats here on capitol hill support. that's going to be the biggest challenge, and this is the challenge for president biden, more than anybody else to come up with a bill that senator manchin can support and the rest of the democrats in the house and the senate can support because remember, he's going to have to win them over too. in particular, there are some frayed nerves, feels of betrayal all over the democratic party, particularly in the house progressive process, after the chairwoman, pramila jayapal, made sacrifices on the belief that senator manchin would be there. i would be skeptical that they can break this up, simply because they get one bite at this apple per fiscal year where they can bypass the filibuster. if they break this up, the second bill needs the support of ten senate republicans, which means getting mitch mcconnell's support. that's not a bet i would take as president. >> ab, things are headed in the right direction in a lot of ways, supply issues improving. look at the economy, clearly in recovery, unemployment is down. the stock market is doing really well. and while we don't have build back better done, the hard infrastructure plan got done and it was massive. how does the biden administration start to turn around messaging to reflect this because the president's poll numbers certainly don't show the positive, all the positive wins he's had. >> i agree, steph, and i think that the polling began to plummet when the parties started fighting in september. and it's been too many months of focus on all of this dissent within the democratic coalition, and it's time to let joe manchin write a bill and call it a win, and then say you've passed the american rescue plan. you've passed long sought bipartisan infrastructure, popular with 70% of americans, going to create all of these jobs, and you passed build back better. in whatever form it is, you take the win and move on. this fighting has really disappointed the base. it's disappointed voters who chose joe biden over donald trump and are not part of the democratic base who think this looks dysfunctional. they are able to claim legislative wins, approval of judges, improvements in the supply chain, the economy, to get testing ramped up for covid, and all sorts of positive indicators. without it, the focus on the fighting, like senator schumer's plans just bring this up, even if it can't pass on the senate floor, it's too much focus on the negative. they've got to get the win, and they've got to move on. if they do, they'll have a positive story to tell. >> what's this white house going to do, keep on fighting or listen to a.b.? . >> i think they're definitely going to keep pursuing this stuff, and when all of this news broke in the days after the statement that was of course so blistering, the white house did seek to try to lower the temperature, to try to stall -- salvage and preserve potential negotiations. let's zoom out a little bit and talk about the president's major legacy here that's on the line. this is something like universal pre-k, the child tax credit. these are things the president campaigned on that this white house is very committed to trying to get down. but to sahil's point, there isn't an appetite to break this up and split it into smaller things because of how difficult that would be to get passed. what does it end up looking like, and we have seen these negotiations falter in the past, exactly to your point, the major infrastructure bill that did end up having bipartisan support, that failed many times before it eventually was successful. the white house still hopeful there's a way to do things here, but the messaging and the politics of it are quite a challenge as well because it's not the only thing they're dealing with. of course the omicron variant and covid right now taking center stage, and most of the prioritization here from white house officials given how urgent the need is every single day. every administration is able to multitask, and that's what white house officials here will tell you they're doing, but this is a major priority. the runway is extremely limited to see if they can get something done in '22. >> a.b., i know this white house is so frustrated that all of their economic wins aren't sinking in. people don't feel, they're not talking about these wins. yet yesterday, the president decided to extend the moratorium on student loan payments until may. why do that, if we're clearly in an economic recovery, if there's jobs available, if you can get paid really well, at the same time, why would you keep a provision put in place because we are in economic crisis? >> i think the white house has tried for months to show the progressives that they are fighting on their behalf even though in the end, joe manchin is going to determine what these legislative packages look like. that's the math. it's always been the math, but he tried to go to the mat for the left of the party. it extended the fighting, but it, you know, again, it was an effort to show them that they were championing their issues and their priorities as best they could. the problem also, this is true, monica is right, is the pandemic, and this is the reason that people don't feel, despite very strong economic indicators, some, we haven't seen in 50 years, people don't feel it because they're worry the pandemic will keep coming at them with new variants, and the economy won't be able to get ouch a hole. -- out of a hole. the forecasts are great, but people are overwhelmed by the news of omicron. the white house, as soon as they can contain it, people will feel the good economic news. that's one of the reasons to get build back better out of the way, call it a win, and focus back on covid. >> a.b. stoddard, monica alba, sa hill ka -- sahil kapur, thank you very much. it was going to make it tough, if not possible to get all the gifts under the tree. the white house says it's because the president tackled the problem early and eased bottlenecks and shipping