. good morning. bone-chilling, bitterly cold temperatures whipping through the country this weekend. in some places it could feel as cold as 40 below zero today. and with the cold comes the snow. 150 million people under some sort of winter storm advisory this weekend from the rocky mountains all the way into the northeast. the nasty weather leading to accident after accident and showing no signs of letting up any time soon. we'll have your full forecast. talking tough. president obama in his final news conference of the year defending his administration's response to russian hacking around the election. >> our goal continues to be to send a clear message to russia

or others not to do this to us because we can do stuff to you. >> the president now asking the trump administration to investigate after he leaves office. how will president-elect trump respond? a terrible encounter caught on camera. video of a star college running back knocking out a woman in a restaurant more than two years ago is released overnight. he apologized and was suspended for a year, but now he is playing a bowl game and hopes to make it to the nfl, but with the league taking a hard line on domestic violence, will this video scare teams away? skblienchts a skbliench a true champion. a jeopardy contestant shows us all what it means to persevere. snoo what is the beach state. what is budism? >> winning game after game all while battling stage four cancer. her spirit, her winning attitude, and her opportunity to fulfill a life-long dream.

melting hearts around the world. today, saturday, december 17th, 2016. >> from nbc news, this is "today" live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. welcome to "today" on this saturday morning. >> speaking of dylan, no baby yet. >> it's -- i'm beginning to wonder. the whole thing may have been a ruse. >> there's nothing like waiting. i mean, this woman, she's been baking, making holiday treats. >> she can't sit still. >> we'll keep you posted. >> we will. >> let's get to our top story, though. that unbearable cold and snow across the country. the cold is really the worst of it. check out some of the temperatures. negative 42 with the wind chill in billings, montana. 34 below in bismarck. negative 32 in cheyenne, wyoming. those bitter cold temperatures

are not expected to get any alberta as we go through the weekend either. there's also some snow to contend with. many parts of this country waking up to the white stuff already and a whole lot of it. nbc's morgan ratford 30 miles northwest of where we sit here in manhattan. she's where the snow has been falling for a few hours. morgan, good morning. >> reporter: craig, good morning. 150 million americans across the country waking up to this snow, this ice. it's also this dangerously cold wind chill that's sweeping the country. some places seeing temperatures dip 30 degrees below zero. >> reporter: a winter white-out. blankets of snow barrelling across the great plains sending sheets of ice and howling winds through america's heartland. slamming the northeast this morning. >> it is brutally cold. >> i don't know if you can ever be ready. >> i hate winter. >> out west, neighbors in wyoming race against the clock to clear snow-covered streets.

>> even though it's 9 degrees out right now, the temperatures are still supposed to keep dropping. >> reporter: hoping to avoid accidents like this in minnesota where icy roads caused hundreds of crashes in less than 24 hours and sent this tractor-trailer sliding off the highway. a similar scene in utah. bumper to bumper traffic at a stand still. while hail pounded the ground. and this arctic blast is just getting started. temperatures across the country dipping below zero this weekend set to break record lows in cities like minneapolis, bismarck, pierre, and chicago where the high for sunday is expected to be negative 2. the first time the windy city has seen a high below zero in 33 years. next in those snow-covered crosshairs, the northeast where firefighters in boston wrestled flames friday while battling wind chill below zero.

>> we've had significant issues around freezing. ladders are frozen. >> now facing more of that bone-chilling freeze, residents are taking matters into their own hands. >> stay inside. don't go outside. >> up to eight inches of snow expected to hit the northeast. already hundreds of flights have been canceled, and this is why people are being asked to exercise extreme caution, so they're taking to the roads today. especially as this snow turns into freezing rain. back to you. >> all right, morgan. thank you. >> be careful. dave, what more can we expect from the storm? >> a lot of people want to know when it all ends, and the problem is we've got a good road ahead of us before we can say it's over. let's walk over and take a look at things right now. as can you see, as we begin and take a look at the wide map from the northeast to the midwest to the upper plains and all the way into the rockies, we have bad weather, which is affecting so many people. morgan mentioned, 150, 155 million people. the i-95 corridor right now --

