>> kathy park, thank you. >>> tonight the gunman in the church -- in the deadly church shooting in ft. worth, texas, has been identified as we hear for the first time from the hero security guard that stopped the shooter and likely prevented more violence nbc's blayne alexander is there tonight >> reporter: it took less than six seconds to shatter the peace at west freeway church police say 34-year-old keith thomas walked into the sanctuary and sat among the congregation rds seth someonen an fire twice. just seconds later, he is fatally shot by armed members of the church's volunteer security team. >> i fired one round the subject went down. >> reporter: jack wilson trains that team here at his home gun range. he says the shooter immediately raised a red flag. >> the wig, the fake beard, and he kept trying to adjust it. there was concern there was a possible threat. >> reporter: from the moment he walked in. >> from the moment he walked in, yes. >> reporter: officials are not yet releasing a motive and tonight, we're learning more about those in his path 67-year-old richard white, a m

kathy park starts us off. >> reporter: tonight, powerful storms creating chaos for post-thanksgiving travelers as snow, heavy rain, and strong winds barrel across the country. in colorado, hurricane-force wind gusts whipping snow in all directions, creating whiteout conditions >> these winds are really whipping through here >> reporter: tough even for this meteorologist to stand, and dangerous for those daring to drive on the roads in arizona, a massive pileup on the interstate with trucks stuck for hours. a snowy grand canyon town declared a state of emergency with no power, stranding a thousand tourists. >> usually you'd be able to see the canyon right there. >> reporter: tornadoes even touched down in phoenix, and floodwaters turned deadly in nearby hela county an rv got swept into this creek, only six people made it out alive as water quickly submerged the vehicle. crews recovered the bodies of two children, and search operations continue for the third missing child. in san diego another dramatic rescue after a minivan got stuck in rising waters. snow being blamed for tricky trav

nbc's kathy park takes a closer look at the decades' old practice that is now under review >> reportertonight defense secretary mark esper declaring a safety review after friday's deadly shooting at naval air station pensacola. >> yesterday i directed that we look at our security precautions across the services and all of our installations and bases and facilities to make sure that we've got the appropriate degree of security to protect our service members and their families and our communities >> reporter: the announcement at a national defense forum in california this afternoon comes after growing scrutiny over the screening process of foreign military students. >> anybody that comes to the united states to train is or should be is vetted by the department of state, it the department of homeland security, and ultimately us. so we need to relook at all that >> reporter: according to the pentagon, nearly 5,200 foreign students from more than 150 countries are in the u.s. for military training.inin tool, the mechanical level, teaching people how to fly aircraft, teaching people how to l

kathy park, nbc news >>> let's turn to hong kong where demonstrators crowded the streets for a massive march. protests in the city have now reached the six-month mark with activists calling for broad political reforms. organizers estimated that 800,000 people turned out. although officials put that figure much, much lower at 18,000 despite banning mass marches, police allowed this demonstration after a few weeks of relative peace. >>> hollywood is mourning the death of caroll spinney. spinney is the man behind the beloved sesame street characters big bird and oscar the grouch. he died at his house after living with a neurological disorder he worked on the children's show for nearly 50 years. caroll spinney, dead at the age of 85. >>> all right. we are close to the end of the season, but that means that the playoff race is heating up the rams stayed in the running after they got a stunning win over the seahawks on sunday night football l.a. quarterback jared goff showed flashes of the greatness he showed last season. he had nearly 300 yards in the air and two touchdowns the defense thou

kathy park, nbc news >>> the fb isooting at the naval air station that left three people dead orward as if the shooting was an act of terror. they say the shooter, alshamrani, was a second lieutenant in the saudi air force and legally boughtrampage. he recently traveled to new york with fellow students here's blayne alexander. >> reporter: the fbi has a long investigation ahead. they want to question any associates of alsamrani and are asking for background information about him. meanwhile, people in florida are beginning to say good-bye. as pensacola gives a final salute to its fallen sailors, more questions are swirling about the shooter, 21-year-old saudi national alshamrani. >> our main goal right now is to confirm whether he acted alone or was this ae pahe a part of a network? >> reporter: officials are investigating it as an act of terrorism.uts, walked into this building with a block 9 millimeter handgun and was the only gunman, investigators say there have been no arrests in the case law enforcement sources tell nbc in the week leading up to the shooting, alshamrani showed th

reporter: -- the stor soaked the tri-state, another strike by winter, leaving behind a big mess kathy park, nbc news, manchester, new hampshire. >>> let's get right to al roker al, what's the latest on all this severe weather? >> lester, we still have some left in fact, as you can see on the radar, it's sliding out. but we still have a risk of severe weather stretching from central florida all the way to the southeastern atlantic coast. the snow will come to an end in new england, and those severe storms move off the coast. but then behind it we start to see cold northwesterly winds picking up moisture, dropping lake-effect snow, with light squalls. light snow may even reac the i-95 corridor. brutally cold tomorrow morning. windchills of minus 33 in duluth, 14 in pittsburgh and by the time we get to thursday, we're looking at sub-zero temperatures for windchills, lester, that won't moderate until friday. >> we'll take some moderation all right, thank you, al >>> also developing tonight, the fbi has now joined the urgent search for a mother who vanished with her newborn daughter in austin,

