another change to the new hk law as the obama administration. target suffers blowback from

its massive data breach. the end of an era for candleal stick park and santa's helpers making a difference for sick children. it's tuesday, december 24, "early today" starts right now. merriy christmas eve. i'm betty nguyen. if you are up early to do shopping you have just a few hours left and it is also the last day to sign up for obama care if you want coverage beginning like january 1. weren't we just talking about this deadline yesterday? >> it is a bit of groundhog day happening. the administration says they are trying to create a cushion. they want to make sure that anyone who tries to get on to

the health care website will be able to and be able to get the coverage starting january 1. we saw a record number of people trying to get on to the site, yesterday more than 1 million people and that did lead to delays. that prevented some people from completing their applications. this morning i went to the website and they are advertising this one-day extension that they are granting. they say if you got on on december 23 and were not able to get it done we can help you get it covered. of course, republicans say this is proof that the law is not ready for primetime. there is a new poll that shows 62% of americans oppose the health care law. i should tell you also that because of the things we are seeing happening insurers are warning there could be problems ahead because some of the applications and paperwork they are kbeting have errors in them.

they are warning consumers to keep all of their paperwork so that you are able to address problems that could come up. next deadline december 31 when premiums are due. in just a few hours astronauts will embark on a christmas eve space walk to replace a critical cooling pump on the space station. they hope to finish the job they started over the weekend. adding to the fear is real concern over the aging space suits. astronauts spent much of monday inspecting them. nasa will broadcast the entire event live this morning on the website. the fallout following target's massive data breach. at least a dozen have filed

federal lawsuits. the heist is connected to more than 40 million debit and credit card accounts. target has issued an apology and is working with the justice department and secret service. a consumer protection survey says has dropped deeply. meanwhile chase is easing. they can withdraw up to $250 a day in cash and spend up to $1,000 a day on purchases. gay rights advocates are hailing a pair of court rulings. in utah a judge is ordering same-sex marriages to continue. the ban on unions was struck down last week. state officials requested a stay while they appealed. and in ohio there is a smaller victory. monday a judge invalidated part of the state's ban on same-sex marriage.

it requires the state to recognize marriages on death certificates. we have at least seven deaths to tell you about being blamed on a storm system that generated flooding, freezing rain and snow. as of last night an estimated 250,000 people in michigan were still without power as utility crews worked around the clock to repair frozen power lines. flooding in central indiana led to road cloeshzers, car rescues and evacuation orders. after all of that i don't know if we want to hear about the forecast. >> because it is going to stay so cold in areas where the power is still out. we are certainly going to hope for a warmup but only colder air is moving in right now. take a look at some of the rain we have across the east coast. that is the cold front trying to clear the area. lighter rain showers across parts of the carolinas.

we will still see things clear out on the east coast through the day today. the northwest wind is a cold wind crossing over the relatively warmerer waters of the great lakes. we could end up with three to six inches of snow especially right off the shores of the great lakes themselves. we have a bigger system trying to make its way into the parts of the upper midwest and upper plains where we have winter weather advisories in effect, enough to make things slippery in the minneapolis area. and a bulls eye across north dakota. this will make things very, very slippery through the day today. also take a look at our wind chill advisories. we are looking at wind chills to be about 30 to 40 degrees below zero once again today. it is going to be brutally cold along with the snow. the perfect christmas eve to

stay indoors huddled by the fire. for tomorrow for christmas day it will be a white christmas but very, very cold. that is a look at the weather across the country. here's a look at the weather outside your window. in philadelphia increasing sunshine. 71 in tampa, florida. 23 degrees in cleveland and 16 degrees in chicago. we will see clouds today and a few flurries tomorrow. in and around the great lakes is where we will for sure see a white christmas. >> ayou can't complain. it's christmas. it's what it is supposed to be. edward snowden says mission accomplished as a christmas meeting of the pope is taking place, as well. and details of a real-life bad santa in florida. you're watching "early today."

>> i just want to wish my wife, christy, kids and family merry christmas and happy new year. i love you. i miss you and i will see you in february.

stories making news on this christmas eve. edward snowden says his mission is accomplished. he says he has won because journalists are telling the stories of the government's bulk collection of data. snowden says he wanted people to have a say in how they are governed. pregnant women who eat nuts or peanut butter don't appear to be raising the risk of nut allergies for their children. researchers they were less likely to have children with nut

allergies. pope francis paid a visit to his predecessor. in massachusetts a fireman makes a daring rescue. the 5-year-old golden retriever fell through the ice. firefighter tied a rope around his chest and jumped right in pulling crosby to safety but it was not easy. another fireman ultimately joined and police had to use gps to find crosby's exact location. that is one cold puppy dog. and santa claus is coming to town to rob your bank? what? this kriss kringle in central florida donned a white beard and hat and sunglasses and escaped with the cash. he is on the naughty list this year. let's get to business news. today trading will be short and all u.s. markets are closed tomorrow. hyundai and kia will pay $395

million in a proposed gas mileage settlement. u.s. owners of about 600,000 hyundais and 300,000 kias are effected. the companies admitted last yeart that they overstated fuel economy by at least a mile per gallon. shopper track reports sales for fallen for the third executive week and compared with the same time last year they dropped 3.1%. did you know the new year also marks the phase out of incandescent light bulbs. lighting giant sylvania says four in ten americans know about this. 13 states are raising minimum wage in the new year. washington state will have the highest at $9.32 an hour. and the highest will be at

seatack, washington. a foreign hub says we lead the nation in viewing pornography on smart phones. and a mcdonald's employee site is bashing fast food. one labelled the burgerer and fries as the unhealthy choice. just ahead an incredible night for the niners and a classic send off for candle stick park and a hockey goal that you have to see.

