autogr his leg. a winter wallop packing plenty of punch for travelers, and just about anyone on the road with record snowfall already hitting many areas. told us like you should do this if you can do it, and do it before the end of the year. >> it can't hurt to do it, as long as you have the cash and don't need it. president trump's new tax law has homeowners with high property taxes scrambling to save cash. but for those with money to burn, expect another $69 billion spent shopping this week, along with returns and using those gift cards. medicinal plant chemistry with a focus on marijuana use. college students studying the benefits and profits associated with legal pot. and the best of late night for 2017. "early today" starts right now.

>> good morning. i'm phillip mena. >> and i'm richard lui in for frances rivera. bitter cold air is sweeping across the country, bringing with it dangerously low temperatures. this has some areas continue digging out from record snowfall over the christmas break. erie, pennsylvania still with up to 63 inches of snow since sunday. that's more than five feet, leading local officials to declare a state of emergency. so bad is it even this snowplow needed a helping hand. nbc's ron allen has more from erie. >> reporter: it's one for the history books. a record-breaking snowstorm in erie, pennsylvania, now declared a disaster emergency. >> i wouldn't even go out in this stuff. >> reporter: nearly 57 inches in two days. conditions so hazardous, the airport is still closed. >> i've been surviving on vending machine food. >> reporter: deirdra walsh has been stuck there. >> they keep cancelling the flights. and now everything is overbooked. so i can't get home. >> reporter: and the snow is piling up on the roads too, burying cars, even big trucks

having trouble getting through. >> i'm sitting here in the passenger seat. we've been driving for a couple of hours from buffalo. the closer we get to erie, the worse conditions get. >> reporter: from buffalo to maine and kansas city, missouri, the snow is creating headaches for anyone trying to travel. icy roads a disaster for drivers. more than 40 accidents there. four dead in a crash in abilene, kansas. slick roads there may be to blame. in massachusetts, workers scrambling to plow snow off the runways and de-ice planes at logan airport. conditions so bad this jetblue plane skidded off the taxiway after landing in boston. no wonder. here's what christmas day looked like and sounded like there. and if you listen closely, they also got some rare thundersnow. [ thundering ] no snow, but bitter cold in the windy city. >> it is freezing. we were a little shocked. >> reporter: temperatures so low that you can see steam over the chicago river. same on lake superior, and that is what drives these lake-effect

snow storms. they happen when cold air passes over the warmer lake waters. that water evaporates and cools as it blows away, dumping snow nearby. deadly cold elsewhere in the midwest and the plain states. windchill advisories in effect for more than 47 million. hardest hit with below zero real feel temps, park rapids, minnesota. jamestown, north dakota. woodruff, wisconsin. here in erie, pennsylvania, we've got a relatively balmy 14 degrees. as you can see, it's still snowing. authorities are urging everyone to stay off the roads so the plows can do their job. it was quite an ordeal to get here. the city is pretty much paralyzed. here at the airport, now shut down since christmas eve, they're hoping to get things moving some time tomorrow afternoon. but at the same time, forecasters are saying there could be another foot of snow on the ground by then. richard? richard? >> ron, thank you so much for that. >> let's bring in meteorologist bonnie schneider on what's ahead.

bonnie, ron just said there is not much relief in sight for that area. >> no, unfortunately, phillip and richard, we're looking at more lake-effect snow. it's happening right now in buffalo. i am expecting it to continue today. this should be the last day of the heavy snow as the winds will eventually shift and change direction. but totally, at least four feet. we already had that in buffalo. we're also watching of course the bitter cold. look at chicago's high today. 11 degrees. you saw how cold it is from that story. right now it's 2 degrees in chicago. the snow showers will persist as we go through a good portion of the weekend. and we'll be watching for that as well, with bitter cold sticking around straight through the end of the year. richard? >> all right, thank you so much, bonnie. now that the tax bill is law, many americans are taking action and taking their panic and confusion along with them with homeowners flocking to prepare their 2018 property tax, hoping for a small benefit before the new law goes into effect. and they're not the only ones. still adjusting to the new tax landscape. nbc's edward lawrence has it all for news washington. edward, how is this all working

