>> we will be safe new year's eve, because we will be there with our partners. >> new york and cities around the nation prepare to ring in the new year. get ready for a cold war retaliation from vladimir pun's russia in response to president obama's stand against the kremlin hacking. new details on what is expected to be a dual funeral memory service for debbie reynolds and carrie fisher. a nasty nor'easter. the bald eagle hatch watch. and meet freddie, the new record holder for tallest dog on the planet. "early today" starts right now.

well, good morningtial everybody. thanks for joining us today. i'm betty lynn. we want to begin with president obama's unprecedented cyberattack against the united states. the u.s. is striking back against russia for a hack, which the intelligence community says was met in part to influence the administration. they impose new sanctions. it takes more than 30 top russian officials out of the country, closes two russian government compounds and more. but congressional leaders, including john mccain and lindsey graham say it's not enough t. the question is, will a republican reverse the decision? >> just as i told russia to stop it -- >> reporter: president obama made good on that retaliation. officials in vladimir putin's inner circle, not the russian president, himself, all but sippingled out by president obama. >> we told them to cut it out or there will be serious consequences. >> reporter: banning business

contacts with americans. russia also accused of harassing u.s. diplomats abod. espionage operations in america. >> we have seen verbal and physical harassm. we have seen them trying to revoke their credentials. >> reporter: 35 russian diplomats expelled. 72 hours to leave, closing two government compounds, rec centers used for spying shut down as of noon friday. president obama says all americans should be alarmed by russia's actions. >> the acts today will resign pretty clear, we will respond in a place of our choosing. >> reporter: two alleged cyber krims accused of stealing money from banks and personal data from e-commerce sites. the russians dismessed it allawi as dealing a blow to the incoming administration foreign policy plans him earlier,

politic trump rejected russia's interference in the elections. . while trump may have the power to reverse sanction, that may prove difficult with republicans and democrats calling for tough steps against russia. >> later, donald trump issued a statement saying he plans to meet with the intelligence community in the coming days to learn more facts from this situation. russia says the new sanction won't be left unanswered, strongly denying wrongdoing, calling the accusations absolutely baseless. here on the east coast, millions are in the crosshairs of the first nor'easter of the season. it is a winter storm gathering strongth, dropping a half a foot or more, causing accidents, bringing some drivers to an outright standstill on major highways across the northeast. thunder snow was reported in parts of connecticut, boston and maine and heavy snow swept through. the good news, it's all expected

to wrap up later today, allowing everyone to get out there and ring in the new year this weekend. so we'll have your complete forecast in a bit ahead. meantime, though, as new year's eve approach, security is tightening from coast-to-coast and around the world, in fact, after the terrorist attacks, including orlando, nice and most recently berlin, law enforcement is on high alert, make an unprecedented show of force here in new york. >> people will be safe this new year's eve because we're there along with our lawen forcem partners. >> reporter: in time's square, several thousand police and hundreds of heavily armed terrorist officers will hit the streets. in the wake of vehicle attacks oversea, the berlin christmas market earlier this month, killing a dozen over the summer, sapped trucks and other vehicles will be used to block off new york streets. in chicago, fences and concrete barricade went up amid concerns

about isis-inspired attack, boston is taking similar steps. in pasadena, california, home to the rose parade, law enforcem outlined their new strategy. >> we will be using series of police radio callers, staff with uniform officers, and deputies and water barriers to create a chicane of sorts. >> reporter: is law enforcement strategy a big show of forciate deterrence and instill confidence in everyone looking to celebrate. officials say there has been little so-called terrorism chatter. they are advising owners to look out for suspicious behavior. we have an update on funeral plans for actress carrie fisher and her mom, debbie reynolds. fans have found different ways to remember the stars. family members have begun the emotional way to honor the

women. no details has been set, e! news tess says fisher's son says, obviously, it's not finalized. i think that sounds like a grand idea given the beautiful story between them. their mother/daughter relationship was rocky at times captured in fisher's postcards from the edge. in later years ago they were quite close. in fact, they are starring towing in a documentary called bright light set to air in march. the bloody syrian civil war could finally be coming to an end. fighting stopped in many areas of the war torn country last night. they announced a cease-fire agreement f. the cease-fire holds, they plan to conduct peace talks in kazakhstan next month a. spokesman says 13 opposition factions have signed on to that agreement. critically this truth exclude certain extremist groups, including isis and the al qaeda affiliate al nuzra. from earth to space, the

