unexpected display and one that many people were lucky to get out alive. flames engulfed the luxury building. chucks of debris falling still on fire. >> six or seven minutes the entire side of the building was engulfed. >> for more than two hours dubai's skyline lit up and not by it's scheduled fireworks display. emergency responders racing to help. >> we saw quite a bit of firefighters making their way running top speed through the mall to try to get to that location. >> inside there was up and down momenten. one survivor said. >> you can see what they are trying to do is get everybody out of the mall area. >> reporter: yet at midnight dubai's world famous fireworks went ahead. to the disbelief of many.

>> it's surreal andy bar. >> celebrations through the still thick smoke dominating dubai's skyline. >> and of the more than 14 people injured some were suffering from smoke inhalation. others were injured simply trying to escape that building. back to you. the fbi says it entitledspo year's eve terror plot. the man under arrest is out of rochester new york. >> the fbi says this is the face of a man who is about to carry out a new year's eve slaughter. the alleged plan to kill in his hometown of rochester new york. after communicating with an isis fighter in syria says the fbi. the criminal complaint details his alleged talk's around christmas day with an isis supporter overseas. he wrote he was ready to give up

everything to fight with isis in syria. his handler answers for now do what you can over there. take as many as possible out. just this week he went to this walmart and bought two black ski masks, zip tie. >> two knives, a machetety, duct tape. and latex gloves. prosecutors say he was planning to stab people at the restaurant or bar and possibly carry out a kidnapping. >> the timing of this arrest illustrates the fact that there are threats that are current and that counterterrorism agencies are dealing with at this very moment. >> the 25-year-old u.s. citizen has a criminal past, serving five years for robbery in state prison. >> this is a person who was a muslim, was in the state system but then became radicalized. through the internet. swore allegiance to isil. spoke over the internet with terrorist organizations. >> investigators say also has a

history of mental illness and was dangerously close to carrying out the plot. he lived along these streets. his grandmother spoke to nbc by phone. >> my belief is that he was set up, was lured into doing this. >> luchman was brought to federal court and ordered held. evacuated and closed two train stations including the city's main one during new year's eve celebrations due to a serious threat of an isis attack. according to the munich police chief authorities acted on a tip from a foreign intelligence agency which said five to seven attackers were planning to strike although the means of the attack was not disclosed. the stations reopened shortly before dawn. and in brussels a planned fireworks display was canceled over fears of an attack. certainly a stressful new year for millions in the midwest as well but for very different reasons as historic flood waters

along the mississippi river and its tributaries continue to rise, some showing no signs of receding any time soon. miguel alma gary reports. >> the mighty mississippi wairl se . water level threatening to top levees and swamp homes. the u.s. geological survey recording it. an artery of rivers all brimming. >> you have 6.2 million gallons per second right now. that is about ten times niagara falls on a typical day. >> reporter: what makes the flood so dangerous is how many sections the flow is threatening. they are used to floods but not water this powerful moving this

quickly. they are taking stock of the damage. it is feared 150 homes are lost. >> carport's gone. deck's gone. couple of cars. this family home is an island. they have no insurance. >> have to restart fresh, everything. >> with nine levees spilling over the meramec crested shattering 18 records. sections of i-44 and 55 are swamped and temporarily shut down. the water is still rising the fight still under way. housers have sandbagged their home one sandbag at a time for now the water is holding but. >> think you dodged to bullet? >> i can't answer that yet. the bowl games turned out to

be bowl busts. 332 yards as clemson remains perfect. and in the cotton bowl it was a sweet blow out from top to bottom as alabama rolled michigan state 38-0. on this first day of the year and how are we looking weatherwise? >> we are looking cold in many parts of the country but we're also looking hopeful to the west. the past couple of years the drought has gotten worse. some improvements this year as you can see from 2014 to now. for texas. but that is about it. our hope? el nino. and it is beginning now. we're starting to see a series of storms come into the west. and this is the first one coming in sunday night. another monday into tuesday. both will bring ben official rain to california. not a lot but we'll take what we

can get. we still have flood warnings up and down the mississippi. watching this very closely at the river in st. louis already crested but still so high and something to watch in the coming days and weeks. for today looking cold into chicago, 28 degrees. 49 for your high in san francisco. that is kind of cold. 67 in l.a. looking towards saturday we're going to stay comfortable out west. a couple of exceptions. salt lake city only 29. 38 in denver but 71 and sunny in phoenix that. sounds great. so some good enough to be there for your holiday, beautiful 70s and 80s. >> so the forecast for sunday

gets a little bit milder. we've got 63 in l.a. looking good. 43 in seattle. >> nice to have a little vacation from the holiday. some of us need it before we head back into the real world real lives. thank you so much as always bonny schneider. one of the most popular characters of the tv series "mash" dies. i've smoked a lot

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eager to have who are day in court. a hearing is expected early next week. and ethan couch's extradition to the united states has been delayed. and the president of iran has ordered a -- in response to a u.s. threat to impose sanctions over a ballistic missile test in october. this comes after international agreement was reached over the summer to curb ooirp's nuclear activities. it remains unclear whether this dispute will effect that nuclear agreement. actor wayne rogers died yesterday. he was also successful as a financial investor. and over the last decade he was a regular best on fox news channel's regular program. he was 83. george lucas who sold "star

wars" has apologized to say what. in a statement he said i am thrilled that disney has the franchise and moving it in such exciting directions. and a an apartment fire killed one person and injured five. it started last night as a mattress fire and quickly spread to the apartment complex. more than 100 people have been displaced by the blaze. and all set for the nhl winter classic. sports is next. when it's your time to shine, you want to feel good from head to toe. includi. introducing the latest innovation from amopé. the amopé electronic nail care system. the fast way to file, buff, and shine. for effortless, shiny, wow nails! so you can step out with that amopé confidence

