the ultimate adventure. good thursday morning. coming up on "early today" it was a blue christmas for folks waiting on delayed shipments.

edward snowden's new christmas message invoking the danger of unchecked government surveillance. thousands are still in the dark and cold waiting for the power to come back on days after a big ice storm. mcdonald's takes decisive action against its own employee site and how texting might help strengthen the family bond. it's thursday, december 26. "early today" starts right now. and a very good morning to you. i'm kristen welker. hope you had a great holiday. for some the grinch came in two forms. first stubborn weather left thousands in the dark and thousands more without their gifts. more on the holiday that wasn't jolly for all.

>> reporter: near grand rapids, michigan at least a dozen accidents on i-96. crews there and in maine spent christmas day in the cold trying to fix power. >> it is very rewarding to be here and help people out. >> reporter: while rough weather made for tough going for delivery drivers weather isn't solely to blame for holiday packages that didn't make it home for christmas. fed ex reported delays and ups apologized saying ups is experiencing heavy holiday volume and making every effort to get packages to the destination however the volume of air packages exceeded the network. some shipments were delayed. at fort worth, texas, a few people tried to pick up packages. they told my husband it was here and it is not here. >> reporter: social media became a sounding board.

one woman writes it's their christmas, too. another i waited at my house all day for nothing. now i don't have gifts for my loved ones. in virginia she is left empty handed after an hour long drive. >> it is frustrating because i paid additional to have it rushed. >> reporter: the uso greeted traveling service members in atlanta and the volunteers served hot meals in d.c. >> this is a place where you can come, talk and feel like a family. >> reporter: in california, let there be light. 370,000 lights on a san francisco home. >> it is magical. you got to see elves. >> reporter: one homeowner matched the sentiment if not the wattage and at this starbucks the spirit lit up the cash

register and hearts. >> someone paid it forward for us so we will pay it forward. both ups and fed ex are drawing fire following the christmas eve delivery snag. the majority of the missing packages are expected to be delivered today. amazon.com aca knowledged ups's failure. the company is providing gift cards and shipping refunds to those effected. a day after edward snowden told "washington post" his mission is accomplished. >> a child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy. they will never know what it means to have a private moment to themselves and that is a problem because privacy matters.

>> snowden recorded the two minute video in moscow where he has temporary asylum. great britain aired the video calling it this year's alternative christmas message. he drew comparisons to 1984. he says the type of wide spread violence portrayed is nothing like today. the u.s. is demanding he return to face espionage charges. the egyptian government formally listed the muslim brotherhood as terrorists. another group has taken responsibility. egypt's government insisted the muslim brotherhood is responsible for the blast and will label whoever supports them

as a terrorist. the president and first lady stepped away from vacation to pay tribute to u.s. service members. the obamas visited nearly 600. the president recalled speaking on the phone on this christmas eve. mr. obama honored the sacrifice made each and every day, not just the holidays. >> we know we would not enjoy the freedoms we do if not for the work that you do. the least we can do is let you know we are grateful and thankful. and now we want to get a check of your thursday weather. here is nbc meteorologist dylan dreyer. >> welcome. >> nice to be here. >> early on this day after christmas. >> what is the weather situation

looking like? >> quiet. there is not a lot going on which is good news for anyone traveling back from where they came from. we are looking at perhaps lighterer snow showers. nothing that should effect travel that much. the lake effect snow coming in off of lake ontario. most snow through central and northern new england. it runs into some warmer air and it looks like in boston or new york city rain mixing with snow. most areas in the northeast one to three inches. we have lighter snow and freezing rain. it is quick and not going to accumulate all that much. it could be slippery near south dakota. on the west coast we have a couple of weather alerts. we have a red flag warning near los angeles because humidity is going to drop to about 5% to 15%

so any fires could spread rapidly. in the northwest we have air stagnation alert. not much wind going on and that could create ground level air pollution. anyone who suffers from asthma could have issues. that alert is going to last until about saturday. there could be bans on burning for the pellett stoves and fires. my brother is affected because he can't burn his stove for christmas. that's a look at the weather across the country. now here's a peek out your window. boston about 40 degrees. 33 in pittsburgh today. we will see a snow shower or two and should see increasing sunshine and cincinnati high of 35. so that snow in the northeast in major cities will mix in with rain so that should help with travelers on the roads. >> i know that holiday travelers

are glad to hear most is quiet. just ahead tense moments on the ski slope in colorado. retailers pull out all the shops towards post christmas shoppers.

and welcome back. here is some of the stories making news this morning. officials continue their investigation into the deadly christmas morning fire that killed three siblings in louisiana. investigators say a space heater is likely to blame for the blaze that quickly spread through a trailer with 12 people inside. the children's parents suffered serious burns and are recovering in the hospital. the u.s. government contractor kidnapped by al qaeda a in 2011 released a video message urging president obama to negotiate for his release. he says he feels, quote, totally abandoned and forgotten.

the obama administration says it will not negotiate for his release. a new study from the university of nebraska shows texting is not too bad. researchers revealed people are more likely to express feelings honestly through texts than person and answer relatives texts within five minutes of receiving it. a skierer is buried up to his neck in snow and luckily his brother was able to dig him out in a few minutes. people lined up to catch a glimpse of the royal family as they headed to church on christmas day. prince william and kate were in attendance. while most stayed warm a brave group of people took the plunge into ice ey waters in london. u.s. markets are back in

business after being closed for the christmas holiday. stocks hit new highs today in the holiday shortened session on tuesday thanks to upbeat economic data. investors look for numbers on new filings for unemployment benefits. new filing in works to buy t mobile from deutsche telecom. dieards will get their last holiday shopping fix with big after christmas deals. some online sales got an early start on christmas day while many wall martz and kohl's stores open at 5:00 a.m. mcdonald's took down the employee resources website after antifood posts went viral warning against the negative

effects of fast food going as far as labelling cheese burger and fries as a quote unhealthy choice. and before christmas a las vegas cab driver thought a passenger left a bag of chocolates in his car but turned out the customer left $300,000. the cabby received a $1,000 reward and a spot on santa's nice list. sports is just ahead including your nba christmas day roundup. athletes do it up for their teammates and kids this holiday season. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." here is holiday facts. for most countries december 26th is boxing day. nowadays it is spent shopping for post christmas bargains. one theory dates back to the middle ages when church donation boxes were open and the contents given to the poor. now you know. now to sports we have your nba christmas day roundup. the miami heat went for their sixth win against the lakers. the lakers started off strong with a 21-17 lead over the heat.

