♪ ♪ this morning, remembering a superstar. looking back at the amazing career of pop icon george michael dead at age 53. it was a white christmas for many and they're waking up to an ugly commute. an update on the health of carrie fisher. top actors of the year. plus the match making uber driver making love connections one ride at a time. early today starts right now. good morning, everyone. thanks for joining us today. i'm betty nguyen. music fans on both sides of the atlantic are mourning george

michael. the singer died at his home at the age of 53. michael's manager says he died of heart failure. they said it was not being classified as suspicious. george michael enjoyed immense success with his band wham ♪ wake me up before you go go ♪ don't leave me happening on the yo-yo ♪ as a solo artist he was lauded by critics for his tremendous vocal range. in this duet he sang with elton john. ♪ ♪ >> he sold well over 100 million albums locally and earned numerous grammy and music awards. now heart ache is pouring out on social media. celebrities like ellen degeneres calling michael a brilliant talent and miley cyrus thanking

him for his activism in the lgbt community. the world at large forever love. and elton john posted an emotional message to instagram, i am in deep shock. i have lost a beloved friend. the kindest, most generous soul and a brilliant artist. george michael dead at the age of 53. back here at home millions of americans face an ugly end to the holiday weekend. blizzard and freezing rain slamming parts of the country. it closed roads and put one family in harm's way leading to a harrowing story near the grand canyon. here's steve patterson with the details. >> reporter: a winter weather punch pounding parts of the country with storm systems making a mess on the roads. in eastern north dakota blowing snow blanketing the region coating the roads in a glaze of dangerous ice causing dozens of

spinouts and accidents as holiday travelers braved bad conditions. in utah whole neighborhoods buried. winter warnings in some areas calling for up to 36 inches of snow turning this hillside into a skier's paradise. heather lieber lives in suburban salt lake. she doesn't mind doing a little digging out on a very suddenly whyte christmas. we went to bed, it was green, we woke up to this. >> in flagstaff, arizona, car wrecks all over the road forcing a number of closures with the heaviest snow still on the way. at the grand canyon, pennsylvania mother karen klein rescued after wandering 26 miles in the snow to find help when the family car got stuck off a forged road. >> she ended up in very deep snow, as much as 3 feet deep snow, and she was very played out and frost bitten fingers and feet when she was located early this morning.

>> reporter: further west, christmas mudslide. four families evacuated when water started coming through the walls destroying this home. meanwhile, at the airport flyers happy with holiday rates and less traffic hoping to get 30,000 feet above any problems below. >> i'm not worried about the storms because i'm going to go around them. >> reporter: parts of the country forced to deal with winter's wrath where the weather outside is frightful. steve patterson, nbc news. >> rough out there, indeed. today russia has declared a national day of mourning for the 92 victims all believed to have been killed in a plane crash on christmas day. the military jet was en route to syria when it went down in the black sea. this morning russian's transport minister is saying pilot error or technical fault is likely the cause of the crash. lucy cavanaugh has the details. >> reporter: the news sinking in at first light. a christmas day tragedy. the russians scrambling divers

and drones to scour the black sea but there were no divers. instead, recovering bodies and debris discovered less than a mile from the coast, pieces from the puzzle which may help explain why the russian military plane crashed kill all 92 people on board. departing from sochi the plane was bound for russia's base in syria. minutes after taking off it disappeared from radar plunging from the sea in near perfect weather. some of russia's best performers lost their lives. 64 members of the world famous alexandrof ensemble. they were supposed to entertain troops in syria. instead, there are funerals to plan. this young couple, dancers in the choir, were reportedly due to marry soon. nine russian journalists also among the victims. >> translator: our whole family came here to mourn, says this woman. may god grant peace on their

souls. >> reporter: a disaster that's left russia and the world done. lucy cavanaugh. this morning prime minister benjamin netanyahu is lashing out against the obama administration accusing the president of a, quote, shameful ambush at the u.n. over west bank settlements. and with just 25 days left in the obama presidency netanyahu is looking past the obama presidency saying he is looking forward to working with his friend, trump. kelly o'donnell reports. >> reporter: at a cabinet meeting prime minister benjamin netanyahu made a startling allegation that the u.s. secretly led the united nations council to admonish israel. >> as i told john kerry, friends don't take friends to the security council. >> reporter: friday they declined to block the u.s. with a veto. we have know doubt that the

