the fight will go on for many months. the fate of gaza's nearly 2 million refugees is growing bleaker by the day. 40% of gaza's population is now at risk of famine. that's according to the u.n., which says daily life has been reduced to a struggle for food and water for so many civilians. and with winter setting in, those conditions will only get also learned today that an israeli american citizen believed to have been taken hostage was in fact killed on october 7th. the kibbutz where judy weinstein lived and worked confirming the 70-year-old teacher and poet was murdered along with her husband during the attack. their bodies still being held in gaza. aaron gilchrist is traveling with president biden in the u.s. virgin islands with more on this. josh, let's start with you. what more can you tell us about this israeli american citizen? >> reporter: well, as you mentioned, she is 70 years old, and she had been believed to have been held hostage in the gaza strip. but now we have confirmed via the kibbutz that she is from that she was killed on october 7th, brought as a dead body to the gaza strip, and now the kibbutz able to confirm that. the same situation had occurred with her husband, 73-year-old gadi hagi. the total number of american hostages believed to be held in the gaza strip has now fallen to six, aaron. >> josh lederman, thanks for that reporting. turning to aaron gilchrist. two israeli officials telling nbc news that secretary blinken is expected to travel to the middle east next week. what do we know about this latest visit? >> reporter: well, steven, that's not yet been confirmed from the state department, but that is the reporting that we have now, that we believe the secretary will be going back to the middle east next week. and these visits by secretary blinken -- there have been several of them since october 7th -- have really been focused on the same sort of thing we talked about earlier this week when the israeli official, benjamin netanyahu, one of his top advisers was in d.c. and met with secretary blinken and the national security adviser jake sullivan. that is really to talk about what's happening on the ground in gaza right now. the methodologies that the israelis are using in their hunt for hamas terrorists in that area, and also what's going to be happening next. we know from the readout earlier this week from that meeting in d.c. that the effort was going to be focused on -- their effort and those conversations were going to be focused on trying to figure out what happens next and also on the hostage situation, as we talked about. obviously what happened, the news we got out of israel today, is not something the administration was hoping for. obviously we've not yet heard back from the white house about this most recent revelation. but it's been a major focus of the administration to talk about the americans and all the hostages, but the americans in particular. the administration hasn't used the word "hostage" in describing them. they've repeatedly said, "unaccounted for americans" because there's an understanding that there's a real possibility some of those people could already be dead, as we learned today. at the same time, there's also this urgency from the administration, i think, to try to figure out how to restart conversations between israel and hamas through qatar, as we've seen in the past, to talk about another ceasefire, humanitarian pauses, and the possibility of getting more hostages out of gaza in whatever condition they may be, steven. >> and aaron, there's so many in the u.s., so many protests on behalf of palestinian civilians trying to put pressure on the biden administration to then pressure the israeli government. is the biden administration saying anything about that? >> reporter: not that in particular. but the administration has indicated that it hears this pressure. we know that president biden has spoken with his counterpart, the israeli prime minister, about the sentiment that is growing around the world for the israelis to move away from a high-intensity, as it's been described, operation on the ground in gaza to one that is more focused, that is directly focused on hamas leaders and hamas fighters, and to have less collateral damage, as we've seen so many deaths, thousands upon thousands of civilians in gaza. so, the administration has indicated that it will continue to make that push, to make that effort, and to try to help the israelis figure out how to start narrowing that focus of its operations, in particular in the next couple of weeks. and you can bet, steven, that that will be a key part of the conversation secretary blinken has on his next trip to the middle east. >> certainly something we'll be waiting to hear about. aaron gilchrist, thanks so much. joining us now is -- his son is an israeli soldier who was taken hostage by hamas back on october 7th, just days before his 22nd birthday. just hard to imagine that. ronan, thanks so much for joining us. starting off, how are you and your family doing now? >> it's been very tough 83 days. we're almost reaching three months. omar, our son, was taken, and there were videos showing that he's alive. we can feel that he's alive. we want to get a sign of life, but it's been very difficult to keep high spirits, not knowing anything. and that's what we're trying to do. we're trying to do everything we can to make sure that omer, the other right now five other american hostages and of course all the other, almost 