good morning. right now on first look, xbox and sony playstation networks go down on the same day "the interview is released in theaters. >> how people around the globe celebrated christmas. retailers brace for the post holiday rush of returns. plus a narrow escape for an electric tricycle driver in china. a special christmas delivery below the streets of philadelphia. and see what happens when a dignified actor is forced to wear a dancing christmas hat by his wife. thanks for joining us today. more possible cyber attacks are being reported. the latest target, sony

playstation open microsoft xbox. thousands of gamers reported trouble signing in on christmas. a hacker grouped call lizard squad is claiming responsibility. this came the same day that "the interview" came out. emily jackson has more on the opening. >> this christmas day opening did not involve traditional presents mplg it's a gift. >> it wasn't the most christmas thing we did but it was the most american thing we did. >> from l. to new york audiences lined up to see "the interview." at one soldout screening a midnight surprise, the movie's codirector and costar seth rogen with an adult bechblg and some adult language. >> if it wasn't for people like you guys, this wouldn't be [ bleep ] happening right now. >> sony pulled the film last week after a message claiming to

be from the hackers that threatened theaters chains. president obama appears pleased about sony's change of plans. >> i'm glad it's being released. >> north korea is not. a dip lat told us that north korea calls it a mockery to the dignity of our supreme leader. >> unfounded rumors according to this one. russia is sympathizing with north korea calling their anger quite understandable. here at home, those are unapologetic. sorry but not sorry, says one of hundreds of twitters responses from those who streamed online. >> i don't think it's going to help sony make its money back. but it will be certainly wide seen.

>> it was hilarious in a stupid way. >> can't stop making headlines. >> that was hallie jackson reporting. after a decade of combat in after fan stan, january 1st will mark an end to america's longest war. richard jordan is life in washington for us this morning. richard, president obama says afghanistan is no longer going to be a source of terror attacks. that's quite a statement. >> it certainly is. the president is sticking with the time line that was set months ago. but some lawmakers say they're not fully on board with that plan. >> hello, everybody, merry christmas. >> the president and first lady greeted service members at a marine base in hawaii. but it's those employed by afghanistan most impact bd i the message he delivered. >> afghanistan has a chance to rebuild its own country. we're safer. it's not going to be a source of terrorists attacks geb. >> the withdrawal in a few days

will lead to more reunions like this. a moment many families have been waiting well over a decade for. the last year has been among the deadliest for the afghan soldiers. nearly 11,000 troops will stay in afghanistan over the next few months. >> we've got an important mission here. it's an honor to be a part of that but it's difficult being away from home. >> senator john mccain spent christmas in kabul. >> thabl we are now in a time that with the proper support and proper effort and partnership with the united states in every way, including militarily -- >> the u.s. is prepared to leave, but some critics aren't sure afghanistan can stand on its on. >> john mccain will be going to

iraq later today, another country where some believe the u.s. needs to be more involved. well new yorkers will pay their final respect to one of the two nypd officers killed this past saturday. a public viewing will be today. as a makeshift memorial for officer ramos and his partner, the nypd made an arrest over threats to kill a police. they released this picture showing pictures of weapon recovered from a man's home. the weapons include firearms, two bullet proof vests, brass knuckles and a holster. across the country and around the world, in fact, people celebrated christmas day, some with words of inspiration, others lending a helping hand.

ron mot texas has more. >> around america and abroad, even outer space christmas is celebrated. >> e want to take the opportunity just briefly to wish you all a merry cls mas and a happy new year. >> from church services to service in the community, to afghanistan, sacrifice and commitment were themes of the day. >> i love you and i miss you and i hope you enjoy your christmas with family. >> in new york volunteers delivered meals to elderly people at home. in los angeles -- >> i got this big toy. >> toys for homeless boys and girls, something good to eat. overseas, a christmas mass in bethlehem. >> the queen spoke of reconciliation. >> peace and good will have lasting pow near the hearts of men and women. >> and at the vatican, pope francis offered blessings of

hope for the suffering, rebukes for acts that cause it, thanks to those on the front line of the ebola fight. a frosty dip in germany, sun and sand in australia, elephants beering gifts in thailand. back here at home in pittsburgh, and a chord at a d.c. shelter. >> merry christmas. >> and the world's busiest man recruited a little fire power bringing cheer to kids who are spending christmas in the hospital. >> we hope you had a wonderful christmas. now to philadelphia, a special christmas delivery for a new mother and the two transit police officers who came to her rescue. she went into labor on the train car. >> inside i was praying for the medic to come in and take over. >> the baby had the umbilical

