good morning on this christmas. right now on "first look," a big storm continues to push across the country, making it a rough go for last minute holiday travelers. a new ebola scare. scientists inside the cdc may have been exposed to the lethal virus. how did it happen. celebrations in bethlehem and midnight mass at the vatican with a special message from the pope. good morning, everybody. merry christmas to you. thank you for joining us today. i'm betty nguyen. getting home for the holidays has been a big hassle for millions of americans thanks to the snow, the flooding, and the thunderstorms. according to flight aware.com, as of 11:00 p.m. last night, more than 13,000 flights had been delayed.

and more than 1200 flights canceled nationwide this week. so how did last minute travelers fare? here's nbc's chris pollone. ♪ >> reporter: at new york's laguardia airport, santa and his evil elves tried to keep travelers merry and bright. it was windy and wet from maine to florida. by midday, 200 flights across the country had been canceled, more than a thousand delayed. but travellers in new york seemed to be taking everything in stride. >> so far it has been great, no problems for us. we're hoping it will continue to be this way. >> reporter: delays were a bit more prevalent in philadelphia, where heavy fog slowed takeoffs and landings. >> really less crowded than i expected. i was expecting it to be packed in here. >> reporter: forecasters feared chicago's o'hare airport would see significant snow, which could snarl air travel across the country, but now it appears the bulk of the system is heading east of the windy city.

and in the northwest, and rocky, snow is expected to fall on christmas day. with any luck, most christmas travelers with family and friends by then, even if the journey took longer than they had hoped. chris pollone, nbc news, boston. there is a new ebola scare at the centers for disease control and prevention in atlanta of all places. according to the cdc, a mistake inside a secure laboratory may have exposed a technician to the virus. that person is being monitored this morning. other staff members who may have had contact with that lab will be screened for exposure. nbc's gabe gutierrez has the latest. >> reporter: internal investigation is under way at the centers for disease control to find out how one of their workers and possibly more could have been exposed to the deadly ebola virus. the exposure took place on monday when scientists researching the virus mistakenly sent a sample from a high level security lab to a lower level lab at the cdc. the technician has no symptoms and is being monitored for 21

days. >> you have to get ebola into your body to be affected. it is like lit risk to the technician was very low. >> reporter: this year the cdc has been under fire. in june, more than 80 workers were potentially exposed to anthrax by mistake. the head of that bioterrorism lab later resigns. u.s. hospitals sent the agency's recommended protocols for dealing with ebola virus were unclear. the cdc director tom frieden admitted the agency made mistakes. in response to the potential ebola exposure, frieden says, i am troubled by this incident. i have directed that there be a full review of every aspect of the incident and the cdc take all necessary measures. >> dr. frieden's come under are a lot of criticism for the way he's handled the ebola crisis. some critics have said he came across as too confident that ebola wouldn't spread in the united states. and then it did. >> reporter: the worst ebola outbreak on record has devastated west africa, killing more than 7500 people.

but the cdc says the risk from this latest mistake is low, and there is no public threat. >> that was gabe dgutierrez reporting. there are growing calls for calm in st. louis two days after another black teenager was shot and killed by a police officer. as crowds continued to gather, several people started shouting at police officers but officials in berkeley say this shooting is no ferguson. nbc's john yang has the latest. >> reporter: officials were quick to release security video of the incident showing different angles. a berkeley, missouri, police officer investigating a shoplifting report encounters two men. less than a minute later, one of them identified as 18-year-old antonio martin raises his arm, pointing a gun, officials say, at the officer who quickly backs up. >> the officer produced his service weapon, and fired what we think at this point is three

shots. >> reporter: one struck martin, killing him. police say they recovered a loaded 9 millimeter gun at the scene and martin had a criminal record. social media spread word of the shooting, a crowd gathered. a firecracker was thrown. there were four arrests. >> he gone. >> reporter: martin's girlfriend and his mother were there. >> we was trying to get him back in school and stuff. >> reporter: berkeley mayor theodore hoskin stated emphatically this is not ferguson. >> here in berkeley, if you review the video, you'll see that the aggressor was not the police. it was the victim. >> reporter: other officials agree the two cases are very different, but acknowledge there may be anger and skepticism. >> and i'm angry too, but i have to tell the truth, in this situation, there is a young man who illegally possessed a gun.

