kevin tibbles in east lansing, michigan. thanks so much. >>> an american contractor held kidnapped from his home in pakistan more than two years ago has surfaced in a new video released by his captors. it shows him talking about his confinement and asking the u.s. government to do more to work for his release. our justice correspondent pete williams has our report. >> reporter: in suburban washington, yellow ribbons surround a tree outside the family home of warren weinstein, kidnapped two years ago and presumably held by al qaeda. in a new video from al sahab he asks the u.s. to negotiate his release. he says time is not on his side. >> i am now over 72 years of age. >> reporter: he was kidnapped two years ago from a house in lahore, pakistan, where he was working for an american company helping pakistan improve its economy. he first appeared in a video in may of 2012. then another four months later. each time urging the u.s. to win his freedom by accepting al qaeda's demands. among them, releasing al qaeda prisoners in gua

john yang, nbc news, east lansing, michigan. >> dylan dryer is here to sort all this out. christmas day forecast, lots of problems it seems still. >> it's going to stay cold unfortunately. the winds are going to pick up in michigan, too. we could see gusts up to around 25 miles per hour. so all of those tree branches coated in ice, we could see a few more of those snapping across that area through the day to day. soun fortunately, we're not getting much help and we're also looking at more snow through the great lakes region especially in the eastern parts of wisconsin into western michigan today. now you can see we do have winter weather advisories in effect not so much just because of the snow because we're not looking at that much snow, three to six inches in those areas. but because of the wind combined with the snow, makes visibility very poor. you can see we have snow falling still across northern parts of south dakota. and we also have snow moving out of wisconsin and eventually moving into michigan again today. where we could end up with three to six inches especial

police say more than 1,000 rowdy fans gathered in east lansing. there are reports of several arrests. the university president vowing those who took part will the punished. >> it is a solemn sunday in south africa as the nation mourns the death of nelson mandela. the sun is setting there now but earlier today crowds gathered at the anti-apartheid leader's home leaving flowers and candles. south africa's president called for a day of prayer and reflection before official services begin on tuesday. greg is live in johannesburg, south africa, with the latest. greg? >> reporter: it's been three days since the passing of nelson mandela. he died in the house just behind me right here. but still the passions and emotions continue to build. it's just approaching 11:00 and there are hundreds and hundreds of people outside of the house. as you can see, mountains of flowers being laid and candles being lit. earlier today in churches as well as synagogues and mosques, prayers were said and the man was remembered, the man who many people here consider to be th

john yang, nbc news, east lansing, michigan. >>> tonight, edward snowden, the nsa leaker who set off a worldwide debate about government surveillance says he considers his mission accomplished. snowden, who now lives in russia is speaking out in a rare interview with "washington post." we have more from the justice correspondent, pete williams, who joins us from our washington bureau, pete, good evening. >> reporter: tamron, good evening. snowden talked from moscow to a washington post contributor and one of three journalists who have received his leaks of classified nsa documents. snowden says in the interview that he has no regrets. they met somewhere in moscow, the story doesn't reveal the location in a room where edward snowden kept the curtains closed. according to today's "washington post," snowden said, "i already won." in terms of personal s satisfacti satisfaction, the mission is already splished. snowden spoke for hours to the reporter for the washington post. >> he is very much at peace with his choices. he wanted to provoke and inspire and galvanize a public debate. he ha

this is a look at crews contending with ice and snow in east lansing, michigan one of the cities hardest hit. the power outages are the aftermath of a major ice storm that pelted the region last week. about 140,000 homes and businesses are still in the dark. and at one point, that number was in the 700,000 range. >>> roberta, are we even seeing snow in tahoe? >> no, except what they are making overnight. >> manmade no. >> it is cold enough to do that. they are firing up the snow guns every night overnight. but right now, any chance of snow i'm looking at and it's a long-range forecast so things certainly can change, january 10th. on that note, let's look at what's going on today. first off, count it it five. five straight days of "spare the air." it is illegal to burn for the rest of the day. for five straight days we are also looking at very unseason bly mild conditions. right now 57 degrees in san francisco. that's typically the high temperature experienced for this time of the year. santa rosa after a morning low of 30 now up to 53 degrees. it's also 53 in mountain view. okay. today's

