the retaliation, president obama promises that the united states will take action against russia over interference in the u.s. elections. >> all but two states in the lower 48 are below freezing and more snow is on the way. china flexes its military might with a first of its kind live fire testing of it's new aircraft carrier. saying good-bye to one of the sports most colorful figures. and rowing one is already hitting out of this world box office numbers. early "today" starts right now. i'm ayman mohyeldin. >> and i'm frances rivera. great joining you. if you haven't been out yet you better get ready and poundel up. the northeast is waking up to the coldest morning since

february. widespread negative windchill temperatures are adding to the pain. it's not just the dangerous cold there's also plenty of snow causing trouble, too. nbc's ron moth starts us off. >> reporter: bitterly cold air, snow and ice and a harsh reality getting around, suddenly a whole lot tougher. at least 50 vehicles involved in this pennsylvania pile up. in oregon scary moments when this school bus lost control. fortunately no serious injury. upstate new york, blizzard conditions. the brutal blast from the north sent wind chills plummetling, 17 below in chicago, 12 below in indianapolis. all but two states in the lower 48 below freezing somewhere. >> that was nbc's ron moth reporting. your full forecast just ahead. first breaking news this morning, a police standoff with a lone gunman holding a unknown number of hostages in mt. vernon, washington, has come to an end after a shootout that

lasted hours. the suspect we understand is in custody. at least one officer has been shot in the head as in serious but stable condition. the 30 year veteran of the force was conscious and alert when flown to a nearby medical center. while his name was not been released at this time we do know he was responding to calls of shots fired when he was immediately injured himself just before the suspect took in a hajj hostage or hostages. police say he is a violent offender, may have been known to officials. dozens of shots were heard coming from the home in the last several moments after flash bangs ran out and police stormed in putting an end to a several hour long standoff. this morning president obama vows to strike back against russian president vladimir putin for his alleged interference in the u.s. elections. telling npr he's set to take action against russia. >> i think there is no doubt that when any foreign government

tries to impact the integrity of our elections that we need to take action and we will at a time and place of our own choosing. some of it may be explicit and publicized, some of it may not be. but mr. putin is well aware of my feelings about this because i spoke to him directly about it. >> now, that comes as the president prepares to hold his final press conference of the year this afternoon, however, president-elect donald trump may be signaling that he is in fact giving some credence to the russian hacking link while raising questions about why the white house didn't act more boldly on its findings about putin. for more we have a report from cynthia mcfadden. >> reporter: president-elect donald trump seems to be pivoting after our nbc news exclusive report last night that vladimir putin personally directed a russian clandestine operation to interfere in the u.s. election, tweeting, if

russia or some other entity was hacking, why did the white house wait so long to act? why did they only complain after hillary lost? this a far cry from what he's been saying for months. >> anything that goes wrong they blame russia. russia did t they have no idea. it also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds. >> they don't even know it's russia. who knows. >> personally it could be russia. i don't really think it is, but who knows? i don't know, either. they don't know and i don't know. >> i wonder whether the tweet that president elect sent out today is the beginning of his pivot. the beginning of his acknowledgment of the intelligence that russia has been hacking our institutions. james stavridis met with the president elect last week. >> i think it is a legitimate question and i think given the stakes at the national level, the question deserves an answer. >> reporter: nbc's andrea mitchell pushed hard to get that

answer from the white house. >> i think it was a powerful thing to have the intelligence community in that statement verify russian meddling in our elections approved by the highest levels of our government. >> reporter: the statement he is referring to was a one-page release on october 7th which outlined the intelligence assessment that russia's senior most officials were interfering in the u.s. election. no direct mention of putin, though a month earlier the g20 summit in china president obama privately confronted putin the white house confirmed today. so should the administration have come out bolder and sooner with the hard intelligence they possessed as donald trump suggested, should they have pushed congress to enact sanctions against the russians making the public understand this was serious? >> in retrospect it certainly seems as though it was a mistake not to call the russians sooner and respond to them in a very forceful way. >> high level intelligence sources tell nbc news the administration didn't take such

actions because they didn't want to appear to interfere in the election. and they thought hillary clinton was going to win and they didn't think it was worth the potential risk of getting into a cyber at this time for at that time. as for the russians mr. putin's spokesperson called the idea, quote, laughable nonsense. >> that was cynthia mcfadden. the road swinging by hershey, pennsylvania. while he didn't bring up the russian hacking scandal his most recent political appointment has him wading into more controversy. he chose a bankruptcy laura signed with the israel hard right as his ambassador to israel. david friedman has been formally nominated for the post. even the announcement of the position came with more controversy with friedman saying he would, quote, work tirelessly

to strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region and look forward to doing this from jerusalem. >> friedman has been involved in pushing conspiracy theories over the years, accusing huma abedin to be part of the muslim brotherhood. after the transition said it would pick keith kellogg as chief of stat and executive security of the national security council. trump chose dr. monica crowley as senior director of communication for the national security council. trump supporter vocal anti-immigrant proponent sheriff joe arpaio is doubling down on his birther claim that says parts of president obama's birth certificate were copied from another birth certificate. he says he will turn this new evidence over to the fed. sad news this morning for

sports fans. long time nba sideline reporter craig sager has died at age of 5 after battling leukemia. known for his colorful personality and even more colorful wardrobe he was a fixture on the court for decades. tributes have been pouring in from across the nation, steve kerr skipped a moment of silence and instead led a whole basketball arena in a moment of joy. >> joy me in applause for a great man and a life well lived. thank you. >> craig sager dead at the age of 65. to charleston where a jury convicted dylann roof on all counts for killing nine black worshippers at a south carolina church. one of the survivors of the massacre testified at the trial about how she watched roof murder her son. she wasn't surprised by the verdict she said. >> i wasn't expecting anything less. i knew it was going to be

>> all the way through. >> all the way through. >> and when you heard the final one. >> music to my ears. >> 18 of the 33 charges were capital offenses and roof faces the death penalty. the jury will break for christmas before returning in january for sentencing. the roof told td judge that he still wants to represent himself in court and felicia sanders says that she plans on testifying again during this penalty phase of the trial. an e-cigarette caused a major scare for airplane passengers midair. an american airlines flight was caused to diverse its landing when a passenger's electronic cigarette caught flight on mid flight. crews extinguished the flames and isolated the device. the flight landed safely in little rock, arkansas. no one was injured and the incident has been reported to the faa. just ahead a new scientific break through that could reverse the clock on aging. we have the details. first meteorologist bill karins has details on this siberian

express and how much longer we have. >> round one not much longer, just this morning, it's better during the day today. still over 20 million people in these windchill warnings or advisories, burlington vermont negative 22. caribou maine with a windchill of negative 32, everywhere else is plain cold but that's dangerous cold. we have winter storm warnings from iowa to michigan, winter weather advisories from cast through new england. this is going to go across the country. here is the predicted snowfall. 3 to 6 inches would mostly be from wyoming through south dakota, minnesota, wisconsin, michigan and new england saturday night. here is a closer look at your day ahead. >> well, temperatures are very cold this morning, but most cases we're actually going to warm up a little bit during the day today, snow will break out around minneapolis as we go throughout the lunch hour, chicago as we go through the

and freezing drizzle down in kansas city. we will give you your complete weekend forecast coming up including cold shot number two. >> wow. bill, kind of funny how we will trade in warmer temperatures with snow ahead. >> maybe a white chris has. >> maybe. just ahead one of hollywood's hottest couples immortalized plus china's military takes a major leap to becoming a global super power. you're watching early today. becoming a superpower him details in a few minutes. you are watching "early today." all-in-one cold symptom relief from tylenol®, the #1 doctor recommended pain relief brand. tylenol® when you have a cold, pain from chest congestion can make this... feel like this. all-in-one cold symptom relief from tylenol®, the #1 doctor recommended pain relief brand. tylenol® no, no, no, no, [music]

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the show of force comes in the run up to the inauguration of president-elect donald trump who had threatened to abandon the one china policy. tensions between the two nations have risen since trump's recent phone call with the leader of taiwan. testing weapon perform and training levels. launching missiles and striking their targets. so that's a sharp escalation between these two countries. for those in search of the fountain of youth, "the new york times" report scientists believe aging is likely reversible. aging of our biological clock, that is. using genetic engineering scientists have managed to reprogram the genes of mice to rejuvenate their organs and also me thinker their life spans by 30%. don't get too excited when it comes to humans, it can't be applied just yet. it does show a better understanding of aging when it comes to the research and the likelihood of renewing human tissues in other ways. >> i think we have skeptics here

in the newsroom. just ahead we have an explanation for dozens of weirdly extreme weather events. plus find out how new car technology is driving the market. you're watching early "today." drierg technology is driving the market. you are watching "early today." almost there. i can't reach it. if you have alligator arms, you avoid picking up the check. what? it's what you do. i got this. thanks, dennis! if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. growwwlph. it's what you do. oh that is good crispy duck. so dad slayed the problemt with puffs plus lotion, instead. with lotion to soothe and softness to please. a nose in need deserves puffs, indeed. it's time to givekohl's the perfect pjs for christmas morning so stay warm in plaid be cozy in fleece

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it's time for hits. the trailer for the eighth film in the blockbuster franchise is already breaking records.