>> reporter: market nevilles works at a restaurant across the street and doesn't expect large ferguson-like protests. >> once they look at news and find out what really happened, it will be done and over with. >> that was nbc's john yang reporting. sony pictures said it wasn't giving into hackers over release of "the interview" and now they're doubling down on that process. moviegoers can see it today, christmas day, as originally planned. some 200 theaters will screen it. this just one day after sony made it available for a fee through google play, youtube, xbox and a separate sony website. it is christmas, and you know he ththat christmas spirit be felt everywhere. celebrations taking place at the vatican and bethlehem. nbc's jim maceda has our report. >> reporter: at the vatican, a solemn midnight mass. pope francis ushering in the holiday that marks the birth of christ for more than 2 billion

worshipers worldwide. many in conflict zones. u.s. troops in afghanistan singing by candlelight. and pilgrims to christ's birthplace, bethlehem, and the west bank. >> merry christmas! >> reporter: american david bogary came from iowa. >> to proclaim the name of jesus, not to talk politics. >> reporter: but there are tensions here, even at christmas. palestinians in santa costumes protested israeli occupation and scuffled with police. elsewhere, santas were making friends and spreading joy. >> brought a little bit of christmas to thailand. >> reporter: in baghdad, bringing presents to christian children who had fled isis with their families. in france, scene of recent attacks by suspected islamist militants, police tightened security. so has the vatican. at christmas time there is

perhaps no more symbolic target for islamist militants than here at st. peters square. so security is on a heightened state of alert, given that pope francis himself has been specifically threatened by isis. but the pope gave no sign of that. his christmas eve message was one of hope, joy and peace. jim maceda, nbc news, the vatican. the economic recovery appears to be picking up steam. the evidence is just everywhere from gas pumps and stores to wall street where the dow set another record on wednesday. here's nbc's brian mooar. >> reporter: not christmas bells but close enough as the dow reached another record above 18,000. just one sign the u.s. economy is on a roll. >> the key point really comes down to the job market. when we started this year, we just weren't adding nearly as many jobs per month as we are

now. >> as jobs, wages, incomes, health prices, confidence. >> reporter: and don't forget plummeting pump prices. national average down 90 cents in the last year to $2.35 a gallon. >> paying less at the pump and you're going to be paying less for heating bills in the winter. >> reporter: that leaves more money for -- >> shopping. definitely shopping. >> reporter: after several lean years, merchants are feeling the rebound. >> this holiday season has been the busiest holiday season we have ever had. >> reporter: encouraging news from main street to wall street as 2014 comes to a close. ♪ so have yourself a merry little christmas now ♪ >> reporter: brian mooar, nbc news, washington. >> nicely sung. all right. let's get you some sports action now. the inaugural bahamas bowl was a down to a wire thriller.

a record-setting day for central michigan quarterback cooper rush. he threw for seven touchdowns. chippewas rallied in the fourth after trailing western kentucky by 35. but after a failed two-point conversion on the last play of the game, western kentucky wins it 49-48. to honolulu for the hawaii bowl. rice took on fresno state. they put their smallest player in the ball game, we're talking about 4'9" running back jay carter, who weighs just 140 pounds. look at him. he only got one carry, but he sure did make it count. rice wins it 30-16. tcu's gary patterson has been named the associated press college football coach of the year. it is the second time patterson has wouldn't honor. congratulations to him. 38-year-old star quarterback peyton manning squashed rumors yesterday telling reporters he plans to be back with the broncos next season. >> i've not thought about those circumstances at all.

