>> help me, ob1 kenobi. >> those were some of the first words spoken by carrie fisher. a chaotic scene in new york's tower over an evacuation over a suspicious package. time's square gets ready for its new year's eve close-up. parents up in arms after some high demand toys turn into christmas duds. why some christmas fans are going out of their way to protect betty white? "early today" starts right now.

good morning, i'm todd piro. we begin with the passing of a hollywood icon. carrie fisher for her portrayal of the plucky princess lea in the george lukas movies died at the age of 60. she had recently finished filming her role in the next episode of the "star wars 2s". >> reporter: in "star wars," carrie fisher was the determined royal who come hell or high water was going to save her people from the evil darth vader. >> what are you doing? >> "star wars" is not just a film franchise. it is perhaps "the" film franchise. she was the dominant force of those first few movies. >> you think you are leaving without a good-bye kiss? >> reporter: word came she suffered a heart attack, it

stunned the world. then news of her death. on twitter, "star wars" co-star mark hamill said no word, #devastating. harrison ford said k she lived her life bravely, we will miss her. her mother said we will embrace the gifts . she was unafraid of sharing her

prevails and triumphs. >> i make very difficult situations in my life funny as quickly as possible. >> reporter: fisher appeared in a number of tv shows from "sex in the city" to "the big ben theory" and had memorable roles in "when harry met sally." >> you are right. you are right. i know you are right. >> reporter: as john bellucci's girlfriend. she was the script doctor for a number of films and returned to the "star wars" filming. made famous for playing a princess. it will be the person, not the part, remembered best. >> may the force be with you. >> reporter: harry smith, nbc news, new york. >> carrie fisher dead at the age of 60. it was a frightening and chaotic scene in new york's trump tower after a security

scare led to a massive evacuation sending tourist, employees and the media scrambling for the exits. a suspicious and unintended bag led to the panic. however, the nypd says that bag was filled with children's toys. with just 23 days until january 20th, the chaotic moment that played out at this fifth avenue headquarters underscores the president-elect's inauguration. clashes and protests could put pressure on an already stretched security apparatus. meantime, the president-elect is using his holiday to celebrate and take credit, tweet, thanks, donald, when it was reported that the consumer confidence index hit a 15-year high. >> that came after trump escalated his word of wars with president obama on which man would have won in 2016, tweeting, president obama campaigned hard and personally in the very important swing

states and lost t. voters wanted to make america great again. israel now says it has iron clad information from arab sources that the u.n. crafted the anti-settlement resolution, despite white house officials pointing to i egypt. a number of officials say the u.s. should veto the resolution and the second in command for the diplomacy congressman hoyer. secretary of state john kerry is expected to speak today giving a mid-east speech rebutting the claims the u.s. played a role in the city council's vote a. senior official says kerry will speak candidly on the issue and continue his call for a two-state solution. 25 years after the u.s. led into world war ii, the united states and japan made history, visiting the sunken uss

memorial, laying wreaths and remarking on the anguish experience in hawaii. shinzo abe was the if irs to visit the place that will live in infamy. we have more on the historic commemoration. >> reporter: a silent moment, unimaginable 75 years ago t. prime minister of japan paying his respects after pearl harbor on the uss arizona memorial. above where hundreds of sailors and marines are entombed below. >> for us, it was a place which brought utter silence to me. >> reporter: japanese prime minister shinzo abe visiting the battlefield where over 24 hour 00 americans died. the first japanese leader to visit the memorial, abe stopping short of making an apology. >> i offer my sincere and ever

lasting condolences. >> it is here that we remember even when hatred burns hottest, even when the tug of tribalism is at its most primal, we must resist the urge to turn inwabds. >> reporter: al rod ghiz was stationed at pearl harbor when the planes started falling. >> you could see the plans above, circleing the bottom. we few it was the enemy was japanese. >> reporter: he thinks it's time for a visit like this, even as his own emotions are very raw. >> i get very emotional. >> reporter: invited to be a part of the ceremony, he never thought he'd see a time when these leaders would step on the battlefield where so much blood is shed. earlier this year, obama became the first sitting president to visit hiroshima. selling a partnership between two countries that were once enemies and now allies.