it has become the largest trailer debut ever setting a global record with 139 million views in its first 24 hours. that's beating live action, beauty and the beast and force awakens. the film isn't due out to come until next spring. popular photo sharing app instagram breaks its own record braching up 600 million users, nearly double the number of people living in the entire united states. >> a lot of pretty pictures out there on that. a proposal of galactic portions after this van got down on one knee after an advanced screening of a new "star wars" film. rowing one has already earned $30 million in preview shows last night, but priceless when you can throw in an engagement along with it. >> safe to say that's going to be breaking a lot of records that movie. stock future are higher this morning with the dow on place for the sixth straight week of

gains but it's mcdonald's that has many consumers excited. karen is here to make sense out of all of it. >> thank you very much. you've got the dow to begin trading 49 points off the key 29,000 handle. housing data coming out this morning may not move the needle. the fed spelled out a clear plan for interest rate hikes this week. the latest is general motor will begin trying its cars on public roads around michigan. humans will be in those cars as backup drivers. it also plans to make the new cars at the same plant that makes the chevy bolt electric vehicle. and the good story for the weekend if you're having a hard time getting off the sofa to drive through the golden arches mcdonald's is trying out a plan to make life easier for you, it's looking at a delivery service using 200 restaurants

across orlando, tampa and miami. let's hope the idea flies user uber eats, if it does those golden fries could be coming to your door nationwide notdh; to mention the big mac. >> mcdonald's overseas delivers so i was surprised that the u.s. doesn't have that yet. >> just now south florida. >> in singapore it does. >> karen, thank you. just ahead the president elect's daughter is already making waves in d.c. plus hear some real news on how fake news is affecting americans. you're watching "early today." n how fake news is affecting americans. you are watching "early today." hey! ♪ this is for you. did you really? didn't have too! ♪ getting the gift you almost kept for yourself? now that's a holiday mini miracle. and it's easy to create your own at walgreens... with 50 percent off the gifts of the week, just around the corner. walgreens. at the corner of happy and healthy.

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a new study from the pew research center found fake news is creating major confusion about basic facts of current events. only 11% of those surveyed said fake news caused not much or no confusion. now facebook is taking major steps to crack down on the spread of fake news on its site. >> talking about fake news. >> so fake those stories. >> facebook wants to put fake news out of business with your help. after months of public pressure the social media giant announcing new preliminary measures to weed out stories that are intentionally false and spread for financial gain. to make it easier for its 1.8 billion users to report a hoax, they can click the upper right-hand corner of a post to flag content. if enough people mark it the story will then be reviewed by

facebook researchers and passed on to independent journalists to fact check. if determined false the piece will be marked disputed on facebook, demoted in your news feed and the creator will be banned from promoting it. >> they will cut off some sites from economic benefit. >> marco runs real true news.org, a fake news site. he says his articles are is a tire. >> if you look at that sight and you think that that's a real news story, i think that's on you. >> he welcomes facebook's new measures and does not think it hurts his right to free speech. facebook's announcement said we cannot become arbiters of truth ourselves and it's targeting the worst of the worst. facebook asking users to flag fake news. jolene kent. we've got your weekend weather forecast. that's straight ahead. our week weather forecast. that's straight ahead.

right now on nbc 10 news today, bone chilling cold. we are waking up to another day of dangerous weather, temperatures feel like they are in the single digits and even zero in neighborhoods across the region. in the line of fire, philadelphia police arrest three teenagers after someone fired shots at the officers early this morning in feltonville. >> and toy store, a girl from montgomery county to make sure deserving children in our area have a special christmas. good morning, this is nbc 10 news "today." i'm rosemary connors. >> and i'm katy zachry. we remain with the frigid temperatures under first alert because of another day of those

dangerously cold temperatures. let's get right to meteorologist bill henley with his first alert neighborhood forecast. it is so cold outside you can barely speak. >> coldest numbers we have seen in a long time. we're seeing a little bit of a breeze right now at the flag in center city, that's the flag blowing at the top, right now the wings are at 16 miles an hour in philadelphia and even where they are lighter it's still just enough wind to make it feel very cold this morning. zero the windchill right now, feels like zero in reading and one below in lancaster, 2 degrees in wilmington and 5 in trenton. if you can find a spot sheltered from the wind the actual temperature 15 degrees for the suburbs, new jersey and the lehigh valley and 16 degrees with an 18 mile an hour wind at philadelphia international. we will see these numbers warm into the 20s this afternoon and we will stay dry during the day today, but that changes i will break these forecasts down hour by hour to show you when you can expect the

temperatures to peak into the 20s where you are. but first pamela osborne has your first alert traffic. >> we were watching 76 at gerard, there was an accident in the westbound ramp of the eastbound lanes, there was police activity in that corner so you are going to want to watch out if you're heading that way. traveling mass transit this morning everything looks good, everything running on time as of now and if you're driving 95 this morning everything looks good there as well. one thing i do want to mention to you before you go is that there were reports of some icy conditions on route 70 in new jersey so watch out for that as well. new this morning, three teenagers are under arrest after a shot was fired at philadelphia police officers. it happened in an alley just off roosevelt boulevard in feltonville. the suspects were wanted in a robbery, police chased them into the alley after investigators say the teens abandoned their car.