Police are now questioning another teen asied new yorkers are wondering if the city is safe. This morning, the chilling, new details. Outrage in kentucky. Former governor matt bevan facing serious backlash after he pardoned more than 400 people right before leaving office. Among those criminals set free, convicted killers and a child rapist. Im not going to lie about it. Its very upsetting. This morning, what the former governor is saying in his defense. All that, plus, movie controversy. I didnt do this. The new Clint Eastwood film, Richard Jewel, under fire, is a movie about the Security Guard who was unjustly accused, doing the same thing, smearing a newspaper reporter at the center of it all. In her majestys service. Queen elizabeth, no joke, looking for a social media director. This morning, how you can apply for the royal post. And dont delay. With 11 days until christmas, the clock is ticking to get the holiday packages out in time. The critical shipping deadlines you need to know that start today, saturday december 14th, 2019. From nbc news, this is today, with sheinelle jones, Peter Alexander and dylan dreyer, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Welcome to today. Thanks for joining us on this saturday morning. Thanks to the huge crowd outside. Impressive. In the rain. New york city. Our friend, sheinelle, is enjoying a little time off. Happy to have my friend from the white house, Kristen Welker here with us this morning. Nice to be here. Were talking about procrastination and shipping deadlines. Our procrastinatorinchief here. Still have a few more days. About 11, before i have to get those presents in. Youre in new york. A good city to get that done. Indeed. We want to get to our top story. The house members are preparing for a historymaking vote next week in the impeachment of President Trump. On friday, the House Judiciary Committee voted to send two articles of impeachment to the full house for that vote next week. But the president remains defiant, insisting he has done, quote, nothing wrong, and that is entire episode is unfair. Nbcs Kelly Odonnell is live at the white house for us with more. Kelly, good morning. Reporter good morning, peter. The president has just a few days left until the house renders its final judgment. And hes got some decisions to make about the kind of defense he would want to present and what lawyers would be on that team. But he is also protesting his circumstances and claiming democrats have overreached. President trump, now playing predictor. Someday, there will be a democrat president. And there will be a republican house. And i suspect theyre going to remember it. Reporter his frequent refrain of frustration. Its a witch hunt. Its a sham. Its a hoax. Reporter in almost the same breath, the president claims the specter of impeachment fires up his supporters. Its a very sad thing for our country. But it seems to be very good for me politically. Reporter impeachment takes a new turn, following fridays action by the House Judiciary Committee, passing along party lines two allegations. For abuse of power and obstruct of congress. The house will act expeditiously. Reporter pushing the choice to all members of the house, where impeachment will be debated again. And if a majority votes in favor, the president would officially be impeached. Then, consideration shifts to a trial in the senate, where the chief justice of the United States would preside. Designated house members act as the prosecution. The white House Counsel would coordinate the defense, with the senate as jury. 53 republicans, 45 democrats, 2 independents. A twothirds majority of 67 senators, would need to find the president guilty to remove him from office. And that has never happened in u. S. History. Defending the president , white House Counsel pat cipollone, but maybe others. The president may have a number of attorneys helping him. But he is our white House Counsel. And hes taken the lead this entire time. Reporter back home in kentucky, Senate Majority leader, Mitch Mcconnell, downplayed the case. The two articles of impeachment are pretty weak. Pretty weak. Reporter but said a trial would start in january. And in the new year, the president will have some different legal worries, as the Supreme Court has decided to review the three cases involving his financial records and tax returns. And by making that choice, to review this case, it means their decision will come by june, in the middle of the campaign season. And it will determine, in large part, how any president can resist these kind of investigations. And secondly today, the president is headed to the Army Navy Game in philadelphia, where navy is expected to honor those killed at the Pensacola Naval station. Now, lets bring in jake sherman. Hes an nbc news political contributor and a Senior Writer for politico. Good morning, jake. Thanks for joining us. Lets start off with what we can expect on wednesday, the full house, expected to vote on the two articles of impeachment. Will this be a partyline vote . Or will there be defectors . Mostly party line. We expect most republicans to stand with President Trump. A few democratic defections are expected. Not many. Maybe a handful of democrats will vote with republicans. But this will look like a partyline vote. Its shirts and skins. People with the president , are with the president. Democrats are against the president. There should be no doubt, the president will be impeached by the house this week. As you note, with expectation, he is impeached, that would make him the third american president to be impeached. The firstever firstterm president to be impeached. The president saying the democrats are trivializing impeachment. How does this impact his legacy and ultimately his chances for reelection here . We dont know