cord wrapped around his neck. he got that away from the neck, the mother wanted to hold the baby. the father offered the shirt of his his back to warm the baby up. >> i was hoping for a quiet shift but this experience was pleasant. >> everything happened so quick, but it was amazing. >> not a quiet shift but a memorable one. the mother and baby boy are doing well and resting this morning. well they are one of the hottest christmas gift this year, you may have gotten one. a drone. so many drones sold that this peek the faa launched a new safety campaign. amazon is talking about them to tra transform how they do business. some leading aviation schools are stepping up to train. we take a look inside drone school. >> from movie chase scenes to

aerial farm scene, wild first, law enforcement, package delivery, you name it, the real drone organization is waiting on the faa to set the rules. >> i've got the ability to sit and hover and look at something to make sure this is the person we're looking for. >> but the leading aviation schools are not waiting. already training a new generation how to fly an unmanned aerial system or uas. when you're first learning how to fly this thing, what is the biggest challenge? >> the positional awareness of the aircraft. >> and it's not just small models. >> about two miles south. >> but bigger military size drones as well. close enrollments up more than 1,000%. >> it's a generational shift here which has thought traditional piloting since 1926.

in three years its unmanned aviation major has grown from 11 students to more than 200. collegeance universities offer similar programming amid estimates of $100,000 jobs over the next few years. this junior hopes she lands one of them. >> it seems to be the wave of the future, especially with the military. >> at the university of north dakota -- >> our point of interest is turning right on, looks like 18th street. >> students who already have a commercial pilot's license are hoping to be among the first certified drone pilots. >> the benefits that this industry will provide is going to be exponential. >> it could start in just a few months when the faa announces the rules on who's allowed to fly and where. after that the sky could be the limit. tom costello, nbc news daytona beach. nba on christmas day featured five games and one player who made a holiday

fashion statement. he was rocking a christmas themed suit. now, remind you, she is 7'1" so that is a whole lot of fabric. to the game now, the clipper es leading scorer of the night with 24 points. beating the warriors 186 handing them their second loss at the staples center in three days. >> number 23, lebron james. >> king james received a warm welcome on his entire to miami but his former teammates did not wait long to spoil that reunion. james finished with 30. but they fell short heat win it 101-91. to new york, brought the spark against the knicks. then late in the fourth, quincy acy bumps hard into a wall

knocking him down and a scuffle ensues before the two were separated by other players. acy appeared to throw a punch toward johns walls neck. that resulted in a flagrant foul. he was ejected from the game. they handed the knicks their 16th loss in 17 games. lebron james and stefan curry are the leading votes so for the all-star steam. and in college hoops, gw wins its first inseason tournament to wind the diamond head classic in honolulu 60-24. it's been ten years since southeast asia was hit by a devastating tsunami. an alarming crash caught on camera. you don't want to misthis. you're watching "first look." feel that in your muscles? yeah... i do...

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welcome back to "first look." we're tracking still some snow that's coming out of the rockies. they got big amounts of snow, over 13 inches in parts of idaho. that snow system is dying out moving off to the east. today we'll see light snow showers through the upper midwest and then that will eventually start to mo into the middle part of the country and translate to some rain in the central gulf coast. we have the light snow from denver to minneapolis. and then later today, toward the evening, we'll start to get some of those gulf showers. that's the latest on the foreca forecast. well some stories that are making news today across southeast asia, tributes are being held to honor the 230,000 people killed in the indian ocean tsunami. in thailand people laid flowers on this wall. and in indonesia, elected officials offered flowers at a

mass grave. the more than 30-foot killer wave was triggered by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake. we do have stunning video to show you. the israeli military says a molotov cocktail was thrown at this civilian car. officials say the man's daughter was severely burned. the israeli military expects the palestinians are blind the attack. >> the driver of this car and the truck that plowed into him suffered minor injuries. but look at that, the driver of the electric tricycle right in middle of it all slid right past and walked away without a scratch. that person can hopefully buy a lottery ticket. they are one lucky person. the holiday shopping season is so far from over. kirk gregory now has the latest. >> just when you thought you

were done for the holidays with the malls were the crowds, the deals and the bags, get ready for round two, those traded returns. >> holiday returns are arguably one of the worst parts of the holiday shopping season because you do think that you're almost done. >> many retailers tighten up their return policies around the holidays. before you venture out, go on to the website of the store you're going to and get familiar with their policy. make sure you have a receipt. leave the original tags on and make sure the item is in sellable condition. without a receipt, don't expect to get cash back. >> without the receipt it does get a little patchy. you may only have to get the store credit, for instance. and so the receipt gives you a lot of flexibility. >> if your gift was purchased online, some retailers will let you return it in their stores, but you'll need the packing slip that came with the order to return it. if you ship the gift back, you