so i certainly, you know, plan on being back if the broncos will have me. and one seahawks fan received a special gift from robert turban. after meeting his girlfriend, she promised the fan a meet and greet that never happened. but found a way to make up for it. >> read it. >> it says, hi, alex. i'm sorry you weren't able to meet rob after the first chiefs game back in november. to make up for it, robert was generous enough to get the team -- the team to autograph this seahawks helmet for you. >> how great is that? he is about to cry. a heart warming gift. and, you know what, it might be hard for family and friends to top that this christmas morning, but good luck. still ahead, emotional tribute from the families of the

two slain nypd officers and how $2 million was accidentally up for grabs in hong kong? you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

well, welcome back to "first look." i'm meteorologist domenica davis. we're still dealing with the rain showers along the east coast, starting to break up though from virginia beach to richmond to washington, we're seeing this rain come toon e an, down to a drizzle. this will last for the next couple of hours, by about 9:00, 10:00, we'll be in the dry zone, still dealing with a little bit of lake-effect snow. look at the temperatures. these are current temperatures now. it is 59 in new york. 55 in philadelphia. we have 58 in boston. very mild out there. temperatures, though, are going to be falling through the day. it will get a lot colder. this christmas day we have a white christmas through the c cascades and rockies and winter

advisory, 4 to 6 inches in places like salt lake city. that's a look at your christmas forecast. merry christmas. >> all right, merry christmas to you. not too bad either. santa did pretty good today. thank you, domenica. stories making news this morning, emotional scene at the memorial for the two slain new york city police officers. both families visited for first time since saturday's shooting. take a listen to this heart felt tribute the eldest son of officer rafael ramos gave to his late father. >> knowing my father was a universally loved man has made the healing process a bit easier for our family. my father was an incredible man, he was a hero to jaden and me. he was an incredible husband to my mother. and he was a really dedicated officer, he really cared about the people of new york city. >> former president george h.w. bush remains in a houston hospital this morning for another day of monitoring. he was admitted tuesday night after experiencing shortness of breath. and you can call it an

unintended christmas gift on a hong kong street yesterday. what are those guys looking for? well, only 2 million bucks. it spilled out of a security van, though, and dozens of people made a mad dash to get their hands on it. about a dozen of them have since come forward to return close to $500,000. officials say a broken back door on that van is to blame. so it is the end of a 24-hour scary ordeal for a giant panda cub at washington's national zoo. it began on tuesday afternoon when she touched a hot wire and that scared her so much, she climbed to the top of that tree there and would not come down. zoo officials say she eventually did come down and she is now back with her mom, just in time for christmas morning. for the first time, first lady michelle obama is helping track santa's trip. the white house released this picture showing her answering calls from children as part of the norad program.

in case you're wondering, santa just dropped off gifts to kids on the islands of hawaii where the obamas are, it is heading to the west. if you're still awake, you better get to bed. find out how some celebrities are celebrating the holiday. and trimming the tree not with ornaments out of the box with a community's fondest wishes. you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

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welcome back on this christmas morning. it is a movie that launched an international incident after pulling "the interview" from theaters, sony made it available online and it is opening in hundreds of independent theaters today. syndicated columnist bob franken joins me from washington. good morning, bob. merry christmas to you. >> good morning. merry christmas to you. have you seen it yet in. >> i have not. i want to ask you about this. a lot of people are headed to see it. before they do, sony has been back and forth on this. it has decided it is indeed going to release it today, which was the original plan, but has the back and forth on what to do actually hurt sony's image as much as the hacked e-mails have? >> it probably hyped the sales a little bit. i think we have a potential here for this to become a christmas classic. every year we're going to see this, like the kim who sold christmas or something. >> we'll get threats every year then too? >> that's right. absolutely. and i haven't seen it yet, i'm worried it is a little too

sophisticated for me, but probably will have to do my patriotic duty and see it. >> this is a comedy. it is a spoof. and for it to create this international incident, i have to ask you, though, how real are the threats that north korean officials have indeed made. should moviegoers be worried or should they be more determined to see this movie to show the u.s. will not be bullied? >> well, you know, i think that this might be the kind of thing like a bomb scare, you know, this is the cyberversion of that. and i suspect that a lot of people are going to go, just to show their determination. a lot of people that would include me are going to see it online, that is mainly to avoid the public embarrassment of being seen to go in to see this. >> the paparazzi standing out there, waiting for you, bob. >> and, first of all, i have to figure out which guy is he? but the other possibility is that this is all just a big hoax. the u.n. representative of north

