Live tv today. The question is, will it help build confidence in the safety of the vaccine . Its way too early for this. Good morning and welcome to way too early, the show that is definitely ready for the weekend. I am kasie hunt on this friday, december 18th. Well start with the news. Hackers broke into several u. S. Federal agencies and private companies, and were now learning more about the scope of the vast cyber attack that has been linked to russian intelligence. U. S. Officials fear that the hackers used an array of tools and previously unknown tactics to break into government networks. The state defense Homeland Security, commerce, and treasury departments were all targeted. That is quite a list. And yesterday, politico reported that the department of energy and its National Nuclear security administration, which maintains our nuclear stockpile, was also breached. The cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an alert yesterday, warning it, quote, has determined that the threat poses a grave risk, and, quote, removing this threat actor from compromised environments will be highly complex and challenging. This is a patient, wellresourced, and focused adversary. Microsoft announced yesterday that it was also targeted in the cyber attack, among more than 40 other organizations. It started as early as march, and its not just apparently the federal government. The intercept is reporting Russian Hackers breached the city network of austin, texas. On capitol hill, the House Oversight and Homeland Security committees have announced a congressional investigation into the hack, sending a letter to the director of national intelligence, the fbi director, and dhs secretary to request a classified briefing thats set to take place later today. President trump has yet to comment on the cyber attack. In stark contrast to that, president elect joe biden strongly condemned the suspected russian hack yesterday in a statement. That Statement Reads in part, we will make dealing with this breach a top priority from the moment we take office. But a good defense isnt enough. We need to disrupt and deter our adversaries from undertaking significant Cyber Attacks in the first place. We will do that by, among other things, imposing substantial costs on those responsible for such malicious attacks. And this morning, its a bit like deja vu all over again with congress, still talking about how close they are to getting a Coronavirus Relief bill. Watch. Like i said at the time yesterday, im heartened by our discussions and our progress. I believe all sides are working in good faith towards a shared goal of getting an outcome. We continue to move closer to a final agreement. While many, if not all of the difficult topics are behind us, a few final issues must be hammered out. Were very close to an agreement, but the details really matter. The sticking points at this point are related to limits on lending from the Federal Reserve and treasury, as well as money for fema, which democrats are trying to make sure is in as a way to try and help state and local governments. There are also issues with how to structure another round of relief checks, likely to be about 600 per person, based on income. Those checks and the whole deal were reportedly in peril yesterday as the Washington Post says the president was planning to demand that checks be as high as 2,000 per person. White house aides had to step in and prevent the president from issuing a statement for fear he could derail negotiations. Also causing problems for negotiators, a potential Government Shutdown. Government funding runs out tonight, unless congress can pass another shortterm spending deal, like what they did last week to give lawmakers more time to negotiate. And heres another way the president is throwing a lastminute wrench into things. Congress is gearing up for a veto showdown with President Trump over the National Defense authorization act. Nbc news has learned that the president plans to formally veto the 740 billion bill, rather than use whats known as the pocket veto, where he would simply not sign the bill for ten days. That count doesnt include sundays, however, so ten days minus whatever sundays are involved. Congress would have to come back from holiday recess to hold the override vote, if the president wants to wait until the last minute to veto it. Thats december 23rd, the last minute. Sources tell nbc news that though the bill passed with 335 votes in the house and 83 in the senate, some republicans are saying they wouldnt vote to override the president s veto. And failing to override it would sink the ndaa for the first time in 60 years. The president has tweeted several reasons for wanting to kill the bill, from demanding protections for National Monuments to including the repeal of a law that protects social media companies. Lets remember, this is the bill that funds paychecks for our troops. Joining us now, nbc news correspondent leigh ann caldwell. Leigh ann, good morning. Where to start. Its kind of amazing, the long list of nonsense and troubling stories that we have to deal with on this friday morning with one week to go until the christmas holidays, but why dont we start with the covid relief package . Walk us through what we know about what happened yesterday, how the president was or wasnt involved. I mean, we all woke up on thursday morning and thought, okay, were going to have a deal by the end of the day, and we had some grim faces by the afternoon. Yeah. Well, the good news, kasie, is that everyone has publicly said that they want some sort of deal. So its going to be really difficult for people to walk away from it at this point. So, that is really what is motivating people and getting people to continue to work through these issues. But the problem is, the longer that this takes, the more difficult it becomes. People tried to add more priorities into this bill, set more parameters or