boston, hartford, new york -- all seeing snow. as we head down to philadelphia and washington d.c., frozen precipitation. freezing rain and sleet. stretching back to the west, there we have another batch of problems. now, we go to the midwest and into the northern plains, and there we see so many people affected by icy conditions and heavy snows. the area around minneapolis getting a lot of snow yesterday. now all of that moving eastward through sections of illinois, into michigan, the ohio valley, icy conditions to keep track of. as we head into the next 24 hours, snow turns to rain in the northeast and we see storms developing across the southeast. sunday a big warmup. it is going to be a tough go as we head into the beginning of next week because a lot of folks are going to be getting another blast of cold weather after that. >> right. >> we start to travel. president obama and the first family are escaping the cold. they have just arrived in hawaii for their final presidential

christmas vacation in honolulu. before they took off, though, president obama held his final news conference of the year, and he had some tough talk for russia now that both the cia and the fbi say they try to interfere in the election to help donald trump win. nbc's hans nichols is at the white house, and we have more on that. >> reporter: before leaving for town president barack obama spent most of that press conference explaining, defending his own administration's response to their own intelligence assessment that russia was indeed interfering in the u.s. presidential election. he shared this story of how personally warned vladimir putin, and he hinted that a more forceful response could come. >> reporter: in his year-end press conference president barack obama revealed his warning to vladimir putin about interfering in the 2016 presidential election. >> there are going to be serious consequences if he did. >> many in his party are frustrated he didn't do more.

obama's explanation offered little comfort to aggrieved democrats. >> i want to make sure that everybody understood we were playing this thing straight. we weren't trying to advantage one side or another. >> reporter: facing the press that the fbi now agrees that the cia that the russian government by hacking into democratic emails tried to elect donald trump. but the president referring to go that far where. >> we have not seen evidence of machines being tafrp ampered wio that assurance i can provide. rinc . >> reporter: all but confirming that the russian president himself approved the cyber attacks. >> not much in russia happens without vlad peer putimir putin. >> reporter: a hearing was announced into the hacks, defended by representative bird whose analysis has been questioned by president-elect trump saying, "unlike many in washington, though, they check politics at the office door and focus on their mission." before leaving with his family for hawaii for the holidays, a

mostly defensive president, but a hint of offense. >> so at a point in time where we've taken certain actions that we can divulge publicly, we will do so. at times there is message that will be directly received by the russians and not publicized. zoo that was the longest press conference of obama's presidency. he declined numerous opportunities to criticize his successor giving donald trump a lot of leeway. even declining to criticize him for taking that phone call from taiwan's president saying that the entire foreign policy everything needs to be "subject to fresh eyes." >> hans, thank you. what do the russians think about president obama's tough talk? our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in moscow. what's the reaction there? >> well, they seem to be brushing it off, frankly. there have been no comments from any top officials, let alone

vladimir putin. when it is brought up at all, it is only described as more hysteria from the intelligence agencies, more hysteria from the united states who are still upset that hillary clinton lost the election. one somewhat angry note by a commentator on a state broadcast here in which he said that there is a contradiction in what the president said. on one hand he said that russia is poor, it's weak, it doesn't produce anything that anyone wants to buy, and yet, russia is also accused of using high-tech hacking weaponry to impact the u.s. election. at this stage russians are trying at least at an official level to brush it off and not give too much credence to this, an allegation that they have in the past said was ridiculous. >> richard, thank you. meanwhile, president-elect

donald trump did not bring up russian hacking at his latest thank you tour stop on friday night. it's a subject he has repeatedly denied and downplayed in the past week. today, though, he will make the final stop on his tour in alabama wra alabama. that's where we find nbc's kelly o'donnell this morning. kelly, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, craig. unlike some of the other campaign style stops on his post-election tour, this is not one of the surprise victory states for donald trump, but it is a place that is home to one of his most loyal supporters and his choice to be the next attorney general of the united states, alabama senator jeff sessions. at these events donald trump has been talking about his ideas on domestic and foreign policy, but he has been sticking with a script that does not include russia. ♪ proud to be an american >> reporter: back in rally mode. >> merry christmas, everyone. merry christmas. >> reporter: the president-elect took his thank you tour to orlando, florida, friday night. >> i love this state.

