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 breech. utah's attorney general vows to go all the way to the supreme court to stop same-sex marriage. plus, one adorable puppy's harrowing ordeal. plus, a historic christmas at the vatican and santa shows off his water skiing skills. good morning on this christmas day. today won't be so merry for

those who didn't get their package onz time. leading some to call ups the grinch that stole christmas. the company has apologized though, issuing a statement in part saying "the volume of air packages in our system exceeded the capacity of our network as demand was much greater than the forecast." it's not clear how many deliveries are affected. ups says it's a small percentage. drivers do not work on christmas. so that means most packages have to be delivered tomorrow. the company says they'll have additional employees tonight to prep the shipments. customers are taking to ups' facebook page. some are calling it an epic fail. others, disappointing, even more are calling it fraud, in fact. also more fallout in the wake of target's stores massive data breech. reuters reports target hackers stole incrypted bank pins. one major u.s. bank executive telling reuters there is a fear that the thieves could crack

codes and make fraudulent withdrawals. target has pushed back though on this report saying "to date there is no evidence that unincrypted pin data has been compromised." target says financial institutions also haven't seen any evidence. the data heist compromises many as 40 million debit and credit card accounts. security experts say it is the second largest credit card breech in u.s. history. the justice department and secret service are investigating. new details in the obamacare saga. the glitch plagued roll yut named the top story by the associated press. this morning there is more time to sign up for coverage beginning january 1st. it is only for people who try to enroll on health care.gov but couldn't 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 will not get coverage until february 1st. meanwhile, officials say healthcare.gov saw more than two million visits on monday. moving 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 adviced 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 washington the 18th state to legalize same sex marriage and utah senators 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 the storms over the

weekend and weather is making it difficult and dangerous for others to get where they're going. john yang reports. 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 pileup 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. >> i work 17 on, seven off. i go home at 6:00 at night and back in at 1:00 in the morning. >> they're expected to be on the job the rest of the week, working to restore power as strong winds and plunging temperatures threat tone 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's 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. >> survived the storm. >> the hampton sin 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 and our anniversary here yesterday. 23 years. we got to spend it in a motel. >> karen and charlie's family is making the best of oit. >> everybody is having a tough time. we still don't have any power. but we don't care. we're together! >> grateful to have some place warm to stay even if it's not home. john yang, nbc news, east lansing, michigan. >> dylan dryer is here to sort all this out. christmas day forecast, lots of problems it seems still. >> it's going to stay cold unfortunately. the winds are going to pick up in michigan, too. we could see gusts up to around

25 miles per hour. so all of those tree branches coated in ice, we could see a few more of those snapping across that area through the day to day. soun fortunately, we're not getting much help and we're also looking at more snow through the great lakes region especially in the eastern parts of wisconsin into western michigan today. now you can see we do have winter weather advisories in effect not so much just because of the snow because we're not looking at that much snow, three to six inches in those areas. but because of the wind combined with the snow, makes visibility very poor. you can see we have snow falling still across northern parts of south dakota. and we also have snow moving out of wisconsin and eventually moving into michigan again today. where we could end up with three to six inches especially fli that brighter white area through western wisconsin and into western michigan too. elsewhere, one to three inches. again, it's the wind that is going to make poor visibility. also across new england as we go into tonight and into tomorrow morning, we will see perhaps one to three inches of snow.

then it should quickly change over to rain as temperatures get back above freezing as we head into tomorrow afternoon. after what's been a pretty mild day. we went into the couple of days of really cold weather and then we'll warm up by the end of the week. >> we're on this roller coaster. >> i know. >> thank you. >> let's get the latest in sports. will aaron rodgers take the field following his collarbone injury? a decision regarding playing this weekend will come thursday. it all depends on whether he's medical in the clear. tony romo is still recoup rating from a back injury in his game against the redskins. after an anonymous source reported that romeo received an epidural, jerry jones said fans should not rule out the qb yet because he is still able to play. we'll see. missouri's football players are more excited than most about their college bowl swag. while cotton bowl labelled clothing was a hit, that was nothing compared to when they got a glimpse of that right there, some apple swag.

