republican who is in washington for the inauguration. those stories and more coming up at 7:00. up next on nightly news, how one teen's relief effort for california wildfire victims became bigger than imagined. lester holt joins us from new tonight, the supreme court upholding tonight the supreme court up holding a law that could ban tiktok in the u.s., but will it actually be enforced? the unanimous ruling allowing the ban to take effect days from now where tiktok's 170 million users in the u.s. unless its chinese owner sells it, citing national security concerns, but the biden administration saying it will leave tiktok's ultimate fate in the hands of president-elect trump. what he is saying tonight and what happens to your phone sunday if the law takes effect. also tonight, the winter storm sweeping through the plains to the northeast, an arctic blast bringing the coldest air of the season to tens of millions. and that deep freeze

forcing monday's inauguration to be moved inside for the first time in 40 years. the last-minute scramble. the confirmation hearing for president-elect trump's homeland secure pick kristi noem. what she revealed about the immigration overhaul he plans on day one. the battle against california's wildfires. new tonight, many of the 31 people still missing now identified. moments ago, israel's full cabinet approving the gaza cease-fire deal. new details on how and when the hostages will be released. and it started as a way to help her friends displaced by the fires. after a boost by some big names, the overwhelming response. ♪ ♪ this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening and welcome. the future of a wildly popular social media app that has helped define a younger generation of americans is being decided at the country's highest levels tonight. first, the supreme court today upheld a

law that would ban tiktok from operating in the u.s. that ban was set to go into effect sunday, but there is now growing uncertainty as the biden administration, which in the past has called the chinese-owned app a national security risk, now says it will let the trump administration deal with it all. their decision will impact a creative online community of 170 million american tiktok users. what is unclear is what happens in the meantime. savannah sellers is covering that for us tonight. >> reporter: in a unanimous decision, the supreme court said the tiktok ban stands, rejecting the company's free speech argument. the court upholding a law passed in april that says the video-sharing app had to divest from its chinese-based parent company bytedance or effectively be shut down in the u.s. as of this coming sunday. >> always remember this moment. when you think of the future, oh, is the government going to do the right thing? no, they're not. >> reporter: some tiktok users quick to

mayor their feelings known. >> all nine supreme court justices, you guys are mean bodies. >> reporter: but the supreme court said tiktok's very popularity is part of what makes it a threat to national security, noting a foreign adversary's ability to leverage its control over the platform to collect vast amounts of personal data from 170 million u.s. users. and while the court's ruling was clear, what actually happens next is anything but. today the biden administration saying, tiktok should remain available to americans but simply under american ownership. with a sale by sunday seemingly all but impossible, the administration says now it won't implement the very law president biden himself signgned. rather, it will punt next steps to the trump administration. that move giving tiktok hope. the company's ceo o posted this message today. >> i want to thank president trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps tiktok available in the united states. >> reporter: as president in his first term, trump tried to ban tiktok but has

signalled support for it more recently. today trump says he spoke by phone with china's president xi about the app, and posted to social media that his decision on tiktok will be made in the not too distant future. in a statement released late tonight, tiktok phing the biden administration for more clarity and assurance to the service providers that made tiktok available to americans. saying about the law, unless the biden administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers, assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately tiktok will be forced to go dark on january 19th. savannah sellers, nbc news. also tonight, a winter storm hitting north dakota and minnesota today with the mid atlantic and northeast expected to get a few inches or more starting tomorrow. most of the country is in for a bitter blast of arctic air with temperatures 20 to 40 degrees below average starting tomorrow and going into next week. that includes washington where today the decision was made to move