i love the people. >> reporter: but donald trump ignored the controversy over vladimir putin and russia's cyber attack on the u.s. election. hours earlier president obama urged trump to publicly support bipartisan investigation. team trump shifted the spotlight back to hillary clinton. ille is wouldn't have happened f agtly because he med puti and the fbi letter e-mor hr

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good morning. i am meteorologist bill henley. slippery conditions this morning. we've seen snow, sleet, and freezing rain but the temperatures are climbing. by 10:00 this morning, above freezing. still some lingering showers in philadelphia. right at the freezing mark, still an icing situation in the suburbs and below freezing, that's freezing rain at 10:00. then it dries out as we head into the afternoon, slight chance for a shower in the lehigh valley. 40s at 2:00 this afternoon. 45 at the shore. have a great day. zbloon and that's a quick look at the weather. >> thank you. now to a story of true courage. a woman battling cancer who knew her time on

good morning. it is a few minutes before 7:30 on this saturday. i am rosemary connors. we are in a first alert at nbc10 because of the wintry mix that's been blanketing our region. how much snow, how much sleet you get depends where you live. you can see storm force 10 rolling up on an accident on the turnpike, northeast extension near lansdale within the last half hour. if you have to be out there driving for any reason this morning, give yourself a little extra time. please, take it slowly. let's get the latest on the snow and ice and rain with nbc10 first alert meteorologist krystal klei. fill us in. >> we're taking a live look at camelback mountain. the snow is still coming down out there. we're going to be tracking snow

through the poconos for quite some time. for a lot of us, we started to see the changeover. green kalindicates rain. pink is icy roadway conditions and snow in purple and white. zoom in first where we see rain. seeing that throughout the morning. cape may and through portions of new jersey and the bay as well. notice pink is holding tight over parts of delaware, we're getting reports of freezing rain. that continues. philadelphia all the way through the suburbs. king of prussia, these areas have potential for icy roadways. good news, it is icing on top of snow that accumulated, meaning it is crunchy snow. better to wait a few hours when it is out. some portions of berks county and upper bucks county and into lehigh valley. we will continue to track snowy conditions in the next 30 minutes. >> see you then. thanks for that.

that does it for us for now. i am rosemary connors. back to the "today" show. t

good morning. i am meteorologist bill henley. slippery conditions this morning. we have seen snow, sleet, freezing rain, but temperatures are climbing. by 10:00, above freezing. lingering showers in philadelphia, right at the freezing mark, still an icy situation in the suburbs. below freezing at 10:00. then it dries out as we head into the afternoon. slight chance for a shower for lehigh valley. look at the 40s, 2:00 this afternoon. up to 45 at the shore. have a great day. >> that's a quick look at the we culifor ngdius abo mions

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there's been snow this morning and freezing rain. let's look at the airport. there are flight cancellations and delays, not just here in philly. the airport tweeted that crews are continuing to deice planes. we will have updates here and on the nbc10 app. check the airline before you head to the airport this morning. let's get to meteorologist krystal klei with the latest on the wintry weather.

>> here's the radar and satellite. focusing in on the pink on radar. that's where icy conditions are falling. you see rain, don't be deceived, it is freezing on impact, leaving slick roadways. we start south. we see rain consistently this morning. seeing rain extent through new jersey and up the bay. still mixing areas of a little icy mix. it is not all rain through new jersey. you could still run into slick icy spots. more likely you see wilmington through philadelphia and up through trenton. mercer county, still snow falling. look at the area in pink. all of the suburbs through berks county, and now seeing snow ice mix even into lehigh valley. so what we are talking about for the next several hours as this line presses north is icy conditions, the big concern. we are tracking temperatures in the next half hour. >> all right, krystal, thanks for that. that does it for now.

i am rosemary connors. krystal klei, bill henley and i will see you here for a full hour of news at 8:30. he gets a lot of compliments. he wears his army hat, walks around with his army shirt looking all nice. and then people just say, "thank you for serving our country" and i'm like, that's my dad. male vo: no one deserves a warmer welcome home. that's why we're hiring 10,000 members of the military community by the end of 2017.

