ld but patchy frost for tomorrow and even colder and windy conditions. >> "nbc nightly news" is next. on this saturday night, a sea of blue in the streets of new york as tens of thousands honor an nypd officer targeted and gunned down because he was a cop. how long will it last? gas prices drop below $2 a gallon in dozens of states. is this a sign of a new normal? rocky mountain high. business is booming at colorado's ski resorts one year after the legalization of recreational pot, but not everyone's buying into it. and linked to history. the family of a world war ii vet receives a special delivery this holiday, one that's been 70 years in the making. from nbc news world

headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening. it was exactly one week ago today that two new york city police officers were shot to death, randomly targeted for execution simply because they wore a badge. for others who wear the same badge it doesn't get any more personal than that, and so today in an extraordinary show of unity and grief, more than 20,000 law men and women from around the country and beyond gathered shoulder-to-shoulder at a queens, new york church to say farewell to a fallen comrade. the first of two funerals following an act of violence that has shocked the nation during a particularly divisive period. nbc's ron mott joins us now with more. ron, good evening. >> reporter: lester, good evening. it was a very somber ceremony here at this church behind me today. a palpable sense of loss and grief in the air, but when asked to describe it afterwards the vice president simply said it was moving. they came from coast to coast and everywhere in between, beat

cops, park rangers, jail guards, state troopers, thousands in all, all for one. officer rafael ramos. his flag-draped casket was carried past the sea of salutes. tributes continuing for more than an hour starting with vice president joe biden. >> to the ramos family, we're all lucky to have rafael. he didn't just have a bible in his locker, he lived it in his heart. he was a cop for all -- all the right reasons. >> reporter: for those who attended colleagues from here and far beyond this city the reasons were different, the sense of duty the same. from california -- >> this is what law enforcement's about. it's about family, brotherhood, sisterhood. >> reporter: from indiana. >> look around you, how can we not. >> reporter: even canada. >> it hits close to home when you hear an officer lost his

life. >> nothing will ever defeat or divide our new york family. >> reporter: while honoring the fallen officers was the main message of each speaker, both men promoted to detective by the commissioner, tensions between police and the public nationwide were not ignored. >> if we can learn to see each other and when we see each other we'll heal. we'll heal as a department. we'll heal as a city. he'll heal as a country. >> reporter: yet despite pleas this week that police, protests and politics take a break during the time of grieving, some nypd officers watching on a big screen outside again turned their backs to mayor bill de blasio. but inside he was greeted warmly. >> all of this city is grieving. and grieving for so many reasons, but the most personal is we've lost such a good man

and the family is in such pain. >> reporter: after the service the family members of his slain partner wenjian liu standing by, the body of officer ramos carried out of christ tabernacle church followed by a held copt orer fly over. an american flag presented to his wife marissa, sons justin and jaden at her side for the short ride to his final resting place. officer ramos was studying to be a volunteer chaplain and died on the day he was set to graduate from that program. a funeral service for his partner officer liu is set for next saturday, lester. >> ron mott, thank you. the killings of those new york officers have brought a new perspective to the ongoing debate over police tactics. today demonstrators on both sides were out in the streets again as they have been in recent days. nbc's hallie jackson went to one protest today in los angeles. >> reporter: lester, hundreds of people have gathered here today to add their voices to those

demanding police reform. in west l.a. they called for change. >> we're all about the same thing and that is about the truth. and that is about justice. and that a is about freedom. >> reporter: today's demonstration sparked by continuing outrage over the police killings of eric garner, michael brown and other black men and boys. similar to other protests this week. >> the idea is to give no time off to the police within the context of racial discrimination and violence that's happening every day. >> reporter: but outside boston a counterdemonstration where a local police chief shook hands with supporters who were there to show police lives matter. and in cleveland today hundreds filled the downtown plaza to defend officers like donna brown. >> we need our children, we need everyone to see that we are not bad. >> reporter: in salt lake city yesterday supporters of police and those calling for reform staked out separate sidewalks, some suggest there's room for common ground. >> those two positions are not

