i love you. >> reporter: a merry christmas indeed kristen dahlgren, nbc news. >> what a miracle that >>> when we come back, lester holt with a very special holiday message. >>> merry christmas and welcome to 1a control at 30 rock normally i'd be sitting there with producers calling out camera shots, video and graph graphics, as i like to say, making the magic happen. but i've come in here to turn the tables or turn the camera, if you will, on my teammates whether it's me or jose or kate on the weekends, sitting in the chair we're backed by a formidable and dedicated group of journalists working here in the u.s. and across the world. on this christmas night, thank you to all of you for joining us each night and i'm proud for you to meet our team ♪ ♪ >>> right now at 6:00, an arrest is made in the killing of the brother of a 49er quarterback. >>> plus, a house tug-of-war. homeless mothers taking over a vacant oakland home. tonight nbc bay area has obtained new court documents with a surprising strategy to let them keep that home. >>> but first a new round of rain. we are in a micro cli

in tonight's inspiring america, two separate lives tha are now one happy family kristen dahlgren has their family. >> reporter: for liz smith wrapping gifts with her daughter is a dream come true ♪ jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way ♪ >> reporter: she always wanted to be a mom but time had gotten away from the 46-year-old nurse. ivf didn't work and then a chance encounter at work >> as soon as i met giselle, something clicked. i said she needs me and i need her and i can do this. >> reporter: behind those beautiful blue eyes, a little baby in need born prematurely suffering from withdrawal from drugs her mother had taken, giselle needed a foster mother. >> when we started our journey as mom and daughter, it was something i imagined my whole life and every day it just got better and better. she never stops talking, singing or dancing from the moment she wakes up to the moment she goes to bed. >> reporter: and last year, after 553 days of sharing laughter and love, a judge made it official. >> she taught me to appreciate every single day she taught me the, you know, power o

little boy from texas who shows us how it means so much more to give than to receive here is kristen dahlgren >> i like this robot. >> reporter: if you're looking for a story to warm your heart this holiday. >> it's a really good day of celebration. >> reporter: meet elliott wyche. >> my dad is the best. my mama is the best. and everyone i know is the best. >> reporter: a 4-year-old with a rare genetic defect >> he essentially is walking around, running around with only half of a heart. >> reporter: he had his first of three open heart surgeries at just 4 days old. >> that was a long story. >> reporter: but he is more interested in giving than getting this season. >> we've got room back here. >> reporter: when facebook followers that the little boy nicknamed the tin man asked what he wanted for christmas, his family set up a toy drive. instead of keeping the gifts, they decided to give them away. >> all the kids who n'oys say thank you. >> reporter: inviting the arlington, texas, s.w.a.t. team to come and collect dozens of toys, a surprise to elliott. their way to say thanks >> my heart is be

we get more from nbc's kristen dahlgren >> reporter: tonight new concerns over hair dyes and chemical straighteners. a study of almost 50,000 women found a 9% increased risk of cancer for those who use a permanent hair dye and an 18% increased risk for oductsore frequently as well as for african-american women who had a 45% increased risk if they used permanent dye >> it's possible the products marketed to black women based on their hair texture and type might be different than the products marketed towards white women. >> reporter: the research can't say dyes and straighteners cause cancer but experts say the more than 5,000 chemicals in hair products could be one factor. >> some of them, which we call endocrine disrupters, can enter into the bloodstream and go to the breast tissue, damage dna, and thereby increase the risk of cancer >> reporter: the study's authors caution more research is needed an say it's not time to stop using dyes and straighteners. >> a lot of factors influence a women's risk of breast cancer including their weight and their diet and their physical activity >>

here is nbc's kristen dahlgren. >> reporter: new concerns over hair dyes and chemical straighteners.y of almost 50,000 women found an increased 9% risk of breast cancer for those who use permanent hair die and 18% for those who use straightenered as well as for african-american women who had a 45% increased risk if they use permanent dye >> it's possible that the products marketed to black women based on their hair texture and type might be different than the products marketed toward white women. >> reporter: the research can't say dyes and straighteners cause cancer but experts say the more than 5,000 chemicals in hair products could be one factor. >> some of them, which we call disrupters, can actually enter into the blood stream and go to the best tissue, damage dna and thereby increase the risk of cancer. >> reporter: the study's authors caution more research is needed, and say it's not time to stop using dyes and straighteners >> a lot of different factors influence a woman's risk of developing breast cancer, including their weight and their diet and their physical activity. >>

now to a story that is frankly very personal for all of us here at nbc news our correspondent kristen dahlgren sharing her own battle with breast cancer and how one of her own reports helped her discover the signs many women miss. >> hi! i wasn't thinking about breast cancer at all. i had just had a mammogram that was negative, and then a story i had done a few years ago really saved my life. >> nbc's kristen dahlgren. >> i thought it was just a routine assignment a new breast cancer study. >> 1 in 6 patients have symptoms over than a lump. >> i remember at the time thinking this story is going to save lives and i just had no idea the life it would save would be mine. fast forward to this summer, and i noticed a dent in my breast. it was more like a thickening, it just felt different than everywhere else. i thought back to that story and i knew that i needed to see a doctor and within a few days, i was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer ugh, it's like a kick in the gut. i have a 3-year-old. i have a lot to live for, and it's definitely been the hardest thing i've ever been through here we