delays. nearly all gifts arrived on time with minimal delays. earlier this morning, i talked with transportation secretary pete buttigieg and asked him how they got it done. secretary pete. we thought weeks ago that santa would not be here for christmas. we wouldn't be getting our gifts, that didn't happen. is that because of what you did to address the supply chain or because retailers got in front of it and we ordered our gifts early? >> it's because workers, business leaders and this administration stepped up and worked hard to make sure that we had a good holiday season. look, this was a tough situation. off the charts demand combined with supply that was seeing a lot of issues impacted by the pandemic but really really encouraged by the progress that was made. like you said, i mean, it was just a couple of months ago, we were seeing headlines that would have made you think christmas was basically cancelled this year. now the shelves are stocked. stores are reporting higher inventory levels than last year. the retail federation is predicting all time best year ever for sales, and more importantly, families are looking forward to gathering together when last year so many, including mine, had our family gatherings over a screen. you know, so much has changed. so much is yet to be done. but when it comes to the supply chain work to get goods where they need to be. our ports and the workers there, our trucks and the drivers who drive them moved a record number of goods this holiday season. and that requires everyone working together and stepping up to the plate. >> we did get all of our presents delivered, but stepped up to do so. inflation is a big issue. i know you're looking at price gouging from businesses and industries. businesses that are jacking up prices because they can, but here's the thing, demand is up, supply is down, they can charge more. that's how it works. so what can you really do about it? >> well, the way i would put it is demand is up, supply is up, but not by enough to keep up with demand, and there are holes in our supply, which is where you see some of these issues most impacting availability or prices. what can we do about it, first of all, making sure when you do have a case of gouging or any unfair business practices that the administration is ready to stand with consumers. and you see that in everything from the president's request that the federal trade commission look into issues around the price of gasoline, to the day-to-day work of so many agencies, including mine, making sure that consumers are treated fairly by companies. now we have seen that upward pressure on prices leading to a real impact on families which is why we continue to believe in the president's economic vision about lower costs. remember, despite unified republican opposition in the senate, we are continuing to push for lowering the cost of insulin, lowering the cost of housing, child care, lowering the cost of electric vehicles, something i'm very excited about because i think it will make a big difference to families buying into the fuel savings that come with ev ownership. that's the build back better agenda, and we're going to keep pushing for it. >> what is pushing for it going to look like. a week ago, you said this thing is going to pass. joe manchin made it clear, it's not going to, not in its current form. besides being enthusiastic and backing it, what's the next move. >> this is how complex major legislation works. there's a back and forth process. there are goold good days and bad days, a long and winding road. we're going to continue getting this done, pushing and shaping, and making this happen. the american people are ready for it. i can't speak to the exact legislative moment or vehicle but i can speak to the urgency of the need and the fact that at the end of the day, most americans, and i think deep down, most legislators want to find a way to get this done. >> but do you think we have reached the point where it's going to be build back better or is it time to cut this thing up and pass individual bills? >> you know, legislative strategy is something that i'm going to leave to the people who do it all day for a living. what i know is that each one of those individual elements is worthwhile, and the package is a good one. a great one. as is the infrastructure package that we're implementing as we speak. i'm excited about the build back better agenda but of course my colleagues and i are also getting down to work on the historic legislation that the president signed. this law, i think americans are just beginning to understand the scope and the scale of what it means in their communities, and that work continues as we sprint through the tape for 2021, and get ready for next year. in fact, next year we're going to be announcing new port grant availability, but today, we're going to be announcing what we did with the dollars that we had. over $240 million going to everything from major investments for capacity expansion at those west coast ports that everybody has been seeing on the news and reading about on the paper. all the way to inland waterways and ports in the midwest that make a difference for getting goods off of barges and on to trucks. we're supporting that today. we're going to be supporting that in a big way tomorrow thanks to this bill. >> you mentioned holiday retail sales are expected to break records. there's all sorts of positive economic data when we look back at the last year. i want to ask you about the white house's announcement extending the pause on paying back student loans. i know this is not part of your job, but i want to talk about messaging from the administration. you keep telling us, and it's true, this is a winning economy. then why do something like this. it's the kind of thing you do when the economy is in crisis, and we're not. >> well, look, nothing about our situation as a country is simple, and the same is true when it comes to the economy. we have record low