what this does for his chances to reelection. A president has never had to stand for reelection after impeachment. Every morning, the president has to wake up as a president that is being impeached. That cant be good for his psyche. We cant imagine thats good for his psyche. And that puts an asterisk next to his name in the history books. Thats not a legacy you want. The president and his team have chosen to not defend themselves so far in this process. First, the president complained about not being able to defend himself. And then, the president s team chose to not defend him in the house proceedings. Kind of a mixed bag of strategy for the president that will end in him being impeached. Jake, lets pick up right there. If he is impeached, this moves to the senate, as kelly just laid out for us. As you say, the president blocked current and former officials from appearing in the proceedings in the house. Now, hes been very clear about what he wants to see in the senate trial. He wants adam schiff to testify. He wants the bidens to testify. He wants the whistleblower to testify. How realistic is that . What can we expect from the senate trial . Will Mitch Mcconnell go for any of that, jake . Absolutely not. Its not going to happen. The senate trial, as we know right now, will be quite short. We imagine two weeks. The president has been all over the map on what he wants in length of this trial. But it will be two weeks. And Mitch Mcconnell is not planning on any witnesses. Not adam schiff. No witnesses, period. They will try to move through this. Mitch mcconnells image of the case is simple. They know what the president has and has not done and theyve formed a opinion. The president says he is fine with whatever the senate decides. Ultimately, it is the senates decision. Appreciate your insights at the end of a historic week. Jake sherman, thanks for that. We move to disturbing details in the investigation in the shocking killing of an 18yearold College Student in new york city. A 13yearold is under arrest and one other teenager is being questioned in the deadly stabbing attack of tessa majors. Now, detectives are talking about her final moments. Kathy park has more. Kathy, the community is reeling from this loss. A troubling story. Good morning. Its a tragedy that shocked the city this week. Now, investigators say theyre making significant progress on this case, revealing new information in court. This morning, new details in the fatal stabbing of new york College Student tessa majors. Wnbc reporting that in a Court Hearing on friday, new York Police Detectives told them that the 13yearold suspect told them, he watched his two friends grab tessa majors, put her in a choke hold and remove items from her pockets. Then, he watched as his friends slashed the young woman with a wi knife and he saw stuffing from her coat come flying out. The 13yearold is charged with seconddegree murder and a weapons charge. The kid had his whole life ahead of him. And the victim, she had the whole life ahead of her. Its unfortunate. Reporter officials also questioning a 14yearold in connection with the killing. Police say the 18yearold freshman at barnard was attacked by the Group Minutes from campus wednesday night as she walked through the park. During the struggle, one of these individuals pulled out a knife and stabbed our victim several times. She was able to stagger her way to morningside street, where she was observed by one of the school Security Guards. He called 911. Reporter new york city leaders promise swift action. I am absolutely confident that any individuals involved in this terrible, heinous attack, will be brought to justice. Reporter the brazen crime rattling nerves among snutudent. Its really painful. I walk through that park every day. Reporter tessas family issued a statement saying they are devastated by the senseless loss of the beautiful and talented tess. She played in a band and internaled for the free the wo what she would have done. Reporter but the podcast, we get an idea of her enthusiasm of starting college. Im excited about that. Reporter a promising life ended too soon, as a family prepares to say goodbye. Officials say its unclear what role the 13yearold played in tessas death. They believe that three people were involved in this attack. Law enforcement source told nbc that the group was seen running away from near the crime scene. Very much an active investigation now. The more we learn, the harder it is to hear. Tragic, kathy, thank you. This morning, newly released video shows what happened moments before a deadly shootout at a jersey city deli. Investigators search for answers in that case thats being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism. Reporter this morning, investigators are searching for this white van. They say its connected to the gunman in jersey city but wont say why. The Surveillance Video showed two pedestrians calmly walk down the sidewalk. Seconds later, a pair of shooters open fire as they enter the grocery store. Then, a customer, david lax, runs for his life, as the gunmans accomplice shoots in his direction and misses. He told us the shooters appear to have tactical training. They were very professional. Reporter one of the shooters has been identified as david anderson. And the Army Confirms he once served in the u. S. Army reserves. Authorities say hate against juice and police may have driven anderson and his accomplice to the kosher store where they gunned down three victims. Earlier, the pair shot and killed Police Detective joe seals. According to the antidefamation league, theres been a 48 spike in antisemitic incidents nationwide since 2016. The jews that are orthodox get assaulted and the ones that identify easily as jewish. Those people are feeling very, very fearful. Reporter this is