released today from gaza, under the brokered and sustained though intense u.s. diplomacy. she's now safely in israel, and we can continue to press that additional americans be released as well. we will not stop working until every hostage is returned to their loved ones. >> that was president joe biden speaking yesterday about an american girl who was orphaned by hamas terrorists and taken hostage and now free. we'll have the very latest on the remaining hostages and the humanitarian pause in gaza straight ahead. plus, new developments overnight in the shooting of three palestinian students in vermont. an investigation that now includes the fbi. also ahead, a conversation on the dysfunction on capitol hill, which is a major factor for some lawmakers who are now not seeking re-election next year. ♪♪ good morning and welcome to "way too early" on this monday, november 27th. i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us. we hope you all had a nice long thanksgiving weekend. and we'll begin this morning with the ongoing humanitarian pause in the israel/hamas war. today is set to be the final day without figing inside gaza unless the pauses extended, which would allow more hostages to be released. hamas so far has released 58 hostages since this truce took effect early friday morning. 14 israeli and three thai hostages were released yesterday and first american dual national american abigail idan was released. she turned 4 while being held by hamas. he parents were killed in front of her during a terrorist attack on october 7th. now, under the initial deal, israel agreed to extend the pause one day for every additional ten hostages released by hamas. on sunday hamas put out a statement saying it wanted to extend the truce, but as of late last night, there issy it to be an official agreement. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said there's an extension to the truce. he told the "financial times" the truce could be extended if hamas is able to locate additional hostages being held by other armed groups within gaza. now, a group of white house staffers requested a meeting with the president's top advisers earlier this month over their concerns with the administration's handling of the israel/hamas war. "the washington post" is reporting that the war has caused more issues among staffers than any otherine event during the president's first term. roughly 20 staffers met with white house chief of staff jeff seitz and others as the war entered its sixth week. the staff wanted answers on how they're working to curb sieve yanl aths, overall messaging strategy, and the united states' postwar vision for the region. however, despite listenle respectfully, biden's top aides reportedly fell back on talking points, including one source familiar with the meeting. this includes israel minimizing civilian casualties as it goes after hamas. joining us now, former i special agent and national security analyst for nbc news and msnbc, clint watts. clint, good morning. good to see you. let's start with your take on what we've seen so far with this pause, the hostages out so far, and do you have an anticipation that the pause will be extended? >> jon, it's an interesting dilemma really for both sides. once the hostages are all released, let's say if israel gets that, there would be no reason for israel to stop their military campaign, so there's probably a calculus how many hostages can be released, vis-a-vis, how long the truce can go on. it's likely the truce will be extended. i wonder at this point if israel's military objectives may be limited, meaning they have not discovered the large kmabld centers that they claim they're going after. they may not be really hitting hamas' leadership at this point, so why not take a pause, gets a many hostages as possible, and then start to reset what your military objectives might be? that comes with all the pressure internationally that's currently there for reduction in civilian casualties, and to do that would be to come up with a more surgical plan rather than to just kind of very broad taking all of northern gaza. it could be israel could use this time to reset what their military objectives are other than just completely destroying gaza. i'm hopeful there will be more hostage exchanges and there will be a longer truce the next few days. >> so the related question to that, clint, the prime minister said in a video yesterday he told the united states president, president biden, once there's a pause, the war would continue, full power. that would be contrary to the targeted strikes you're suggests. what do you think it means? >> yeah. i think the idea or pressure of continues military action from the israeli military is continually strategizing without continuing to press the way it has before. you're just not going to see that kind of negotiation go the way. we've seen them take lots of northern gaza, refugees moving to southern gaza. we've seen israelis go in, take into that tunnel, a little bit into that one tunnel the al shiva hospital but talking about moving south again, pursuing different targets. that's very, very difficult. that would mean lots of civilian casualties. so i think they need to weigh what their military objectives are. if hostages are the focal point -- it seems like it is, a pause seems to make more sense. secondly, the mounting pressure internationally that will come on netanyahu will be intense, so they'll have to pick some sort of a middle ground, i think. total annihilation of gaza is not going to be a palatable choice of most international supporters of israel. >> clint, i feel like we've mentioned an underreported story here, that hamas doesn't have all of the hostages themselves. they've been taken by other splintered groups within gaza and there are some hostages whose whereabouts are unknown even to the hamas leaders. tell us about the challenges that that poses. we know there are still some americans unaccounted for, perhaps with these different groups. how difficult will it be to get them back? >> it's going to be very difficult, jonathan. the other thing, this is more what we would