out? and good morning to you. >> good morning, richard. first of all we're seeing the promoter in chief donald trump. he is taking to twitter to try to promote his new tax bill. he says on twitter actually that this year will be a great year for companies and jobs because of that tax cut bill. now that may be true, but economists say that they are seeing -- or less than half of americans actually own stocks. so we would need to see that investment in jobs from companies. many tax preparation experts usually spend december with family and relaxing. however, this year they're saying people are flocking to try to prepay the property taxes in high tax states. that's because next year it will be capped at $10,000. also, we're seeing a number of folks trying to defer payments of income until next year to try and take advantage of the lower tax percentage rates. as far as deductions, many deductions are actually being removed from the tax code next year. that's for tax preparations, for unreimbursed employee expenses.

also for job hunting expenses. finally charities. charitable donations may see a hit next year. that's because the deduction for charities is closing in many cases. so tax preparers say you might want to spend a little extra money or items in that donation this year to try to take advantage of that tax cut. back to you, richard. >> just a couple of things there, edward. thank you. this mourning the president wakes up at his mar-a-lago resort in florida, marking the 112th day at a trump property as president. and with his time there continuing past the christmas holiday, the work of the nation continues. this time as north korea initiates a fiery war of words as the president's own treasury department amps up the pressure on pyongyang. and while a new and unusual proposal from vladimir putin aims to reduce the tensions between the two countries. nbc's hallie jackson has more for us. hallie, good morning. >> in the drama with north korea, a new twist. this one produced by putin. moscow is now offering to insert itself into potential talks between the u.s. and the rogue

regime. quote, russia is ready if both sides need it and want it, said the spokesman for the russian president. >> russia does not carry a lot of weight in this realm. but it would be to his advantage, particularly with a presidential election coming up, to be seen as an international statesman. >> reporter: vladimir putin, whose campaigning for an election he seems sure to win with one of his rivals blocked from run big the government, has been pushing for talks soon. a message his foreign minister reiterated to secretary of state rex tillerson. >> the situation should be resolved through diplomatic means. >> reporter: but what are the chances that will actually happen? after all, just this weekend, north korea called new u.n. sanction against it an act of war, and the u.s. slapped its own sanctions on two leaders of pyongyang's ballistic mill program. even so, a new south korean report predicts the north will push for diplomatic discussions in 2018. potentially eyeing an olympic-sized opening in

february if north korea backs off its tough talk and more importantly, its missile test while the world watches the winter games, that could mean movement. but maybe not much. >> if we were to get to negotiation, i suspect the first talks would be talks about talks. >> reporter: and through it all, president trump of course is still here in south florida where he is spending his working holiday tweeting he is getting back to work now that christmas is over. he has another pretty quiet day scheduled today. and yesterday spent part of his time on his golf course with two professional golfers and georgia senator david perdue. phillip, back to you. >> all right, hallie, thank you. wald disney world has made a change at some of its resorts in the orlando area. do not disturb signs have been replaced by room occupied signs at the grand floridian, polynesian and contemporary reports. the issue here is safety. with the room occupied signs, workers will now be able to enter rooms at least once a day to check on the safety and security of guests. the change follows the deadly

mass shooting from a room at the mandalay bay hotel in lave three months ago. let's check back with meteorologist bonnie schneider. >> we are definitely looking at the cold. temperatures are going to be dropping well below zero in so many locations. 47 million people under some sort of windchill advisory or warning. this polar arctic air is dropping temperatures, 20, 30 degrees below normal. and the wind with the temperature at negative 2 in chicago, it feels like it's negative 18. it's also quite cold as you look towards washington, feeling like it is below zero. so temperatures are going to stay cold through tomorrow morning, through the rest of the week and the rest of the year. not looking at much of an improvement. also watching more lake-effect snow after a record for buffalo. more snow is and let the holiday shopping