guide science into this legislation, and its becoming quite difficult. As you mentioned at the top, theres two big issues that are really hamstringing these negotiators, and that is fema disaster funds for states. Republicans think this is a back door for democrats to get in that state and local funding money that was left out of this bill. And the other issue is this Federal ReserveLending Program that was created in the c. A. R. E. S. Act for small and medium businesses. Its set to expire at the end of the year. Already secretary mnuchin said its going to expire. Republicans want to make sure that joe bidens treasury secretary has no way to restart this program in the new year. Then theres all these other little brush fires that are happening, like republicans dont want an extension of the rents moratorium on evictions. Democrats do. And that list is pretty long, kasie. I know it definitely is. One thing i find interesting about this, leigh ann, is if the president was pushing for these 2,000 checks and there are also conservatives in congress, notably josh holly from missouri, who has said the same thing, that the checks should be bigger, that he might try to force a vote to include checks that are bigger. The other people that are saying that the checks should be bigger include alexandria ocasiocortez and bernie sanders. Its a really sort of interesting populist split here, and youve got leaders in a room saying, no, actually, 600 is the number that we can agree on. The politics of this are really and truly scrambled. And you know, i wonder i wonder how leaders are interpreting or misinterpreting, perhaps, whats really going on out in the country and the real demand for more help that they still have not sent. Whats your view on how all this is going to play out, both now and into the future . Well, mcconnell, when he told his colleagues in a phone call earlier this week about these direct stimulus payments and that another round is likely going to be in it, a lot of republicans balked, and he had to bring in the political race in georgia, the senate race for Kelly Loeffler and david perdue, saying that they are getting beaten over the head, theyre getting hammered down there, and that they need these checks politically to help them. So, theres a lot of immediate politics at play, too. But the direct stimulus checks these are something that are extremely popular. And a source told me last night that its no surprise that the president wants to play santa claus when he is headed out the door. And it is a strange bedfellows of the Progressive Left and some on the right, like the president and josh holly. But there are those in the middle who seem to be winning out at this point, who think that its money that is not well spent, that it should head, go more towards Unemployment Insurance and the people that need it most. But long term, as you mentioned, kasie, it is going to be a dynamic thats going to continue to play out, because you know, biden has said he wants another stimulus package when he enters office. And even mcconnell has indicated that there might need to be more after this, so this is just the beginning of a big battle over these issues. We can only hope that will be the case, because frankly, if we ever needed santa claus, its really this year. Nbcs leigh ann caldwell, thank you so much for getting up early with us on this friday, my friend. Really appreciate the conversation. Lets move now to the covid crisis. The u. S. Set a record for covid cases and hospitalizations for a second day in a row yesterday. Nbc news data shows more than 234,000 new cases were reported. While the covid tracking project reports some 115,000 people are currently hospitalized with the virus. The u. S. Nearly set a new high for deaths, the 3,293 deaths reported yesterday were just five shy of the Record Number that Record Number was reported just on wednesday. Meanwhile, california hospitals are reaching full capacity in the intensive care unit. According to the l. A. Times, the available of icu beds in Southern California was zero, 0 yesterday. Officials say once beds are full, hospitals go into surge mode, which can accommodate 20 more than the usual capacity. The state reported 52,000 new cases yesterday in a oneday record of 379 deaths. The number of people hospitalized has more than tripled since last month to more than 16,000. Wear a mask. Still ahead here, more historic nominations for the incoming biden administration. Well have that story and a check on the cleanup from that massive winter storm when way too early comes right back. Frustrated that your clothes get damaged when you wash them, and they just dont look the same . Well now theres a solution, with downy defy damage. Downy defy damage protects your clothes from the stretching, fading and fuzzing that happens throughout the wash process, all cycle long simply toss in detergent, add defy beads, then toss in your clothes. And downy defys unique formula conditions and protects fibers, so clothes stay looking newer, longer now you can protect your clothes so they look newer, longer, with downy defy damage. Women with metastatic we breast cancer. Rs. Our time. For more time. Has come. Living longer is possible and proven in postmenopausal women taking kisqali plus fulvestrant. In a clinical trial, kisqali plus fulvestrant helped women live longer with hr , her2 metastatic breast cancer. And it significantly delayed disease progression. Kisqali can cause lung problems or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. It can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems, and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. Tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including breathing problems, cough, chest pain, a change in your heartbeat, dizziness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, tiredness, loss of appetite, abdomen pain, bleeding, bruising, fever, chills, or