look at this. christmas came early for a few families in southern california this year. newborn babies are bundled up in red stockings when presented to their families. the adorable annual tradition has gone on for over 50 years at miller's children's hospital. that is quite a gift. let's get the latest in sports from my friend richard lui. >> those kids laterer in life say i am having to share my

gifts for christmas. >> you got to share. >> good christmas eve to you. the 49ers clinch the playoffs. in the fourth niners up by ten. atlanta putting together two strong scoring runs. san francisco up by three. atlanta ready to score but bobble. goes 89 to steal a win for the 49ers. clutch play. that was the last of a stadium record 36 monday night football games at candle stick. what a way to close it out before they tear it down. auburn head coach gus malzahn was named college coach of the year by the ap. the heat prevail in an overtime thriller. atlanta had the lead in the fourth when lebron james gets three.

knee in the face of paul millsap. take it to overtime. atlanta leads again. miami's michael beasley nailing crucial free-throws. heat win it 121-119. the knicks get victory over orlando. melo might be playing christmas day. american took ninth place. he is currently third overall in the world cup. to hockey. phoenix and buffalo tied in overtime. the puck flies up in the air. where does it go? i hate when it happens. he doesn't know it. he turns around -- >> is that a goal? >> it's a no goal because the puck passes --

>> that's one way to do it. >> he didn't know what was happening. buffalos win 2-1. high schooler dunks over two 6'8" guys there. >> i thought maybe there was a trampoline there but he is just doing this. and terrell owens expressing his love/hate relationship with philly fans. >> i had a love/hate relationship with philly. i loved the food. >> you suck, t.o.! >> but the fans hated me. >> wow. that's something for you. it's philly, man. >> i guess it is tough to be t.o. in philly. 2013's entertainer of the

year plus mariah carey may have found a new way to have children. you're watching "early today." i would like to say merry christmas and happy holidays to my family and friends back in colorado springs, colorado.

good morning and welcome back. we are looking at cold air working back into the east coast. it is 37 in new york city.

one below in chicago. ten below in minneapolis it feels like it is 15 to 20 degrees below 0. it warms up to 11 today. we are looking at snow to move into the chicago area for christmas day itself. a high of 28 degrees. it will feel like christmas up and the east coast. jennifer lawrence is the top entertainer of 2013. j. law just narrowly beat out miley cyrus with 14 votes. j.k. rauling is taking harry potter to the stage. "glee" creator said in a recent interview that before cory monteith passed away his and leah michelle's characters

were not going to end up together after all. want to say congratulations to jared and his wife. they welcomed a second baby boy. mariah carey definitely won't be having children anytime soon. >> if nick could have the babies himself then maybe. bring them all. we love kids. italians have found an interesting way to market "12 years a slave" to the right of marketing brad pitt who has one of the smallest roles in the film. the left is the american version of the poster. one home alone fan came up with a unique christmas card for family members. >> kevin, you're such a disease. >> i hate families.

families suck. >> i hope you don't mean that. >> do these vans get good gas mileage? >> that is a little disturbing to me. >> taking christmas cards to a whole new level. thanks for watching everybody. i'm betty nguyen. this is "early today." we hope this is just your first stop of the day on nbc.

>> announcer: "news 4 today" starts now. right now on "news 4 today" a frightening scene in principles gorges county. a car left mangled after slamming head on into the pole. what we're learning about the victim's condition this morning.

good morning, everybody. it's 4:26. i'm aaron gilcrist. >> i'm barbara harrison. it's tuesday, december 24th, christmas eve. you'll need to bundle up this morning if you're heading out. it's really cold out there. temperatures have dropped 30 degrees since what we saw monday morning. >> it's cold for sure. it could get colder apparently. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein is here. >> good morning. welcome, barbara, good to have you with us early on this christmas eve morning. we've had the clouds overnight clear out now. we have a mostly clear sky. just a few lingering high clouds over the lower part of the bay and the eastern shore. some low clouds hanging over the mountains right now but we are drying out after yesterday's rain. there may still be a little bit of ponding of water around. watch out for some of that. most of the temperatures now are in the mid 30s around the metro area. prince gorges, arlington, fairfax, montgomery county and the district of columbia. let's check the roadways and

conditions. maynard edwards in for danella sealock. >> we heard there may be water around and it will freeze. we're looking at mostly dry conditions at this point. here's a live look i-66, prince william parkway. it's a pretty clear ride. same story inside the roslyn tunnel, 66 eastbound. when we come back with the next check, there's a few signs of life. good morning, back to you in the studio. >> maynard, thank you. 4:27 your time. while millions of people are already at their holiday destinations, it is business as usual for federal workers. the office of personal management says the government will remain open on this christmas eve. opm says that's been its standing policy when christmas falls on wednesday. the government has remained opened six of the last nine times this has happened since 1946. and this morning, four people are in the hospital after a serious crash at joint base andrews. police say the car slammed into a poll along allentown road around midnight. take a look at the damage.

we're told one. victims suffered life threatening injuries. the cause of the crash is still under investigation. and a man is fighting for his life this morning after a hit and run accident on statin road southeast. according to d.c. police the driver of what might have been a gold nissan hit the man with the car and kept going. the accident happened near the parkway during rush hour. the man was air lifted to a nearby hospital. doctors say his injuries are life threatening. doctors don't have any leads on the driver. women are being told to walk with friends and be on the lookout near gal dealaudet university. a woman was assaulted and robbed over the weekend. the woman was walking alone at 2:00 in the morning when a man approached her from behind with a knife and forced her into a nearby alley and assaulted her. since the woman was attacked from behind, she was not able to give a good description of the attackers. extra police patrols have been sent to that area. this woman is wanted by