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good morning. bone-chilling. a dangerous cold sweeping across the country today. temperatures in the midwest feeling like 40 below with the wind chill. 150 million people under a winter storm advisory from colorado into the northeast. snow and ice leaving drivers in distress and the worst may not even be here yet. pie in the sky. a group of british scientists send this pie loaded with meat and potatoes into space. it's all for the sake of research, but what exactly are we trying to prove? ♪ santa tell me and the new santa experience with christmas just eight days away. retailers are kicking it up a notch doing whatever they can to

get more shoppers into the stores. one way to do that? change the way that kids meet santa. how they're using new technology to do just that. today, saturday, december 17th, 2016. ♪ merry christmas ♪ happy holidays >> right where you are. >> hi, mom. >> hi, peanut. >> merry christmas. >> it's my 16th birthday. >> it's ours too. >> happy birthday. >> hello, kentucky. >> we've got "today show's" littlest fan. ♪ a good saturday morning. do not throw a snow ball at me. >> snow ball fight? >> we decided to venture out into the elements to spend some time with the crowd this morning. >> you guys are great.

>> you guys are fantastic. >> it's packed out here this morning. >> man. those folks from miami, they've got to be hating life. we apologize, ma'am. we apologize. how are you going to throw a snow ball at a guest. >> apologies. >> do you want me to get him back? come on. i got to do it. there we go. >> of course, the weather is what people are talking about this weekend, between the freezing cold temperatures, the blanket of snow affecting tens of millions of people. let's go to nbc's morgan ratford. she's is in new york with more on this wild weather. morgan, good morning to you. >> reporter: 150 million people across the country waking up to a winter weather advisory. that's as this snow, ice, and a dangerously cold wind chill sweeps the country already causing some icy roads and dangerous pile-ups in states like oklahoma. also in minnesota where we've

seen over 500 accidents in less than 24 hours. now this wintry mix, it's slamming the northeast as we speak. up atote inches of snow. already hundreds of flights have been canceled. the reality is this arctic blast is just the beginning. we're expected to see record low temperatures in cities across the country like in pierre, south dakota. minneapolis. chicago. even in bismarck. that's why experts are telling people if they're especially heading out on the road today, they should budget extra time to get where they're going, and they should be sure to bundle up, layer up, and cover up. craig. >> morgan ratford for us this morning. morgan, thank you. dave price, how are things looking for the rest of the weekend, good sir? >> well, all across the country we have some significant weather challenges. let's go to the maps right now. >> that's diplomatic. >> weather challenges. >> i don't want to make anyone sad on this saturday morning. let's look at it. stretching all the way from the rockies across the upper midw t

midwest, the midwest and into the northeast where we're seeing snow right now. sleet and freezing rain from philadelphia down to d.c., and take a look at this. advisories and warnings and watches stretching all the way from the plains to the mississippi valley, and on to and through the east and northeast. as we take a look at the maps through today, snow and rain for most of the northeast. storms develop across the southeast as we head through the day today. could see some isolated severe weather in sections of the lower mississippi valley and sunday we see some early ice and snow for that area. then that pushes through. we see showers along the eastern seaboard in the gulf coast, and another batch of bitterly cold air is on its way in. that's a quick look at your weather picture. >> all right, dave. thank you. let's go inside to sheinelle. soaking rain is a problem in southern california. this morning there are power outages, flooding, and the threat of landslides. take a look. mud-covered roads that led to

numerous accidents and a water rescue. firefighters collect two women from an island in the san gabe rel river. one of the women refused to go without her dog. the rescue team helped them too. president obama landed in hawaii overnight after giving what could be the final press conference of the year. the president says he told russia's vladimir putin to cut it out when he learned of russia's interference in the u.s. election. he said he held back from retaliating against russia during the campaign to avoid the appearance of taking sides, but he hinted there will be a response. >> so at a point in time where we've taken certain actions that we can divulge publicly, we will do that. there are times where the message will be directly received by the russians and not publicized. >> reporter: the senate intelligence committee has announced that it will conduct a bipartisan investigation of russia's involvement in the election. a firestorm is brewing in

