i'm betty nguyen. getting home for the holidays has been a big hassle for millions of americans thanks to the snow, the flooding, and the thunderstorms. according to flight aware.com, as of 11:00 p.m. last night, more than 13,000 flights had been delayed. and more than 1200 flights canceled nationwide this week. so how did last minute travelers fare? here's nbc's chris pollone. ♪ >> reporter: at new york's laguardia airport, santa and his evil elves tried to keep travelers merry and bright. it was windy and wet from maine to florida. by midday, 200 flights across the country had been canceled, more than a thousand delayed. but travellers in new york seemed to be taking everything in stride. >> so far it has been great, no problems for us. we're hoping it will continue to be this way. >> reporter: delays were a bit more prevalent in philadelphia, where heavy fog slowed takeoffs and landings. >> really less crowded than i expected. i was expecting it to be packed in here. >> reporter: forecasters feared

i'm betty nguyen. this is "early today."hope it is just your first stop of the day on nbc. >>> leading the news in the associated press, u.s. co-opted cuba's hip-hop scene to spark change. according to the ap, a u.s. agency tried for two years to infiltrate the cuban hip-hop scene. it was in an attempt to unseat the country's communist government. the idea was to use music as a way to create a group of young people looking for change. the operation was unsuccessful. >>> time magazine, a rare weather phenomenon is causing a sea of clouds to fill the grand canyon. you have to look at this. instead of the usual stunning views of the grand canyon, visitors on thursday saw this, which i think is pretty stunning in and of itself. it is a rare weather pattern called total cloud inversion. that is absolutely beautiful. >>> some other stories we're following for you today, an amber alert, the search ended with a dramatic police standoff on a overpass in san diego. deputies say daniel perez got out of his vehicle, he appeared to have

i'm betty nguyen. >>> we have breaking news overnight to tell you about. tensions are once again flairing in st. louis, missouri. this, as another 18-year-old black teen has been shot and killed by a police officer. >>> it happened in berkley, a town just outside of ferguson. the officer approached the teen and another male during a routine check near a gas station. the teen pulled out and pointed a handgun at the officer. police say the officer fearing for his life fired several shots and fatally wounded the teen. his male companion fled the scene. police recovered the teen's handgun and at this time are not revealing his identity. we will continue to bring you more as this story develops. it is a state of emergency in some parts of mississippi right now. a rare december tornado touched down there. at least four people are dead. thousands still without power. the storm system could impact half the nation's population over the next 24 hours. kurt gregory has more. >> reporter: rare december tornadoes tore through southern mississippi, ripping roofings from

i'm betty nguyen. >>> we have

i'm betty nguyen. another woman has come forward to accuse bill cosby of drugging her. this time it is beverly johnson. kate snow reports. >> reporter: beverly johnson was a groundbreaking figure, a supermodel in the 1970s, now joining more than two dozen women who publicly accused bill cosby. >> she was a supermodel, the first black woman to appear on the cover of vogue. she does not have anything to gain by coming out and making an accusation and, in fact, she probably has a lot to lose. >> reporter: johnson said she thought she was auditioning for a part on the cosby show when she went to his brown stone in the mid-'80s. she said, i knew by the second sip of the drink cosby had given me that i was drugged and drugged good. she said she expectwas yanked de stairs and shoved into a cab. an attorney for cosby had no comment for latest allegations. johnson said when she heard other women come forward, she still struggled with whether to tell her story. a voice in my head kept whispering, black men have enough enemies out there already, they certainly don't need someone l

. >>> hello everybody i'm betty nguyen we are following breaking news an air asia plane has disappeared after taking off from indonesia on its way to singapore. both country versus launched a search and rescue operation but no word yet on the plane's whereabouts. air asia said the crew asked for a change in flight path. they wanted to go from 32,000 feet to 38,000 feet to avoid rough weather in their path. here's a live picture where a help center is set up for families. there were 162 people on board, 7 crew members and 155 passengers. now most of them were indonesians with three south koreans, one from singapore and one from malaysia. 16 are children and at least one of them an infant. air asia is a regional low cost carrier with presence in several southeast asian countries. president obama has been briefed and the ntsb is monitoring the search and stands ready to help if needed. joining me on the phone is anthony roman. he's an faa licensed commercial pilot and licensed flight instructor. >> good morning. >> based on what we know let's look at the possibilities. this plane has been

