making news in america this morning, white christmas. tens of millions waking up with snow coming down. dangerous conditions on the highways making it tough to get where you're going. >> if you don't have four-wheel drive, you're in trouble in the winter. >> your christmas day forecast coming up. president trump's first christmas in office. >> i'm saying merry christmas to wherever the [bleep] wants to hear it. >> bringing back what he calls a cherished and beautiful phrase. overseas nothing to celebrate in the philippines as residents start dealing with the aftermath of a deadly storm. intense rain causing land slides and a rising death toll in the hundreds. the new details straight ahead. and a health alert this morning. experts say we're heading into the peak of flu season and it's time to take precaution. >> the influenza virus can exist

in the air three to six feet from a person who is infected. >> the important advice to stay healthy coming up. and she's back. it's official. mariah carey returning to new year's eve. >> i'll just get through it, okay. >> one year after her disastrous times square performance. boy, we can't wait for that as we do say good morning. happy holidays. merry christmas. i'm kendis gibson. >> i'm erielle reshef. hopefully you've already arrived where you want to be this morning. >> in much of the country, poor driving conditions in many areas. in others, you may not even be able to get your car started because temperatures will be so

cold. abc's elizabeth hur with the story. >> reporter: mother nature delivering a white christmas for millions across the country, even mild cities like portland and seattle waking up to this rare december snow. enough snow for frosty the snowman to make this cameo and forcing some drivers to turn to salt and a good push to get their cars moving again. for plow truck drivers, a busy night trying to stay ahead of the storm, trying to avoid a repeat of scenes like this in maine, tow truck drivers using a rope to pull cars out of a ditch. >> the roads are slick so you got to be careful out there. starting to freeze over. >> reporter: this morning, winter weather alerts in effect from coast to coast with parts of new england already cleaning up from all of this, now bracing for another foot of snow. >> if you don't have four-wheel drive, you're in trouble in the winter. >> reporter: that is unless you live in florida where 837 santa surfers set a new record for costumed surfers in coco beach.

this on the same day drivers in kansas were slipping and sliding on the roadways. and residents in nebraska spent their christmas eve clearing snow out of their driveways. elizabeth hur, abc news, new york. >> our thanks to elizabeth. we'll have a look at your christmas day forecast across the country coming up in just a few moments. we should mention that religious celebrations are already under way. here in new york security was tight as thousands attended midnight mass at the city's churches. st. patrick's cathedral was jammed as you can see here with worshippers admitted only with a ticket. >> pope francis compared refugees to what mary and joseph went through. and the crowds in bethlehem were thinner than in previous years after president trump declared jerusalem to be the capital of israel.

guatemala following the u.s. deciding to change its embassy to jerusalem. guatemala was one of only nine countries to vote against the u.n. resolution condemning the u.s. recognition of jerusalem as israel's capital. the u.s. is slashing nearly $300 million from the u.n.'s annual budget. ambassador nikki haley says the reduction is parts of a bigger plan to make the u.n. more efficient. the trump administration has long touted the goal of reducing contributions to the u.n. america is the largest financial contributor to the united nations. north korea is calling the latest round of u.n. sanctions an act of war. the penalties unanimously approved by the security council come after repeated ballistic missile tests. the sanctions tighten oil imports and force those working for the regime abroad to return home. north korea says it's a pipe dream for the u.s. to think it will give up its nuclear

ambitions. breaking overnight, a deadly suicide bombing in afghanistan. at least five people were killed in an attack in kabul. officials say the device was set off in an office near the afghan intelligence service. hundreds of people are dead after a tropical storm in the philippines. it swept through the southern part of that country over the weekend. it caused land slides and flash floods, wiping out villages. rescue efforts are difficult because many bridges and roads have been destroyed and many people are still unaccounted for. a man is charged with attempted murder after shooting two virginia sheriff's deputies responding to a dispute between a father and his daughter. as the deputies tried to arrest the suspect, he grabbed a fun and opened fire. a female deputy was shot in the leg. a male deputy was shot in the arms and both legs. both are in stable condition and are expected to make a full recovery. a holiday trip ended in tragedy for a family in florida.

