nbc's jim maceda has our report tonight from the central philippines. >> reporter: the name means to smash. and as ruby made landfall today, the storm did just that. lashing at houses, trees and slashing power cables across the central philippines. many of these provinces still hurting from last year's devastation when supertyphoon haiyan left thousands missing. i worry the waves will get bigger like what happened last year in tacloban. but lessons have been learned. this time over a million people left their coastal homes, what some are calling a record in peacetime. and sought higher ground on their own. or fled to schools and hospitals for shelter before ruby struck. survivors now know where to go and what to do. while philippine soldiers unseen on the shattered streets last year now keep a lid on chaos and looting. and relief agencies having prepositioned food for a month are ready for this monstrous storm. >> as much as possible we leave no stone unturned. >> reporter: as it churns towards manila, ruby downgrade today a category 3 typhoon can still do damage. >> typhoon hagupit

nbc news, jim maceda, manila. >>> new fallout tonight from that massive hacking attack on sony pictures in hollywood. employees have received an e-mail from the hackers, a group calling itself the guardians of peace. the e-mail makes threats against the families of employees, saying they are in danger unless the employees "make your company behave wisely or else." this hack has already released several motion pictures online, some not yet in theaters. it has also gotten personal releasing salary information. sony says law enforcement continues to investigate. >>> still ahead this evening, our nbc news investigation trying desperate patients willing to try anything to help treat diseases like m.s. and parkinson. but some doctors are charging thousands for an unproven treatment. >>> and later, sweater weather. it's getting awfully christmasy out there, setting new records in over-the-top seasonal wear. >>> for all the promise that stem cells hold for the medical community, there is still much unknown about their potential benefits. an nbc news investigation has found people with debilitat

nbc's jim maceda has our report. ♪ >> reporter: at the vatican, a solemn midnight mass.e francis ushering in the holiday that marks the birth of christ for more than 2 billion worshipers worldwide. many in conflict zones. u.s. troops in afghanistan singing by candlelight. and pilgrims to christ's birthplace, bethlehem, and the west bank. >> merry christmas! >> reporter: american david bogary came from iowa. >> to proclaim the name of jesus, not to talk politics. >> reporter: but there are tensions here, even at christmas. palestinians in santa costumes protested israeli occupation and scuffled with police. elsewhere, santas were making friends and spreading joy. >> brought a little bit of christmas to thailand. >> reporter: in baghdad, bringing presents to christian children who had fled isis with their families. in france, scene of recent attacks by suspected islamist militants, police tightened security. so has the vatican. at christmas time there is perhaps no more symbolic target for islamist militants than here at st. peters square. so security is on a heightened st

nbc's jim maceda has our report. >> reporter: at the vatican a solemn midnight mass. pope francis ushering in the holiday that marks the birth of christ for more than 2 billion worshippers worldwide. many in conflict zones. u.s. troops in afghanistan singing by candlelight. and pilgrims to christ's birthplace, bethlehem in the west bank. >> merry christmas. >> reporter: american david bogeri came from iowa. >> to proclaim the name of jesus, not to talk politics. >> reporter: but there are tensions here even at christmas. palestinians in santa costumes protested israeli occupation and scuffled with police. elsewhere santas were making friends and spreading joy. >> it brought a little bit of christmas to thailand. >> reporter: in baghdad, bringing presents to christian children who fled isis with their families. in france scene of recent attacks by suspected militants police tightened security, so has the vatican. at christmastime there's perhaps no more symbolic target for islamist militants than here at st. peter's square, so security is on a heightened state of alert

nbc's jim maceda has our report. >> reporter: at the vatican, a solemn midnight mass. pope francis ushering in the holiday that marks the birth of christ for more than 2 billion worshippers worldwide. many in conflict zones. u.s. troops in afghanistan singing by candlelight, and pilgrims to christ's birthplace, bethlehem in the west bank. >> merry christmas. >> reporter: american david bogery came from iowa. >> to proclaim the name of jesus, not to talk politics. >> reporter: but there are tensions here even at christmas. palestinians in santa costumes protested israeli occupation and scuffled with police. elsewhere, santas were making friends and spreading joy. >> we brought a little bit of christmas to thailand. >> reporter: in bagdad, bringing presents to christian children who fled isis with their families. in france, scene of recent attacks by suspected islamist militants, police tightened security. so has the vatican. at christmas time there is perhaps no more symbolic target for islamist militants than here at st. peter's square. security is on a heightened stat