kathy park, nbc news. >>> to politics now and what will be an historic week in washington. the house judiciary committee presents the findings tomorrow, the next step that will likely lead to the impeachment vote before christmas. >> reporter: a working sunday, impeachment headquarters. >> well, we're continuing to prep for the hearing. >> reporter: media staked out and behind closed doors a dress rehearsal of sorts before tomorrow's hearing to lay out the evidence. >> i expect us to get all of our ducks in a row. >> reporter: the house judiciary committee is expected to take several hours monday as evidence against the president and testimony from past witnesses is presented to the country and the committee. chairman jerrold nadler would not commit to time line but expects articles of impeachment this week. >> my goal is to do it expeditiously. >> reporter: perhaps the biggest unknown the scope of the allegations democrats will pursue. limited to the ukraine saga or including aspects of the mueller investigation. >> it will be an abuse of power, might be obstruction of con

kathy park, nbc news. >>> we are following another air tragedy tonight, the crash of a jetliner carrying 98 people today in kazakhstan i central asia a dozen people died but remarkably many of the passengers made it out. matt bradley talked to the survivors. >> reporter: tonight in kazakhstan, a miracle amid a devastating loss of life a small child pulled from the wreckage of a plane crash that killed at least 12 people and injured dozens authorities say the bek airlines airplan slammed into a fence early this morning shortly after takeoff, then a two-story house, splitting the fuselage in half the plane's tail scraping the runway twice. >> i thought we would be dying in seconds. >> reporter: he said he was seated here, an emergency exit row right behind passengers who were killed. >> the ceiling was smashed as if it was a tin can like from coke >> reporter: this passenger can be heard saying that only one emergency car and no ambulance was on the scene a full 20 minutes after the crash. among the victims, journalist dana kruglova traveling to celebrate new years with her parents the pla

we reached out to the suspect's family right now, they had no comment about this case jose. >> kathy park in new york thank you very much. the big easy is in a state of emergency right now. the city of new orleans under siege by cybercriminals hacking into government computers. and not the first time either phillip has the story. >> reporter: tonight, the city of new orleans crippled after a cyberattack. websites down. phones unanswered. the mayor declaring a state of emergency as local and federal officials work to figure out who's behind the hack and how much damage has been done. hackers gained access to government systems on friday morning. city hall telling employees to power down and unplug their computers immediately. >> investigation is still in progress. so there's much that we are still to learn about this attack. the mechanisms and what was significantly compromised. >> officials say emergency operations have not been impacted and are communicating via twitter. this is the third cyberattack in louisiana this year. in july, several school systems were infected by malware. and ju

nbc's kathy park with the latest for us this evening. >> do you feel any remorse? >> do you feel bad at all? >> do you care? >> reporter: tonight our first look at 37-year-old grafton thomas, the suspect in the brutal stabbing in muncy, new york, now facing five counts of attempted murder. he's pleaded not guilty to all counts. on saturday night, a hanukkah celebration turned into an evening of horror as the suspect stormed a rabbi's home packed with adults and children. >> go ahead and head in. they're reporting shooter injuries. >> reporter: witnesses say he began stabbing at random, injuring five before running next door to the synagogue. >> he came in with a big sword, knife, machete. i don't know what it was. he pulled it out of the holder. >> reporter: officials have not announced a motive but the brazen crime has shaken this large orthodox jewish community, on edge after a state of anti-semitic attacks in the new york/new jersey area, at least the tenth incident in just the last week. >> it seems like it's open season against jews here in new york city. >> r

kathy park is with us.located about an hour north of new york city. what's the latest that you're hearing on this attack? >> reporter: kendis, a few minutes ago we got a statement from chuck schumer as well. we'll hearing from a lot of elected officials condemning this act of violence. he's asked the fbi to continue their investigation and see if there's any link with this attack and the other attacks in the new york city area. you mentioned officials are still trying to piece together a motive. governor cuomo said he's directed the hate crimes task force to help with the ongoing investigation. here in monsey, this is a large orthodox jewish community. they have certainly been shaken by this violence. but they say they won't be stopped. just a few minutes ago there was a tour procession that moved through. they say they will continue to live their lives freely. as far as the victims go, five people were sent to the hospital. right now one person remains in critical condition. in fact, we spoke one witness w