levels of claims for unemployment. we have record economic growth under this president. we are seeing all kinds of incredibly encouraging signs and a payoff to the extraordinary work that's been done by this administration. by workers, leaders in business, but that doesn't mean this is some kind of mission accomplished moment. there is a lot impacting families. there's a lot of disruption going on. that's going to continue in some way, shape or form, as long as the pandemic does. >> what's going to change in the next few months that's going to impact student loans. it's like you're just kicking the can down the road. you're going to cancel the student debt or not. >> part of what we know is people's ability to respond to economic conditions is impacted by the pandemic, and nobody has a crystal ball, but what we do have are specific tools for fighting the pandemic, namely vaccines and boosters, which is why our administration and the president continues to lead on making sure every american has access and has good information about why that's needed and of course now as we see this variant making sure that americans have access to testing as well. >> secretary pete, thank you so much for joining us. merry christmas to you and your new family. >> thank you, merry christmas, great to be with you. >> you too. up next, after warning the west, russian president vladimir putin out with a new message this morning, the latest from inside moscow. orning, the lates insi mdeoscow. i've spent centuries evolving with the world. that's the nature of being the economy. observing investors choose assets to balance risk and reward. with one element securing portfolios, time after time. gold. agile and liquid. a proven protector. an ever-evolving enabler of bold decisions. an asset more relevant than ever before. gold. your strategic advantage. with downy infusions, let the scent set the mood. feel the difference with downy. when you really need to sleep you reach for the really good stuff. new zzzquil ultra helps you sleep better and longer when you need it most. it's non habit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil. new zzzquil ultra. when you really really need to sleep. nurse mariyam sabo knows a moment this pure... ...demands a lotion this pure. new gold bond pure moisture lotion. 24-hour hydration. no parabens, dyes, or fragrances. gold bond. champion your skin. as tensions between russia and the west soar, russian president vladimir putin just held his annual press conference and this thing was a marathon. putin talked for four hours. in it he accused america of brazenly lying about nato's expansion, but he also said ongoing talks with the u.s. are positive. i need that one explained. let's bring in nbc senior international correspondent keir simmons, keir, you interviewed putin over the summer. first of all, is it not mind blowing that he talked for four hours straight, and what were your major take aways? >> yeah, he loved to talk, steph, he likes the sound of his own voice. listen, a little bit of christmas cheer from moscow. i say that cautiously today. president putin suggesting he doesn't want a war and saying there is some traction between talks between russia and the u.s. and nato. another sign, another glimpse of positivity, a renewed cease fire deal between ukraine and russia in eastern ukraine, which one ukrainian official describes as meaning we're likely to have a peaceful christmas. that being said, steph, there are plenty of negatives. still president putin, just as he did in my interview, conjuring up the ghost of christmas pass, going over all of the slights, and ways he thinks russia has been wrong, particularly the expansion of nato. what i think is crucial this month, steph, the way to understand this, russia has put out its proposal for a deal with america. it's pretty astonishing. it says that nato can't expand east anymore and that nato should not work with eastern european countries militarily. clearly that is not going to be acceptable, but we do there have a clear picture of what the kremlin is trying to do. where we don't have a clear picture is what happens next. all of these troops are amassed on the border. are they there to try and push washington into negotiations or does president putin really have some plans to invade. it's impossible to know, of course, to try and get the most from these negotiations if you like. president putin has to make it look like he's prepared to invade. what happens next year, i think a game of diplomatic chicken, steph. i suspect these threats and tension could run right through 2022. >> keir simmons, thank you so much. a diplomatic game of chicken and you're the man who will be on it. thank you so much. we're going to leave it there. coming up, you need to hear about this incredible story of a father's love. how a fallen soldier made sure his son had everything he needed. their real life story now on the big screen. that's next. story now on the big screen that's next. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ experience the power of sanctuary at the lincoln wish list event. ever notice how stiff clothes experience the power can feel rough on your skin? 