you heard jim maceda talking about that in the uk. could this be part of a wider plot? is this something that is of increased concern in other countries, which as far as we know it obviously did not turn out to be? and could it even go to the level of raising the security threat, as we saw in the uk back in august when there was beheadings by isis? there is a standard operating procedure that was followed. the president continually updated throughout the day and continuing contact between the white house and australia government. >> chris, you made an important note there. we don't have any evidence to suggest that this is part of any larger coordinated attack. he appears to have been act gt alone. neverthele nevertheless, australia facing more and more terrorist threats even as it becomes a more central player in that u.s.-led response to isis. we will be watching how this unfolds closely. chris jansing from the white house, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> the lindt cafe where this all plays out sits directly across from australia's channel 7 television. you've pro

joining me is nbc's jim maceda from london and sarah. sarah, first to you. you've been on duty for hours. tell us the latest you know about the suspect and the situation. >> well, the laitest is that we still see plenty of police presence here, andrea. we still see police cars. just a moment ago more hegd dad down to the scene. this is the mop-up stage of the situation. as you mentioned, the sydney siege drew to a dramatic close just about an hour ago. and this followed a situation which some of the hostages had escaped, and they fled the building. it was a short time after that, that something happened, there was some exchange of gun fire, and suddenly that sound of the flash grenades as the police went in and it all was brought to a close. there were several people brought out on stretchers. their exact condition we can't say. but ambulance australia here in new south wales say some people have been transported to the hospital. just taking you back, this entire scene began shortly before 10:00 a.m. today. to set the scene, we're in a beautiful part of the

nbc's jim maceda is on the ground in the philippines with the very latest. >> reporter: i'm coming toprovince northwest of samar where a few hours from now typhoon ruby is expected to make landfall and veer towards us and more to the point, towards the city of 175,000 people. and it's packing a punch. ruby is forecast to be just short of super typhoon strength, but with sustained winds of 120 plus miles an hour, gusts of 150 miles an hour. you can perhaps hear or see the winds beginning to kick up around me here. this is just the outer edge of the approaching storm. you'll notice, perhaps, that we're quite high above the city. that's because a 15-foot high storm surge is also forecast for this area, with legaspi on the water's edge. strangely unlike towns like tacloban further south where you see a great deal of battening down the hatches, people going out, stocking up on supplies, a massive voluntary evacuation taking place with hundreds of thousands of people, we haven't seen anything like that here. people here seem more relaxed, going about their business, perhaps that's because t

back to you. >> in london jim maceda thank you so much.g in with you later in the next hour. here, we have some other break news. this tie, out of the supreme court in the united states. justices have just decided to turn down a request from arizona regarding the state's abortion law. it is yet to go into effect. it would restrict the avail availability of abortion medications. today, the supreme court left that ruling intact. so the law remains blocked and cannot be enforced. three other states have similar laws. ohio texas and north dakota. this breaking news this morning. we will be right back. if i can impart one lesson to a new business owner, it would be one thing i've learned is my philosophy is real simple american express open forum is an on-line community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisions. if you mess up, fess up. be your partners best partner. we built it for our members, but it's open for everyone. there's not one way to do something. no details too small. american express open for

nbc's jim maceda is to the north. >> there's good reason to be worried. a 15-foot storm surge was predicted to strike right here and could have wreaked havoc on this town of 175,000. >> reporter: the planet's strongest storm this year, the typhoon weakened when it made landfall no churning with the intensity of a category 2 hurricane. >> possible storm surges could occur over the coastal areas. >> reporter: moving at 9 miles an hour, it could trigger mudslides and flooding in the biggest city. in manila they were praying and now preparing, stockpiling food and millions wait with a moster storm leaving behind destruction and promising to do damage in the days ahead. here in manila just after 7:30 in the morning, the dark clouds are rolling in and the whipping winds are beginning to pick up. an ominous sign for millions here as the government works to confirm the official number of fatalities including to be less than a handful, incredibly low for a storm this size. >>> now switching focus to india, new delhi officials banned uber following allegations that