see in tribal pakistan, that you might remember ten to 20 years ago. if somebody was captured or lost, they would be pushed between one group and another. we used to call it al qaeda or the taliban, but, really, it was dozens of different groups all pursuing their own interests. i think here in gaza, the palestinian jihad was one of the groups taking action. remember, some of the hamas leaders have been killed in recent weeks, which means you have a shakeup in terms of chain of command and who's in charge and who's respected. it would involve several groups all with different interests. i'm not sure how that would play out over time. i'm sure some would be more resistant, some more amenable. we're talking several different groups of hostages. >> we appreciate the insight from national security analyst for nbc news and msnbc clint watts. thanks for starting things off this morning. we'll speak with you again soon. meanwhile, president biden has not ruled out the possibility of sending aid to israel with conditions. that's according to national security adviser jake sullivan who appeared on "meet the press" yesterday. >> just to be very clear, should we take his words that it would be a worthwhile thought to mean that the president is open to signing legislation that would provide aid to israel that comes with conditions? >> i thought the president really couldn't have been clearer when he answered the question. he had acknowledged the idea, and then he said, but the way that i have conducted our diplomacy -- >> is he open to it? >> that's what he's done so far, and that's what he's going to do. >> is he open to it? >> again, he's going to focus on what is going to generate results. what he has said in the press conference and what you can see quite clearly with the release of hogs tajs in the past few weeks, he's taking steps to protect presidential policy behind closed doors. that's what we're seeing right now. that's the course we're on. at the same time senator majority leader chuck schumer has written a letter to his democratic colleagues that he intends to bring the president's $105 billion emergency national funding package to the floor for a vote next week. now, this supplemental package would provide aid to israel, ukraine, make improvements to the u.s. immigration system, and devote some resources to the indo-pacific. the republican-led house has already passed an aid bill for israel, but it includes massive cuts to the irs and excludes humanitarian assistance. that's simply a nonstarter for the white house and democratics. schumer pushed for a bipartisan package in the coming weeks. he also revealed a resolution he'll bring to the floor that would bypass tommy tuberville's promotions, but the clock is ticking on that funding, because if we reach into the new year, congress would be gripped again with another spending fight to keep the government open. still ahead here on "way too early," we'll bring you some new reporting on a questionable pardon from donald trump on the final day of his presidency and what it could mean if he were to win a second term. plus a recap of the busy holiday travel week following last year's transportation troubles. those stories, a check on sports and weather, when we come right back. and weather, when we come right back known as a loving parent. known for lessons that matter. known for lessons that matter. known for being a free spirit. no one wants to be known for cancer, but a treatment can be. keytruda is known to treat cancer, fda-approved for 16 types of cancer. one of those cancers is advanced nonsquamous, non-small cell lung cancer, where keytruda is approved to be used with certain chemotherapies as your first treatment if you do not have an abnormal "egfr" or "alk" gene. keytruda can cause your immune system to attack healthy parts of your body during or after treatment. this may be severe and lead to death. see your doctor right away if you have cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, diarrhea, severe stomach pain, severe nausea or vomiting, headache, light sensitivity, eye problems, irregular heartbeat, extreme tiredness, constipation, dizziness or fainting, changes in appetite, thirst, or urine, confusion, memory problems, muscle pain or weakness, fever, rash, itching, or flushing. there may be other side effects. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions, including immune system problems, if you've had or plan to have an organ or stem cell transplant, received chest radiation or have a nervous system problem. depending on the type of cancer, keytruda may be used alone or in combination with other treatments, and is also being studied in hundreds of clinical trials, exploring ways to treat even more types of cancer. it's tru. keytruda from merck. see all the types of cancer keytruda is known for at keytruda.com and ask your doctor if keytruda could be right for you. welcome back to "way too early" on this monday morning. donald trump is far away from the presidential front-runner and with the possibility of donald trump returning to the white house, there are new details how he reportedly used his power as commander in chief. "new york time reported this weekend at 12:51 a.m.n his final day in office trump granted clemency to a convicted mann trafficker named jonathan brawn. at the time they were still after mr. brawn in an entirely separate matter. his work as a predatory lender making what judges later found were fraudulent and serious loans to cash strap small businesses. according to the times brawn was put on trial by charles kushner, the father of trump's sunday and white house provider jared kushner and he heard a broader investigation buy his own doj into predatory lending. in an interview with the "times," brawn said he did not know how his commutation was decided is and described a picture of hymn and his wife with donald trump as a chance encounter at one of his gulf clubs. we'll have more on "morning joe" this morning. meanwhile a former minneapolis police officer accused of killing george floyd recovered. on friday derek chauvin was stabbed at a federal correction at