the synagogue and Community Center next to the grocery store. Dozens of children were huddled on the second floor of this building as the gun battle erupted. Jersey citys mayor says theres 50 children upstairs at the school and that may have been the attackers intended target. This could have been worse. This could have been a sandy hooktype tragedy. Reporter so far, the fbi has not confirmed that the shooters had any other intended targets. For today, gabe gutierrez, nbc news, jersey city, new jersey. Today marks seven years from sandy hook. In 2012, a gunman went on a rampage inside the school. On t honor the 26 victims are still taking shape. A local commission has been working on possible designs and funding for a permanent memorial not far from the school. And recovery teams are back in new zealand this morning, searching for victims that were killed after the volcanic eruption on white island. Overnight, the death toll has risen. Janis Mackey Frayer is in new zealand, with the latest. Reporter good morning, kristen. The highstakes Mission Continues this morning to recover eight bodies from white island. The air is toxic. The temperatures are scorching. And there is a threat that it could erupt again. A photo taken from the military showing that the island looks like this moonscape covered with thick ash. Their teams need to wear protective suits and use breathing devices to set foot on the island. They did recover six bodies. They were about 1,000 feet from the crater. But a ground search failed to show the two others. Thats why theyre focusing on the water. Dive teams were out there today. The islands about 30 miles offshore from here. They say the water is contaminated and the visibility is not good. There were 47 people on the island when the volcano exploded. And it sprayed debris and scalding water. Surgeons across new zealand working around the clock to try to treat the terrible burns. Health officials looking for countries around the world for supplies of skin they can use for grafting. Much of it will come from the United States. 25 people remain in hospital, many in critical condition. Another person died of their injuries overnight, now bringing the official death toll to 15. This has been a devastating week here. All along, theres been the question asked why were people allowed to be on the island in the first place . Its an active volcano. The alert level had been rise r. Its a very popular tourist attraction. And it has been for 30 years. The countrys Prime Minister said this is not the time to ask those questions. There will be investigations. Now, the priority is very much identifying people, which has been difficult, and giving survivors the care that they need. Kristen . So important. Janis Mackey Frayer in new zealand. Thank you for that. Health Officials Say that flu season is off to a very fast start this year, with no signs of slowing down. The centers for Disease Control reported on friday that flu activity is rising across the country, with an estimated 2. 6 million illnesses reported already this year. Of those, 23,000 people have been hospitalized and 1,300 have died from the flu. Doctors say, importantly, there is time to get your flu shot if you havent done that already. Always time to get your flu shot. Lets take a turn and get a check of the weather with dylan on a dreary, rainy day in new york. Dylan . It certainly is. That rain is heavy across new england. Were going to get a break in philadelphia and new york, through d. C. Heres more rain and this stretches all the way down into florida, where we have had some reports of severe weather. As we go through the day, well get the second round of rain around the east coast. And tonight, well transition into colder air. It will dry out for the east coast, the interior northeast will see the lakeeffect snow machine turn on and accumulating snowfall. The winds will pick up on the backside of this storm, as well. Tonight into tomorrow, we could see wind gusts especially closer to the water, about 40 to 45 miles per hour. New york city could get wind gusts up to about 30 miles per hour. That could lead to some airport delays. Most of the delays well see today in boston, new york, baltimore, down through raleigh, because of the rain. And well transition over to some of the delays because of the wind. Pittsburgh because of the rain and snow thats going to cloudy conditions, would we did get some showers that moved in overnight and we can expect another round of rain move in later today as another cold front sweeps through during the afternoon bringing on and off showers from the north down to the south. Also our temperatures will be mild. Daytime highs climbing into the upper 50s throughout the bay area. 58 in san jose. 57 in santa rosa. And 57 in oakland. 56 degrees in half moon bay. And thats your latest forecast. Dylan, thank you very much. Still to come, controversy in kentucky. The states former governor pardoning hundreds of people, including convicted murderers right before he left office. And the terrifying moment a snowboarder gets caught in an avalanche and captures the whole thing on camera were back here on today, on this saturday morning, with the weekly download, our look back at the week that was. Among the stories, we covered a tragic plane crash that killed dozens. A disaster in the sky, when a chilean military plane carrying 38 people crashed while it was headed to a base in antarctica. 17 crew members and 21 other passengers were onboard, on their way to perform Logistical Support tasks. Sadly, there were no survivors. On the same day, a visibly frail Harvey Weinstein entered a manhattan courtroom to face criminal charges. The New York Times reports his legal team has reached a 25 million settlement in civil suits filed by dozens of his alleged Sexual M