. >>> now the latest in sports from betty nguyen. good morning, betty. >> good morning, dara. it was a monday night thriller. packers/falcons. big first half from green bay who built a 24-point lead. the falcons fought back in the second. julio jones had a career best 259 yards receiving before leaving the game with a hip injury, but the packers managed to hold on for a 43-37 victory. >>> the heisman trophy finalists are out. oregon quarterback marcus mariota, alabama receiver amari cooper and wisconsin running back, melvin gordon are the finalists. the winner will be selected on saturday. >>> bengals head coach melvin lewis called browns quarterback johnny manziel a quote midget. it happened during a radio interview when he was asked about facing him at the starting position. >> you gotta go defend the offense, you don't defend the player, particularly a midget. >> oh, there you go. >> well, lewis later apologized to manziel and browns fans saying, quote, it was just a remark, i really didn't mean anything by it. for the record, manziel is just under six feet tall. >>> it was

. >>> and now to the latest in sports from my friend betty nguyen. good morning. >> thanks, milissa. we begin with sunday night football here on nbc. tom brady threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to julian edelman in the fourth quarter to beat the chargers 23-14. the pats won for the and will time in the past nine games. >>> in an afc north matchup, bengals receiver a.j. green had a career high day. he caught 11 passes for 224 yards. and an 81-yard touchdown, but not so fast. steelers quarterback ben roethlisberger threw three touchdowns including this 94-yarder to rookie bryant in first quarter. they beat the bengals 42-21. >>> here is something that you may not have heard about in a while. peyton manning threw for no touchdowns. zilch, zero, nada. it is rare and ended a 51-game streak that began in 2010. the broncos still run against the bills, 24-17. >>> college football's first playoff is set, my friends, on new year's day. alabama will take on ohio state in the sugar bowl. and oregon plays florida state at the rose bowl. the winners need to decide a

i'm betty nguyen. former baltimore ravens running back ray rice is breaking his sigh clens in an exclusive interview with matt lauer. this comes after that infamous video knocking out his now wife in a casino elevator. the act got rice suspended from the nfl, but he was reinstated last friday. nbc's stephanie gosk has more. >> reporter: ray rice can play again. but will an nfl team sign him? the former running back for the baltimore ravens spoke about his uncertainty future with matt lauer. >> what would you think it would take for another owner and another group of fans to put the images of that video behind and say we'll take a chance on ray rice? >> one thing i think that, you know, they will have to be, you know, willing to, you know, look deeper into who i am and realize that, you know, me and my wife had one bad night, and i took full responsibility for it. and one thing about my punishment and everything going along with anything that happened is that i've accepted it. i've went fully forward wi

i'm betty nguyen. here in new york city, two families are in mourning and police officers are taking extra precautions to protect their lives. this 48 hours since the ambush-style shootings of two of their own. the cover of the "daily news," "we weep as one." new yorkers of all backgrounds gathered at the crime scene for a vigil. hours before the police chief described this chilling encounter the shooter had with two strangers just momented before he carried out his attack. >> he begins the conversation with them. they start speaking. and he asked them three things. he asked them for their gang affiliation. he asked them to follow him on instagram, and then he says "watch what i'm going to do." >> nbc's stephanie gosk has more. >> reporter: investigators now believe 28-year-old suspectish mail brinsley was motivated in part by rage towards the police. looking at instagram messages they say were likely posted by him in the hours before the shooting. a photo of a silver gun and references to the deaths o