in east lansing, in family out of power for a week. and a generator borrowed from a neighbor to heat their home. power crews working around the clock this weekend. and an arctic deep freeze moving in across the plains in the midwest. look at the temperatures there. many of them below zero and the east coast gets hit next. we have team coverage tonight beginning with gio benitez. impossible driving conditions right now. >> reporter: what you can't see here is the problem. right now a major blizzard in new mexico. cars braving white out conditions. tonight, windchills going to 40 below zero. listen to that roar. maine and michigan, still digging out from a monster like that. >> this is just miserable. >> tens of thousands in both states still without power for the sixth day. >> we want the people to have their power back and heat their homes and cook their meals. >> reporter: power restore ration is dangerous. and those lines are clearly frozen. >> adrenaline plays a key role. sometimes during, at this stage of the game. but they are ver

unranked north carolina travels to east lansing and beats number one michigan state, 7 9-65.ready have two wins against top three ranked teams this season. >>> so when we return, an amazing survival story. we'll meet a man who spent six days with no food or water, trapped in a car after it crashed. ♪ can you barbeque a turkey? ♪ [ female announcer ] let betty do the measuring and get a head start on delicious homemade cookies. visit bettycrockercookies.com for fun holiday ideas. betty crocker cookie mix. just pour, mix...love. forecast in some cities often the country. washington, d.c., will be foggy today. atlanta, expect showers. and snow and sleet in st. louis. cloudy in denver. seattle will be partly sunny today. >>> a colorado man says it is a miracle he is alive. he was trapped in a truck for nearly a week after an accident. sam bush of our denver station kcnc has the incredible story of survival. >> reporter: this is the 30-foot embankment where as a passenger rick custer crashed, and this is the drug he was pinned in. >> i remember waking up waking up four or five tim

unranked north carolina travels to east lansing and beats number one michigan state, 79-65.ready have two wins against top three ranked teams this season. >>> so when we return, an amazing survival story. we'll meet a man who spent six days with no food or water, trapped in a car after it crashed. ♪ can you barbeque a turkey? ♪ [ female announcer ] let betty do the measuring and get a head start on delicious homemade cookies. visit bettycrockercookies.com for fun holiday ideas. betty crocker cookie mix. just pour, mix...love. at 4-30 -- why bart says problems like these aren't g to go away. the search for a missing san jose family continues. the difficulties rescuers are facing. and a man suspected in a massacre in mexico is foundn northern california after me than a decade. how authorits finally tracked him down. join us for kpix 5 news this morning... beginning at 4:3 good morning. it's ,,,, >>> here's a look at today's forecast in some cities often the country. washington, d.c., will be foggy today. atlanta, expect showers. and snow and sleet in st. louis. cloudy in denve

. >> jimmy: in january in east lansing, michigan. mike birbiglia, everybody.an out of time. "nightline" is next, but first this is their album "anything in return" here with the song "say that" toro y moi. ♪ ♪ tell me you won't ever give up ♪ ♪ she owns my love but i've got her now ♪ ♪ she's alright i'm all right ♪ we're all right we can't go back ♪ ♪ say that you'll always remind me ♪ ♪ cause i can't decide if you are my love ♪ ♪ i know i can't always be home but ♪ ♪ i never left don't think like that ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ tell me you won't ever give up ♪ ♪ she owns my love but i've got her now ♪ ♪ she's alright i'm all right ♪ we're all right ♪ we can't go back ♪ say that you'll always remind me cause i can't decide if you are my love ♪ ♪ i know i can't always be home but i never left don't think like that ♪ ♪ ♪ she's all right ♪ i'm all right ♪ we're all right ♪ we can't go back ♪ she's all right ♪ i'm all right ♪ we're all right ♪ we can't go back ♪ say that you'll always remind me cause i can't decide if you are my love ♪ ♪ i know i can always be home but i never left