korea has made it a point to say in the last day or so that there will be no harmful actions taken by that country, so i think that that ratchets it down a little bit. >> but a hoax by whom? who else could it be? >> it could be anybody sitting at a computer who decides he wants to have a little fun hacking. that's the thing about this kind of thing. it is really very, very difficult to track who is actually responsible. >> yeah. indeed. all right, we'll see how it plays out. and, like you, who doesn't want to see it now, all the hype around it. >> right. and i'm looking forward to your review. >> it is going to be a thumbs up or thumbs down. thank you, bob. meer k merry christmas to you. thank you for joining us today. welcome back, everybody. we have to tell you this, there is a tree that grows in san francisco. on it, this time of year, the branches are filled with the hopes and dreams of those who pay to visit. those hopes are not often -- or are often not about the gifts we pressure ourselves to purchase for one another, but many are

about the things that money simply cannot buy. the story from nbc's harry smith. >> reporter: there is not much to it really. yet every day after school kids stop by to fill out tags and read the ones left behind. >> this one says, i wish for food, for everyone. >> reporter: it is a wishing tree, started four years ago by vanessa, because quite frankly, the holidays were getting her down. >> i wanted to do something around this time of year that kind of changed how i felt because it wasn't something i looked forward to. >> reporter: now the whole neighborhood looks forward to december. the act of writing down a wish is liberating. there are no secrets on a wishing tree. >> i wish for lavender because it smells nice. >> i wish for people to have a roof over their head and food to eat. >> i wish for a real puppy. >> reporter: wishing doesn't cost a thing. except perhaps your skepticism. >> a lot of times in life you don't get what you wish for.

>> yeah. >> so maybe the lesson is -- >> it is okay to wish. yeah. i guess that's a really cool lesson. >> even if you're old. >> yeah. >> reporter: as the day grows shorter, the victorian box tree gets loaded with more and more wishes. and sometimes people like leslie deanahan stop by. >> we thought it is a wishing tree, perfect timing, our dog is having surgery. >> reporter: they feared their dog kobe had cancer. >> he's the one we made a wish for and it came true. >> oh, my gosh. i remember that. >> reporter: in the evening breeze, the wishes dangle and spin. it makes you think something special is going on here. >> i get hope -- i get inspiration and i get love. >> reporter: inconspire ration, hope, love. more than most of us would ever wish for. but if we did, makes you wonder. harry smith, nbc news, san francisco. >> love that story. now for entertainment news.

here is how some of our favorite celebrities are celebrating the holidays. neil patrick harris took to twitter last night to write, merry christmas eve. hope your night is filled with love, whether it be by romance, friendship or random circumstance. 'tis the season. singer taylor swift tweeted, my dad just gave me ten lint rollers for christmas, not for lint, but because you always have glitter all over you. not that she needs glitter to shine this year with her record-breaking album sales. hunger games actress jennifer lawrence spent christmas eve at a children's hospital in her hometown of louisville, kentucky. she tweeted this photo of her meeting with several young patients. giuliana rancic instagramed this photo of her last minute shopping in chicago on christmas eve. somebody is getting something good today. katie couric took a picture with santa in aspen, colorado, last night. i guess he was flying over. and president obama tweeted this picture of the first family meeting a group of young elves. the president wrote, say hello

to friends you know and everyone you meet. that's a good message today. a lot of people who aren't spending it with family, so just stop by, say hello, tell them merry christmas. all right. i'm betty nguyen. this is "first look" on msnbc. hope you're having a very merry christmas. did you get chips for the party? nope. (ding) cheese plate? cheese plate. no, i made something better. you used the oven? boom. pillsbury crescents. make the holidays pop.

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good morning on this christmas. right now on "first look," a big storm continues to push across the country, making it a rough go for last minute holiday travelers. a new ebola scare. we're learning scientists inside the cdc may have been exposed to the lethal virus. how did it happen. christmas in the holy land. celebrations in bethlehem and midnight mass at the vatican with a special message from the pope. good morning, everybody. merry christmas to you. thank you for joining us today. i'm betty nguyen. getting home for the holidays has been a big hassle for millions of americans thanks to the snow, the flooding, and the thunderstorms. according to flightaware.com, as of 11:00 p.m. last night, more than 13,000 flights had been delayed. and moren