135, unimaginable number, hostages will come back to their families. we're all very concerned. >> 83 days. unimaginable to most people. i know you met with prime minister benjamin netanyahu. what can you tell us about that meeting? >> well, we have a very clear message to prime minister netanyahu, making sure that he understands and takes responsibility to bring the hostages back home, to pull every lever he can, and make sure that no one is left behind. and that should include the women that were left there, any children, and men, whether they are serving in the idf or not. they all have to come home. unfortunately, the problem continues to be hamas. hamas is refusing to get back to the negotiating table. that's why we need all the u.s. allies in the region, particularly qatar, to do everything they can to bring back hamas to the negotiating table and negotiate a deal to bring our -- home. it's 83 days. it's unimaginable. >> it truly is. i know omer is an american citizen from long island. and the united states also of course playing a role in this. are you satisfied with the response from the u.s.? >> well, you know, we met with a lot of u.s. officials, congress, and senate, and of course in the white house. we met with the president himself, and we did see high level of interest to bring this conflict to a close, bring our dear ones home. they're really concerned about it. we have had numerous productive conversations with anybody in the government and high-ranking officers. and they are pushing -- we know they're pushing to the release, for swift release of hostages. but so far we haven't seen results. and the news today about the mother, grandmother, judy weinstein, another american israeli that was declared dead today, just showing the urgency here and the fact that there's no time. the clock is ticking. those hostages are in bad condition. they're not getting proper nutrition. they're not getting medical attention. the red cross is not allowed to get in. i mean, this is unbearable situation to us, but it's an impossible situation for the hostages. and it has to come to an end. and the sooner the better. we can't continue like this anymore. >> so hard to think about what their daily life is like. ronen, i would like you to tell us more about omer. what's he like? i've seen him described as an all-american kid, grandson of holocaust survivors. tell us more about him. >> well, omer is a great kid. he grew up on long island, like any other kid, loving sports. but he's really a person that brings people together. he has so many friends now that reach out to us and just tell us how much they miss him. and it's heartbreaking. he decided to go to israel, even though he was accepted to -- university, for a gap year. he volunteered in the gap year working with disability -- kids with disabilities. and then after that, he made the decision to stay in israel and join the idf, which, of course, we supported. he decided to serve others and be in israel, stay in israel. and that's when he was caught, while he was guarding the kibbutzes in a non-combat situation. >> ronen, thanks so much for telling us about where you guys stand right now and about ohmer and what kind of person he is. it really helps put more information to that picture. we continue to see. thank you so much. >> thank you. well, still to come today, from colorado to maine, a ton of major developments today in the trump legal saga. we'll dig into what's going on and what it could all mean for the 2024 race. we're back in 60 seconds. my frequent heartburn had me taking antacid after antacid all day long but with prilosec otc just one pill a day blocks heartburn for a full 24 hours. for one and done heartburn relief, prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. [sneeze] dude you coming? because the only thing dripping should be your style. plop plop fizz fizz with alka-seltzer plus cold & flu relief. also try for fizzy fast cough relief. there's challenges, and i love overcoming challenges. ♪ when better money habits® content first started coming out, it expanded what i could do for special olympics athletes with developmental needs. thousands of bank of america employees like scott spend countless hours volunteering to teach people how to reach their financial goals. it felt good. it felt like i could take on the whole world. welcome back. there are a whole lot of legal developments unfolding right now in trump world. colorado's republican party has entered the fight over donald trump's spot on the state's primary ballot. members have asked the u.s. supreme court to now intervene and hear an appeal on last week's decision to disqualify him from his role on the january 6th insurrection. in michigan, the state supreme court just ruled to keep trump on the ballot. in maine, donald trump's attorneys are asking the secretary of state to recuse herself from the decision on whether to keep former president trump on their ballot. joining us now for more on this, vaughn hillyard. vaughn, there is just so much happening right now in multiple states when it comes to trump and keeping him on or off the primary ballot. so, where do things stand right now, first in colorado and the very different case in michigan. >> right. lots of lawsuits. and each lawsuit that donald trump and his legal team are watching, steven. look, michigan's supreme court made the determination that they were not going to disqualify donald trump have the ballot in the state of michigan. this is