president-elect trump's inauguration on monday indoors. kelly o'donnell joins us. kelly, this is exceedingly rare. >> reporter: lester, it has been 40 years since weather caused this kind of major adjustment to the iconic ceremony. the traditional parade is changing too with parts of it going inside, and officials are encouraging the public not to congregate here in order to stay warm. tonight, frigid weather becomes the first clear threat to safety for monday's inauguration. president-elect trump on social media. i don't want to see people hurt, or injured, as he announced, i have ordered the inauguration address, prayers and other speeches to be delivered in the united states capitol rotunda. noting the same move inside happened for ronald reagan. >> so help me god. >> reporter: mr. trump said the ceremony could be watched inside washington's 20,000-seat capital one arena. contingency planning prepared for changes

including weather. >> the threat environment obviously changes as we move along, so we look at all of those different areas and we plan from the ground up. >> reporter: the u.s. secret service is leading this national special security event involving more than 25,000 responders, a secure perimeter. it includes a record 30 miles of anti-scale fencing. drones deliver expansive visibility from above. police robots ready to check packages and places for dangerous washington special agent in charge, matt mccool. >> there's no stone unturned. there is no threat that is not mitigated. >> what happened -- >> reporter: shaped by real-world crises like the summer assassination attempt. >> you will see people on roof, lots of agents on roofs. >> reporter: and the deadly car attack in new orleans. >> it starts with no vehicles and then it starts with check points, and then it gets a little tighter as we get closer. >> reporter: here, nbc

news has exclusive access to this multi-agency communication center where teams of experts from across government, 40 agencies, track and triage any issues. with all levels of law enforcement out on patrol. securing the city also means guarding the water. local authorities out on the potomac to detect anyone using the river to get close to official events. also at the ready, air support. fairfax county is able to keep watch and fly in lifesaving medical services if needed. >> we have goat it right. it is a no-fail operation, and i believe we are as well prepared as we ever have been. >> reporter: tested by brutal cold and varied threats to safeguard washington's biggest stage. kelly o'donnell, nbc news. >> and we are getting a better sense tonight of president-elect trump's day one immigration plans from south dakota governor christie gnome. his pack for homeland security secretary at

her senate confirmation hearing. here is garrett haake. >> reporter: tonight a high-stakes confirmation hearing for one of the key officials president-elect trump will turn to on immigration. >> border security must remain a top priority. >> reporter: homeland security pick kristi noem promising to bring back the trump era remain in mexico policy which keeps migrants out of the u.s. while they make asylum claims. >> the president and i have talked extensively about this and will 100% partner with him to reinstate the remain in mexico policy and make sure that it is in place. >> reporter: and previewing trump's controversial mass deportation plan. >> we would work every day to make sure people are safe and that those with criminal convictions are immediately removed. >> reporter: with trump's second inauguration now just three days out, his day one priorities coming into focus. trump looking to bypass congress with dozens of executive orders expected. trump telling senators last week the border tops his agenda for his first few hours back in the oval office.

>> he's going to do everything he can to get the border secured. >> reporter: some prominent democrats said they will skip trump's swearing in including nancy pelosi and michelle obama, but president biden will be there and was asked today if he plans to talk to trump. >> and it is coming up really quick. >> reporter: and while donald trump skipped president biden's inauguration four years ago, all of the living former presidents plus president biden are planning to be in attendance monday. lester. >> garrett haake, thank you. join me and our entire nbc news team for all-day coverage of the inauguration monday starting at 10:00 a.m. eastern, live from washington, d.c. in california tonight, more progress reported in containing the wildfires, but there is a grim search underway for more than 30 people still missing, and growing questions about what sparked the fires. our liz caltran kreutz has details. >> reporter: officials overnight releasing some of the names and photos of the more

than 30 people still missing, men and women ranging in age from 49 to 93. >> devastation that we're seeing with completely insin cinerated homes is tremendous. >> reporter: this the staging area for the cadaver dogs that go home by home in the burn zones. the death toll from the palisades and eaton fires now 27, but expected to rise. >> the fire was so random, right. >> reporter: tonight the ceo of edison international, pedro pizarro, speaking out to nbc news amid lawsuits that their equipment sparked the eaton fire. >> reporter: can you say that your equipment did not play a role in the fire? >> what i can tell you is for sure we did not see any sort of electric signature that would be typical when you have a spark like that. of course, we want to learn more. we will investigate more. >> reporter: so it is possible? >> there's always a possibility there's something out of the ordinary, something very atypical here. >> reporter: videos and photos from altadena residents show flames at the base of the transmission equipment