obama administration initiated it, stood behind it, coordinated on the wording and demanded that it be passed. netanyahu vented his frustration to ambassadors from security council nations calling them in on christmas day and sent a very loud signal looking past the obama presidency. >> prime minister netanyahu is looking forward to working with president-elect trump in our quest for peace in order to further strengthen the relationship between israel and the united states. >> reporter: israel warned the obama white house it would seek help from trump and tweeted his support for israel claiming the big loss will make it harder to negotiate peace. trump's oath of office involvement is quite unusual. >> we haven't seen a situation like this where a president-elect is speaking out on all sorts of issues in a way that is almost drowning out the person who is still president. >> reporter: the uproar has

reached such a high level that top republican senator lindsey graham is now threatening to pull all funding for the united nations unless they repeal the resolution they just passed condemning israel's west bank settlement. now to the celebrations across the country and throughout the world this christmas. while vacationing in hawaii president obama and first lady michelle obama thanked the service members. nbc's brian moore looked at how the holiday was celebrated around the globe. >> reporter: pilgrims and tourists were around the world welcoming christmas in bethlehem, the biblical birth place of jesus. throughout the vatican, pope francis offered a prayer of peace. high above on the international space station, a similar view from the cool expedition 50. >> seeing the planet as a whole and it actually reinforces, i think, the fact that we should live as one people and strive

for peace. >> reporter: on the ground in iraq american troops did their best to enjoy a peaceful holiday away from home. >> kind of a struggle, you know, but i have a good support back home and, you know, it isn't too bad. we have pretty good family here. >> reporter: but some took time out to share the holiday spirit with those less fortunate at places like this shelter in indiana and this rescue mission in charlotte. >> sharing a meal like this makes the community feel what christmas is all about. >> reporter: 500 homeless people from the dallas area were given a gift they'll soon not forget. not just a meal but a room at the local hotel which teemed up with the soup kitchen. >> this is the greatest experience of my life. i would never in a million years feel like i was going to experience something like this. i've never felt so good in my life. i'm so grateful. >> reporter: spreading holiday

cheer on christmas 2016. brian moore, nbc news. >> love to see stories like that. just ahead, the royals celebrate christmas, but with one member noticeably absent. firks a powerful earthquake struck southern chile. no reports of any deaths there. a powerful typhoon hit the philippines leaving at least four dead with wild winds destroying homes and leaving tens of thousands of villagers displaced. back at home nbc meteorologist bonnie schneider has the weather. if you're in the northern plains dealing with a blizzard. rough go of it for this morning in bismarck and rapid city. parts were shut down due to 60 mile per hour winds. light freezing rain with ice accumulating in parts of the northeast and into pennsylvania. we'll be watching out for light snow accumulating into northern new england. mild temperatures across the

south. that's a look at the big weather story of the day. now here's a closer look at the day ahead. temperatures very cold behind the blizzard in the 20s across the northern plains. in the 30s in chicago. milder though as you head further east in charleston, west virginia. 68 degrees. nice and warm there. the cold air though is pushing east. so, betty, we're dealing with light freezing rain in the northeast. eventually we'll get colder temperatures in new york. >> feeling like winter for sure. thank you, bonnie. just ahead, the uber driving turning match maker. see how he's bringing couples together one ride at a time. you're watching early today. be there for america's toughest and help, when help is needed america's #1 isn't a status earned overnight.

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to be just too much for the royals. princess char shot adorably deciding to use hers. queen elizabeth missed church for the first time in 30 years. she sent a video urging people to focus on small acts of kindness. actress krfcarrie fisher is stable condition after suffering a heart attack. carrie is best known for her roles in the "star wars" films was in, quote, stable condition. if there is a change, we will share it. for all her fans and friends, i thank you. while children left their gifts at home in a mass evacuations. one of germany's cities worked to diffuse a world war ii bombs. it was found last week in the

