good christmas eve morning to you, coming up on "early today," another change to the new health care law as the obama administration extends a two key deadline. two astronauts abort the international space station gear up for a christmas eve spacewalk. target suffers blowback from its massive data breach. plus, a holiday shopping bust for retailers. the end of an era for san francisco's famed candlestick park. and santa's helpers making a difference for sick children. it's tuesday, september 24. "early today" starts right now. well, merry christmas eve to you. good morning.

ich richard lui. if you're up early to do last-minute shopping you've got a few hours left, but it's also the last day to get health insurance under obamacare, that is, if you want coverage to start january 1st. nbc's danielle lee is in washington. for us. danielle, it looks like deja vu. weren't we just talking about this deadline yesterday? >> reporter: you know what the administration says it's trying to create a cushion and the idea is to let anyone who tried to sign up for insurance yesterday but didn't get a chance to do that today. minh is among the more than 1 million americans more than likely breathing a sign of relief. >> you're married. >> reporter: yes. >> reporter: caught in yesterday's scramble to get her father-in-law insurance she has through today to finish the job. >> better for him to be covered than, you know, and be safe and not worried about it. >> reporter: this morning the website is advertising the one-day extension, granted in response to the record number of visitors to healthcare.gov, so many that not everyone who tried

could get through. >> we wanted to make sure that people trying to sign up today were able to do it and get recovered. >> reporter: republicans attacked the last-minute change. >> it's another demonstration that this plan was not ready for primetime. going to be problem after problem. >> reporter: health industry consultants are warning of problems to come. >> the insurance companies really need two or three weeks to process a normal number of enrollments, and they will have a week to process an extraordinary number of enrollments with lots of errors. >> reporter: errors that could spell headaches for consumers, and insurers are warning keep your paperwork. >> reporter: even with enrollments surging, a new poll shows that 62% of americans still oppose this health care law. the next deadline is december 31st. that's when premiums are due and insurers in many cases are giving consumers a bit of extra time, january 10th to pay. moving now to drama taking

place 200 miles above the earth. in just a few hours astronauts will embark on a christmas eve spacewalk. they're preparing, we're looking at live pictures, an emergency mission to replace a critical cooling pump on the international space station. the two astronauts hope to finish the job they started over the weekend. one concern -- the aging spacesuit, which they were trying to retrofit over the last couple of days. nasa will broadcast the entire event live this morning on its website. the fallout from target's massive data breach is widening. at least a dozen customer s across the country have filed federal lawsuits. some are accusing target of negligence and failing to protect the card data. heist is connected to more than 40 million debit an ked card accounts. target has issued an apology and is working with the justice department and the secret service, but a consumer perception survey says target has dropped deeply on its sales. meanwhile, chase is easing its

restrictions on customers who were are victims of the target fraud. they can now withdraw up to $250 a day in cash, and spend up to $1,000 a day on purchases. gay rights advocates are hailing a pair of court rules. in utah a judge is ordering same-sex marriages to continue. the state's voter-approved ban on the unions was struck down last week. state officials have requested a stay while they appeal nearly 700 gay couples have obtained marriage licenses in the past few days. and in ohio there is a smaller victory. monday, a judge invalidated part of the state ban on same-sex marriage. while not a sweeping repeal, it now requires the state to recognize marriages on death certificates. at least 11 deaths are blamed on a storm system that's generated flooding, freezing rain and snow over the weekend. as of last night, an estimated 250,000 people in michigan were still without power as utility crews work around the clock to

repair frozen power lines. meanwhile, flooding in central indiana has led to road closures, car rescues and evacuation orders. now for a look at the holiday forecast this christmas eve, here's nbc meteorologist dylan dreyer. things looking a whole lot better across the west coast. we had a rainy day yesterday in seattle, but improvements there big storm system moving into montana and wyoming, but it's spreading east. most of the west coast looking fine today. a few spotty showers mixing in the higher elevations. but for the most part it looks like a pretty decent day, about 45 today in seattle, fairly seasonable for this time of year. 45 in portland, 46 in medford. heading into the southwest, phoenix about 71, l.a., 75 degrees. up across parts of alaska, another storm system is sweeping in from the south.

while most of alaska does look quiet for today, with gnonome 7 degrees. it's snowy across the southwestern parts of alaska, that's the only stormy part out west. most enjoying a nice christmas eve and christmas day, that's a look at weather acrosith highs in the 60s. >> so you're always hoping for a white christmas this time of year. the west coast not too used to that unless you're headed up into the mountains. richard? >> i'm headed there and it's lots of sun. edward snowden says mission accomplished. also a christmas meeting of the pope and details on a real life bad santa in florida.