other symptoms of an infection, a severe or worsening rash, are or plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. Avoid grapefruit during treatment. Ask your doctor about living longer with kisqali. Help the world believe in holiday magic. Thing and this year was harder than ever. And yet, somehow, you all found a way to pull it off. Its not about the toys or the ornaments but about coming together. Santa, santa, youre on mute just wanted to say thanks. Thanks for believing. Welcome back time now for sports. While the white house remains mum on russias suspected hacking of u. S. Government Computer Systems, moscow is being punished for doping violations. A ruling yesterday by the court of arbitration for sport bans the country from using its name, flag, and anthem at the next two olympics or any World Championship for the next two years. The ruling also blocks russia from bidding to host major sporting events. However, the court did say the name russia can be retained on uniforms, if the words neutral athlete or equivalents have the same prominence. Russian tlaeathletes can also rn their flag colors at major events. While it is half of the fouryear ban proposed last year by the world antidoping agency, it is the most severe penalty for russia since allegations of statebacked doping and coverups emerged after the 2014 sochi olympics. Now to the start of nfl week 15 and the raiders hosting the chargers on thursday night football. Lets go to las vegas, where the raiders may have been dealt the final blow to their playoff hopes amid a lateseason collapse after falling to los angeles in overtime. Las vegas backup Marcus Mariota played well in place of quarterback derek carr, who left during the second series of last nights game with a groin injury. But its chargers qb Justin Herbert who is emerging as a star, setting an nfl rookie record with his seventh 300yard game and matching another with 27 passing scores this season. And after the raiders took the lead with a field goal in the first possession of the overtime, herbert found his receiver for a 53yard reception, setting up his oneyard dive into the end zone for the 3027 victory. While the raiders aimed for success in their first season in las vegas after nearly 25 years in oakland, head coach jon gruden appeared to be living in the past last night, coming out, whoops, wearing an Oakland Raiders hat before making the appropriate wardrobe change later in the game. Oh, dear. And finally, 15time major champion tiger woods learned a lot from his father, earl, in his success as a golfer. You may remember all those old pictures of the two of them together. And it appears hes passing that down to his own son, charlie. Heres a look at the two warming up yesterday ahead of charlies public debut in a Golf Tournament at this weekends pnc championship. Displaying nearly identical swings. Wow. Look at that. They match right up the point is, if he plays anything like his dad, that 11yearold will likely wipe the floor with any of us on a golf course. Thats pretty cool. Well have to keep an eye on charlie. Time now for the weather. Lets go to meteorologist bill karins for a check on the forecast. Bill, what have you got . Hey, kasie. Good morning. Yeah, so, recovering from the huge, epic snowstorm in the northeast. Yesterday was a day for the kids to play and for everyone else to dig out. I mean, it was just insane. These numbers and totals that were coming in, you almost couldnt believe them, especially the areas in Central New York and northern pennsylvania. So, the binghamton area had 40 inches of snow. Pittsburgh was around 9, albany 22, boston about 12. And for a lot of these locations for binghamton, that was the biggest storm on record. Albany was their eighth biggest snowstorm on record. Boston, it was the fifth biggest, just in december. And for pittsburgh, it was the fifth snowiest december day youve had on record. As far as binghamton goes, top three storms in the last four years. It has been a very snowy period the last couple winters in Central New York. And behind that storm, its cold. I mean, its cold almost for everyone east of the rockies. Its 44 in orlando. And by your standards, thats very chilly. And look at burlington, vermont. Thats arctic air. Only 4 degrees this morning. So with any breeze, its negative windchills. Heres the good news. Theres really nothing thats going to cause any travel problems on the map today. You may even see some snow flurries in and around washington, d. C. Theres a new storm coming into the northwest. So as we look at your weekend forecast, we do have some rain down in areas of texas, also louisiana, into arkansas on saturday. The east coast looks sunny and cool. No problems there. A little bit of rain in the northwest. Then finally, for your sunday, some snow showers will move into areas of northern new england. But middle of the country looks perfect and a storm in the northwest. And that snow in the northeast will be no big deal on sunday. So, kasie, the next big weather event looks to be Christmas Eve. We have an arctic blast going into the middle of the country. Yay i know, right . Were going to see Rainy Weather on the east coast. And theres a potential for a big flash freeze event. Oh. So, well wait and see how this all plays out. But Christmas Eve could be one of those days, kasie, where you have like Rainy Weather, then all of a sudden, just boom, it gets really cold, and then we have to deal with what we call a flash freeze and horrible roads. So, well keep an eye on that for next week. Well, that sounds rather unpleasant as opposed to my nice white christmas. But fingers crossed that the forecast changes here in the meantime. Yes, well see. Bill karins, thank you so much. Happy friday and happy holidays to you. Still ahead here, new reporting on how Vice President mike pence will spend his final days in office. Heres a hint pretty far away from home. Plus, t