police in riot gear had to be called in after hundreds of michigan state students rampaged through east lansing celebrating their team's win over rival, number two ohio state. that win puts auburn in the bcs championship game. after number -- with number one florida state. the loss ended ohio state's 24-game win streak. >>> and a smiling merrill newman is back home again in palo alto, california. the 85-year-old korean war veteran was freed by north korea after being detained there for more than a month. he arrived in san francisco saturday afternoon. the north koreans accused him of committing what they called hostile acts during the korean war. he was released after he made a public apology. >>> a memorial later today to honor actor paul walker at the site outside los angeles where the star of "the fast & furious" movies died in a car crash just over a week ago. hundreds of people are expected. a group organizing the event says that one of the cars that walker drove if the films will be at the memorial. filming on the seventh installment of that series has been put on hold now. >>> and a char

>> reporter: brian, it's warmed up to a balmy 30 degrees here in east lansing, michigan. today, you can see a lot of the damage, trees that came down during the ice storm. if you can believe it, a lot of people here have been without power for about a week now. and in michigan alone, there are some 60,000 people still without power after this pre-christmas ice storm brought a lot of things down. you can see the folks in this house, beside me here, had to spend christmas elsewhere, after a big tree came down, knocking out power into their home. folks here are still waiting for electricians to come by to get power hooked up. and of course, it has to be inspected, and the power company has to come. there's a lot of rigmarole to get the lights back on. of course, this time of year, get the heat back on. the unfortunate thing is, they are calling for warmer weather here. that could also be causing problems because, as trees and ice melts, they're going to start popping back up, and that could be causing these work crews who have been working tirelessly throughout holiday, a fe

. >>> in east lansing sh michigan, chaos after a football game. thousands of michigan state students filling the streets around campus after that are spar tans dee feeted the ohio state buckeyes. police in riot suits told up. arrested a ton of people. and they say, they will charge anybody connected to this mess. they were reviewing video to try to identify potential suspects. >>> let's turn now to the troubled rollout of obama care and the latest. a big deadline, december 23rd. that is the final day people can sign up for health care coverage and have their coverage begin, if they don't have it now, on january 1st. so you got to do it by the 23rd of this month. but the ongoing problems with the federal website and getting customer information to insurers could mean that some people who think they are going to get covered, may not be. and as it turns out issues with people trying to sign up or extending to certain state exchanges now too. those had been working separate from the federal we can site. now some of those aren't working. >> reporter: n

here's a look at crews in east lansing, michigan, one of the cities hardest hit. the power outages are the results of a major ice storm last week. in michigan, where 600,000 hopes and businesses were initially without power, now about 90% of them have electricity back. >> obviously, after this event takes place, all of the different groups of the -- there are a lot of groups involved in this, they have all come in over christmas eve and christmas. i'm very proud of them but all those groups will get together and we'll do a post-mortem to see how we can handle things better and make things operate more smoothly. however at this point we're principally concerned with getting every, single last customer back as soon as we can. >> about 12,000 homes and businesses are still without electricity in maine and about 62,000 are still in the dark in eastern canada. >>> on wall street, a lot of people will be watching u.p.s. this morning. shares of the delivery giant were down yesterday after a backlog prevented a lot of christmas gifts from being delivered in time for the h

working as a waiter, a dishwasher, and a cook at various days of the week at bob's big boy in east lansing, pumped gas and changed brake pads and changing tires. i worked as a d.j. on the weekend as wtim, playing country music, and -- [laughter] i mean, this is you know, and i didn't know anybody who had -- i knew one person, one guy who had student debt because he was working on his master's degree in mathematics who borrowed money for the graduates degree, but, basically, you would, you know, my mom actually graduated from michigan state university in 48, i think it was, 46, must have been 48 or 49, just before she met my dad, and she paid her way through college by working as a life guard in michigan in the summers. a life guard! once a year. paid for college. all living expenses. i mean, this is -- her mother was broke. my mom's father, my grandfather, died when she was 13 years old. her mother was the city clerk in michigan, and she made just, you know, basic, you know, basically nothing. anyhow, the jetson's dream got robbed. we done got robbed. people have aceps -- sense of this, of