>> private first class simmons in kabul, afghanistan. i just want to wish my wife kristi, kids dawson and kayla and family a merry christmas and happy new year. i love you, i miss you, and i'll see you in february.

i want to say merry christmas to my wife bridget, my kids and i'm from southern california, my friends down south, i want to say merry christmas, san diego. >> merry christmas to you, too. edward snowden said his mission is already accomplished. the nsa leaker telling the "washington post" that he has already won. he says that's because journalists are telling the stories of the government's collection of data. snowden said he didn't want to

change society. he just wanted people to say in how they are governed. pregnant women who eat nuts or peanut butter don't be a pier to be raising the risk of nut allergies for their children. researchers say kids whose moms ate nuts five to eight times during pregnancy were 59% less likely to have nut allergies. women were once advised to avoid eating nuts during pregnancy. pope francis paid a visit to the home of his predecessor. the two exchanged christmas greetings and prayed together. in massachusetts a fire fighter makes a dairy rescue to save a 5-year-old dog named crosby. a golden retriever fell through the ice and the fire fighter tied a rope around his neck and jumped right in, pulling crosby to safety, but it was not easy. another fireman ultimately joined, and police had to use gps to find crosby's exact location. and santa claus is coming to town to rob your bank? what? this kriss kringle in central florida donned a white beard,

red hat and sunglasses and actually escaped with the cash. he's on the naughty list this year. business news. we turn to cnbc's jackie de angel angelis. stocks sell sbrating with more holiday cheer on monday, the dow, the nasdaq, the s&p 500 closing new record highs and having the best four-day win streak in more than two months, the markets close early today. 1:00 p.m. eastern time. target's general counsel met with several states attorneys general to address concerns of the massive information breach. and finally, holiday sales continuing to slide. retail watchers shopper track saying sales fell 3% last weekend and store traffic plunging 21%. the past weekend was expected to be among the busiest shopping days of the season. richard back to you and happy

holidays. >> hyundai and kia will pay $95 million in a proposed gas settlement. owners from the 2011-2013 model years are affected here. the company has admitted last year that they overstated fuel economy by at least one mile per gallon. did you know, the new year also marks the phase-out of 40 and 60-watt incandescent light bulbs? the most popular bulbs in america. but lighting giant sylvania says 4-10 americans know about the phaseout. 13 states are raising their minimum wage in the new year. washington state will have the highest at $9.32. and a handful of cities on the west coast are raising their wage. the highest will be washington, where the airport is, that will be $15 an hour. not sure this is a proud honor for the u.s., but at 52%, porn

hub says we lead the world on viewing pornography on smartphones. and a mcdonald's employee site is bashing of all things, fast food. one post labels an ad with a cheeseburger and fries as the unhealthy choice. mcdonald's says, quote, we don't sell junk food. ahead an incredible night for the niners, and it's a classic sendoff for candlestick park. plus, an overtime thriller for the miami heat. also, a hockey goal that you have to see next. but he didn't see!

oh, look at this. christmas came early for a few families in southern california. so instead of blue and pink blankets newborn babies are bundled up in red stockings when presented to their families. the adorable annual tradition has gone on for over 50 years at miller's children's hospital. now in sports, the 49ers clinching the playoffs, it didn't come easy, in the fourth i take you, 9ers lead by ten, atlanta puts together a strong scoring responses. atlanta ready to score, but, boe bobble, 9ers goes 89 yards to seal the win 34-24, the last of

a stadium record 36 monday night football games at candlestick. boy, yeah, why not jump up. why not? auburn head coach gus malzon was named college coach of the year by the a.p. after an unbelievable iron bowl victory against alabama. a.p. after an unbelievable iron bowl victory against alabama. his tigers now in the championship game against florida state. the heat prevail in an overtime thriller. atlanta with a load in the fourth when lebron james gets three. later james dunks. get out of his way. knee in the face of atlanta's paul millsap. take it to overtime now. atlanta leads again, but miami's michael beasley nailing crucial free throws. heat win it, 121-119 in a squeaker. the knicks get a bitter sweet victory over orlando. in the third, orlando hustling, but he sprains his ankle. 'melo was out for the rest of the game. orlando cuts a once 25-point deficit to just a few. can't get it done. knicks 103-98.