with a story this morning that is very personal for one of our own, you of course have seen kristen dahlgrenen kristen dahlgren on "today," what you may not know is off camera, kristen has been battling a bit of a health crisis. >> we're happy you're sitting with us. kristen credits a story she did for nbc for saving her life. hi, kristen. >>> you know i have reported on thousands of stories but "today," i'm thankful for the one that helped me find a subtle sign of breast cancer. i'm hoping by sharing my story, i can help someone else. >> we're going to race you to the swing. >> let's go. >> breast cancer was the last thing on my mind i'm in my 40s. i'm active we don't really have a family history. >> good job. >> and most importantly, i had just had a screening mammogram that was negative back in april, and then a story i had done a few years ago really saved my life. >> nbc's kristen dahlgren with more. >> i thought it was just a routine assignment to a breast cancer study. >> there's a very bright area in the center of her left breast. >> what this new study tells us is it's profoundly im

. >> merry christmas >> reporter: kristen dahlgren, nbc news. >> that's a picture, and that's the spirit of the holidays, and that's "nightly news" for this tuesday i'm lester holt. thank you for watching, everyone, and good night >>> right now at 6:00, paying to get guns off the streets. south bay law enforce. ban together after two high profile shooting sprees. tonight why one agency isn't participating. >>> also a bay area woman listed among the missing after the deadly volcano eruption in new zealand. >>> first it could be a huge change for students applying to college. the uc system headed to court over the sat and the act. the news at 6:00 starts right now. good evening. thanks for joining us. i'm jessica aguirre. >> and i'm raj mathai. the days of cramming for the s.a.t. or a.c.t. the lawsuit wants the uc system to drop the tests from the process. >> the contention is it unfairly benefits those who can afford to pay to prep and punishes those who can't. melissa colorado joins us with more. >> reporter: this is a big deal for high school students that might be cramming for those te

here is kristen dahlgren with tonight's inspiring america. ♪ >> reporter: i doesn't take long to know is special. >> i taught myself how to play piano. >> reporter: he was just 11 months old when mom sarah watched in awe. >> he pulled himself up and started playing this melody. he just heard it and played it. >> reporter: even more incredible because avett can barely see. >> i'm blind in this eye and visually impaired in this eye. >> reporter: sarah remembers when doctors told her he was born blind. >> it felt like i was being told he didn't have a future. what do you want to be when you grow up >> a rock star. >> this is nothing that came from me. this is a gift. >> reporter: a gift he's now sharing, his videos on youtube have gone viral is playing piano easy? >> easy for me but hard for everybody else ♪ some people want it all ♪ >> reporter: since we first met up with avett, he's been showing off that talent this year playing at chicago's navy pier and the dayton art institute. >> i'm going to transform this card into a king. >> reporter: he's expanding his skills or at least workin

favorite stories from the year this morning two separate lives who are now one happy family nbc's kristen dahlgren is a dream come true >> "jingle bells," "jingle bells," jingle all the way >> reporter: she'd always wanted to be a mom, but time had gotten away from the 46-year-old nurse. ivf didn't work, and then a chance encounter at work >> as soon as i met gisele something clicked. i said, you know what, she needs me and i need her and i can do this >> reporter: behind those beautiful blue eyes, a little baby in need born prematurely, suffering from withdrawal from drugs her mother had taken, gisele needed a foster mother. >> when we started our journey as mom and daughter, it was something i imagined my whole life and every day it just got better and better she never stops talking, singing or dancing i mean, from the moment she wakes up till when she goes to bed. >> reporter: and last year after 553 days sharing laughter and love, a judge made it official >> she taught me to appreciate every single day she taught me the, you know, power of resilience and the power of love. >> reporter: love th

for "today," kristen dahlgren, nbc news, vermont. >> win-win for everyone. >> that's like a cartoon in't wait to do that. >>> still to come, a record number of people traveling over the holidays. what you should do to make sure you get where you're going on time. >> first, these messages. mike bloomberg's never been afraid of tough fights, the ones that make a true difference in people's lives. and mike's won them, which is important right this minute, because if he could beat america's biggest gun lobby, helping pass background check laws and defeat nra backed politicians across this country, beat big coal, helping shut down hundreds of polling plants and beat big tobacco, helping pass laws to save the next generation from addiction. all against big odds you can beat him. i'm mike bloomberg and i approve this message. >>> still to come on "today," we're looking back at all of the fun we had this year. >> we are showing this showness this morning. >> first, these messages. ♪ ♪ with all my favorite colors, yes, sir ♪ ♪ all my favorite colors we come from every walk of life. we're proud