reflective of state courts around the country. the only state in which a court has made the determination that donald trump should be disqualified is the colorado supreme court. and just last night, the legal team for the colorado republican party, which is also party to the lawsuit that was filed by those colorado citizens to remove donald trump from the ballot, have appealed the colorado supreme court's decision to the u.s. supreme court. so, donald trump's name is going to remain on the ballot in the state of colorado for now. the only wayt is removed is if the u.s. supreme court refuses to take u the color supreme cot's decision or to ultimately, after hearing oral arguments, side with colorado. of course, if the u.s. supreme court were to make the determination that the colorado supreme court was in the right and that donald trump should be disqualified, that would upend the 2024 presidential election around the country. there is a lot riding here, and we don't know whether the supreme court would take this up in the coming weeks or potentially even put this off for the coming months, after the republican primary process ahead of the general election. >> hard to imagine how all of that would shape up if that turned out to be the case with the supreme court. vaughn hillyard, thanks so much. joining us now, msnbc legal analyst paul butler and former republican congressman and political analyst, david jolly. paul, i'll start with you. any predictions on how soon the supreme court could act on this request to hear an appeal in colorado if the supreme court decides to hear it at all? >> steven, the supreme court takes its own sweet time. it's hard to know. they obviously understand there's an election coming up. so, i expect, especially because the states start reaching very different conclusions that the court will take the case and probably render a decision by the end of the spring. so, think may/june. >> still pretty far away from right now. paul, what about the insurrection clause. that did not work for michigan supreme court. but it did in colorado. why the difference? >> so, think about the difference between a primary election and a general election. so, the michigan case was decided on procedural grounds. michigan state law does not allow election officials to decide who is qualified to be on the ballot in a primary election. that issue is not raised until the general election. in colorado, in contrast, anyone who wants to run for president has to attest to their legal qualifications to hold that office, even to be on the primary ballot. you'll remember that in colorado there was a trial and the court determined that january 6th was an insurrection and that donald trump was part of that insurrection. in michigan, there was no trial and thus there was no determination about whether it was an insurrection or not. but michigan did leave the door open if trump wins the primary there. then the plaintiffs can relitigate the issue of his qualifications under the 14th amendment. >> so much to keep on top of. david, i know you've got thoughts on the 14th amendment strategy for keeping donald trump off the ballot. so, where -- could it work and where will it just not work? >> certainly. look, i am an attorney but not with paul's credentials, so i defer to him on much of this. i will tell you, i'm skeptical that this supreme court takes any action other than to declare donald trump should remain on the ballot. the efforts in largely blue states simply fall short of the 14th amendment line. look, there is a strong argument as to why he should be disqualified. clearly the colorado supreme court, on substance, found reason why. and as joe biden has said, we all saw the insurrection before our eyes. but donald trump has not been convicted of insurrection. he hasn't even been charged. jack smith sticked over that charge in charging him. here's the big picture, i think. this is an indication that chaos is coming in this election. if we haven't already felt it, chaos is coming through this case, through the jack smith case, through georgia, and others. for those who oppose donald trump, i harken back to when barack obama said, don't boo, vote. i would say, don't count on the 14th amendment litigation to disqualify trump. maybe you can hope it does, but get out there and vote and get your neighbor to vote. >> would any of this help him? these pending motions, they could just be fuel for donald trump. we've seen boosts in polls after indictment and indictment. could this ultimately help him? >> steven, it's a great question. two factors in any election. one is voter intensity and the other persuadables. what this does is ratchets up the intensity for trump supporters who say, you're trying to disqualify our guy. you're trying to cheat. and for skeptics of donald trump and critics who say this was an insurrection, it ramps up the intensity because they say, he shouldn't be on the ballot. does that persuade voters in the direction of joe biden or donald trump? we really haven't seen the persuadables move yet. and we have to get closer to november to see whether or not they say, you know what? i want to give donald trump another try or i don't want to give donald trump another try. there's too much baggage, too much history. i want to stick with joe biden. >> well, paul, let's turn to jack smith and that new motion in the election interference case. he's asking for trump to be blocked from making political arguments and talking