five people died when a small plane crashed after taking off in thick fog in the tampa area. 70-year-old john shannon was flying his two daughters, son-in-law and a friend. all five died. let's get a closer look at your christmas day forecast. good morning and merry christmas. snowfall potential throughout the northeast, at least three inches throughout portions of the northeast and up to a foot and a half throughout portions of maine. you combine that with the problem of gusty winds, 35 to 50 miles per hour winds from boston all the way down towards richmond, over towards cleveland as well. biting chill. isolated damage and power outages in the north central part of the country. arctic outbreak with bitter cold and snow in wyoming and ice and slick roads along the west coast.

i'm accuweather meteorologist paul williams. still ahead, what you need to do to stay healthy through the peak of the flu season. and a frightening scene high up in the frenchal ps. rescuers taking extreme steps to bring skiers down to safety. a peek inside how the white house got dressed up for the holidays. the first lady helping to create a winter wonderland. ok, let's try this.

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expected on items like kitchen gadgets, toys and even coats. in puerto rico it's christmas as the island struggles in the aftermath of hurricane maria. three months after the devastating storm, at least 30% of the power grid is still not generating electricity. the government saying most will have power restored by the end of february, but some, it could take months longer than that. a medical alert now about what's developing into a pretty harsh flu season. the cdc is already reporting widespread flu activities in 23 states. once you add the extra holiday travel and socializing, even more people are likely to become sick. here's abc's marci gonzalez. >> reporter: the flu spreading fast and hitting hard. now experts say it's going to get worse. >> i went to the doctor and got tested. i felt like i had a sinus infection. >> reporter: it turns out vince does have the flu, so does his son. now they're spending christmas

quarantined away from the rest of their family. >> it's sad that i won't be with the family today. it's the best thing for everybody. >> reporter: the cdc telling "the washington post" there's a 30% chance the flu peaks next week. ten states already reporting high flu activity chiefly from one powerful strain of a contagious illness. >> the influenza virus can exist in the air three to six feet in the air. it can be spread by talking or breathing. >> reporter: it's not just the very young. old and people with weakened immune systems who are at risk. this 20-year-old was killed by complications from the flu last month. >> never in a million years would we have thought that we would have lost her that day like this. >> reporter: a terrifying ordeal for skiers in the french alps. 200 were stranded more than 80 feet in the air after gondolas

broke down. dozens of cars stuck there. rescuers used helicopters to free the skiers. everyone was back on the ground after two hours. no word on what caused that malfunction. when we come back, the nfl's postseason slots finally filling up. also a christmas tradition lives on. a secret santa spreading joy and keeping himself mostly anonymous. and mariah carey take two. the diva make her new year's eve plans official. i just finished months of chemo. but i don't want to talk about months. i want to talk about years. treatments have gotten better, so... i'm hoping for good years ahead. that's thanks to research funded by the american cancer society. the same folks giving me free rides to treatments, insurance advice, and a place to stay during chemo. i need that stuff like you don't know. and now that you do, please give at cancer.org.

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interesting. >> hours before the service the president fired off several pointed tweets. >> he tweeted that people are proud to be saying merry christmas again. he says, i am proud to have led the charge against the assault of our cherished and beautiful phrase, merry christmas. >> the tweet served to reinforce one of his major campaign goals. abc's jordan phelps reports from the white house. >> reporter: as a candidate donald trump pledged to make christmas a white house prior y priority. >> if i become president we're going to be saying merry christmas in every store. >> reporter: now trump sees a promise kept. >> i told you that we would be saying merry christmas again, right? >> three, two, one. >> reporter: the president and first lady have hosted a dizzying flurry of christmas events. approximately 20 formal receptions. more than 100 open houses and 25,000 more people expected to see all this on public tours.