look at their reaction. ipads seem to have an extreme effect on these guys. the joys of technology. the 2014 world cup stadiums in brazil, they continue to cause more problems after five people died building the 12 stadiums. the national stadium in brazil made it rain on fans over the weekend, literally. the leaky roof comes less than eight months after the stadium was completed. brooklyn nets forward paul pierce has been fined $15,000 for a hard foul on pacers point guard george hill during monday's game. pierce made excessive and unnecessary contact. the nfl gets thanks giving that means the nba gets christmas. first up, bills will be in nyc to play the nets followed about it oklahoma is they thunder and the big game of the day will be the matchup of the miami heat and lakers in l.a. you can round out your christmas evening with the texas matchup

of the rockets and spurs followed by the l.a. clippers against the warriors. apparently santa is just as athletic as some of our best athletes. here's proof that santa is hitting the surf in florida. in d.c., every member of santa's gift building and delivering team strapped on some skis, water ski that's is, for the santa ski on the potomac river. the wasser was nice and warm for the north polers. a balmy 42 degrees. ♪ jingle bell jingle bell jingle bell rock ♪ >> and all of the wisconsin badgers sports teams got together to wish fans happy holidays. they showed off their pride with some serious dance moves. everybody loves the worm, don't they? a critical repair to the international space station and michelle obama gets into santa tracking fun.

plus, excitement at st. peter's about a cilic why as st. frances leads his first service at the vatic vatican. i'm major stephen meadows from kabul, afghanistan, i'd like to wish all my family and friends merry christmas and a happy new year. look forward to seeing everybody in 2014. are you ready grandma? just a second, sweetie. [ female announcer ] we eased your back pain, you turned up the fun. tylenol® provides strong pain relief while being gentle on your stomach. but for everything we do, we know you do so much more. tylenol®.

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you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec-d®. powerful relief of nasal congestion and other allergy symptoms -- all in one pill. zyrtec-d®. at the pharmacy counter. i'd like to wish my fiancee and family and friends a merry christmas from kabul, afghanistan. i love you guys, i miss you, and i'll see you soon. >> two rockets landed on the ground of the u.s. embassy in kabul. a well placed source within the embassy tells nbc news there are no casualties or damage. the u.n. voted to send thousands of peacekeepers into sudan 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 out site the international space station on tuesday. it should be up and running by this weekend.

the price of stamps is going up yet again. starting january 26th, a first class stamp will cost you 49 cents. that's a three cent inkraes. the higher price is the result of severe decreases in mail volume over the past five years. the postal service says they lost $5 billion in the last fiscal year. this is a story of the day. a trash sorting worker at a san francisco recycling facility got a surprise when he saw an puppy come down the conveyor belt. the poodle survived being hauled by a garbage truck, dumped into a pile, scooped up by a tractor and loaded on to a shaker before being plunged nine feet on to the sorting belt. there he is. the vet said she is expected to make a full recover roy. vacationing in hawaii, michelle obama got into the christmas spirit answering phone

calls about santa's flight which is being tracked by norad. she answer questions about santa's location. the tracking of santa's journey has been a christmas tradition since 1955. and taking a break from christmas eve preparations, santa traded boots for flippers as he went for a scuba dive in the florida keys. he has work to do. pope frances is makes his first chris mazz as leader of the catholic church. thousands of people are expected to pack st. peter's square today. the pontiff celebrated his first mass last night. >> reporter: midnight masses in the vatican. didn't take long for pope frances. approaching the statue of baby jesus in the manger himself instead of an aide doing it and keeping with the theme of humility.

>> translator: god loves us. he gave us his son to be light in our darkness. >> reporter: the traditional christmas lesson of light and love from the most untraditional pope. in just nine months, pope frances has shown the world. >> his message of hope and love translates into every language. he's humble. >> reporter: the leader of the catholics, he still came across as a friendly grandfather, reaching out to all especially children, the poor and the abandoned and afflicted. opening the doors for the church. on gay priests, he said, who am toy judge. on women in the church, he said they are essential. a change in catholic dogma or just a change in style? >> there is certainly a style change which is simplicity. but he's not somebody who's going to be throwing out doctrine. >> reporter: his message to the church though is harsher.