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welcome barks, everybody. now to a warning about wi-fi. while so many families are traveling, vacationing or just out shopping, high tech thieves are looking to gain access to your private information in very public places. we'll explain. >> reporter: at the mall, on the beach, and at the airport. free wi-fi networks and charging sources are everywhere. we're showed how hackers do it. he set up an unauthorized unsecure network and called it airport wi-fi. within minutes 15 travelers around us logged on not realizing it was an unofficial insecure connection. >> we have a hot spot here. you're punching in to view things. >> reporter: seems all very innocent. now it says i've been hacked. >> just like that your data is

gone and those helpful charging stations are also prime targets. it's called juice jacking. when you plug your phone into a usb port, a prompt comes up asking if you trust the connection. so many just say yes but beware. >> unbeknownst to you, this usb port is actually connected to a system where a cyber criminal is looking at your digital life. >> i realized somebody was trying to enter my computer. >> reporter: jerome phillips was hacked at the st. louis airport. >> you don't know what the bank's response is going to be. your mind races. >> reporter: so how can you protect yourself? experts say don't charge in a usb port. use a plug. be wa of pop-up prompts. >> less is more. slow down. be more cautious. >> reporter: and dare to be disconnected putting your phone down keeping your defenses up. nbc news, los angeles. that is really eye opening

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"usa today" just announced kate mckinnon as entertainer of the year. it's been a banner year for mckinnon. she won a primetime emmy for her outstanding work on snl. she made a big splash on the screen starring in "ghost busters" and "christmas party." duane the rock was a big winner. both of those films will be fantastic. sterling k. brown is "usa today's" tv person of the year. nominated for a sag award for his work on nbc's "this is us" and for his portray alf christopher darden. and all hail the queen b. they named beyonce musician of the year. of course they did. is is there anything this woman can't do. >> she and her husband have been on the list of wealth for years.

very merry christmas for 3-year-old michael brown. his story continues to captivate the nation. he celebrated his christmas with his new forever family. he was basking in the love. it was a photograph that was tweeted out by his sister last week that introduced the world to brown and his family after 832 days in foster care. he was adopted by his foster family. his reaction to the news created a viral sensation online with more than 100,000 people falling in love with him. and how could you not? i mean, look at that face. >> pure joy. >> it's fantastic, too, at that he has this forever family. up next, finding mr. right in an uber? the new way some folks are giving their dating lives a jump start. you're watching "early today." per roll

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when they thought they should westart saving for retirement.le then we asked some older people when they actually did start saving. this gap between when we should start saving and when we actually do is one of the reasons why too many of us aren't prepared for retirement. just start as early as you can. it's going to pay off in the future. if we all start saving a little more today,

we'll all be better prepared tomorrow. prudential. bring your challenges. right now on "nbc 10 news today" a busy travel day ahead. a live look at philadelphia international airport. on and off rain is expected today, and airport officials are already suggesting you budget extra travel time. the holidays continue today with the start of kwanzaa. the week long celebration highlights african heritage and african culture. ♪ ♪ the sounds of an unforgettable talent this morning. the music world is mourning the loss of george michael. "nbc 10 news" starts now. good morning, this is "nbc 10 news today" i'm pamela osborne. >> and i'm katy zachry. just a few minutes before 4:30 on your monday after christmas.

let's get right to meteorologist krystal klei. >> it was the perfect forecast for christmas. if you like to get outside. today we're going to see fairly nice conditions. temperatures average. cold out there this morning. a lot of us in the 30s and as we move farther northwest and the 20s in some spots. alan town 26. reading at 28 degrees. checking in the lowest at 24 right now. still freezing areas like mount holly and trenton. we see warmer numbers as we track farther south. chicago pulling in warmer air from the south. we'll start seeing the numbers boost. we'll continue warming through the day and even into tonight. mount pocono are still quite chilly at 23 degrees. it's this area that we have very isolated potential of little wintry mix. even freezing rain later on this morning. doesn't look likely though.

way out to our west tracking some very spotty light rain that's starting to pick up. that's just barely beginning to move into pennsylvania. some of that may be able to clip that northern end of our viewing zone. some moisture may pop up from that system. tracking now take a closer look. we'll talk hour by hour temperatures for your monday. if you have to get back to work, those details will come up. >> starting out in center city, looking at the vine street expressway. 8th street, very light traffic. the rest of the majors look well. schuylkill, problem free. 95 problem free. looking pretty good. dark right now certainly because the cameras are problem free. majors in new jersey, 295, the new jersey turnpike as well as the 42 freeway, we are problem free. everything good to go in the free. when i look at the majors when we come back. >> francesca, thanks for the update. it will be a bus