east lansing police had to show up in riot gear. no injuries reported.oned american celebration. love that. >> this is the scene of the iconic landmark, the trees may be gone. but the tradition continues. all that white stuff, toilet paper. yep. they're headed to the national championship game. of course because auburn took care of business earlier in the day by beating missouri in a 59-42 shootout. what a remarkable game that was. and what a remarkable turn around it's been for auburn. 0-8 last year in the sec. now they're 12-1 overall sec champs and now headed to pasadena where i'll see them in the national championship game against the number one team in the country, florida state. winston, of course, the heisman favorite. he led his team to a very easy win over florida state. florida state, of course, the acc champs. they finish regular season a perfect 13-0. so very little debate about who the two teams will be in the national championship. guys, this marks the end of an era. the bcs is over. say good-bye. all the college football fans complaining a

i see you spent some time in east lansing. an exciting place to be. especially with the saturday coming up. i say that knowing university of michigan is in the room as well. [laughter] great game this weekend with ohio state. i appreciate your perspective, enspecially dealing with financial advisers and managers of institutions. if the criteria for pell eligibility were made more rigorous, how do you think institutions respond to the change? how do you think it might affect persistence specifically of the students? >> there's a tension between the eligibility requirements for financial aid and simplicity. making it simple enough that students will apply for financial aid. in the past, that tension has been greater than it is today because we rely so much on technology. almost 100%, not quite, but almost 100 people of apply do it through an online application that allows them to skip by questions that don't ally for them. if you truly needy qualify for federal means tested benefits or other ways that were identifying you're truly needy, you can import

that yousted to see spent some time in east lansing. it is an exciting place to be, especially with the saturday coming up. the university of michigan is in the room as well. great game this weekend with ohio state. i appreciate your perspective, especially zero with financial advisors and managers of institutions. requirement were made or rigorous, how do you think they would respond to this change? i do think this will do with the persistent specifically? tension between the eligibility requirements for financial aid in simplicity. enough thatmple needy students will apply for financial aid. this has been greater than it is today. we rely so much on technology. do this through an online application that allows them to skip by questions that do not apply. needy, you cany import information from the irs. you're given a pass. if you move the time the we couldhave to apply, ask more complicated questions. you skip logic. they're still getting some rigorous questions from students on the cusp to find out if they are truly needy or have som

. >>> police in east lansing, michigan, say they made multiple arrests during a rowdy celebration. michigan spartans won the big ten football championship. >>> and the world's largest airline carrier is expected to take off this week. the merger between u.s. airways and american airlines is expected to close on monday. > and those are your fast five headlines. >>> in minutes, the latest on the storm hiding the mid-atlantic region this hour. this is a live look at capitol hill. sure looks pretty. time is also running out for more than a million americans receiving a paycheck. will washington come to their rescue? nyquil cold and flu liqus don't unstuff your nose. they don't? alka seltzer plus night fights your worst cold symptoms, plus has a decongestant. [ inhales deeply ] oh. what a relief it is. you can fill that box and pay one flat rate. i didn't know the coal thing was real. it's very real... david rivera. rivera, david. [ male announcer ] fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. >>> welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." let's get to the l

nbc's kevin tibbles is covering this for us in east lansing this morning. what's the situation there? >> well, hey, savannah. it's warmed up to 30 degrees here in beautiful east lancing this morning. but for more than 100,000 people like those that live in this house behind me here that had a tree covered in ice come down through it, it's mighty cold comfort. with temperatures in the 30s, cold air and the threat of snow, many families without power are leaving home and seeking warmth in shelters like this one. >> it is a little frustrating but it's definitely a lot better than being at home. >> reporter: for those that chose to stay home, safety is a real concern as people try to keep warm at any cost. >> carbon monoxide is something we're always so afraid of with these events. >> reporter: nanette miller says to only use emergency generators outside, away from doors and windows. after six days without power and heat, the temperature inside danziger home is a frigid 44 degrees. on christmas morning, they lit a fire to keep warm. >> we just all were in our co