clean up your act on corruption and abusive priests. >> if you're going to teach as a church, you ought to be able to give an example of honesty. >> reporter: instead of the palace, he is living in a two room apartment. which he left yesterday to meet with pope benedict in his retirement home. he said pray for me. but tonight it was pope frances in the splendor of the basilica leading the catholic world in prayer. former new york governor elliott spitzer and his wife are ending their two decade marriage. they've been living apart for

months. they issued a statement saying "we regret that our marital relationship has come to an end and we have agreed to not make any other public statement on this subject." spitzer his wife stood by his side in 2008 after admitting he paid for sex with prostitutes. the daughter of new york city mayor-elect has personal struggles. she says she spent years battling substance abuse and depression. >> removing substances from my life has opened so many doors for me. i was actually able to

participate in my dad's campaign. getting sober is always a positive thing. and it's not easy. by no means is it easy. it's the hardest thing i've ever done. but it's so worth it. >> bill de blasio say they are so proud of her and love her deeply. hillary clinton said that bill would match every tax deductible donation to the clinton foundation between now and december 31st. saying, "we have big plans for 2014." i wonder what that is. the former secretary of state also tweeting merry christmas to her followers adding in part, "looking forward to 2014. so much to do." well, 2014 is whether clinton is slated to make an announcement on 2016. manufacture us are probably watching it's a wonderful life. but did you know the fbi saw it as communist propaganda when released in '49. newly released documents show the feds said it represents a rebel obvious attempt to discredit bankers by casting a scrooge type so that he would be most hated man in the picture.

that is your morning dish of scrambled politics. interesting facts there. merry christmas, lynn. >> good morning. >> we round out the year and take a look back and find out what was the most important political moment of 2013. maybe the biggest political wonder. perhaps they're both one in the same? for you at least. >> well, i think this broken promise on obamacare. oeb said if you like your policy, nothing the change. >> right. you can keep it. >> yes. for a lot of people it has changed. >> i want you to take on this. what would you say is the biggest success story of 2013? >> well, the economy and, you know, obama complains sometimes he doesn't get enough credit when things go right. the 2012 campaign that romney hit him over the head all the

time about, employment when it was over 8%. it's been under that all year. we're ending the year with a lower rate than last year. the economy and stock market is doing better than when it started. >> thank you for your views on what made news on 2013. thanks so much. you have a great christmas. >> you, too. thank you. >> just ahead, how uso is making a difference this christmas for americans who are very far from home. retinol correxion®. one week, fine lines appear to fade. one month, deep wrinkles look smoother. after one year, skin looks ageless.

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the uso is busy spreading holiday cheer to americans in uniform who can't make it home for christmas with their families. right now there are 47,000 soldiers and marines in afghanistan. this may be the last year for this christmas tradition. we have a report from inside afghanistan. >> reporter: amid the mountains of eastern afghanistan. santa claus is already coming to town. it's the uso's annual christmas cowboy sporting gifts and good cheer. it's led by santa herself. >> i love these guys.

they need a little piece of home and i love providing it to them. >> volunteers pitch in on behalf of fellow soldiers. >> it's just creating a smile and putting it on someone else's face. >> they're the only sant why's helpers carrying side arms, all gifts are donated like flat screen tvs and the latest x box. even a bicycle is assembled by committee. >> you don't have any parts left over, do you? >> i don't think we do. >> i always did. >> the gifts are tossed on to helicopters for delivery. this time to base. the soldiers here are preparing for a mission outside the wire. only days before christmas. the uso invasion provides a welcomed break from the war. even seasoned combat veterans get a lift. >> i like candy every once in a while. >> the uso convoy delivers the holiday packages to the most isolated and dangerous bases in afghanistan. where the only outside contact might 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 sad. >> and while war has a way of rapidly turning young soldiers into men, these brief moments allow them to be kids again. >> man, you guys will do anything. receiving what they deem the most precious gift of all. >> merry christmas! >> such a great program that

brings smiles to their faces. a lot of them though it's definitely work over there. not the case as much as here. >> if only we could have snow. make it feel more like christmas there. >> 20 in new york. it is cold out there. feeling like christmas. wind chills are down to the single digits across the eastern half of the country. lighter snow showers to minneapolis and chicago. across the northeast, we should be in 20s. >> sounds good. thank you. this is "first look" on msnbc. have a great christmas, everyone. ♪ [ male announcer ] welcome back all the sweet things your family loves with 0-calorie monk fruit in the raw. ♪ welcome back [ male announcer ] it's made with the natural, vine-ripened sweetness of fruit, so you can serve up deliciously sweet treats without all the sugar. so let no drink go unsweetened.

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