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close, usa today has released its list of the top ten movies of 2017 that it says stuck in the soul. in first place, "a ghost story" followed by three billboards outside evan, missouri. number three was get out. blade runner 49. and 25 is the lego batman movement "i, ton-tonia" followed by "mudbound," "wind river" and "spider-man: homecoming." >> i only saw two of the movies, "i tonya" and "get out". >> get out was the interesting one because of how many different layers it had to the story line. >> you can't really define what it was. was it a dark comedy or a horror movie? the maker said it was a documentary. full disclosure, it's an nbcuniversal film as well. while many of us return to workout, others hit the stores for more shopping. the national retail federation reporting three out of four shoppers checked return policies before purchasing an item. and then nearly two-thirds of

holiday shoppers returned at least one gift. nbc's catie beck has been following it all for us. >> reporter: after christmas, a return to the mall to make returns. >> i usually don't go out the day after christmas. >> reporter: with more than half of americans receiving at least one unwanted gift -- >> i guess i'm in the 50%. >> reporter: malls are still packed. in fact, an estimated 13% of all purchases will end up become on store shelves. >> i'm afraid if i come later, it will be much worse. >> reporter: overall this season was a win for retailers, with unemployment down and consumer confidence up. holiday sales hit their best pace since 2011. up nearly 5% this season. people returning are doing it right, according to the experts, who say the sooner you take it back, the better. many big box retail verse a limited window on returns. amazon allows them until january 31st. best buy, january 14th. apple only until january 8th. if you don't know where a gift came from, some experts suggest using apps to scan the item's

bar code, or trying to resell on sites like ebay. consumers are expected to spend another $69 billion this week. many hunting for year-end bargains. which is why returns aren't just important for consumers, but for retailers themselves. >> the goal is to capture that traffic in the store and get that customer while they're returning to make an additional purchase. >> reporter: if you do find yourself back in stores or perusing online -- >> i'm trying to be a more savvy shopper. >> reporter: this week and next are the best to buy clothing, electronics, and cars. though if you're in the market for a tv, some experts suggest waiting until january or the weekend before the super bowl. any way you shop, a holiday season with more buying will mean more returning. >> catie beck, thank you. just ahead, why the mega millions and powerball jackpots could make a very few a happy

new year. why more universities are adding a major in marijuana that could lead to a budding future. that's next. >> hello. >> you're watching "early today." i have cancer. and you also have st. jude. discoveries at st. jude have helped to increase the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20%...to 80%. and we freely share our research everywhere. you want one? si, thank you for freely sharing... and thank you for giving. visit stjude.org or shop where you see the st. jude logo. a shift without a disaster. to get through my bargain detergent couldn't keep up. it was mostly water. so, i switched to tide pods. they're super concentrated, so i get a better clean. i mean, i give away water for free. i'm not about to pay for it in my detergent. #1 trusted. #1 awarded

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k-y yours and mine. two sensations that work together, so you can play together. sorry, or maybe it's a good thing. this morning there is no winner in the mega millions jackpot. and it could make for a very good new year if you're lucky. with the mega millions rolling to an estimated $306 million for the next drawing on friday. it comes after not a single person was able to walk away with a winning ticket in

saturday's powerball, which is now an estimated 337 million smackers in the jackpot. and the two drawings are inching closer to that $1 billion mark. right now the mega millions and powerball have a combined jackpot of more than $600 million. get going, my friend. >> might be able to buy a couple of bitcoins with that, i think. california is bracing for recreational marijuana in 2018. yep, pot is about to become legal in the state on new year's day. with the growing acceptance of the substance as both medical and a recreational drug, a lot of college students are preparing for a career in cannabis. nbc's kevin tibbles tells us about the students majoring in marijuana. >> hopefully ammonium sulfate is flowing out. >> reporter: many zeros in on a major that until recently was against the law. >> there absolutely has been a stigma to this topic. >> reporter: chemistry professor brandon canfield is talking about marijuana. >> looking at the efficiency -- >> reporter: students from 38 states and around the world are eager to study medicinal plant chemistry at the university of

northern michigan. >> wait until i get to college, man. i can't wait to get to college. >> reporter: but slackers beware. >> those people who think they're going to grow dope in their room, they're perhaps look at the wrong school? >> i think that's very true, yes. >> reporter: legal issues prevent students from handling weed. but they will stoke up on everything from gas and liquid chromatography, atomic spectrometer and chemistry 420. that's code for cannabis. get it? student josie mulholland wants to discover future uses for the once evil weed. >> a lot of my friends, or my friends' parents use marijuana recreationally. it's something that is becoming acceptable. >> reporter: medical marijuana is legal in 29 states and growing. eight of those allow recreational use. sophomore alex roth wants to become an entrepreneur in this budding industry. >> there is a whole lot of discovery that is still ahead for you in this field.