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>> yes. >> yes. >> it's a boy. >> i knew it, it's a boy! whassup, little fella? how you doing? it's poppa! i knew it was a boy. >> joining us is dana kennedy. i'm not even into question one and i'm already in tears. we've known each other for a long time and i know your incredible son jordan. tell us about this personal story isn't just your life story. you call it a mission. what is your mission with this project? >> the mission started with me really just needing something to do with my grief to get through it. later became something else, which is a message that i hope the book and the movie sends about resilience and being able to get through tragedy in time. the day charles died i collapsed screaming. i didn't know how i was going to get up. fast forward we're happy and jordan is 15 and resilient himself and an amazing boy and so i hope people will see that even in your darkest moments, if you hold on, you can get through. beyond just us, i hope there's a message and a reminder about american patriotism. charles served happily and gladly for our country, for our constitution and our ideals, for all of us as americans, and some soldiers do that and to remind us that we are the united states of america, and if we cannot live up to that ideal, then we should change our name. >> you write that he was the most honorable man you have ever known but you also said he was the most complex. what do you want people to know about him? >> any long-term relationship has ups and downs, and i wrote in the book very honestly about him because i didn't want people to think our relationship was a fairytale, it was perfect. it was real. it wasn't perfect. it was the best relationship i've had in my entire life. in fact, i had young girls reading my book who one in particular wrote to me and said i now know how to choose a husband and people are using #findyourcharles. reminder not to lower your standards, to find a spouse, a partner who is loyal and kind and patient and above all, charles wrote things in the journal i don't think he knew he was writing his love of god, his pride in military service, and the expectation that jordan respect women as he did. >> you gave him that journal. what prompted you to do that? >> i was in a store shopping for a gift for a friend and i saw the journal and i thought -- i was 5 1/2 months pregnant and what if something happens to him over there? at least love for our baby to see the words "i love you" and "daddy" on a page. that might be the only way that will happen. i bought this journal thinking he'd write a page or two. charles was incredibly quiet and reserved and shy, and he became obsessed with this journal and filled it up with 200 pages, the power of prayer, how to treat women, bible verses he made and exercise program for him. how to deal when you get your heart broken and the last page wrote a letter saying this is everything i could think of to teach you to be a man if i don't make it home. >> how much does this journal mean to jordan now? he's an extraordinary boy you said and he's becoming a man. >> he is. he wore his father's shoes for the first time to the premiere of the movie. that's how much of a man he's becoming and the shoes fit and i remember when he was little he used to clomp around in the living room and i'd say one day, they'll fit baby, they'll fit and they do now. when i got out of the car for the red carpet for our premiere, jordan was standing there waiting for me in his dad's shoes. in terms of the journal, you know, it means different things at different points in his life, there are funny entries, now that he loves to read but you can imagine it means something else to him on his wedding day and something else to him when he becomes a man and i tell jordan all the time you're having an ongoing conversation with your father that many people whose fathers are living don't have with their kids. >> that is absolutely true. this isn't all just red carpets and premieres, though. >> no. >> it is an incredible, beautiful story we're saying this is amazing. but it's also so difficult. you're reliving this horrible loss in your life, your son losing his father. what is it like for you? >> it's up and down. mostly up. i'm getting hugs from people all over the country which is so wonderful and people like you and others who care about our story keeps me uplifted. the day we were shooting in arlington cemetery was one of the worst days of my entire life really, but the pain is worth it to tell the story, which you know, i'm not telling just for us. i don't speak for any other military families but my own but i have heard from families who say thank you for giving folks an up close idea of what it's like to be in combat, you know, the decisions that families have to make that we don't often think about and so if i have to make myself a little public or go through some pain reliving some of it, it's worth it for the beauty of the story and sharing it with so many people. i'm honored to do it. >> dana, i am so proud of you. i love you. >> thank you so much. i love you, too. >> grateful for you. merry christmas. >> merry christmas, thank you for having me. >> my best to jordan. >> if you it make it through this commercial break you'll see me for another hour. i'm picking up coverage right after this break. up coverage ri after this break team players and artists. designers and do-it-yourselfers. parents and friends. if joint pain is getting in the way of who you are, it's time to talk to your doctor about enbrel. enbrel helps relieve joint pain, and helps stop permanent joint damage. plus enbrel helps skin get clearer in psoriatic arthritis. ask your doctor about enbrel, so you can get back to your true self. play ball! enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders and allergic reactions have occurred. tell your doctor if you've been someplace where fungal infections are common. or if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have persistent fever, bruising, bleeding or paleness. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. visit enbrel.com to see how your joint damage could progress. enbrel. eligible patients may pay as little as $5 per month. xfinity rewards are our way of thanking you just for being with us. enjoy rewards like sing family fun nights! rent sing for $1 then belt out all your favorite tunes from the movie with sing karaoke. plus, see sing 2 in theaters with buy-one-get-one free fandango tickets. join over a million members by signing up for free on the xfinity app. our thanks. your rewards. welcome back. i'm stephanie ruehl live at msnbc headquarters in new york city, here for another hour. it is 10:00 a.m.

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