mutually exclusive. you may have in the movement calling for systemic reform very pro-police feelings and emotions. and in the pro-police rallies you will have individuals realize certain aspects of the system can be reformed or improved. >> reporter: many predict these protests won't end until there's more of a dialogue in this country about race and law enforcement. lester. >> hallie jackson tonight in los angeles. and a program note, chuck todd will have much more on the state of policing in america when nypd commissioner bill bratton joins him tomorrow on "meet the press". once again today north korea lashed out at the united states blaming it for disruptions in the wake of a sony white house scandal. nbc's senior white house correspondent chris jansing is traveling with the president in honolulu and has the latest for us. chris. >> reporter: good evening, lester. tensions between the u.s. and north korea have been escalating, but tonight they've taken a particularly ugly turn. the north's already limited

internet connection went down again this morning along with its 3g cell service, pyongyang blamed the u.s. and reacted with a racest rant against president obama, words the north has used before in which the white house calls particularly ugly and disrespectful. what washington won't do is respond to charges that the u.s. is behind the cyber attacks. officials here say that's exactly what north korea wants, to provoke a response. of course the stakes have been high ever since the massive and expensive breach of sony's computers which washington has blamed on the north. and there's new information tonight as well about the movie that started all this, "the interview." at the president's urging sony reversed its decision and released the movie, which is now on track to rake in an impressive $3 million at independent theaters just this weekend. it's also a top online rental and is a huge hit in china, which created its own trailer for the movie. and now it has the highest rating on the chinese website with viewers giving it an eight out of ten, one even calling it the greatest movie in film

history. bottom line, hackers threats have not kept people from seeing the movie. and by the way, the president does usually see a number of movies while he's on vacation here, but today he and his family hit the beach. lester. >> jansing in honolulu for us. thank you. former president george h.w. bush remains in a houston hospital tonight where he's being treated after experiencing shortness of breath earlier in the week. a spokesman for the former president says the 90-year-old's condition has improved to the point doctors are discussing dates for his discharge. however, he will remain hospitalized through the weekend. it's become a welcomed sight for drivers, gas prices are now at their lowest level in more than four years with the average price of a gallon of regular at just $2.31. and in a growing number of cities you can now fill up for under $2 a gallon. we get more tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: it's a scenario few people would have predicted just

a few years ago when the talk was of $5 a gallon gas. >> we found a bargain for you tonight, $4.35 a gallon. >> reporter: what a difference three years makes. in 33 states at least one station is selling gas below $2 a gallon. gasbuddy.com reports the cheapest cities include dallas at $1.99, tulsa at $1.95 and kansas city at $1.92. >> motorists saving nearly $300 million a day versus prices last year. this is the christmas gift that keeps on giving. >> reporter: what's happening? analysts say there's a price war underway. >> saudi arabia is trying to undermine the u.s. shale oil production at the same time it's undermining iran and russia due to the violence we're seeing in the middle east. >> reporter: meanwhile, u.s. oil production is booming, the highest in 30 years. just as our gas consumption has dropped to 40-year lows. one big reason? more fuel efficient cars. and americans are now changing their habits with retirees and

young people leaving the car behind and choosing to live in the city. today, nearly 20% of the millenial generation is choosing mass transit. in seattle collin found by going from four wheels to two he's saving more than $500 a month just in parking. >> the cost just didn't make sense for the amount that i was using a car. >> reporter: experts say the country is a big step closer towards energy independence. tom costello, nbc news, washington. severe storms are rolling into the south this weekend, potentially complicating holiday travel for millions. for more let's bring in weather channel meteorologist kim cunningham who's got the latest for us. hi, kim. >> hi, good evening, lester. and, yes, we're watching storms producing some heavy rain as well for the southeast. that's going to be with us maybe for the next 48 hours across the southeast. so if you live across the south, just make sure you're prepared in this area for possibly two to three inches of rain which could mean localized flooding and the potential of some severe storms. here's our forecast for sunday. we move it east slightly.