north carolina as outgoing republican governor pat mccrory imposes limits on his democrat successor roy cooper. row testers stormed the statehouse friday complaining that gop lawmakers were making an unlawful power grab. he wants to stop cooper from -- cooper won the election by less than 1% of the vote. mccrory didn't concede until nearly a month after election day. and there is a pie in britain that could truly lay claim to being out of this world. take a look. gathered in the parking lot of a local pub in the village a couple of admitted space geeks launched a meat and potato pie 29 miles in the air until it reached the rim of outer space. then, as all things do, it came back down. the pie hurdled back to earth at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. no one has had the courage to taste it. they think a sheep took a bite out of it when the pie landed.

i am not kidding. how craze dwri is thy is that? >> how crazy is that? we have a development that we want to let folks know about. >> this just in. >> this just in a few moments ago. dylan dryer apparently i've been told at the hospital. >> she's also -- i think she was en route, but now she's there. is that it? i see people going on the side. >> only dylan dryer would give birth in a snowstorm on her due date. >> i was about to say today is her actual due date so, you know, she's very accurate. >> we're efforting some video when we have that to pass along, we'll get that to you. >> good luck, dylan. >> dave price with another check of the forecast. what's the word, buddy? >> i just want to make sure everyone heard. guys, guys, dylan is on her way to the hospital! [ cheering ] >> of course, you don't like to travel in this weather, but when you have that christmas tree behind us and people have come to visit from all across the united states, there's no more beautiful weather in the world,

is there? let's take a look at the maps and see what's happening all across the country. another frigid blast comes our way. the third and the strongest yet dropping temperatures and wind chills well below the subzero mark. as we take a look at the rockies through the midwest, we're talking about some strong snows rolling through. as we head into tomorrow, a real warmup for the eastern seaboard. lake-effect snows right by the great lakes. heavy rain for sections of the southeast. dry and nice conditions for much of the west. that's a quick look at our good morning. i am meteorologist bill henley. slippery conditions this morning. we've seen snow, sleet, freezing rain, but the temperatures are climbing. by 10:00 this morning, above freezing. still lingering showers in philadelphia. right at the freezing mark, still an icy situation in the suburbs and below freezing, freezing rain at 10:00. then it dries out as we head into the afternoon. slight chance of a shower for

the lehigh valley. 40s at 2:00 for delaware, up to 45 at the shore. have a great day. >> i think we have a snowy marriage proposal right here. holy cow. that's a great way to start a saturday. this is unbelievable. we'll send it back inside to you, guys. >> that's fun. >> hopefully she says yes. >> wow. >> hopefully. hopefully she does. we'll try to get katie too. hey, so look who is on her way to the hospital. dylan dryer apparently just hours away from giving birth. some fresh video just in. >> look at brian's smile. >> that's a happy brian. >> i love that. >> hang with us this morning. then a beautiful oceanside marriage for michael phelps and his stunning bride. the video from the couple's big day after these messages. (man) my dad and i have the same eyes. same nose. same toughness. and since he's had moderate alzheimer's disease,

the same never quit attitude. that's why i asked his doctor about once-a-day namzaric. (avo) namzaric is approved for moderate to severe alzheimer's disease in patients who are taking donepezil. it may improve cognition and overall function, and may slow the worsening of symptoms for a while. namzaric does not change the underlying disease progression. don't take if allergic to memantine, donepezil, piperidine or any of the ingredients in namzaric. tell the doctor about any conditions including heart, lung, bladder, kidney or liver problems, seizures, stomach ulcers, or procedures with anesthesia. serious side effects may occur, including muscle problems if given anesthesia; slow heartbeat, fainting, more stomach acid which may lead to ulcers and bleeding; nausea, vomiting, difficulty urinating, seizures, and worsening of lung problems. most common side effects are headache, diarrhea, dizziness loss of appetite, and bruising. (man) dad and i shared a lot of moments. now we're making the most of each one. (avo) ask about namzaric today.