i'm betty nguyen. california set to get it again. a lot of rain. the third time this week. rain triggering new mudslides and new concerns. here's nbc's jay -- >> northern california was hit first and hit hard. the storm toppling trees and power lines, causing accidents and four-hour flight delays at sfo. >> in southern california -- >> it's coming. it's coming. >> this is more than just a storm for this man. >> the house could go. damage, severe lives are at stake here. it's a big deal. >> reporter: the last time a storm hit ed's home, it was buried. >> the last time -- our concern is it could be worse this time. all of the rain intensifies. >> right now here it is. >> downed powerlines closed the pacific coast highway. the usually dry los angeles river actually became one. just north in camarillo sprankz the threat of mud flows has caused dozens to evacuate. crews struggling to keep water away from homes. east of los angeles in glendora. >> it's safer to be away from your home than at your home. it's not the steady rain we are worried about. it's that high volume of rain i

we have betty nguyen filling in along with mike bettes. >> the weather is not bad.l. >>> still to come, if you did not like all of your presents under the tree, we have the tips for returning the gifts. >>> and the controversy and news that had everyone talking this year. >>> before we get to that 300 theaters. betty. >> thank you, hallie. and another american film is being banned overseas now. both egypt and morocco refuse to show the pib lickal epic exodus gods and king. 21st century fox did not say why their film is being shut out. but they have other movies depicting biblical figures. >>> thousands of police officers are expected to attend the funeral of a fallen comrade in new york city this morning. vice president joe biden at the service for rafael ramos. ron mott is live in queens. >> reporter: good morning to you. very somber day ahead here in queens as thousands of officers and the community at large here expected to pay their final respects to officer rafael ramos. as you mentioned, the vice president is on his way. yesterday there were thousands who file

we have betty nguyen filling in along with mike bettes. >> the weather is not bad.l. >>> still to come, if you did not like all of your presents under the tree, we have the tips for returning the gifts. >>> and the controversy and news that had everyone talking this year. >>> before we get to that, betty has the latest on the fallout from the sony hacking scandal. >> good morning, guys. very strong words from north korea this morning. racist comments directed at president obama after the release of the movie "the interview." hallie jackson is live with the latest on all of this in los angeles. >> reporter: good morning, betty. the rhetoric is getting ugly with north korea saying, obama always goes reckless in deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest. pyongyang is blaming the united states for the cyber attack that crashed the internet. this comes after the release of "the interview" wednesday and thursday. the movie that features the fictional plot to kill kim jong-un. now another suspected hack. this one blocking people from logging on to the playstation network. e

i'm betty nguyen.avens running back ray rice is breaking his sigh clens in an exclusive interview with matt lauer. this comes after that infamous video knocking out his now wife in a casino elevator. the act got rice suspended

i'm betty nguyen.ome for the holidays has been a big hassle for millions of americans thanks to the snow, the flooding, and the thunderstorms.

. >>> hello everybody i'm betty nguyen we are following breaking news an air asia plane has disappeareder taking off from indonesia on its way to

. >>> good morning on this christmas day, i'm betty nguyen.olice officer fatally shot a black 18-year-old late tuesday after the teen pointed a gun at him. >>> george h.w. bush remains in the hospital after shortness of breath. >>> and travelers headed home for the holidays, with snow, flooding and thunderstorms. now back to "caught on camera." >>> welcome back to "caught on camera." i'm contessa brewer. if a ship is sinking, the maritime rule is the captain goes down with the ship. but in our next story, the captain of the oceanos cruise liner decides he has other plans and it's left to a group of untrained, unqualified entertainers to pull off a dangerous rescue. off the coast of south africa, the 12-ton oceanos cruise liner pitches and rolls wildly in a storm. 571 people are aboard the cruise ship, and the situation is even worse than the terrified passengers realize. their captain is missing, and their fate is now in the hands of a bunch of inexperienced staff members desperately radioing for help. >> we were asked how long have we got lef

i'm betty nguyen.

i'm betty nguyen.re in mourning and police officers are taking extra precautions to protect their