the heaviest of rain will be in this area here in the southeast. we're going to see some showers moving into d.c. and new york city. that could mean maybe some airport delays. so make sure you check with your carrier before you go, but the good news is it's rain versus snow for most of us. so the roadways shouldn't be too bad. just be careful. but then we're going to focus here in the west where we have our next big storm coming in. this one is going to be with us for a long time. it's going to have a lot of impacts in the west with a lot of snow. we're talking in the order of feet in some cases, lots of wind with this and even southern california will see rain and even some snow. denver three to five inches, possibly vegas seeing a little bit of light snow here by midweek. so, yes, cold air is coming in. and we're going to be seeing this eventually heading out to the central u.s. where we're going to see rain and even snow with it. so a long-lived storm, i should say, heading east over the next week which could impact a lot of travelers. back to you, lester.

>> we have been warned. kim cunningham, thank you. this week marked the tenth anniversary of the indian ocean tsunami, one of the worst natural disasters in history. with little warning a killer wave flooded the region claiming the lives of more than 200,000 people. in the years since the region has been busy rebuilding not just homes but also an early warning system designed to protect those living in the area. nbc's katy tur has that story for us tonight from thailand. >> reporter: when that wall of water came crashing through indonesia, thailand, sri lanka and india ten years ago, the world was stunned. no one had ever seen anything like it. no one had come close to predicting it. and with no warning system, hundreds of thousands paid with their lives. >> it was literally a big shock to the international community about the potential for destructive forces of earthquakes and tsunamis. >> reporter: fast forward to 2014 to the jakarta tsunami early warning center where they

monitor one of the most active fault lines on earth, the same one that ruptured in 2004. earthquake pings come almost hourly. staff have just five minutes to detect the shake and its strength on the ocean floor's seismometers from buoys where and when a wave would hit and then send out a warning via local agencies tv radio and texts. if you had a system, you could get at least half of the people that died in the tsunami? >> yes. >> reporter: in the ten years since the sumatra quake, the system has been repeatedly tested. and evacuation drills practiced. but it could be better. indonesia has three wave detection buoys. it wants 25. and as of now there are none in the banda sea. >> it isn't total number, it's do you have the right buoy in a spot that we think is capable of

generating a tsunami, and does it work? >> reporter: ultimately it's what's called the final mile which may be the most worrisome, specifically getting people to remember that their world can change in an instant. to the south of banda ache there is an island even closer to the epicenter of that quake, but pretty much everyone on it survived. that's because they knew that when the water receded you go to higher ground. it's that sort of generational knowledge that experts are hoping to instill in people so they don't become complacent. lester. >> katy tur from thailand. thank you. when "nbc nightly news" returns, the debate over marijuana hits the famed ski resorts of colorado. and a piece of history linked two families together even though they're thousands of miles apart.

according to a new national survey, colorado now has the second biggest percentage of regular marijuana users in the country. the state you'll recall legalized recreational pot sales at the start of the year at its famed ski resorts it's now high season in more ways than one. nbc's gabe gutierrez reports on how two towns are handling the new industry in very different ways. >> reporter: deep in the rockies. >> it's 25,000 square feet in total. >> reporter: jordan lewis is building an empire. this high-tech grow room will soon supply his high-end marijuana shop.

>> i think this can co-exist quite nicely in a ski town like aspen. >> reporter: sill veer peak apothecary is in downtown aspen just steps from gucci, prada and ralph lauren. >> it feels like every other boutique on the street. >> i think it's perfect. >> i wanted to check it out and see what they had to offer. >> reporter: tourism in colorado topped $17 billion in 2013, even more expected this year. it's unclear how much of that will be due to the recreational pot sales that started january 1st. but a state-funded survey shows in known resort communities 90% of marijuana sales are to out of town tourists even though it's illegal to smoke on the slopes and other public places. >> you don't have to like it. you don't have to use it. you don't have to sell it. but marijuana is part of this culture right now. and you do have to accept it. >> reporter: the pot industry seems to have found a home here, but other resort towns are taking a much different approach. you want this town known for skiing, not for marijuana. >> that's right.