>> we haven't done the proper research to really know its benefits and the negative sides of marijuana. >> reporter: the times, they are a-changing. but dude, you still have to do your homework. kevin tibbles, nbc news, marquette, michigan. well, there is no sign of a break in the frigid temperatures pushing eastward. the forecast next. ravings and lose weight with contrave. it's fda-approved to help adults who are overweight or struggle with obesity lose weight and keep it off. contrave is believed to work on two areas of the brain: your hunger center... i'm so hungry. (avo) and your reward system... ice cream. french fries. (avo) to help control cravings. one ingredient in contrave may increase suicidal thoughts or actions in some children, teens, and young adults in the first few months. serious side effects are mood changes like depression and mania, seizures, increased blood pressure or heart rate, liver damage, glaucoma, allergic reactions, and hypoglycemia. not for patients with uncontrolled blood pressure, seizure history, anorexia, bulimia, drug or alcohol

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spreading further to the east. we have 47 million people under some sort of windchill advisory or warning. the temperatures are just going to plummet from today straight through the end of the year. you can see in the morning currently it is now negative 2 in chicago. but it feels like it's negative 19. it's also feeling cold in louisville, kentucky, like one mere degree. pretty much most of the country is feeling the big chill. this will working eastward for the next few days and into the weekend. you can see the temperatures going straight down. richard? >> all right. thanks a lot, bonnie. straight ahead, late night hosts had a banner year with plenty of material to play with. coming up, we'll show you the best moments of 2017. you want the watch, that next. >> voters in bellingham never elect someone whose had relations with a minor. >> you sure about that? >> no. achoo!

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flames and a freeze. fire rips through an apartment complex leaving neighbors trying to pick up the pieces. bitter blast. temperatures are plummeting. how long will it last, and what can you do to protect your home? a spinning sight. there's a new way to see the jersey shore from high up in the sky. that experience looks fantastic. coming up on 4:00. good morning, this is "nbc10 news today" first look at 4. i'm tracy davidson. >> i'm dray clark. we're expecting a big winter blast here in the region, but nothing like this. a record snowfall in erie. the city got more than five feet of snow over the past few days. by the time the sunrises,

forecasters expect another four to eight inches to be on the ground. as pretty as this may look to some, erie county leaders have signed a disaster declaration. it's just that bad. plus, pennsylvania national guard units have been called to active duty to help the community m community. >> i'm used to snow, born and raised here. not this much in one day. 30 hours, 53 inches. they say the storm isn't over until tomorrow afternoon. >> all i could do was laugh. it's little ridiculous. >> check out this photo someone posted on social media of themselves covered in chest-deep snow in an unplowed parking lot. unbelievable. the caption read says, you guessed it, "no parking." right to meteorologist steve sosna with the most accurate neighborhood weather forecast. you look at that picture and go, wow, that's a lot of snow. >> yeah.

four or five inches for us is a decent storm. they were getting four to five inches per hour. you add that up over the number of hours, and they got epic snow totals. nothing like that here, although we may have flurries across south jersey and delaware. the feels-like temperature is the big story. you have to dress for temperatures in the teens. 13 in philadelphia is what it feels like. nbc10 pottstown. 9 in reading. 19 in wildwood. the actual air temperatures are in the mid 20s. that's because we have a good deal of clouds acting as a blanket. clouds may produce a few snowflakes across northern delaware and south jersey this morning. not a big storm system. remember, the ground is very cold. so anything that does fall would stick. i'll keep an eye on that. so far, all the observations are cloudy. if that changes, i'll let you know, temperatures in the mid to upper 20s. again, dress for the breeze. the breeze will be numbing, biting, and cold all day long. i am tracking the coldest air of the season