royal sensation has taken the country by storm t. astronauts took the mannequin challenge to new heights. look at this a space agency astronaut tweeted this video of himself and five other crew members taking the challenge and putting that zero grav theity t awesome use. good luck trying to top that one. all right. at this very moment, thousands of people around the world are glued to their computer screens watching this. it is the live stream of two american bald eagles with the world eagerly awaiting the birth of their babies. you can see harriet and her mate taking turns guarding the nest. anticipating the arrival of two baby bald eagles at any moment t. eagle cam was launched back if 2012, since then the stream has had almost 66 million views. the two eggs there now arrived in late november and revealed

the first crack in an egg shell just hours ago. so stay in front of that webcam. just ahead, we will introduce you to the world's tallest doc. and super group run dnc says they are robbed. they are looking for $50 million on a pay day. we'll have details on that. first, nbc meteorologist bonnie schneider has your new year's weekend weather. a lot of pressure. >> we're getting plenty of lake effect snow in cleveland and pennsylvania and in new york. still look for more snow across maine, 20 inches already afforded at some locations. so this is a nor'easter that doesn't want to quite leave just yet. plus the lakesque is working across lake erie right now. that's a look at the big weather story of the day, now, here's a closer look at the day ahead. temperatures are frigid behind the strong storm.

31 in buffalo. 31 in pittsburgh. it's certainly milder in the southern plains, enjoy comfortedable conditions in dallas with a high temperature of 61 degrees. what a contrast, betty, we have those mild temperatures in the southern plains and rally cold, snowy conditions in new england. >> ready for him to warm up, though. just ahead, bank thieves go to extreme taking the cash and the atm, too much details next. you are watching "early today." un-stop right there!

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>> you can call him top dog. the tallest pooch in the world, he stands at almost eight feet tall and weighs more than 196 pounds. his owner says he was the runt of the litter. can you believe it? so she didn't think he would grow up to be this big.

he's a runt no more. leading the news this morning, a dramatic heist captured on camera as treefs take extreme measures to steal an atm. authorities released this under surveillance video in the hopes they will touch down the machine. they used a stolen forklift and it happened outside a credit unit in texas two days before christmas. also a few report from the washington post found the american flag was found at half-staff a total of 53 times this year. the flag is often ordered during periods of national mourning. on 23 occasions the year the flag marked moments of death and carnage from honoring victims from the orlando massacre to eulogizing the police officers in baton rouge and louisiana. in fact, 2016 saw police deaths rise to their highest level in five years. 64 officers were gunned down in the line of duty, 21 of those slain in ambushs. the other 30 days the flag was

flown at half-staff mark days of national remembrance, like pearl harbor and september 11th and honoring political figures, like justice antonin scalia and nancy reagan and john glenn, all of which passed away this year. president obama ordered the flag at half-staff more than any other president in history. under president obama, he was flown on 73 different occasion compared to 58 for george w. bush and 50 for bill: wepg, the wap group run dnc filed a lawsuit accusing am-on-jet of fringe mark infridgem. they are advertising, selling, manufacturing, promoting and distributing multiple products in run dmc's name without permission. they include glasses, hats, tee-shirt and other items. they dulaimi retailers have improperly profited, diluted and

harmed the run dmc brand. so far neither side commented on the lawsuit. a helicopter crashes in the mt. pleasant takens north of los angeles. -- a hock crashes in the mountains north of los angeles. nearby hikers reportedly assisted the passengers. two were transported with injuries. the faa is investigating the cause of that crash. coming up, how one person's fight forced a cross country flight to turn back around. we have that story next. the waterspout. down came the rain and clogged the gutter system creating a leak in the roof. luckily the spider recently had geico help him with homeowners insurance. water completely destroyed his swedish foam mattress. he got full replacement and now owns the sleep number bed. his sleep number setting is 25. call geico and see how much you

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fast forwarding today, a funeral will be held in beverly hills for actress zsa zsa gabor, the socialite died december 18th, less than two months shy of her 100th birthday. ufc power house rhonda rousey is back following her crushing first career defeat by holly holm. she will be facing off against ayman do nunez. the final curtain call against a new york institution t. named deli is serving its over sized pa pastrami today. locals are waiting for one last taste. >> we got up at 4:30 to get

here. >> reporter: 4:30? >> yes. >> i used to go to new york all the time the whole family this is it. >> reporter: you know what you will eat? >> pa pastrami and cheesecake. a midair out burst forced a cross country flight to turn around. part of the incident was caught on camera. as gabe gutierrez shows us, it's a part of a rise in air rage. >> reporter: it was a midair meltdown. a man lunging at another passenger. a woman cursing as police yanked both of them from a delta flight. >> why? for what? >> in my million miles of fly, i've never seen anything like it. it was horrible. >> reporter: he took this cell phone video says it all started when the woman tried to use the restroom during takeoff, when a flight attendant told her to sit down. shed and her partner started shouting. >> the captain came on, told the people in the back to listen to