near the half they were down by seven and santa couldn't bring them a christmas win. lakers lost to the heat 101-95. chris bosh wore this lightup christmas sweater into the staple's center wednesday. the knicks are known for their christmas day home wins. the knicks weren't able to come out on top. at the half the knicks were down six. they had the largest home game loss with a final score of 123-94. the rockets were in san antonio to take on the spurs. james harden earned 28 points and leading the rockets to a 111-98 victory over the spurs. j.j. watt is not known for being faint as heart after as many football collisions over

the years. watt is considered plastic surgery to reconstruct his nose. why? his mother reportedly told him she hates the way it looks. always listen to mom. serena williams named the associated press female athlete of the year with 11 titles over 2013. and to football where jeff tarpenian is speaking out about a recent medical scare. two years ago while playing for the ipatriots he suffered a season-ending injury which resulted in a major brain surgery. ravens quarterback joe flacco showed his christmas spirit on the practice field sporting santa socks clearly making the most of working during the holiday. some athletes played santa

claus for the day. rockets center dwight howard brought teammates expensive watches and wilson brought his running backs, tight ends x box ones. lebron james spent christmas with his family including watching his kids do basketball tricks. apparently jennifer lawrence isn't everyone's sweetest. plus "out of the furnace" may have more problems than being a box office flop. we'll explain.

good morning. welcome back. we are looking at nice quiet weather across the country. we have cold temperatures still. 15 in minneapolis. 19 in chicago. 30 in new york city. where we do have the snow and ice from this weekend's storm it is still going to stay below freezing. 23 in chicago. lighter snow showers in and around minneapolis. more of a wintry mix in boston although we have snow showers

moving through central new york and central pennsylvania. it will turn to a wintry mix. then tomorrow back to 34 in boston. 30 new york city. washington, d.c. 36 degrees. lots of sunshine except across central florida where we could see a couple of showers. after such an active start to winter we did start to see things calm down. now for entertainment news. the film out of the furnace has put markers into a fire storm of controversy. members of the native tribe filed a lawsuit against the writers and producers behind the film. the plaintiffs mark the character as negative stereotype and false representative of their people. and verbal jabs for jennifer lawrence saying she hopes the oscar winner grows up in 2014. the feud was sparked after

lawrence accused "fashion police" of teaching young people to judge others. upton split from ball room dancer. it is all about new beginnings for a couple of reality show divas. basketball wife star is showing off the $1.4 million engagement room she received from carl crawford. the couple is also expecting. not a bad christmas gift. a terminally ill child watched in awe as the mega star descended before the pair rocked the crowd. i love this story. >> she is all over the place doing all of this good stuff

with the target gift cards she gave out. >> what a great way to use your pain. apparently the little girl started crying. pretty incredible. great story there. i'm kristen welker and this is "early today.".." we hope this is just your first stop of the day on nbc.

new this morning, brand-new video surfaces of a local man

being held by al qaeda. this morning his message after more than two years in captivity. and delivery delayed. the public apology from a major shipping company after gifts for thousands of you do not arrive in time for christmas the. good morning. i'm adam tuss. >> and i'm angie goff. eun and aaron are off today. with welcome to this thursday, december 26, 2013. we hope everyone had a nice christmas out there. for many of you, though, it is back to the grind. today we are waking up to nor cold morning. amelia segal is in. mainly 20s across the area. washington at 29 degrees. manassas, the cold spot, coming in at only 19. storm team 4 radar i am tracking light flurries well to the north of the district over washington county. so for the morning hours we can't rule out some flurries north of washington. otherwise it's a dry morning with cloudiness around. here is how temperatures work.

by 8:00 a.m. we'll break that 30-degree mark. 10:00 a.m. temperatures will be in the mid-30s. overall today will be warmer than yesterday. i'll be back in a few minutes with what you can expect for the afternoon. maynard, how are the roads looking this morning? overall roads are looking good. the beltway is moving along well. in the district we do have a water main break to contend with between irvin and franklin street. a live look at 295 north of 4 had 95 and a look at the southeast/southwest freeway. 4:31 we'll take a look at i-270. adam and angie, back to you. right now 4:27. let's go go to molette green to the live desk. new video of the rockville man held in captivity in pakistan for the last two years. now this is video of him from two years ago. we're going to show you -- there it is. when al qaeda militants

kidnapped him from his bedroom in that country. in the newest video sent to select media including "the washington post," weinstein, who is now 72 years old, pleads for the obama administration to negotiate his release. here is what he says in the video. and i quote, now when i need my government, it seems i have been totally abandoned and forgotten. you're now in your second term, and that means that you can take hard decisions without worrying about election. that is, again, a quote from warren weinstein held in captivity for the last two years. we're going to continue to follow this developing story and bring you more throughout the morning. from the live desk, molette green. back to you. investigators trying to figure out what sparked a fire that made for a tragic christmas morning in calvert county. check out these pictures of the aftermath. the home in ow