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on today a live performance by pop singing sensation andy graerm. and to sports, trevone boykin was arrested following a bar fight when he allegedly took a swing at the police officer. he won't play in saturday's alamo bowl. and klay thompson came up with 38 points as steph curry sat out his second straight game with a sore leg. james harden put up a battle

with 30 of his own. and golden state improved with a win. and look at this. a small army of packer faithful digging out the frozen tundra of lambeau field. between green bay and the minnesota vikings, the true definition of team work. and later today. the bruins and canadiens. last night the veterans took their turn on the ice at foxborough's gillette stadium. the two teams with a combined 30 cups. 990 meetings with thousands of penalty minutes between them. the match up is today only on nbc. just ahead saturday night's most watched skit of the year. and taylor swift on her latest video. you're watching "early today."

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you say? for "out of woods." look how spectacular the views are. that is the sixth music video swift has released from her 1989 album. and saturday night live has released its most watched sketches for 2015. the number one spot i'm sure you saw went to a thanksgiving saved by adele. ♪ ♪ hello it's me ♪ i was wondering if after all these years of life for me ♪ ♪ to go over everything ♪ they say the time's supposed

to heal you ♪ ♪ but i ain't -- [ doorbell ] >> oh your grandparents are here. >> can you imagine that for 2016, a rule being if i fight with you or whoever we just bust out in adele. >> and embracing adele and her music. >> nice little medley. would be great do it that way. interesting to see. a great way to wrap up the year and have everybody if you are out there new year's eve still continuing the party or waking up early we appreciate you being with us. this is "early today." huh. introducing centrum vitamints.

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leading the news on nbcnews.com. martin o'malley failing to qualify for ohio's ballot. a campaign spokeswoman says the former maryland governor will still campaign vigorously in ohio. and a clinton aide made a flowchart for who could ride in a limo with a box. the senior adviser half jokingly wrote limo instructions for 2012. if tolerable gets to jump in. if 10 minutes or so more, she needs alone time. clinton should ride solo.

police released body cam video of an incident. responding to a report of a attempted car break in when they detained this man and used pepper spray. and you can hear him say i want to go home to which one of the officers tells him to stop resisting. the police department claims any use of force was minimal and necessary. and a judge says bill cosby's wife will have to undergo a deposition in massachusetts. the lawsuit is unrelated to the criminal charges brought against cosby earlier this week in pennsylvania. and a woman accused of stealing nearly $2 million from a credit union over 15 years. she would get to work early, enter the vault and stuff her purse with cash. prosecutors also say the embezzlement almost brought the

small a bank to insolvency. and this couple won a contest to be married on a countdown stage there in times square last night. they exchanged vows and rings in front of millions watching on tv. and the ceremony, provided by former men's wear house ceo george zimmer. and something tells me the groom probably was wearing a men's wear house suit. and a look at the 127th annual tournament of roses parade this morning in pasadena, california. you can watch the parade beginning at 11:00 a.m. eastern here on nbc. happy birthday. mini me himself. thanks so much for being with me on this january 1st.

happy new year to on a frozen night--- a fiery

display. fireworks and resolutions fill the air in sfrn on a frozen night, a fiery display. fireworks and resolutions filling the air in san francisco for the holiday and really all without a hitch. the first of the year delivers a whole package of new laws. how many do we need to unwrap? more than 800. "today in the bay" starts right now. good morning to you. good night even to some of you. happy new year, i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> i'm sam brock. one of two reasons you're up watching, you're just getting home or working hard for the holiday. kari hall has your forecast. >> good morning. it is cold, again. we do have a freeze warning in effect for the bay area.

all the spots shaded in purple does not include san francisco. parts of the inner bay and the immediate coast but we will have some low 20s, but some mid-20s and low 30s in spots but look at the north bay. it is 28 degrees now. and we are not done with those temperatures falling. so, we will see a few more degrees. the temperature going down a few more degrees and then goes up to 51 degrees in san francisco in the north bay. low to mid-50s as we go into the afternoon and the first day of 2016. i'll show you the weekend as we get ready for some rain to move in by sunday. that's coming up in just a few minutes. sam and laura. >> saying farewell to 2015 and welcoming a new year. fireworks lit up san francisco's night sky as the clock struck midnight marking the start to 2016. and the new year means new laws in california. this year, governor brown signed a total of 807 bills and many

start today. here, some of the highlights. >> i just sense the excitement in your voice. okay. first is the controversial vaccination law. all kids in public school now must get their shots, unless it's for a medical reason. that means no more exemptions for religious or personal reasons. the law kicks in today, but some parent will have until july to get their kids up to date on their shots. >> another new law to protect your rights. police will have to get a search warrant before looking through your e-mails, text messages and data sort in your smartphone or laptop. the minimum wage going up by a dollar. starting today, all employees must pay the workers at least $10 an hour. however, some bay area cities have a higher requirement. finally, those hoverboards that everyone has been talking about can now be ridden in bike ways and path lanes and other walkways. the law includes other kinds of motorized boards. governor brown vetoed 133 bills

this year. the reason he gave for vetoing so many they would be intrusive in our lives. >> reporter: changes on the local level. in oakland minimum wage is higher. unincorporated santa clara county. b.a.r.t. fares went up more than 3% starting today. that amount increases to 15 cents for every $5 fare. it it was a relatively quiet night but san francisco police officers are investigating a new year's eve shooting outside of a police station. police say someone shot a man in a back outside the mcdonald's across the street from northern station on fill more. emergency crews rushed the victim to the hospital and no word on that victim's condition. checking surveillance video trying to find out more information. pg&e crews hope to have