kathy park, nbc news. >>> and now to the price you pay. today a so-called super saturday, the busiest shopping day of the year. and retailers are rolling out the deals to get you in the door before christmas. here's stephanie ruehl. >> reporter: tonight the final shopping sprint as 148 million americans are expected to finish their last-minute shopping. >> our stores are open early and close late. >> reporter: retailers like macy's, jcpenney and best buy are all keeping their doors open for extended hours. kohl's is welcoming shoppers for 24 hours a day until christmas eve. >> why is this weekend so important for retailers? >> because there were six days less of the holiday shopping season. so it really all comes down to the wire. >> reporter: americans are expected to spend over $727 billion this holiday season, an increase of 4% from last year. who are the retail winners this year? >> it's off price. it's tj max, ross stores, burlington, and target. them and all the rest of the department stores. >> reporter: the strong retail season mea

guys, back to you. >> get on the road right now kathy park in new jersey thank you. >> the weather may be clear for much of the country today. but that system in california that kathy mentioned will soon make its way east. hey, dylan, how's it looking >> it certainly will move east today, things are still okay so it's a good travel day with actually above average temperatures keep the windows rolled down looking for near-record highs. back through the ohio river valley back through the upper midwest, chicago. should be close to 60 again today. yesterday, with a high of 57 it is the second warmest christmas on record. before that, it was set back in 1982 the warmest christmas day. friday, we're looking for temperatures to still be running about 10 to 20 degrees above average. charlotte, 62. nashville, 64. cleveland, 65. chicago, 44. then as we go into the weekend, that's when we are going to see temperatures cool off white a bit. nashville should drop to about 50 degrees by monday indianapolis, 41 by monday so it is back to reality minneapolis down to 25 on monday but let's look at the

kathie park has the latest on this. >> do you care? >> our first look at 37-year-old thomas, the suspect in the brutal stabbing in new york. now facing five counts of attempted murder. he has pleaded not guilty to all counts. on saturday night, a hanukkah celebration turned into an evening of horror as the suspect stormed arab buy's home packed with adults and children. >> reporting serious injuries. >> witnesses say he began stabbing at random before running next door to the synagogue. >> he came in with a knife and said he didn't know what it was. officials have not announced a motive but the crime has shaken this orthodox jewish community. on edge after a stage of antise mett -- semetic attacks. >> they have ordered increased patrols around the state. >> i consider this an act of domestic terrorism. these people are domestic terrorists. >> the president tweeting we must all come together to fight, confront and eradicate the evil scourge of anti-semitism. on the final night of hanukkah, a call for peace while a community moves forwar

kathy park is in la guardia airport this morning. thy, good morning. >> reporter: harry, good morning to you. you're headed home on a very busy travel weekend, be prepared for a crowded airport and highw highways. here at la guardia, things are looking good. no major delays to report. but it could be a much different story later on today for parts of the midwest. winter weather causing chaos across the country. in lubbock county, texas, a foggy highway 84 is back open after a multicar pileup. a news crew caught this scene as officials ran from a crashing semi. the wreck, sending two to the hospital with minor injuries. >> the low visibility and coming off that overpass made it hard for folks to see. >> reporter: in wyoming, a train jumped a track, derailing two dozen cars. and some heading home in southern california, some places getting two feet of snow, authorities shut down interstates, stranding drivers for hours. >> due to icy conditions, vehicles were stuck. big rigs were getting stuck out there. >> reporter: not everyone out we

kathy park in muncie, new york.hank you very much. >>> nearly 50 million people are under the threat of a major thunderstorm today. now it is moving east, janessa webb is tracking the storm. >> good morning. >> good morning willie. we have this massive storm all tl way into ohio valley. it is a double sided system on the northern side. we have seen about a foot of snow. it will continue to track across the ohio valley. it will be a significant ice bed for new york city, philadelphia, all the way into boston. also, the heavy snowfall it will continue across the great lakes and northern new england. look at accumulations up to 9 to 18 inches, it is going to be dice s dicey. it will be widespread from minneapolis into atlanta. >>> president trump is closing out 2019 at his mar-a-lago. the president spent part of his saturday attacking nancy pelosi over impeachment. nbc's hans nichols is traveling with the president. good morning. >> reporter: as the president lingers, an impeachment limbo, he continue to lash out at na

joining us now, kathy park is live in muncie, new york. a lot of information in that complaint. what more have you learn? >> reporter: allison, good afternoon, that's right, a lot of chilling new little more information about what happened in the rabbi's home. according to the complaint, he said no one is leaving and then there were a little bit more information about what officials were able to retrieve in the suspect's car which was found 30 minutes away from here in manhattan, they found a machete as well as a knife and weapon of bloodstain. during the search, when they obtain the search warrant reporting there were no visible signs of anti-semitism. after a thorough investigation and coming through some of his belonging, there was a journal that included anti-semitic sentiment. a phone was also recovered as well as part of the investigation and internet browser, why did hitler combing through this. we know the suspect will be appearing before federal court sometimes this afternoon. we'll get more information. this complaint is new. this is in addition to those charges for at