. ♪ we are farmers bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ >>> hello, everybody, i'm betty nguyen, here's what'snd a south african teacher are dead after a failed u.s.-led raid to free them from al qaeda militants. the president said he approved the raid because luke sommers was in imminent danger. and president obama has been diagnosed with acid reflux. the president went to walter reed medical center for tests on a sore throat. acid reflux is a common condition treated through medicine and lifestyle changes. we'll have more news later. but now back to "lockup." >>> among the challenges facing officials at kern valley state prison is the growing number of inmates with long-term sentences because typically this population is the most angry and the most violent. the staff knows the importance of keeping these men occupied. there are 1,300 inmates serving life sentences at kern valley. their crimes were often cold-blooded. >> i'm here for aggravated mayhem, attempted murder, kidnapping, and great bodily injury. >> i'm in here for the heat of passion. i caught my wife with somebody and killed her.

nbc's betty nguyen has more for us this morning. >> good morning. this is getting serious. have struck again and this time they are making it very personal. following the massive cyber attack on sony pictures, startling new information about threatening e-mails. according to "variety" magazine a group calling itsself gop or the guardians of peace wrote to employees saying not only you, but your family, will be in danger, adding employees should, quote, make your company behave wisely. sources tell the magazine employees were told to turn off their handheld devices after receiving the message. and in a statement late friday to cnbc, sony said, we are aware of the situation and are working with law enforcement. for its part, the fbi says it's continuing to investigate. >> this is absolutely a credible threat and sony employees should be on guard. >> reporter: meanwhile, security analysts are learning more about the extent of the massive breach, which it seems linked some 47,000 social security numbers and, according to the "wall street journal," that includes celebs like sylv

we have betty nguyen with more. >> this is being called, what else, a christmas miracle where a woman went into labor on a subway car and couldn't get to the hospital. >> officer, hey, somebody's having a baby. >> reporter: a special christmas delivery no one expected. southern pennsylvania transit police were alerted thursday night that a woman was going into labor on a subway train and two on-duty officers quickly jumped into action. >> i was praying for the medics to come and take over. it was happening so fast. the baby was already coming out and we did our training and what we should do. >> reporter: this surveillance video shows the officers with the couple during delivery. they were able to help with the birth and remove the umbilical cord wrapped around the baby's neck. >> the mother wanted to hold the baby. the father offered the shirt off his back to warm the baby up. >> reporter: everyone was overjoyed to learn it was a healthy baby boy, especially his proud dad, posing with the two officers. >> there was excitement. everyone was excited, happy, congratulating the police of

nbc's betty nguyen is here. >> when you give homeless people money, how do they spend it?h lin has a youtube channel known mostly for elaborate pranks but last week lin said he wanted to try a social experiment. giving a homeless man $100. >> i'm starting to tear up. >> it's okay. >> that's incredible. >> reporter: to see what he would do with the money, all the while lin had his covert camera rolling to capture the outcome. thomas' first stop, a liquor store. >> what did he get? >> reporter: then on to a nearby park. >> i'm like, okay, get ready, here's the action. he's going to take out beer. >> reporter: but it's bread in the bag. food thomas has parapparently bought to share with other homeless people. >> i was crushed. >> reporter: he quit his job to take care of his ailing parents, only to lose his family home after his parents died two weeks apart. he's been on the streets for four months. >> there are things money can't buy. i get a happiness out of what i'm doing. >> i honestly, truly understand what he meant right after, because as i've helped him, i feel so happ

betty nguyen has more on that. good morning. >> good morning, tamron. this story gives a whole new meaning to the phrase the fast and futurious. driver identified as 50-year-old deidre arozko is behind bars, tailgating a white mazda. as she passed the sedan those passengers, quote, made a rude hand gesture. from there, things spiraled out of control. >> oh, my god. >> go, go, go, go, go! >> reporter: in this dramatic vitdio posted on youtube, seen accelerating, brake checking passengers in a white mazda several time. >> we have a vehicle that has been following us. she keeps trying to tell us to pull over. >> swerving in front of us. >> we're in the white mazda, yes, ma'am. >> reporter: the women speed up to get awith an from arozko. >> she keeps trying to get us off the road. >> i'm freaking out. dude she's going to [ bleep ]. >> she just hit our car. she's pushing us off the road. yes, she's pushing us off the road. she's coming for us. >> arozko got out of her car and flashed an unknown type of identification card, claiming to be a sheriff, telling t