. >> nbc's jim maceda, thanks very much. >>> now to the white house and nbc senior correspondent jchris jansing. how has the president been monitoring the siege in australia? >> reporter: lisa monaco has been getting regular updates to him. she's been the point person here with australian authorities. no word on whether she's been talking to other allies. as you know, when these things begin, and before it's known who the perpetrator is, how widespread the plot might be, even if it is a plot or lone gunman, certain standard operating procedures go into place. first of which is protecting americans on the ground and the u.s. consulate was evacuated there, although some members were taken to a secure location so they could continue to work. conversations with the australians. what kind of help, what kind of aid might they want from the united states? that was offered by lisa monaco in a phone call overnight. and finally, what are the implications here at home? of course, now that it's over, there is no heightened security concern, but, again, certain procedures go into play. homeland secu

jim maceda is tracking the typhoon for us and joins us by phone. jim, what are the conditions like where you are? >> reporter: well, conditions aren't so bad for us here, alex, because we're due north in a separate -- in a different province. that's the good news. the bad news is we are in the province that is going to take the brunt of the storm tomorrow. it is on that path between samar and where it landfalled a few hours ago and manila where it's going to probably end up or close to manila by sunday. you mentioned up to 130-mile-an-hour winds, that wasn't as strong as a super typhoon strength but it certainly was strong enough to create a hell of a lot of havoc and damage. what's interesting is where we are here, people are not fleeing. they're staying inside their homes. they say they're protecting their properties. they say they managed to escape the wrath of haiyan last year and hope the same thing will happen. so a lot of us journalists who are here are quite concerned that what's going to happen tomorrow when this town of legazpi is in fact

jim maceda, thank you so much. >> you bet. >> keep it right here on "newsnation." and zero first month's payment on select new volkswagen models. emma, it's simple, when you are in a place like this, the best way to capture the moment is to feel it, even if you can't see it. you pay your auto insurance premium every month on the dot. you're like the poster child for paying on time. and then one day you tap the bumper of a station wagon. no big deal... until your insurance company jacks up your rates. you freak out. what good is having insurance if you get punished for using it? hey insurance companies, news flash. nobody's perfect. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. we used to have so many emptymom!ls! that's why we switched to charmin ultra mega roll. charmin ultra mega roll is 75% more absorbent so you can use less with every go. plus it even lasts longer than the leading thousand sheet brand. charmin ultra mega roll. >>> for man

jim maceda at the vatican for us. ion on one of china's busiest highways, surveillance videos captured the ostrich bursting through a gate. police finally caught up with it on a highway. they tried to coral it. a truck passed and the ostrich, as you see, starts to sprint after it only to be left in the dust. apparently exhausted, then the ostrich rested for some time before then walking off the highway. you're under arrest. no, it's not. anyway, it's 8:06 right now. let's get another check of the weather with dylan. hey, dylan. >> hey, natalie. we have folks here from texas. what do you think of christmas in new york city? >> fun. >> having a good time? >> yeah. >> how about you, are you having fun? >> yes. >> most of the country is seeing rain right now so there's no winning in that department. heaviest rain is across the southeast into tallahassee and some fog up into georgia, atlanta right now visibility has been down to quarter of a mile. even today, check with your airlines. we are seeing fog causing some delays.

. >> thanks to jim maceda there. coming up, the retail rush is on this christmas eve eve.all as well in a live report on the other side of this break. and the holiday spirit certainly not on display during the inaugural miami beach bowl the between memphis and byu. after the final whistle, helmets come off. punches are thrown. becomes an all out melee on the field there. memphis won, by the way. more on what happened straight ahead. when hour two of the rundown. she inspires you. no question about that. but your erectile dysfunction - that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol i

jim maceda has more on the contest from the streets of london. >> hey, eamon, great to be with you andn based here, oxford square where retail is based and today, the holiday shoppers are equally men and women, and it is the ground zero for the british retail giants like john lewis behind me, and you could call it the british equivalent of macy's, and in the what is an annual battle of the christmas advert adverts. >> reporter: 'tis theraging. >> it's christmas! it's christmas! >> reporter: for decades, britain's top retail and department stores have gone to battle for the ultimate christmas tv ad, for for any one product but to sell a brand with feel good emotion. >> it's a time for charm wars rather than price wars. we will see the charm the major retail brands are already playing with each other. >> reporter: and among dozens of brands, the quintessentially british retailer john lewis is the uncrowned king, spending millions of dollars and making much more back on its simple christmas tales, like this young boy's impatient wait not to get a present but to give one. more of this love