about conspiracy theories during that trial. so, what is the difference between that request and, say, a gag order? >> that's a great question, steven. so, the gag order allows donald trump to perpetrate the big lie and the claim that he's a victim of a political prosecution. jack smith is saying what defendant trump posts on social media and spouts off at campaign rallies is different than what is allowed at a criminal trial, where the rules of evidence apply. so, every first-year law student learns that only relevant evidence is admissible. for defendant trump, that means evidence pertaining to the crimes of conspiracy, witness tampering, and obstruction, nothing else. not his claims that the election was stolen, that foreign governments intervened, that this is all part of a conspiracy by president biden to eliminate his leading opponent in the election. only what's relevant to the four felonies that trump is charged with. jack smith being proactive. >> it's so hard to stick to the facts whenever both sides don't seem to be able to agree what the facts actually are, even though facts are real things. paul butler, former congressman david jolly, thank you both for your insights. now to a new development in the biden impeachment inquiry. house republicans are calling oen the white house to hand over any documents related to hunter biden's decision not to comply with the congressional subpoen earlier this month. in a letter on wednesday, the oversight and judiciary committees say they're seeking any communications between the white house and hunter biden's legal team. but they also indicate they're not exactly sure if those documents even exist. let's bring in nbc's ryan nobles on capitol hill for more on this. so, ryan, what's the reasoning behind this request? i know hunter's legal team has previously called this a fishing expedition. so, what are they hoping to find here? >> you have to remember, steven, that the investigation, at least from a congressional perspective, really isn't about hunter biden. it's about joe biden. and they're attempting to try and find anything they possibly can to tie hunter biden's business activities to the president himself. that's part of the reason that they wanted him to appear for this transcribed, closed door interview. but when hunter biden defied that subpoena, the committee was looking for reasons behind that. and now they believe that perhaps the president himself was the one who instructed hunter biden not to appear for this transcribed interview. there's no evidence of that. but what the committee is attempting to do is piece together public comments, particularly one made by the press secretary that suggested, perhaps, that president biden had influence over hunter biden and his decision not to comply with the subpoena. karine jean-pierre simply suggesting the president was aware of the decision that hunter biden made himself. now, where this all leads is that the committee is asking for any potential communication between hunter biden's legal team and the white house, as it relates to this matter as an attempt to try and draw some sort of piece of evidence that would lead to this conclusion that they seem to have already drawn. steven, they're suggesting that if the president had any influence here, that that could potentially be an impeachable offense. they have a long list of things that could potentially be impeachable offenses. they've yet to provide anything that shows hard evidence, which is one of the reasons that this remains an inquiry and have yet to move to articles of impeachment, which is something that could potentially happen in the new year. steven? >> a lot to follow there as well. ryan nobles, thank you. a new controversy on the campaign trail for 2024 presidential contender and former south carolina governor nikki haley. why she's facing backlash for comments about the civil war. that's coming up next. narrator: time is running out to give a year-end gift like no other, a gift that can help st. jude children's research hospital save lives. ava: it is my first time having cancer, and it's the very worst. woman: you just have to give. you have to give someone that hope. because of st. jude, she has a chance at life. narrator: every gift counts, and whatever you can give will make a difference for children like ava. make your donation today to help st. jude save lives. right now get a free footlong at subway. like the new deli heroes. buy one footlong in the app, get one free. it's a pretty big deal. kinda like me. order in the subway app today. - hi, i'm steve. - i'm lea. and we live in north pole, alaska. - as i got older, my hearing was not so good so i got hearing aids. my vision was not as good as it used to be, got a change in prescription. but the thing missing was my memory. i saw a prevagen commercial and i thought, "that makes sense." - i observed the changes in steve's memory and i thought i should try that too. - after taking prevage, i just didn't have to work so hard to remember things. prevagen. at stores everywhere without a prescription. sure, i'm a paid actor, and this is not a real company, but there is no way to fake how upwork can help your business. search talent all over the world with over 10,000 skills you may not have in house. more than 30% of the fortune 500 use upwork because this is how we work now. here's why you should switch fo to duckduckgo on all your devie duckduckgo comes with a built-n engine like google, but it's pi and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooi and creepy ads that follow youa from google and other companie. and there's no catch. it's fre. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. . welcome back. today 2024 presidential contender nikki haley attempting to clean up some comments she made about the civil war. at a campaign event on wednesday, she made no mention of slavery when asked by a voter what caused the united states civil war. first, let's hear those comments and then how she tried to clarify them. >> what was the cause of the united states civil war? >> well, don't come with an easy question or anything. i mean, i think the cause of the civil war was basically how government was going to run, the freedoms and what people could and couldn't do. what do you think the cause of the civil war was? >> and in the year 2023, can you answer that question without mentioning the word slavery? >> what do you want me to say about slavery? >> answer my question. thank you. >> next question. >> of course the civil war was about slavery. we know that. that's unquestioned, always the case. we know the civil war was about slavery. but it was also more than that. it was about the freedoms of every individual. >> joining us now, eugene daniels, white house correspondent and playbook co-author at politico. eugene, i went to school in texas. i remember being taught that states rights was the answer to the civil war question. quickly learned that slavery was the actual correct answer. but nikki haley was the governor of south carolina. she actually pushed for the removal of the confederate flag back in 2015. hard to believe she would not answer it that way. what are your thoughts on what she said and her attempt to clean it up? >> i also went to middle school and high school in texas, so i got that same education from those same books. and my parents and my grandparents and my entire family on both sides are from south carolina. so, the conversation that she is, kind of, talking about, the states rights versus slavery, is what people talk about. you can talk to certain types of folks, certain types of south carolinians, and that's how they view it, as a states rights issue, that it wasn't just about slavery. we all know that not to be true, that slavery was the main point. the confederate states wanted to own human beings as property. so, that's one. i think also it's, kind of, undercut her image, right? over the last few months, she's seen herself become, kind of, a player and more importantly having some momentum going into iowa and new hampshire, is that she tells hard truths. she tells it like it is. and more importantly, she can do well with independents and even possibly voters of color, right, women, voters of color. so, that's another. and the last is that the audience, right? had she said this in south carolina, maybe another southern state, it probably would have gone over differently. you can see people in the crowd becoming uncomfortable, as she is talking, kind of, trying to explain herself away. and obviously the governor has since, kind of, backed -- when she backed up. but at the end of the day, all of those things remained true. it also remains true that it took them about 12 hours to actually do it. >> these comments -- speaking of where the audience actually is, coming up on new hampshire, there are so many independent voters there. how will these comments end up playing there? will they hurt her or will the cleanup actually end up hurting her? >> i think all of it together is not going to be great for her. at the end of the day, new hampshire voters like an independent thinker. they like that person that's going to tell it like it is, that's going to be, kind of, john mccainesque, be a maverick and say things no matter what. i think what is most interesting is that this is a moment that reminds us all, kind of, where the republican party is, that for years they have been saying that we shouldn't tell the full truth about this country and race, not talk about, you know, critical race theory and attacking that over and over again. so, she is struggling to figure out how to live within that party. i think it's also telling that her other colleagues, other people running for president, didn't come out and say anything. you know, say, nikki's wrong, haley did it the wrong way, this is what i would say. all of this is a view into how the republican party works. >> excellent point. that would be something that would normally happen, someone would jump at the chance. if trump does nominate iowa and new hampshire, what's next? what do we see in this field? when does it start to trim down? >> i think, you know, a lot of people are hoping that it trims down quickly, right, that some people will leave and maybe ron desantis, chris christie, will give nikki haley, who has that momentum, give a chance to go possibly one on one with donald trump. i think you have -- you start seeing, usually, people leaving around new hampshire, right? iowa may have been a fluke. i'm going to try new hampshire. chris christie, for example, does have two ads in new hampshire, seven figures. so, he's probably not going anywhere until new hampshire. and you have nikki haley, who is daughter of south carolina, who's definitely going to want to stay until south carolina. i think -- but one thing to keep in mind is at the end of march, we'll have about 70% of the delegates dulled out in this primary. so, whether folks get out