chaos as a massive explosion at mexico best known fireworks market takes at least 31 lives while injuring over 70. late details ahead. authorities intensify the search for the killer behind the berlin city massacre as cities in the u.s. step up security following isis' claim of responsibility. new video and information surrounding the brazen assassination of a russian ambassador. officials believe the hit was too professional to be done without help. then to an act of kindness and a life lesson that's gone viral. plus, michael phelps goes where no athlete went before and from the don't try this at home

file, a modified drone able to pull humans. we start with stunning new video of the deadly fireworks explosion in mexico. take a look. >> the blast is not being linked to terrorism. it's killed 31 people and injured 70 others. around 2,000 people were there at the time of the explosion. it happened at the open air fireworks mark in mexico, which is on the northern outskirts of mexico city. good morning. an investigation is underway just outside of mexico city in tutlepec. the market exploding. this is where they sell fireworks which is common during the holidays.

unfortunately they're all concentrated in one area. when something goes wrong, it goes very wrong. this morning we can report 31 people have died and there may be more unaccounted for. 3 people died overnight after they were rushed to the hospital. the explosion has flattened the area of tutlepec. this is not the first time this happened. the authorities are trying to find out what set this off. in 2005 there was an explosion and the following year there was another one. fireworks are incendiary devices and can be set off quickly. in this case it was a spectacular yet horrific explosion. kerry sanders, nbc news, back to you. overseas to that manhunt for a killer, germany remains on edge this morning after learning the driver who plowed into a crowd in what is claim as an isis inspired attack in berlin.

the truck was rammed into an outdoor christmas mark. today those market open after a day of national mourning, that as germans got the surprising into the u.s. pakistani asylum seeker arrested in connection with the attack appeared to be the wrong man, released due to a lack of evidence. now a massive search is under way as german authorities look to the public for help and clues. the isis media arm claim the terrorist was responsible for the attack without providing any evidence of proof. meanwhile, german chancellor angela merkel vows retribution. she hopes that it's not a migrant let in from her open refugee policy. >> from new york, chicago, los angeles, boston authorities are on high alert for would be copy cats and possible lone wolves.

dpee spite u.s. officials saying they know of no threats to the homeland, authorities say the danger of the attacks for big trucks or cars has long been a concern. across the pond, buckingham palace beefed up its security measures. scotland yard saying more barriers will be put in place there while plans to temporarily close the streets around the queen's headquarters have been brought forward. patrols have also been stepped up in u.k. christmas markets and around major monuments. investigators are searching for conspirators. a team has arrived in turkey to figure out who was behind the murder ever russian ambassador andre karlov. u.s. secretary of state called the foreign minister of russia to express his deep condolences. he also offered american assistance in the investigation.

secretary kerry also rebutted the turkish foreign minister's claim that the movement led by a u.s. based cleric was behind the attack. the state department spokesman said, quote, it's a ludicrous claim, absolutely false and there's no basis of truth in it whatsoever. this morning donald trump inches closer to ending a controversy that dodged his campaign. overnight a federal judge gave preliminary approval to a fraud case over his university. the judge summed up on the settlement. that as one of trump's favorite primary targets, jeb bush, comes to trump's aid publishing an op ed. that would be oklahoma attorney general scott pruett. someone who say is a climate change denier who has repeatedly

sued the epa. bush said he is out of control. the full throated endorsement comes as president obama uses his executive authority to ban off shore oil and gas drilling along wide areas of the atlantic and arctic. the president invoked an obscure 1963 law for the ban hoping to comment his legacy before trump takes office. >> we're getting all of these stories from things happening on flights traveling around the world. interesting dam ma happening again in the skies and it involved some celebrities. richard marks, daisy fuentes, they both sprung into action on a korean air flight headed to seoul, south korea. a violent passenger involved marx. miguel almaguer has all the details nkts not your typical snapshot of richard marx.

here on instagram he said he was helping subdue a, quote, crazy passenger. the series of photos shows marx springing into action, at one point p with rope in hand. the flight attendant appears to be holding a stun begun. marks famous wife daisy fuentes. posting a guy sitting in the next row from us got crazy and started attacking the flight attendants and passengers. when he started pushing the female staff and pulling them by the hair, richard marx was the first to help subdue him. the flight oncor reason air from vietnam to south korea lasted four hours and so did the drama wrote the couple. fuentes, they never fully got control of him. they didn't know how to use the taser. the flight landed safely with marx and fuentes continuing their journey home to los angeles. korean air said the passenger was turned over to authorities. the singer saying, no big hero move at all.