>> reporter: breckenridge mayor john warner says voters just decided to kick the town's last dispensary off main street. >> we worked very hard to create our family atmosphere. >> reporter: instead pot shops here are opening miles away in an area with much less foot traffic. >> it's tremendously frustrating to be a small business owner to work so hard for so many years to chase a dream and to have the rug pulled out from underneath me. >> reporter: back in aspen. it seems you're trying to make pot elegant in a way. >> i think it is. the same way people are proud to show off their wine collection we want people to be proud to show off their cannabis collection. >> reporter: for some ski towns the weed is not welcome, but for others the possibilities are sky high. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, aspen, colorado. still ahead, a son's surprise christmas present proves that home is where the heart is.

with 2015 just days away, preparations are in full swing in new york's times square. today workers installed 288 newly designed waterford crystals on to the ball that will drop on new year's eve.

they join the other 2,400 crystals already in place. more than a million spectators are expected to gather in midtown manhattan for the new year's eve celebration. if you're unsure of what to do with all the empty gift boxes lying around after christmas, this next item may offer some inspiration. one mother in washington state has constructed everything from chairs to tables to lamps all from cardboard boxes. and they're not just for show, they're actually functional. the chairs are strong enough to support full-size adults, gives a whole new meaning to thinking outside the box. this next video may have you rethinking what you gave your parents for christmas. a successful tech entrepreneur presented his mom and dad with a simple handwritten note this holiday informing them that he paid off their mortgage. the heartwarming clip has already gone viral with more than 3 million views since it was first uploaded yesterday. when we come back, a special holiday delivery for the family of one world war ii vet.

finally tonight, the family of one world war ii veteran received a very special delivery this holiday, it's a link to their past and to a family living thousands of miles away. nbc's joe fryer has the story. >> reporter: 28 years have passed since the mccauley family lost their patriarch, warren. yet his memory endures. >> when i think of him he just has that great big beautiful smile. and i remember him that way. >> reporter: twila mccauley

married warren after he served his country in world war ii, a member of the famed 10th mountain division which helped knock germany off the peaks of italy. his family long treasured this photo of warren taken in venice in 1945 and re-enacted years later by his daughter, dee. >> it was kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to stand where my dad stood. >> reporter: little did she know at the time just how close she was to a family with a surprising connection to her dad. you see, during the war bruna de maria lived in a small italian town, just 10 years old growing up in a home that doubled as a field hospital when she found a silver bracelet. i was very poor, she says, so a bracelet for me was a treasure. she never wore it but kept it by her bed for 70 years before giving it to her son stefano. he noticed the faded numbers and with help from friends and

strangers they learned it was actually a military id number linked to an american soldier, warren mccauley. when you heard about this bracelet, what was your reaction? >> disbelief. i thought someone was playing a joke on my mom. >> well, i was utterly shocked. >> reporter: after seven decades of safekeeping in italy, the bracelet is going home to california, a very special delivery just in time for the holidays. >> oh, geez. you've come back to us. >> reporter: the mccauleys never knew the bracelet existed. now it's being passed through the hands of four generations of their family. how does it feel to finally see it? >> oh, it's wonderful. to think he once had that on his wrist. >> reporter: strangers bonded by a bracelet that has meaning in any language, joe fryer, nbc news, fullerton, california. that's "nbc nightly news"

for this saturday. i'm lester holt reporting for you from new york. i'll see you tomorrow on "today" and right back here tomorrow evening. good night. right now at 6:00, bundle up. near freezing temperatures expected across the bay area. what you can expect. good evening everyone.

peggy bunker is off tonight. a live look at downtown san jose's christmas in the park on the left. the bay bridge on your right. we have live team coverage of the cold snap. we are live in san jose where warming centers are open. let's go to our meteorologist to talk cold weather. >> it's cold. as we finished up our newscast last night, the cars outside in the parking lot cold enough for some patchy frost. that was my car. i didn't do that to somebody else's in the parking lot. upper 20s and low 30s around the north bay. livermore at 33 degrees. downtown san jose also in the mid 30s. out at the airport, 33. not a lot of wind tonight. we have an issue for a