before the end of march, we'll probably have an answer about who the nominee will be pretty soon. >> march still feels pretty far away. eugene daniels, thanks so much for breaking that down for us. to figure out where we're going in 2024 politics, let's take a look back at what unfolded during this very eventful year. nbc's steve kornacki takes us through the polling, which could give us a preview of what's to come. >> all right. well, we are approaching once every four years, the big one, the presidential election. year 2024 almost upon us. let's take a look at how politics and how the election of 2024 has taken shape in '23. and the big questions we're looking at as 2024 kicks off. so, first of all, who is going to be the republican nominee presumably against joe biden. at the start of 2023, this seemed like a very up in the air question. you could see the trend line for the candidates. and remember at the start of '23, republicans were coming off a pretty rough midterm. candidates who had been closely aligned with donald trump had lost key races in 2022. at the start of '23, ron desantis was running pretty close in the poll average to donald trump. look what happened. it exploded for trump and went the other day were desantis. what happened right around here in the calendar? that is when the first indictment of trump came down, the one from the manhattan district attorney. it almost seems to have triggered a rally around trump effect among republicans, and that's just held all year, through all the legal drama and everything else that's happened. and here we are at the end of the year. in the average, trump open links ahead of ron desantis, nikki haley, and ramaswamy, and christie too, for that matter. we'll see in the early contests if any of those contests are going to have a shot here to beat trump. probably going to have to make some noise, whether it's desantis in iowa. he seems to be trying to plant his flag there. haley in new hampshire. she's gotten encouraging polling news there. can one of them beat trump in one of these early states? of course haley, south carolina, will play a key role among the early states as well. can one of them beat trump in the early states and make this a race? that's what we're going to find out. how about the democratic things? joe biden seems poised to be the democratic nominee. what kind of year has he had politically? he started 2023 coming off those good midterms for democrats, and his approval rating, 46/50. wasn't that bad. he's taken a hit this year. our final nbc poll had him at 40% approval, 57% disapproval. how does this compare to past presidents entering re-election year? here's the 40 we have biden at right now. these are the final polls heading into the re-election year that nbc conducted. trump got beat in 2020. he was at 44 heading into his re-election year. bush sr. got beat in '92. he was at 52, heading south rapidly there. you see how that number compares. that's the lowest in an nbc poll for an incumbent facing a re-election year. it is a tight race when you poll biden versus trump. at the start of the year, in the average of the polls, biden had a two-point advantage. at the end of the year, it is trump who on average has a two-point advantage. a very, very close race obviously. one of the concerns for voters, the dynamics we'll be talking about, joe biden of course is the oldest president ever at this point. and his physical fitness, his age, 3 in 4 voters in our polls say it's a major or moderate concern. big thing in '24 is going to be trump's legal situation, convictions, what goes on in the courtroom. 62% say that's a major or moderate concern for him. would that number change if there's a conviction? would that number change based on how the cases sort out? big question we'll be following well into 2024. this is interesting too. what this question is showing here is matching trump against a generic democrat. trump loses sizably, matching biden against a generic republican. biden loses by double digits. it's just showing you broadly, there's not a big appetite for trump versus biden, even though it seems that each party, at least as we enter 2024, is poised to go in that direction. and that leads to this final graphic here. a poll from the "wall street journal" recently, they included a bunch of third party options. and against biden and trump, they added up to 17%. that's a big question heading into 2024. is there going to be a real third party candidate to create a wildcard in this? >> steve kornacki breaking down those numbers for us. thanks. up next, two biden cabinet members meet with mexico's president, as a migrant caravan makes its way toward the u.s. southern border. the latest on the humanitarian crisis happening there, as we speak. we're live in texas next. you know that feeling of having to re-wash dishes that didn't get clean? 