♪ i said i really can't stay ♪ baby it's cold outside ♪ i have to go away ♪ baby it's cold outside ♪ i really can't stay ♪ baby it's cold outside! you never know who you'll meet at barnes & noble.

you're probably wondering why thai've just carvedng! a giant wooden tiger. well, the answer is that a real one would maul me. i've crafted dr. whiskers here as a visual aid to show you that should you visit the lot, carmax associates will not pounce like tigers because people don't like that. come here to buy a car. dr. whiskers won't pounce. nobody will. ♪ we are back on a soort morning with what's trending today. this first one is sure to be trending in mere minutes. it's the moment we've been waiting for. dylan is in the hospital. today is her official due date, and her husband, brian, sent us this video. take a look as they made their way to the hospital. >> oh. >> what's your name, sir?

he is the man. he is getting us there. we're having a we'll check in in a little bit. >> love you. bye. >> i think she made him hang up. they're in a new york city cab. >> only in new york city are you taking a cab to deliver a baby. clearly she's in the back seat, and he is riding in the front. >> in the snow. >> that is awesome. >> we can tell thaw she's at the hospital. that much we can tell you. >> that is hilarious. >> beyond that -- >> we're sending a live unit right now. >> we've got two stations out front of the hospital. when that happens, we'll bring it to you live on the "today" show. good luck to you, dylan dreyer. good luck to you as well, brian. here's something to warm you up on a chilly morning. the next time you eat lunch, try eating some soup with it. it could help you eat less later on. there's new research out that shows that people who ate soup ate 20% fewer calories and said they felt full after. why soup you ask?

texture is key. apparently thicker liquids like soup digest differently in your body, and tend to cause the stomach to expand a bit making you feel more full for a long period of time. >> what about salt? >> i would think the salt -- >> sodium. >> it warms up and you feel full. >> all soup -- >> that part, people go on the soup diet. >> 2016 has been one for the record books. especially when it comes to sports. "time" has released their best sports images of the year. here's a few have our favorites. starting with king james. recordbreaking gold medalist katie ledeckey made the cut. here's the moment when she led the pack in the women's freestyle final. this image sees the fastest man in the world usain bolt looking back at his competition. he makes it look so easy. then, of course, this one. finally bill murray made the cut with his beloved cubs won the world series. murray getting emotional on the field. it certainly says it all. a long wait for that.

>> a long wait indeed. >> hi, guys. >> how perfect is it that dylan is going into labor on her due date? she's the most punctual person in the world. in the snowstorm. we love you, dylan. let's get to pop stars, guys. they say a picture is worth 1,000 words, but i don't think there is one to adequately describe the look on octavia spencer's face after getting a surprise visit from the president at a special screening of the latest movie "hidden figures." look at that. the first lady hosted the screening at the white house, but everything stopped for spencer when president obama strolled in to greet the cast, and lucky for us, the oscar winner's priceless reaction, and i mean priceless, was posted to instagram for us all to see. in case you were wondering, the first lady praised the film and its stars, calling janelle mones her other little child. it's no secret ellen

degeneres loves to dance. it's also no secret that people love to watch holiday movies this time of year. well, if you are anything like ellen, perhaps you were wondering what movies like elf, home alone, and other holiday classics would be like if dancing played a central role. well, wonder no more. ♪ >> oh, many i gy god. that's your proof that dancing makes everything better. >> a philosophy i stand by. i know you do too. >> absolutely. >> moving on, guys, finally, michael phelps knows a thing or two about making headlines. well, the olympian is doing it again. releasing never before seen footage and photos from his october wedding to wife nicole johnson. the 51 second video shared with brides.com starts with a shirtless phelps. his bride then looks absolutely stunning. the two go for a walk on the beach, arrive in a golf cart with some celebrating in between. in case you guys are missing boomer in the video, no worries.

there are pictures of him on-line. >> here's the ring bearer. >> so cute. >> that's your pop start. still to come, how retailers are using santa, technology, and new adventures through the door. first, this is "today" on nbc. >> i think you should do the weather dance.

with just eight days going until christmas, retailers hoping that shoppers will head into the stores to make those last minute purchases. >> one way of getting people through the door is by upping their game. jolene kent is here with how high-tech santas are helping out the stores' bottom lines. >> you guys might remember, i know, craig, you have two little ones. getting the picture on santa's knee can be a nightmare. now there's no santa in town, and retailers across the country are hoping he will deliver the best gift for them. a strong bottom line.