we're going to get to dylan's forecast in just a moment, but that's right after we check in with kathy park. kathy is at laguardia airport. good morning to you. >> reporter: hey, craig, good morning to you let the holiday travel chaos begin. bad weather is being blamed for briefly shutting down fort lauderdale international airport this morning meantime, here at laguardia, things are starting to pick up and experts say this is just the beginning. be prepared for crowded highways and airports because a record 150 million americans will be traveling this holiday season. >> across the country, travel nightmares before christmas. overnight, torrential rain and flash flooding slamming south florida completely shutting down fort lauderdale international airport. in virginia, ice and foggy conditions causing this 69 car pile up according to police temporarily closing a major interstate and sending 51 people to local hospitals some with serious injuries >> the fog was really dense. couldn't really see more than 30 feet in front of you. >> reporter: in washington state, flash flooding triggering thi

dylan is going to have our forecast in just a moment, but we start this morning with nbc's kathy parkn a crowded highway in new jersey. kathy, good morning. >> reporter: hey, craig, good morning to you. millions are on the move today by car, plane or train, and a record number of people will be driving to their destinations. so experts say be prepared for delays, especially at the end of the week. holiday travel has been anything but smooth in parts of the southeast. heavy rain flooded roads in charleston and parts of south florida, temporarily closing the airport in ft. lauderdale monday morning. dozens of flight delays when passengers were stuck and lines began growing. >> they said it was delayed by two hours, and then we switched flights on the app, and now we really don't know what's going on. >> reporter: more than 115 million americans are expected to travel this holiday season, an all time high, and at least 100 million of them will be driving to their destinations, including this mom who's traveling with kids. >> definitely have a lot of activities and tablets are great and v

kathy park has been following the story. live for us right now from monsey, new york. >> reporter: richard, that's right, here in the community of monsey, it's a large orthodox jewish community and they have certainly been shaken by the stabbing spree which happened right behind me in the rabbi's home. we spoke with a lot of witnesses on the ground who told us dozens of people were in the home oufoard with their celebrations. a man stormed in with a large knife and started slashing people at random. here is a little bit more from a witness we spoke with earlier today. take a listen. >> we just finished the candle lighting ceremony and we were heading into the synagogue for a meal. he came in with a big sword, knife, machete. he pulled it out of the holder and started wielding it at people right and left. and then he ran into the dining room. then he went into the kitchen. >> reporter: and that was joseph gluck, who was in this home at the time of the attack, and he actually responded really quickly because not only did he tr

let's go to kathy park in woodbridge, new jersey watching what travelers should be looking out for. >porter: phillip, greetings from a busy new jersey turnpike. what a difference a day makes after a calm and peaceful christmas day, millions are on the move again from coast to coast. if you plan on getting on the road today, brace for delays, delay times may double if not triple by this afternoon. >> here we are enjoying white christmas. it's awesome. >> reporter: an unexpected holiday gift for southern california, a white christmas for some. >> we're so ready to slide down the snow and have fun and, of course, build up a snowman. >> reporter: in the angeles national forest north of l.a. residents getting into frosty fun with up to two feet in some areas. >> it's a present for us. >> reporter: heavy snow in the grand canyon, and it was more wet that white in phoenix. christmas day rain there for the first time in ten years. in frequently frigid chicago -- >> i haven't seen a christmas like this and i'm 60. >> reporter: -- temperatures approached 60 degrees. >> too hot. >> reporter: com

kathy park for us. good to have you with me.nk you. >>> still to come, democrats looking for a reason to shake up president trump's impeachment trial and they think they've found one in a new bombshell report. plus, an ex-associate of rudy giuliani is looking to share more material with congressional investigators. the reporter who broke the story joins us next. app? app? , actually i'm taking one last look at my dashboard before we board... and you have thinkorswim mobile- -so i can finish analyzing the risk on this position. you two are all set. choose the app that fits your investing style. ♪ the good news? our comfort lasts all day. the bad news? so does his energy. depend® fit-flex underwear offers your best comfort and protection guaranteed. because, perfect or not, life's better when you're in it. be there with depend®. ♪ the amount of student loan debt i have i'm embarrassed to even say i felt like i was going to spend my whole adult life paying this off thanks to sofi, i can see the light at the end of the tunnel as of