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>> steven, i think the most important aspect here is that both sides have publicly said that this was a positive meeting and that they are hopeful for significant changes to come that could hopefully stem this surge in migration. that lull that you mentioned is expected to only be temporary, following that record-breaking week where more than 12,000 migrants illegally crossed the u.s./mexico border. we did hear directly from secretary mayorkas, who issued this tweet just a short time ago, saying, in part, we had a very productive meeting with esident obrador and members of his cabinet. we appreciate mexico's commitment to continue its efforts alongside us and with others. as far as hearing from the mexican president, he did make a point prior to that sitdown, steven, saying that long-term solutions cannot come from extending border barriers or from putting more barbed wire along the banks of the rio grande but by re-establishing relations with many of these central american countries, where so many of these migrants are coming from. >> leaders in texas definitely disagree with that one, morgan. i also wanted to ask, there's been discrepancy in the number of people actually in this latest caravan. what do we know about that? >> reporter: just a few days ago, organizers of this caravan seen near guatemala said they had grown to about 8,000 people. but two different sources, the mexican president said that that group had dwindled to about 1,600. and then federal officials said that this is numbering in the low thousands, 3,000 or so migrants. so, definitely different numbers there, but at least at last check it does appear the size of that caravan still, mind you, about 1,000 miles south of where i am, does appear to be dwindling. steven? >> long way to go. morgan chesky, thanks for that reporting. well, if you are hitting the road home from your holiday destination, you may want to listen up. the tricky travel conditions you could see, as a major storm system now makes its way to the northeast. that's all coming up next. alice loves the scent of gain so much, she wished there was a way to make it last longer. say hello to your fairy godmother alice and long-lasting gain scent beads. part of the irresistible scent collection from gain! (vo) red lobster's new lobster & shrimp celebration ♪ (vo) three lobster and shrimp entrees for a limited time. ♪ my little family is me, aria, and jade. just the three of us girls. i never thought twice about feeding her kibble. but about two years ago, i realized she was overweight. she was always out of breath. that's when i decided to introduce the farmer's dog to her diet. it's just so fresh that she literally gets bubbles in her mouth. now she's a lot more active, she's able to join us on our adventures. and we're all able to do things as a family. ♪ get started at betterforthem.com ♪ my name is josh sanabria and i am the owner at isla veterinary boutique hospital. i was 5...6 years of age and i knew i was going to be a vet. once alexandra called me to let me know that bank of america had approved my loan... it was important to me. we not only just provide the financing piece, we do everything that we can to surround them with the right people. all you need is a perfect, amazing team that will guide you through the right steps to be successful. and that's what bank of america was for me. welcome back. millions of americans are now hitting the road, as the holiday season comes to a close. today, december 28th, welcome back. millions of americans are now hitting the road as the holiday season comes to a close. today, december 28th, is said to be one of the most congested traffic days this year according to aaa, and lots of those drivers will also be encountering a major storm system that's making its way up the east coast. for the latest, nbc news correspondent marissa parajoins us from a rest stop in pompano beach, and we'll have the forecast in just a moment. what are drivers telling you about the conditions they're seeing out there? >> reporter: whether we're hearing from drivers or passengers, the sense is the weather is not optimal. in florida, people are looking for sunny beaches. they're probably look for a refund because it's anything but. it's not an easy day for that. we've seen roughly 600 delays in the country, at least right now, according to flightaware, their so-called misery map, and leading the delays is south florida, whether it's miami international, ft. lauderdale airport. we've been hearing from passengers frustrated with the delays, again, the miserable weather here. but aside from just the airports, which, by the way, this is bad timing because this has already been a record-breaking weekend for airports like miami international, which saw the most volume of passengers this past weekend, but this is also supposed to be a very busy day on the roads, one of the busiest according to aaa. so, the times you want to avoid, 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and we've also heard from aaa this is supposed to be a record-breaking season for florida drivers specifically. while it's not a record-breaking time to be driving across the country, some states are seeing that. with weather like this, it's not exactly prime driving conditions, so if you will, it's a perfect storm because it's a thursday, a day where people are commuting back and forth to work, in between two holidays xhashgs and new year's, so you have holiday travelers with those commuters, then the bad weather. so bring an extra strong coffee with you if you're in the affected areas because it might be a longer drive than usual. >> if i was there, based on everything you just said, i would just hunker down, ask for more days off or something. michelle, maybe you have better news for us, but i have a feeling you don't. what's the latest on the storm system moving east? we are looking at that storm system moving into new england. the heavy rain that fell in the mid-atlantic, the southeast, portions of the northeast, has moved on to new england, although we're