minutes after the fire began as winds gusted nearly 60 miles per hour in the area. >> we don't want to just arbitrarily turn off power, and right now we are hearing from customers. we are hearing questions like yours about, well, should you have turned off the transmission lines and the answer is no based on what we knew at the time. >> reporter: tonight ten days after the fire started, roughly 80,000 remain evacuated. so many struggling with what to do and where to go next amid a housing crisis throughout l.a. county. >> we worked so hard to get here, and now to see it this way. >> reporter: tonight, some evacuation orders have lifted in areas surrounding the fire zone. >> we're very thankful our house is standing, and i thought of all of the families who will not be able to do that, i started to cry. >> reporter: and as families prepare to return home, new warning about the widespread health hazards for homes still standing but covered in toxic ash. >> when these fires burn, they're burning everything, paint, electronics, batteries.

the main things we are concerned about are heavy metals, toxins and asbestos. >> reporter: another layer of anxiety as the fall-out from the disaster grows. >> liz, we know people are anxious to get home, but even if they can get to their homes tonight many can't stay. >> yeah, that's right, lester. many of the folks crossing the checkpoint will be grabbing essentials and leaving again. that is because so manyeighborhoods still don't have power and water, in addition to the concerns about toxic debris. in fact, experts say if you are repopulating you should be very careful. you should wear an n95 mask, wipe down your house, especiay if you ve children, and consider throwing things out like toothbrushes. that's because even if your home is standing tonight it might not be habitable. lester. >> thank you. breaking in the middle east tonight, israel's full cabinet voting to approve the gaza cease-fire deal as we learn new details about plans to release the hostages. richard engel is in jerusalem. >> reporter: it has been more than 15

months of war, sorrow and destruction. gaza, obliterated. nearly 47,000 people dead. and israel reeling after a savage hamas terrorist attack killed 1,200 people, 250 taken hostage. tonight, it may be ending. israel's cabinet agreeing to the cease-fire and hostage deal to go into effect sunday. but it will be a slow process. israel will end its assault on gaza and release palestinian prisoners, but a permanent cease-fire is still to be negotiated. hamas has agreed to release 33 of its hostages in the first phase, but only three are expected to be released sunday according to israeli media. daniel lifshitz things he will wait several weeks before he sees his grandfather, oded. >> reporter: what is going through your

mind? >> first of all, i'm really happy. of course, until it is done i'm trying to stay calm untiit is done because we are dealing with the worst people on planet earth, the worst terrorists that exist. >> reporter: we visited oded's house after october 7th. >> here the whole roof collapsed. >> reporter: hamas shot oded, kidnapped him and his wife and burned their house down. tonight daniel telling us he has been desperately waiting for a deal. so why now do you think? >> trump being elected. >> reporter: in gaza at a soup kitchen, 8-year-old abood is waiting too. here for hours with his pot to take home to his family. the crowds are so big he says he often leaves empty handed. [ speaking in a global language ] >> reporter: when i heard there was a ase-fire i was happy. here there's no food, he says. when the distribution begins, the chaos is total and tragic. abood manages to get some rice and runs off. this is what gaza has been reduced to after

15 months of war and siege. with a dl, fragile as it is, there's a chance for relief. as for the hostage release, families tell us they've been told to expect the first three will be women. lester. >> richard engel, thank you. in 60 seconds, the explosion of that spacex rocket and how it created emergencies for planes whose landings were delayed by falling debris. we will have details right after this. ncer! here on my land, not theirs. give me cologuard®, or give me— excuse me. we can do that for you. what, no battle? nope. just a prescription. victory! cologuard is an effective and non-invasive colon cancer screening test. false positive and negative results may occur. those at high risk should use colonoscopy. skip the drama. ask your provider or request cologuard online. incoming dishes. —ahhh! —duck! dawn powerwash flies through 99% of grease and grime in half the time.