kathy park, nbc news. >> and now, back to politics. editorial in usa "today," it has a strong message for democrats saying beating donald trump in the 2020 election isn't everything. it is the only thing. also saying debating wine cellars and fundraisers and free tuition for all won't rid america of an unfit president and the party should focus on the overriding issue, which of the candidates is best equipped to beat trump next november. michael star hopkins founding partner and northern star strategy, wokking on campaigns of president obama, hillary clinton, and john delaney and hannah true drow also with us, politics reporter for the daily beast back for this segment. michael, i will add to what i said president trump has promoted the u.s. foes and ran up massive government threats and palpable harm to america's health care system and turned the once proud party of abe lincoln and ronald agoreagan of adulation cult. it is far more important than who has the most extensive plan to hand out free money and require everyone to get their

nbc's kathy park is near the scene in monsey, new york, what do we know so far?reporter: garrett, good morning to you. it is a dark day in monsey. right now, this is very much an active investigation. still a developing story. here's what we know right now. the attack happened just before 10:00 last night. we were told that several people were congregating in this home behind me, the home of a rabbi on the 7th night of hanukkah when a masked man burst through the doors holding a weapon and went on a stabbing spree. evidently, five people were taken to the hospital and one seriously hurt. we don't have an update on their conditions. just two hours later, about 35 miles away from here, police arrested the suspect. right now, we don't have more details on the individual. we know it was an adult who was arrested. as the day goes on, we'll get more answers about who this individual was. we still don't have a motive at this time. but i want to bring in a guest here. a spokesperson for the orthodox public affairs council. you were here shortly after the incident happene

nbc's kathy park has the latest. >> are you feeling remorse? >> do you feel bad at all? >> do you care. >> reporter: a first look at 37-year-old, the suspect in the brutal stabbing in muncie, new york, now facing five counts of attempted murder, he pleaded not guilty to all counts. on saturday night, a hanukkah celebration turned into an evening of horror as the suspect stormed a rabbi's home packed with adults and children. >> go ahead and move in. >> witnesses say he began stabbing at random, injuring five before running next door to the synagogue. >> he came in with a big knife, machete, known what it was and pulled it out of the holder and moving at people right and left. >> officials have not announced a motive but the crime has shaken this large orthodox jewish community, on edge after a state of the anti-semitic attacks in the new york new jersey area, at least the tenth incident in just the last week. >> it seems like it is an open season against jews in new york city. >> the new york governor has ordered police to increase patrols in new york state. >> i have co

. >> i'm kathy park in albany, new york, where the snow intensified again this afternoon. and with more snow expected tonight, the digging out has been nonstop. >> reporter: among the highest snowfall totals in the midwest, 23 inches in minnesota, 12 in michigan and 6 in wisconsin. the storm overturning semis from north dakota to connecticut. and in pennsylvania, one driver was killed when his suv spun out of control authorities urging drivers to be careful with more snow on the way. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, morristown, new jersey >>> this is tom costello in a snow-covered cornfield in south dakota, the tragic end to a thanksgiving weekend hunting trip of 12 family members aboard, only 3 survived the ntsb now inspecting the remains of the single-engine pc-12 near the small town of chamberlain. sources say the plane had been sitting for more t takeoff around 12:35 saturday on an icy runway the plane went down just a mile from the airport in tblthen turned to ice, which then turned to snow mixed with incredibly high wind conditions >> reporter: on board, a prominent idaho f

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among them, nbc's kathy parks who is in woodbridge, new jersey. she's watching the cars go by.ays about 105 million folks will be on the road between now and the new year. what are you seeing so far? >> reporter: hey, craig, that's right. it's going to be a busy holiday season. we are here at the grover cleveland service area. it's certainly been a popular place for folks to stop before their final destinations. behind me ask tis the new jerse turnpike. you see the cars whizzing past me. it's been like this all morning long. so far no problems to report. things will take a turn. according to aaa, december 26th and 27th travel times might double or even triple in some major cities between the hours of 4:00 and 6:30 p.m. so keep that in mind. overall congestion this week should be done because, as you know, the kid does are on their winter break and a lot of folks are extending their holiday vacation. meantime, if you're flying, you'll be joining more than 7 million americans who will be taking to the skies and earlier today chicago's o'hare and midway, there was a brief ground s

joining me from the scene in monsey new york is kathy parks. we expecting with this appearance, kathy? >> reporter: this will be in federal court in 30 minutes or so, we're told sometime this afternoon. this is separate from the state charges which he has already pleaded not guilty to, five counts of attempted murder. we found some chilling new details about what happen ed inside this rabbi's home. apparently the suspect when he stormed in he said no one is leaving and then when they found his car about 30 minutes -- 30 miles outside of where we are right now, they found a machete as well as a knife, both with traces with blood. and then investigators also nditten journals that had anti-semitic sentiments, and also a phone where he had different searches, typing in things like locations for temples and questions about jews and nazis. the list goes on and on and later on today, during the next court appearance, hopefully we get more details about that. >> kathy park, thank you very much. >>> we just learned the names of the victims in an attack

