> merry christmas, everybody. coming up on "early today," system overload, ups says thousands of holiday packages won't make it to their destinations in time for christmas. more fallout from target's massive data breach. reuters is now reporting that hackers stole encrypted bank pin numbers. utah's attorney general vows to go all of the way to the supreme court to stop same-sex marriage in the beehive state. plus, one adorable puppy's harrowing ordeal. also, an historic christmas at the vatican. and santa shows off his water-skiing skills. it's wednesday, december 25th, "early today" starts right now.

good morning and a very merry christmas to you, i'm betty nguyen. today won't be so merry for those who didn't get their packages on time leading some to call ups the grinch that stole christmas. the company has apologized issuing a statement in part saying the volume of air packages in our system exceeded the capacity in our network, as demand was much greater than the forecast. well, it's not clear how many deliveries are effected, but ups says it's a small percentage. their drivers did not work on christmas, so most packages have to be delivered tomorrow and the company says it will have additional employees tonight to prep those shipments. customers are taking to espn's facebook page. some are calling it an epic fail. some disappointed. even others are calling it fraud. well, more fallout from the wake of the target store's massive data breach to tell you about. reuters reports target hackers also stole encrypted bank pins. one major u.s. executive, banking executive telling

"reuters" there is a fear that these could crack codes and make fraudulent withdrawals. target pushed back on the reports saying, quote, to date, there is no evidence a unencrypted pin data has been compromised. target says financial institutions swrnt seen any evidence. the data heist compromised as many as 40 many debit and credit card accounts. security experts say it is the second largest credit card breach in u.s. history. the justice department and secret service are investigating. now, to new details in the obamacare saga, its glitch-plagued roll out made the top story this year by the associated press and this morning there is more time to sign up for coverage. january 1st, it's only for people who tried tone role on healthcare.gov but could not due to technical glitches. or extenuating circumstances. they should call the marketplace call center. their request will be considered on a case-by-case basis. but to be clear, the midnight deadline for january 1st coverage has come and gone.

anyone else who tries to enroll today won't get coverage until february 1st. meanwhile, officials say healthcare.gov saw more than 2 million visits on monday. we're going to move now to utah with another court defeat for same-sex marriage, but the state attorney general plans to seek an emergency appeal with the supreme court as early as tomorrow. this after a federal appeals court refused yet again to stop same-sex marriage in the state. the attorney general's office has advised county clerks they could be held in contempt for refusing to issue marriage licenses. a judge last week ruled a voter approved ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. it made utah the 18th state, along with washington, d.c., to legalize same-sex marriage and since then utah lawyers have been rejected four times in their bid to block them. as of last night more than 300,000 people from michigan to maine were still without power following storms over the weekend. and weather is making it difficult and dangerous for others to get where they're going.

>> reporter: icy roads made day before christmas travel treacherous in the northeast. near buffalo, new york, a tractor trailer flipped over snarling traffic. in northern ohio a morning pile-up involving more than 25 vehicles closed interstate 90, a major east-west link for much of this busy travel day. with temperatures forecast to stay below freezing for the rest of the week, dangerous travel conditions are likely to persist. in maine, ice brought down tree limbs and power lines, crews are working around the clock. >> work 17 on, 7 off. go home at 6:00 at night, back in at 1:00 in the morning. >> reporter: they're expected to be on the job the rest of the week working to restore power as strong winds and plunging temperatures threaten to make things worse. here in michigan more than 200,000 homes and businesses have been without power for three straight days. despite crews coming from 11 states and the district of columbia to help, there are

still neighborhoods like this one that have yet to be touched. many families are waiting it out in packed hotels, if they can find rooms. a hampton inn has become a gathering spot for displaced families like george and marianne and their dog shep. so this is where you're going to spend christmas? >> yep. we spent christmas, our anniversary here yesterday, 23 years. we got to spend it in a motel. >> reporter: karen charlie's family is making the best of it. >> everybody is having a really tough time. and we still don't have any power but we don't care. we're together! >> reporter: grateful to have someplace warm to stay, even if it's not home. john yang, nbc news, east lancing, michigan. >> at least they're making the best of it. nbc meteorologist has our christmas forecast. good morning, dylan. we're seeing nothing but sunshine up and down the west

coast. we're clear in seattle to start the day. although it will be chilly with temperatures only in the 30s, we have air stagnation alerts. especially across eastern parts of washington state and western oregon. where if you suffer from any sort of respiratory issues, like at m&a, it could be challenging for you. the air quality is pretty poor, there's not much wind and things are quiet. we have wind advisories across southern california, the air is dry, so we could see red flag warnings prompted because conditions are somewhat favorable. 38 degrees in seattle, we should top out around 39 later on this afternoon. not much fluctuation in temperatures there. down across the southwest, we should top out around 77 degrees in l.a. back through alaska, we still have this storm system moving further east, bringing in some warmer air in juneau, about 39 degrees with, just some rain showers, but up into fair banks, 32 degrees below zero today and

barrow, alaska, about 18 degrees below zero. that's where some of the coldest air across the country is located. mild, we should see temperatures topping out in the mid to upper 70s. so all across the country we're really enjoying some nice weather for this christmas day, betty. >> sounds pretty good, thank you. a critical repair to the international space station, plus excitement at st. peter's basilica, as pope francis leads his first christmas mass at the vatican. you're watching "early today."