'melo playing on christmas day in question. hey, ted, how is it going. ted ligety took first place in the american rock fest and gets a $102,000 prize. he's currently third overall in the world cup. to hockey. got to watch this one. phoenix and buffalo tied in overtime. the puck flies up in the air. where does it go? into the goaltender's pants. he didn't know it. back to back to his goin'. but that is an own goal. phoenix, buffalo wins 2-1 in that one. high school dunk contest. this high schooler grayson allen, high schooler dunks over two 6'8" guys. >> my goodness. >> thought there was a trampoline there. >> doing this. nine schools made offers for him, and he decided to go to duke. >> definitely d-1 material and t.o., expressing his love-hate relationship with philly fans. here he is in this commercial reminiscing in a carl's jr. commercial. >> i had a love-hate

relationship with philly. i love the food. >> t.o.! you suck, t.o.! >> but the fans hated me. >> hey, t.o. >> wow. >> that's philadelphia for you, right? just ahead, 2013's entertainer of the year. plus, maria carey may have found a new way to have children. you're watching "early today." hello, my name is command sergeant james killpatrick, in kabul, afghanistan. would i like to say merry christmas and happy holidays to my family and friends back in colorado springs, colorado.

. i'm sergeant thomas bailey from kabul, afghanistan, i would like to say merry christmas and happy new year to my mom and dad, and my nieces and nephews and i love you and i'll be with you soon. we're looking at a nice day across parts of the west. increasing sunshine in seattle. the high about 45 degrees, which is where we're at right now, kind of foggy and things are going to stay fairly similar to this morning. >> in portland we should make it up to 45 degrees and four your christmas day forecast, the sunshine continues, a wintry mix in portland and medford, oregon.

jennifer lawrence is the top entertainer of 2013, that's according to the associated press w.15 votes from the a.p. staff she narrowly beat out his pixie-cut rival miley cyrus with 14 votes. j.k. rowling is taking harry potter to the stage. she will be co-producing a production in london. about the wizard, as well as consulting about the script. and the creator of "glee" said in a recent interview his and leah michelle's characters were not going to end up together after all. michelle would be a broadway star and monteith a teacher in ohio. congratulations to "supernatural" star who welcomed a second baby boy over the weekend. and mariah carey definitely won't be having children any time soon. >> if nick could have the babies himself, then maybe, yeah, bring them all. we love kids. well, italian has found quite an

interesting way to market 12 years a slave. to the right of your screen is one of the posters of marketing brad pitt who has actually one of the smallest roles in the film. to the left is the american version of the poster. one "home alone" super fan came up with you a unique christmas card for family members. >> kevin, you're such a disease. >> i hate families, families suck. >> i hope you don't mean that. >> do these fans get good gas mileage. >> make my family disappear. >> that's a little creepy to me, right? this is "early today," we hope it's just your first stop today on nbc.

on in christmas eve we wanted to tell but a group of sabta's helpers who are bringing smiles to sick children. we go to mark potter with more. >> reporter: for a child there's no worse time to be in the hospital, away from home over the holidays. unless -- the hospital and other caring folks bring the holidays here. >> oh, my gosh! who's that? it's santa claus! >> reporter: at old children's hospital in st. petersburg, florida, he came from the sky, disguised as a window washer. bringing cheer and a wave to children who could use a smile. >> that is too cool.

>> reporter: at this children's hospital in orlando there were four of them. two santas and two elves. scaling the walls, washing the windows. and making new friends. for the kids, it's a magical moment. >> hi, sweetie. >> for the man from the window washing company playing santa for a day -- >> i feel like a little bit of a rock star right now. >> it's so rewarding to make this kind of a difference. >> they're very happy to see us and i'm happy to see them, too they're wonderful. >> around the country, children's hospitals and local window-washing companies are joining together to help raise children's spirits, we first met them earlier this year, dressed as super heroes, and now as santa and his elves this time of year. >> it will get kids who are laying in their beds, not feeling well, to kind of forget for a minute. and just sit up and be excited and have something fun happening in their, right in their room. >> 6-year-old giovanni hamilton,

who just got a new wheelchair couldn't get to the window fast enough. where he got a personal wave and four hellos. straight from the north pole. >> what do you think about this, giovanni? >> i like it. >> you like it? >> in fact, everyone likes it. >> santa cleaning your window. look at that. >> that this many people would give their time to make children feel better. mark potter, nbc news, orlando. here's what's coming up on "today" for you. how a charlie brown christmas tree is bringing a whole community together this holiday season. and meet a teen singing sensation who has taken the internet by storm by channeling elvis presley, he'll perform one of the king's christmas classics live in the studio. thanks for watching "early today" on this christmas eve, we hope you have a holiday in front of you. have a good one.

we heard a shatter. it sounded like a bot. >> family scared off by a jewelry store robbery feet away. the smash and grab at a south bay mall that sent people running. police releasing video of a car that went crashing through the front of an east side walmart. why san jose's mayor is appealing a $1 fine handed to him by the state. and taking you for a live look at san francisco on this tuesday, december 24th, this is "today in the bay." good morning to you. merry christmas eve. it's 4:30. i'm peggy