garrett. >> nbc's kathy park. cathy, stay with us for a second i want to play a little bit of sound into the newsroom from another witness. this is brand in you to us. take a listen. >> i saw him walking in by the door, i asked who was coming in in the middle of the night with an umbrella. while i was saying that he pulled it out from the thing and he started to run into the big room, which was on the left side, and i throw tables and chairs, telling him he should get out of here. he injured a guy, he was bleeding here, bleeding in his hands all over. i ran into the other room because i tried to save my wife, i saw him running down this way and i ran out and two ladies came along with me, they are still hysterical. what time is it now? i don't know the time now. and they are still hysterical right now. >> a lot of detail there, cathy. are police still on the scene? how active is this scene and this investigation right now this morning? >> reporter: garrett, since the incident happened last night around 10:00, you

nbc's kathy park has the latest on the search for clues in a case that has shocked the city.hy. >> reporter: keir, good morning. investigators are working around the clock looking for additional suspects. this park is still a very active crime scene as a memorial for the college student grows nearby. a dive team back at a manhattan pond searching for evidence in the stabbing of 18-year-old barnard college student tessa majors. the investigation taking a major turn with the arrest of a 13-year-old boy and new details revealed in court friday. our new york station wnbc reporting that a detective testified saying that the suspect and his two friends were at morningside park on wednesday intending to commit a robbery. the detective testifying the boy said he watched as his friends put the young woman in a choke hold and removed items from her pocket. the suspect describing the stabbing and struggle as feathers flew out of her jacket adding tessa tried fighting back, biting one of her attackers on the finger according to the detective. while it's unclear what role the 13-year-old

geoff. >> nbc's kathy park. thank you. >>> joining me now is new york city mayor bill deblazio. mr.ayor, it's good to see you. earlier this month after a deadly attack at a kosher market in new jersey, you said it was too close to home and you also said this kind of hate was, quote, right on our doorstep. but if you look at the numbers, it would appear that this kind of violence is actually in your house, it's in the city. from january to november of this year, anti-semitic incidents are up 17%. that's according to the anti-defamation league. what are you doing to stop it? >> what we're seeing, first of all, is a horrible national crisis of anti-semitism. we have to put this in perspective. something is wrong. it has been growing over the last few years. the most horrible was of course the tree of life synagogue massacre in pittsburgh. but we see more and more of these things and we've got to be clear anti-semitism is taking a more and more violent form in the united states and the permission that's being given for hate speech in general is underlying a lot of this. we've had situat

there are reports of more than 3,00n this impact to that early winter blast, we go to nbc's kathy park. >> reporter: a major storm system striking much of the nation, wrapping up a holiday weekend with a wintry mess in south dakota, a plane crashed shortly after take off, killing nine, including two children the area was under a winter storm warning at the ime dangerous conditions also in north dakota, as heavy snow made for treacherous driving. out west, parts of northern california got feet of fresh powder on the slopes. >> only in tahoe you go from the lake to full on winter >> reporter: in the middle of the country, blizzard conditions and high waves lake superior shut down part of plus, bad weather in michigan, where heavy, wet snow cut off power to tens of thousands meantime, as the storm pushes east, it is slow going for millions making the journey home after the holiday. a plane landing in buffalo slid off the runway >> the weather and the icing is an issue for the airfield. it's one of the bigger challenges they have because it is hard to keep up with. >> reporter: later that

we've got it all covered the roads, the airports, the forecast we'll start with nbc's kathy park she's in albany, new york, this morning, hey, kathy good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you here in albany, we already have about a foot of snow on the ground, and the snow is coming down so hard at times, it was falling at least an inch an hour crews have been working all throughout the night making sure the roadways are clear you can see they have left these large snow mounds behind me, and with temperatures hovering right around the freezing mark, conditions are still slick and dangerous. this morning millions waking up to nasty winter weather. the first major snowstorm of the season slamming the northeast delaying and stranding millions of people during the busiest travel holiday of the year >> we're from north carolina, and the snow is like twice, so we're trying to get home. >> sunday, a delta air lines jet slid off the runway in buffalo. >> the weather and the icing is an issue for the airfield. >> reporter: heavy snowfall, freezing rain and high winds keeping thousands of pla

kathy park now with the wild weather. >> reporter: cars crashing, flipping, and slipping on the ice. a combination of ice, rain, and snow making driving dangerous. as a major storm barrels across the country. the dakotas brace for blizzard conditions heavy snow already snarling traffic. and in colorado, it was tough even for four-wheel drive vehicles to get through. in minnesota, ice covering roadways this bus lost control and went sliding through an intersection and traffic stopped on this frozen bridge for miles. >> we're all stuck happy vacation to us >> reporter: the freezing rain also turned streets and sidewalks into ice rinks. the winter weather blanketed parts of texas with fog. and it's being blamed for this nasty multi-car wreck in lubbock yesterday. several people narrowly missed this out-of-control semi that plowed into a pileup a news crew captured a scary moment while on the scene for a different accident. >> i lost my camera there where it was, and i ran off. >> reporter: the last weekend of the year unleashing a powerful blow as people try to get ahead of the storm an