>> reporter: it's the stuff christmas memories are made of. the annual pilgrimage to the mall to get that photo of the kids with santa. but this year malls across america are rolling out a new north pole with a high-tech santa and erns. >> you have a younger generation of kids that have certainly become accustomed to technology. you mix two really great things together. santa and technology. >> reporter: at short hills mall in new jersey sanity's flight academy starts before you even arrive. kids sign up on-line for custom badges. >> code name marshmallow specialty light director. >> yeah. >> reporter: and choose what their elf will wear as he or she guides them to santa. upon arrival kids walk into a 3,000 square foot adventure. try on their new flight suit in augmented reality. decide which route santa will take on christmas eve. >> you want him to take the southern route. >> reporter: and give the old man some encouragement.

and end with a snowy trip to the north pole. the souped up santa is part of a new trend of mall experiences. special events and services like conci concierge and vip campaign suites to attract you and your money away from computers and into stores. the stakes couldn't be higher for retailers. according to the national retail federation, about ten million more americans shopped on-line than in stores over black friday weekend. so this year malls are betting on chris cringele to make their christmas bright, and according to our exclusive interview, he is on board. >> technology has changed everything. we now have the good and nice list on electronics. >> reporter: parents are grateful for an updated experience too. >> when my older drawers were little and i would bring them, and it was just wait in line, sit on santa's lap, get the picture taken. it wasn't as fun as this.

this was great. >> how much fun did you have in there? >> a lot of fun. >> reporter: so if your kids love santa as much as will ferrell in the movie "elf." >> santa! oh, my god! >> reporter: braving the crowds at the mall may be worth it. but in the end even high-tech santa still loves an old-fashioned gift that money can't buy. >> i still like looking at the parents and seeing the smiles. the smiles make everybody's day. >> okay. so santa's flight academy costs about $30 in total. you can also, of course, track santa on norad. there's lots of ways. i have to say in my exclusive interview with him, he is all about tech. he loves it. he is fully embracing it. >> which list did he put you on? naughty or nice? >> i'm pretty sure i'm on the nice list, but i'm not sure about you, craig. just kidding. everyone here is on the nice list. >> we should mention you are filling in for willie tomorrow. what's coming up on "sunday

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roads. conditions are changing. the snow, the ice, the rain is not lasting all day, but for the next few hours, we have very slippery condition out there. ice is forming now. we will take you to it hour by hour, neighborhood by neighborhood coming up. we are watching the wet roads. this is i-95 in philly, crews have been clearing trouble spots. the latest from penn dot in a moment. those stories and more coming up next at 8:30.

the snow and ice making a mess of saturday morning. here's the conditions in lansdale, the surface is slick, drivers should take it easy. we continue to track the timing. here's the storm on the first alert weather radar. the team of meteorologists are watching the changeover to rain and when the system will move out. travel trouble in the skies, the weather here and other parts

of the country could slow you down if flying from philly international. we have you covered with what you need to know before you head out the door this morning. good morning. i am rosemary connors. the worst of the weather is this morning. one place folks are welcoming the snow is the pocono mountains. flakes have been falling since early morning hours. this is camelback resort for skiers and snowboarders who will have plenty of fresh powder on the slopes. our team has been on this all morning so you're prepared and know what to expect when you head out today. we begin with bill henley. >> when we went on the air at 5:00 this morning, it was all snow. it has all changed. we just updated it. it is for dangerous ice, and it is falling in philadelphia, the suburbs and lehigh valley and