the first lady's office says mrs. trump has overseen every detail. 53 christmas trees, 18,000 feet of twinkle lights. 12,000 ornaments. how much does it all cost? the white house won't say, except that it's all in the budget. while the style is mrs. trump's, aides say some of the decor is recycled from christmases past. those fresh cut trees bought by the park service from farms in west virginia and north carolina. as for the food and drink at those lavish receptions, the republican national committee tells me they foot the bill. the rnc isn't revealing just how much they spent entertaining at the white house this year, but based on financial disclosures from previous years, we know the democratic party spent an average of $1 million a year entertaining during the holiday season during the final years of the obama administration. jordan phelps, abc news, the white house. >> our thanks to jordan.

one of the real housewives of new york is now facing criminal charges. police in palm beach, florida say louann de la excepts kicked an officer after she had been drinking. she says this was the first time she was back in palm beach after her wedding and it brought up some emotions. mariah carey is ringing in the new year, returning to abc's new year's rocking eve with ryan seacrest and looking for redemption. >> last year's performance in times square was panned as, well, a little bit of a hot mess. >> i'm going to say let the audience sing, okay? ♪ >> we didn't have a sound check but it's new year's, baby.

that's okay, guys. ♪ put these monitors on, please. >> new year's rocking eve with sign seacrest air right here on abc. it starts next sunday at 8:00 p.m. >> that extended clip that you saw there was the best of that performance. >> memorable to say the at least. now to some football. the chiefs booking their trip to the nfc playoffs. >> kansas city rolled up more than 400 yards of offense in a 29-13 win against miami. that had coach andy reed in the spirit. >> what a great year offensively. we're not done yet though, you know, so we're not going to sit on this. we're going to move on and enjoy the holiday here and then we'll get right back at it. >> yep, so they're heading to the playoffs and going into week 17 of the season, there are only three postseason spots left to be claimed. some of sunday's other highlights now from espn. >> merry christmas.

>> they had to beat the seahawks yesterday and they're winning 6-0 but dez bryant gets the ball punched out. turnover, not head. seattle takes the ball and then scores. that's what happened. the cowboys would give it to seattle and then seattle would go score. russell wilson to jimmy graham. again. dak prescott, he gives it to them and they score right away. his fourth pick six of the year. that leads the nfl for prescott. he had none last year. justin coleman jumps in the big ball. rams/titans, what a season they've been having. todd gurley is mvp. are you in on that or are you still in the tommy column? >> i think he's close. i'm going to go tommy. >> 80-yard touchdown. screen pass. gurley 158 yards receiving, ran

for 118. tons of fantasy points. rams 27-23. they clinch the nfc west title for the first time since 2003. merry christmas. watch basketball on abc. up next in the pulse, it is christmas morning. that means people are unwrapping gifts and that also means the rush to return some of those gifts is about to begin. >> already under way. plus the force at work creating some "star wars" replicas that look good enough to eat. ♪ as soon as i became a parent i changed as a person, drastically. ♪ i tried hard to quit smoking. ♪ but when we brought our daughter home that was it. ♪ now i have nicoderm cq. the nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release technology helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. it's the best thing that ever happened to me. can you say thanks nicoderm cq? every great why needs a great how. ...studying to be a dentist and she gave me advice.