giving new meaning to perhaps his most famous liar ricks. ♪ i will right here waiting for you ♪ >> miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles. just ahead, facebook mark zuckerberg is chairing his inner active man. he got one of the world's iconic voices to help him. >> the first day of winter didn't stop surfers from riding massive waves tuesday. this was a surf competition. it's off the coast of portugal. some of those waves 45 feet high. if you look very closely i think you can see our very own bill karins nbc meteorologist joining us. >> i do the ones where i have to be towed in. >> 45 feet is nothing for you. you have to be dplopd by a helicopter. >> dropped by a helicopter. making your own youtube videos. western stores, one off of baja, california. this cold front here. the two will combine for a potent system by the time we get

to the upcoming friday/saturday period. spin here, bring a little bit of wet weather into areas of arizona. then we track the next storm that will move in here on friday. this could be some travel trouble in california. even heavier rains. notice san francisco and we already have winter storm watches for snow. maybe oneo two t from phoenix towards glendale. an inch of rain in areas of eastern arizona. so the stormy weather is all in the west. make sure you have your travel plans set and your timing for the storms, especially if you're going to go in the mountains. >> the holidays just ahead. thank you. a diabolical scene involving cyber forgery. stealing as much as $5 million a day from companies. we'll have the details next.

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>> good morning jarvis. >> good morning, mark. it's saturday. so you only have five meetings. >> jarvis also helps me get ready in the mornings. fresh shirt. >> fire in the hole. >> hell yeah. >> that's how mark zuckerberg rolls at home. showed off the artificial intellijohnson assistance he bill for his home and that voice, you recognize that voice, morgan freeman. he was inspired by tony stark's ironman movies. he asked who should voice his very own jarvis him when asked, he immediately accepted the role. >> i was reading the article, what he did and things how he absolutely genius the way he repurposed some of the home appliances. very smart guy. there's a reason why he is mark zuckerberg.

leading the news, manhattan's most wanted millionaire, police say they've identified this man after he was seen snatching up a bucket load of gold this year in a heist he sneaks up to an armored vehicle, swipes an 86 pound bucket full of gold. he quickly fleas the scene. it's a little bit heavier than it was. it took him an hour. that's because the $1.6 million of gold inside is a little heavy to carry. no stranger to the theme. he's an ecuadorian native. he's a convicted felon with many aliases. police believe he fled to florida and is camping out with his riches in california. >> searching for a former reality show contestant. they found the body of lisa marie nagel. she was a contestant on "bridal class." she was seen sunday. her remains were found buried in a shallow grave at the home of a man who went with her to the

party. he later confessed to the murder. there's no word yet on what motivated the killing. this morning's "new york times" highlights a new level of innovation in ad fraud. russian cyberforge gers steal millions a day. this has created more than half a million fake internet users and 250,000 fake websites all in an effort to trick advertisers into paying as much as $5 million a day for video ads that are never actually watched. >> one of the most famous american sports stars leading the news. michael phelps featured on the latest cover of "sports illustrated" magazine. he is the most decorated olympian of all time. he's wearing the 23 gold medals. this isn't his first appearance on the cover of "sports illustrated." he's been featured on it before with and without his record setting medals. >> that's about 18 pounds of gold. i'll let you figure out how much that is worth just in pure metal. just ahead, is today the dow