here's nbc's kathy park. >> reporter: frances, good morning to youl prosecutors rev details about the suspect and what they found during their investigation. during the search of the suspect's home, they found a journal with anti-semitic writings a chilling look at the moment police say grafton thomas armed with a machete launched his mission to attack a jewish congregation celebrating hanukkah court documents allege he said no one is leaving as he charged through a packed rabbi's home in southern new york. he used his table to fight off the attack >> i saw he was looking at me. i smashed it in his face >> reporter: hours later police found thomas in manhattan with his car smelling of bleach authorities say he had a machete and knife. both had traces of other dry blood. in his home the fbi said they found handwritten journals which included references to hitler and nazi culture as well as drawings of a swastika and a stan searching f nearby temples >> we're going to have patrols out of community members of different ethnic backgrounds working together t tolerated. >> reporter: local o

kathy park reports. >> reporter: tonight an emotional gathering at the park steps where 18-year-old tessa majors was murdered. the barner college community remembering the student for her love of writing and music and her will to live. >> climbing up the stairs toward a security booth even as she was bleeding. >> reporter: as the healing begins, the search is intensifying for her killers, police arrested a 13-year-old boy charged as a juvenile with murder, secondary weapons charge. due to his age, nbc news is not naming the subject. in his initial court appearance friday, chilling new details were shared about tessa's final moments, described as police as a robbery gone wrong. the boy told a detective he allegedly saw his two friends stabbing the young woman as feathers flew out from her jacket, arguing that she bit the finger of one of her attackers during the struggle. the suspect's attorney says there's no allegation that his client touched tessa or took anything from her. >> we also want to make sure we don't have another tragedy on top of this tragedy with a rush to judgment. >> repo

here is kathy park. >> let the holiday shipping scramble begin. fedex, u.p.s.ostal service are in overdrive to get deliveries at your door before christmas. >> we have a much shorter holiday shopping season. i think that's what's causing this last-minute shopping bottle ne neck. >> today is walmart's big deadline for last-minute online orders. amazon prime members also have until today for free delivery until december 25th. best buy are offering free shipping for those who wait until tomorrow to buy. good news for carriers, more customers are shipping, up 21% this holiday season over last year. bad news for shoppers, their track record for delivering on time is getting worse, down 12% this season, according to the software company convey. are you confident all these packages will make it on time? i'm assuming for christmas. >> nothing is going to be local here in new york, definitely, but stuff outside the city will be a different story. >> we face challenges as far as whether is concerned, any other national kind of occurring circumstances. so, yeah, we try to

>> kathy park, thank you. >>> to air travel now. more people flying today than ever before, but the weather is keeping a lot of people from getting very far. blain alexander is at the busiest airport in atlanta. >> reporter: tonight the snow and ice mixing with the busiest air travel day of the year to create the perfect storm of airport misery. >> i'm worried that my flight will be canceled. >> reporter: thousands of delays from coast to coast. laguardia from san francisco to travelerfts stranded. >> god had a bigger plan for my travel plans. >> reporter: w are doing what they can to ease the pain. delta, american, jetblue and united a fees in certain cases d storms are expected to stretch into tuesday creating a slow into next week. >> tomorrow at 9:00 a.m., but the storm is coming tonight. so, just better to fly direct. >> reporter: at the world's busiest airport in atlanta with 300,000 passengers flying through today, they hope more lanes and employees will mean less wait time at security. little comfort to passenger jacob, he s

in albany, new york, kathy park, now back to you. >> right now i'm glad we're in california. >> remind you to get your priorities straight. >> i've heard everybody say it is so cold. >> it is for us. we finally got to put on a coat. >> but when you see what is happening elsewhere, that kind of puts it in perspective. >> it does. >> exactly. >> and we do have some cold temperatures here in our standards. but it is warming up. as a cold front approaches we're feeling the warm moist air and tracking the rain still falling on storm ranger and that is the scan -- or our mobile doppler radar parked on san bruno mountain lookingin through marin county across the richmond-san rafael bridge and just covering much of contra costa and solano counties right now. so it is very soggy. where we see the yellow and the red indicates where we are seeing the heaviest rain and so if you are getting ready to head out, give it a few more minutes if you can. it is rolling off toward the east and all a part of the big storm system, this atmospheric river that is very low and it is narrow ribbon of rain that i