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quickly declare a large section of airspace off limits to planes. hundreds of flights had to detour around the area or hold on the ground, including some that had been in the air for a long time and were then short on fuel. they were forced to declare a fuel emergency to fly through that airspace at their own risk. listen to this iberia pilot coming in from madrid, spain, with 238 -- make that 283 people on board. >> we declare an emergency. mayday, mayday, mayday. emergency 79. >> headed to san juan, puerto rico, all planes in fact did land safely. elon musk has said that they're now looking for a cause, the faa requiring spacex to conduct a mishap investigation before there's another launch attempt. lester. >> nerve-racking moments there. thanks. it is one of the worst flu seasons in year and hospitals are being trained with severe cases. we're in one of them,

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flu cases are surging as less than half of americans get the vaccine. and as anne thompson rerts, this season's flu strain is pushing some hospitals to the limit. >> reporter: in the icu at vanderbilt's medical center, a third of the 35 beds hold flu patients. >> this is the worst flu season we've seen in probably a decade. >> reporter: dr. todd rice leads this nashville intensive care unit. >> we are seeing more, more patients that have it and more

patients that have severe illness from it. >> reporter: what's the biggest misconception about the flu? misconception and the st biggest risk is folks thinking that it is just a mild illness. >> reporter: deb clark learned three weeks ago just how serious it can be. her 28-year-old daughter sydney rushed to the hospital. she had the flu and acetaminophen poisoning from trying to get better. >> she has coded twice. >> reporter: machines now do the work of sydney's heart and lungs as she looks at pictures of her two children for inspiration. >> reporter: how much has this scared you? >> oh, i'm terrified. i know i never had a flu shot in my life, but i promise you i will have one from now on. >> reporter: across the country flu activity remains elevated says the conduct. so far this season there have been at least 12 million illnesses and 6,600 deaths including 27 children. increases that can impact everyone's care. more flu patients in the icu means it is harder to attend to

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there is good news tonight in altadena, california. barely a week after the eaton fire changed everything, one local girl's idea to help other teens is inspiring others in a big way. here is morgan chefsky. >> reporter: at a warehouse in east los angeles, the donations are nonstop. and behind every gifted good is a 14 year old doing something great. >> we are moving so incredibly fast. faster than i could have ever imagined. >> reporter: when flames took her beloved altadena school, then left dozens of friends homeless, avery colvert knew she had to help. >> these girls don't have anything, and i want them to feel confident in themselves again. >> reporter: so she launched altadena girls on instagram, seeking donations for clothing, makeup, skin care and shoes. within 24 hours, watched donations pour in. >> i got new pants and a jacket that is super soft.

and so one jacket means the absolute world when you have zero jackets. >> reporter: avery's efforts not lost on anyone. paris hilton sharing the cause. the 14 year old even meeting meghan markle who encouraged her to keep going. >> it is so easy to share things, and i -- i mean that's how i think we got so big. >> reporter: her altadena girls' page so successful she inspired a see question. >> so this is what altadena boys is all about. >> yeah. >> reporter: its counterpart up and running, offering teen guys a one-stop shop from body wash to ball caps, all free of charge. >> you see like all of the debris, the ashes around and it is sad. but seeing everybody happy in one spot brings me up a bit. >> reporter: a cause bringing the comforts of home exactly where morgan chefsky, nbc news. >> that is so great to see. that is "nightly news" for this friday. playoff football between the rams and the eagles kicks off sunday night here on

nbc. thank you for watching. i'm lester holt. please take care of yourself and each other. good night.

bay area news tonight. a bombshell in oakland, sheng thao, charged with bribery and fraud. the recently recalled mayor charged just months after the fbi raided her home. why her boyfriend is a