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this morning we have new body cam footage released from scottsdale police from the arrest of michael floyd. the arrest happened early on december 13th following the cardinals loss in miami. floyd was accused of drunk

driving. when police found him asleep at the driver's seat at a stop light. >> scottsdale police. put your car in park. turn your car off. >> what do i -- >> i'm not going to ask again. step out of the car. no alcoholic beverages in the car? nothing to drink while you were driving? >> the cardinals released floyd wednesday but he was later picked up by the new england patriots. his blood test results are still pending. investors around the globe are giddy for a christmas surprise. with the dow 26 points from 20,000, they may just get it. but will today be that day? only cnbc's landon dowdy has the answers. >> if you don't succeed, try and try again. the dow will attempt to hit the psychological 20,000 mark again today after coming within 13 points yesterday. the dow closing at a record high, the 17th time that's happened just since the election. analysts say that oil prices may be the deciding factor in

pushing the dow. moving higher. they agree to have $4 billion. there's a cheating scandal. their engines. over a charging depot score. amazon has sold out of it. a gift. they say they're out of stock. it's available. >> always to the rescue. thank you. just ahead, super size drone

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>> reese witherspoon. >> matthew mcconaughey. >> star studded sing-a-long. they performed the hit "wonderful christmas time." along with sir paul mccartney, too. "sing" hits theaters. >> here's an act of kindness caught on police dash cam video. watch as this wisconsin officer pulled over a college student for a speeding ticket. then when asked why he was in a rush the student said he was late for a preparation and needed a friend's help to tie his tie. looks what happens next. >> i was going to my good friend's house how to tie ties and i don't know how to. >> where's your tie? >> while i do this, why don't you grab your proof of insurance and your driver's license quick. >> there. you should be able to adjust it. >> thank you so much. probably not the best knot but it will work.

>> it will work. it was a lot better than what i was going to do, that's for sure. >> with all the incidents that we're normally seeing with dash cam videos, this is a nice, refreshing one with the officer taking a little time out of his day to give a life lesson to this man. the guy ultimately got off with just a warning. he got lucky. >> now he knows how to tie ties and he has an amazing story. >> and the video to prove it. >> you're right. we're going to bring you your top stories and weather straight ahead. first, who needs reindeer when you have this? high powered drone and the person behind it, a youtuber flying 25 feet in the air on the first ever custom made human flying drone. they captured this epic 360 footage of flying over rooftops and the mountain. >> i'm way too big. you'll need two drones for me. >> you're watching "early today." per roll

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let's talk holiday travel. friday storm into california heavy rain into san francisco, even through los angeles. this storm will move friday night into saturday towards the four corner region. there will be some significant region of snow in the high elevations, colorado, areas of utah and it will be ending in california as we go throughout christmas eve. by christmas day happy to report that all of the west coast will be looking good as that storm makes its way through the middle of the country. overseas, a frightening scare for one of the top tennis players. petra kvitova was attacked by a robber brandishing a knife in her house. her hand was damaged. she underwent surgery to repair

tendons and nerves in her hair knocking her out of the sport for several months. the good news is that she says she intends to make a comeback to the sport. the attacker is still at large. >> another pro athlete making news. seahawks star cornerback, richard sherman was so frustrated with questions. he threatened the host's professional future. sherman claimed to the host, i'll ruin your career. i'll make sure you don't get your press pass anymore. this morning sherman is apologizing saying, quote, i appreciate the role the media plays and they have a tough job. i let it get personal today and i regret that. neck one should be fine. #pete says i don't control credentials referencing head coach pete carroll. >> when you thought stories couldn't get any weirder.

a pagan priest has rocky ghost horns. unless he's asleep or bathing, he wears the horns all the time calling it spiritual antenna. he says it helps educate -- it helps him educate people about paganism. if you see a man wearing horns, you stop him and ask him. he fought for the right after explaining his beliefs to the bureau of motor vehicles. they were convinced. they let him pose in the driver's license picture. >> they are strict. in passports they stop you wearing glasses. coming to wisconsin with a castle made entirely out of ice. it started as a small idea. now it's reaching new heights. big towers of icicles. they're sprayed with water. they grow technicaller. a real life "frozen." i'm frances rivera. >> i'm aymen rearview mirror: a head-on

collision. a man driving home at night sees this in his rear view mirror, a head-on collision. it's the next thing he does that made the difference between life and death. a toddler hit while walking with his grandfather in san jose. while we wait to find out how he's doing, the driver responsible is on the run. plus a use of force discussion that could shape the san francisco police department for years to come. with the new chief on top, what real changes will the city make to calm tensions and keep people safe. "today in the bay" starts right now. good wednesday morning. thank you very much for joining us. i'm sam brock. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. guess what? it's the first day of winter officially. >> yes, it