may be in for a big surprise. >> one of the catches that we see with online retailers is they will only do a refund to the original payment method. so your gift giver is going to get a refund but you're not going to get anything out of that transaction. >> after christmas sales are huge for retailers. stores will try to lure bargain hunters with deep discounts. you might not want to rush out the door to make the return. >> if you can wait until saturday or the weekend following, you can go and do your return then and then take advantage of the great post holiday sales. >> so before heading out, do your home work and many happy returns. kirk gregory nbc news. everybody has been talking about "the sbrer view" but what are the the other holiday releases this weekend. plus celebrities take to social media for christmas. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup

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all right now here's the first look at this morning's dish. russian president vladimir putin is canceling the new year's holiday for government minister pps yes, in a televised session yoed putin said cabinet ministers should not be taking time off from the 1st through the 12th. will many he or won't he run. according to politico with former governor bush is stepping down from the board of health care. the companies has reportedly

profited from obama care. bush's resignation comes amid talk of a possible presidential bid. former president george h.w. bush is still in a houston hospital this morning. he's been there since tuesday evening. ap spokesperson says the former president is in great spirits. and white house photographer pete sue za is sharing this fun photo of the president. see anything interesting there? well mr. obama met with a girl scout troop from tulsa, oklahoma this year. what a good sport. that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. joining me now from washington is kevin sore really minus the tiara. happy friday. >> happy friday to you. >> a lot of people went out and saw the movie "the interview" that was released yesterday. but we're hearing of a possible attack on sony and microsoft.

>> this is really the next wave in terrorism in many ways. this is something that's plagued the u.s. and other countries for that matter, as well as companies for years now. i mean think back. it's not just sony thaz has seen a hack but target, home depot, neiman marcus, all of the retailers, as well as some in the banking. so this is really something that a lot of businesses and retail groups are working with lawmakersance regulators here on in washington and there's a couple of different actually policy proposals that are on the table now for congress to consider. i'm interested to see whether or not this sony attack is going to give life to some the new proposals that are on the table in the new congress. >> is there a special wing dedicated to this? are there teams ked kated to make sure that the sus protected from hack attacks? >> that's a great question. each of the different regulators

have different cyber security teams. it's not just the fib but the nsa, the cia, all of these different regulators are various entities and teams to combat cyber terrorism. this being said, there's actually groups that are called information sharing and analysis centers and they work with the private sector and the government to share threat information. and these threats are coming in hundreds of threats a day to help businesses wetter prepare themselves for these attacks. >> it seems like a new reality. >> really is. >> speaking of which, russia is facing its own reality. putin canceling the new year's holiday. how much can that be placed on the same-sexes the u.s. placed on russia. >> standard and poors is predicting in fact that there's a 50% chance they could actually downgrade the credit rating for russia just next month. and most economists expect the

economy is going to contract by 5.5% next year. a huge recession happening. but putin's approval rating among russians remain high. but certainly not helping russia. they're in for a huge economic dip in the new year. >> if you've booked a trip to russia for a vacation, you're getting a bargain. >> i'm not sure why you would want to go there. now for entertainment news. there's plenty to see in the theaters this week. "unbroken" opened on christmas and over the weekend sit expected to earn up to $30 million. the star studded musical "into the woods" should make $10 million or more. the wife of actor patrick stewart posted this video on youtube. it's hard not to laugh as stewart react to the singing dances hat on his head. his wife wrote on youtube, sweet hat, bro. a viral sensation after displaying a wreath witherspoon

on the episode of "the mindy project." reese witherspoon thought it was pretty funny posting this pic on instagram yesterday telling many that she could not resist. >> thanks so much for joining us here on "first look. reminder, morning joe is coming up at the top of the hour. have a great day. amy cheese befy sister's wedding well it's only 100 calories, so you'll be ready for that dress up at the top of the hour. have a great day. coming up at the top of the hour. have a great day. t 40 flavors. 100 calories or less. dave, i'm sorry to interrupt... i gotta take a sick day tomorrow. dads don't take sick days, dads take nyquil. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep with a cold, medicine.

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good morning. right now on "first look," xbox and sony playstation networks go down in an apparent attack on the same day "the interview is released in theaters. how people around the globe celebrated christmas. retailers brace for the post holiday rush of returns. plus a narrow escape for an electric tricycle driver in china. a special christmas delivery below the streets of philadelphia. and see what happens when a dignified actor is forced to wear a dancing christmas hat by his wife. he doesn't look too happy, does he? thanks for joining us today. more possible cyberattacks are being reported.