welcome back, everybody. stories making news this morning. . new overnight in afghanistan, words that taliban rockets landed in kabul shortly before dawn. the u.n. has voted to send another 5,000 peacekeepers into south sudan, nearly doubling the force, as violence continues in the world's newest country. it took more than seven hours for two astronauts to successfully replace a faulty ammonia pump outside the international space station on tuesday. the refrigerated size pump is part of a critical cooling system which nasa says should be up and running by this weekend. the price of stamps is going up. starting january 26th, a first

class stamp will cost you 49 cents. that is a three-cent increase. regulators say the higher price is the result of severe decreases in mail volume over the past five years. the postal service says it lost $5 billion in the last fiscal year. a trash sorting worker at a san francisco recycling facility got a surprise when he saw an injured puppy come down the conveyer belt. check this out. incredibly the poodle survived being hauled by a garbage truck and loaded on to a shaker before plunging nine feet on to this sorting belt. the vet says she's expected to make a full recovery. so glad to hear that. while vacationing in hawaii first lady michelle obama got into the christmas spirit by answering phone calls from children about santa's flight which is being tracked by norad. she answered questions about santa's location and let kids know when he would be visiting their homes. the tracking of santa's journey

has been a christmas tradition since 1955. taking a break from his christmas eve preparations santa traded in his boots for flippers as he went for a scuba dive in the florida keys. he better get back to work, because after all, it's christmas, santa. the vatican -- at the vatican, in fact, pope francis is marking his first christmas as leader of the catholic church. tens of thousands of people are expected to pack st. peter's today. for the traditional christmas day message. in it, the pope asked for prayers, peace and the end of tensions in syria. the central african republic, south sudan and nigeria. late last night, the pope celebrated his first christmas eve mass. we get more from nbc's martin fletcher. ♪ >> reporter: midnight mass in st. peter's basilica in the vatican and it didn't take long for pope francis to break the tradition, placing the statue of baby jesus in the manger himself instead of an aide doing it in keeping with his theme of

humility. >> translator: god loves us. he gave us his son to be light in the darkness. >> reporter: traditional christmas tradition in light and love from a most untraditional pope. in just nine months pope francis has charmed the world. >> his message of hope and love translates into every language. >> every language. >> he's humbled. he's a people's pope. >> reporter: the leader of 1.2 billion catholics he still comes across as a kindly grandfather, not standing on ceremony. reaching out to all, especially children, the poor, and the abandoned, and the afflicted. opening the doors of the church. on gay priests he said, whom am i to judge. on women in the church, he said, they are essential. a change in catholic dominance or a change in style? >> there's certainly a style change which is simplicity but he's not somebody who is going to be throwing out core doctrine.

>> reporter: his message to the church is harsher, clean up your act on corruption and abusive priests. >> if you're going to teach as church, you want to be able to give an example of honesty. >> reporter: and he's setting an example. he swapped the papal limousine for a ford focus and instead of the palace he's living in a two-room apartment which he left yesterday to pray with his predecessor pope benedict in his retirement home. francis said to him, pray for me. ♪ but tonight it was pope francis in the splendor of the basilica leading the catholic world in prayer. >> that was nbc's martin fletcher reporting. just ahead in sports, all your nba match-ups for christmas day, plus will some nfl favorites be back on the field for the final games of the regular season? we'll tell you.

you know it wouldn't be christmas without families, santa claus, and, of course, ugly sweaters. crafters jessica is at the forefront of this tacky holiday tradition. actually for the past five years she's gotten in the christmas spirit by creating some of the most wonderfully ugly sweaters in the world. word of her festive apparel has spread and she offers her tinseled and pom-pom one of a kind works of art online. you're lucky if you get one of

those, not. let's get the latest in sports. will aaron rodgers take the field following his collar bone injury? he told the press gazette a decision will come on thursday and it all depends on whether he is medically in the clear. tony romo is still recuperating from a back injury in his game against the redskins. after anonymous source reported romo received an epidural, cowboys owner jerry jones says fans should not rule out the qb just yet because he is still able to play. missouri's football players are more excited than most about their college bowl swag while cotton bowl labeled clothing was a hit, that was nothing compared to when they got a glimpse, check this out, of some apple swag. ipads seem to have an extreme effect on these guys. ah, the joys of technology. the 2014 world cup stadiums in brazil continue to cause more problems.