>> now an update on that massive sink hole that's forced the evacuation of 22 homes in detroit. authorities in fraser, michigan, say the sink hole is still growing him approaching the size of a football feel. officials say three houses have been destroyed, water and power are shut off t. city's mayor declared a state of emergency. authorities believe it formed after an 11-foot wide sewer pipe burst 55 feet below ground. just ahead, repercussion for packing in china. plus a young sports fan gets the surprise of his life before undergoing heart surgery. first, new england is bracing for a nor'easter. >> that first big snow of the season will come on thursday, before that, we're looking at lake effect snow happening into upstate new york. accumulations will be light.

but for the next snowstorm, maine will get hit hard. we could see a foot of snow tomorrow into tomorrow night. that's a look at the big weather story of the day. now, here's a closer look at the day ahead. temperatures are cold up into michigan. numbers in the 30s. it's cold in maine, cold enough for the snow tomorrow. by contrast, look how mild in the south. highs in the 70s and '80s in florida. florida well above normal. mild temperatures in the south, i don't think it will last too much longer. forbes, who is on the list and what do 90% of them have in common? we will reveal that and more. you are watching "early today." per roll more "doing chores for dad" per roll

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that cough doesn't sound so good. well i think you sound great. move over. easy booger man. take mucinex dm. it'll take care of your cough. fine! i'll text you in 4 hours when your cough returns. one pill lasts 12 hours, so... looks like i'm good all night! ah! david, please, listen. still not coughing. not fair you guys! waffles are my favorite! ah! some cough medicines only last 4 hours. but just one mucinex lasts 12 hours. start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this. >> we are days away from celebrating the start of a new year, workers are putting the finishing touches on the iconic

crystal ball like in new york city. the waterford ball features 2500 crystals ill lum natd with led bulbs. it set off the countdown to 2017 will be flipped by united nations secretary general. officials tell the "post" the retaliation is expected to include economic sanctions as well as covert zyban cyber operations. meanwhile, john mccain said there was no doubt the russians were hacking, but he remains skeptical that their interference changed the outcome of the election. mccain and senator lindsay graham are in the baltic states right now to reassure them of the u.s. commitment to tear defense. in a wake-up call, u.s.

prosecutors indicted three chinese citizens, prosecutors allege they earned more than $4 million in illegal profits from the alleged scheme, prosecutors say relied on stealing private information from law firms out of financial plans. one of the traders was arrested in hong kong, prosecutors did not disclose the whereabouts of the other two men. and then there is this heart warming story as panthers quarterback cam newton met with a young fan after hearing of his heart condition. watch as ten-year-old austin got to see and hug his hero in the flesh after his teacher asked for prayers along social media, along that her post get so widely shared it gets newton to austin's bedside. it looks like she was able to get her wish. the nfl quarterback said he must have been called over 100 times over the boy and just had to pay him a visit.

ahead, police look to amazon echo to help solve a murder case. plus, why one boss has taken 600 ploy 82 es to the warm waters of the caribbean. you are watching "early today." when a cold calls... achoo! ...answer it. with zicam cold remedy. it shortens colds, so you get better, faster. colds are gonna call. answer them with zicam! zicam. get your better back. now in great tasting crystals. i'm about to pop a cap of "mmm fresh" in that washer with unstopables in-wash scent boosters by downy.

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in today's quick hits, if you received holiday gifts you didn't want, you are not alone. according to finder.com,

americans wait 9.5 billion on gifts every year, the most unwanted cloekt and accessories and cosmetics and boovenlths i love everything i love, mom. i know she's watching. this week, following a christmas blizzard in north dakota, the pre historic beast was out battling the cold in the city of bismark. and the hottest holiday toy may not be all it's cracked up to be. customers are complaining their kids' hatchimals will not hatch. they are urging parents to send their complaints via twitter. testing privacy on the amazon echo. police in arkansas demand a warrant that amazon gives them data hoping the home assistant alexa can provide clues inside a

home. >> reporter: alexa, what's the weather? >> currently -- >> reporter: amazon's aassistant echo, better known as alexa, was a best seller this christmas. now police hope she can help solve a real life whodunnit. but amazon is saying no to a warrant seeking electronic data in the form of audio recordings, transcribed records, text record from an echo inside a home where a murder maybe committed. >> when you buy these things, even if it's not on, it's on and it's listening. >> reporter: prosecutors say 32-year-old james bates murders his co-worker found in his hot tub. beets pled not guilty. he is scheduled to go to trial next year, his attorney says bates has nothing to hide but this is an issue of privacy. >> you should be able to do what you want in your home. >> that is free from the view of public, the view of police.