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billion worth of gifts. >> some say you can't return if the item's package has been opened. others say you can take it back no matter what. still others are somewhere in between. >> then there's regifting. more than half of us admit that we've done it. gift cards are the most popular items to turn around. there you have it, some tips for tomorrow. a tradition of kindness continuing the kansas capital city. >> the secret santa made his annual trek through topeka handing out $100 bills. >> the man won't give his name. he took over from a man named larry stewart 11 years ago. as stewart was dying from cancer, he told the current santa that he wish he could have helped more people. a bakery that's mixing "star wars" with a seasonal favorite, ginger bread. >> check out some of their creations here. first the imperial star destroyer. it's made of ginger bread and frosting. it is edible. these are all the work of the

"star wars" bakery. it's located in stockholm, sweden. >> they're rather ornate. they also recreated the millennial falcon and they made a model of an aerial imperial walker which was featured in the empire strikes back if you can remember way back. >> they have some of them in the recent one as well which by the way is doing pretty well at the box office, dominated again this week and making about $70 million. not bad. more news after this. i had, but my medicine kept wearing off. (coughsah! hey, chad! i missed you. ah! i was in the tree watching you, and then i fell. i'm not eating pizza from the trash. then i discovered mucinex. huge difference. one pill lasts 12 hours, and i'm good. oh, here kitty, kitty...ah! not a cat, not a cat! why take 4-hour medicine? just one mucinex lasts 12 hours. start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this.

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checking our top stories this morning, u.s. troops around the world like in south korea celebrating christmas away from home. these men and women are among 1500 stationed just 60 miles from the north korean border. christmas was celebrated as well in the iraqi city of mosul for the first time in three years. isis didn't permit christian worship but the militant group was driven out of the region this summer. americans on both coasts are waking up to a white christmas this morning. there's even snow in seattle and portland and deep cold is keeping snow on the ground in the midwest. speaking of the weather today, in the southern half of the country, it will be mild in the southwest. there will be showers along the gulf coast and southeast. 42 in atlanta today. finally a story that embodies the spirit of the season. a special surprise for children of a fallen new york city cop. >> she was killed in the line of duty and her kids are now spending their first christmas without her. more now from her friend, rob

nelson with wabc. >> reporter: genesis says the living room might be the favorite part of her newly renovated co-op partly because of the artwork she picked that hangs behind the couch. >> the medictallics and the sil and gold reminded me of her shoulder and the other badges of police officers and members of the nypd have to wear. >> reporter: back in july a mentally ill man gunned down 40-year-old officer in the bronx, leaving genesis and her 12-year-old twin siblings without their single mother. but thanks to $800,000 in donations from the tunnels of towers foundation, the new york daily news and sky view apartments, the siblings will now call this gorgeous, prefurnished three bedroom co-op in the riverdale section of the bronx their new home. >> it was so much at once and it's so beautiful and exactly how i pictured it.

>> reporter: genesis was attending college in england when her mother was killed but has since returned here to new york at just age 20 to love and now lead her family. >> i really owe it to her to make sure that they're going to be safe and they're going to live a life that my mother would have wanted them to live. >> reporter: her grief and her responsibilities are equally heavy, but genesis and her siblings now know first hand the generosity and compassion of our city, just in time for christmas. >> it was just really, really emotional that there are so many people that care about the well-being of me and my siblings and really want us to have a nice place to ourselves. >> reporter: the family will turn this bookshelf into a memorial for their mom. this specially made, donated sign already in place. >> those we love don'to away, they walk beside us every day, unse unseen, unheard but always near, so loved, still missed and very dear. >> our thanks to rob nelson for that story and a very happy holidays to those children. >> and to you. >> and to you.

♪ >> "the mormon tabernacle choir, orchestra at temple square, and bells on temple square present a music and the spoken word special, present a music and the spoken word special, "the wonder of christmas". ♪ >> conducting today's program are mack wilberg and ryan murphy, with special guest artist santino fontana, organist richard elliott, artist santino fontana, organist richard elliott, and your host, lloyd newell." ♪ sing a song of gladness and cheer ♪ ♪ sing of gladness and cheer ♪ ♪ for the time of christmas is here, is here ♪ ♪ look around about you and see ♪ ♪ what a world of wonder this world can be ♪ ♪ sing a christmas carol ♪ ♪ sing a christmas carol ♪ ♪ sing a christmas carol ♪ ♪ sing a christmas carol ♪