still seeing more rain in portions of florida. where marissa is, she had rain earlier, it's misty, and that's what we're seeing in northeast, as well. heavy rain is falling in portions of new england. we're also seeing rain in parts of the midwest, snow as well. it won't amount to much but still even a bit of snow means for tricky travel. that's in the midwest. we could see some snow showers as far south as northern alabama, northern georgia tonight. otherwise, we are looking good in the south central states, the southwest as well. the pacific northwest, we are looking at another messy day, looking at rain falling in the lower elevations, mountain snow, as well. that's extending into the parts of northern california. a bit of a break, although we're still seeing showers. we'll see another system move onshore if the west tonight into tomorrow, so that rain will ramp up once again. it's windy too. satellite/radar showing us we're seeing that rain. we have low clouds, some fog out there, it's really misty and foggy in a lot of locations. that includes the midwest, as well, where you see the blue. that is where the snow is falling. we could see 1 to 2 inches in places in iowa, also in illinois. and then there's the southeast, where marissa was. we're looking at rain showers throughout the day. some will be heavy at times. same story in new enan we'll see some downpours as we go throughout this thursday and really even into friday. we're anticipating more impact to the air travel. we're looking at boston,ew york city, chicago, likely seeing delays, miami, same story, possibly seeing delays in seattle, san francisco, also d.c. because we're foggy, misty. we're just really kind of miserable in those spots. for tomorrow, we're looking at some likely delays in boston, also new york city. philadelphia and d.c. look good. chicago possibly could see some delays, as well, as we hold on to the rain a little longer. looking a tt rainfall total forecast, we're not talking about a whole lot. we're looking at quarter inch, maybe half inch. some spots along the coast of new england could see up to an inch, but enough to slow us down, especially on the roadways. rain always slows us down. it's a busy day, and we are seeing busy weather conditions. we're looking at snow in the mountains of west virginia, portions of iowa, into parts of the midwest as well. >> thanks so much for that miserable update. we appreciate the news nonetheless. still ahead, a deeper dive into what to expect in the year ahead for the former president's laundry list of legal cases. we have a panel of experts joining us after the break. pepto bismol coats and soothes for fast relief when you need it most. [sneeze] dude you coming? ♪ alka-seltzer plus powermax gels cold & flu relief with more concentrated power because the only thing dripping should be your style. plop plop fizz fizz winter warriors with alka-seltzer plus. marlo thomas: my father founded saint jude children's research hospital because he believed no child should die in the dawn of life. in 1984, a patient named stacy arrived, and it began her family's touching story that is still going on today. vicki: childhood cancer, it's just hard. stacey passed on christmas day of 1986. there is no pain like losing a child, but saint jude gave us more years to love on her each day. marlo thomas: you can join the battle to save lives. for just $19 a month, you'll help us continue the lifesaving research and treatment these kids need now and in the future. jessica: i remember as a child, walking the halls of saint jude, and watching my sister fight for her life. we never imagined that we would come back. and then my son charlie was diagnosed with ewing's sarcoma. vicki: i'm thinking, we already had a catastrophic disease in our family. not my grandson too. marlo thomas: st. jude has helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% when it opened to 80% today. join with your credit or debit card for only $19 a month, and we'll send you this saint jude t-shirt that you can proudly wear to show your support. jessica: for anybody that would give, the money is going towards research, and you are the reason my child is here today. charlie: i was declared-- this will be two years cancer free. but there's thousands and thousands of kids who need help. saint jude, how many lives they do save is just so many. marlo thomas: charlie's progress warms my heart, but memories of little angels like stacy are why we need your help. please become a saint jude partner in hope right now. [music playing] - wounded warrior project has been with me every step of my journey. - they've helped me realize it's possible to rise to the top again. - it's possible to get the help i need for me and my family. - it's possible to hate pushups again. - to feel understood. - to begin healing both inside and out. - to feel like myself again. - and now i know anything is possible. (gentle music) glad to be back with you for another hour. i'm steven romo. if prosecutors get their way, donald trump will be spending much of the new year in the courtroom instead of on the campaign trail. the former president could be look at five separate trials in 2024. that's on top of verdicts in two civil cases that could cost him and his business millions, though almost all of his pending court dates are currently in limbo, mostly thanks to the former president's delay tactics. what does it all mean for 2024, especially if trump manages to push some dates pas