institution in tucson, arizona. the fbi confirmed an uncars rated vick was assault at12:30 local time. he was suffered from life-threatening injuries and was taken to the hospital. on saturday it was confirmed in a statement that chauvin is expected to survive. in 2021 he was convicted of murdering floyd, a minnesota resident accused of trying to use counterfeit money at a convenience store. chauvin was sentenced to 22 years in prison. last year he was convicted on federal charges and give about a 21-year concurrent sentence. floyd's death sparked nationwide protests. it's monday now and millions of americans made their way back home over the weekend after the thanksgiving holiday and more people were set to pass through america's airports yesterday than ever before. nbc u.s. correspondent melissa parra has more. >> reporter: the biggest test for the nation's airports ever faced. the mad rush home for the holiday leading to what's predicted to be the biggest travel day in american history. >> hopefully we can get through the line and get to the gate very quickly. >> reporter: nearly 3 million people expect to take to the skies. >> i'm sure tsa has their hands full. as we make our way around the corner, we're crossing our fingers it will be calm. >> reporter: the airplane airport saw 30,000 passengers before 9:00 a.m. and los angeles errant projected up to 230,000 passengers. weather across the u.s. affected thousands of airports. cancellations, less than 50. >> there is going to be some snow on the roadways. >> reporter: 14 million were under a winter weather alert from iowa to maine, all the roads snow, ice, causing accidents across kansas. but in the air -- >> i think it's a little bit of the victory lap for the industry because everything has gone smoothly even with a couple of storms thrown in the mix. >> reporter: tsa has seen seven of its ten busiest travel days on the year without the meltdowns like last year. >> that's massive getting that many people through the airport. >> good news indeed. still ahead here on "way too early," we'll turn to sports and a look at yesterday's action around the nfl including an overtime thriller in philadelphia and the worst game ever played. we'll bring you all that and a look at the forecast to start off the workweek when we come right back. the workweek when we right back [camera shutter sfx] introducing ned's plaque psoriasis. 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(vo) for a limited time, turn any iphone in any condition into a new iphone 15 pro with titanium and ipad and apple watch se - all on us. that's up to $1700 in value. only on verizon. hey, you should try new robitussin honey medi-soothers for long-lasting cough and sore throat relief. try new robitussin lozenges with real medicine and find your voice. you know? we really need to work on your people skills. with the freestyle libre 2 system, know your glucose level and where it's headed. no fingersticks needed. manage your diabetes with more confidence. freestyle libre 2. try it for free at freestylelibre.us my most important kitchen tool? my brain. so i choose new neuriva ultra. unlike some others, it supports 7 brain health indicators, including mental alertness from one serving. to help keep me sharp. try new neuriva ultra. think bigger. 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. lactaid is 100% real milk, just without the lactose. delicious too. just ask my old friend, kevin. nothing like enjoying a cold one while watching the game. who's winning? we are, my friend. we are. this is the lowest scoring steal in some time. downfield hit caught by johnson. >> lawrence looking deep for christian kirk. he's got him. kirk at the 10, 5, and he puts the ball out to the pylon. >> from the ram 22, williams adding to his rush total. there he goes. williams. >> under pressure from simmons. picked off. isaiah simmons was in the face of zac jones. bobby brings it back for the giants. >> really hard to be on time and have your cadence down and everything else. >> play fake, he hits bryce young, and that ball belongs to jeffrey simmons. >> falcons coming app carr. picked off. jesse bates, he's got a shot. fakes to midfield. to the 40, to the 30, to the 20, no question, pick six. >> mahomes underneath. rice on the move. deep block. that is a kansas city touchdown! >> this should be a back-breaker for buffalo fans, and this would be the pedigree of championship teams. >> there he goes. hurts to the end zone, and the eagles have won it in overtime. >> those were some of the biggest plays from across the nfl yesterday, including the career-high fifth touchdown of the fame for eagles quarterback jalen hurts. that completed philadelphia's record-tying fourth consecutive comeback victory. that was the play of the day. the bills are in serious jeopardy. patriots lose 10-7 after missing a chip shot field goal. pathetic. i guess it helps their draft position. let's go to ravens and chargers. zay flowers scores twice. he sealed the game late in the fourth on a 37-yard catch and run as the ravens' top seed beat the chargers 20-10. week 12 of the regular season concludes tonight in minneapolis with the minnesota vikings hosting the chicago bears on "monday night football.." time now for the weather. let's go to michelle grossman. how are we starting off? >> we're starting quiet, the most of us. we had some heavy snow? the great lakes. i'll get to that. the big story is the cold. we're well below normal for most of us across the country. but we're looking at the really heavy storm across the great lakes. we're looking at 6 million people impacted by winter weather alerts across the great lakes and into portions of new england, maine, upstate new york. we have winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories, and we're going to see a lot of snow in some spots. there's the radar. warm water. we're seeing snow into portions of new england. heavy rain in maine. but that will move off for the most part. the big weather story will be this snow. generally we're looking at 3 to 6 inches in most spots. but downwind we're looking at really blockbuster snow.