after five people died building the 12 stadiums the national stadium in brazilia made it rain on fans over the weekend. the leaky roof comes less than eight months after the stadium was completed. brooklyn nets forward paul pierce has been fined 15,000 bucks for a hard foul on george hill during monday's game. referees said that pierce made excessive and unnecessary contact. the nfl gets thanksgiving so the nba gets christmas. the bulls will be in nyc to play the nets followed by the oklahoma city thunder and big apple to play the knicks. the big game of the day will p the match-up of miami heat and the lakers in l.a. you can round out your evening with a texas match-up of the rockets and spurs followed by the l.a. clippers against the warriors. santa is just as athletic as some of our best athletes. a group of santas hitting the

surf in florida and in d.c. every member of santa's building and delivery team strapped on some skis, water skis, that is, for the 28th annual santa's ski on the potomac river. the water was nice and warm for the north polers. a balmy 42 degrees, of course. ♪ and all of the wisconsin badger sports teams got together to wish fans happy holidays. they showed off their bucky badger pride with some serious dance moves. everybody loves the worm, don't they? just ahead, what's new at the box office on this christmas day and how celebrities are spreading holiday cheer on social media. plus, how the uso is making a difference this christmas for americans who are very far from home. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and merry christmas. welcome back. we're looking at temperatures today to start off in the upper

30s in the pacific northwest and stay in the upper 30s in the pacific northwest. not really much change there with a high of about 40 degrees. across eastern washington, air stagnation alerts are posted, just bautista air quality is pretty poor, without much wind messing things around out that way. we could see a sprink until portland, about 39 degrees, 63 in san francisco and temperatures to the southwest should be in the 70s and lower 80s. heading into tomorrow, we're looking for pretty quiet conditions, lots of sunshine from north to south across the west coast. so really, just continuing with the nice weather that we've been seeing out there recently. and the rain isn't even going to move into the seattle area tomorrow. and across parts of hawaii, things are looking real nice. that's where you want to be. maybe one of santa's last stops, about 81 degrees in honolulu and lots of sunshine, a couple of spotty showers on the big island. betty? thank you, dylan. for some entertainment news.

hollywood is celebrating the who willdy by giving moviegoers a slew of new releases, include ing "the wolf of wall street," "grudge match," "the secret life of walter mitty" and "justin bieber's believe." according to his twitter page the 19-year-old is stepping away from the spotlight tweeting he is officially retiring. really? the tweet has since been deleted and is the second time this month bieber has spoken of retirement. so i guess we will see. on the heels of vin diesel's announcement of april 2015 release date for "fast and furious 7," scenes will be kept in the film of paul walker. at the time of his death he had shot several scenes for that film. the video of kanye west song "bound to" has inspired hilarious parodies but the actual song landed west in the courtroom. the rapper is being sued for unlicensed sampling. finally, celebrities like gisele, jay-z, rihanna, taylor

swift took to social media to wish all a very merry christmas. rihanna's one was a little racy. i'm betty nguyen. and this is "early today." we hope this is your first stop of the day on nbc.

welcome back, everybody. the uso has been busy spreading holiday cheer to america's men and women in uniform who can't make it home for christmas with their families. right now there are 47,000 soldiers and marines in afghanistan and as u.s. winds down operations there this may be their last year for this christmas tradition. nbc pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski reports from inside the afghanistan. >> reporter: amid the soaring snow-capped mountains of eastern afghanistan santa claus is already going to town. it's the uso's annual christmas convoy, spreading gifts and good cheer to u.s. troops on the battlefield. it's led by santa herself, regina wages, the uso director at forward operating base. >> i love these guys nape need a little piece of home.

i love providing it for them. >> reporter: volunteers pitch in on behalf of their fellow soldiers. >> it's just creating a smile. >> reporter: they're the only santa's helpers carrying sidearms. all gifts are donated, like flat screen tvs and latest xbox. even a bicycle is assembled by committee. >> you don't have any parts left over? >> i don't think we do. >> i always did. >> reporter: the gifts are tossed on to helicopters for delivery. this time to base netherland. they're preparing for a mission outside the wire, only days before christmas. the uso invasion provides a welcome break from the war. even seasoned combat veterans get a lift. >> i love it, too. i like being a kid every once in a while. >> reporter: the uso convoy delivers the holiday packages to some of the most isolated and dangerous bases in afghanistan where the only outside contact may be the enemy. but as the war winds down, these

christmas convoys will come to an end. that's bittersweet for regina wages. >> i've been out here serving these guys since 2009 and to think that -- i mean, i'm glad they're going home, but for me, it's kind of sat. >> reporter: and while war has a way of rapidly turning young soldiers into men, these brief moments allow them to be kids again. >> you guys will do anything. >> reporter: receiving what may be the most precious gift of all. >> merry christmas! >> ho-ho-ho. >> reporter: jim miklaszewski, nbc news, afghanistan. >> you really have to applaud a project like that. to see the guys and the women going home after serving, but it's meant so much for so many years. >> it means so much and amazing to see them smiling on christmas and be able to have these moments. >> yeah. take war out of your head for a minute. i'm betty nguyen. thanks for watching "early today." merry christmas, everybody.

it's 4:30 this morning. good morning. we do start with breaking news. deputies are on the scene of a double shooting in the east bay. it happened early this morning at a home near the intersection of via lucas. police blocked off the area with yellow tape for the investigation. we're still working to gatt. er more information on this. today in the bay's cc case kain is on the story. it is christmas day. it's another spare the air warning. the air quality management cricket says you cannot burn