the flight attendants. >> reporter: less than an hour into the flight the pilots turned around. >> 2565, we do have the authority to call. we should be at the gate when they get there. >> air rage takes fraph this flight in baltimore to charlotte t. pop star richard marx. there were 10,000 air rage, a 16% jump president the year before. >> i don't think that alcohol really is the cause of the increase in air rage t. real cause of air rage increase is the lack of personal space on aircraft. >> after this latest outburst the couple is charged with disorderly conduct. >> they were so unruly and out of control. >> after some turbulence, the flight finally arrived in l.a., two-and-a-half hours later. gabe gutierrez, nbc news. >> be careful in the not so friendly skies. just ahead, prince harry sends a sweet surprise to an

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lily cone pad, that's where you pucker up. the pressure of your kiss is sent to an app and then onto the recipient lucky enough to get your kiss. >> i don't know about that. is that romantic or what? >> are you replacing the real deal. forget about it. big news for tennis superstar serena williams. her man just put a ring on it. williams announced on thursday reddit co-founder is now her fiancee. williams first broke the news on where else, reddit, of course? since then, though, she has posted this take of the couple on instagram the two shared or started dating in october of 2015. congratulation to them. there's not many pictures out there of them two together like that. her personal stuff on social media. a big wedding ahead. okay, an alabama family received a very royal surprise from none other than britain's prince harry t. prince sent the family a christmas card.

look at this the card features kids of a u.s. army veteran, prince harry met the family at disney world this summer and posed for the picture. a picture he was more than willing to take. >> we just kind of tapped on his shoulder. we said, can we have a picture with you? he said, yeah, sure. >> i feel very honored that he chose our kids to be on his christmas card. >> i'm sure the kids will have a memory to last a lifetime. >> you this i? i would be posting that everywhere. how do you top that next year, ho? those parents got to really overdo themselves to top that. that's huge. >> it is. >> the fact that, you know, he would think about that and send it to the family a month after waefrds, that says a lot. that's great. just ahead, your new year's eve weather. pushups or jail? a unique challenge. per roll

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right now on nbc 10 news today -- charged with murder. police say they have the man who gunned down a beloved south philadelphia store owner over a gold chain. the cost of pennsylvania's pornographic e-mail investigation. the state has already paid a fraction of nearly a $2 million legal bill and lawmakers don't want to fork over more money to lawyers. the countdown is on as we look ahead to 2017. we'll take you live to penn's landing for a look at this year's fireworks extravaganza on the waterfront. nbc 10 news starts now. >> good morning. this is nbc 10 news today. i'm katie zachry, i'm rosemary connors. we are winding down 2016, getting ready for 2017, and looks like it's going to be ending on a chilly note. >> let's hope the weather

cooperates, right. >> meteorologist erica martin has the details in the first alert forecast. >> that's right. this is the last friday of 2016 and it's going to be a dry day. temperatures are going to be mild. just about average for this time of the year. a live look outside, not seeing much going on right now. we're seeing partly cloudy skies and that's pretty much going to be the story for today. don't forget to look the a the bottom of your screen for your local neighborhood forecast. in and around philadelphia for right now seeing mainly 30s, parkside currently at 32 degrees, fox chase warmer at 37. 33 for chestnut hill, west mt. airy 35 with andorra and at 34 degrees. out the door forecast for today, in and around philadelphia, seeing mainly 30s at 7:00 a.m., upper 30s at 11:00 a.m. and looks like the pa suburbs seeing a similar trend in the 30s. plenty of sunshine as a high pressure system pretty much dominates across the region. we will start to see clouds develop later tonight.

leahy valley expected temperature 7:00 a.m., lows 30s. delaware seeing low to mid 30s for the morning start. low 40s by 10:00 and 11:00 and jersey shore seeing 40s by 11:00 a.m. coming up in just a bit, i will talk about what to expect for this weekend new year's eve, of course, what's the forecast and your ten-day. francesca? >> thanks. we're starting out in center city. the vine street expressway at broad street. very empty, problem-free and i checked on 95 and the schuylkill we are problem-free on a majority of the majors. our roads in new jersey, right now the majors in new jersey, 295 the new jersey turnpike and 42 freeway northbound for the philadelphia area problem free and travel speeds in the 60s. katy, back to you. >> thanks. a man and a woman shot in philadelphia last night are in the hospital. nbc 10 at the scene along