and sugar ray's mark mcgrath is here, and they call themselves the merrymakers, and so we will have a little performance later to put you in the holiday spirit. >> yes. >> we started a little earlier last night with the new year's celebration. >> we whooped it up, kathie lee and i. we're doing a new year's special for nbc, and look at our party pals. >> this is the third time, right, hode? >> this is more raucous than the others. >> we're not mellowing. we're turning up the volume. and andy cohen has a special and then carson. >> and it is a toast to 2015. well, we made a toast today to willard scott after 65 years at nbc, and he is our uncle willard. he is. he retired today. and he started out as an nbc page just like regis did, but look, he was in 1950. >> wow. he is one of the people who just seem to represent america. when you saw him, you felt that everything would be okay. >> he is a completely joyful man. >> yes. he's done 40,000 birthday announcements. here's a little look at what matt had to say. >> on a personal note, we want to say, willard, thank you for caring for all of

there won't be snow, but there will be plenty of holiday music, including mark mcgrath's merrymen. >> it is an honor. >> they rehearsed under falling rain and of course the tree. >> have you ever seen a it is hard not to be impressed with this norway spruce standing 78 feet tall in rock feller center, decked caught out in shol holiday spirit. >> reporter: they took the train which is encouraged. the city is closing streets from 48 to 51st. between fifth a avenue and the avenue of the americas. expect heavy traffic and heavy police presence for safety. umbrellas, backpacks and large bags are not aa loued. the commissioner bratton said there are no credible threats. >> we are asking them to be aware and enjoy. feel safe. we are worried about security. they should enjoy themselves. >> and that shouldn't be a problem. >> beautiful. one thing to check off our bucket list. >> it is indeed one of the things to cross off the bucket list. if you come down tomorrow, the most important thing to remember is to take mass transit if possible. this treeisind me is almost 80 years old and finally rea

so many people are expected to be here to see acts like mark mcgrath and mary j. blige, but they're also being told to get here early and take mass transit. that's something you've heard plenty of times before. the city is shutting down streets from 48th to 51th streets between 5th and 6th avenues. anyone coming to the tree lighting is being told umbrellas, backpacks, and large bags are prohibited. you will not be able to bring them and be amongst the crowd. there's no specific security threat, but police commissioner what they can expect to see. >> what they should expect to see is a heightened police presence. certainly more of the hercules team type of officers with the long guns and helmets. >> reporter: that 78-foot spruce will be ill mum nated by tens of thousands of lights. it will be lit from 5:30 in the morning until 11:30 at night until january every day. on christmas day, it will be lit up for a full 24 hours. again, people are being urged to use mass transit and forgood good reason. we talked about the barricades earlier. they're still going up, not ju

. >> mark: police say valerie mcgrath took her children out for the day and never returned. we brought you coverage minutes after the children were found safe. elizabeth hopkins is learning more about what police found in the mother's rental car and about their father's criminal record. >> reporter: valerie mcgrath's attorney says there's more to this story than meets the eye. she claims her client was trying to protect her children. outside court. mother. >> inside drawn and silent, valerie mcgrath appears before a judge on kidnapping. on sunday mcgrath was due to return her children to their father. when she didn't, he called police. after going missing with them more than a day, mcgrath texted a friend saying she was ready to turn herself in. when police arrived at the crash site she was gone. inside the range rover, a suicide note read aloud in court the note concludes, please do not attempt ses, the bodies are not important. we always have their hearts. after taking a taxi, police located mcgrath at a mcdonald's. inside the rental a hose and box 4 -- wine. according to

hospital addison gilbert hospital >> mark: breaking news, lakeville police on the hunt for a mom and her two kids who have been missing since 5:00 last night. valerie mcgrath was supposed to bring her kids back to her ex-husband but never showed. police are searching for a lan rover suv that's broup in color. elizabeth hopkins is working the story, new information at 6:00. >> vanessa: school will be in hampshire. investigators received a threat specific to today. the school superintendent said >> mark: the nfl has filed a response in its appeal of a judge's decision in the deflate-gate case, tom brady filed his brief days ago. the nfl is taking aim at that brief, saying brady's camp has continued to ignore goodell's strugsz. the league calls judge berman to overturn the suggestion pens and attack the commissioner's findings and interpretations. >> vanessa: things are warming up as we head into christmas. i'm vanessa. >> mark: rain an mild temperatures coming our way. >> kevin: should be cold and snow but not this time. you want to find snow, northern maine, northernmost new hampshire and canada. otherwise rain showers. this is a front pushing toward us tha

marking where people were being treated, where one person lost his or her life. gerard: we just heard an update from deputy chief brad zimmerman and captain brad mcgrath -- and captain mcgrath. this woman, while she has not been identified, is a relatively new resident to las vegas. the other bit of information that was confirmed for us, and this was unconfirmed earlier, was that there was a three-year-old toddler with her in the car. the woman does not appear to be injured either. she has been detained. certainly, they are trying to to do this possibly intentional act. marie: kelsey mentioned in the role. but also the witnesses. they said there were hundreds of people out there on the strip. so far, a few dozen witnesses have come forward to help police in their investigation and now they are putting out a phone number. why don't we try to get this for you on the bottom of our screen? you may know somebody who was there. the number to call is 702 -828-3521. that will take you directly to homicide investigators. if you may know something, you could help police put together obviously, a very fluid situation. so many moving parts. they are trying to piece this case to