>> reporter: amazon tells nbc news, it will not release customer information without a valid and binding legal demand properly served on us. amazon rejects to overbrodie and otherwise appropriate demands as a matter of course t. prosecutor says this is about justice. >> we have established probable cause and obtained a warrant from this judge to search this device, the same way we search a person's cell phone the home. >> reporter: ignite did he go bait over privacy inside the home and what is we heard there can be used against you. miguel almaguer, nbc news, san francisco. coming up, why the internet is begging 2016 to leave betty white alone. we'll tell you why next.

>> forbes magazine is out with its list of the top grossing actors of 2016. the magazine came up with its rankings based upon total box office totals. number one, movies starring her earned $1.2 billion in 2016. she edged out robert downey jr. junior and chris evans, they trooid tied for 2nd place, $1.2 billion. >> it's nice to see a woman leading the pack. she's not the only one. >> i love the scarjo. when it comes to tv shows, "game

of thrones" has another description the most pirated show on tv. the hbo hit is being watched by millions of people who are not hbo subscribers, this as they step up their efforts to block "game of thrones'" thieves from watching the show. betty white is a trending topic on twitter. thousands of her fans tweeting this plea to 2016 the year, itself. leave betty white alone. the fans say they want to protect her and keep her safe from what is turning out to be a particularly painful year in celebrity deaths. one fant went so far as to start a go fund me page to protect betty white. it's humor in what has been a good year. >> i wonder what betty thinks. >> she will have fun with it. a boss with the heart of

gold, bimp cabinets in waterloo is taking his staff for a job well done. for meeting the company's goals this year. 600 employees took them up on the offer. four planes will be chartered to take them to miami, where they will board a cruiseship for a week in paradise. here's what the owner will say. >> we are proud for the success we've had, we've had a lot of good years, since the great recession, we've had pretty tough years and everybody pulled together. >> you got to love this story. >> very generous. very nice. >> just ahead, carrie fisher and the legacy of princess lea. how that role inspired generations of young girls throughout the years.

right now on nbc 10 news today. violence in a philadelphia bar. one person stabbed, two other hurt after a fight broke out. dig for new clues, police, firefighters and crime scene k-9s spend time in a house where a woman who hasn't been seen in years once lived. ♪ and one last dry run. the fancy bra kads are running ahead of their routines. wednesday morning, about 4:30. this is nbc 10 news today. >> i'm tracy davidson. >> and i'm rosemary connors. let's get the forecast from

meteorologist krystal klei. >> this is different from yesterday. instead back to the 30s and 40s. most of us are above freezing right now. 41 in philadelphia, 39, the suburbs as well as new jersey. lehigh valley locking good at 36. the live cameras not showing us too much because it's still dark out there. we're seeing the clouds pop back up across the region after he cleared out yesterday afternoon. temperatures have cooled down. her's a look at your radar and satellite. those are the clouds moving back in. there are not going to be thick dense clouds, not producing rain today but we'll see a mix of clouds and sun this afternoon. so we're looking at clouds, looking at lighter winds, not like what we saw yesterday. winds are only at 5 to 10 miles an hour, dover at 9 miles an our, coatesville 6, philadelphia

5-mile-per-hour winds. but those dikick up in the dayso come. right now we'll talk traffic with jessica boyington we're starting off this morning on the vine street expressway through stercenter c. you can see the flashing lights up ahead. we're closed for construction this morning, westbound and eastbound in between broad street and the screwing l expressway. we're losing all lanes right now. also watch for a disabled vehicle in dublin. the water main break, we've been talking about this since last week. it's under control but we only have the left lane getting by on columbus boulevard. back to you guys. now to breaking news we're following for you this morning. two philadelphia firefighters are hurt battling a house fire. >> matt delucia is live in