here's nbc's kathy park. >> reporter: frances, good morning to you here in the largely orthodox community of munsey, new york, they have been shaken in the last days of hanukkah as officials continue to piece together a motive. leaders around the world are condemning the violence and are taking action. >> do you feel any remorse >> reporter: our first look at 37-year-old grafton thomas, the suspect in the brutal stabbing in munsey, new york, now facing five counts of attempted murder. he's pleaded not guilty to all counts on saturday night a hanukkah celebration turned into an evening of horror as a suspect stormed a rabbi's home packed with adults and children >> go ahead and head in. they're reporting serious injuries. >> reporter: witnesses say he began stabbing at random, injuring five before running next door to the synagogue. >> he came in with a big sword, knife, machete, i don't know what it was. he started wielding it he pulled it out of the holder? started wielding it at people right and left. >> reporter: officials have not announced a motive, but the brazen crime has shaken th

anyway, kathy park, thank you for the positivity on this travel saturday. appreciate that. >>> it is the biggest obstacle 2020 democrats may face trying to beat this president, and there's nothing they can do about it. that's next. >>> and a bit later, missing the cut. the democrats in danger of not making the next debate. making the next badete i'm your 70lb st. bernard puppy, and my lack of impulse control, is about to become your problem. ahh no, come on. i saw you eating poop earlier. hey! my focus is on the road, and that's saving me cash with drivewise. who's the dummy now? whoof! whoof! so get allstate where good drivers save 40% for avoiding mayhem, like me. now save even more with new lower rates. >>> breaking news this hour. nearly 80 people have died after a truck bomb exploded today at a security checkpoint in somalia. at least 125 others were hurt in this attack. many of them students returning to class. it was the worst attack in mogadishu in more than two years. so far, no group has claimed responsibility for the blast, but the al qaeda-linke

but after a lot of delays this season, can you really count on it nbc kathy park joins us now with moreg. time is running out to mail out those last-minute gifts but some options are still available. behind the scenes, teams are working around the clock to ensure an on-time delivery let the holiday shipping scramble begin fedex, u.p.s., and postal servic eds. overdrive to get deliveries at your door before christmas. >> we have a much shorter holiday shopping season so i think that is what is causing this last-minute shopping bottleneck. >> reporter: retailers like best buy are offering next day shipping on certain items for those who wait until today to buy. the good news for carriers, more customers are shipping, up 21% this holiday season over last year the bad news for shoppers their track record of dloiverg elivern time is getting worse down 12% this season according to a software convey. are you confident all of these packages will make it on tamime? >> the stuff in new york definitely but outside of the city it's a different story. >> like any business we face challenges as far a

kathy park has more on this. good morning to you, kathy. >> good morning.ty. now, detectives say they're making progress on this active investigation, revealing new information in court. this morning, new details in the fatal stabbing of new york college student tessa majors. wnbc reporting that in a court hearing on friday, new york police detectives told them that the 13-year-old suspect told them, he watched his two friends grab tessa majors, put her in a chokehold and remove items from her pockets. then, the boy told detectives, he watched as his friends slashed the young woman with a knife, and saw feathers from the stuffing of her coat come flying out. the 13-year-old is charged with second-degree murder and a weapons charge. due to his age, nbc news is not naming the suspect. >> the kid had his whole life ahead of him. and the victim, she had the whole life ahead of her. it's unfortunate. >> reporter: officials also questioning a 14-year-old in connection with the killing. police say the 18-year-old freshman at barnard was attacked by the group minut

nbc's kathy park is a few blocks away outside target in midtown manhattan. y, good morning to you. >> reporter: sheinelle, good morning to you. the last saturday before christmas. it is crunch time to get the last minute gifts. approximately 60% of holiday shoppers waited until today. retailers are ready. target is already open for business. procrastinators playing catch up. if you are not done with holiday shopping yet, you are not alone. nearly 148 million people will be at the store or logging on for last minute gifts. making this the biggest shopping day of the year. known as super saturday. >> it is one of the last full days for people to get their holiday shopping in. >> reporter: with fewer shopping days between thanksgiving and christmas this year, procrastinators are feeling the pressure. according to the national retail federation, half of holiday shoppers plan to purchase the final gifts this week. >> last minute trying to find some special items. not the usual stuff. we thought we would come to new york and knock it out. >> reporter: clothes and t

nbc's kathy park has the latest on this story. this is a sad story. >> reporter: yeah, ali.or update in the ongoing investigation into the murder of tessa majors, and the chief of detectives for nypd released a tweet a couple of hours ago saying they have located a 14-year-old and stopped short of providing more details and unclear if this boy is connected somehow but he is wanted in questioning for the murder of tessa majors so right now it is unclear if he is being questioned, if he is going to face any charges, that's still what we are trying to figure out but originally detectives looking for three individuals, so currently they have a 13-year-old in custody facing several charges including second-degree murder and then another 14-year-old earlier this month who was questioned and then released. so they were looking for three. right now looks like they have two, potentially. so still a lot of questions about this case, ali. but, you know, this crime, this horrific crime has shaken up the barnard college community and the city of new york and we heard troubling details wh